Chapter 1 · 1.1
Switching from Microsoft Office: LibreOffice and Euro-Office side by side
Do you currently work with Word, Excel and PowerPoint and want to switch to European, open software? Then you have two tools that complement each other well: LibreOffice on your own computer and Euro-Office in your WebOké Nextcloud. This manual shows you, task by task, how to do the things you know from Word or Excel, always in both.
Two tools, each with its own role
| LibreOffice | Euro-Office | |
|---|---|---|
| Where does it run? | As a program on your own computer (Windows, Mac, Linux) | In your browser, in your WebOké Nextcloud. Also as a program (Nextcloud Office) and in the Nextcloud app |
| Components | Writer (text), Calc (spreadsheets), Impress (presentations), Draw (drawing and PDF) | Text documents, spreadsheets, presentations and PDF |
| Native format | odt, ods and odp (OpenDocument). Also works with docx, xlsx and pptx | docx, xlsx and pptx. Also works with odt, ods and odp |
| Working together in one document at the same time | No, you work alone | Yes, with colleagues at the same time, and everything is stored in your Nextcloud |
| Without internet | Yes | No, except in the Nextcloud Office program with files on your computer |
| Cost and licence | Free, open source, made by The Document Foundation | Part of your WebOké Nextcloud with an Office licence |
When do you use which?
- Working on a document together, or being able to reach your files anywhere: use Euro-Office in your Nextcloud. There is only one version, and it is stored safely in your own cloud.
- Working alone on your computer, without internet, or doing something the browser can't, such as creating a PDF form from a text document or converting lots of old files in one go: use LibreOffice.
- You can easily use them side by side. What to watch out for is explained in Combining LibreOffice on your computer with Euro-Office in the cloud.
What's in this manual?
- Chapters 1 and 2: the names, installation, and what happens to your existing docx, xlsx and pptx files.
- Chapters 3 to 6: tasks from Word, Excel and PowerPoint, such as a single landscape page, a table of contents, mail merge, a pivot table and editing a PDF.
- Chapter 7: working together via your Nextcloud.
Everything about Euro-Office itself, with screenshots of every button, is in the Euro-Office manual. Here, for Euro-Office, you'll always find the short route and a link to the detailed article.
Tip: want to know the background first, such as what docx and odt actually are and how to choose an online office? Then read Office formats: OOXML, ODF and PDF and Choosing an online office: Euro-Office, ONLYOFFICE and Collabora in the European cloud course.
The LibreOffice menu names in this manual are those of the English version 26.8. In an older version, a menu may have a slightly different name.