LibreOffice hasn’t filled its productivity suite with AI tools. Instead, it gives you full control through extensions. The latest LibreOffice Stable Diffusion extension lets you add AI images directly to your documents.
Requirements to Generate AI Images in LibreOffice
I’d love to say it’s as easy as installing the extension and everything works, but it takes several steps to get everything working.
To start, you’ll need three things:
- Latest version of LibreOffice
- AI Horde account along with an API key (completely free)
- Stable Diffusion extension
Open LibreOffice Writer and go to Help -> Check for updates. If you’re not running the latest version, click Download to download and install the update. Make sure you’ve saved and closed all open documents first.
All image requests are processed through AI Horde. Nothing is processed on your device. It’s all done online. So, make sure you’re not sending any sensitive data in your requests.
AI Horde is run by volunteers, making the service free to everyone. It’s free to create an account and get an API key, which is necessary for the LibreOffice Stable Diffusion extension.
If you just want to try things out anonymously, use the API key 0000000000 (that’s 10 zeros). Just know that this puts you at the bottom of the priority list, so it could take a while to get your images during busy periods.
Otherwise, create a free account. You can boost your priority even further by earning Kudos. AI Horde supports logging in via Google, Discord, and GitHub. Or, enter a username and click Submit.
As soon as you hit Submit, you’ll get a unique API key. Copy this someplace safe. AI Horde cannot recover this for you. If you login using one of the third-party login methods, your API key is saved in your account to access later.
I recommend adding this key to any text document or a password manager.
Installing Stable Diffusion Extension
Now, download Stable Diffusion. Only download it from the official source. If you want to use Stable Diffusion outside of LibreOffice, try these methods instead.
This downloads a file called “loshd.oxt”. Make a note of where you store this. You’ll need it to install the extension in LibreOffice.
While the extension works in Writer, Impress, Calc, Draw, and Presentation, I’m using Writer for this tutorial.
Open LibreOffice Writer and select Tools -> Extensions. Click Add. Choose the file you just saved and press Accept to accept the terms.
It should only take a few seconds to install. Then, you’ll see it at the top of your extensions list. Close out of the extensions window and press Restart Now to finish the installation.
Creating an AI Image in LibreOffice
Once installed, type a prompt in your document. If you try to do this in Calc, a new Writer document opens instead.
Highlight the text you want to use as your prompt. Then, go to Insert -> Image from Text. Or, click the Image from Text button in the toolbar.
Enter your image dimensions and any other options you want to use. By default, NSFW images are censored. Then, enter your API key. Press Process to generate your image.
The amount of time it takes varies greatly. In testing, I had it take anywhere from five minutes to over an hour. I highly recommend setting the Max Wait time as high as possible or you may get an error that your image can’t be processed in that time frame.
Also, some antivirus software blocks the LibreOffice Stable Diffusion extension from requesting an image. If this happens, you’ll have to create an exception in your antivirus or turn it off when requesting AI images in LibreOffice. Just remember to turn your antivirus back on when you’re done.
I was pleasantly surprised with my first attempt. If you’ve used AI image tools before, you know they’re not always reliable. This one is no exception. So, it may take multiple attempts to get the image you’re looking for.
Tips for Better Results
The LibreOffice Stable Diffusion extension is still fairly new and is in active development. That means you may encounter bugs.
If you’re having trouble getting images outside of Writer and Impress, open a Writer document, generate your image there, and then copy it to the LibreOffice app you want to use instead.
The extension works best with English prompts. A translation feature is in the works to translate text to English before it’s sent to AI Horde.
If you want faster results, you’ll need to become an AI Horde worker. This can range from rating work to hosting a server. The more you do, the more Kudos you earn. More Kudos leads to a higher priority. You can also gift Kudos to other members.
Try to be as specific as possible with your prompt. A generic prompt isn’t likely to give you as detailed of an image as you want.
Also, don’t close LibreOffice until your image is ready. If you close it or disconnect from the Internet, this cancels your request. For offline images, try using Google AI Edge Gallery on Android.
If this extension is working for you, try generating AI images with MS Paint or even generate AI videos with Bing Video Creator. Then, add them to your LibreOffice documents.
