Libre office calc

[KParker]

I hope it is ok to ask about a non-Microsoft program here. I like Excel very much, but lately it has a flashing cursor, even on a brand new never used sheet. Doing searches indicate that many users have this problem, and there are varied solutions, with little success.

So I found Libre Office Calc. It is ok, rather clumsy compared to the elegant Excel. I can get an image into an Excel popup comment very easily. Libre Office Calc is a nightmare. Once I get the image in, it is impossible to resize it properly, like I can in Excel. In both, there is a box surrounding the comment. I can drag the box in Excel to resize to the picture. Libre Office Calc, not so much. The picture ends up not proportinate, and still the wrong size. Surely there must be a solution to this?

 

[Bighorn]

That's one thing about third-party programs, they try to be competitive and at the same time mimic the original but full success is elusive. I saw the same thing with Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet versus Excel back in the mid-'90s, also with WordPerfect for Windows and Word. A lot of it is about copyright and having use of the full code of original programs. I used to put LibreOffice on OEM computers that came with Microsoft Works as my older clients upgraded but Works had been discontinued and they couldn't open things like their recipes, LO can open those old files, OpenOffice not so much.

 

[KParker]

I am trying out every office wanna-be I can download, to see which one handles Excel files the best. Some are not too bad. Excel complains sometimes when I try to open a file saved in the various native programs. Apparently older dates are a problem (of all things).

When I first started out with the Other Offices, I quickly gave up and ran in terror right back to the comfort of Excel. But after giving them another try, I am more impressed now. I like some parts of Libre, some parts of Open Office, etc. Oh for just one that has it all.

I did manage to figure out the comment trick. I did some youtube searches, and trying to follow along in a non-English lauguage with no subtitles - was that ever a trip. I noticed they were clicking on a different place than I was for the care and feeding of comments. So putting several youtube tutorials together, and writing down every step (!), I was able to finally do it. I got an image in a comment and was able to resize.

How was I supposed to know to press the spacebar to put something in the comment at first so it wouldn't keep disappearing? Kept looking all over for my comment, well that was why. Got to put the spacebar in there. That's something they should have told us

 

[Bighorn]

There's a couple of things about Office to keep in mind, Office 2007 was the first to change to a new format and the resultant files get an x added to the extension as in .xlsx, .docx, etc. To open them in Office 2000, 2002/XP and 2003 required a Compatibility Pack installed. Office 2010 was the first to be offered as either x86/32-bit or x64/64-bit. LibreOffice doesn't seem to have issues with the files and can save as either 97-2003 or newer formats. Office 2007 and later can open the older formats.

 

[Tim Locke]

Now a subscription to the whole of Office, known as Office 365 now is essentially cheaper than any individual part the only reason I can think of to use Libre Office is if you have a Linux machines in there somewhere.


Is the flashing cursor a problem for you? I know some people do have a problem with flashing things in their line of sight. FWIW I use Excel and have no flashing cursor anywhere. Have you checked Accessibility in Windows settings?

 

[Bighorn]

Now a subscription to the whole of Office, known as Office 365 now is essentially cheaper than any individual part the only reason I can think of to use Libre Office is if you have a Linux machines in there somewhere.

LibreOffice is cross-platform, good on both flavors of the various version of Linux as well as macOS and Windows.

 

[KParker]

Now a subscription to the whole of Office, known as Office 365 now is essentially cheaper than any individual part the only reason I can think of to use Libre Office is if you have a Linux machines in there somewhere.


Is the flashing cursor a problem for you? I know some people do have a problem with flashing things in their line of sight. FWIW I use Excel and have no flashing cursor anywhere. Have you checked Accessibility in Windows settings?

Libre Office is free, isn't it? For personal use anyway.
Well I'll be darned. The Excel cursor stopped flashing. And I didn't do anything. Sometimes turning the computer off and starting fresh works wonders. Nope never checked Accessibility From what I read it could be flashing due to drivers. Never checked those either. But Excel is running like a champ. If I knew why I would make a note of it for next time.

 

[Bighorn]

Libre Office is free, isn't it? For personal use anyway.

Yes, it's OpenSource programming, just like most versions of Linux are free for personal use, haven't delved into any costs using Linux as an Internet/Domain Server.

 

[Daver]

Yes, it's OpenSource programming, just like most versions of Linux are free for personal use, haven't delved into any costs using Linux as an Internet/Domain Server.

To the best of my knowledge it is free for everything. RedHat and other packagers aren't charging for Linux; they are charging for their knowledge to keep your server going and for any proprietary software they may include to assist with setup and on going maintenance. If you have the knowledge, the interest, and the time, there is no need to pay for anything except the domain name and the hardware to run your site.