ONLYOFFICE, one of the best open-source Microsoft Office alternatives, has just released its new upgrade, i.e., version 7.1.
If you didn’t know, you can use ONLYOFFICE with online integration on your self-hosted server (like Nextcloud) or the desktop.
This release brings exciting new changes, notably initial support for ARM-based devices like the Raspberry Pi.
Let’s take a look at what’s new!
ONLYOFFICE 7.1: What’s New?
Alongside the headline feature of ARM support, ONLYOFFICE 7.1 has new feature additions on offer. These include:
- A brand-new PDF, XPS, and DjVu file viewer
- More convenient and customizable shape options
- Spreadsheets Print Preview
- Animations in Presentations
- SmartArt Object Support
ARM Compatibility
As ARM-based devices like the Raspberry Pi become more popular each year, many expected the support for ARM architecture by ONLYOFFICE for a while.
With the 7.1 release, ONLYOFFICE Docs 7.1 now runs on all ARM64 devices. Thanks to the increased efficiency and security of ARM devices, I suspect this will have a massive impact on the future of ONLYOFFICE.
Brand-new PDF, XPS, and DjVu file viewer
This is a key feature that many other office programs have had for years. Starting with ONLYOFFICE 7.1, users can now use the document editor to view PDF, XPS, and DjVu files much more conveniently.
With the capability to open files on the client-side, the new view mode offers users a page thumbnails view and a navigation bar in a much more compact and simplified view.
Additionally, users can now also convert these PDF files to DOCX files so that you can edit them. As a result, people shouldn’t need to go open multiple different apps to be able to work with the same file, which should help alleviate some major bottlenecks in workflows.
More convenient and customizable shape options
Often under-used (I think), shapes are a great feature of modern office applications. Although ONLYOFFICE has had them for quite some time now, they have always been rather clunky to work with.
However, with ONLYOFFICE 7.1, this changes thanks to a redesigned shape selection menu. This new menu closely resembles its Microsoft Office equivalent, with each icon being visible from within the menu.
Additionally, it now shows the recently used shapes to make repetitive shape insertion easier.
The final improvement to shapes is the ability to edit them using your mouse. This should be quite familiar for those of you familiar with graphic design software like Inkscape. By simply dragging the points around, you can create a unique shape in almost no time!
Spreadsheets Print Preview
I’m sure everyone can relate to the frustration when a print fails due to a simple mistake. While other programs solved this problem a while ago, it has remained noticeably absent in the ONLYOFFICE spreadsheet editor.
Fortunately, this release looks to rectify this, thanks to the introduction of “Print Preview.”
To be honest, there’s not a lot to say about this, just that it should save a lot of paper and printer frustrations.
New Animation Tab, Move Slides, and Duplicate Slide
For those of you who make countless presentations with animations, a separate animation tab has been added with this release, making things easier.
ONLYOFFICE 7.1 presentation editor now supports a variety of animations along with the ability to move slides to the beginning/end of a presentation and duplicate a slide.
SmartArt Object Support
SmartArt is an easy way to make custom graphics in documents, presentations, and spreadsheets. However, it has always been a Microsoft Office-focused feature. Although various other applications have had varying levels of support for the format, they have never really been comparable to Microsoft Office.
Fortunately, ONLYOFFICE 7.1 now fully supports this format without any “hacks”, like what used to be required. Unlike the old process of converting the objects to a group of figures, Smart Art is now handled seamlessly and without problems.
Other Changes
Other significant refinements in ONLYOFFICE 7.1 include:
- New interface languages – Galician and Azerbaijani
- Ability to view a password while entering it in password-protected files
- Zoom options in OFORM files
- Ability to filter comments by groups of users
- Pyramid chart support
- Pyramid bar chart support
- Vertical and horizontal cylinder chart support
- Vertical and horizontal cone chart support
- Move and duplicate slide options in the context menu
- Formula tooltips
- New currency support
For a complete list of changes, I highly suggest you look at the release notes.
Download ONLYOFFICE 7.1
Overall, ONLYOFFICE 7.1 looks to be a great release with ARM compatibility and new features.
You should find the latest version available for all editions (Enterprise, Developer, Community).
Plenty of different packages are available, including Docker images for ARM editions, a Snap package, and 1-click app options for cloud providers. You can head to its download page and look for the appropriate installer.
The download page also mentions the official instructions to get it installed.
Have you tried the new update yet?
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