[Discuss] LibreOffice and .docx files

[David Rosenstrauch]

Correct.  I bought myself a copy of Windows 7 to use specifically for 
this purpose.  It is a bit annoying to have to do that, but it's not 
that expensive.  (See 
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832416804)

I'm not sure there's too many other practical options beyond that.  You 
could set up a dual boot on your machine, with Linux and Windows.  But 
that's a real pain from a usability perspective, as you'd need to 
hibernate your Linux session and reboot into Windows every time you want 
to use MS Word.  A VM is much nicer option.

HTH,

DR

On 12/11/2017 11:38 PM, Shirley Márquez Dúlcey wrote:
> The catch is licensing. The Windows license that came with your
> computer doesn't cover running it in a virtual machine. You'll have to
> buy a full retail license to do that legally.
> 
> A Windows license really should cover running any number of virtual
> machines with Windows on the same computer, so long as they are not
> being used to run servers that provide services to the public or a
> place of business. (They understandably want to charge extra for
> that.) But expecting Microsoft to be that sensible is futile.
> 
> On Mon, Dec 11, 2017 at 10:56 PM, David Rosenstrauch <darose at darose.net> wrote:
>> On 12/11/2017 10:05 PM, Nancy Allison wrote:
>>>
>>> Hello, all.
>>>
>>> I painfully conclude that I must install Word on my Ubuntu 16.04 machine.
>>> I
>>> need to be able to handle Word files consistently.
>>>
>>> So I opened Synaptic Package Manager and searched for Microsoft Word. No
>>> luck.
>>>
>>> What do I do? How do I get it installed?
>>>
>>> I know, it pains me! But I don't see a way around it. All suggestions
>>> gratefully received!
>>>
>>> --Nancy
>>
>>
>> Run a Windows virtual machine inside VirtualBox, which has MS Word installed
>> in it.  I've been doing that for years.
>>
>> Sad but true that when it comes to compatibility with the (non-Unix) rest of
>> the world, sometimes there's really no alternative but to use Word, Excel,
>> Powerpoint, etc.  At least when you run them in a VM you run them as
>> minimally - and as contained - as possible.
>>
>> HTH,
>>
>> DR
>>
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