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TLDR: can I edit docx files on word without a subscription and if not what are some apps that can allow me to do so

Like the title says I need the ability to edit .docx for college (sadly other file formats aren’t accepted AFAIK) and my Microsoft 365 subscription is expiring and will not be renewed thanks to you lovely people getting me on the Proton family of software and obsidian for note taking.

However i created a .docx file today and and got a popup in word saying my Microsoft subscription is expiring soon (in march I believe) and that I would lose many feature.

This scary message wasn’t very helpful as to what features id lose (probably a lot of them I don’t even use) but the internet has not been helpful in telling me if I can still view and edit all my docx files that I have been collecting and creating over the years and have migrated to my proton drive

If I won’t be able to access docx files in word what are some apps that can open them from my proton drive (this is a hard requirement for me).

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[–] [email protected] 61 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Due to its proprietary nature, finding software that can properly read those files can be tricky.

LibreOffice is the usual go-to for folks wanting an office suite, that respects privacy, and FOSS. It can read docx files, but it can mess up formatting. Still, for many it’s the preferred choice. It’s got the best reputation.

Now if formatting REALLY matters, take a look at OnlyOffice. It handles those MS formats so much better. It’s not a bad suite, but it’s hard to beat the good reputation Libreoffice has gained.

[–] [email protected] 45 points 9 months ago (3 children)

Docx is not a proprietary format, it's a standard, it's called Office Open XML: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_Open_XML

And M$ published its specifications, so Libreoffice devs could support it. But here comes the funny part: M$ (deliberately?) doesn't follow the specification it published. So the formatting problems of LibreOffice come from M$, because they don't follow their specs, but M$ can just do whatever they want because of its market share.

I read this story a long time ago, and I'm paraphrasing, but on this wiki page you can read a lot of controversies related to this format: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standardization_of_Office_Open_XML

[–] [email protected] 13 points 9 months ago

Docx is not a proprietary format, it’s a standard

It's a "standard" only in the sense that Microsoft took the MS Office binary file formats (which are basically just writing the internal state of Word/Powerpoint/whatever to disc), serialized it to XML, half-assed some bullshit documentation for it, and bribed the standards body to rubber-stamp it. It's still, at it's core, basically defined by whatever nonsense Microsoft's implementation does.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Aren't the specifications also insanely long and complicated for good measure?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 9 months ago

Yeah, wiki says it's 6000 pages. But that's not that long compared to other similar file standards, and it also contains pptx and xlsx.

For comparison PDF standard is about 1000 pages, HTML (without CSS, just pure HTML) is 1500 pages.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

Not only are they insanely long, MS strategically doesn't follow its own specs in places so other software using the specs "fuck up formatting" even if they follow MS's specs perfectly.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

M$ is the best abbreviation for Microsoft yet

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Oh this is helpful

Yeah another person said it gets funky with formatting but that’s not a huge deal for me as the most complex formats for the class syllabus I like to just have a copy but probably nothing I can’t do by saving it as a pdf

And like I said in those comments my own documents aren’t complex mostly just using tab and enter to make my documents more readable for myself

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (3 children)

You don't use complex formats you say... just don't forget that LibreOffice thinks bullets points are "complex formats":

What OS are you using?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (2 children)

How does that work if you save the docx in OOXML Strict instead of OOXML Transient? I'm not sure about the current 365 rollout but OOXML was developed by MS due to the EU nearly 20 years ago to support interoperability but their default saving format was always OOXML Transient which is OOXML + MS Proprietary format. OOXML Strict should be an option and save the docx in OOXML only format.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

Frankly, the anti-trust regulators should've required MS office to save to OpenDocument by default instead of any version of OOXML, strict or otherwise, nearly 20 years ago.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

It works even worse.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Ah I see good to know. For me formatting issues aren't a super big deal and sounds like it's outweighed with its reputation here. I guess if it does become an issue I can simply hop over to open office but I'll cross that bridge when I get there

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago

LibreOffice and OnlyOffice will certainly be better than OpenOffice.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Also didn't see your bottom question at first but I'm on windows and edit documents both on my home laptop and one I bring to my classes which is why being able to play nice with proton drive is a must for me.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

So why not simply use MS Office? Way less hassle to deal with. Licenses are available for cheap on eBay or pirated form reputable sources.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I was planning on using MS Office originally when writing the posts but 1) I didn't know if it was going to work after my subscription expired, and 2) I wanted to see what else is out there

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

So in the description you said edit, but here you say read (syllabus). If just reading is the requirement, there was a word reader, not sure if it is still available. I also believe once subscription expires, you still will be able to view, just edit.

Also what's wrong with your school requiring word document and not providing a free license for the software? My college at least provided free license during my class.

As other alternatives I don't have better than libre office (at the time I was using, libre office didn't exist and I used OpenOffice, I still was using it, primarily, because of using Linux on my laptop) and submitted my work as PDF and didn't have problems, but my class were requirements in computer science so I'm sure I wasn't the only one doing it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

Yeah that’s my bad I just couldn’t think of an example where there was formatting in the document

Yeah I’m definitely going to try libreoffice

[–] [email protected] 34 points 9 months ago

Onlyoffice, libreoffice can do the job

[–] [email protected] 12 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I second every suggestions about Libreoffice. It's free, open source and works in Windows, MacOS and Linux.

The problems lies in the different rendering engine. If you have table of contents, floating image and anything that impact text flow; it will be rendered differently between the two apps.

I still use Libreoffice as my primary editor, but if I need to send docs to other people, I will export it to PDF. But if I really need to send docx or pptx, I will format it in WPS office before sending the docs to others.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

Thanks for the suggestions. I was going to use libreoffice as the main editor but then use open office if my document had images or anything that doesn't play nice with libreoffice but the pdf suggestion sounds better

[–] [email protected] 10 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

You can activate it with these scripts https://github.com/massgravel/Microsoft-Activation-Scripts (I think it's the easiest way for you as you are already using it and the only issue it's the stupid message to force you to pay for it)

But would be nice if you were not forced to use Microsoft Office.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 9 months ago

LibreOffice will do just fine reading and writing the format as long as you don't care too much about small formatting/layout differences.

It will also struggle if you've embedded other office components into your documents (like excel embedded in word).

[–] [email protected] 9 points 9 months ago
[–] [email protected] 9 points 9 months ago

If you only need a word processor, try Abiword. Otherwise if you need a full office suite: LibreOffice

[–] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago

Does your college not provide you with an MS Office license?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

without activation or a subscription, your current office installation will continue to read and view the files just fine, you just won't be able to edit and re-save them or create new ones.

there are a number of 'free' or open source alternative to several of the microsoft office applications (word, excel, and ppt), such as onlyoffice, libreoffice, softmaker, etc. set the default save format back to microsoft office format (docx, xlsx, pptx) for a more seamless transition. if your online drive is mounted in your os, any of these would be able to read/write to it like any other installed application.

older versions of microsoft office (2010 and earlier) may be 'out of date' and unsupported, but they still work and can be bought second-hand for cheap.

there is also free-to-use online versions of microsoft office and google docs (their respective online account required--and their anti-privacy policies apply). these would by default use their respective online storage.

if you are in university, you may be able to get a low-cost or even free microsoft office key or subscription from your school. check with your student i.t. help desk or school-run campus bookstore.

if you work for a larger company or institution that uses volume licenses of microsoft software, they may have a 'workplace discount' for a microsoft 365 sub, it's about $20-30 off per year (the more reasonable 'home use program' does not exist anymore).

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

I know that Microsoft 365 subscriptions are nothing new, but it’s really hitting me how depressing that business model is.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Libreoffice can help, or (as long as the formatting's not too complex) you can upload them to Google Drive, edit them, and then redownload them exporting back to .docx.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

As I said in another comment about Google drive “For obvious reasons I’d like to avoid Google as I’m still migrating away but good to know I can use that as an absolute final resort”

As for Libre Office: define complex

Some thing like my class syllabuses (syllabi?) have things like like different font sizes and some formatting that you would find in a detailed class syllabus

As for my own documents it really tab in a few line to write numbered questions, go back a few line for answers, maybe a spash of holding and highlights and slap the enter key a few times in-between to make it easier to read for me

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Yeah Libreoffice will probably work fine for you then. You can use that and be privacy-happy and still have Google Docs as a last resort if you need.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Yeah I think I’m going to go with libreoffice as it seems like a popular choice here and fits my use case

Stupid question though

As for opening the files do I have to open libreoffice then open the file within it or is there a way to set libreoffice as a default in windows and open from file explorer

This really isn’t a make or break question I’mhust curious

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I don't windows as much anymore, but I think if you right click the file and hit 'Open with', you can set a different program as default.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

How about using the free browser-based tier of MS Office 365 https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/microsoft-365/free-office-online-for-the-web - but with an alt email address for this purpose only?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Yeah another commentor suggested it but said it gets funky with formatting but I’m definitely gonna check it out

Also is this it. Just wanna make sure before I download the first libreoffice I see lol

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Yes. That's it. Yes, there can be some problems with formatting. The most common one, though, is fonts. Try it out and see how it goes.

Also, you can open it in Google Drive. But that's not privacy respecting

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

Oh yep they did I just have been writing the wrong thing in all these comments WHOOPS

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

You can still use Microsoft word web version after your 365 expires. The mobile app has ads if you don’t have a subscription.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

Like I said I have all these files on proton drive

Assuming I stick with word and don’t move to libreoffice like a few comments have suggested- in a desktop environment is really the only difference that it’s now going to open in a web browser, I’m just asking incase it doesn’t play nice with proton drive

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

My Microsoft 365 subscription is expiring and will not be renewed thanks to you lovely people getting me on the Proton family of software and obsidian for note taking.

I mean... Why would you ditch a service you evidently NEED just because some stranger on the internet told you so?

That said, there's plenty of offline programs that can work on .dock files, such as OnlyOffice and LIbreoffice (with varying degrees of compatibility with existing files). Good luck!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

You can still buy a lifetime licenses of office but you have to buy it from 3rd party sellers and then validate the license with M$. Example Deal..

I bought 2 of them and also saved the install binary to have office suite.

I use libreoffice personally but I have family members that get frustrated when they cannot find the same formatting options

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

Try onlyoffice: https://www.onlyoffice.com/

I think libreoffice has more functions, but is a bit confusing at the beginning and sadly quite ugly. So if you belong to those who cannot work in ugly environments, and use office for simple and small documents onlyoffice is perfect. It looks better and is closer to word....

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