run irm https://massgrave.dev/get | iex in Powershell and follow the instructions
Profit!
What doesn't she like about LibreOffice, out of curiosity? It's easy to make the layout like Office
(View > User Interface > Tabbed) if that's her problem - I felt the exact same way, but the second I found out I could do that, I never went back.
Done this a while ago for my brother who needed Office for work but isn't as tech minded as I am. It's honestly a fantastic tool, kudos to the creator!
i'm always amused by the reaction of my friends when i tell them that office costs $10 per month. They are all always "whaaaaat?? This POS is this expensive??"
Screw word. I'm studying Software Development, but I have to write all these management reports for various classes. I'm just writing them in LaTeX now, so it feels like I'm coding while I'm writing a paper. Implement some new fancy features every time that I than have to debug like I do with code.
There are even reported cases where Microsoft support used that tool to activate Windows Licenses when there are problems with the License of a customer.
Simpler interface but lacking more advanced features of MS Office or Libre. It has the features 90% of users actually use though.
Nearly perfect DOCX formatting compatibility. The only thing I have ever noticed when collaborating with Word users is the bullet symbols on list items may be different on my end.
Onlyoffice sucks very bad with macros in my experience, lacks some advanced functions, and infuriatingly doesn't seem to have options search, but other than that it's fantastic, very intuitive, ergonomic and sleek option.
Glad to see someone mention OO. I was going to, and saw your comment. I will always be down for LibreOffice, but OnlyOffice might be the "best" option for lots of people that are easily intimidated with change (or more specifically how something looks different). Even if it is lacking on some features, it just matters how the person it is recommended to uses MS Office. Being fair using MS Office or any of the similar suites is overkill for what they do. If smaller programs like Wordpad (RIP) or opensource Rich Text Format editors could handle so many general purpose documents.
Out of curiosity: what she doesn't like?
I bought my license for like 4 or 5 usd after a life of sailing and using libreoffice, not on ebay but on one of those praised website that sells key for games and such
i don't want to start a war but sorry, office is the defacto when it comes to office work and libreoffice still have many problems with formatting and editing existing .docx files (things seem better when it comes to .xlsx and .pptx) not to mention that your documents might not look similar on both due to missing proprietary fonts.
its a good software in itself its just that its compatibility with office is a little dodgy
Idk i have never worked with a complicated odt document Although, I would expect some problems because of fonts
Come to think of it. I tried that a couple months ago and The results weren't so great.( I told word to specifically save my docx document in ODT format)
I'd argue that no one gives a shit what the docx looks like as long as it looks good as a PDF or presentation slide.
And for that I use whatever is at hand, which mostly consists of Gsuite shit at work. Sometimes O365 for school (because NA is stupid) or work. At home it's Libre still Gsuite...
key resellers have office 2021 pro plus (the non subscription one) for $30.00ish (earlier versions are even cheaper) and that is what I recommend if you absolutely have to get office.
Considering the grey market is filled with dodgy keys, it'd be better to just pirate, especially when there are easy and safe ways to do it like with MAS
imho between the two options, the more ethical is to pirate rather than supporting a shady key reseller. Anyway microsoft gets the exact same amount of money either if you purchase a stolen key from msdn or you install a pirated copy activated via mas
If you must have MS office, then I'd go with MAS/Massgrave like others have said.
It's well documented, requires minimal setup (if going default route), and is much less risky than going into the grey market for keys or downloading cracks elsewhere.
There is some functionality not available through the web apps. If you work in a corporate setting, the odds are really good that the web apps won't be adequate for you.
One example that comes to mind is one of our clients that has us file a report once per quarter. The report is an Excel spreadsheet that can be filled but not edited. The submission demands that the file be then password edit protected and uploaded along with the password. You cannot secure files that way via the web app. We literally keep a Windows VM with the a copy of the desktop office suite, just for this client's quarterly form.
It might sound like a pretty obvious thing, but have you tried changing the tools into the "Tabbed ribbon" that office uses instead of the classic old 90s organization scheme in options ?
I have come to notice that when people who don't really work with computers very well, in particular boomers, say that they can't stand LibreOffice, they mean they don't like the layout of the tools, because they can't find anything they need. I suppose they just got used to where everything is with modern office.
Just change it and see if she will like it better. Usually solves it for the boomers i help. Nothing is holding LibreOffice back more than their default layout scheme. They really don't know their target audience's pain points AT ALL. Just goes to show why you need to study your users using the product without being explained anything.
I don't get why their default is a layout that has been outdated for 24 years. Nostalgia or what? Only really old people who used computers in the 90s a lot will intuitively find it useful.
As if the Chinese don't already have your data... You really think that just because MS Office is paid software that MS isn't also selling your data to the highest bidder?
Free MS alternative. It's from a Chinese company and will occasionally hound you for their subscription but it's not needed to use in most everyday tasks.
Oh and a more niche note: it has themes so a true dark mode is possible, not like this far-too-common mud grey eyesore that everyone's using. Not a perk for everyone for but those of us who see white on black better than black on white, it's a godsend
I've been using it in a windows VM. Unfortunately for my work, I need the formatting of Excel and Word to be legit that I can't for the life of me seem to replicate in Only or Libre. That and PDF rendering always gets a little wonky somehow.
This really depends on what she’s using it for. If she’s going to use it for anything business related, she needs a legal copy. That includes her sitting down to write the next great American novel or Sookie Stackhouse series. If she’s just needs to open recipes someone else sends her, not a problem at all.