The developers are planning big changes for LibreOffice

Apr 19, 2015 16:25 GMT  ·  By

The Document Foundation is preparing the groundwork for the next major version of LibreOffice, 5.0, which should be available by the end of July, if everything goes according to plan.

When a new branch is started for LibreOffice, the developers first put together a bug hunting session that is supposed to make sure that most of important issues are dealt with and a clear schedule is put in place for the next cycle. The Document Foundation has been organizing these bug hunts for quite some time and they seem to be very effective.

The developers also revealed the fact that they intend to release LibreOffice 5.0 in just a few months, but the end of July. A few development versions will be made available, which will probably include a couple of Release Candidates. If the makers of this great office suite manage to keep to the schedule, Linux users (and not only them) will get to run the best LibreOffice so far.

First RC should arrive in a couple of months

The Document Foundation doesn't want just to fix some problems, they want to also continue the major rehaul that was started with the 4.4 branch, which was deemed as the most "beautiful" LibreOffice update to date.

"The LibreOffice community is getting ready for the next major release – planned for the end of July – with a bug hunting session focused on new features and fixes for bugs and regressions. The session will last 3 full days, from May 22 to May 24, 2015, and check the first beta of LibreOffice 5.0. Those who cannot join during the bug hunting session are always welcome to help chasing bugs and regressions when they have time. There will be another bug hunting session in June, to test LibreOffice 5.0 Release Candidate 1," reads the official announcement.

The developers from The Document Foundation also explained why they chose to change from 4.x to 5.x and the reasons include major visual improvements, it will make it easier for users to understand the gap, and the LibreOffice suite will soon be 5 years old.