Aufgehtsabgehts@feddit.org
on 12 Jan 2026 04:50
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Meanwhile the state of the UI/UX on Linux: I dare you to rotate your paper in LibreOffice Writer to portrait landscape in under a minute, if you havenât recently used the function.
tomenzgg@midwest.social
on 12 Jan 2026 05:45
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Layout > Orientation > Landscape (I presume you meant that since the default orientation is Portrait)
Took me about 3 seconds.
Aufgehtsabgehts@feddit.org
on 12 Jan 2026 07:55
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For me it was under Format - Page Style, burried in some long dropdown menu. It is absolutly not user friendly, if you are new to the software or donât use it very often.
I needed one minute to find it and I kind of knew what I was searching for (a window with all the settings for the page). The UI should be made in a way where the slowest user (apparently me) will find such essential functions fast, like in every other writing software (MS Office, OnlyOffice, Google shit, âŠ).
tomenzgg@midwest.social
on 12 Jan 2026 14:28
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To be fair, you seem to be using the original UI that mirrored Word 2003âs UI (which, when I first switched over to Linux back in 2012, I was positively thrilled about Writer having as it was basically a drop-in replacement for Word, then).
I dunno if I just occasionally used Word too many times since then but I find the old UI impenetrable now, as well; but LibreOffice has support for the Ribbon UI (and 2â3 similar ones, I think), as well. Maybe you might find it easier?
I almost never switch the orientation of Writer so I genuinely was pretty much finding how to do it for the first time.
Aufgehtsabgehts@feddit.org
on 12 Jan 2026 14:54
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Maybe thatâs a point that Dan Williams can address: The default presets are important. With your UI I would have found it much faster, because it is where I would expect it to be.
Tantacrul/Martin Keary has some nice videos about how he redesigned Audacity and Muse Score. The point about how important sane presets are comes up quite often.
When you install LibreOffice now, the set-up guide encourages you gently to use the newer, friendlier tabbed interface. I donât know if the same is true for in-place updates.
ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net
on 12 Jan 2026 11:28
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24 seconds.
PumpkinSkink@lemmy.world
on 12 Jan 2026 13:32
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42.07 seconds. Have never used the function before. I just used the âsearch commandsâ function.
ulterno@programming.dev
on 13 Jan 2026 06:49
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<15 seconds.
Including starting LibreOffice Writer. This is on a 5400RPM HDD and Writer was definitely not cached, since I havenât opened it in days.
Now how long did it take to start MS Word on my laptop again?
Aufgehtsabgehts@feddit.org
on 13 Jan 2026 07:14
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I think you and many of the downvoters are missing my point:
If the default setting leads me to an UI, where I, an average user, needs so long to find such a basic function, then the UI is bad. And I am very patient, but if you want to convince the average MS Office user, that Linux + LibreOffice is an alternative, then it needs to be better then this.
And I am obviously disappointet that they hired someone with a focus on MacOS and not Linux, where a big UI/UX overhaul would be needed. It sais in the article, that the new hire will also look at overall improvements beside MacOS, but that wonât be enough to polish the UX to the point where people would prefer LibreOffice over MS Office.
ulterno@programming.dev
on 13 Jan 2026 08:03
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where I, an average user, needs so long to find such a basic function
I am not sure about that.
The default UI is similar to the old MS Office Word and the new alternative (which from what I remember, LibreOffice actually asks you to choose from in a dialogue on first start, so you donât need to look through menus to set your preference) uses the newer tabbed paradigm.
And while I do prefer the new one, I didnât find the old one any harder than MS Office Word 2003 or the older version that came around Win 98.
The only thing that made me different from the average user back then, was that I actually read and understood user prompts before clicking âNextâ or whatever.
Can you remember the first time you used any MS office software ? Yeah thatâs right, like a toddler trying to stand up and walk for the first timeâŠ
We are so used to MS that we canât switch to anything else, because evey other software doesnât do it the âsame way as MSâ.
Itâs not a question if LibreOffice works the same as MS Office, but how much time youâre willing to invest to learn a new tool that isnât Microsoft.
If your 30 years MS experience isnât able to switch paradigm with that change, thatâs okay⊠Just stay with Microsoft and let the newer generation take the lead :)
kaulquappus@feddit.org
on 13 Jan 2026 20:22
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To add one datapoint: I actually installed LibreOffice just now just to try it out. I went via
Format > Page Style > General [this tab was open by default] > Orientation: Landscape
If that is the correct way, then it was, IMO, hard to miss and fast to find. If it was the wrong way*, however then Iâd say I find the menu labels misleading.
*I am not quite sure, because the dialogue had the Title âPage Style: Default Page Styleâ, so I would have expected pages in all new documents to now start out in landscape orientation, but I opened a new document, and the page was in portrait orientation. So, I think I did what I tried to do - change orientation only in the current document - in spite of that (misleading, thus proving your point?) dialogue title.
MonkeMischief@lemmy.today
on 12 Jan 2026 05:48
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Welcome to the team, Dan! Canât wait to see where you take things. :)
Saithe@lemmy.blahaj.zone
on 12 Jan 2026 06:40
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Thank god
Aufgehtsabgehts@feddit.org
on 12 Jan 2026 11:17
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But the Mac isnât the only platform so Iâll be driving user interface improvements and fixing annoying bugs everywhere else too, regardless of platform or visual backend. I also look forward to working with the LibreOffice Design community to try out new ideas and see what sticks.
FizzyOrange@programming.dev
on 12 Jan 2026 23:05
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I wouldnât expect the UI/UX to magically improve, in the same way that e.g. Audacityâs is, or Blenderâs did back in the day.
LibreOffice is ancient and enormous. It would take a decent sized team several years to overhaul its UX.
ulterno@programming.dev
on 13 Jan 2026 06:41
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It is so for anything having tables, from what I see.
Dev has to consider whether snapping is a better idea or smooth scrolling is and toolkits seem to have snapping as the default.
Well, the biggest comparison I can draw is Excel and it does not have this visual limitation. Make it a toggle if people prefer, but sometimes a column is wider than your screen width, which renders the sheet unusable.
ulterno@programming.dev
on 13 Jan 2026 16:34
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I donât really remember enough about Excel anymore, but considering that I donât remember having that problem despite how many years I used it, I guess that is the case with it.
And yes, a toggle would be nice. In fact, a few months ago, I was thinking of putting up a request over to the LibreOffice team, when I was working on the table view of another OSS project, but then procrastinated until I forgot. Honestly, if there are enough people that have a problem with this little thingy, itâd be better off fixed. Specially in the Qt implementation at least, it really is just a boolean toggle even for the developer.
ulterno@programming.dev
on 13 Jan 2026 16:56
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Hmm. Well, I guess they are not using the Qt Widgets TableView then.
Perhaps Iâll take a look too, next time I feel like.
Oof thatâs a lot of reports. And even a survey
andioop@programming.dev
on 12 Jan 2026 22:19
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Thrilled. I recently started trying LibreOffice thanks to a friend of mine and I admit that as someone used to Microsoft Office or Google Workspace, I feel like a total idiot always searching up âhow to [do something] libreofficeâ for things I know how to do already in Office/Workspace (or am confident I could figure out by fooling around in them for a few minutes).
Aufgehtsabgehts@feddit.org
on 13 Jan 2026 07:19
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That doesnât make you an idiot, instead it indicates how bad the UI of LibreOffice is.
And they hired someone with a focus on the MacOS-Version, so donât hold your breath for any improvements in the foreseeable future on other platforms.
Stitch0815@feddit.org
on 13 Jan 2026 07:32
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Do you really think itâs that bad?
Is it modern? No. But is it necessarily bad? At least I donât think so.
I think it focuses on consitency with other FOSS Software.
And the consensus currently seems to be a focus on sidebars, which I personally like.
But also: I know nothing about UX/I design or design in genreal D
Aufgehtsabgehts@feddit.org
on 13 Jan 2026 08:01
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It is such a powerfull software and capable of so much, at least LibreOffice Calc, which I use a lot. But the UI doesnât keep up with it, a lot feels hidden. And that is a shame, because it prevents new users to see that it is a great alternative.
RampantParanoia2365@lemmy.world
on 13 Jan 2026 15:41
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I just uninstalled it because itâs impossible to have a normal full sized static scroll bar that doesnât disappear and has buttons. For an application centered around scrolling, this is a major major major flaw.
andioop@programming.dev
on 13 Jan 2026 11:18
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It could just be me expecting a Sheets or Excel-like interface (I would bet Sheets UI was made specifically to be an easy transfer from Excel), and my brain being stupid when asked to learn a new one (or expecting to learn a new interface too quickly⊠but then again I donât usually have trouble with new software and interfaces, so maybe it really is bad UI), but thank you for the reassurance!
Sad for others who might not see improvements because of the macOS focus but still thrilled for myself, because I use LibreOffice on my Mac. This will only bite me too when my Mac kicks the bucket and I have to get a new laptop which I have already decided will run Linux.
skisnow@lemmy.ca
on 13 Jan 2026 07:29
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srsly though itâs astonishing just how much global geopolitics hinges on whether this is successful. MS Office is the main blocker to the EU migrating off US tech.
Korne127@lemmy.world
on 13 Jan 2026 11:33
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Honestly, since I switched from LibreOffice to OnlyOffice, Iâm much more happy with it; it looks and feels so much better and more mature
RampantParanoia2365@lemmy.world
on 13 Jan 2026 15:44
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The header navigation, and normal scroll bar.
Resonosity@lemmy.dbzer0.com
on 13 Jan 2026 17:43
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threaded - newest
Meanwhile the state of the UI/UX on Linux: I dare you to rotate your paper in LibreOffice Writer to
portraitlandscape in under a minute, if you havenât recently used the function.Layout > Orientation > Landscape(I presume you meant that since the default orientation is Portrait)Took me about 3 seconds.
For me it was under Format - Page Style, burried in some long dropdown menu. It is absolutly not user friendly, if you are new to the software or donât use it very often.
I needed one minute to find it and I kind of knew what I was searching for (a window with all the settings for the page). The UI should be made in a way where the slowest user (apparently me) will find such essential functions fast, like in every other writing software (MS Office, OnlyOffice, Google shit, âŠ).
So for me the UI of LibreOffice is a bad one.
<img alt="" src="https://feddit.org/pictrs/image/519daa66-3600-46f0-8f61-470bd6be0435.png">
To be fair, you seem to be using the original UI that mirrored Word 2003âs UI (which, when I first switched over to Linux back in 2012, I was positively thrilled about Writer having as it was basically a drop-in replacement for Word, then).
I dunno if I just occasionally used Word too many times since then but I find the old UI impenetrable now, as well; but LibreOffice has support for the Ribbon UI (and 2â3 similar ones, I think), as well. Maybe you might find it easier?
<img alt="" src="https://midwest.social/pictrs/image/f0525054-ed38-4be8-82ac-81e22515702c.png">
I almost never switch the orientation of Writer so I genuinely was pretty much finding how to do it for the first time.
Maybe thatâs a point that Dan Williams can address: The default presets are important. With your UI I would have found it much faster, because it is where I would expect it to be.
Tantacrul/Martin Keary has some nice videos about how he redesigned Audacity and Muse Score. The point about how important sane presets are comes up quite often.
When you install LibreOffice now, the set-up guide encourages you gently to use the newer, friendlier tabbed interface. I donât know if the same is true for in-place updates.
24 seconds.
42.07 seconds. Have never used the function before. I just used the âsearch commandsâ function.
<15 seconds.
Including starting LibreOffice Writer. This is on a 5400RPM HDD and Writer was definitely not cached, since I havenât opened it in days.
Now how long did it take to start MS Word on my laptop again?
I think you and many of the downvoters are missing my point:
If the default setting leads me to an UI, where I, an average user, needs so long to find such a basic function, then the UI is bad. And I am very patient, but if you want to convince the average MS Office user, that Linux + LibreOffice is an alternative, then it needs to be better then this.
And I am obviously disappointet that they hired someone with a focus on MacOS and not Linux, where a big UI/UX overhaul would be needed. It sais in the article, that the new hire will also look at overall improvements beside MacOS, but that wonât be enough to polish the UX to the point where people would prefer LibreOffice over MS Office.
I am not sure about that.
The default UI is similar to the old MS Office Word and the new alternative (which from what I remember, LibreOffice actually asks you to choose from in a dialogue on first start, so you donât need to look through menus to set your preference) uses the newer tabbed paradigm.
And while I do prefer the new one, I didnât find the old one any harder than MS Office Word 2003 or the older version that came around Win 98.
The only thing that made me different from the average user back then, was that I actually read and understood user prompts before clicking âNextâ or whatever.
Can you remember the first time you used any MS office software ? Yeah thatâs right, like a toddler trying to stand up and walk for the first timeâŠ
We are so used to MS that we canât switch to anything else, because evey other software doesnât do it the âsame way as MSâ.
Itâs not a question if LibreOffice works the same as MS Office, but how much time youâre willing to invest to learn a new tool that isnât Microsoft.
If your 30 years MS experience isnât able to switch paradigm with that change, thatâs okay⊠Just stay with Microsoft and let the newer generation take the lead :)
To add one datapoint: I actually installed LibreOffice just now just to try it out. I went via
Format > Page Style > General [this tab was open by default] > Orientation: Landscape
If that is the correct way, then it was, IMO, hard to miss and fast to find. If it was the wrong way*, however then Iâd say I find the menu labels misleading.
*I am not quite sure, because the dialogue had the Title âPage Style: Default Page Styleâ, so I would have expected pages in all new documents to now start out in landscape orientation, but I opened a new document, and the page was in portrait orientation. So, I think I did what I tried to do - change orientation only in the current document - in spite of that (misleading, thus proving your point?) dialogue title.
Welcome to the team, Dan! Canât wait to see where you take things. :)
Thank god
For what? A better UI for MacOS?
I wouldnât expect the UI/UX to magically improve, in the same way that e.g. Audacityâs is, or Blenderâs did back in the day.
LibreOffice is ancient and enormous. It would take a decent sized team several years to overhaul its UX.
Has Audacity gotten better since I used it as a teen to record songs around 2010? Loved the product but my god was it ever tough to look at.
It has! The current project lead shows some of the ideas in a video
Liquid glass coming soon.
Liquid glass? Sounds hot. đ€Ą
heâs seem some shit, and heâs gonna see more!
Please fix horizontal scrolling in Calc first đ© itâs a PITA to work with sheets that have wide columns.
It is so for anything having tables, from what I see.
Dev has to consider whether snapping is a better idea or smooth scrolling is and toolkits seem to have snapping as the default.
Well, the biggest comparison I can draw is Excel and it does not have this visual limitation. Make it a toggle if people prefer, but sometimes a column is wider than your screen width, which renders the sheet unusable.
I donât really remember enough about Excel anymore, but considering that I donât remember having that problem despite how many years I used it, I guess that is the case with it.
And yes, a toggle would be nice. In fact, a few months ago, I was thinking of putting up a request over to the LibreOffice team, when I was working on the table view of another OSS project, but then procrastinated until I forgot. Honestly, if there are enough people that have a problem with this little thingy, itâd be better off fixed. Specially in the Qt implementation at least, it really is just a boolean toggle even for the developer.
Would you like to put up a bug report to them?
This has been reported many times over many years. From what I understand itâs not easy to fix.
2011:
bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=40917
Hmm. Well, I guess they are not using the Qt Widgets TableView then.
Perhaps Iâll take a look too, next time I feel like.
Oof thatâs a lot of reports. And even a survey
Thrilled. I recently started trying LibreOffice thanks to a friend of mine and I admit that as someone used to Microsoft Office or Google Workspace, I feel like a total idiot always searching up âhow to [do something] libreofficeâ for things I know how to do already in Office/Workspace (or am confident I could figure out by fooling around in them for a few minutes).
That doesnât make you an idiot, instead it indicates how bad the UI of LibreOffice is.
And they hired someone with a focus on the MacOS-Version, so donât hold your breath for any improvements in the foreseeable future on other platforms.
Do you really think itâs that bad? Is it modern? No. But is it necessarily bad? At least I donât think so.
I think it focuses on consitency with other FOSS Software. And the consensus currently seems to be a focus on sidebars, which I personally like.
But also: I know nothing about UX/I design or design in genreal D
It is such a powerfull software and capable of so much, at least LibreOffice Calc, which I use a lot. But the UI doesnât keep up with it, a lot feels hidden. And that is a shame, because it prevents new users to see that it is a great alternative.
I just uninstalled it because itâs impossible to have a normal full sized static scroll bar that doesnât disappear and has buttons. For an application centered around scrolling, this is a major major major flaw.
It could just be me expecting a Sheets or Excel-like interface (I would bet Sheets UI was made specifically to be an easy transfer from Excel), and my brain being stupid when asked to learn a new one (or expecting to learn a new interface too quickly⊠but then again I donât usually have trouble with new software and interfaces, so maybe it really is bad UI), but thank you for the reassurance!
Sad for others who might not see improvements because of the macOS focus but still thrilled for myself, because I use LibreOffice on my Mac. This will only bite me too when my Mac kicks the bucket and I have to get a new laptop which I have already decided will run Linux.
<img alt="" src="https://lemmy.ca/pictrs/image/3c6cefbc-6334-4f4c-9e1b-03e37800bc40.png">
srsly though itâs astonishing just how much global geopolitics hinges on whether this is successful. MS Office is the main blocker to the EU migrating off US tech.
Honestly, since I switched from LibreOffice to OnlyOffice, Iâm much more happy with it; it looks and feels so much better and more mature
The header navigation, and normal scroll bar.
Congrats Dan!