FREE OpenOffice software ---alternative to MS Office

[dedgeu2]

Not sure how often you guys use MS Office at home which includes Excel, PowerPoint, Word and depending on your version, other programs like Publisher and FrontPage.

Well, here is another alternative for all those programs that is FREE to download. It is called OpenOffice which includes comparable versions of Excel called Calc, PowerPoint called Presentations, Word called Writer and even includes a Frontpage sorta clone.

You can save files as OpenOffice documents, or also as Word documents and even export them to PDF files too. So those family and friend who do not have OpenOffice but a MS program can still open your documents.

It is a FREE alternative to the MS Office.

Maybe some of you have have used it. We use it daily at work and at home and I thought I would post it just in case some of my fellow CAGs would like a cheap office suite to use.

Here is the link: http://www.openoffice.org/

 

[opportunity777]

[quote name='dedgeu2']Not sure how often you guys use MS Office at home which includes Excel, PowerPoint, Word and depending on your version, other programs like Publisher and FrontPage.

Well, here is another alternative for all those programs that is FREE to download. It is called OpenOffice which includes comparable versions of Excel called Calc, PowerPoint called Presentations, Word called Writer and even includes a Frontpage sorta clone.

You can save files as OpenOffice documents, or also as Word documents and even export them to PDF files too. So those family and friend who do not have OpenOffice but a MS program can still open your documents.

It is a FREE alternative to the MS Office.

Maybe some of you have have used it. We use it daily at work and at home and I thought I would post it just in case some of my fellow CAGs would like a cheap office suite to use.

Here is the link: http://www.openoffice.org/[/quote]

The only problem I would have with this is not compatible with .xls or .ppt files (I don't know), and secondly given that it is free I'm sure it lacks a great deal of the functionality of MS products as much as everyone likes to hate on them

 

[dedgeu2]

Actually it is compatible with .xls and .ppt files. It is easier to convert from OpenOffice to these other formats and back than you think. The only variations you might see is in .ppt files when doing slides. You might have to play with it just a bit but it is pretty easy.

The corporation I work for uses it and for the most part it is compatible and easy to use. Advanced settings like Macros do not work as Excel's since they are written in a different programing language but if you stick to basics...it does the job remarkly well.

 

[vherub]

worth checking out, the size appears to be about 84mB zipped

 

[Morrigan Lover]

The only problem I would have with this is not compatible with .xls or .ppt files (I don't know)

Open Office has good compatibility with both .xls and .ppt.

and secondly given that it is free I'm sure it lacks a great deal of the functionality of MS products as much as everyone likes to hate on them

You obviously haven't tried it.

 

[dedgeu2]

from the website:
A new approach to office productivity software
OpenOffice.org 1.1 gives you everything you'd expect in office software. You can create dynamic documents, analyse data, design eye-catching presentations, produce dramatic illustrations, and open up your databases. You can publish your work in Portable Document Format (.pdf), and release your graphics in Flash (.swf) format - without needing any additional software. OpenOffice.org 1.1 is now available for more users than ever, with support for complex text layout (CTL) languages (such as Thai, Hindi, Arabic, and Hebrew) and vertical writing languages.

If you're used to using other office suites - such as Microsoft Office - you'll be completely at home with OpenOffice.org 1.1. However, as you become used to OpenOffice.org 1.1, you'll start to appreciate the extras that make your life easier. You can of course continue to use your old Microsoft Office files without any problems - and if you need to exchange files with people still using Microsoft Office, that's no problem either.

more:
OpenOffice.org 2.0 is an open, feature-rich multi-platform office productivity suite. The user interface and the functionality is very similar to other products in the market like Microsoft Office or Lotus SmartSuite, but in contrast to these commercial products OpenOffice.org is absolutely free.