LibreOffice is the best alternative to Microsoft Office, now absolutely preferable for all those who do not have specific needs, for those who need programs such as Word, Excel and Powerpoint for home use, even professional use. We have seen, in another article, the best functions of LibreOffice, neglecting, however, the fact that, as happens in Chrome and Firefox, you can install extensions to the program to add new ones.
For example, there are extensions that add an enhanced "Find and Replace" feature, then a grammar checker for the Writer, a calendar for Calc, a search window for Calc and the ability to perform calculations directly in a Writer document.
In addition to discovering the best extensions for LibreOffice, it is necessary in this article to find out how to install them, because unfortunately it is not just a matter of two clicks.
READ ALSO: Download LibreOffice for free in Italian with Word, Excel and Powerpoint on PC, Mac and Linux
To begin with, to install an extension in LibreOffice, you need to see if it is dedicated to one of the programs in the suite or if it is generic.
In the case of an extension on a specific LibreOffice program, open the program, otherwise you can open any one.
For example, open Writer, go to Tools -> Extension Manager which is the same for all LibreOffice programs.
Even if they have never been installed before, you will find some extensions already set, which come from the program itself, which are in fact the spelling checkers.
To search and download other extensions for LibreOffice you can press the " Download other extensions " button or go directly to the Extension Center LibreOffice website.
The extension site is quite old and not quite as inviting as other stores, for some extensions, there may be a warning about fate that they are more than a year old, but this does not mean at all that they will not work.
The Extension Center is still an official LibreOffice site, so everything that is downloaded is free and clean, without viruses or malware.
Once you find the extension you want to install, download the program (which will be in the .oxt file format ), then go back to the Extension Manager window in Writer, click on " Add ", find the downloaded oxt file and click on Open .
Some extensions may have a license agreement which must be accepted.
The extension is then added to the list in the Extension Manager window and can be disabled or removed from here.
If an extension receives an update, you will be asked to install the new version.
By selecting one of the extensions, you can also click an Options button.
Some extensions add a toolbar, others add a new item in one of the menus and for each one you can read the description on the official website page.
The best extensions to always add in LibreOffice are 8 :
1) Find and replace for Writer ( AltSearch )
The default "Search and replace" feature in LibreOffice is very basic, so this is the first of the extensions to be installed, to have multiple search and text replacement options in one step.
2) MultiSave
If you work with documents in multiple formats, for example, if you write the document in ODT format, but also want to save it in Word or PDF format, then you must use this extension.
3) Calendar for Calc
If you use Calc by entering dates often, then you have to add this addon which makes it very easy with a click.
4) Code Colorizer Formatter
Although LibreOffice is not a tool for writing code, with this extension it can become one because it highlights keywords, letters, comments and operators in various programming languages such as Basic, C ++, Java, Perl, PHP, Python, R, SQL, XML, C #, Lisp, JavaScript, Ruby and others, thus making it much easier to read the code and make changes.
5) ShowNotes
This addon, released more than five years ago, still works well and is used to quickly show or hide all the notes written in the Calc cells.
6) Search in Calc
This opens a floating window in Calc for faster searches
7) iMath
To write math formulas directly in Writer, install this extension.
8) LangageTool
This recently updated extension is a good grammar checker also for the Italian language.
READ ALSO: Options to modify to optimize Libreoffice
