LibreOffice shoots against Microsoft – Sharp criticism of Office formats

LibreOffice once again sharply criticizes Microsoft Office file formats. The accusation is that users are driven into dependency through targeted incompatibilities. This also threatens the long-term archiving of digital documents.

Criticism of proprietary formats

Italo Vignoli, founder of The Document Foundation (TDF), the makers of LibreOffice, criticizes Microsoft again. After the ribbon interface of MS Office and the use of Excel by the EU Commission were the subject of blog posts by the open source representative in the past, he is now doing it again. As has been the case several times before, the focus is on the file formats DOCX, XLSX and PPTX. Vignoli criticizes the fact that Microsoft is gradually tying users to a single ecosystem. The formats in question are based on the OOXML specification, which was introduced in 2007 as a successor to the older DOC and XLS files.

Although they are theoretically more open than their predecessors, Microsoft retains full control. Undocumented changes or specific extensions to the fonts regularly caused problems with display in alternative programs. Like Italo Vignoli in his new one Blog post writes, the company is specifically taking advantage of this. He and the organization behind LibreOffice accuse Microsoft of creating an artificial “lock-in” effect in this way.

Frictional losses in everyday work

According to Vignoli, a lack of compatibility ensures constant friction. Users who did not use Microsoft’s original software were left with the impression that alternative solutions were unreliable. This ultimately forces many users to return to the familiar ecosystem. You would have the impression that this is the only way to open and edit important documents in the office or at home without errors. For home users, a moved table may just be a nuisance.

However, in law firms, hospitals or government agencies, incorrect documents can have far-reaching consequences. This is where the topic of digital sovereignty is becoming increasingly important. Many European institutions are looking for local or open source alternatives for their IT infrastructure in order to maintain full control over their data.

Danger to long-term archiving

Another point of criticism concerns the long-term readability of data. According to Vignoli, if only a few companies fully implemented a particular standard, there would be a risk that documents would become unreadable in a decade or two. Among other things, this represents a massive problem for compliance with retention periods and requires proactive action when choosing the appropriate formats.

As a solution, Vignoli recommends using the Open Document Format (ODF) used by LibreOffice. The standard’s specifications are freely accessible and managed by an independent body. The problem, however, is that the consistent changeover in large companies requires a lot of initial effort and requires conscious decisions on the part of management.