Libreoffice-WIP

This page is still a work in progress.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "LibreOffice" and other Wikipedia articles, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 4.0.

Introduction

This UDF (AU3LibreOffice) aids the user in creating and manipulating LibreOffice Documents.
This wiki article tries to explain basic principles of the UDF and offers tips on how to get started with automating LibreOffice (LO for brevity). It also points out some differences between automating the Microsoft Office and LibreOffice suites.
It is not intended to explain LO's API.
To work with this UDF, you should be familiar with both AutoIt and LO.

What is LibreOffice?

LibreOffice is a free and open-source office productivity software suite developed by The Document Foundation (TDF).
It was created in 2010 as a fork of OpenOffice.org, itself a successor to StarOffice.
The suite includes applications for

• word processing (Writer),
• spreadsheets (Calc),
• presentations (Impress),
• vector graphics (Draw),
• database management (Base), and
• formula editing (Math).
  

It supports the OpenDocument format and is compatible with other major formats, including those used by Microsoft Office.
Generally speaking, OpenOffice and LibreOffice have the same foundational features, but given the fact that LibreOffice is more actively developed, LibreOffice has more, and newer features available.

Feature comparison: LibreOffice vs Microsoft Office

This page compares the features of LibreOffice and Microsoft Office in several form factors.
The comparisons separate major and minor feature differences and also includes notes on LibreOffice extensions.
The comparison highlights differences and therefore does not display any features which are present in both office suites.

LibreOffice UDF

Since LibreOffice is a fork of OpenOffice, this UDF also works with OpenOffice in many places. However, you should not rely on this, as this UDF was developed with a focus on LibreOffice.
All functions for which a minimum version of LibreOffice is specified are most likely NOT compatible with OpenOffice.

LibreOffice Object Model

The LibreOffice UDF is a wrapper for the complex LibreOffice object model (details can be found on this wiki page). It hides the complexity of the object model and replaces it with a few AutoIt function calls.
The functions provided by the UDF cover most of the functionality that is typically required. However, if you need more complex functions, you will have to write them yourself.
First, you need to familiarize yourself with the LibreOffice API.
The following books will be a valuable help also in this line.

• OpenOffice.org Macros Explained — OOME Fourth Edition
• Useful Macro Information For OpenOffice.org

Technical comparison: LibreOffice vs Microsoft Office

For those users familiar with Microsoft Office and its automation API, we have included some comparisons between the two suites' APIs and internal behaviour on the following page.

Requirements

Currently there are no external requirements needed to run this UDF. You are able to work with both the **Installed** and also the **Portable** version of LibreOffice. However do take note of the methods followed to work with the Portable LibreOffice?? to make sure it will fit your requirements.

Limitations

• The ability to automate LibreOffice Portable (and OpenOffice) has been added, and should work correctly. However to achieve this, it currently adds some temporary Registry entries to HKEY_CURRENT_USER, unless there is an installed version of LibreOffice or OpenOffice present. See _LO_InitializePortable for more detail.
• This UDF has been written using the English version of LibreOffice, and some aspects may only work for the English version of LibreOffice installations without errors.
• Many functions in this UDF may or may not work with OpenOffice, and some are definitely for LibreOffice only. These unfortunately have not been documented.
• For those using AutoIt versions older than 3.3.16.1 some functions in this UDF use Maps, which will not be recognized as proper syntax in older AutoIt versions.

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References

• LibreOffice Developer's Guide: Glossary
• LibreOffice 24.2 SDK API Reference