![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/libreoffice-icon-250x250.png\"){kind=icon}
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
LibreOffice, the popular office suite that’s default in many Linux Distributions, released new major 26.8 version on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The new version of this free open-source software features RTL (right-to-left) and bidirectional text support, improved Microsoft Office compatibility, stronger scripting, and various improvements.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/libreoffice268-700x417.webp\")
<\/p>\n
The Writer app now has better handling for Right to Left and bidirectional text<\/b> that contains both left-to-right (LTR) and right-to-left (RTL) writing directions.<\/p>\n
It now detects paragraph direction for RTL text automatically when documents or plain text are opened or pasted. And, Show Formatting Marks now makes format characters for bidirectional text visible.<\/p>\n
Start is now the default paragraph alignment setting in new documents. And, changing paragraph directions no longer mirrors alignment of left- or right-aligned paragraphs.<\/p>\n
Line wrapping for bidirectional text has also been improved. It now places spaces at the end of a line in paragraph according to writing direction, rather than reading direction.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/linewrapping-700x114.webp\")
image from documentfoundation.org<\/p><\/div>\n
Writer also features better text arrangement support. It now has a new Paragraph Composer<\/b> text layout algorithm that balances word spacing across consecutive lines instead of optimizing each line in isolation.<\/p>\n
It as well features Baseline Grid<\/strong> display for precise line spacing\/layout, distraction-free Draft View, and better Microsoft Office compatibility that ead and re-export “hidden” and “show in gallery” properties of styles in the DOCX files.<\/p>\n image from documentfoundation.org<\/p><\/div>\n The Calc app features new Shuffle<\/b> command to randomly reorder cells in a range, and new Pivot Table Calculated fields. <\/p>\n It also improved RTL support, that typing right-to-left text into an empty cell automatically sets the direction of that cell to RTL.<\/p>\n As well improved Microsoft Excel XLSX compatibility with line breaks in referenced cells. And, XLSX form control elements now show up in the Navigator. <\/p>\n image from documentfoundation.org<\/p><\/div>\n Impress can now switch between numbered and bulleted lists. It features new Presentation Sections<\/strong> for organizing slides. Along with Draw, it also supports multiple page\/slide sizes in one document.<\/p>\n For the UI, it now has native OpenType font variations<\/b> support. So if a document uses a variable font with a particular weight or width, LibreOffice can preserve and display that variation correctly.<\/p>\n It now accepts font names in other languages, supports configuring per-document keyboard shortcuts, and theme color changes no longer require restarting the application.<\/p>\n Python scripts can now be created and edited directly from the Macro Manager without installing APSO. And, they can run either inside LibreOffice or as clients connecting to a LibreOffice server via pipe\/socket.<\/p>\n Other changes include:<\/p>\n There are as well a large amount of other changes. See the official release note<\/a> for details.<\/p>\n LibreOffice 26.8 is available to download for Linux, Windows, and macOS in its website via the link below:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ParagrahComposer-700x370.webp\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ubuntuhandbook.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/PivotCalcField.webp\")
\n
How to install LibreOffice 26.8<\/h3>\n