LibreOffice has many useful features, but you can add even more. Much like Firefox add-ons or Chrome extensions, you can add extensions to LibreOffice to expand its capabilities.
For example, there are extensions that add an enhanced Find & Replace dialog box for Writer (AltSearch), a grammar checker for Writer (Lightproof), a Calendar for Calc, a floating Search window in Calc, and the ability to perform calculations directly in a Writer document (iMath). There are also some extensions built-in to the base installation of LibreOffice.
We’ll add the AltSearch extensions to LibreOffice Writer to enhance the Find & Replace dialog box as an example to show you how to install, set up, and use an extension in LibreOffice. There are many available extensions, some that work in all LibreOffice programs and some that are for specific programs, and we’ll show you where to browse and download extensions designed for LibreOffice.
To begin, if you’re going to install an extension for a specific LibreOffice program, open that program. Otherwise, you can open any of the programs. We’re going to use Writer for our example, so we’ll open Writer. Then, go to Tools > Extension Manager.
NOTE: The Extension Manager is the same in all LibreOffice programs, so you can add extensions, even program-specific ones, from within any LibreOffice program. However, in order to test and use a program-specific extension, you need to be in the program for which it was created.
To browse and download extensions for LibreOffice, visit the LibreOffice Extension Center. You can also access the Extension Center by clicking the “Get more extensions online” link on the Extension Manager dialog box.
NOTE: Some extensions have a warning on their page on the Extension Center saying, “This product has not had a release in over 1 year and may no longer be maintained.” This doesn’t necessarily mean you shouldn’t use the extension. The AltSearch extension has that message, but seems to work fine. If the extension works and does what you want it to do, go ahead and use it. The Extension Center is an official LibreOffice website, so extensions downloaded from that site should work and be free of viruses or malware. However, we still recommend you scan the downloaded files with your favorite antivirus program to be safe.
If you click the link on the Extension Manager dialog box to access the Extension Center, you’ll arrive on the Home page for the center. Click the “Extensions” button at the top of the page to access the list of extensions and a search tool for finding specific types of extensions or extensions for a specific LibreOffice program or for a specific version of LibreOffice.
Once you’ve found an extension you want to install, download it (it’ll be in the .oxt file format), then go back to the Extension Manager dialog box and click “Add”.
On the Add Extension(s) dialog box, navigate to where you saved your downloaded extension, select the .oxt file, and click “Open”.
Decide for whom you want to install the extension on your computer, for all users or only for yourself, and click the appropriate button.
Some extensions may have a License Agreement you have to accept. If you see the following dialog box, click “Accept” to continue installing the extension.
The extension is added to the list on the Extension Manager dialog box. Clicking on the newly installed extension reveals two buttons allowing you to Disable or Remove the extension.
You can disable or remove an extension with the respective buttons. If an extension has additional options you can set, when you select that extension, you’ll see an Options button you can click to change various settings for that extension.
If you’re finished installing and managing extensions, click “Close”.
Using the extension depends on the extension you installed. Some extensions add a toolbar of their own to the toolbar area, some add an item to a menu, and some do both. For some extensions, there is a description on the extension’s web page in the Extension Center that will describe how to access and use it. However, not all extensions have instructions on how to find the menu item or toolbar that was added for the extension. You may have to go searching for the command to use the extension.
For the AltSearch extension, a toolbar with a single button will be added to the toolbar area at the top of the Writer window. You could also go to Tools > Add-Ons > Alternative searching to access the extension. For this extension, the original Find & Replace dialog box is still available by going to Edit > Find & Replace.
If the extensions in your list are being actively maintained, there may be updates to them. To check if any of the extensions have been updated, click “Check for updates”.
The Extension Update dialog box opens and a “Checking” message displays in the upper-right corner.
In our case, there were no updates available. If any of your extensions have available updates, they will be listed in the Available extension updates box, where you can select each one and click “Install” to update them. Click “Close” when you’re done updating the extensions.
Extensions serve to make the LibreOffice suite even more useful, and a very viable alternative to Microsoft Office. Feel free to browse through the long list of extensions and see what catches your eye.
LibreOffice actually already has extensive features. In case you can’t find the feature you need, you can add one by installing an extension. For instance, you can install Code Highlighter to highlight programming code in LibreOffice Writer. By default, LibreOffice has no feature to allow you doing so.
Installing extensions in LibreOffice is extremely easy. LibreOffice comes with an extension manager which you can find under the Tools menu. LibreOffice extension itself is available in the OXT format. You can get a LibreOffice extension on the official extension directory of LibreOffice.
To install a LibreOffice extension, download the OXT file of the extension you want to install. Once downloaded, open LibreOffice and go to Tools -> Extension Manager (Ctrl+Alt+E).
Click the Add button on the Extension Manager window and select the OXT file of the extension you want to install.
In most cases, you will be prompted to accept the user agreement. Simply accept the agreement to continue. Once the extension is installed, restart your LibreOffice to apply the change.
Before installing certain extension, make sure to read the requirements of the extension you want to install as some extensions require dependencies to work.
LibreOffice actually already has extensive features. In case you can’t find the feature you need, you can add one by installing an extension. For instance, you can install Code Highlighter to highlight programming code in LibreOffice Writer. By default, LibreOffice has no feature to allow you doing so.
Installing extensions in LibreOffice is extremely easy. LibreOffice comes with an extension manager which you can find under the Tools menu. LibreOffice extension itself is available in the OXT format. You can get a LibreOffice extension on the official extension directory of LibreOffice.
To install a LibreOffice extension, download the OXT file of the extension you want to install. Once downloaded, open LibreOffice and go to Tools -> Extension Manager (Ctrl+Alt+E).
Click the Add button on the Extension Manager window and select the OXT file of the extension you want to install.
In most cases, you will be prompted to accept the user agreement. Simply accept the agreement to continue. Once the extension is installed, restart your LibreOffice to apply the change.
Before installing certain extension, make sure to read the requirements of the extension you want to install as some extensions require dependencies to work.
You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience.
- Discover
- What is LibreOffice?
- LibreOffice Technology
- New Features
- Writer – word processor
- Calc – spreadsheet
- Impress – presentations
- Draw – diagrams
- Base – database
- Math – formula editor
- Charts
- What is OpenDocument?
- LibreOffice vs OpenOffice
- Templates & Extensions
- Who uses LibreOffice?
- Screenshots
- Download
- Download LibreOffice
- Business users: click here
- LibreOffice for Android and iOS
- App Stores and Chromebooks
- Release Notes
- Development versions
- Portable versions
- LibreOffice as Flatpak
- LibreOffice as Snap
- LibreOffice as AppImage
- LibreOffice Impress Remote
- LibreOffice Online
- Get Help
- Feedback
- Community Assistance
- Documentation
- Nabble Forums
- Installation Instructions
- Professional Support
- System Requirements
- Accessibility
- Mailing Lists
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Improve it
- Join us – start here!
- What can you do for LibreOffice?
- Design
- Developers
- Docs Team
- Infrastructure
- Localization
- Marketing
- Native-Lang Projects
- Testing – QA
- Wiki
- Community map
- Grant Request
- Events
- About Us
- Who are we?
- Governance
- Advisory Board Members
- LibreOffice Certification
- Licenses
- Source Code
- Security
- Imprint
- Credits
- LibreOffice Timeline
- Privacy Policy
- Foundation’s Reports
- Merchandise
- Read our blog
- Donate
- Get Help /
- Installation Instructions
Installation Instructions
LibreOffice is easy to install.
Please check these step-by-step instructions for the following operating systems or computing environments:
LibreOffice has many useful features, but you can add even more. Much like Firefox add-ons or Chrome extensions, you can add extensions to LibreOffice to expand its capabilities.
For example, there are extensions that add an enhanced Find & Replace dialog box for Writer (AltSearch), a grammar checker for Writer (Lightproof), a Calendar for Calc, a floating Search window in Calc, and the ability to perform calculations directly in a Writer document (iMath). There are also some extensions built-in to the base installation of LibreOffice.
We’ll add the AltSearch extensions to LibreOffice Writer to enhance the Find & Replace dialog box as an example to show you how to install, set up, and use an extension in LibreOffice. There are many available extensions, some that work in all LibreOffice programs and some that are for specific programs, and we’ll show you where to browse and download extensions designed for LibreOffice.
To begin, if you’re going to install an extension for a specific LibreOffice program, open that program. Otherwise, you can open any of the programs. We’re going to use Writer for our example, so we’ll open Writer. Then, go to Tools > Extension Manager.
NOTE: The Extension Manager is the same in all LibreOffice programs, so you can add extensions, even program-specific ones, from within any LibreOffice program. However, in order to test and use a program-specific extension, you need to be in the program for which it was created.
To browse and download extensions for LibreOffice, visit the LibreOffice Extension Center. You can also access the Extension Center by clicking the “Get more extensions online” link on the Extension Manager dialog box.
NOTE: Some extensions have a warning on their page on the Extension Center saying, “This product has not had a release in over 1 year and may no longer be maintained.” This doesn’t necessarily mean you shouldn’t use the extension. The AltSearch extension has that message, but seems to work fine. If the extension works and does what you want it to do, go ahead and use it. The Extension Center is an official LibreOffice website, so extensions downloaded from that site should work and be free of viruses or malware. However, we still recommend you scan the downloaded files with your favorite antivirus program to be safe.
If you click the link on the Extension Manager dialog box to access the Extension Center, you’ll arrive on the Home page for the center. Click the “Extensions” button at the top of the page to access the list of extensions and a search tool for finding specific types of extensions or extensions for a specific LibreOffice program or for a specific version of LibreOffice.
Once you’ve found an extension you want to install, download it (it’ll be in the .oxt file format), then go back to the Extension Manager dialog box and click “Add”.
On the Add Extension(s) dialog box, navigate to where you saved your downloaded extension, select the .oxt file, and click “Open”.
Decide for whom you want to install the extension on your computer, for all users or only for yourself, and click the appropriate button.
Some extensions may have a License Agreement you have to accept. If you see the following dialog box, click “Accept” to continue installing the extension.
The extension is added to the list on the Extension Manager dialog box. Clicking on the newly installed extension reveals two buttons allowing you to Disable or Remove the extension.
You can disable or remove an extension with the respective buttons. If an extension has additional options you can set, when you select that extension, you’ll see an Options button you can click to change various settings for that extension.
If you’re finished installing and managing extensions, click “Close”.
Using the extension depends on the extension you installed. Some extensions add a toolbar of their own to the toolbar area, some add an item to a menu, and some do both. For some extensions, there is a description on the extension’s web page in the Extension Center that will describe how to access and use it. However, not all extensions have instructions on how to find the menu item or toolbar that was added for the extension. You may have to go searching for the command to use the extension.
For the AltSearch extension, a toolbar with a single button will be added to the toolbar area at the top of the Writer window. You could also go to Tools > Add-Ons > Alternative searching to access the extension. For this extension, the original Find & Replace dialog box is still available by going to Edit > Find & Replace.
If the extensions in your list are being actively maintained, there may be updates to them. To check if any of the extensions have been updated, click “Check for updates”.
The Extension Update dialog box opens and a “Checking” message displays in the upper-right corner.
In our case, there were no updates available. If any of your extensions have available updates, they will be listed in the Available extension updates box, where you can select each one and click “Install” to update them. Click “Close” when you’re done updating the extensions.
Extensions serve to make the LibreOffice suite even more useful, and a very viable alternative to Microsoft Office. Feel free to browse through the long list of extensions and see what catches your eye.
LibreOffice is a free and open-source office suite with a clean interface and feature-rich tools helping people to unleash their creativity and enhance their productivity using by millions of people globally.
The open-source office suite has many applications that will make your documents look professional and clean, regardless of the purpose: a letter, a master thesis, a brochure, financial reports, marketing presentations, technical drawings and diagrams.
LibreOffice will make your work look great while you focus on the content. It is compatible with a wide range of document formats such as; Microsoft® Word (.doc, .docx), Excel (.xls, .xlsx), PowerPoint (.ppt, .pptx) and Publisher.
Beyond many features shipped by default, LibreOffice is easily extensible through its powerful extensions mechanisms. The ree and open source office suite are available for everyone to use, share and modify, and produced by a worldwide community of hundreds of developers.
LibreOffice is a successor to OpenOffice.org which in turn was based on StarOffice. LibreOffice is by far the most active continuation of the OpenOffice.org codebase, with releases every six months and hundreds of contributors.
Table of Contents
Some of LibreOffice Built-In Extension to Enhance your Productivity
Page Numbering Addon: This plugin, or by LO/OO terminology add-on(an extension that includes any kind of UI implementation/customization), includes the following features:
- Add page numbering without taking the page-break system into account
- Although Page Breaks are an intuitive and effective approach for document layout and styling, users migrating from Microsoft Office suites find it more than difficult to understand)
- Configure styling options such as Font, Character height, Alignment and page position (Header/Footer)
- Page offset and First page options
- Numbering type selection such as Roman, Arabic or Greek
- Multiple Page numbering setups per document
- Compatibility with all modern LibreOffice/OpenOffice versions
Zotero LibreOffice Integration: This integration makes it possible to insert citations and bibliography entries into LibreOffice Writer documents in thousands of different bibliography styles. This is a free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, cite, and share your research sources. It lives right where you do your work in the web browser itself.
Zotero LibreOffice integration also allows users to insert citations directly from their word processing software. This makes citing multiple pages, sources, or otherwise customizing citations a breeze. In-text citations, footnotes and endnotes are all supported.
Writer2ePub: This is an extension for OpenOffice.org or LibreOffice which allows you to create an ePub file from any file format that Writer can read. The extension allows you to create an ePub file from any file format that Writer can read.
Users can easily generate an ePub of professional quality that you can edit with the appropriate ePub-authoring tools later. Moreover, W2E fixes several formatting errors and generates by default a logical layout, in line with the traditional editorial standards.
W2E is an ePub file creator. It allows you to easily create an ePub file of high quality, at code-level and as a typographic result. You do not need to worry about editing and typesetting anymore!
Main Features of W2E
- Generated code (XHTML, CSS and XML) is extremely clean and simple
- The final ePub is very easy to edit with ePub editors like Sigil
- High compatible with the most common eReader programs/platforms: iPad, Adobe Digital Editions
- Automatic correction of wrong formatting
- Metadata can be managed with simplicity and flexibility.
A beginner might want to use W2E as a simple file converter. To obtain a good ePub file, you just need to open any file that can be read by Writer (OO or LibO) and click a button. Also, advanced users can profit from W2E. In fact, they will get a validated ePub, ready to enter further processing stages, being sure that it will be compatible with nearly all the devices on the market.
Anaphraseus: This is a Computer-Aided Translation (CAT) tool macro set similar to famous Wordfast. It works with the Wordfast Translation Memory format (*.TXT) and supports text segmentation.
Features
- Term Recognition, fuzzy (unexact) search.
- TMX Export/Import (OmegaT translation memory format).
- Plain text and Unicode UTF-16 TM, Glossary.
- User Glossary.
- Ready for localization (already have 19 languages interface).
- Querying online translation engines: Google – Translator, Microsoft Bing etc.
- LibreOffice integration.
How to Install LibreOffice Extensions
- Download an extension and save it anywhere on your computer.
- In LibreOffice, select Tools –> Extension Manager from the menu bar.
- In the Extension Manager dialogue click Add.
- A file browser window opens. Navigate to the folder where you saved the LibreOffice extension file(s) on your system. The extension’s files have the file extension ‘OXT’.
- Find and select the extension you want to install and click Open.
- If this extension is already installed, you’ll be prompted to press OK to confirm whether to overwrite the current version by the new one, or press Cancel to stop the installation.
- After you are asked whether to install the extension only for your user or for all users. If you choose the Only for me option, the extension will be installed only for your user. If you choose For all users, you need system administrator rights. In this case, the extension will be available for all users. In general, choose Only for me, that doesn’t require administration rights on the operating system.
If you are a technology enthusiast, early adopter or power user, the latest version of LibreOffice is for you. Please choose this version if you deploy LibreOffice in an enterprise or corporate environment or you are a conservative user.
You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience.
- Discover
- What is LibreOffice?
- LibreOffice Technology
- New Features
- Writer – word processor
- Calc – spreadsheet
- Impress – presentations
- Draw – diagrams
- Base – database
- Math – formula editor
- Charts
- What is OpenDocument?
- LibreOffice vs OpenOffice
- Templates & Extensions
- Who uses LibreOffice?
- Screenshots
- Download
- Download LibreOffice
- Business users: click here
- LibreOffice for Android and iOS
- App Stores and Chromebooks
- Release Notes
- Development versions
- Portable versions
- LibreOffice as Flatpak
- LibreOffice as Snap
- LibreOffice as AppImage
- LibreOffice Impress Remote
- LibreOffice Online
- Get Help
- Feedback
- Community Assistance
- Documentation
- Nabble Forums
- Installation Instructions
- Professional Support
- System Requirements
- Accessibility
- Mailing Lists
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Improve it
- Join us – start here!
- What can you do for LibreOffice?
- Design
- Developers
- Docs Team
- Infrastructure
- Localization
- Marketing
- Native-Lang Projects
- Testing – QA
- Wiki
- Community map
- Grant Request
- Events
- About Us
- Who are we?
- Governance
- Advisory Board Members
- LibreOffice Certification
- Licenses
- Source Code
- Security
- Imprint
- Credits
- LibreOffice Timeline
- Privacy Policy
- Foundation’s Reports
- Merchandise
- Read our blog
- Donate
- Get Help /
- Installation Instructions
Installation Instructions
LibreOffice is easy to install.
Please check these step-by-step instructions for the following operating systems or computing environments:
LibreOffice is an open source Office Suite, an excellent alternative to MS Office. If offers a number of features and the added functionalities in the form of extensions. Here are some of the useful extensions for LibreOffice.
1) iMath: Many computer users know how to use Excel or spreadsheets for carrying out different calculations using formulas, but iMath helps carrying out numeric and symbolic calculations inside a Writer document.
2) Clipart gallery of puzzle shapes: With this extension a new theme named “Puzzle 3-4-6-o” is created in LibreOffice that adds 60 puzzle shapes like triangles, squares, hexagons, and circles. The shapes are in vector graphic format allowing you to change border or filling and magnify. Almost all the possible shapes are given; just rotate them to obtain the shape you want.
3) EPC: This small extension for LibreOffice offers elements required for drawing event-driven process chains. It works best in Draw if you have enabled grid and connectors.
4) Clipart gallery of danger signs: This is a big extension that integrates four themes to your existing gallery in LibreOffice. It carries more than 400 cliparts all related to security at work. All the cliparts are in vector graphics format so there is no loss of clarity even if you magnify them. In Draw you can also modify cliparts or retrieve parts of them.
5) AddPics: If you have the pictures or images or the scanned pages, AddPics can help you create the documents from them. For all the documents created you get correct page orientation, whether portrait or landscape.
6) TexMaths: This is very useful extension for engineers and all those who have to work on the equations. TexMaths is the LaTeX equation editor for LibreOffice. TexMaths enables adding LaTeX equations in the form of images (SVG or PNG format). The LaTeX code is saved in the image for further editing it any time. Ex: x(t) = mu ^2 (t) should produce the equation x(t)=µ²(t)
7) Export as images: This is a very useful extension to convert all the Impress slides or pages created in Draw into images of format like JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP, and TIFF. After installing this extension you will be able to see option “Export as images…” in the File menu. You can select the image format, size of the image and other parameters.
8) OpenOffice.org2GoogleDocs – export & import to Google Docs, Zoho, WebDAV: This extension enables you to export, import and edit your files from Google Docs, Zoho and WebDAV servers. The files can be documents, spreadsheets and presentations.
9) SmART Gallery: This is another very useful extension, the advanced version of previously known Diagram for both, LibreOffice as well as Open Office. By using this extension you can create your diagrams in a few clicks within Draw and Impress applications.
10) Language Tool: This is an excellent tool for the writers and all others who want to write in correct language. It is a style and grammar proofreading software for English, French, German, Polish, Dutch, Romanian and many other languages. Language Tool helps detect the errors that the spell checker cannot detect. It can detect some grammar mistakes but it cannot do spell checking.
The document foundation released LibreOffice 7.1 with many new features and updates across its modules. Here we take a look at the LibreOffice 7.1 top features and provide you instructions to download or upgrade.
LibreOffice 7.1 is the first major version release after the massive LibreOffice 7.0 earlier which brings a huge list of changes. LibreOffice project has two versions – “Fresh” and “Still”. The “Fresh” version is the most bleeding-edge in terms of features and updates and ideal for expert users. While the “Still” version is the most stable version ideal for production and enterprise deployments. The “Fresh: version is best if you do not want any surprise crash or instability in your office suite.
LibreOffice 7.1 Release Date
LibreOffice 7.1 Top New Features
Being a “Fresh” version of the release, LibreOffice 7.1 brings the latest feature sets across Writer, Calc, Impress, Math, and Base modules.
Writer
New Folding modes for heading
The Writer now adds an outline folding mode as an experimental feature. With this mode enabled, you can expand or collapse any heading section with a new button with an arrow. This feature is already available in Microsoft Word.
To enable this feature, go to Tools ▸ Options ▸ LibreOffice Writer ▸ View. Then check on the “Show outline content visibility button” checkbox.
Word compatibility
New formulas added as Table formula to make Writer more compatible with Word. The formulae that are added – ABS, SIGN, COUNT, and PRODUCT.
Styles Inspectors
Styles inspector is added to display paragraph styles. this is added as part of Google Summer of code completion.
New Table Formulas
For Tables, the following formulas are added –
PRODUCT
ABS
SIGN
COUNTPerformance Boost
Performance boost for spell checking and search in an auto filter.
The INDIRECT function now supports sheet-local scoped names.
Other changes
Added an option to disable paste with the Enter key. You can find it in a dialog from the menu Tools ▸ Options ▸ LibreOffice Calc ▸ General.
Now you can select items in the Autofilter window by clicking on the item’s row, but not only by a checkbox. A much-needed change in the most used Auto Filter feature.
The INDIRECT function now supports sheet based local names
Impress and Draw
Added realistic soft blurred shadows for objects
Added new physics-based animation capabilities and new animation effect presets that use them. Namely Fall Simulated, Shoot right/left and return, Fall and fade out.
LibreOffice Core – General Updates
A new Extension dialog helps you to achieve “one-click” install of various extensions including templates, macros, etc. This brings a much-needed user experience and removes the pain of downloading extensions separately via browser then importing them.
A probably new icon theme is coming up (not finalized yet).
These are the most important features of all. It is also worth noting that like the previous release, LibreOffice 7,1 also brings a huge list of bug fixes across modules including performance improvements. And of course more updates and improvements on the Microsoft Office compatibility for document import and export.
Download LibreOffice 7.1
If you are running Ubuntu or related distribution with a stock version, you need to wait until the distro provides LibreOffice 7.1. For long-term support releases, such as Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, won’t get LibreOffice 7.1 anytime soon. Hence if you want to install manually, first uninstall and install using the following method.
Download the complete deb files for this version via this link (torrent).
Extract the files and go to the directory DEBS via terminal. And run:
Wait for installation to finish. And reboot.
For detailed installation and upgrade, refer this article which we covered earlier.
For rolling releases like Arch Linux, it is already available or soon be available. You can just update your system packages to get it.
For any new fresh installation, you can always get the latest LibreOffice 7.1 as deb or rpm package from this link.
If you are using Windows, there is no upgrade path. So, uninstall from the control panel, then download the latest version from here and reinstall.
Pic credit: LibreOffice
We bring the latest happenings in the Linux universe, app reviews, tutorials, easy to understand guides for you. Stay in touch via Telegram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook and never miss an update!
