Sadly I can’t. The only approved software I can use is Office on Windows.

Do NOT tell anybody in the office that you use Libre Office.
If you do, you will be blamed for every problem anyone encounters.

Font size looks incorrect - Carl’s fault for using libre office to edit the file (even though you never worked on that project at all).

Paper jamb in the printer - Carl’s fault for printing a document from that weird libre office program.

I got fired for saying something racist on twitter - Carl’s fault for using that weirdo libre shit.

I only use LibreOffice and don’t tell anyone. It has only been a problem once when a client wanted me to use Word so she could keep track of changes. As a freelancer I wasn’t about to go and use Word for one client. I just submitted the work as a PDF and they never brought it up again.

Does this actually cause compatibility issues? If not, no need to explain

I don’t owe my co-workers any explanation.

No problem and no need to explain. LibreOffice is commonplace at my place of work.

Thanks to the behaviour of the American Government the past year, it has become really easy. Everybody suddenly understand and respect the argument of boycotting american products and software.

I was asked by a friend of the family why I had to “mod” everything, “You make it all so it doesn’t work right!”

…because “working right” in this day and age is a privacy nightmare, a security disaster, and relinquishing your rights, duh! Then I asked her how much the lawyer cost to understand what she’s agreeing to in all the EULAs of services she’s signed up for just to make things “work right”.

“Hey, I never liked Office 365, Microsoft as a company and all the Cloud shenanigans… And have you noticed how their products all become shittier and more invasive by the day? All while they increase subscription price each year now to finance all the AI stuff I rarely use? I’m a long-term fan of this other product, called XYZ which is just better in every aspect. No offense. If you want me to send you a link…”

(Edit: It’ll become easier after a while. At some point they all know you’re a Linux nerd and disassembled your wifi router at home, dishwasher… To get rid of proprietary spy components. And people will deliberately decide to listen to your opinion and lengthy rant, or make an effort to not bring up the topic 😆 At that point, you’re relatively free to speak your mind… Just read the room a bit. The goal isn’t to annoy people.)

For work, I have a work computer with a build on it provided by work.

If your work is letting/having you use something different, then explanations shouldn’t be needed. If youre doing this on your own, that may be a problem.

I will use whatever they will provide me. If i am to use Microsoft products, so be it. Not only that, but I don’t give a flying fuck for the company’s data i work for. They asked for it 🙃

I don’t. I just export to PDF if I need them to see formatting the same.

“I use LibreOffice Writer and other Linux apps”. There, simple as that.

If they ask why and show a more actual concerned interest, I usually mention Microslop history of privacy invasions and history of deliberate incompatibilities in Office, and recommend a few links documenting that stuff as well as some legal hot waters Microslop has gotten into.

Literally no one will care. Just make sure that your documents works well for them.

I didn’t use Linux in college, but I did use many FOSS tools. LibreOffice is easily my favorite office suite and there’s no contest. So long as you export your documents as .PDF or submit them as .DOCX, nobody is likely to know or even care what you used to type them.

This is likely to be similar for other types of software- as long as your finished product is compatible and looks good on the proprietary software, you shouldn’t run into any issues.

BTW, the university had student access for Microsoft Office. I could have chosen to use their tools at any time and I simply chose not to.