what's advantage of Microsoft office over other free alternatives?

For the home user, my opinion is there's no advantage at all in using Microsoft Office instead of the cheaper or free alternatives. I use OpenOffice now, and as a previous user of Microsoft Office I can say that I don't miss Microsoft Office at all.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
As a home user, what is the significance and advantage of Microsoft Office over other free alternatives like LibreOffice and OpenOffice?
Direct 100% compatibility with what you probably use at work.
The alternatives are "almost 100%" compatible. Something with complex macros may have issues.

Other than that, LibreOffice and OpenOffice are completely fine for home use.

If I didn't get Office Pro for $15 from the HomeUse Program, I'd be using Libre at home. And unless they have a specific need for actual MS Office, Libre is installed on all the systems I build and give to family members.
 
Having office 365 is nice to be able to retrieve files from home, work, and school.
Office will have better support and compatability since it is a very common paid product.
Open office is a very good alternative and for most applications it is fine.
 

brannsiu

Distinguished
Apr 20, 2013
1,064
3
19,285
Direct 100% compatibility with what you probably use at work.
The alternatives are "almost 100%" compatible. Something with complex macros may have issues.

Other than that, LibreOffice and OpenOffice are completely fine for home use.

If I didn't get Office Pro for $15 from the HomeUse Program, I'd be using Libre at home. And unless they have a specific need for actual MS Office, Libre is installed on all the systems I build and give to family members.


Hello

HomeUse Program? $15 for a month or a year? Where can I get it?

Another question: I am now creating and saving documents and spreedsheet with LibreOffice, will it lose anything or format if I edit them with Ms Office later (Except Macros...)
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Hello

HomeUse Program? $15 for a month or a year? Where can I get it?

Another question: I am now creating and saving documents and spreedsheet with LibreOffice, will it lose anything or format if I edit them with Ms Office later (Except Macros...)
Home Use Program stems from an agreement between your employer and Microsoft.
$15 one time purchase.

https://www.microsofthup.com/hupus/home.aspx

As far as your specific docs? In Libre, save them as the relevant Office file type. They should probably work just fine.
Of course, try them with a second copy, not the only copy.
 

brannsiu

Distinguished
Apr 20, 2013
1,064
3
19,285
Home Use Program stems from an agreement between your employer and Microsoft.
$15 one time purchase.

https://www.microsofthup.com/hupus/home.aspx

As far as your specific docs? In Libre, save them as the relevant Office file type. They should probably work just fine.
Of course, try them with a second copy, not the only copy.

Oh my god
I only use it home for personal use, and in addition, my employer does not have the organization code...
very unfortunatley
 

Sgt_Sykes

Honorable
Jul 17, 2013
109
3
10,615
Well there's.... Um, no. Oh but, aaah actually not that either.

Yea I'm blank.

You could say compatibility is one big advantage, but it comes with caveats too. Different installs and versions of MS Office render things differently, just like there are differences between rendering of MSO, Google Docs and Libre.

Well, there's the cloud and collaboration if you're into that. If someone sends you a link to an online Office doc, you can open it quickly without fuss, but I dunno if that still counts as 'home' use.