{"slug": "libreoffice-draw", "name": "LibreOffice Draw", "category": "other", "category_name": "Other software", "description": "", "recommenders": 3, "commenters": 3, "warners": 0, "score": 2.611, "rising": -0.98, "first": "2025-12-09", "latest": "2026-06-22", "why": "LibreOffice Draw works quite nicely as a Publisher replacement for me.", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 4, "neutral": 0, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "LibreOffice Draw works quite nicely as a Publisher replacement for me.", "kind": "", "icon": false, "domain": null, "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://www.libreoffice.org/discover/draw/", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["LibreOffice Draw"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 778102625, "item_id": 48631414, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48631414", "by": "pmontra", "date": "2026-06-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use LibreOffice Draw for that.", "excerpt": "In non-English speaking countries gimp is a short word that is so seldom used that nobody knows what it means. I used GIMP for a very long time before running into a story about the meaning of the English world. It was only GNU Image Manipulation Program to me. It still is a contender for image editing programs, for limited photo retouch, for very limited drawing (draw a rectangle outline without googling?) I use Lib", "context": "", "use_case": "simple drawing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Why Drawing Tablet Brands Won't Collaborate on Linux Floss Drivers"}, {"id": 762745294, "item_id": 47671580, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47671580", "by": "Duanemclemore", "date": "2026-04-06", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I've had excellent luck with LibreOffice Draw as a PDF editor", "excerpt": "No, the concepts are the same. The button you push is incidental. For example, the GNU Image Manipulation Program now has non-destructive workflows and adjustment layers - and can easily easily be configured with photoshop-like keybinds anyway. That's not to mention free-to-use tools like Affinity. The things an architecture student needs it for are: Photo adjustment: Lightroom -> Darktable Photo retouching: Photosho", "context": "", "use_case": "PDF editing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Adobe modifies hosts file to detect whether Creative Cloud is installed"}, {"id": 746816112, "item_id": 46676007, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46676007", "by": "pmontra", "date": "2026-01-18", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "What I used most is Libreoffice Draw", "excerpt": "I disagree on that. I think that the main value of this kind of tools is \"no installation required\". There are already free PDF editors that can be downloaded and installed once forever. What I used most is Libreoffice Draw: it imports a PDF, edit it as if it were a file in its own format, export as PDF again. It's not the only choice. Firefox has had a vanilla PDF editor since last year: download a PDF or drag one i", "context": "", "use_case": "Editing PDFs", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Pdfwithlove \u2013 PDF tools that run 100% locally (no uploads, no back end)"}, {"id": 739285696, "item_id": 46205356, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46205356", "by": "thw_9a83c", "date": "2025-12-09", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "LibreOffice Draw works quite nicely as a Publisher replacement for me.", "excerpt": "> They also are actively decreasing the value by sunsetting Publisher in October 2026. You have my sympathy. I was also a frequent MS Publisher user, and I always felt that not many people knew about it. It's a useful, simple DTP package suitable for many less complex page layout scenarios. After the End-of-Support announcement, I switched to the LibreOffice Draw already. 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I used GIMP for a very long time before running into a story about the meaning of the English world. It was only GNU Image Manipulation Program to me. It still is a contender for image editing programs, for limited photo retouch, for very limited drawing (draw a rectangle outline without googling?) I use Lib", "context": "", "use_case": "simple drawing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Why Drawing Tablet Brands Won't Collaborate on Linux Floss Drivers"}, {"id": 762745294, "item_id": 47671580, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47671580", "by": "Duanemclemore", "date": "2026-04-06", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I've had excellent luck with LibreOffice Draw as a PDF editor", "excerpt": "No, the concepts are the same. The button you push is incidental. For example, the GNU Image Manipulation Program now has non-destructive workflows and adjustment layers - and can easily easily be configured with photoshop-like keybinds anyway. That's not to mention free-to-use tools like Affinity. The things an architecture student needs it for are: Photo adjustment: Lightroom -> Darktable Photo retouching: Photosho", "context": "", "use_case": "PDF editing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Adobe modifies hosts file to detect whether Creative Cloud is installed"}, {"id": 746816112, "item_id": 46676007, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46676007", "by": "pmontra", "date": "2026-01-18", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "What I used most is Libreoffice Draw", "excerpt": "I disagree on that. I think that the main value of this kind of tools is \"no installation required\". There are already free PDF editors that can be downloaded and installed once forever. What I used most is Libreoffice Draw: it imports a PDF, edit it as if it were a file in its own format, export as PDF again. It's not the only choice. Firefox has had a vanilla PDF editor since last year: download a PDF or drag one i", "context": "", "use_case": "Editing PDFs", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Pdfwithlove \u2013 PDF tools that run 100% locally (no uploads, no back end)"}, {"id": 739285696, "item_id": 46205356, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46205356", "by": "thw_9a83c", "date": "2025-12-09", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "LibreOffice Draw works quite nicely as a Publisher replacement for me.", "excerpt": "> They also are actively decreasing the value by sunsetting Publisher in October 2026. You have my sympathy. I was also a frequent MS Publisher user, and I always felt that not many people knew about it. It's a useful, simple DTP package suitable for many less complex page layout scenarios. After the End-of-Support announcement, I switched to the LibreOffice Draw already. Fortunately, LibreOffice Draw works quite nic", "context": "former MS Publisher user", "use_case": "desktop publishing", "switched_from": "Microsoft Publisher", "story": "Microsoft increases Office 365 and Microsoft 365 license prices"}]}