A Feature-Rich Update
LibreOffice 25.8 brings a multitude of new features for Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, and the entire office suite. This version enhances productivity, compatibility with other formats, and overall performance. It also includes new functions, improved accessibility options, and more powerful scripting tools.
Major Updates in Writer
The text editor Writer has received significant improvements for layout, text management, and change tracking.
Notable additions include:
- New option to prevent hyphenation of the last word on a page by moving the entire line to the next page.
- End settings for paragraph, column, page, and double-page.
- Precise control over minimum, desired, and maximum spacing between words.
- Enhanced tooltips in the Navigator displaying total word and character counts, including subsections.
- Command to insert a paragraph break before a table.
- Shortcut to convert fields to plain text (Ctrl + Shift + F2).
- New field indicating the number of pages until the next numbering restart.
- Improved change tracking, with the ability to restore rejected changes and better manage interdependent changes.
- Image redaction function directly from the Auto-Redact tool.
- Language setting for certain punctuation marks to enhance correction and readability.
Performance Gains in Writer
Loading complex documents is faster thanks to:
- Optimized layout for large files.
- More efficient processing of documents with tracked text movements.
- Accelerated deletion of large tables.
- Faster rendering for documents written right-to-left.
Enhancements for Calc
The spreadsheet software Calc introduces new functions and notable optimizations.
New Functions
Many modern functions inspired by Excel make their debut: CHOOSECOLS, CHOOSEROWS, DROP, EXPAND, HSTACK, TAKE, TEXTAFTER, TEXTBEFORE, TEXTSPLIT, TOCOL, TOROW, VSTACK, WRAPCOLS, WRAPROWS.
Other Improvements
- Customization of operators in conditional formatting icon sets.
- "Clear AutoFilter" option in the context menu.
- CSV import dialog with a checkbox to show or hide it for each import.
- Improved speed for opening and handling large XLSX files, especially with many conditional formats, charts, or comments.
- Faster calculation of row heights and better handling of large charts.
New Features for Impress and Draw
Impress
- Ctrl + Scroll Wheel shortcut to adjust the number of slides per row in sorter mode.
- Support for embedded fonts in PPTX files.
- Ability to copy master slides.
Draw
- Display of page margins with option to disable via advanced settings.
General Improvements in LibreOffice
- New viewer mode to open all files in read-only mode.
- Thumbnail previews for background images in page styles.
- Better compatibility with encrypted files and signed PDF documents.
- Proportional resizing of OLE objects, including charts, with or without holding the Shift key.
Compatibility and File Formats
LibreOffice 25.8 enhances interoperability:
- Import of AutoFilters from Excel XML.
- More accurate rendering of DOC/DOCX documents in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
- Correction of multi-level numbering in DOCX.
- Support for PDF 2.0 with AES-256 encryption, PDF/A-4 compatibility, and redesigned export interface.
User Interface and Accessibility
- Ability to edit certain fields in read-only documents.
- Quick search bar with accent matching option.
- Button to show the password in dialogs.
- Quick toggle for object rotation in Writer and Calc.
- Improvements for macOS with full-screen management and new menus.
- Template menus accessible to screen readers.
- Better support for indentation attributes for reading with NVDA.
Scripting and Automation with ScriptForge
The ScriptForge module is enhanced:
- New methods for manipulating cell ranges, context menus, and defined names in Calc.
- Functions for copying controls between dialogs, managing alignment, color, and borders.
- Identical support in Basic and Python.
- Improved error handling in scripts.
Languages and Dictionaries
- New locales: Albanian, Moldovan, addition of Bitcoin currency.
- Dictionaries and hyphenation rules for Punjabi, Oriya, Sanskrit, Kannada, and Assamese.
- Updates for several languages including Danish, English GB and ZA, Spanish, and Ukrainian.
Technical Changes and Compatibility
- End of support for Windows 7 and 8/8.1.
- Last version compatible with macOS 10.15.
- Deprecation of 32-bit Windows support.
- New, more secure ODF encryption options with AES-GCM and Argon2id.
Summary Table of Key Points
| Domain | Main Updates |
|---|---|
| Writer | Layout, change tracking, image redaction |
| Calc | New functions, performance optimization |
| Impress / Draw | Copying master slides, margin management |
| Compatibility | PDF 2.0, DOCX, XLSX, Asian formats |
| User Interface | UI improvements, increased accessibility |
| Scripting | Enhanced ScriptForge, more powerful macros |
Conclusion
LibreOffice 25.8 marks an important milestone in the evolution of the free office suite. This version combines new useful features, better compatibility with competing formats, and enhanced performance. Users, whether beginners or advanced, will find more powerful tools, a smoother interface, and expanded automation possibilities.
