With the ever-increasing number (and cost) of software subscriptions, more and more people are seeking out free alternatives to popular titles. For those looking for a free rival to Microsoft Office, LibreOffice has long been a viable alternative.
But there is also the online realm to consider. Microsoft 365 includes online editions of Word, and Google has its own online suite of office tools. Now The Document Foundation – which is responsible for LibreOffice – has announced that it is ready to restart work on its own online office suite.
This is not an entirely new project. LibreOffice Online came into being many years ago, but development was frozen some time ago. Now the board of the Foundation has decided that the time is right to relight the fires and get to work again.
In a blog post about the project, The Document Foundation says:
LibreOffice is a desktop application, but we get many requests for a web-based version of the suite that users can deploy on their own infrastructure. Several years ago, project members started to develop LibreOffice Online, but in 2022 the Board of Directors at The Document Foundation voted to freeze the project and put it in the “attic”, for reasons that have now been superseded.
Earlier this month, the current Board of Directors decided to revoke those votes to give new life to the project, as Eliane Domingos, chairperson, put it:
To start the process of freeing LibreOffice Online, and to start the journey that will lead to having an online version by the community and for the community.
Now the work begins. We plan to reopen the repository for LibreOffice Online at The Document Foundation for contributions, but provide warnings about the state of the repository until TDF’s team agrees that it’s safe and usable – while at the same time encourage the community to join in with code, technologies and other contributions that can be used to move forward. We will actively work with the community to identify how to foster LibreOffice Online, including its technological basis, QA and marketing.
Note that this doesn’t mean that TDF will host or provide enterprise support for LibreOffice Online – that’s beyond the scope of the foundation. For these things, users are strongly recommended to consult the commercial ecosystem around LibreOffice. But TDF wants to offer the technology for those who want to use, modify and share it.
We will post more soon about our plans, and ways to get involved. We look forward to a new future for LibreOffice Online!
