Michael Dexter

Not that you asked about… word processing in 2026 but:

🥚LibreOffice now speaks markdown! But it strips out comments, as there isn’t a standard

🥚Word does not yet speak markdown, but does support ODT files

🥚Google Docs can now export markdown and makes comments into footnotes

🥚LibreOffice supports password-protected ODT files, but nothing else reads them

🥚Password-protected .docx files are supported by LibreOffice and Google Docs either offers “Preview” or strips the encryption for editing, while TextEdit shows AES encryption noise

🥚BBEdit can open .docx files, though they are not exactly user-friendly

🥚Collabora and OnlyOffice (Sveiki!) reportedly support encrypted .docx files

(I rarely use file-level encryption but it has its place and readability is important)

🥚Word mail merge is very broken while LibreOffice’s worked quite well (used for the BSDCan 2025 badges)

🥚I hope the spreadsheets aren’t making up numbers and I fear the interoperability of presentations

Mar 23 at 6:40amWeb
Show threadMichael Dexter1d ago

🐣Converted documents will gladly jump from say, 128KB to 1.2M with the exact same content. Consider copy/paste to the format of choice.

🐣RTF has no T.

😐It’s 2026 and I still don’t know how best to sit down and make a to do list that is available on my phone and desktop.

Show threadMichael Dexter1d ago

Of course you want a console-based word processor! I have some good news and some bad news…

The good: WordGrinder!

The bad: “DEPRECATED: broken since 2023, maintainer AWOL”

https://www.freshports.org/editors/wordgrinder/

FreshPorts -- editors/wordgrinder: Simple Unicode-aware console and X11-based word processor

WordGrinder is an ultra-clean and uncluttered word processor that runs in a terminal or an X11 window. The author made WordGrinder to have something to write novels on. It supports just enough character and paragraph style support to let you get the job done, while not enough to let you waste time configuring them.

Show threadMichael Dexter1d ago

So. Who has used LibreOffice Remote Files?

Might they support the collaborative editing of Collabora and those listed platforms? Because that would be Awesome.

Show threadMichael Dexter1d ago
Hmm… this might be a teaser feature, not wired up on several operating systems?
Show threadMichael Dexter1d ago

Updated on this thread, which is hopefully threaded...

I put my password-protected .odt and .docx files into a colleague's Collabora instance and they round-tripped successfully! It prompts for a password on open and allowed me to download a modified version, preserving the password. (Google Docs strips it out)

Oh @antranigv ...

Show threadToasterson (Till Wegmüller)1d ago
@dexter Oh boy CMIS. SOAP XML that was so not standardized that it broke whole documents all the time... Might work today though.
Show threadNihils Pilz1d ago

@dexter

Honorable mention:
https://wordtsar.ca/

WordTsar – A Wordstar clone

Show threadHypha1d ago
@dexter well, could Typst in Vim count as a console-based word processor? Not really WYSIWYG, but the rendered output is exactly what we’d expect.
Show threadTom1d ago
@dexter I miss my very first editor in DOS: qedit
Show threadkianryan ☑️🐙🏳️‍🌈13h ago

@dexter WordGrinder is definately still under development. Latest release 2025. Might be a roll your own for FreeBSD.

https://github.com/davidgiven/wordgrinder

Show threadTomáš1d ago

@dexter > to do list

drafted email in my case

Show threadTomi the Slav and 1024 others1d ago
@dexter
>>jump the size...
Preferences, Embed only the used font, save (Libre).
GDocs likes to embed all sorts of fonts when exporting to odf.
Show threadMichael Dexter1d ago
@po3mah That was one nice feature of opening the .docx in a text editor… seeing font files.
Show threaddch  1d ago
@dexter I saw this https://jotty.page last week, it looks ideal and (for me) will replace a mix of hedgedoc & todoist app subscription. Does it look useful?
jotty·page - Self-Host your Checklists & Notes

A simple, self-hosted app for your checklists and notes. Your lightweight, private alternative, formerly rwmarkable.

Show threadfellmoon 🏴1d ago
@dch @dexter I did not know I needed this, but this looks a lot like something I want A LOT... Thx for sharing
Show threaddch  1d ago
@fellmoon haven’t got it to compile on FreeBSD yet I will try a Linux jail
Show thread𝙹𝚘𝚎𝚕 𝙲𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚝 ♑ 🤪1d ago
@fellmoon @dch @dexter is it possible to use it offline - like using the phone in airplane mode? I liked Joplin because of that when I tried it.
Show threadTim Foster1d ago
@joel @fellmoon @dch @dexter I'm a fan of self-hosted Joplin too, which does markdown and to-do lists just fine. I needed to compile nginx from ports on FreeBSD 15.0 to support the webdav features it uses,, but otherwise it's pretty painless.
Show threadJohn-Mark Gurney23h ago

@dexter
Nextcloud.

Not great in that it turns them into calendar events but it will sync.

https://apps.nextcloud.com/apps/tasks

Tasks - Apps - App Store - Nextcloud

The Nextcloud App Store - Upload your apps and install new apps onto your Nextcloud

Show threadJan Sobotka1d ago

@dexter
One thing I really don’t understand is why Microsoft Excel has incompatibilities between its Windows and Mac versions. And I’m not talking about different versions, I mean the same latest version of Excel 365, using .xlsx file type!

When I got my first Macbook in 2021, I couldn’t believe it. There are inconsistencies in number formatting, pivot tables, image placement, and even some formulas when Excel is set to Czech language. These are spreadsheet-breaking issues that never happen even between different versions of Excel or sometimes even different file types on Windows.

As someone who regularly switches between computers and therefore operating systems, this was the final straw. I’ve switched to Google Sheets for all my personal spreadsheet needs.
#excel #microsofrexcel #microsoftoffice #googlesheets

Show threadMichael Dexter1d ago
@tensob_ I swear I have dealt with decades-old Excel bugs…
Show threadMichael Galassi1d ago
@dexter emacs and nvi (not vim) both seem to do everything I every wanted... Sometimes the secret to happiness lies in setting appropriate expectations.
Show threadMichael Dexter1d ago

@michaelgalassi Collaboratively on you phone?

I do all coding in vi and it definitely has its place.

Show threadMichael Galassi20h ago
@dexter No, I decided long ago that if my parents were able to grow up and thrive without constant access to everything I could too. I am now comfortable without access to code, lists, notes, etc which live at home when I am away from there. It's a lifestyle choice which I understand only works for a small subset of people. I am lucky to be a part of that subset.
Show threadRicardo Martín 1d ago
@dexter The answer to my prayers was/is
https://typst.app/
Typst: The new foundation for documents

Typst is the new foundation for documents. Sign up now and experience limitless power to write, create, and automate anything that you can fit on a page.

Typst
Show threadMichael Dexter20h ago
@ricardo Well, the typst Compiler is open source.