Lots of new features, er feature in the latest update to ONLYOFFICE, the open-source productivity suite for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

ONLYOFFICE 8.0 introduces RTL support, albeit as an opt-in, beta feature. When enabled it enables RTL text in the UI and support for bidirectional text input in text documents and presentations — though devs stress it’s partial support with known limitations.

Plenty of PDF improvements are provided in this update. This version makes it possible to encrypt regular PDFs with passwords to prevent unauthorised access, and create fillable PDF forms (which can’t encrypted) from editable DOCXF templates.

For your eyes only: password protect your PDFs

The Presentation app now lets you set the final colour for animation effects which change colour, and animation effect icons are now rendered inactive when an effect can’t be applied to an object.

Anyone working with the ONLYOFFICE spreadsheet editor will be interested to hear there are notable enhancements: new “goal seek” option in the data tab; a chart wizard to suggest chart types based on selected data; and a series feature to create number sequences

Smart charts in action in the new release

Eagle-eyed Linux users will notice that window control buttons no longer look so Windows-y. Although not natively inheriting the underlying DE style, they are more in keeping with general Linux styling.

Working on a pretend document in ONLYOFFICE 8.0

Finally, ONLYOFFICE 8.0 makes a major accessibility buff by adding a setting to enable support for screen readers; refreshes the branding used throughout the various editor apps; and resolves a clutch of dry-sounding security issues.

Want even more details? Typical – well, go gawp at the changelog on GitHub.

Download ONLYOFFICE 8.0

ONLYOFFICE is free, open-source software available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

This suite is also available as a web-based edition (ONLYOFFICE Docs) but the offline desktop editors work without any caveats, don’t require a signup, etc.

You can download ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors as a DEB package for Ubuntu from the suite’s official website or GitHub project page. Want a Snap, Flatpak, or AppImage version of ONLYOFFICE? You’re in luck as those are also available!

If you’re looking for a LibreOffice alternative that is also free, open-source software then the ONLYOFFICE suite is sure to appeal. This fully-featured, user-friendly, and frequently updated office suite is growing in popularity — it’s easy to see why.