Need a simple database for Windows 10

[zxcvbob]

Euuu!  No.  

Just die, MS Works.  Proprietary default format, no real reason for its continued existence, with better free alternatives available.

Mrs. Z had a laptop with MS Works.  The proprietary formats was the one thing I hated about it.  If I could change the defaults to something like Office 97 or RTF or HTML (etc), which I think it supported under the Save As button, it would have been fine.  She always saved using the defaults, of course.

I use Office 97 on my personal PC's (redundancy alert!)  My work PC's have Office 2016 and/or 365 and I don't like the ribbon interface.  Wife has an Office 2010 license but she lost the keys a long time ago, so she has 97 now and I doubt she can tell the difference anyway.  It works just fine with Windows 10.  IIRC there is one piece you shouldn't install, I think it's the HTML editor, and I don't remember why.

[Nick1911]

You are overthinking this. Let the buyer pick their own software.

The people who will use a database will probably appreciate less bloat because what you pick likely isn’t going to be what they want to use.  The people who want all the software preinstalled probably won’t ever use it.

Cordex (and everyone else) nailed it.  Average users buying a cheap used rig want a word processor and maybe a spreadsheet.  Advanced IT folks will do their own thing, and probably start with blowing away the whole OS.

And the very fringe usecase of "grandma who took computer classes in the 80's and wants to mail merge?"  Yea, she's going to be frustrated that there's no slot for the disks with her databases files from her amiga.

Personal opinion: Have you received a request for this from a potential buyer?  If not, don't spend anymore time or energy trying to solve for a problem that hasn't materialized, and is very unlikely to. 

[WLJ]

Not an option in release 6.1.6.3, which I believe is the most recent stable version. Are you in the power user channel?

Nope
Latest stable ver on their website is 6.3.5 https://www.libreoffice.org/download/download/

[WLJ]

Mrs. Z had a laptop with MS Works.  The proprietary formats was the one thing I hated about it.  If I could change the defaults to something like Office 97 or RTF or HTML (etc), which I think it supported under the Save As button, it would have been fine.  She always saved using the defaults, of course.

I just checked, LibreOffice will open Works docs

[Hawkmoon]

Personal opinion: Have you received a request for this from a potential buyer?  If not, don't spend anymore time or energy trying to solve for a problem that hasn't materialized, and is very unlikely to.  

No requests with respect to this computer. I'm extrapolating from what I encountered a year or so ago when I sold a couple of laptops.

If Libre Office now offers an option for a ribbon menu (ugh!), that solves the problem. Base is a half decent database, and it's easy to use (easier, IMHO, than Access, although it's not as easy to design clean forms in Base).

[Hawkmoon]

Nope
Latest stable ver on their website is 6.3.5 https://www.libreoffice.org/download/download/

I just updated to 6.3.5.2 on my desktop computer. I still don't see an option for tabbed, ribbon-style menus.

[Nick1911]

No requests with respect to this computer. I'm extrapolating from what I encountered a year or so ago when I sold a couple of laptops.

If Libre Office now offers an option for a ribbon menu (ugh!), that solves the problem. Base is a half decent database, and it's easy to use (easier, IMHO, than Access, although it's not as easy to design clean forms in Base).

Wow, I wouldn't have through that would be something folks would ask for.

[AZRedhawk44]

The time you've spent loading OS and freeware is worth more than the value you're getting from the used hardware.  OS + Firefox + LibreOffice and that's plenty for anyone to put a used PC to work to do whatever they want.

[WLJ]

I just updated to 6.3.5.2 on my desktop computer. I still don't see an option for tabbed, ribbon-style menus.

Odd. Very odd.
Were you in the base menu or actually in one of the apps? You need to be in one of the apps like writer then View --> User Interface --> Tabbed
Works in mine.

[WLJ]

Works on my laptop too
ver 6.2.8

[Phantom Warrior]

No requests with respect to this computer. I'm extrapolating from what I encountered a year or so ago when I sold a couple of laptops.

I'm curious.  What did you see when you sold laptops previously?  Particularly that would indicate database software is a selling point.

[Hawkmoon]

I'm curious.  What did you see when you sold laptops previously?  Particularly that would indicate database software is a selling point.

What I saw was people calling about the computers, and not even being interested in looking at them if they didn't have a "complete" office suite installed. I concede that most of them didn't even know what a database program is ... but someone told them that they needed something with a "complete" office suite, so that's what they were looking for. Oh, and isn't $100 a bit too much for an old computer? Would you take $50?

Back to Libre Office and the ribbon. Here's a screen shot from Writer 6.3.5.2

[WLJ]

I said
VIEW --> User Interface --> Tabbed

You're doing
Tools --> Options --> View
Different menu

Click on the word view on the toolbar, it's on the upper left of your screenshot

[lee n. field]

What I saw was people calling about the computers, and not even being interested in looking at them if they didn't have a "complete" office suite installed. I concede that most of them didn't even know what a database program is ... but someone told them that they needed something with a "complete" office suite, so that's what they were looking for.

The same folks that think MS Office comes free with computers.  If they want the real MS Office ribbon interface, and a database, they want Office Pro.  Which costs.

Oh, and isn't $100 a bit too much for an old computer? Would you take $50?

Judgment call, and why we don't put too much time and effort into prepping older pcs.   Honestly, the hardware very well might not be worth $100 when they could go to wally world and get a sucky low end laptop for $250(ish).

Minimal effort way to prep a computer to "re-home":  Wipe, reinstall Windows.  Update to current (here's where Win 10 is much better than prior versions).  Go to ninite.com, tag off Chrome & Firefox, VLC, and Libre Office, and download that installer.  Run it.   Maybe put one of the free antivirus programs on.  Done.   Put no more effort into it.   They don't like libre, tough.  Unless they are paying me to do it, tough. they can install what they want themselves.

[Hawkmoon]

I said
VIEW --> User Interface --> Tabbed

You're doing
Tools --> Options --> View
Different menu

Click on the word view on the toolbar, it's on the upper left of your screenshot

Yes, I know. And there was nothing on there about "User Interface," which is why I went into Tools --> Options. Here's the screen shot from the menu you're talking about:



I don't see "User Interface."

[WLJ]

Odd, shows up on all my computers.
Anyone else seeing it or not?

[zxcvbob]

Minimal effort way to prep a computer to "re-home":  Wipe, reinstall Windows.  Update to current (here's where Win 10 is much better than prior versions).  Go to ninite.com, tag off Chrome & Firefox, VLC, and Libre Office, and download that installer.  Run it.   Maybe put one of the free antivirus programs on.  Done.   Put no more effort into it.   They don't like libre, tough.  Unless they are paying me to do it, tough. they can install what they want themselves.

I'd never heard of ninite before but it looks awesome.  Thanks.  I'll have to try it if/when I get home (I have 2 spare computers set up just for configuration and install testing, doing World Community Grid workloads in the meantime)

[WLJ]

Mine

[cordex]

https://libreofficehelp.com/change-libreoffice-default-look-and-feel/
Open LibreOffice.
Go to menu Tools > Options. Under Advanced, select Enable Experimental Features.
Go to menu View > User Interface.

[WLJ]

https://libreofficehelp.com/change-libreoffice-default-look-and-feel/
Open LibreOffice.
Go to menu Tools > Options. Under Advanced, select Enable Experimental Features.
Go to menu View > User Interface.

Never did that in any of mine and yet it comes up.
Welcome to computers folks, they don't have to make sense.

Edit: Just checked, experimental features is turned off on mine.

[Hawkmoon]

I just turned on Experimental Features, restarted Libre Office, and I still don't see a menu choice for User Interface. I'm now on version 6.3.5.2. What version are you on? Are you running it in Windows, iOS, or Linux?

And I have now turned Experimental Features off again. If I wanted to run a potentially unstable version, I would download the latest, greatest power user version.

[WLJ]

I just turned on Experimental Features, restarted Libre Office, and I still don't see a menu choice for User Interface. I'm now on version 6.3.5.2. What version are you on? Are you running it in Windows, iOS, or Linux?

And I have now turned Experimental Features off again. If I wanted to run a potentially unstable version, I would download the latest, greatest power user version.

Same version

Windows 64bit

Did you download the windows 64 bit version or maybe the 32bit? Don't know if that would have anything to do with it but I thought I would ask.

Edit: Just checked a laptop running Linux Mint and LO is missing the tabbed menu option just like your screen shots

[Hawkmoon]

I'm using the 64-bit version.

I checked with a friend who uses Libre Office as his default office suite. (No Microsoft Office for him.) He has the option to switch to the ribbon interface. He didn't know he had it until I asked him about it so, of course, he had to try it. Now he wants to kill me. He sent me a screen shot. If the Microsoft ribbon is bad, Libre Office's rendition is a thousand times worse. He sent me a screen shot. It's ugly, and not just from an aesthetics perspective.

[lee n. field]

The version current in my Debian* Linux install  is 6.1.5.2, and does not have the option.

Boot the Windows side, it's 6.4.2.2, and does have the ribbon interface option.

----edit to add---

* Debian Stable, not not necessarily tracking the absolute latest version.

[Hawkmoon]

The version current in my Debian Linux install  is 6.1.5.2, and does not have the option.

Boot the Windows side, it's 6.4.2.2, and does have the ribbon interface option.

According to the Libre Office web site, the current version 6.4.2 "If you're a technology enthusiast, early adopter or power user, this version is for you!"

Below that is version 6.3.5: "This version is slightly older and does not have the latest features, but it has been tested for longer."

I'm certainly not a power user, and I'm also not a computer whiz so I always opt for stability over bells and whistles. So I have version 6.3.5. But that's what my friend has, and he's also on Windows 10 -- and he has the User Interface option, and I don't. Does it make a difference that he's in Europe?

Here's what the Libre Office ribbon menu looks like (courtesy of my friend):