SoftMaker Office

SoftMaker FreeOffice
Original author(s)	SoftMaker
Initial release	1994; 30 years ago
Stable release	2021 rev 1066 / 7 June 2023
Operating system	Windows 7 or later, macOS 10.12 or later, Linux, Android 5.0 or later, iOS 14
License	Proprietary (freeware/registerware)
Website	www.freeoffice.com

SoftMaker Office
Original author(s)	SoftMaker
Initial release	1994; 30 years ago
Stable release	2024 rev 1204 / 7 September 2023
Operating system	Windows 7 or later, macOS 10.14 or later, Linux, Android 5.0 or later, iOS 14; Previously: Pocket PCs, Windows CE, Windows Mobile, Qtopia
License	Proprietary (commercial)
Website	www.softmaker.com

SoftMaker Office is an office suite which aims for compatibility with Microsoft Office. It is available as a one-time purchase, as well as a subscription. A freeware version with a slightly reduced feature set is released under the name SoftMaker FreeOffice.^[6]

It is developed since 1987 by the German company SoftMaker Software.^[4]

Components

TextMaker
(word processor)
PlanMaker
(spreadsheet)
Presentations
(presentation graphics)
BasicMaker
(VBA-like macros, Windows only)

The versions Professional (purchase) and NX Universal (subscription) include:

Support for Windows Group Policy
ePUB export,
Zotero integration
Text summary and enhancement with ChatGPT (only subscription)
Translations of whole documents with DeepL (only subscription)

Functionality

SoftMaker Office has similar functionality to other office suites such as Microsoft Office or LibreOffice, and can also run from USB flash drives. Multi-language spell-checking, hyphenation and thesaurus is supported, and it has an integrated translation-dictionary for English, German, French, Italian, and Spanish. For German the Duden spell and grammar checker and dictionaries are included in the Professional version.^[4]

It can read and write file formats of Microsoft Office,^[7] OpenDocument (word processor only),^[7] RTF and HTML. Support for the OpenDocument spreadsheet (ODS) format was added in the Anniversary update released for SoftMaker Office 2018.^[8] It can export to PDF and ePUB.

The user interface utilized Ribbons similar to Microsoft Office, and there is an option to use old-school menus instead. A dark mode is available. Documents can be opened as tabs in a single window, to allow easy switching between multiple documents.

SoftMaker Office is also available for Android and iOS for both smartphones and tablets. It includes TextMaker, PlanMaker, and Presentations. These apps offer the full feature set of a desktop office suite with word processing, spreadsheets and presentation graphics on mobile devices.

FlexiPDF

The PDF editor FlexiPDF was first released in 2016. It has been described as a "text virtuoso" in the German press.^[9] Other functions include:

Creation of PDF forms
Text recognition for scanned pages
PDF/A generation for archiving
Cryptographic PDF signing
Comparison of two PDF files
Translation of entire pages with DeepL while retaining the layout

Fonts

SoftMaker offers collections of TrueType fonts, web fonts and OpenType PS fonts. It is also licensing them for redistribution with other software.^[10]

References

^ ^a ^b Andy Updegrove (5 July 2006). "The Emerging ODF Environment, Part IV: Spotlight on SoftMaker Office 2006". Retrieved 28 March 2010.
^ ^a ^b "Infos zu PlanMaker 97". 3 June 1997. Archived from the original on 3 June 1997. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
^ https://www.softmaker.com/en/download/servicepacks. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Lindner, Mirko (15 November 2012). "SoftMaker Office 2012" (in German). Pro-Linux.de. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
^ https://www.freeoffice.com/en/download/servicepacks. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^ "SoftMaker Office 2008 now available for free". 22 May 2011. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
^ ^a ^b Brors, Dieter (2018). "Das Linux-Office-Duell". c't (in German). No. 14. Heise Magazine. p. 110. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
^ "SoftMaker Office 2018 – Anniversary Update". softmaker.com. SoftMaker. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
^ Trinkwalder, Andrea; Hilgefort, Ulrich (20 May 2019). "FlexiPDF Pro: PDF editor with powerful editing functions". c't (in German). Retrieved 5 May 2021.
^ "SoftMaker fonts and webfonts". www.softmaker.com. Retrieved 15 November 2023.

External links

SoftMaker Software
SoftMaker FreeOffice (official site with info & downloads)
SoftMaker Office 2024 (North America distributor)

[review-1] Andy Updegrove (5 July 2006). "The Emerging ODF Environment, Part IV: Spotlight on SoftMaker Office 2006". Retrieved 28 March 2010.

[Infos_zu_PlanMaker_97-2] "Infos zu PlanMaker 97". 3 June 1997. Archived from the original on 3 June 1997. Retrieved 28 March 2010.

[wikidata-aecc98a9af46e75bb4cf5cb34a81f85f3b182ead-v18-3] ttps://www.softmaker.com/en/download/servicepacks. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

[prolinux-4] Lindner, Mirko (15 November 2012). "SoftMaker Office 2012" (in German). Pro-Linux.de. Retrieved 20 November 2012.

[wikidata-213592022170819da30909a7ac9d8c9aa41fb607-v18-5] ttps://www.freeoffice.com/en/download/servicepacks. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

[6] "SoftMaker Office 2008 now available for free". 22 May 2011. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.

[ct-7] Brors, Dieter (2018). "Das Linux-Office-Duell". c't (in German). No. 14. Heise Magazine. p. 110. Retrieved 5 May 2019.

[anniversary-update-8] "SoftMaker Office 2018 – Anniversary Update". softmaker.com. SoftMaker. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.

[9] Trinkwalder, Andrea; Hilgefort, Ulrich (20 May 2019). "FlexiPDF Pro: PDF editor with powerful editing functions". c't (in German). Retrieved 5 May 2021.

[10] "SoftMaker fonts and webfonts". www.softmaker.com. Retrieved 15 November 2023.

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