LibreOffice has excellent customization, so if you want to change the style of the program or the default templates, you can easily do that. This article walks you through changing the default styles, adding a grammar checker, and switching to the ribbon toolbar.

We will start with making sure we are on LibreOffice version 6.2 or later. While the styles section will apply to the older versions of LibreOffice, the grammar checker and ribbon bar require 6.2.

Default Style

The default style applies to a new document when you first open up LibreWriter. Simply make adjustments to the character styles and save the template under File → Templates → Save As Templates and select the option to Set as default template. Next time you open up LibreWriter, that will be the template that is used. IMPORTANT: Make sure there is no text in the document. The text will be saved to the template file. More information on styles can be found on our article about Saving and Applying Style Templates.

Grammar Checker

LibreWriter does not have a built-in grammar checker, but there are some options you can install. This video and article will talk about installing LanguageTool, which is a FOSS plugin for a variety of writing tools. The LibreOffice Addon will add an extension to your program with grammar checking similar to MS Word. If you need something more powerful, consider looking at my affiliate, ProWritingAid for a good privacy-focused paid alternative.

Ribbon Toolbar

The ribbon toolbar has become popular since it was implemented into Microsoft Word. As of LibreOffice 6.2, you can use the Ribbon (called Tabbed Layout) as an option. Enable it by going to View → User Interface → Tabbed. You can restore the old version by using the Hamburger Menu on the upper right, selecting the User Interface, and back to the Standard Toolbar.