WPS Office, a popular cross-platform office suite, has paused the development cycle on Linux. The last update by the WPS Office team was released an year ago.
In no-time, WPS Office became popular because of its intuitive user interface as well as support for multiple platforms that includes Android, iOS, Linux and Windows. However, in a response to Twitter user Angry Penguin, the WPS Office team revealed that the development for WPS Office on Linux platform is on a “halt”.
WPS Office engineers are alternatively seeking help for community builds of the office suite. The community builds would have been easier to work out on if the WPS Office was available as an open source release. But it is presently available as a closed source offering.
Open source alternatives
Having said that, not many Linux users are relying on WPS Office. Most of the community supporters rely on LibreOffice. OpenOffice was also equally popular in the open source world until last year, but due to a massive dip in terms of volunteers, it received a shutdown notice in last September.
The last update to WPS Office suite for Linux was v1.0.5672 Alpha. It supports 32-bit and 64-bit hardware and includes a spell-check for 10 international languages.
WPS Office has published an official statement regarding WPS Office for Linux, indicating that the company will provide ongoing Linux community support and regular updates to WPS Office for Linux. The originating tweet misstated the situation and has been corrected. The pending release of the latest version is scheduled for this June.
According to the company, “While there may be periodic delays in the release of updates based on community feedback, Linux users can be assured of regular updates to the software. The company will continue to deliver on its promise to support the Linux community which has been staunchly supportive of the software.”
To read the company’s official statement on WPS Office for Linux support, please visit
https://www.wps.com/press/LinuxSupport
Best,
Denise Nelson
Public Relations Representative for WPS Office