When comparing LibreOffice Writer vs Apache OpenOffice, the Slant community recommends LibreOffice Writer for most people. In the question“What are the best cross-platform writing apps?” LibreOffice Writer is ranked 14th while Apache OpenOffice is ranked 20th. The most important reason people chose LibreOffice Writer is:
Unlike command line editors, Writer doesn't require learning special keybindings or memorizing specific commands. Every option and setting is available at the click of a button!
Specs
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Pros
Pro Mouse-friendly interface
Unlike command line editors, Writer doesn't require learning special keybindings or memorizing specific commands. Every option and setting is available at the click of a button!
Pro Familiar interface
The GUI is reminiscent of Microsoft Word and just as easy, if not easier, to use.
Pro WYSIWYG
What you see is what you get when you hit print!
Pro Really fast
Pro Easy to use
Pro Open source
Pro Free, open source and cross-platform
Licensed under Apache License. OpenOffice is available on Windows, Mac OS, and *nix systems.
Pro Multilingual
OpenOffice is available in 170+ languages.
Cons
Con Not as powerful as command line editors
This is true of any GUI WYSIWYG editor as it simply isn't possible to match the efficiency and utility of a CLI editor with an interface intended for mouse control.
Con Terrible image handling
Arranging images is nigh impossible.
Con Obtuse UI / UX / menus
Con Limited extensibility
Not many cool or interesting plugins are available.
Con Not as Good as the Windows Version
Glitchy, adds more spaces when indenting but you can't fix it as it just keeps doing it. Can't wrap text around tables but Windows version can. Both versions won't place page count outside margins where it belongs.
Con Poor compatibility with Microsoft Office compared with LibreOffice
Con Documentation is lacking
OpenOffice documentation is incomplete and language is highly technical.