[Discuss] LibreOffice and .docx files

[nancythewriter7 at gmail.com (Nancy Allison)]

Hello, all.

I am using Ubuntu 16.04 and LibreOffice 5.1.6.2.

I've been sent a .docx file with a fairly complex layout, and the layout is
trashed immediately upon opening in LibreOffice. I know from past
experience that docx files that I've modified in LibreOffice are, if
possible, even nastier when reopened in Word.

Is there a Word-compatible open source program that truly does not trash
the formatting? Or is it simply not possible to pass documents back and
forth between Word and an open source program like LibreOffice or
OpenOffice? I used Open Office years ago, haven't used it recently, it used
to trash the files, too.

All suggestions gratefully received.

--Nancy