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Immediately available for Linux, MacOS X and Windows
Berlin, February 10, 2016 - The Document Foundation announces
LibreOffice 5.1, a full featured open source office suite which compares
head-to-head with every product in the same category, while standing out
with superior interoperability features.
LibreOffice 5.1 offers a completely reorganized user interface, and
several improved features targeted at enterprise deployments: better
support for ODF 1.2, interoperability with proprietary document formats
and file management on remote servers.
LibreOffice has been downloaded 120 million times since the launch in
January 2011. The office suite is deployed by large organizations in
every continent, with the latest addition being the Italian Defense
Staff with over 100,000 desktops.
LibreOffice 5.1 Highlights
User Interface: LibreOffice 5.1's user interface has been completely
reorganized, to provide faster and more convenient access to its most
used features. A new menu has been added to each of the applications:
Style (Writer), Sheet (Calc) and Slide (Impress and Draw). In addition,
several icons and menu commands have been repositioned based on user
preferences.
Interoperability: Compatibility with proprietary document formats has
been improved, as a part of the ongoing effort for a better
interoperability with other productivity software. In addition, filters
have been added for Apple Keynote 6, Microsoft Write and Gnumeric files.
Spreadsheet Functions: Calc's formula engine has been improved with
features addressing restrictions in table structured references and
sticky column/row anchors, interoperability with OOXML spreadsheets and
compatibility with ODF 1.2
File Access on Remote Servers: Files on remote file servers such as
Sharepoint, Google Drive and Alfresco can now be accessed from the File
menu, with read and write options, without the need of a dialog window.
A complete list of the most significant new features is available in a
separate document (http://www.vignoli.org/ftp/tdf-lo51features.pdf), and
on the website at http://www.libreoffice.org/discover/new-features/.
Short videos presenting the most significant new features for Writer,
Calc and Impress are available at:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0pdzjvYW9RHSwdRnZfaxAWICrkBrQl7k.
LibreOffice 5.1 has also been improved "under the hood," thanks to the
work of hundreds of volunteers. This translates into an open source
office suite which is easier to develop, maintain and debug. Although
this is not visible to users, it is extremely important for enterprise
deployments.
"LibreOffice 5.1 is another step forward to fulfilling our vision of an
office suite tailored on user needs and preferences", says Bjoern
Michaelsen, a Director at The Document Foundation (TDF) and a leading
LibreOffice developer. "Since 2010, we have gone through different
development cycles to clean up the code and make it more responsive. We
are now at a stage where we are close to providing a better user interface."
"LibreOffice's third development cycle is leading us to a new user
interface concept, where the user will be able to choose the best layout
of the elements on the screen for his own needs, to leverage desktop
space in the best way" adds Jan Holesovsky, a Director at TDF, and a
member of the design team.
Availability and enterprise deployments
LibreOffice 5.1 represents the bleeding edge in term of features for
open source office suites, and as such is targeted at technology
enthusiasts, early adopters and power users.
For enterprise class deployments, TDF maintains the more mature 5.0.x
branch (soon at 5.0.5). In any case, TDF suggests deploying or migrating
to LibreOffice with the backing of certified professionals providing
Level 3 support, migration consultancy or trainings according to
recognized best practices
(http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/professional-support/).
LibreOffice 5.1 is immediately available from the following link:
http://www.libreoffice.org/download/. LibreOffice users, free software
advocates and all community members can support The Document Foundation
with a donation at http://donate.libreoffice.org.
Launch Pack and Screenshots
The launch pack, with background documents and high resolution images,
can be downloaded from: http://www.vignoli.org/ftp/lo51launchkit.zip.
Windows 10 screenshots can be downloaded from:
http://www.vignoli.org/ftp/lo51screenshots.zip.
Link to blog post: http://blog.documentfoundation.org/blog/2016/02/10/
the-document-foundation-announces-libreoffice-5-1