Hi,
I am in the process of migrating to LibreOffice from MS Office (2016)
So far, looking really good!
I see that there is a tabbed User Interface that looks similar to what I am used to but since its not the same anyway I’d like to start from scratch using the interface that most people use (and hence is likely to be used in advice on the forum)
I realise that this choice is a personal preference thing, but do most people use the standard interface / is this the ‘common language’ of the forum?
Cheers
…most people use the standard interface / is this the ‘common language’ of the forum?
It is called “Toolbars”.
I think so, but nothing is known for sure.
1 Like
Thanks
I think I will stick to that. I am trying to get away from MS, after all 
1 Like
A few more hints for your changeover:
Always save in LibreOffice in ODF format, e.g. ODT for Writer:
Recommendation for a clean working with LibreOffice when different office programs are used.
Do not use direct formatting, especially in Writer, but always work with styles.
English documentation
Professional text composition with Writer
1 Like
A clever question. However, I don’t know the most clever answer.
Personally I had to use now and then applications which only offered a ribbon interface - and I dislikled that very much. Therefore I use the ‘Standard’ option for LibreOffice (and adapt it by some little custmizations).
Concerning this discourse (ask) site, and a more traditionally shaped forum, I have the impression, that posts using the main-menu-struictured UI for hints and questions generally are well accepted and understood, while insisting “when will you eventually have a ribbon exactly like…” faded out.
2 Likes
Thanks, I am not exactly sure what you mean by this but will look into it
OK, your second link explains it - I will read
I am a Uni Engineering researcher / lecturer and use word processor to write papers, spreadsheets to analyse and present data, and also need to do simple tech drawings to get test pieces made up and for figures in papers
I have been using Word, Excel, and Visio, with the latter replaced in recent years by Inkscape
I just opened some of my .xlsx files with calac and most things seem good.
But I am sure I will have lots of questions
Thanks to all involved!
As you point out, this a personal preference thing. If you ask questions here, most answers refer to the “Standard Interface” based on menus rather than buttons in tabbed UI/ribbon. The reason is menus use English literals which are easier to name than to clumsily describe a button icon.
However the most important issue is not the UI you prefer. LO is a different application than MSO. They have same purpose, e.g. office tools to write papers, letters; to make easy office calculations in spreadsheet; to facilitate making presentations; to interface with BDs and to allow simple drawings. But they are not drop-in replacements for each other. They are based on different principles and you must get to know theses principles to use the tools efficiently.
In the beginning, you’ll need the menus or “ribbon” to get your tasks quickly done. This is not the best because LO applications (Writer, Calc, Impress and Draw in decreasing order of abstraction and power of the feature) use styles to:
- automate formatting
- separate contents from shape
- annotate contents with significance
You should quickly switch to “style tagging” your documents instead of formatting them directly. You can customise the suite with your preferred styles so that you only apply styles, making the need for menus or tabbed UI quite exceptional. In the end, the type of UI really doesn’t matter much.
1 Like
Mostly, instructions given refer to the menu. The menu is available in all user interfaces although sometimes you need to click the menubar icon to make it visible. On the Tabbed interface the icon is at the extreme left, in other interfaces it might be a in a sub menu at the extreme right
1 Like
Thanks @ajlittoz
Yes, all of that is exactly why I asked the question - they do the same jobs but not in the same way
I am quite happy not using ribbons. I’ve been around long enough to remmeber what a pain it was to get use to them 
I will start from scratch
And I will make sure I start right off directly using styles
However, I am a touch confused by this talk of styles as I use them in MS word already
Its a bit like / analogous to LaTex isnt it - you apply the style to the content?
I will know more as I get into it tho - nothing like practical use to get the hang of things
I guess I just need to write a paper in LO, or copy paste the text of an existing word one into LO and then build up my own styles - I will find out.
I am pretty excited as it looks like LO has matured to become a very viable alternative, or should I say better alternative
The best thing is that I am 100% Linux at home (I think I have finally found my resting place with ArchLabs), and except for some software like FEA (although I think I can put ABAQUS on Linux - next task!) the main thing stopping me doing the same at work was Office, where my spreadsheets and documents are more complex than those I use for home stuff.
Thanks again,
Very civil and helpful forum by the looks of it too 
@EarnestAl
(is that AI or Al, as in Capone? My mate’s name is Capon - never realised that the gangster’s name meant a castrated Cockerel. How’s that for a digression?)
Thanks - menus it is - I love it when there are fewer choices.
Beware! Word has a somehow “simplistic” approach to styles. It only knows of paragraph styles leaving you with direct formatting when it comes to decorate words in a paragraph or set a page geometry. Writer brings you in addition character styles to change the appearance of words in a paragraph, page styles for page disposition with an invaluable feature in automatic chaining of pages styles when page break is reached, frame styles for position and other attributes of pictures or side text blocks and list styles (badly chosen name) to define the properties of a sequence counter (used to number paragraphs, e.g. numbered lists).
The systematic consistent use of styles allows to dramatically change the look of a document with absolutely no need to track individual formatting information in the text.
1 Like