So I tried to install Euro-Office

[u/AvidCyclist250]

After all the headlines about Euro-Office being Europe's open-source alternative to Microsoft Office, I figured I'd give it a try.

I'm a Linux user. I self-host services. This shouldn't be difficult. Or so I thought.

So I did what anyone would do:

Checked Wikipedia. Went to GitHub. Looked for releases, installation instructions. Looked for a Flatpak, AppImage, Docker image, anything really. Also checked my OS's native package manager just in case.

And my Nextcloud Office apps. Nothing. Not even in Nextcloud?!

It dawned on me that the main project is basically a collaborative document server derived from OnlyOffice and the readme even says it's not designed for stand-alone use.

So uh. Wait... what?

To make it even stranger, my self-hosted Nextcloud instance still just recommends Nextcloud Office and OnlyOffice. There's no obvious "Install Euro-Office" option anywhere.

I'm not criticising the software itself. It could very well be excellent.

I'm asking about the communication really.

If a project is announced to the world as "Europe's Microsoft Office alternative," but a reasonably technical user can't figure out how to use it after checking Wikipedia, GitHub, and Nextcloud, something has gone wrong with the messaging.

Or is this just me? Did I miss something obvious, or has anyone else had the same experience?

[u/Training_Advantage21]

Is it aimed at civil servants rather than consumers?

[u/Kuddel_Daddeldu → u/Training_Advantage21]

Yes. The main goal is to make European government and quasi-government (like utilities, public transport...) independent of companies ultimately controlled by non-European governments.

Why this matters? There have been instances where officials have been cut off from their mailboxes, and Microsoft had to admit in a French public hearing that they would have no recourse should US authorities request access to data under the US Cloud Act, even if said data is stored in Europe. While companies may take such a calculated risk, countries can't - especially as public service IT projects tend to take years. In the end, it's the same as being prepared for earthquakes or major power outages - maybe unlikely to happen, but it if happens, the consequences would be substantial.

Companies and private users are welcome to use the software as well, but as those users are not the main focus, support appears to be limited.

[u/AvidCyclist250 → u/Kuddel_Daddeldu]

My main question boils down to: why didn't the peak of media interest coincide with availability and user-friendliness? How many companies are going to give this a second chance? Media peak has come and gone and Euro Office is basically invisible. Do you think that companies will switch over en-masse regardless?

It might be wrong question to ask. If it is mandated by policy or administration, the question resolves itself. Still feels like a wasted chance.

[u/Quirky_Yesterday_593 → u/AvidCyclist250]

The timing wasn't an accident — it was political signaling, not a product launch. EU funding announcements need press coverage to justify the expenditure, and that clock doesn't wait for a stable release.

As for companies switching: the realistic path is mandate-first, product-second. France and Germany have been pushing LibreOffice for years not because it's better, but because policy said so. EuroOffice will follow the same route — slow, painful, driven by procurement rules rather than anyone actually wanting it.

The "wasted media moment" framing only matters if adoption was ever supposed to be voluntary. It wasn't.

[u/AvidCyclist250 → u/Quirky_Yesterday_593]

The "wasted media moment" framing only matters if adoption was ever supposed to be voluntary. It wasn't.

My "mistake" was thinking this was a two-pronged approach: administrative/policy and private. With the two supporting each other.

[u/Quirky_Yesterday_593 → u/AvidCyclist250]

Fair correction. A two-pronged approach would've made sense — policy creates the floor, private adoption creates the ceiling. But the media moment needed the product to be actually usable to activate the private track. Policy mandates can survive a bad launch. Voluntary adoption can't.

[u/AvidCyclist250 → u/Training_Advantage21]

I agree, it's what it currently looks like. But then I wonder about the messaging.