Run Microsoft Office 365 on Linux

[fox]

You can now do this with Crossover Linux; I used the current version (24.05). I tried it with a standard Microsoft Office 365 and with the University version of it. Both worked. I did it on Ubuntu 22.04, but to get the university edition, I had to go to my university website, download the installer on a PC, and copy it to my Ubuntu partition. (If you try to do this from a Linux partition, you won't get the option to download the PC installer and of course there is no Linux installer.) Crossover Linux has an automated installation process for Office 365; you search for the program and when it comes up, you have the option to install it. Click on the installer (Setup.exe file) and it does the installation automatically. It downloads some necessary PC files first, including fonts, and then the files of Office 365. With the university version, you can actually sign on from your university ID, and it remembers this. On my university website, it shows this installation as one of the five I'm allowed.

I haven't tried a lot of its functions yet, and I only tried Word, Excel and Powerpoint. The review functions on Word work.

All of this is big news because Codeweaver only recently figured out how to get Office 365 to work on their Crossover program. The overall program get 4 out of 5 stars for functionality, which applies to Word and Excel. Powerpoint only gets 3 stars.

I actually installed it for fun to see if it works. When I need MS Office, I use Office 2010, which I own and it is pretty reliable.

[Jason]

That's good news! I've had to go back into Windows to update my skills to Office 365. Now maybe I won't have to.

It's a bit expensive for the everyday guy at $74 US. I wonder how much of this compatibility layer will filter to PlayonLinux.

[fox]

If you are referring to the cost of Crossover Linux, I got that for about $40; just look for specials. I know that the folks who develop Crossover contribute heavily to the code in Wine. I suspect that you can now run Office 365 from Wine if you look for instructions on the internet. It might run on PlayonLinux someday. I say that because it now runs Office 2016, which has a Microsoft account sign-in just like Office 365. Office 2010 is the latest version of MS Office that doesn't have a sign-in; it runs pretty well on Wine, POL and Crossover.

The other thing about the Crossover version that I didn't say enough about is that it allows you to sign in to Office 365 from your university account. Students and faculty of many universities get Office 365 "free" (the university pays for it but students and faculty don't), but until recently, you couldn't install and run the versions of Office on Linux that require a university sign-in. The problem was serial number. There is no serial number in the traditional sense with a university version. It either checks the university server for eligibility (if you are running a university computer and plugged in at the university), or it requires you to sign into your university account. So the private versions could run in Linux earlier than the university versions (from Office 2016 on).

[Jason]

Yep, I meant the price of CrossOver. I suppose that for basic needs most people can use Office 365 online. It seems that now they call it Microsoft 365. It's odd to me but I'm not a marketing guy.

I'll have to subscribe to their email list to get it when it's discounted.

[fox]

I would also not count out Wine for getting MS Office 365 to work. I know that the programmers at Codeweavers make regular contributions to Wine. The advantage of Crossover is that it automates the installation procedure for all of the PC products it supports. In the case of Office 365, I see that it preinstalls a bunch of Microsoft fonts and apps that are needed to run Office. But I would be surprised if you can't do the same on Wine; manually with instructions. Here is one set of such instructions: here.

[ssfc72]

Or, for basic needs most people could use Libre Office. :-)

Yep, I meant the price of CrossOver. I suppose that for basic needs most people can use Office 365 online. It seems that now they call it Microsoft 365. It's odd to me but I'm not a marketing guy.

I'll have to subscribe to their email list to get it when it's discounted.

[buster]

The UK made LibreOffice's default document format, Open Document Format (ODF), it's official format in 2015. I seem to recall some countries didn't like something where they couldn't check the code, or something like that. Many institutions have Libre as the default.

I understand your problem Mike. But for the vast majority the free one is more than adequate. My son-in-law has used it in his business for years.

Hope you solve your problem or Libre improves the function you need. Of course you could simply get rid of everything that isn't Microsoft. Win11 is pretty good, though I prefer Win10.

[Jason]

ut I would be surprised if you can't do the same on Wine; manually with instructions. Here is one set of such instructions: here.

Thanks, Mike! I have another project on my to-do list.

[Jason]

Or, for basic needs most people could use Libre Office. :-)

I agree. For Mike, it's the ability to export documents with 100% compatibility with .doc format for sharing with others. I've had similar problems exporting to .doc format and the look ends up partially mangled. But for me, it's mainly because I'm taking courses in Office, so I don't have any choice. I could probably find the feature equivalents but it's hard enough learning data analysis. If I wasn't taking the course and never had to share documents, I would only use LibreOffice.

I also meant the online version of Office for basic needs in comparison to the full version.

[fox]

I actually use LibreOffice most of the time, too. Its word processor and spreadsheet do as much as I need it to, when I don't need 100% compatibility in importing and exporting documents, spreadsheets and presentations for co-users or collaborators that are using MS Office. I have also tried other Linux-native programs like WPS and Softmaker Office, but none give me 100% compatibility. Even when I am sharing documents with others, if I generate them, I will usually use LibreOffice and just export them in MS formats. As long as they are simple and page layout isn't critical, LibreOffice works for me.