LibreOffice 6.4 is here, serving as the latest stable release of this hugely popular open source productivity suite
And, as you’d expect, LibreOffice 6.4 features a veritable crop of core updates and key improvements.
The Document Foundation, the non-profit organisation who help steer development of this free office software, say LibreOffice 6.4 is a “performance-focused” release that features “almost perfect support for DOCX, XLSX and PPTX files.”
It’s also the first major release of LibreOffice to be made in the suite’s tenth anniversary year.
For more on what’s new, read on!
LibreOffice 6.4: New Features
Opening and saving spreadsheets and presentations is said to be faster than before, while the addition of app icons on document thumbnails in the ‘Start Centre’ makes it much easier to spot which file opens in which specific app.
LibreOffice 6.4 also features a built-in QR code generator. This can be used to create scannable code that links to a URL or reveals a message.
There are also options to adjust the “complexity” of the QR code generated, and specify a border.
Redaction, which debuted in LibreOffice 6.3, has a new automatic redaction mode. This lets users quickly mask all data in a document that matches a specific word, phrase or expression.
Hyperlink context menus are now unified throughout the suite, providing quick access to four menu entries: Open; Edit; Copy Location; and Remove.
Those who make heavy use of LibreOffice’s built-in commenting feature will appreciate the ability to add comments to images and charts inside of text documents.
These and other notable key LibreOffice 6.4 features and changes include:
- QR code generator
- App icons in Start Center
- Automatic redaction
- Faster help system
- Table panel added to the Writer sidebar
- Comments can be marked as resolved
- Combine multiple text boxes into one in Draw, Impress
- Sifr icon theme now supports large sizing
- Checkbox to enable/disable sending crash reports
For a fuller look at the changes do pore over the official release notes.
Download LibreOffice 6.4
LibreOffice 6.4 is free, open source software available on Windows, macOS and Linux. Users can (as always) download the latest version of LibreOffice direct from the LibreOffice website:
Those on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (or later) can upgrade to LibreOffice 6.4 by adding the official LibreOffice PPA, then running a check for software updates:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:libreoffice/ppa
Thought Flatpak, Snap and AppImages are available I find that the official LibreOffice Fresh PPA provides the easiest way to install LibreOffice 6.4 on Ubuntu and derivative distros like Linux Mint, Pop!_OS, and Zorin OS.