Quick question about installation

[bookwork200]

I was using Libre Office today and it shows that there’s a newer version available. If I download it from the Libre Office web site, do I have to uninstall the previous version first, before installing the new one? Or does the newer one simply overwrite the old one after I click on the install file? Thanks for any help!

Also, I’m seeing a lot of threads that say updates ruined things for them. How do I avoid that?

[EarnestAl]

You might not have read the How to use the ask site post where it says you should provide details.

For Windows

Simply install the new version. The installer will uninstall the old version and install the new version keeping your settings.

@bookwork200

I’m seeing a lot of threads that say updates ruined things for them

One person posting many times without waiting for a reply? I believe the issue is resolved.
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If you are upgrading from version 7 or later you shouldn’t experience any problems.
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If upgrading from version 6 there has been a change in the graphics renderer. If you encounter problems with crashes or artefacts on screen then simply click Tools - Options - LibreOffice - View and tick the box Force Skia software rendering . This was resolution for multiple posts yesterday

[mikekaganski]

@bookwork200

I’m seeing a lot of threads that say updates ruined things for them. How do I avoid that?

You didn’t specify any specifics.
However, some general considerations.

1. Bugs happen. And they are bugs, not something done on purpose. When they will appear, and in what circumstances, is not known in advance. If there was a silver bullet to avoid bugs, the person invented it would become the richest person in the world. Note that the bugs may appear in LibreOffice, or in some other component of your system, including hardware, drivers, other OS components, and other installed apps.
2. There are known things to consider when upgrading. Why upgrading? is the very first one. It have many reasons; one of them, even in case when everything in the old version fits you, is that as time passes, it becomes increasingly difficult to find anyone able to answer your “how I do … in my 10 years old version”. But nevertheless, think if you really need to upgrade first. When you decided, then - upgrade to what? It depends on many factors, including your environment. Your OS may provide own ways and versions. The packages on the project’s main page are usually available for the two concurrently supported version lines, having half-a-year age difference. The older one (at the moment, 24.2 line) lacks newer features, but its features have at least half a year of bugfixing; the never one (at the moment, 24.8 line) have newer features - but all the changes in it, compared to the older branch, are only tested by end users for several weeks / less than half a year. Yes, we test it before the release, as much as possible, but it is inevitable, that testing by millions doing real stuff reveals more hidden problems, than testing by several dozens. And of course, it is good to read sites like this - to find something reported about the specific version you plan to install, and see if there are known problems, if they may apply to your case, and if there are known solutions / workarounds.
3. You are on a site dedicated to problem-solving. It necessarily shows a biased picture. People usually don’t come here just to write “hi, decided to inform you that everything works”. So by itself, reading such sites (for any software) would of course give an impression of lethally ill state of the thing, which doesn’t necessarily match the reality.