ProjectLibre
ProjectLibre is a project management software company with both a free open-source desktop and an upcoming Cloud version.
 | |
 Demonstration of the ProjectLibre GUI | |
| Original author(s) | Marc O'Brien, Laurent Chrettieneau |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | ProjectLibre |
| Initial release | August 19, 2012 |
| Stable release | 1.9.3
/ January 8, 2021 |
| Repository | sourceforge |
| Written in | Java |
| Operating system | Cross-platform |
| Available in | 29 languages including Arabic, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, Galician, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Tamil, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese and others [1] |
| Type | Project management software |
| License | Common Public Attribution License |
| Website | www |
ProjectLibre desktop is a free and open-source project management software system intended ultimately as a standalone replacement for Microsoft Project. ProjectLibre has been downloaded 5,000,000 times in 200 countries and translated into 29 languages [2]
The latest release of ProjectLibre was released with extensive update for global users. ProjectLibre has been translated into 29 languages. The 1.9.3 release allows project managers to select the language in a drop down list. In addition to language, the country can be chosen which also sets the project currency and date format. Based on the referenced downloads, languages it is derived that ProjectLibre delivers project management software in native language and currency to over 5,000,000 people worldwide and 197 countries.
ProjectLibre is written in the Java programming language, and will thus theoretically run on any machine for which a fully functioning Java virtual machine (JVM) exists. Currently, ProjectLibre is certified to run on Linux, MacOS, and Microsoft Windows.[3] It is released under the Common Public Attribution License (CPAL) and qualifies as free software according to the Free Software Foundation.
ProjectLibre's initial release was in August 2012. SourceForge staff selected ProjectLibre ProjectLibre as the January 2016 "Staff Pick" Project of the Month.[4]
ProjectLibre Cloud is a web-based project management application. ProjectLibre Cloud will be a multi-user, multi-project version in the browser. It will be similar to Google Docs compared to Microsoft Word. The beta test timing has not been announced.
History
Marc O'Brien, Howard Katz, and Laurent Chretienneau developed OpenProj at Projity in 2007. It moved out of beta with Version 1.0 on January 10, 2008.
In late 2008, Projity was acquired by Silver Lake Partners (the private equity firm) via its subsidiary at that time, Serena Software.[5]
In November 2008, support and development of OpenProj appeared suspended.[6] There were a few later commits to the CVS with regressions, but no improvements. It is no longer compatible with Microsoft Project.
In 2012, the founders of OpenProj announced that they had forked the OpenProj codebase and started a different implementation.
Serena announced and posted online to avoid downloading OpenProj and instead download ProjectLibre.
The initial release of ProjectLibre occurred in August 2012. ProjectLibre has been completely rewritten and thus technically ceased to be a fork.[7]
The team is looking in 2021 to release a Cloud/SaaS version, which will extend the desktop features with team and enterprise features.
Features
The current version includes:
- Microsoft Project 2010 compatibility
- Ribbon user interface
- Earned value costing
- Gantt chart
- PERT graph only (not PERT technique)
- Resource breakdown structure (RBS) chart
- Task usage reports
- Work breakdown structure (WBS) chart
Comparison to Microsoft Project
Compared to Microsoft Project, which it closely emulates, ProjectLibre has a similar user interface (UI) including a ribbon-style menu, and a similar approach to construction of a project plan: create an indented task list or work breakdown structure (WBS), set durations, create links (either by (a) mouse drag, (b) selection and then button-down, or (c) manually type in the "predecessor" column), assign resources. The columns (fields) look the same as for Microsoft Project. Costing features are comparable: labour, hourly rate, material usage, and fixed costs: these are all provided.[8]
ProjectLibre improvements
- Full compatibility with Microsoft Project 2010, import/export capability
- Printing
- PDF exporting (without any restrictions)
- Ribbon user interface
- Many bug fixes and correction of issues that OpenProj encounters that are mentioned above
References
- "New Release of ProjectLibre: Project Managers set Language, Currency, Date Format with drop down list". ProjectLibre. January 13, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
- "ProjectLibre - Project Management". Sourceforge. January 16, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- "ProjectLibre: open source alternative to Microsoft Project". Archived from the original on October 24, 2014.
- "February 2016, "Staff Pick" Project of the Month – ProjectLibre". SourceForge Community Blog. February 4, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
- "Serena Software Acquires Open Source Alternative to Microsoft Project". Serena Software. January 19, 2009. Archived from the original on December 18, 2010. Retrieved January 19, 2009.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
- https://sourceforge.net/p/openproj/discussion/708855/thread/03c9f822/
- Hibbets, Jason. "ProjectLibre edges in on Microsoft Project dominance". opensource.com. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
- Kelly, Will. "Take your project management application open source with ProjectLibre". techrepublic.com, CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved May 8, 2013.