Collabora Office 4+

This app works pretty good for what I need. I like that it syncs across my laptop, iPhone, and iPad. But on the mobile devices it has an annoying feature. When you’re in edit mode every time you touch the screen while working in the document app the keyboard pops up so now half the screen is taken up by the keyboard so it gets hard to read. At least the iPhone has a blue check button you can press that goes back to read mode so you can scroll down the page and not have the keyboard pop up again. Unless I’m missing something the iPad doesn’t have a button that I can find that puts it back in read mode. You have to save the document and exit the app then reopen it and then it will be back in read mode. This is a major inconvenience.

This is the first time I have found something fully worth a review. Therefore it is also my FIRST review ever for an app, despite being around apps since 2009 when I first got a smartphone.

Collabora, is a sister branch of Libre Office and therefore works in the odt standard, which is THE BEST for files regarding ISO, Legacy, NATO, and Governmental support. (Seriously do your research ms word ent to docs to try and keep a foot int he pool, but missed)

The Collabora software has some quirks to be sure. Like the software switching between screen tapping vs external keyboard. BUT, it has simply replaced my laptop. No wifi, no scanned google docs (work security issues), or dropbox sharing etc. It simply works like a miniature word processing office suite SHOULD. Export to pdf, or other versions as needed!! With Collabora onboard my iPad Pro as an executive / director / family man & creator, I find it hard to pull out the Mac, PC, or any laptop when I can instantly pop open my iPad and collabora and get things done FAR FASTER.

I am excited to watch this sister branch as I know the perils and the gains that can come from sister branches (read: Linus and Unix background knowledge) Please keep updating and please, lets all keep supporting this line of software as the micro transaction based software, i feel will eventually face a backlash.

Long live freedom.

It may not have bells and whistles but this is by far the closest thing you will find to open/libreoffice on iOS or iPadOS.

I keep my iPad Pro (2017 version) in a laptop shell with a trackpad and keyboard and this app feels very natural when editing spreadsheets and documents. It does take some getting used to coming from an actual desktop / laptop but you can legitimately use this as a replacement if you have a hardware keyboard attached.

Only hang up is the awkwardness with the spreadsheets where the keyboard will only start working (arrow keys) after you have started to edit a cell. I think this is some weird focusing issue though and is easily to get past mentally.

Overall it is probably the best thing you will find that supports saving in open formats (odt etc) on an iDevice. Thank you so much to the developer because any alternatives I have tried before this were either riddled with ads, required a subscription, or didn’t support the files from libreoffice. Minor touch ups would make this the best office suite alternative to MS Office but all of that is mostly cosmetic.