LibreOffice has announced the release of version 25.2, introducing a range of enhancements across its suite of applications. This update focuses on refining user experience, bolstering accessibility, and expanding functionality.
In Writer, users can now remove personal information from documents, mitigating the risk of unintended data exposure. The change-tracking system has been improved for more intuitive collaboration; selecting altered text highlights the corresponding entry in the “Manage Changes” window and sidebar, facilitating efficient navigation. Compatibility with DOCX files has been enhanced, particularly in the conversion of line objects and font fallback mechanisms, ensuring consistent formatting when working with Microsoft Word documents. Support for Asian languages has been strengthened with the addition of “Group” and “Mono” buttons, enabling batch and per-character annotations, which is especially beneficial for East Asian language users. Comment management has become more flexible, allowing replies to be promoted to root comments and customization of comment background colors and non-printing character hues, enhancing the editing environment. Additionally, footnotes and endnotes can now be converted with a few clicks, streamlining the editing process for academic and professional documents.
Calc, the spreadsheet component, introduces a “Process Duplicate Records” dialog, simplifying the identification and removal of duplicate entries. The Solver function now supports saving models within spreadsheets and offers sensitivity analysis reports, catering to users in operations research and financial modeling. A status bar icon alerts users when “AutoCalculate” is disabled, preventing potential calculation errors due to inadvertent settings changes.
Impress, the presentation module, now supports semi-transparent text in SVG exports, preserving complex design elements during sharing. Slides can automatically loop even in windowed mode, suitable for informational displays or meetings. Text effects have been enhanced, allowing direct application of soft edges and glow effects within text boxes without the need for external design tools.
The update also introduces a new theme system, enabling users to set light or dark themes independently of their operating system settings. Through the “Appearance” tab in the options menu, users can install theme extensions or customize theme elements, creating a personalized workspace. The “Recent Documents” panel now includes a module filter, allowing quick access to specific file types. Windows users will experience smoother touch screen panning and zooming.
File format support has been broadened. Improvements in handling Visio documents include better rendering of fill styles and arrowheads in Visio 5 files, and VSTX template files can now be opened directly. Full support for reading and writing ODF 1.4 documents has been implemented.
