MS Office 2019, What’s the Best Free Replacement Suite

[CharlesF]

I'd bite the bullet and buy a genuine home / student Microsoft 365 and know that it all works.

I did think of that, but the amount of usage makes £60 pa uneconomical forget me..

 

[CharlesF]

I seem to remember that the development of OpenOffice stalled or something and LibreOffice was the preferred version nowadays

I have used both and LibreOffice does most of the stuff you need

major problems are
a) Access - not even close - but then is Access really waht you need?
b) Publisher - OK - not standard but what to replace it???

but the basic Word, Excel and Powerpoint is great!

Thanks, first on the list to download.

 

[CharlesF]

£5.99 a month for 365 is the best option, it just works

Maybe, but expensive if used a couple of times a month.

 

[CharlesF]

If you have any old discs with a "key" just use one of them.

I have just loaded Office 98 on a new lap top and it works.

If it's only for a few spreadsheets (as mine is) it does the job.

I think I do! I will look in all the old CDs that I have in a case, fingers crossed.

 

[CharlesF]

I am quite happy with Open Office.

Mike

Second on the list to try!

 

[CharlesF]

Go to eBay and buy a sub-£10 version of Office. I've bought three for different machines over the last ten years. All of them have worked perfectly.

Aha! Another good idea, I Kew that I can rely on CCs for expert help.

 

[CharlesF]

I used to teach ICT to 'A' Level
LibreOffice would work just fine up to GCSE at the very least
so if you need to go beyond Vlookup and Countif then maybe you need the full Office
if not - or if you do not know what those things are - then LibreOffice is fine
(N.B. you may need to change a comma to a semi colon - but the WWW will help you)

Thanks for the good tips, for my private stuff complex formula, etc aren’t needed. I do have my office laptop for high powered Excel. It’s never occurred but I could do that.

 

[classic33]

Microsoft Works, thinned down version of Office.

 

[MrGrumpy]

Go to eBay and buy a sub-£10 version of Office. I've bought three for different machines over the last ten years. All of them have worked perfectly.

I’ve used those in the past. They are legit keys but their use is somewhat sketchy. However last time I looked for one , they were gone!? Like eBay had banned them? Think at work we have moved to office 365, there is an option to get a discount for home use. To be honest , I may end up going down that road, as one of my Macs office install is not quite official…….

 

[slowmotion]

I’ve used those in the past. They are legit keys but their use is somewhat sketchy. However last time I looked for one , they were gone!? Like eBay had banned them? Think at work we have moved to office 365, there is an option to get a discount for home use. To be honest , I may end up going down that road, as one of my Macs office install is not quite official…….

I bought this laptop in December 2020 and got an eBay Office download version a few days later. I think it was about £7. I don't know the details, but people are supposed to be able to sell Windows versions from scrapped machines perfectly legitimately. That may be true. I don't know. This version works.

This route to cheap software may no longer be available. I'll find out when this £450 15" HP laptop throws in the towel.

 

[FrankCrank]

I’ve used those in the past. They are legit keys but their use is somewhat sketchy. However last time I looked for one , they were gone!? Like eBay had banned them? Think at work we have moved to office 365, there is an option to get a discount for home use. To be honest , I may end up going down that road, as one of my Macs office install is not quite official…….

A nice quill pen and parchment does it for me. Occasionally I venture out of my cave and use LibreOffice - 'tis nice.

 

[si_c]

I bought this laptop in December 2020 and got an eBay Office download version a few days later. I think it was about £7. I don't know the details, but people are supposed to be able to sell Windows versions from scrapped machines perfectly legitimately. That may be true. I don't know. This version works.

This route to cheap software may no longer be available. I'll find out when this £450 15" HP laptop throws in the towel.

Not true - OEM versions of Windows have always stipulated that you cannot resell them even though people have in the past, but in modern releases the windows installation is tied to the specific hardware that it's sold with and there is no key to sell on. To install on a new computer you would need a retail version of Windows.

That being said you can install and run windows now without needing a key or a license at all, you just get an on-screen display that the version is not licensed but all functionality is there. This is a conscious decision by Microsoft to ensure that software is kept up to date and hence secure, and given that most copies of Windows are obtained with a new computer purchase the rate of unlicensed installs is very low.

For versions of Office it tends to be that the keys that are sold on ebay are not intended for the European market but rather are for BRICS or other less wealthy countries where a £199 for a copy of office would be prohibitively expensive. People do sell them into other markets but I'm uncertain of the legality of doing this as it's something of a grey area.

 

[slowmotion]

Not true - OEM versions of Windows have always stipulated that you cannot resell them even though people have in the past, but in modern releases the windows installation is tied to the specific hardware that it's sold with and there is no key to sell on. To install on a new computer you would need a retail version of Windows.

That being said you can install and run windows now without needing a key or a license at all, you just get an on-screen display that the version is not licensed but all functionality is there. This is a conscious decision by Microsoft to ensure that software is kept up to date and hence secure, and given that most copies of Windows are obtained with a new computer purchase the rate of unlicensed installs is very low.

For versions of Office it tends to be that the keys that are sold on ebay are not intended for the European market but rather are for BRICS or other less wealthy countries where a £199 for a copy of office would be prohibitively expensive. People do sell them into other markets but I'm uncertain of the legality of doing this as it's something of a grey area.

My version seems to work. What am I supposed to do.....walk to the local police station and make a full confession? It was bought in good faith.

 

[si_c]

My version seems to work. What am I supposed to do.....walk to the local police station and make a full confession? It was bought in good faith.

I wouldn't think about it too much at all if I'm honest I'm sure you've got much better things to do with your time anyway

 

[Drago]

Another one who recommends LibraOffice.