There’s no shortage of alternatives to Microsoft Office, including desktop software like LibreOffice and web apps like Google Docs. But what if you want to run LibreOffice in the cloud?
Now you can do that. It takes a little work though, because right now you essentially have to set up your own server.
Collabora has been working on a cloud-based version of LibreOffice for a while, and the company is currently showing off demos of the commercial software it plans to launch in 2016.
Now Collabora and ownCloud have launched a free and open source version of that software called Collabora Online Development Edition, or CODE. It’s not officially supported by either team, but it makes it easy for anyone to take LibreOffice in the cloud for a spin.
CODE basically consists of a virtual machine with ownCloud Server and LibreOffice Online. You can set it up to use LibreOffice in a web browser to view, edit, and create text, spreadsheet, presentation, and other documents.
Right now CODE has a stripped down user interface, but ownCloud notes that many of the features that you’d find in the desktop version of LibreOffice are also available in CODE. It’s just that some of them are hidden behind shortcuts.
