LibreOffice 25.8 Slams the Door On Windows 7 and 8.x (nerds.xyz)
- Reference: 0178833094
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/08/23/0124202/libreoffice-258-slams-the-door-on-windows-7-and-8x
- Source link: https://nerds.xyz/2025/08/libreoffice-25-8-drops-windows-7-8-users/
> LibreOffice 25.8 has [2]landed , and while it packs in new features and speed improvements, the biggest headline is who just got left behind. If you are still running Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1, this is the end of the road. LibreOffice will [3]not run on those systems anymore , and there are no workarounds. The suite has [4]slammed the door shut.
>
> For years, LibreOffice kept older Windows users afloat while Microsoft and other developers moved on. That lifeline is gone. Anyone stubbornly clinging to Windows 7 or 8 now has two choices: upgrade or stay stuck on outdated software. LibreOffice has made it clear that it will not carry dead platforms any further. And the cuts do not stop there. 32-bit Windows builds are on their way out, with deprecation already in place. On the Mac side, 25.8 is the last release that runs on macOS 10.15. Starting with LibreOffice 26.2, only macOS 11 and newer will be supported. In other words, if your computer is too old to run modern systems, LibreOffice is walking away.
[1] https://slashdot.org/~BrianFagioli
[2] https://www.libreoffice.org/download/download-libreoffice/
[3] https://nerds.xyz/2025/08/libreoffice-25-8-drops-windows-7-8-users/
[4] https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/ReleaseNotes/25.8
Two options, not two choices (Score:1, Troll)
> Anyone stubbornly clinging to Windows 7 or 8 now has two choices: upgrade or stay stuck on outdated software.
Two options, you fool. One choice.
Re: (Score:2)
It might make sense if these 2 choices choices were quantum superposition states. But Win7/8 don't run on general-purpose quantum computers, which don't exist yet, and may never exist.
Re: (Score:2)
>> Anyone stubbornly clinging to Windows 7 or 8 now has two choices: upgrade or stay stuck on outdated software.
> Two options, you fool. One choice.
If you choose to be a condescending pedant, you might wish to do some research first: [1]https://www.merriam-webster.co... [merriam-webster.com].
The second definition from that link reads: "power of choosing : OPTION : you have no choice". So a choice is also an "option", and the word "choice" was used correctly by GP.
Yes, I'm aware that the usage in question raises the awkward prospect of "choosing a choice". That's English for you - awkward mutations 'r' us. It invites pedantry even as it lays traps for pedants. (Please excuse m
[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/choice
Re: (Score:3)
> Two options
Actually, there are lots of options. Here is my list:
1) Continue to use that last LibreOffice version for the platform, just like you have continued to use an old/unsupported OS.
2) Upgrade your MS-Windows OS, (if that is even possible on such old hardware)
3) Switch to Linux, which is far more likely to work on ancient hardware (depending on distro).
4) Buy a new laptop/desktop computer and use whatever current OS you want to tie your wagon to.
5) Stop using computers and go hide under a rock.
I
Re: (Score:2)
> 2) Upgrade your MS-Windows OS, (if that is even possible on such old hardware)
I've got Windows 10 running on my wife's 2006 Thinkpad T60 with a Core 2 Duo CPU. Upgraded the RAM to 16GB and put in a 2.5" SSD. It boots to a usable desktop in 30 seconds tops. Other than video playback on Youtube being a bit shit above 720p due to using Intel onboard graphics it does everything just fine for typical web browsing, listening to Spotify, editing documents and she even runs an old version of Photoshop and Coreldraw on it too for making signs as she's a signwriter.
Re: (Score:2)
There are actually lots of options:
- Keep using the current version
- Switch to OpenOffice, which at the time of writing supports Windows XP: [1]https://www.openoffice.org/dev... [openoffice.org] LibreOffice is a fork of the latter, and now OO is owned by the Apache Foundation the original justification for LO is obsolete.
- Switch to Windows 10
- Switch to a GNU/Linux based OS. I recommend Debian with the Mint desktop, you may need someone to handhold you for the initial set up but once it's set up you'll never want to go back.
-
[1] https://www.openoffice.org/dev_docs/source/sys_reqs.html
"There is no workaround" (Score:1)
Okay, just narating to an "IT-Crowd"!
It's just a check in the fckn! sourcecode, the API usage is still the very same!
And btw. a message to some "turds" letting it still install and run,
does not carry any need for "active" support, nor effort just to block any bugfix request stating Windows 7/8
These offensive actions of retro-OSes are a fckn disgrace!
Just let them be!
Performance improvement of calc with big files (Score:4, Informative)
It has been mentioned here that LO calc is not currently usable as a replacement for MS Excel in particular due to being very slow on big files.
Apparently this problem is being addressed. Multiple changelog entries report great performance improvements in opening or rendering files with lots of conditional formatting/graphical objects/custom formatting/comments [1]https://wiki.documentfoundatio... [documentfoundation.org]
[1] https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/ReleaseNotes/25.8#Performance_2
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But for the many of us who don't use massive Excel files with lots of complex stuff, LO Calc is fine.
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I'm super glad to read this, because I have mentioned it a bunch of times because Calc has failed me in relation to large complicated files a bunch of times. That's the last thing I still use Excel for and I can flush my Mickeysoft Office-hosting VM if this is addressed. (I can go ahead and suffer with the non-live pivot tables, since I don't use them often, although I do hope they implement live ones eventually.)
Waiting for the time when... (Score:2)
LibreOffice slams the door on Windows *.*
Re: (Score:3)
That may happen sooner than you think.
Why maintain a 'native' Windows experience past the date when and if the *nix version runs seamlessly in Windows 11 under WSL.
At which point the installer on Windows becomes simply a minimal Linux distro to bootstrap LibreOffice.
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Most likely MS will slam the door on Office running on Windows well before Libreoffice does. And that is unlikely to happen for a very long time.
... or stay stuck on outdated software (Score:2)
> Anyone stubbornly clinging to Windows 7 or 8 now has two choices: upgrade or stay stuck on outdated software.
I may not have a PhD in thinky stuff, but someone running Windows7 is on outdated software even if their word processor is current.
"Grocery store in the arctic goes out of business. Residents now have two choices: move or live in harsh conditions."
Upgrade? (Score:1)
What exactly does the new version do that makes the last version obsolete?
I go years between updating LibreOffice as I never see any difference.
Re:Upgrade? (Score:5, Informative)
It's great you don't see any difference, it means they managed to maintain consistency. The improvements are subtle. This time, a lot of work is related to the hyphenation and word spacing algorithm. It shouldn't be visible for you except if you need pixel to pixel compatibility with MS Office. The very very long version is [1]https://numbertext.org/typogra... [numbertext.org]
Nothing in the release notes [2]https://wiki.documentfoundatio... [documentfoundation.org] and announcement [3]https://blog.documentfoundatio... [documentfoundation.org] explains the reason for the deprecation. Which makes me guess is a resource question. LO is free to use, has no ads, does not include telemetry nor resell user data, so it has no revenue stream. Any revenue for Collabora (the main sponsor) comes from any corporate contract for their cloud offer, and none of their customers have any use for of a build for Windows 7.
[1] https://numbertext.org/typography/
[2] https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/ReleaseNotes/25.8
[3] https://blog.documentfoundation.org/blog/2025/08/20/libreoffice-25-8/
Re: (Score:2)
I would be less concerned about feature updates and more concerned that being "stuck" on a deprecated version would be the end of any future security updates.
So what? (Score:5, Informative)
> "If you are still running Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1, this is the end of the road. LibreOffice will not run on those systems anymore, and there are no workarounds."
Um, the current version will still run on ancient MS-Windows machines (which have less than 5% of MS-Windows desktops). It just won't be newer versions. There is no license that will expire. No servers or cloud crud that will stop you from using it. Talk about an over-the-top headline.
> "LibreOffice has made it clear that it will not carry dead platforms any further. [...] if your computer is too old to run modern systems, LibreOffice is walking away."
No, LibreOffice has made nothing of the sort clear and no such statements. This wasn't an ideological move, it was a technical one. For example, they are moving to 64 bit builds only. MS-Windows 10 is soon to be a "dead platform" and there is nothing that indicates they will drop it, like so many commercial systems have already indicated.
Meanwhile, Firefox stopped new versions for 7/8/8.1 at version 115 and will stop updating that old version at the end of the year or so [1]https://support.mozilla.org/en... [mozilla.org] Chrome dropped support for those over two and a half years ago.
[1] https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-users-windows-7-8-and-81-moving-extended-support
Re: (Score:2)
>> "LibreOffice has made it clear that it will not carry dead platforms any further. [...] if your computer is too old to run modern systems, LibreOffice is walking away."
> No, LibreOffice has made nothing of the sort clear and no such statements.
So only computers are allowed to do inference now?
Re: (Score:2)
> No, LibreOffice has made nothing of the sort clear and no such statements. This wasn't an ideological move, it was a technical one. For example, they are moving to 64 bit builds only.
What technical one would that be? Windows 7 is also 64-bit. "For example" fails to provide relevant evidence to support your assertion. LibreOffice is part of a switch to Linux desktop campaign [1]https://endof10.org/ [endof10.org] which is very much ideological in nature.
> Meanwhile, Firefox stopped new versions for 7/8/8.1 at version 115 and will stop updating that old version at the end of the year or so [2]https://support.mozilla.org/en [mozilla.org]... Chrome dropped support for those over two and a half years ago.
Not only is this irrelevant to LibreOffice your own link doesn't even say what you assert it does. It says nothing about stopping updating.
"Mozilla will provide security updates for Firefox 115 ESR until at least 115.27.0esr in August 2025, when the p
[1] https://endof10.org/
[2] https://support.mozilla.org/en
Re: (Score:2)
> "What technical one would that be? Windows 7 is also 64-bit. "For example" fails to provide relevant evidence to support your assertion."
It is another target to have to compile, test, debug, etc. That represents a drain on their limited resources. Also, old libraries and bugs in an ancient OS require work-arounds.
"LibreOffice is part of a switch to Linux desktop campaign [1]https://endof10.org/ [endof10.org] which is very much ideological in nature."
Yes, that is ideological based on freedom and openness. Not base
[1] https://endof10.org/
Re: (Score:2)
> It just won't be newer versions.
If it were perfect then that would be fine. Unfortunately every edition of LibreOffice still very much improves, better performance, bug fixes, etc. If we were talking about an end product that is just re-arranging deck chairs I'd be with you, but I don't want to be in a situation where the current LibreOffice is as good as it gets.
Re: (Score:2)
> "If it were perfect then that would be fine."
No project as huge and complicated as LibreOffice will ever be perfect. Even setting aside that one person's definition of perfect can be very different from another's.
> "I don't want to be in a situation where the current LibreOffice is as good as it gets."
Well, you shouldn't have to. I doubt you are someone that is going to continue to use an ancient/obsolete OS on your machines. Security concerns alone would be shocking, meaning such a machine should
Windows 8? Seek help. (Score:2)
If anyone's still running Windows 8 at this late date, please seek professional help. There is no need for you to continue to suffer like this.
If for no other reason than any number of Linux distributions can run readily and well on that same hardware, and we know you're not tethered to needing Microsoft Word around.
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I 99% agree with you, and I have moved on (Except for a VM) but Windows 8 is the first version of Windows with the Desktop Duplication API, and the last version to not have telemetry ship with the OS. If someone is still running a game that won't function on Linux due to Windows-only kernel DRM, there is at least some logic to using Windows 8 if it supports their hardware.
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Updating my Windows 8.1 bootcamp partition just to run my EPROM burner is more suffering than it's worth.
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The last time I check there was a considerable amount of software applications that ran on (pick a version) of MSWindows, but did not run on Linux. (And conversely, of course.) This can make switching difficult for some users. I was once stuck on Mac OS 7.?, because I needed an application that wouldn't work on any later version.
Re: (Score:1)
Support for Windows 8.1 ended in January 2023. Not all that long ago.
My Linux distro is probably as old as that.
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> If anyone's still running Windows at this late date, please seek professional help. There is no need for you to continue to suffer like this.
FTFY.
If I was in charge of LibreOffice (Score:2)
I would abandon Microsoft Windows completely (all versions) and focus on Linux and MacOS, Microsoft made such a bloated shit show out of Windows that I expect Microsoft to dump Windows too and just come out with their own Linux distro someday soon
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They did ACS
[1]https://thehackernews.com/2015... [thehackernews.com]
Theres also Xenix ..
[1] https://thehackernews.com/2015/09/microsoft-linux-azure-cloud-switch.html?m=1
Re: (Score:2)
"However, Microsoft's Linux distribution is not going to appear on Desktops or Servers anytime soon, because this isn't a typical consumer-grade Operating System"
They need to develop a regular desktop workstation Linux distro if Microsoft wants to remain relevant, Win_11 seems to be so severely enshitified that a lot of users are switching to Linux and some to MacOS, or is Microsoft going to make another blunder like when they missed the boat in the smartphone market?
If you can't use windows 10 (Score:2)
If you can't use win10 but have to use latest libre office then Linux systems would be the best strategy. Libre office has a good compatibility record so it's unlikely the reason would be compatibility, unless with ms office I suppose.
So if current LibreOffice version works...NP (Score:3)
So if current LibreOffice version works for and does everything you need to do, don't worry about !
Re:So if current LibreOffice version works...NP (Score:4, Insightful)
On the plus side, haven't seen a computer yet that could run win7, but could not run win10 with an ssd and possibly ram upgrade.
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Or, in most cases, you could just install Linux on the same machine and then keep using updated native versions of LibreOffice.
Re:So if current LibreOffice version works...NP (Score:5, Insightful)
Younger me did that, and admined about a dozen computers of friends and family. Older me cannot be bothered with the customer support of that.
Re:So if current LibreOffice version works...NP (Score:5, Interesting)
To be honest, the people who can't admin their PC themselves get Linux Mint from me. It works out of the box, it is easy to troubleshoot, remote support via SSH is simple and one doesn't have to deal with the different Windows oddities and viruses. These people use the Browser, a music player (if they don't use Spotify), rarely simple tasks in office programs (if they don't use GDocs) and may want you to install them the dropbox client. I don't think they even see much need for me to upgrade their LTS every two years, because things just work without thinking about them, but on the other hand aren't there great differences with new versions that beginners would mind. Mint and Cinnamon are pretty usuable for people who don't want to think about how to use the PC.
Re:So if current LibreOffice version works...NP (Score:5, Interesting)
Not arguing with any of that. My point is that if I create that Linux box, I own it and have to support it. If I let's say upgrade some computer from 7 to 10... it's not my problem after the fact. They can, and will get support from anyone else who's closer, and won't bother me with it.
Re:So if current LibreOffice version works...NP (Score:4, Insightful)
If you upgrade a person's computer to Windows 10 then you risk that it is your fault that it is now slow and that you get a lot of annoying Windows support tasks. I found who has a strong opinion about what OS to use (and that's fine) is usually capable of maintain it themselves.
I don't want to sit next to them when they reinstall Windows yet another time because it allegedly fixes the performance issues, but I also don't want to be the person who needs to be called each time they installed too much crapware to come and make the PC fast again. I see that there are reasons to use Windows for some people, but I'm mostly done with being the supporter for that.
Re: (Score:3)
The thing in practice is if you upgrade Windows and it does not work, people blame Microsoft and live with it, or ask around for solutions. If you upgrade linux and it does not work, people blame You and Your weird OS choices, and You need to support them.
I personally support 1 linux machine of an older relative. It has given zero work as their needs are very simple. (Also helped by choosing a bug-free linux distro :-)
Re: (Score:1)
> If you upgrade a person's computer to Windows 10 then you risk that it is your fault that it is now slow and that you get a lot of annoying Windows support tasks.
And this brings us circle back to my original post. What I mean by "haven't seen a computer yet that could run win7, but could not run win10 with an ssd and possibly ram upgrade" is that I haven't seen a computer that was not slow on win7, but somehow was slow on win10 after the ssd/ram upgrade. It just doesn't happen.
As to the people who can install windows and/or crapware themselves... They are not the people who need help with any of what we are talking about. If you don't want to sit next to them when t
Re: (Score:2)
I must say I don't even understand the Stockholm syndrome with Windows 10. Windows 10 is bad from its first version on. Yes, it was better than 8. Windows 95 was also better than 8. But just because Windows 11 sucks, that doesn't mean 10 was good. Seven is the last acceptable version. Afterward it was time to upgrade to Linux. You can't keep telling yourself "If I am one version behind I at least do not have the worst version", you need to find the point to change something when Microsoft keeps making thing
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I'm a professional. I won't touch your computer where it's bathing suit covers unless you are paying me.
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Don't worry, Microsoft has you covered. In a couple of months, Windows 10 will also be EOL. And there are millions of computers that could run Windows 7 or Windows 10 but can't run Windows 11.
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Win10 ltsc iot is the way. Security updates until 2031 iirc. While it's technically in the gray area, or even black, mas scripts to activate windows without a license seem to be even somewhat supported by Microsoft.
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If you wouldn't have to add ... with an upgrade, your position would be interesting, but this way it reads "Of course you can update libreoffice, just switch to a completely new windows version after you bought two new components" ... I guess you have the money, but some people may not "just" upgrade a SSD and RAM.
Re: (Score:3)
Of course you can update libreoffice, just switch to a completely different operating system?
Now don't get me wrong, I'm a linux guy through and through for 20+ years already. Doesn't mean I have to solve every problem with my favourite hammer.
There's more to the issue than just the money of the hardware. There's also the time the user has to put into learning the new os. And there's the time I have to put into figuring out their needs and setting everything up, and the time I need to put into teaching them
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah and now look at the user. No money, no time, no expertise. What do they do? They stick to Windows 7 and an outdated libreoffice version.
And for most people this is reasonable. Software being insecure because of lacking updates is an abstract risk, buying an SSD a real cost and upgrading operation systems work they are not used to and requiring getting used to the changes in the new version. And is there a good reason not to support Windows 7 anymore? You can install an oldoldstable Debian and compile a
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A 480GB 2.5" SATA SSD is dirt cheap if you don't already have one lying around...under £30 on Amazon for a Lexar or Integral. A 16GB kit (2x8GB) of DDR3 RAM, DIMM or SODIMM, is under £20.
Re: (Score:2)
So you tell people to just invest £50. Saying that's not much is a privileged perspective. I think most people here can say that, but that's just a sampling bias. In out there are *many* people for which £50 is a lot of money they'd rather invest into something different than their PC.
Re: (Score:2)
> So if current LibreOffice version works
LibreOffice is far from perfect and still has plenty of bugs in it that get addressed and improvements with every release. It would be pretty painful to be stuck knowing none of the problems get fixed.