Word is the publishing industry standard (along with Adobe Acrobat) and there are certain things it does that other programs can't (or do so poorly as to make no functional difference). I could write in LibreOffice or Pages or Google Docs but eventually have to use Word regardless.
Reposted from
Calyn aka Fruit-Bat-Phoenix
Switch to LibreOffice! It's free, open source, does all the good things MS office does and none of the annoying stuff. No Copilot, no One Drive.
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but collaborative editing makes up for so much of Docs’s shortcomings that i keep using it.
Basically, even on a well-specced gaming PC with plenty of RAM and a decent CPU, you end up in lag city at about 80k words that's just text, or 100 pages w/ images.
When I'm laying out a manual in Word, it mostly just works, whereas I have to fight Google Docs.
Or hey, maybe I have and I'd have sold twice as much if I was using Word all this time.
(In reality, I suspect that 90% of the difference between most writing platforms as *I* use them boils down to "skill issue" on my part.)
Word isn't that good a product any more. It's bug-ridden.
google docs is also not publishing standard. Most MSs are sent to authors as word docs for edits and the track changes and comments don’t always transfer over
The spellcheck in google docs is also shit and you eventually have to transfer over anyway
It can import and export to multiple formats and has a pretty good feature set.
I must admit, I am not an author but the only one I know personally seems to like it quite a bit.
The one I am really pissed about not being replaceable is Excel.
Though that stupid co-pilot is so distracting. I want it gone.
I'm trying to use more free or open source software, but I 100% understand that some people are more comfortable with Word, and that's ok too.
They're probably ok for short stories or poetry, it was mostly when my work got long that Docs started to struggle.
1. MS Word used to be the industry standard. Today, many publishers and agents also accept PDF, ODF (LibreOffice & OpenOffice), and, if they use a form, plain text.
2. LibreOffice has no problem producing a manuscript in MS Word formats, and hasn't for decades.
There's an established workflow, in which change tracking is crucial.
The book I've had published was a collection of microfiction, so there was less editing and more me going "Here's a .docx with 100 stories, pick your favourites" and the editor replying "OK. These 369."
The proud
The Accountants
Have fun.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/use-the-office-offline-installer-f0a85fe7-118f-41cb-a791-d59cef96ad1c
I like that there are alternative softwrae suites and OSes, but there are a lot of variables involved where people cannot JUST SWITCH TO ______. 🙄
I have made posts saying "I need to do X; please don't tell me to do Y because it is physically impossible for me." Many, many suggestions to do Y, or to hire somebody to do Y.
Like, great, but that’s an answer to a different question than the one I actually asked.
It's Slinky, it's Slinky,
For fun it's a wonderful toy.
It's Slinky, it's Slinky,
It's fun for a girl and a boy. ] >^..^<
(The cat made me think of that)
I specified that I fix computers for a living.
Yep. Posts telling me I should switch to Linux (as well as explaining to me how to reinstall Windows).
I use Windows because that is the only platform the IDE I have used for 25 years runs and I haven’t found anything close to being as good.
Close the windows, shut the gates,
Get the real system taste
Switch to Linux, where IFRAC
You can run without a crack!
I would love to know if this ever convinced a single person.
I'm a huge Linux fan and have it on every computer I own, and even I find the constant cheerleading for it tiresome.
Still, it's important to remember that for some people, Windows really is the best option - at least for now.
I think most people would benefit and it is just that people don't want to change anything
Familiarity is the only thing Windows has.
It's specifically the cheerleading that gets tiresome. And a lot of pro-Linux folks have trouble recognizing when someone has a genuine need for Windows, usually because of an application that doesn't work on Linux.
I'm happy to explain when someone has made an assumption but know when there's a reason. I still keep windows around for rare stuff.
I use Linux for everything, but doing that means accepting that I'm never going to be on bleeding edge hardware.
Doesn’t run Inventor or any of the games I play. Alternatives to Microsoft Office are shoddy crap in my experience.
I use Linux every day but I would never develop on it.
Games are about 85% there now with Steam. Outside of Steam, it's admittedly a crapshoot.
A little confused about MS Office, though. I use it on Linux.
If I may ask, which interfaces did you try?
A petty reason, perhaps, but it is mine.
2024 is the year of Linux gaming!
2025 is the year of Linux gaming!
When the Legion Go S hits shelves and hopefully more SteamOS handhelds, we'll see but I'm willing to bet most people will just go for the Switch anyway.
Switching to Linux is literally asking me to drop my entire life.
Emulators are fine too.
Less of an argument for games since Linux is a first-class platform for steam and your catalogue will all work in Linux.
https://www.tomsguide.com/computing/software/how-disable-copilot-in-windows-11
And from Microsoft but do the opposite.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/how-to-turn-off-copilot-in-microsoft-365-family-and-personal-subscriptions-bc7e530b-152d-4123-8e78-edc06f8b85f1
I’m due a new laptop from work and dreading it due to AI.
Same problem I’m now having with Gmail and Quickbooks.
Still, end of day, I moved the WIP back to Word. I simply still like it best.
I have a collection of various Windows and MSOffice versions.
Diminishing the amount of TIME and effort to unlearn+relearn software like Word to LibreOffice/Photoshop to Gimp/Windows to Linux is exactly why techbros have such a fucking shitty reputation. Besides the fact that the replacement NEVER has all the functionality someone is used to.
If you already know how to use word processing or photo editing software, going from one program to another simply isn't that difficult. Let's not overdramatize things; no one is suggesting you WRITE new software.
From Bill’s guys:
Open the document in Microsoft Word
Select the View tab
Click Focus in the immersive section
To exit Focus mode, press ES
You can also find the Focus mode icon in the bottom right panel of the document.
No, just kidding.
I like to write in Notes with formatting turned off, but I’m also not A Professional.
What I write is (eventually) dumped into XML and a content management system, but for working out the right words, I just want to see the words.
Everything else is unnecessary noise.
Re Word, I'd pay extra not to have bullshit shoved into my writing interface. I'll have to think about how much extra.
All Microsoft has to do is not fuck with the functionality.
But this might be a mac vs Windows thing. I use Scrivener (since it allows me to organize my notes and research in the same doc as the manuscript) and export to Word if needed.
Also, what if MS is collecting your words for AI training regardless of your settings, wishes or knowledge?
(ref Apple’s Siri recordings)
I’ve been in the room having those discussions about PII, age, identity and privacy.
It’s why I prefer open source I can review.
Heard Google is scraping everything stored. Makes me furious.
Also bugs out hiding the header/footer after you write a page or two with them hidden.
Endless Enchantments: A Thousand Magical Treasures for Fantasy Role-playing Games
Cursed cloaks, sensational swords and poisonous pies!
"...wondrous doodads... heartily recommended."
In hardback or paperback.
#ttrpg
https://mybook.to/endlessenchantments
What's funny is someone will write in a better app than Word and the convert it to a Word file to send to a publisher. The publisher will then convert it to a professional publishing format.
I WAS just thinking earlier - about how thankful I am that LibreOffice is still around. If I have to keep fighting with Microsoft (and Google), I figure, how much trouble are the alternatives, really?
SO FAR, open-source has been MUCH less trouble for me. (A lot of it has gotten A LOT nicer in recent years!)
Don’t censor my voice, human!
And now I feel like a dinosaur...
"My soul belongs to the echoes of another time."
Start/search bar -> add/remove programs -> uninstall copilot
1994
A geek friend came over, unplugged the phone, plugged in his computer then said, "Behold the Internet."
And I said. "Wait. This Zapruder film is not a file on your 'puter? What devilry is this?
Never had to use Winblowze or word.
#Linux #LibreOffice
It also lacks Draft view. Web and Print views only.
Updates are turned off. It does all I need it to do.
No AI bells and whistles.
The disc version can be found online for as little as £1 these days.
FAIK, only thing that MS Office does for your average user that other office suites can't do is the Outlook app. Word, Excel, and Access have all been duplicated.
What function isn't duplicated from Word into LibreOffice?
OOXML got the lawsuits off their back but it's still a mess.
It appears this was done strictly for Ego. To prove Microsoft has complete control. Even down to your mouse clicks.
Scrivener & Libre Office.
(That said, I LOVED WordPerfect.)
I am fortunate that Libreoffice has done everything I need it too thus far. But, I'm not a published author & I work for a very small organization.
(OTOH - if it were my project, I'd drop it onto some etherpad server and have everyone edit there.)
I write in LibreOffice, but when an agent wants a Word file, I export the manuscript to Word format.