LibreOffice Versions 5.2 and 5.1.5 Released

The Document Foundation today announced the releases of LibreOffice 5.2 and 5.1.5. LibreOffice 5.2 is the latest in the Fresh branch of the popular office suite bringing a new document classification system that will help keep prying eyes out. Other improvements include a single line toolbar option, quicker access to Print to File, and several other goodies. Of course, they're always tweaking the core code as well making for a faster and more stable experience. But wait, there's even more...

As security concerns increase the Transglobal Secure Collaboration Program is a public-private partnership formed to secure electronic communication primarily for defense contractors and government entities. They've laid out specifications and frameworks that allow for more secure shared documents over the Internet. LibreOffice 5.2 adheres to these document classification specifications so it can be deployed in more sensitive projects.

The TSCP's Information and Labeling and Handling project's specifications provide off-the-shelf providers and system administrators a "consistent interpretation and enforcement of policies, regulations, and licenses." Permissions or user attributes can be assigned to documents so that only those granted access can read or write and the label lets all concerned know the permissions. These access level labels begin with the lowest security for Non Business and increase through General Business and Confidential, to the highest Internal Only. The Document Foundation is proud to be able to provide this classification beginning with version 5.2 released today.

Some of the other "Fresh" goodies include:

* Improved forecasting functions, Holt-Winters algorithms in Calc
* Improved interoperability through better DOCX and RTF filters
* Wildcard support in formulas in Calc per ODF 1.2
* New single toolbar mode for less distraction in Writer and Calc
* Frequently used icons put front and center, customizable menus
* New drawing tools
* Print to File right in list of printers
* Two-factor authentication for cloud storage
* Multiple status bar indicators can now be used
* Effects in Impress now include a full description
* Improved chart rendering with equation wrap
* Improved proportional resizing of inserted objects
* New option to disable thumbnails in Start Center
* Revamped Find & Replace dialog
* New Template Manager interface
* Adobe Flash support removed

LibreOffice 5.1.5 was released to update the stable branch bringing nearly 90 fixes. Some of the more interesting fixes include editing of My Documents path, parsing of exponents, a crash in the sidebar if deleting images, drag & drop cursor placement, Close button disappearing from Start Center, radio & check buttons misbehaving in View menu, and resizing shape with "resize shape to fit text." Several other crashes and import bugs were addressed as well making it "still" a good choice for conservative users.

Downloads of newly released LibreOffices 5.2 and 5.1.5 are available at the usual location including new Flatpak and Snap packages.