Ubuntu: Open Word documents - how it works

Microsoft Word is not available for Linux, but you can still open Word documents on Ubuntu. We show you step by step how to do this.

Ubuntu: Open Word documents via LibreOffice

With the program LibreOffice you can open Word documents on Ubuntu.

1. LibreOffice has been preinstalled since Ubuntu version 11.04.
2. If you are using an older version of Ubuntu, you must first install LibreOffice.
3. To do this, open a terminal and enter the command "sudo apt-get install libreoffice libreoffice-l10n-de libreoffice-help-de".

Ubuntu: Open Word documents

After you have installed LibreOffice, you can then open your Word document:

1. Start the "LibreOffice Writer" by searching for "LibreOffice Writer" in the Dash.
2. Then press [CTRL] + [O] and select your Word document.
3. With a click on "Open" the document is loaded.
4. Note that macros in Word documents do not work on Ubuntu. The formatting can also vary.

Tip: How to tune Ubuntu and get the best out of it

Did you know that you can use Ubuntu and Windows 8 in parallel?