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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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How do y'all deal with programs not supported on Linux? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

117 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I've been seeing all these posts about Linux lately, and looking at them, I can honestly see the appeal. I'd love having so much autonomy over the OS I use, and customize it however I like, even having so many options to choose from when it comes to distros. The only thing holding me back, however, is incompatibility issues. A lot of programs I work with very often are Windows-exclusive, and alternatives supporting Linux are rare. So I guess I'm stuck with Windows, since I deem those particular programs really important.

Any advice from Linux nerds here? All constructive replies are very appreciated.

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[–] TCB13 -2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

No, it is why Linux becomes an unviable alternative - you can't open and edit a document and be sure it won't get messed up in some way.

[+] KISSmyOS 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

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[–] Theoriginalthon 4 points 1 year ago

The amount of times I've had this argument in the office is untrue. I think the default values aren't stored in the docx file or something like that, but when you manually set a value it does store it in the docx.

Then you have the whole proprietary blobs in a "open" standard to deal with.

The worst offenders are people who format with tabs and spaces and wonder why it's all messed up.

[–] TCB13 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

It’s not messed up, though. It’s just set to a different value. If the exact amount of paragraph spacing is important to you, you can either set it before you print, share the file as PDF or use a proper layouting software. This isn’t a Linux issue, you should do the same when sharing a file with someone using MS Office.

You're missing the point, if you get a document from a MS Office user you can't simply view it or print it and assume the result will be what the user intended it to be. Same applies in reverse if you make changes to the document. This makes LibreOffice unsuitable and not a real alternative.

Your yardstick for a usable desktop system is “every detail and default setting in all software needs to be exactly the same as on the Windows equivalent”.

No, the problem is that most people on this post want it both ways, want to say that LibreOffice is 100% perfect and can fit 100% of uses cases and be used for collaboration and at the same time say stuff like you said "It’s not messed up, though. It’s just set to a different value.". Its one thing or the other, not both.

And for what's worth is shouldn't be "set to a different value" because it breaks compatibility and LibreOffice say it does the best they can to ensure compatibility with MS Office formats.

[+] KISSmyOS 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

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[–] TCB13 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Again, if layout of your end product is important, don’t share .docx files.

I know a LOT of people who've been doing this since Office 97 and formatting holds across computers. And to be fair it seems to hold a lot better between older and newer versions of MS Office than with LibeOffice.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Every single docx file that I opened in a recent LibreOffice version looked exactly as intended. What features specifically are you talking about that dont work?

[–] TCB13 1 points 1 year ago

Look at my screenshot above. Do you call that "looked exactly as intended"?