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Author: Italo Vignoli

Celebrating Document Freedom Day

Why Document Freedom Day Matters More Than Ever

Every year, Document Freedom Day reminds us of a simple but powerful idea: we should have control over our own data. Not just where we store it, but how we access it, share it, and keep it usable for years to come. At the heart of that is the concept of open standards, file formats that anyone can read, use, and build on without restrictions.

What’s Document Freedom, Anyway?

Document freedom means being able to create and access digital documents without being locked into a specific company’s software. When you save a file – whether it’s a spreadsheet, a report, or a photo album – you should be able to open it on any system, now or in the future. That’s only possible with open standards like ODF (Open Document Format) or PDF/A.

Proprietary formats can trap your content. Ever tried opening an old project and found that the software doesn’t exist anymore or now requires a subscription? That’s the problem. Your data shouldn’t expire just because a company changed its business model.

Why It Matters

– For individuals, it’s about ownership. You shouldn’t lose access to your writing, photos, or work just because you switch devices or software.
– For organizations, it’s about long-term access and avoiding vendor lock-in.
– For governments, it’s about transparency and accountability. Public records must remain readable and accessible over time.

How You Can Support Document Freedom

– Use software that supports open formats (like LibreOffice or LibreOffice Technology based software).
– Save and share files in open formats like .odt, .ods, or .pdf (not .docx, .xlsx, etc.).
– Push for open standards in your workplace or community projects.
– Spread the word: most people don’t even realize file formats can trap them.

The Bigger Picture

Document freedom is part of a broader movement for digital rights. It’s about giving people real choices and protecting their autonomy in the digital world. As AI, cloud services, and proprietary platforms grow more complex, the risks of losing control over our content also grow. Open standards are a small but essential line of defence.

So today, take a minute to think about the files you create. Are they truly yours to keep?

Happy Document Freedom Day

(this text has been drafted in Italian, my native language, and translated with the help of AI based translation services)

REMINDER: Document Freedom Day @ LibreOffice

Next Wednesday, on March 26, we will celebrate Document Freedom Day 2025. During the day, we will mainly talk about the ISO Open Document Format, which was approved in 2005 by OASIS and in 2006 by ISO. Due to the global scale of the LibreOffice project, our events will be online.

There will be three webinars at 10:30 CET, 15:30 CET and 20:30 CET, with a presentation on the history of ODF and the great importance of the standard document format for digital sovereignty. To listen to the webinars, you can connect to https://jitsi.documentfoundation.org/dfd2025.

We will also be connected for question and answer sessions at 1 p.m. CET and 6 p.m. CET, to delve deeper into the topics of the webinar and to satisfy the curiosity of users, most of whom use a proprietary format without being aware of it, and are therefore victims of Microsoft’s lock-in strategies. These sessions will be in the same video room as the webinars: https://jitsi.documentfoundation.org/dfd2025.

Announcement of LibreOffice 25.2.1

With videos describing new features on YouTube and PeerTube

Berlin, 27 February 2025 – LibreOffice 25.2.1, the first minor release of the new LibreOffice 25.2 volunteer-supported office suite for Windows (Intel, AMD and ARM), macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel) and Linux is available for download from our website [1]. LibreOffice is the best office suite for users who want to retain control over their individual software and documents, thereby protecting their privacy and digital life from the commercial interference and the lock-in strategies of Big Tech.

LibreOffice is the only office suite designed to meet the actual needs of the user – not just their eyes. It offers a range of interface options to suit different user habits, from traditional to modern, and makes the most of different screen sizes, optimising the space available to put the maximum number of features just a click or two away. It is also the only software for creating documents (that may contain personal or confidential information) that respects the user’s privacy, ensuring that the user can decide if and with whom to share the content they create, thanks to the standard and open format that is not used as a lock-in tool, forcing periodic software updates. All this with a feature set that is comparable to the leading software on the market and far superior to that of any competitor.

What makes LibreOffice unique is the LibreOffice Technology Platform, the only one on the market that allows the consistent development of desktop, mobile and cloud versions – including those provided by companies in the ecosystem – capable of producing identical and fully interoperable documents based on the two available ISO standards: the open ODF or Open Document Format (ODT, ODS and ODP) and the proprietary Microsoft OOXML (DOCX, XLSX and PPTX). The latter hides a huge number of artificial (and unnecessary) lock-in complexities that create problems for users convinced they are using a standard format. Products based on LibreOffice Technology are available for all major desktop operating systems (Windows, macOS, Linux and ChromeOS), mobile platforms (Android and iOS) and the cloud.

For enterprise-class deployments, TDF strongly recommends the LibreOffice Enterprise family of applications from ecosystem partners – for desktop, mobile and cloud – with a wide range of dedicated value-added features and other benefits such as SLAs and backports of security patches for several years: www.libreoffice.org/download/libreoffice-in-business/.

English manuals for LibreOffice 25.2 Writer and Impress can be downloaded from books.libreoffice.org/en/. End users can get first-level technical support from volunteers on the user mailing lists and the Ask LibreOffice website: ask.libreoffice.org.

Videos describing the new features of the LibreOffice 25.2 family are available on PeerTube and YouTube.

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Availability of LibreOffice 25.2.1

LibreOffice 25.2.1 is available at www.libreoffice.org/download/. Users who don’t need the latest features and prefer a version that has undergone more testing and bug fixing can download LibreOffice 24.8.5, which includes several months of back-ported fixes.

LibreOffice users, free software advocates and community members can support The Document Foundation and the LibreOffice project with a donation at www.libreoffice.org/donate.

[1] Fixes in RC1: wiki.documentfoundation.org/Releases/25.2.1/RC1. Fixes in RC2: wiki.documentfoundation.org/Releases/25.2.1/RC2.

Document Freedom Day @ LibreOffice

In one month, on March 26, we will celebrate Document Freedom Day 2025. For the first time in a while, the LibreOffice project will play a major role in organizing the event.

During the day, we will mainly talk about the ISO Open Document Format, which was approved in 2005 by OASIS and in 2006 by ISO. Due to the global scale of the LibreOffice project, our events will be online.

There will be three webinars at 10:30 CET, 15:30 CET and 20:30 CET, with a presentation on the history of ODF and the great importance of the standard document format for digital sovereignty.

In addition, we will be connected for question and answer sessions at 1 p.m. CET and 6 p.m. CET, to delve deeper into the topics of the webinar and to satisfy the curiosity of users, most of whom use a proprietary format without being aware of it, and are therefore victims of Microsoft’s lock-in strategies.

In addition to online events, there will also be physical events organized by local open source communities. All events should be registered on the Document Freedom Day web page.

If you are planning to organize one of these events, please contact us at media@documentfoundation.org. We can help you by sending you LibreOffice and Open Document Format leaflets/flyers and stickers.

LibreOffice 24.8.5 is available for download

Berlin, 20 February 2025 – LibreOffice 24.8.5, the fifth minor release of the LibreOffice 24.8 family of the free open source, volunteer-supported office suite for Windows (Intel, AMD and ARM), MacOS (Apple and Intel) and Linux, is available on our download page.

LibreOffice is the only office suite that respects the privacy of the user, ensuring that the user is able to decide if and with whom to share the content they create. It even allows deleting user related info from documents. In addition, it has a feature set comparable to the leading product on the market.

Also, LibreOffice offers a range of interface options to suit different user habits, from traditional to modern, and makes the most of different screen sizes by using all the space available on the desktop to put the maximum number of features just a click or two away.

The biggest advantage over competing products is the LibreOffice Technology engine, the single software platform on which desktop, mobile and cloud versions of LibreOffice – including those from ecosystem companies – are based.

This allows LibreOffice to produce identical and fully interoperable documents based on two ISO standards: the open and neutral Open Document Format (ODT, ODS, ODP) and the closed and fully proprietary Microsoft OOXML (DOCX, XLSX, PPTX), which hides a large amount of artificial complexity, and can cause problems for users who are confident that they are using a true open standard.

End users looking for manuals can download the LibreOffice 24.8 guides from the following link: books.libreoffice.org/.

LibreOffice for Enterprise

For enterprise-class deployments, TDF strongly recommends the LibreOffice Enterprise family of applications from ecosystem partners, with three or five year backporting of security patches, other dedicated value-added features and Service Level Agreements: www.libreoffice.org/download/libreoffice-in-business/.

Every line of code developed by ecosystem companies for enterprise customers is shared with the community on the master code repository and improves the LibreOffice Technology platform. Products based on LibreOffice Technology are available for all major desktop operating systems (Windows, macOS, Linux and ChromeOS), mobile platforms (Android and iOS) and the cloud.

In fact, LibreOffice’s mature code base, rich feature set, strong support for open standards, excellent compatibility and LTS options make it the ideal solution for organisations looking to regain control of their data and break free from vendor lock-in.

LibreOffice 24.8.5 availability

LibreOffice 24.8.5 is available from www.libreoffice.org/download/. Minimum requirements for proprietary operating systems are Microsoft Windows 7 SP1 (no longer supported by Microsoft) and Apple MacOS 10.15. Products for Android and iOS are at www.libreoffice.org/download/android-and-ios/.

End users can get first-level technical support from volunteers on mailing lists and the Ask LibreOffice website: ask.libreoffice.org. They can support the project by donating at www.libreoffice.org/donate.

Enterprise deploying LibreOffice can also donate, although the best solution for their needs would be to look for the enterprise optimized versions of the software (with Long Term Support for security and Service Level Agreements to protect their investment) at www.libreoffice.org/download/libreoffice-in-business/.

Changelogs

LibreOffice 24.8.5 RC1 https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Releases/24.8.5/RC1, LibreOffice 24.8.5 RC2 https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Releases/24.8.5/RC2.

Press Releases

The Document Foundation Releases LibreOffice 26.2.4

Berlin, 5 June 2026 – The Document Foundation today announced the release of LibreOffice 26.2.4, the fourth maintenance update to…

Open Document Format

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There is a sophisticated mechanism by which proprietary technology ecosystems maintain their grip on users and institutions, even when those…