LibreOffice 7.4 arrives, a new version of the open and free suite

August 19, 2022

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LibreOffice 7.4 Community is the new version of the open source productivity and collaboration suite, and it comes with improvements in various sections, bug fixes, the introduction of minor productivity-focused features in all its applications, new visual modes for Windows 10 and 11 and of course, better interoperability with Microsoft Office.

LibreOffice is the best local installation alternative to Microsoft Office. Created to keep the OpenOffice project alive once it fell into the hands of Oracle after the purchase of Sun Microsystems, It is an open source development and totally free. Available in 120 languages, it has versions for Linux, Windows, and macOS, and is compatible with a wide variety of hardware architectures.

Technically compatible with Microsoft Office file format, the process has been improving since the release of major version 7.0. It has built-in tools to create complex documents, books and web pages and hundreds of templates and extensions available to extend its functionality. In addition to Writer, Calc, and Impress, for text documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, LibreOffice includes other office applications such as Draw (diagrams), Base (databases), and Math (advanced formulas).

LibreOffice 7.4, what’s new

Those responsible for the suite say that its development has focused on interoperability with proprietary Microsoft file formatsY “many of the new features are aimed at users migrating from MS Office”they explain in the release announcement.

Elaborating on the above, it should be noted that LibreOffice offers the highest level of compatibility in the market segment of office suites, with native support for the OpenDocument format (ODF) -which surpasses proprietary formats in terms of security and robustness- , with superior support for MS Office files, with “filters for a large number of legacy document formats, and returning ownership and control to users”.

The new features of LibreOffice 7.4 Community have been developed by 147 contributors. 72% of code submissions come from the 52 developers employed by three companies that are part of the TDF Advisory Council -Colabora, Red Hat and allotropia- or from other organizations (including The Document Foundation), and 28% from 95 individual volunteers. To all of them are added the 528 volunteers who have provided localizations in 158 languages.

Libre Office 7.4