Microsoft Word is a wildly popular word processor, but many still do not use it. Whether it’s because of cost, access, or preference, not everyone is a Word fan.
If you fall into this category, you might use alternative office suites like LibreOffice or WPS Office.
However, there are still plenty of other great and free options out there if you know where to look. Here are several fresh alternatives to Microsoft Word that you might not know about.
1. Jarte
Jarte has a neat and clean interface that makes it simple to work with your documents. You can create multiple documents in one window using the tabs at the top. You also have options to customize the application for button labels, automatic detection of links, and word wrapping.
Features:
- Edit with basic tools like copy, paste, find, and spell check as well as a dictionary and thesaurus.
- Insert images, hyperlinks, tables, equations, and objects.
- Format fonts with bold, italic, underline, color, size, and style.
- Adjust paragraphs using alignment, indent, line spacing, and tab stops.
- And more: Multiple views, counts for words, pages, and characters, zoom in or out, and a built-in screen capture feature.
2. AbleWord
For an application with the same familiar appearance as Microsoft Word, check out AbleWord. You have a standard menu at the top for tools like File, Edit, and View, quick button actions right below for undo, redo, and spell check, and the font formatting bar beneath that.
Features:
- Save documents as DOC, DOCX, PDF, HTML, or TXT.
- Insert images, text frames, tables, and page numbers.
- Format fonts, paragraphs, styles, columns, bullets, and numbering.
- Use tables by inserting, selecting, or deleting along with merging and splitting cells.
- And more: PDF file importing, print or draft layout views, word count, zoom in or out, and page layout options.
3. WordGraph
SSuite Office provides a host of applications like word processors, spreadsheets, and editors. One such product is called WordGraph and is a terrific alternative to Microsoft Word. Similar to AbleWord, you have a standard menu at the top, action buttons, and formatting toolbar. Each new document resides in its own tab.
Features:
- Select views from full width, centered outline, or full height along with thumbnail views along the side.
- Insert objects, images, tables, links, emoticons, equations, automatic text, and character art.
- Format fonts, paragraphs, and visual text effects.
- Use tools for spell check, word count, track changes, and online dictionaries, thesauruses, and translations.
- And more: Tiled windows, document exporting, history, and statistics, keyboard shortcuts, and cloud storage integration.
4. FocusWriter
FocusWriter is ideal for those who want a distraction-free writing experience. When you open FocusWriter, you will see the document area on a wooden background. So, you can start writing immediately. But the application also offers the features you need in a word processor when you put your mouse towards the top of the window.
Features:
- Edit with basic undo, redo, cut, copy, and paste features.
- Format fonts, paragraphs, indents, and headings.
- Use tools to find, replace, spell check, and symbols.
- Adjust settings for focused text, themes, and focus preferences.
- And more: Hideaway tools on all four edges, focus timer, daily progress statistics, goal setting, toolbar customizations, and keyboard shortcuts.
FocusWriter is free and available on multiple platforms. If you like features of word processors but prefer a focused writing tool, then this is the application for you.
