Open Office

Anyone here uses http://www.openoffice.org/

Anyone here prefers this open source office suite than Microsoft Office Suite and why??

Any feedback will be grateful

 

Ive been using OpenOffice and I find it to be quite nice. It doesnt have ALL the features of MS Office but for basic tasks it is very good.

 

But it also provides features M$ Office doesn't have, like exporting to PDF.

To add to Ooo pluses - Open source and free, Compatible M$ document formats, multi-platform.

It's the only office suit I use, even at work I forgo M$ Office, for the portable version of Ooo.

 

If i use Open source office will i be able to save from it and move it to microsoft office?

or i can't? as i am in college so i use MS office in the college but i don't have it at home.

So in the end MS office is better but you have to pay

Does open source office have constant updates?

 

Yes you will.

Yes it does. Just to give you an idea: v2.1 was released in December and v2.2 is currently at RC3.

 

open source stuff does have updates. ive never used any office stuff, but maybe this plugin will help i do know ms has a plugin to make it compatible with the open standard, i don't know if this is it though -
http://sourceforge.net/projects/odf-converter edit that's for ms office, you're talking about OOo /-<

 

It doesn't save by default into the MS Office standard. But this is simply remedied by going into the tools menu of any of the OpenOffice programs and changing what format to save in under the Load/Save menu.

 

Dear Forum ,
I've been using OpenOffice for the last two versions (now 2.1) and it works absolutely fine for my essential processing , that is portfolio spreadsheets , e-mail pro formas , and wife's flower club minutes and ticketing etc. It is closely linked to Java and has a similar habit of upgrading accumulatively , so I think you should be quite thoughtful about the upgrade process to keep your system tidy . As regards interfacing with Microsoft there's less trouble than working your way through the version registration minefields of that company , and I'm writing as an Windows 98SE user recently simply trying to install a CD/R/W drive to accommodate digital image backup and off lining . Using OpenOffice feels a bit like the difference between using IE and Firefox , number two tries harder and is more solicitous to the user .

 

For my light (once a week on average) there's nothing missing from Open Office.

 

Been using Sun's inherently similar, but slightly more polished StarOffice since version 6.
Small money, liberal licensing.
They support ODF (open document format), something Redmond has been fighting tooth and nail.
Have found nothing lacking in it when comparing to M$ Office.
I've never looked back.
(There IS life after M$)

 

Open Office does everything I need. The professional (hard core) office user might find short comings.

 

Hello,
I have been using OO for the last 1.5-2 years, works like magic. Nothing missing and superior to MS Office.
Mrk

 

That would be a shortcoming of Quickbooks not Ooo.

 

OO i can understand, but Ooo? What's that, sleepy office?

 

I've been using openoffice on my home pc for light duty over the last 1/2 year. As a standalone replacement for home-based needs, it has worked fine. However, I have run into a couple of limitations when I take MS files home from work (where I have MS Office running), edit them with openoffice, and then take them back to work.

I have found formatting peculiarities with MS Word docs on occasion, usually associated with tracking changes, IIRC. There may have been issues with lists and/or tables as well, but I don't recall exactly. Point here is that I was forced to use an older MS Word program at home to edit these files. Also, I was recently editing a Powerpoint file via openoffice, which was originally created at work using MS Office, and although the information was still there after editing with openoffice, an embedded table within one of the slides was converted to a set of objects. Don't know if any openoffice settings could have prevented or mitigated the problems I had; I haven't delved into the openoffice options much at all.

Doug

 

same here (only its more like 4 years)

the only systemic criticism Im aware of in a head to head comparison is from power users of Excel vs Oo Base,
but since I rarely employ either its hard to judge

as far as why,
1. its free
2. its free
3. its free
4. its not microsoft

http://secunia.com/product/6157/?task=statistics
http://secunia.com/product/24/?task=statistics

 

I use OpenOffice as well.

When a client hires me to build them a system, sometimes they can't afford the MS office suite, but need the same functionality. So, I install OO and they barely even notice a difference except that the MS stamp isn't all over everything.

My personal and work computers have MS office 2003 (paid) though. I keep a copy on CD with me when I travel and work on ppls computers just in case though.

To me, it's a great office suite and definitely rivals MS.

 

Latex + Vim for the win!

Both things are fine, but Open Office is a PITA to use if you are on gentoo or a BSD, same with Java SDK and JRE

If you don't want to spend the money, then just use Open Office

Cheers,

Alphalutra1

 

I believe your issue is with M$ [anti-trust] and integration that Quickbooks doesn't provide ... How 'exactly' is this an Ooo issue? ~snip~ For it is you with the needs that should demand better interpolative solutions.

 

OpenOffice.org

 

I like StarOffice. And StarOffice 7 is offerred for free-

http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/downloads/2170194/sun-staroffice

 

i don't think there's much difference between staroffice and OOo. it's the same code i think, maybe staroffice has support for proprietary formats which can't be put in the free version what's the difference?