Hi,
I'm eagerly awaiting the release of the XLOOKUP and FILTER commands in Planmaker. Question: are there any plans to offer macros for the Linux version of this software? That's also important for serious work.
Thanks,
Steve
Macros
Re: Macros
Thank you for your query.
At this time, there are no plans to implement macro support for the Linux version of SoftMaker Office.
At this time, there are no plans to implement macro support for the Linux version of SoftMaker Office.
Re: Macros
Thanks for the reply. That's a shame, but I understand. Roll on XLOOKUP and FILTER!
Re: Macros
Genuine question - can you briefly explain why Linux users won't get macros, but Windows users do? Is that a commercial decision (i.e. there are more Windows users, so you invest more development in their version of Softmaker Office) or something technical about Linux?
Re: Macros
Yes, you're right. Due to technical constraints on Linux and other non-Windows OSes, BasicMaker (which is similar to VBA macros) is not implemented. Currently, there are no plans to add them outside Windows.
Re: Macros
Thanks. Just to help me understand... How is it that LibreOffice and OnlyOffice both offer macros for the Linux versions of their suites? Is there something different about your approach to macros that makes it more difficult under Linux? It's a real shame, because this is a big "gap".
Re: Macros
LibreOffice is mostly a java application and for macros, I think, in part it relies on python plus some very limited support of MS old basic macros. OnlyOffice is an electron app so it probably goes for a solution based on js similar to that offered by MS on their web version of office. Probably Softmaker wants to avoid creating a macros mess as MS currently have, where the old "classic" way only works on a desktop and the newer solution isn't backwards compatible and support can be spotty.
Re: Macros
Thanks - I understand that, but I'm not sure that explains why Softmaker offers macro support to Windows users, but not Linux users?
Re: Macros
Supertech answered that for you: «Due to technical constraints on Linux and other non-Windows OSes, BasicMaker (which is similar to VBA macros) is not implemented.»
Re: Macros
... and I replied, respectfully asking why LibreOffice and OnlyOffice can offer macros on Linux - despite the technical constraints - but Softmaker can't.
I'm not trying to be difficult. I'm just trying to find a Linux spreadsheet to which I can fully migrate, finally leaving Microsoft behind. I'm using LibreOffice at the moment, and while I find some aspects of the software less than perfect - such as its archaic interface and occasional instability - its macro support is good. Right now, it's the nearest thing to Excel that I've found.
OnlyOffice macros are less good in my limited experience so far. I don't mind that they use Javascript at all - it works well enough - but they cache the value of cells until the macro is complete, making it impossible to recalculate mid-macro and record the results. That limits their usefulness for what I need to do.
Planmaker offers the best interface of all the Linux spreadsheets and is very fast in operation. Its development team are responsive and I like its commitment to privacy. It will get a lot more useful to me when modern Excel functions like XLOOKUP and FILTER arrive (promised in the next major release... can't wait to see it!). BUT the lack of macro support is a huge gap and it's frustrating to discover that Windows users can have it, but Linux users cannot. We pay the same subscription price after all.
Please note: I'm not asking for macros that are compatible with Microsoft's VBA. I don't care about that. I'm just asking for a way of automating spreadsheet tasks.
I'm not trying to be difficult. I'm just trying to find a Linux spreadsheet to which I can fully migrate, finally leaving Microsoft behind. I'm using LibreOffice at the moment, and while I find some aspects of the software less than perfect - such as its archaic interface and occasional instability - its macro support is good. Right now, it's the nearest thing to Excel that I've found.
OnlyOffice macros are less good in my limited experience so far. I don't mind that they use Javascript at all - it works well enough - but they cache the value of cells until the macro is complete, making it impossible to recalculate mid-macro and record the results. That limits their usefulness for what I need to do.
Planmaker offers the best interface of all the Linux spreadsheets and is very fast in operation. Its development team are responsive and I like its commitment to privacy. It will get a lot more useful to me when modern Excel functions like XLOOKUP and FILTER arrive (promised in the next major release... can't wait to see it!). BUT the lack of macro support is a huge gap and it's frustrating to discover that Windows users can have it, but Linux users cannot. We pay the same subscription price after all.
Please note: I'm not asking for macros that are compatible with Microsoft's VBA. I don't care about that. I'm just asking for a way of automating spreadsheet tasks.
Re: Macros
Seems like some contexts is needed...
TextMaker has been around for a very long time. PlanMaker has been also around for quite some time too. Initially it was a windows-only release, then they started to expand. BasicMaker, as far as I know, is modeled closely to MS VBA, heck even their own SMO file formats are based on MS OOXML. Due the technical limitations that SuperTech mentioned, they can't simply port BasicMaker to Linux, Mac, Android or iOS. This application most likely depends on a windows-only component, hence the problem.
If they decided to suddenly abandon BasicMaker, or introduce another macro language that is cross platform, on one hand would be quite an endeavour, and on the other then they still would have to keep supporting their current macro solution for windows making a mess of things just as is with MS (There have been Office versions for MAC with no macros support, whatsoever, for instance. And the current iOS, Android and web offerings do not support VBA macros at all and so on...).
OnlyOffice is a relatively new office suite, hasn't been around for 30+ years, so it was easier for them to just decide to do macros with JS. IT was already a thing. LibreOffice is a child of StarOffice. When SUN bought StarOffice and made it opensource in the early 2000's they decided to go in a different direction. For instance they introduced (with IBM, HP and others) the only real ISO document standard for office documents: ODT, they also introduced, in time, macros support, but because they wanted a competing solution to MS, they came out with a different solution.
SoftMaker has a small developer team and adding a new macros language is not a matter of snapping your fingers to come up with anew feature. They have to choose what to add next. There are many thing they have on their todo list, for instance for years people has been requesting a formula editor and, better odt support, flatpak and snap packages, just to mention the most requested ones in the forums... Besides they were clear: «there are no plans to implement macro support for the Linux version of SoftMaker Office»
TextMaker has been around for a very long time. PlanMaker has been also around for quite some time too. Initially it was a windows-only release, then they started to expand. BasicMaker, as far as I know, is modeled closely to MS VBA, heck even their own SMO file formats are based on MS OOXML. Due the technical limitations that SuperTech mentioned, they can't simply port BasicMaker to Linux, Mac, Android or iOS. This application most likely depends on a windows-only component, hence the problem.
If they decided to suddenly abandon BasicMaker, or introduce another macro language that is cross platform, on one hand would be quite an endeavour, and on the other then they still would have to keep supporting their current macro solution for windows making a mess of things just as is with MS (There have been Office versions for MAC with no macros support, whatsoever, for instance. And the current iOS, Android and web offerings do not support VBA macros at all and so on...).
OnlyOffice is a relatively new office suite, hasn't been around for 30+ years, so it was easier for them to just decide to do macros with JS. IT was already a thing. LibreOffice is a child of StarOffice. When SUN bought StarOffice and made it opensource in the early 2000's they decided to go in a different direction. For instance they introduced (with IBM, HP and others) the only real ISO document standard for office documents: ODT, they also introduced, in time, macros support, but because they wanted a competing solution to MS, they came out with a different solution.
SoftMaker has a small developer team and adding a new macros language is not a matter of snapping your fingers to come up with anew feature. They have to choose what to add next. There are many thing they have on their todo list, for instance for years people has been requesting a formula editor and, better odt support, flatpak and snap packages, just to mention the most requested ones in the forums... Besides they were clear: «there are no plans to implement macro support for the Linux version of SoftMaker Office»
Re: Macros
Ok. Understand all that. Bottom line: Softmaker have no plans to offer a macro solution for Linux - it clearly isn't a priority for them - so users will need to decide whether to pay for their software or use a free alternative that does. It's a shame, because Planmaker is very good in many ways and with development, could become an ideal Excel replacement for Linux users. But it is what it is.