OpenOffice.org is free to download and is comparable to Microsoft Office productivity office applications. Though a different and separate option, the suite of OpenOffice.org applications is similar in the look and feel as compared to the Microsoft Office package of office applications. If working in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint is old hat, the jump to OpenOffice.org will not be as daunting.
OpenOffice.org - A Definition
Both Open Office and Microsoft Office are productivity suites, offering a variety of software applications for specific functions. Microsoft Office is a suite of applications that include word processing, spreadsheets, presentations and more. OpenOffice.org is a free, open source option that offers comparable application software.
Some comparable software include:
- Word processing - Writer for OpenOffice.org, Word for Microsoft Office
- Spreadsheets - Calc for OpenOffice.org, Excel for Microsoft Office
- Presentations - Impress for OpenOffice.org, PowerPoint for Microsoft Office
There are other software applications in both suites, but these are the most used in the bunch.
Gone are the days of buying a brand new computer automatically loaded with Microsoft Office. Microsoft Works (a scaled down Microsoft productivity suite of applications) is the standard today.
Instead of purchasing the Microsoft Office student, home or professional edition for full-featured applications, consumers are instead opting for the free, open source option of OpenOffice.org. With features similar to Microsoft Office, OpenOffice.org has not only become a frugal choice for home users but also business users. Novell has made the full transition from Microsoft Office to OpenOffice.org. Click here for their story.
Some Differences
So, when thinking of making the transition, naturally the question is what are the differences between the two?
Basically, for those who are familiar working in Microsoft Office, making the jump to OpenOffice.org is not a big leap. The menus are intuitive enough and behave similarly - the File menu does just what you think it should, open, save, print, exit, etc. The look of the two is similar, though the icons on OpenOffice.org do look a bit more cartoonish.
The big bonus with OpenOffice.org is the ability to export a file as a PDF document. This can be done in all but the database application. It is a very nice feature that is typically an add-on for Microsoft Office.
The New selection under the File menu works a bit differently. In OpenOffice.org the user can choose to open not only the native document within the open application, as is the case with Microsoft Office, but any other type of file. So, if you are in Writer you can choose to open not only a new text file, but also a new spreadsheet, a new presentation, etc.
OpenOffice.org files can be closed individually as compared to Microsoft Office files which open in a parent window. For example, if more than one Excel file is open, each window can be closed at once by exiting the Excel program.
There are notable differences between the different applications, which will be discussed in upcoming articles.
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