Administrator rights are needed for the installation process.
Some LibreOffice features (wizards and the HSQLDB database engine) require that the Java
Runtime Environment (JRE) is installed on your computer. Although LibreOffice will work without
Java support, some features will not be available.
For a more detailed listing of requirements, see the LibreOffice website,
http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/system-requirements/.
How to get the software
Versions of LibreOffice for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X can be downloaded free from
http://www.libreoffice.org/download. You can also download the software by using a Peer-to-Peer
client, such as BitTorrent, at the same address.
Linux users will also find LibreOffice included in many of the latest Linux distributions; Ubuntu is
just one example.
Mac OS X users can also get two versions of LibreOffice from the App Store: LibreOffice Vanilla
(free) and LibreOffice-from-Collabora (an enterprise-ready version; small fee).
How to install the software
Information on installing and setting up LibreOffice on the various supported operating systems is
given here: http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/install-howto/.
Extensions and add-ons
Extensions and add-ons are available to enhance LibreOffice. Several extensions are installed with
the program and you can get others from the official extensions repository,
http://extensions.libreoffice.org/. See Chapter 14, Customizing LibreOffice for more information on
installing extensions and add-ons.
Starting LibreOffice
In general, you start LibreOffice the same way you start any other program on your computer.
On computers with Windows or Linux operating systems, a menu entry for LibreOffice and each
LibreOffice component appears in the system menu of your computer. On computers operating
Mac OS X, only a menu entry for LibreOffice is added to the Applications menu.
Clicking on the LibreOffice menu entry, desktop icon, or tile opens the LibreOffice Start Center
(Figure 2) from where you can select the individual components of LibreOffice. You can also select
to open an existing file or use a template.
Opening an existing document before starting LibreOffice
You can start LibreOffice by double-clicking the filename of an ODF document on the desktop, or in
a file manager such as Windows Explorer or the Mac’s Finder. The appropriate component of
LibreOffice will start and the document will be loaded.
You can also open files stored in remote servers running Content Management Interoperability
Services (CMIS). CMIS, like OpenDocument Format, is an OASIS standard. When using CMIS
servers, the service will ask you for the necessary credentials for file access.
18 | Getting Started with LibreOffice 5.1
