Added modules for SoftMaker Office?

[Woody44]

In previous discussions, I have suggested that in order for SoftMaker Office to fully compete against either Microsoft Office/Microsoft 365 or LibreOffice, SoftMaker Office needs a real, relational database, not just the mail merge address book that's built into TextMaker. It is my understanding that SoftMaker used to offer a true database, but it was discontinued may years ago. I still think it should be a priority to bring it back. As more companies, and more European countries and lower tiers of government are moving to distance themselves from dependency on Microsoft, I believe this is crucial. Not every company or every government office or agency needs a database, but ... if you need one, you need one. Microsoft has Access. LibreOffice has Base. SoftMaker Office has ... nothing.

The above is repeating my previous points. Now I have a new suggestion:

I am in the midst of researching and writing a book on the subject of software for writers. Certainly, a good word processor is essential for getting the words down in bits and bytes, and TextMaker is an excellent choice. Beyond the actual keying in of the manuscript, though, writers often do a considerable amount of research, and they need some way to record it, organize it, and retrieve it. One tool that can be used (it's not perfect, but it's also not bad) is Microsoft OneNote.

I just learned that the Corel Office Suite (WordPerfect) includes a note-taking module comparable to OneNote. It's called WordPerfect Lightning. It's included in all three levels of Corel Office: Professional, Standard, and Home & Student.

I know that Microsoft makes a version of OneNote available for free, so adding a comparable module to SoftMaker Office may not be essential. Except that, as I commented above, especially in Europe many companies and countries are actively moving away from Microsoft. Migrating to another office suite while still relying on Microsoft OneNote is an incomplete migration. I have no idea how much work it would be to develop a OneNote-like module for SoftMaker Office, but I think doing so would be a first-rate idea for future versions. Preferably sooner rather than later -- before everyone who wants to leave Microsoft has found and implemented their OneNote substitutes.

[SuperTech]

Thank you for sharing your suggestions again.

As mentioned previously, we currently do not have plans to add a dedicated database application or a OneNote-like application to SoftMaker Office. We understand your reasoning and appreciate the detailed feedback, but our current development focus is on the existing Office applications and their core functionality.

We appreciate your understanding.

[lgsl]

Since TextMaker 2026 can import and export Markdown, I guess you could use it for note taking, then import to export, or simply copy/paste into one-note or whatever... Honestly, I think taking notes by hand is more practical.