Ubuntu: Word documents not open

Ubuntu: Word documents not open - so it goes

Feb 23, 2026

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Microsoft Word for Linux, however, allows you open Word documents on Ubuntu. We will show you step by step how to do this.

Ubuntu: a Word document via LibreOffice, open

With LibreOffice you can open the Ubuntu Word documents.

Since the Ubuntu Version 11.04, LibreOffice is already installed.
If you have an older Ubuntu versions, you need to install LibreOffice first.
To do this, open a Terminal and type the command "sudo apt-get install libreoffice libreoffice-l10n-de libreoffice-help-de".

After you have installed LibreOffice, you can open your Word document:

Start the "LibreOffice Writer" by searching in the Dash for "LibreOffice Writer".
Then [CTRL] + [O] button and select your Word document.
With a click on "Open" the document is loaded.
Please note: the macros in Word documents in Ubuntu do not work. In addition, the formatting may differ.