LibreOffice is the favorite office suite for many Linux users. With the newest release, version 7.5, there are plenty of new features and even some visual refreshing that has gone into the software.

One of the most obvious changes comes by way of a new icon set that is more colorful and vibrant. As well, if you use LibreOffice on a touch-based device, zoom and rotate finally function via multi-touch gestures. And although you won't find major changes to the UI, the subtle changes help to make LibreOffice more modern and professional feeling.

Other changes include several bug fixes for each module, such as entering numbers with a single prefix quote in Calc now correctly behaves, based on when to strip the prefix when followed by a number. Calc also now supports DBF Mazovia Encoding for visual FoxPro files, and some conditional formatting conditions are now case-sensitive.

With Writer, you'll find more options for content control, such as plain text and combo box. Now you also can define custom colors for the grammatical mistakes identifier and the spell checker works with hyperlinks, and the last modified words now trigger the spell-check when the cursor is moved.

The Writer bookmark module also received a few updates, such as the ability to directly edit a bookmark from the Settings dialog, hidden bookmarks are now correctly presented, bookmarks are now visible within a document, and bookmarks are now readable using screen readers.

The developers also spent a good deal of time improving MS Office compatibility, export features, and the macro programming tool.

To find out more about what's new and improved in LibreOffice 7.5, make sure to read the release notes. You can download the latest version from the LibreOffice site or wait until 7.5 lands in your distribution's official repositories.

Want to improve your LibreOffice skills? Check out LibreOffice Expert, a single volume that includes tutorials on all the core tools of the LibreOffice suite. Order your copy today!