Softmaker FreeOffice

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Midas
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Re: Softmaker FreeOffice

#31 Post by Midas »

Can't really tell -- the version I have here is installed and I don't have my portable drive with me, ATM... :?

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smaragdus
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Re: Softmaker FreeOffice

#32 Post by smaragdus »

@Midas
This FreeOffice at least looks far better than the M$ monstrosity (I am proud I have never had it on my machines- in fact when it comes pre-installed it is one of my first tasks to remove it).
Once I had OpenOffice but I don't really need an office package- without an office the only thing I can't do is view the reports of clipboard managers/text editors/file managers performance tests one user here at the forum creates. I don't like proprietary formats like DOC and DOCX so I avoid them but when it's not possible I use the commercial Atlantis Word Processor to open them. I am curious- have you ever used LyX?

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Midas
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Re: Softmaker FreeOffice

#33 Post by Midas »

smaragdus wrote:I am curious- have you ever used LyX?
Been meaning to for ages, but never really got down to it. Sadly, there's very little opportunity for it in my context -- most of the documents I have to deal with are either in MS Office formats or PDF.

Discounting that, I'm a plain text die-hard -- with Markdown and CSV as my top favorites... :roll:

freakazoid
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Re: Softmaker FreeOffice

#34 Post by freakazoid »

smaragdus wrote:@Midas
Thank you for your response. I am curious- does the info in the sidebar (FreeOffice information) disappear in your portable installation too or this occurs on my machine only? This happens with both versions of FreeOffice I have (Rev 698 & Rev 703, the latter seems to be the latest).
Should probably report this to Softmaker as a bug.
is it stealth? ;)

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Ennovy
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Re: Softmaker FreeOffice

#35 Post by Ennovy »

FreeOffice 2016 has arrived: http://www.freeoffice.com/en/discover/f ... dows-linux
The new FreeOffice 2016 is out –
get the most powerful free Office suite for Windows and Linux!
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We have good news today! FreeOffice 2016 has been released today. It is available free of charge and comes with many new features. To name just a few:
• Now based on the same technology as SoftMaker Office 2016
• The file filters have become even better, making FreeOffice more compatible than ever before
• Enhanced PDF export (now also with comments, PDF tags, etc.)
• EPUB export for creating e-Books
• Pivot tables, worksheets with 1 million rows
• Animations and slide transitions using DirectX graphics acceleration
• Support for 4K screens and touch monitors
• ... and much more!
Get it now for free:
http://www.freeoffice.com

freakazoid
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Re: Softmaker FreeOffice

#36 Post by freakazoid »

Thanks for the update, Ennovy!

I just downloaded it, but haven't installed it yet. Filesize for the installer is 73.4 MB. This probably means that the uncompressed filesize for FreeOffice is going to be substantially larger.

I remember FreeOffice 2012 being quite small.
is it stealth? ;)

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smaragdus
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Re: Softmaker FreeOffice

#37 Post by smaragdus »

@freakazoid
Should probably report this to Softmaker as a bug.
If what I experienced was a bug it is no longer present in SoftMaker FreeOffice 2016 (Rev 755).
Thanks for the update, Ennovy!

I just downloaded it, but haven't installed it yet. Filesize for the installer is 73.4 MB. This probably means that the uncompressed filesize for FreeOffice is going to be substantially larger.

I remember FreeOffice 2012 being quite small.
SoftMaker FreeOffice Rev 703- installer- about 59 MB, unpacked- about 61 MB.
SoftMaker FreeOffice Rev 755- installer- about 75 MB, unpacked- about 78 MB.

The most important new feature (for me) seems to be Export to EPUB:

A screen-shot of a simple document exported to EPUB (without almost any editing):
2016-04-19 02_14_12-CoolReader.png
However TextMaker doesn't seem to be able to save files as DOCX- please correct me if I am wrong.

@Ennovy
Thank you very much for the notification.

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Ennovy
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Re: Softmaker FreeOffice

#38 Post by Ennovy »

smaragdus wrote: TextMaker doesn't seem to be able to save files as DOCX- please correct me if I am wrong.
Here are the differences between the free and the standard version: http://www.freeoffice.com/en/discover/f ... comparison
FreeOffice reads the modern Microsoft formats DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX seamlessly – SoftMaker Office can also save in these formats
smaragdus wrote:Thank you very much for the notification.
Your welcome.

I use this software for many years now (the standard version) and I love it.

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smaragdus
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Re: Softmaker FreeOffice

#39 Post by smaragdus »

@Ennovy
Thanks for the comparison. I rarely edit office files but Softmaker FreeOffice is definitely a keeper, small package, nice GUI, portable. They might have allowed saving DOCX files in the free version but anyway I can do that via the cheap commercial Atlantis Word Processor.

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Midas
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Re: Softmaker FreeOffice

#40 Post by Midas »

smaragdus wrote:They might have allowed saving DOCX files in the free version...
In case anyone knows, didn't the 2012 version permit that? I have no relevant file to test ATM...

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webfork
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Re: Softmaker FreeOffice

#41 Post by webfork »

Midas wrote:
smaragdus wrote:They might have allowed saving DOCX files in the free version...
  • In case anyone knows, didn't the 2012 version permit that? I have no relevant file to test ATM...
I don't know if this helps but I have an older version of FreeOffice (which is just a rebranding of Softmaker) rev.698. It will open but does not let you save to DOCX.
smaragdus wrote:... does the info in the sidebar (FreeOffice information) disappear in your portable installation too or this occurs on my machine only?
I'll try to check this. I'd very much like to switch the old SoftMaker 2006 entry (obviously now 10 years old) to something more current.

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webfork
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Re: Softmaker FreeOffice

#42 Post by webfork »

webfork wrote:
smaragdus wrote:... does the info in the sidebar (FreeOffice information) disappear in your portable installation too or this occurs on my machine only?
I'll try to check this. I'd very much like to switch the old SoftMaker 2006 entry (obviously now 10 years old) to something more current.
I unfortunately couldn't get the sidebar tested. Notes:
  • You cannot uniextract the program and installation of course requires Admin
  • The program requires registration, which means -- barring policy change -- it's not eligible for entry into the database Edit: It also requires an Internet connection so the code isn't enough, it's got to phone home.
  • As usual, there's that same USBCopy.exe file in the root folder but you have to register the program before you can run it.
---

Related: FreeOffice review: http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/83349.html ... Note that the article claims that the program is open source but I couldn't find any data on that.

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smaragdus
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Re: Softmaker FreeOffice

#43 Post by smaragdus »

SoftMaker FreeOffice 2016 at revision 758 (758.0625). I consider this office package adware- one can hide the sidebar but on next start it shows up again and it is displaying ads:


Image


For me this is distracting and nasty. If someone is aware of a way to permanently hide this abominable sidebar please let me know.

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Midas
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Re: Softmaker FreeOffice

#44 Post by Midas »

Topic update: SoftMaker FreeOffice is currently v2016 rev 758 (no separate changelog found for free version; commercial version changelog is at http://www.softmaker.com/en/servicepacks-office-windows and http://www.softmaker.com/en/servicepack ... -revisions).

I'm still on SoftMaker Office 2012 (rev 698, but I see an update servicepack available for rev 702 at http://www.softmaker.com/en/servicepacks-softmaker-old) which never displayed that grantedly annoying banner ad found by smaragdus.

BTW, the older discussion of SoftMaker FreeOffice at "Submissions" is at viewtopic.php?t=3938.

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Ennovy
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Re: Softmaker FreeOffice

#45 Post by Ennovy »

It's the annual Softmaker Christmas download offer, with a donation to charity for each download

FreeOffice 2016 for Windows
FreeOffice 2016 for Linux
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http://www.loadandhelp.com/en/

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