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Notes for Linux

LibreOffice Reference

LibreOffice is the main office suite on Linux. It provides separate apps for documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, formulas, and database files. The same libreoffice command can launch each app with a different parameter.

Install LibreOffice

Section titled “Install LibreOffice”

Install LibreOffice from the Arch repositories. libreoffice-fresh is usually the best default choice for a normal desktop setup.

Terminal window
sudo pacman -S libreoffice-fresh

Launch office apps

Section titled “Launch office apps”

LibreOffice is the host suite. Each app can be launched from the same libreoffice command by passing the target app name.

Command App Use case
libreoffice –writer Writer Text documents, letters, notes, translations, PDF export
libreoffice –calc Calc Spreadsheets, tables, CSV files
libreoffice –impress Impress Presentations and slide decks
libreoffice –draw Draw Drawings, diagrams, and visual PDF edits
libreoffice –math Math Formula documents
libreoffice –base Base Database-style documents

Open a file directly

Section titled “Open a file directly”

A file can be opened directly. LibreOffice chooses the matching app based on the file type.

Terminal window
libreoffice document.odt
libreoffice document.docx
libreoffice spreadsheet.xlsx
libreoffice presentation.pptx

Use Writer for .odt and .docx files. .odt is OpenDocument Text, the native LibreOffice Writer format.

Create a blank document

Section titled “Create a blank document”

Use Writer when starting from a blank document. This is the normal choice for letters, explanations, translation notes, declarations, and formal text documents.

Terminal window
libreoffice --writer

Export a document to PDF

Section titled “Export a document to PDF”

From the LibreOffice interface, use File, Export As, then Export Directly as PDF. This is the safest method when you want to review the document before creating the final PDF.

For command-line export, use headless mode. This creates a PDF in the current directory.

Terminal window
libreoffice --headless --convert-to pdf document.odt

Edit an existing PDF visually

Section titled “Edit an existing PDF visually”

Use Draw when the task is to open a PDF and make visual changes. This is useful for small text changes, moving objects, adding text boxes, or adjusting document pages visually.

Terminal window
libreoffice --draw document.pdf
  • PDF editing is not the same as editing a Word document.
  • Complex PDFs may open with shifted layout or split text boxes.
  • For scanned PDFs, the page may behave like an image instead of editable text.
  • After editing, export the result back to PDF from File, Export As.

Daily use summary

Section titled “Daily use summary”
Task Use
Write a new document LibreOffice Writer
Export a document to PDF Writer PDF export
Open and edit .odt Writer
Open and edit .docx Writer
Work with spreadsheets Calc
Prepare slides Impress
Edit a PDF visually Draw
Create formulas Math
Work with database documents Base