Writer features
LibreOffice Writer on Windows — key features
- .docx compatibility
- Opens and saves Microsoft Word .docx files. Good compatibility for standard documents.
- Styles and formatting
- Paragraph styles, character styles, page styles — similar to Word Styles.
- Track changes
- Accept/reject changes, comments, review mode — compatible with Word changes.
- Mail merge
- Create personalised letters and envelopes from a data source.
- PDF export
- File > Export as PDF — full PDF export with bookmarks and links.
- Templates
- Hundreds of free templates at templates.libreoffice.org.
- Extensions
- LanguageTool grammar checker, Zotero citations and more.
docx compatibility
Open and save .docx files in Writer
Writer opens .docx files directly. To save as .docx for sharing with Microsoft Word users:
- File → Save As → change file type to Word 2007-365 (.docx)
- Or: Tools → Options → Load/Save → General → set default format to ODF or Word
Set default save format to .docx if you regularly share files with Microsoft Word users: Tools → Options → Load/Save → Default File Format: Text Document → ODF Text Document 1.2 or Word 2007-365.
FAQ
Writer questions
Does LibreOffice Writer open .docx files?
Yes. Writer opens .docx, .doc and .odt files directly. Double-click a .docx file and it opens in Writer if LibreOffice is installed. You can also save back to .docx format. Compatibility is very good for standard documents.
LibreOffice Writer vs Microsoft Word — which is better?
For solo writing, reports and standard documents: Writer is fully capable and free. For real-time collaboration via OneDrive, advanced AI features (Copilot) or enterprise document management: Microsoft Word/365 has advantages. See the full comparison.