Open Office

[Tim Sharitt]

When giving reasons why Linux will never make it on the desktop, many people often cite some "killer app" available on Windows but not Linux. A big one, especially in the enterprise setting, is Microsoft Office. The reason they say it can't really be replaced by something like Open Office is incompatibility with MS Office file formats. I don't really buy that, mainly because every time an organization upgrades to a new version of MS Office, they face the same problem. Documents from Office 97 may not render correctly on Office 2003 and documents from Office 2007 may not open at all in Office XP. So, other than the file formats, what are some other reasons why people cling to MS Office and seem to despise Open Office (Other than the paper clip, I know how much everybody love him)?

[OutOfReach]

The Microsoft label?

For some reason if a product has a big corporation logo on it (Intel, Microsoft, AMD, Apple, etc...) people tend to thing it is better than other alternatives.

[Tim Sharitt]

The Microsoft label?

For some reason if a product has a big corporation logo on it (Intel, Microsoft, AMD, Apple, etc...) people tend to thing it is better than other alternatives.

I wonder, if Sun prominently put their name in the name, would that make a difference to IT execs?

[Bachstelze]

Protip: try inserting an image in OOo Writer and then rotating it.

Then you'll understand why anyone in his right mind will prefer MS Office.

[lancest]

I just did rotate an image and it worked fine. Open office is far superior performance wise handling long documents. Just compare them sometime. Wouldn't be without it.

[Bachstelze]

I just did rotate an image and it worked fine..

Mind telling us how you did that?

[lancest]

Insert/Picture then a floating tool frame appears on the right side there are Flip vertical and Flip horizontal choices. Pretty easy. You might be talking about the ability to adjust the picture at another angle? It appears not to do that. I think most wouldn't use that anyway.

[bigbrovar]

HymnToLife
Re: Open Office
Protip: try inserting an image in OOo Writer and then rotating it.

Then you'll understand why anyone in his right mind will prefer MS Office.

I am sysadmin to a school and we use Foss on all our computer ubuntu precisely .. and we use openoffice without a problem and am in the right state if mind. its really sad to see an Ubuntu forums staff spreading FUD.

[-grubby]

I am sysadmin to a school and we use Foss on all our computer ubuntu precisely .. and we use openoffice without a problem and am in the right state if mind. its really sad to see an Ubuntu forums staff spreading Fud.

Just because it's Foss it doesn't make it good. I much prefer Microsoft Office to OpenOffice.Org

[bigbrovar]

Just because it's Foss it doesn't make it good. I much prefer Microsoft Office to OpenOffice.Org

i have no probem with you using what works for u. open office works for me too and that is why i prefer it to MS Word. the fact that you pay over $150 on a software doesn't have to make it better than a free alternative .. i find your statement that implies any body who prefer openoffice to MS office is not in their state of mind .. i mean are u not suppose to be an ubuntu forum staff ..? what ever happened to the ubuntu code of conduct? or am i missing something

[lancest]

Open Office does the job just fine for many millions. It outperforms the bloated MS office in my book. Writer, Calc and Impress are noble and fine pieces of software. We should be careful not to heap insult on them.

[pp.]

Mind telling us how you did that?

Insert pic into a "presentation", rotate at will, copy and paste into text document, where it remain rotatable.

Or:

Insert an "object" of type "drawing" into your text document, insert pic file into drawing, rotate at will. Also copy from drawing and paste into text doc.

There might be a way to directly insert a pic into the text document which then can be rotated, but I have yet to find that.

[73ckn797]

i have no probem with you using what works for u. Open office works for me too and that is why i prefer it to ms word. The fact that you pay over $150 on a software doesn't have to make it better than a free alternative .. I find your statement that implies any body who prefer openoffice to ms office is not in their state of mind .. I mean are u not suppose to be an ubuntu forum staff ..? What ever happened to the ubuntu code of conduct? Or am i missing something


+1

Agreed.

Remember, opinions are like arm pits. Everybody has at least 2.

[azangru]

I was so pissed off when I couldn't assign my favorite keyboard shortcut ("Ctrl Alt -") to em-dash (that is a long dash) in Writer - something that could be easily done in MS Office.

There were also some slight inconsistencies in .doc files saved in MS Office and in Writer, which I found annoying. But other than that I am quite happy with OpenOffice and use it every day and after about half a year of usage learned to love it.

[Kernel Sanders]

I am sysadmin to a school and we use Foss on all our computer ubuntu precisely .. and we use openoffice without a problem and am in the right state if mind. its really sad to see an Ubuntu forums staff spreading FUD.


i mean are u not suppose to be an ubuntu forum staff ..? what ever happened to the ubuntu code of conduct? or am i missing something

Are you on the wind up? HymnToLife is more than entitled to have an opinion. Just because he is a staff member doesn't mean that he has to be a FOSS zealot :roll:

I happen to agree with him. Microsoft Office is a fantastic program. In fact it's too good as it has more features than the average user would ever need or even understand how to use.

Anyway, before you yourself are judged to be guilty of spreading FUD, let's see what he actually said:



Protip: try inserting an image in OOo Writer and then rotating it.

Then you'll understand why anyone in his right mind will prefer MS Office.


He didn't say Open Office wasn't a bad piece of software - it isn't. He didn't say that most users couldn't use Open Office without problems - they can. He didn't say that most users can't use Open Office for everything they need - they can. He pointed out a fairly basic limitation with Open Office and said that that will help people understand why most people would PREFER Microsoft Office. As in, Open Office is a great piece of software and does anything and everything most people need, but compared to Microsoft Office there is no comparison, Microsoft Office is much better software.

It's like me saying "anyone in their right mind would use Linux on a server rather than Windows Server". It's my opinion, one which I am FULLY entitled to, and Linux IS much better and more secure on servers than Windows Server.

One thing I dislike more than most is FOSS zealotry. Just because something is FOSS doesn't make it "better" in any way. There are some fantastic programs both FOSS and Propriatory. Firefox is the best web browser on the planet and it's FOSS, just like Microsoft Office is the best Office Suite on the planet and it's propriatory.

The simple fact is most people can get along just fine with Open Office. They don't need MS Office. However, anyone who isn't a zealot can recognise that MS Office is BY FAR the better program, and as such would always be the preferred choice by anyone in their right mind should MS ever open source it.

[73ckn797]

The simple fact is most people can get along just fine with Open Office. They don't need MS Office. However, anyone who isn't a zealot can recognise that MS Office is BY FAR the better program, and as such would always be the preferred choice by anyone in their right mind should MS ever open source it.


You started this paragraph well then seem to resort to a judgment of people being in their right mind because they would use one product over another. This is your opinion and like arm pits, I think, has a bad odor about it.

And that is my opinion!

[pirate_tux]

Protip: try inserting an image in OOo Writer and then rotating it.

Then you'll understand why anyone in his right mind will prefer MS Office.

I'm in the right state of mind and I prefer OpenOffice.org.

As a matter of fact, even when I was using Windows (some years ago) and had on my desktop the ultimate version of Microsoft Office I only used OpenOffice.org... Why? Because it's better.

Therefore, I could also say that anyone in his right mind will prefer OpenOffice.org, but I don't want to reach the low level of discourse you achieved on your post.

I also think your post is a gross violation of the Forum Rules, so I will report it to the Staff, cause I also think no staff member is allowed to stand himself above the rules...

Finally, you also spread FUD and made false allegations. If you are not very competente with OpenOffice.org, that's your fault. As other people had demonstrated here, it's perfectly possibly and easy to rotate images on Openoffice.org (which, I must remember you, is a integrated suite...) and even on one of its parts - Writer.

[Twitch6000]

Okay Okay everyone needs to chill out...

Everyone is acting like a bunch of FANBOYS!!!

First, do any of you realize HymnToLife has not been online for an hour?

Second, he might have not known OpenOffice was able to do such things,hint he asked how to do so.

Thirdly, if this forum keeps acting like this, it only proves my point and many others about how it has become nothing more then a zealot/fanboy forum :/.

Really people chill out everyone has the right to think what they want and get corrected if needed.

[bradthewanderer]

I am a fan of open office, but frankly the database in it stinks. Other than that I use open office for everything else.

Have a grand day :)

[forrestcupp]

Just a few reasons why people would prefer MS Office:
- Grammar Check
- Macro compatibility
- Ability to use Visual Basic scripts (especially in Excel when included functions don't cut it)
- A user interface that doesn't look like it's from the mid 90's
- Access - for which OO.o doesn't have a viable solution (even though they're getting closer in v.3)


If you take a step back from fanboyism, MS Office is definitely better than OO.o. But for me, the benefits don't come close to outweighing the cost difference. So I use OpenOffice, and I'm happy with it.

[lykwydchykyn]

Personally I hope Koffice2 comes together well; it has the potential to be a killer office suite, if the bugs can be worked out. That will throw a wrench in the "Windows==MS office, Linux==OpenOffice" mentality people have.

OpenOffice has some good and bad points; I get irritated with it sometimes, but it's not useless by any stretch. I just wish Linux and FOSS weren't in a position to be judged solely on the merits and demerits of OOo alone.

[pp.]

Just a few reasons why people would prefer MS Office:
- Grammar Check
- Macro compatibility
- Ability to use Visual Basic scripts (especially in Excel when included functions don't cut it)
- A user interface that doesn't look like it's from the mid 90's
- Access - for which OO.o doesn't have a viable solution (even though they're getting closer in v.3)


If you take a step back from fanboyism, MS Office is definitely better than OO.o. ...

Grammar check is - for many people - no consideration. Last time I looked, it was mostly inoperable and tended to freeze MS Word when applied to a German text.

Macro compability is at most a consideration if you need macros to run which are written for the same version of Office as you happen to use. In a corporate environment, porting all those macros from one version of Office to the next is a major nightmare. Macro support is present in both OO and MSO, with different strengths and weaknesses.

Ability to use VB scripts isn't an argument in favor of a product which uses that. OO Calc also supports some scripting languages as well. OK, I didn't do anything exciting in those scripts (in neither product) and might missing some important niche issues.

Access isn't part of the Office Suite but an add-on which is boxed with the Pro version of Office. It is also sold separately. The integration with Office is very perfunctory. Access is the only MS software I ever bought willingly. I use this product routinely in Wine.

Otherwise and but for a few cosmetic issues, OO and MSO are IMO about par.

[Idaho Dan]

Openoffice was one of the main reasons I even wanted to try Ubuntu.
Now I use it all the time, at home and at work.
I really like it.

[bigbrovar]

Kernel Sanders;6468163]Are you on the wind up? HymnToLife is more than entitled to have an opinion. Just because he is a staff member doesn't mean that he has to be a FOSS zealot :roll: dude did u read my post. how am i a Zealot .. so u have to be a zealot to prefer ooo to ms office .. tell u what even if ooo was proprietary i would still prefer it to ms office ..and this doesnt make me a zealot .. i mean now look who is being judgmental


I happen to agree with him. Microsoft Office is a fantastic program. In fact it's too good as it has more features than the average user would ever need or even understand how to use. well i that is your opinion and i respect that. just as you should respect mine when i say i feel the same way about open office. and its not because am a zealot. heck i prefer opera to firefox.




He didn't say Open Office wasn't a bad piece of software - it isn't. He didn't say that most users couldn't use Open Office without problems - they can. He didn't say that most users can't use Open Office for everything they need - they can. He pointed out a fairly basic limitation with Open Office and said that that will help people understand why most people would PREFER Microsoft Office. As in, Open Office is a great piece of software and does anything and everything most people need, but compared to Microsoft Office there is no comparison, Microsoft Office is much better software.
well the limitation he pointed out proofed to be false by a latter post. he made it look like it was a big deal. a real pain.. which as pointed out is not true. to me that is FUD.


It's like me saying "anyone in their right mind would use Linux on a server rather than Windows Server". It's my opinion, one which I am FULLY entitled to, and Linux IS much better and more secure on servers than Windows Server.
i know people who use windows as servers .. and linux on desktop.. everyone has a reason for what they use. its not in my place to determine their state of minds based on what software there decide to use for their task.


One thing I dislike more than most is FOSS zealotry. Just because something is FOSS doesn't make it "better" in any way. There are some fantastic programs both FOSS and Propriatory. Firefox is the best web browser on the planet and it's FOSS, just like Microsoft Office is the best Office Suite on the planet and it's propriatory.
true and even i believe in using the best tool for the job.. what i hate is judging others state of mind based on what there use. i feel ooo is better than MS office but it seem you are determined to conclude that i just have to be a zealot to feel that way. while i also feel firefox is over bloated and slow compared to opera... and i prefer the closed source virtualbox to the foss version.


The simple fact is most people can get along just fine with Open Office. They don't need MS Office. However, anyone who isn't a zealot can recognise that MS Office is BY FAR the better program, and as such would always be the preferred choice by anyone in their right mind should MS ever open source it.
dude the simple fact is that some people actually find openoffice easier to use compared to MS office. my documents are recovered. and i can export to pdf. .. among other things. does that make me a zealot. ?

[pirate_tux]

As far as I know (please correct me if I'm wrong) Microsoft Office currently does not natively support OpenDocument format.

If OpenOffice developers are competente enough to pretty well support a secret format like "doc", why Microsoft developers are not competente enough to support an oppen and transparent format like "odt"?

I think this says everything about the competence (and ethics) of Microsoft developers...

[pp.]

why Microsoft developers are not competente enough to support an oppen and transparent format like "odt"?

I think this says everything about the competence (and ethics) of Microsoft developers...

It does not say the least thing about any Microsoft developers. It says that their bosses did not tell them to do that, or that their bosses elected not to use the code if they wrote it.

Please stop bashing people whose competence and ethics you are in no position to judge.

[koenn]

When giving reasons why Linux will never make it on the desktop, many people often cite some "killer app" available on Windows but not Linux. A big one, especially in the enterprise setting, is Microsoft Office. The reason they say it can't really be replaced by something like Open Office is incompatibility with MS Office file formats. I don't really buy that, mainly because every time an organization upgrades to a new version of MS Office, they face the same problem. Documents from Office 97 may not render correctly on Office 2003 and documents from Office 2007 may not open at all in Office XP. So, other than the file formats, what are some other reasons why people cling to MS Office and seem to despise Open Office (Other than the paper clip, I know how much everybody love him)?
You got a few things wrong: Microsoft usually ensures that a new MS Office release can open (and convert if need be) documents / files created in the older version. They other way around, opening a newer file in an older version, usually is more problematic, but you can temporarily work around that by having the newer version safe files in the older version's format. So you have a migration path.

Another advantage of MS Office is that you can get tools for automatic configuration and deployement. That means you can set up a file share with MS installer files, preconfigured the way you, the sysadmin, decided, and have it installed on all PC's hands-free. I don't know if such things exist for OOo.

Reasons not to use OOo in enterprise settings probably resolve around migrations. OOo might very well be able to cover the users' needs, but the migration from MS Office to OOo might be a pain : the entire enterprise's word docs need converting (and complex layout may get damaged), all the spreadsheets with custom formulas and graphs, ...
If you happen to be using MS Access databases, or, god forbid, MS Access 'applications', you have to create alternatives for that before considering a migration to OOo.

Lastly, enterprises may be using 3rd party or in-house developed software that expects to be run on a computer where MS Office is installed. Yes, that happens. Depending on what that software needs Office for, it may or may not be possible to replace it with OOo.

All of that is not an issue when you're already using MS Office and continue to use it.

[doorknob60]

Personally, I like both. IMO, Office is probably Microsoft's best program. When I'm in Linux though, I prefer to use OpenOffice, since it's native. They both do everything I need, but MS office just seems a little better (mainly the Presentation, OOo is just kinda slow, and MS office has better designs built in). They're both great pieces of software though, and as soon as Office officialy and natively supports ODF without installing any plugins, then I'll be really happy (I heard it's coming with Office 2007 SP2).

[pirate_tux]

It does not say the least thing about any Microsoft developers. It says that their bosses did not tell them to do that, or that their bosses elected not to use the code if they wrote it.

Please stop bashing people whose competence and ethics you are in no position to judge.

Ok, I will correct my post:

I think this says everything about the competence (and ethics) of Microsoft developers AND THEIR BOSSES...

Satisfied?

[forrestcupp]

Grammar check is - for many people - no consideration. Last time I looked, it was mostly inoperable and tended to freeze MS Word when applied to a German text.Well, I can't speak for the Germans. But for the English language, it may not be perfect, but MSO's grammar check beats the heck out of LanguageTool for OO.o. You still need to be grammar competent, but it is helpful.


Macro compability is at most a consideration if you need macros to run which are written for the same version of Office as you happen to use. In a corporate environment, porting all those macros from one version of Office to the next is a major nightmare. Macro support is present in both OO and MSO, with different strengths and weaknesses.

Ability to use VB scripts isn't an argument in favor of a product which uses that. OO Calc also supports some scripting languages as well. OK, I didn't do anything exciting in those scripts (in neither product) and might missing some important niche issues.
Macros and VB scripts are definitely a consideration and argument for people who use them. There are a lot of VB programmers out there in the business world.

And I'm not bashing OO.o. I use it and like it. I was just giving a few legitimate reasons why people would prefer MS Office. If people don't need the extra benefits of MSO, then that's great.

[pp.]

Macros and VB scripts are definitely a consideration and argument for people who use them. There are a lot of VB programmers out there in the business world.

I realise that existing macros and scripts as well as the skills of existing staff are issues when discussing a migration from one brand to the other, regardless of the direction of the intented migration.

That argument does not, however, by itself value one brand over or under another brand. It says only that once you have committed your resources you might not be able any more to migrate to the other brand.

Given a clean slate, both brands might be viable alternatives, and I rather suspect that OO would be the better choice.

[forrestcupp]

I realise that existing macros and scripts as well as the skills of existing staff are issues when discussing a migration from one brand to the other, regardless of the direction of the intented migration.

That argument does not, however, by itself value one brand over or under another brand. It says only that once you have committed your resources you might not be able any more to migrate to the other brand.

Given a clean slate, both brands might be viable alternatives, and I rather suspect that OO would be the better choice.

Given a clean slate, that's a fair statement. However, in my opinion, the grammar checker, UI, and Access in the Pro version still make MSO better. Also, OO's presentation app isn't completely compatible with powerpoint files, which is what everyone uses and mass emails to the world. But MSO is not enough better for me to shell out that kind of cash, which is a great testimony to OO.

I am happy that OO is making advancements in their database app. Maybe someday it will be a contender.

[lancest]

Reasons why I like OO.


Open Office is cross platform, any pc or USB dongle- no license
Writer outperforms MS Word with viewing long documents. Quicker.
Writer emphasizes Styles & Formatting (F5) for easier layout & editing.
No Microsoft Office viruses.
Better compatibility with all types of document formats than MS Word.
Excellent Word, Excel & PPT compatibility.

[pirate_tux]

I am a member of many Linux Forums, such as "LinuxForums.org", "LinuxQuestions.org", "Fedora Forums", "Debian User Forums", etc.

However, it's always a nice experience to visit this Ubuntu Forums. Sometimes it's like going to a marvellous circus, where a person can see unic performances, not seen elsewhere.

For instance, these Ubuntu Forums are for sure the only Linux Forums where we can see a Staff Member saying things like these: "a person must be out of his mind for not prefering Microsoft software" lol

What a funny Forum. :)

[lswb]

At work our computers are standardized on WinXP and MS Office. (As a matter of fact it was only in the last 18 months or so that they were upgraded to XP SP2!) I use linux exclusively on my personal computer so I have pretty good exposure to both OO and MSO. The big things I see lacking in OO compared to MSO are:

1) Excel is just plain superior to OO SpreadSheet - though for probably 95% of users OO would be more than adequate. And apart from the intrinsic spreadsheet functions, there are many people in many departments, who have a big investment in the macro capabilites of Excel. There are many, for want of a better word, applications that have been built using Excel spreadsheets and macros.

2) There is no real substitute for Outlook. I'm not talking about the email part but about the scheduling, calendar, and "groupware" capabilities.

As far as word processing, I use Word at work and OO at home, I don't do a lot of intense presentation stuff, either is adequate for my needs.

[Paqman]

For instance, these Ubuntu Forums are for sure the only Linux Forums where we can see a Staff Member saying things like these: "a person must be out of his mind for not prefering Microsoft software" lol


Credit where credit's due surely? You can't knock a product like Excel, it's awesome.

Microsoft are a massive company. Even if they were only of middling competence the law of averages alone would suggest that they'd produce some good software occasionally. Anybody who thinks otherwise is just a fanboi.

[lykwydchykyn]

Credit where credit's due surely? You can't knock a product like Excel, it's awesome.

Microsoft are a massive company. Even if they were only of middling competence the law of averages alone would suggest that they'd produce some good software occasionally. Anybody who thinks otherwise is just a fanboi.

Actually it's more a question of them being such a wealthy company that they can buy anyone who's making good software and stick their name on it. Gotta give'm credit for good taste in acquisitions.



2) There is no real substitute for Outlook. I'm not talking about the email part but about the scheduling, calendar, and "groupware" capabilities.

Personally, I think it's a bit sad that because one company aeons ago bundled together a bunch of random productivity apps and dubbed it the "office suite" that now everyone else has to come up with an "office suite" that matches feature-for-feature or else it's worthless.

In this case, why does an email/calendar/groupware bundle need to be part of an office productivity package? Seeing as groupware clients tend to be dependent on the email/groupware server you pick, does it make sense to tie down your choice of groupware platform to someone else's choice in spreadsheet? I'd rather keep them separate and buy best-of-breed.

[jrusso2]

I upgraded to Open Office 3 on Hardy and I don't see the thundbird calendar program. Anyone know where it is?

[doorknob60]

I upgraded to Open Office 3 on Hardy and I don't see the thundbird calendar program. Anyone know where it is?

Not included with OpenOffice. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/2313

[jrusso2]

Not included with OpenOffice. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/2313

Ok I thought it was added to give Open Office its own calendar and email program.

[forrestcupp]

Ok I thought it was added to give Open Office its own calendar and email program.

Yeah, me too. A while back when they released the feature list of what was going to be in it, that was one of the big features that we were waiting on. So I guess it ends up that it's not really any different that having Thunderbird and adding Lightening to it.

[andrewabc]

Just a few reasons why people would prefer MS Office:
- Grammar Check


Open office 3.0.1 will have grammar check.
http://development.openoffice.org/releases/3.0.1rc1.html

[caro]

I use XP with MSO 2007 at work and Ubuntu 8.10 with OO 3.0 at home. I have 70 employees and the thought of trying to convert everything over (macros, etc) and teach everyone the differences doesn't seem worth it. Plus, some work applications (accounting, Outlook, etc) require Windows; one of my phone systems runs on a Linux platform though.

I don't need anything fancy for home use so OO works just fine and there are some things I like better about it. And it's free. For work though I'll stay with MSO. Excel is a pretty good program and while I haven't played with the presentation part of OO, Powerpoint does handle some things nicely.

[lancest]

I use XP with MSO 2007 at work and Ubuntu 8.10 with OO 3.0 at home. I have 70 employees and the thought of trying to convert everything over (macros, etc) and teach everyone the differences doesn't seem worth it. .

Office 2007?

[caro]

Office 2007?

Sorry, yes.

Windows XP with Microsoft Office 2007
Ubuntu 8.10 with Open Office 3.0

[-grubby]

i have no probem with you using what works for u. open office works for me too and that is why i prefer it to MS Word. the fact that you pay over $150 on a software doesn't have to make it better than a free alternative .. i find your statement that implies any body who prefer openoffice to MS office is not in their state of mind .. i mean are u not suppose to be an ubuntu forum staff ..? what ever happened to the ubuntu code of conduct? or am i missing something

I have no problem with you using Open Office either, and I am sure you are in the right state of mind. My post was not related to HymnToLife's, and she is entitled to her opinion, as are you. Also, I am not a staff member.

[andrewabc]

Sorry, yes.

Windows XP with Microsoft Office 2007
Ubuntu 8.10 with Open Office 3.0

I took his question as more of a "figured you'd be using office 2003". :/

With office 2007 didn't you have to retrain people to use it (or at least they would not be productive for a week or two getting used to ribbons).

I switched to openoffice because I want my file formats to be open so I don't have to worry about paying money for software to view/edit my documents in the future.
I made documents many years ago using corel office, microsoft works, and paint shop pro, and the proprietary file formats now mean it is difficult or impossible to view/edit them without purchasing the software. I don't want that to happen again.
So I converted my work spreadsheet from excel to calc, and it only took a day or two to figure stuff out. Now I don't have to worry about paying for MS Office for work in the future.

[caro]

I took his question as more of a "figured you'd be using office 2003". :/

With office 2007 didn't you have to retrain people to use it (or at least they would not be productive for a week or two getting used to ribbons).



Didn't change everyone over to 2007 at once. Did it gradually with power users and execs/managers getting it first so we didn't have any compatibility problems with people outside the company. Really wasn't bad.

[Spr0k3t]

I work in an office where we have a mixed level of users. Everyone in the office uses OOo with the exception of two people. One of them uses MSOffice2003 on his Mac (living in denial that nothing in life is ever free), where the other uses MSOffice2007 because his laptop came with a license for it. All of our documentation has been converted over to ODF. Just a year ago, our office was dead set on using nothing but MSOffice... that is until the licensing issues came due for the upgrade to 2007. When that happened, we built an internal team of experts on OOo to handle the major compatibility issues. At first the number of user-problems was unweildy but after about a month people were finally using OOo without major issues. Now if we could only convert the boss (non-mac) and the boss's son (mac) over to OOo, we wouldn't have a single MSOffice license.

My single problem I have with OOo: a simple way to center the print vertical on a page. The only way to do it at this time is to put the text into a frame the size of the page and center the contents in the frame.

[Paqman]

Actually it's more a question of them being such a wealthy company that they can buy anyone who's making good software and stick their name on it. Gotta give'm credit for good taste in acquisitions.


Absolutely. That's a perfectly valid way of producing software if you ask me. It's pretty much what Google does, too.

[forrestcupp]

Open office 3.0.1 will have grammar check.
http://development.openoffice.org/releases/3.0.1rc1.html

Sweet! That will take care of the majority of my complaints. I hope it's a real grammar checker and not just that LanguageTool is included.

I don't necessarily use that feature a lot; it's just that I think that if MS Office has had it for years, OO.o should have it, too.

[forrestcupp]

According to this (http://www.nabble.com/New-grammar-checking-framework-available-with-OOo300-m14-td21069612.html), it looks like v.3.0.1 will not actually have a grammar checker. It just has a new proofreader/grammar API or framework to make it easier for projects like LanguageTool to do their thing. OO.o 2.x already had this, and v3.0 messed it up, so they put together a new framework that is in 3.0.1.

So, as end-users, we're not really any better off than we were.

Edit:
3.0 didn't mess anything up. The new version had some small changes that made it incompatible with what was in 3.0, so they decided to just change more stuff in it.

[andrewabc]

Darn.
I welcome the bug fixes in 3.0.1. For me one of the calc calculations formulas was broken. Sadly the note positioning in calc will not be fixed until 3.1. Both bugs affected me badly.

[MikeTheC]

Wow, folks. Just... wow. All this over an Office software product. Were only this vitriol able to be harnessed for good...

I have OpenOffice on my Linux install, and Office 2007 on my WinVista install (same computer, dual-booted). However, it's there to be used as a utility and, once I start college, as a means of compatibility with school for the interchange of documents. Nothing more.

Frankly, for "normal" writing, I find I have little use for much beyond software such as GEdit, or TextEdit in Mac OS X, or Note Pad in Windows. Sure, it's convenient to have a built-in spell checker, and where needed I avail myself of the opportunity to use one. But I really have no particular use for "Office" software otherwise.

It's not what I do.

[ithanium]

OpenOffice is just perfect for my work, editing some files from time to time

[powell]

I use Word, I've actually never even opened up OpenOffice before.

[tazz4vr]

Does anyone know of a good reference to read up on in regards to user created functions and/or making them?

There is a function that I need in Calc, but can't figure out the correct way to do it so that it will work, if its even possible...and unfortunately the help menu section, well it doesn't help me much.

[lancest]

Are you talking about making a Macro?
Something like this (http://www.tutorialsforopenoffice.org/tutorial/Macros.html)

[tazz4vr]

That would definitely help me with one of the issues that im dealing with, but not sure about the second. Will further reseaech when I get the time.
Thank you for the info...
Tazz

[Slug71]

Whats the big deal when MS Office works on Linux anyway with a bit of help from VB?

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1608743

[pp.]

Whats the big deal when MS Office works on Linux anyway with a bit of help from VB?

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1608743

Some of us don't like to buy licenses both for Windows and MS Office.

[Slug71]

Some of us don't like to buy licenses both for Windows and MS Office.

Limewire :P

[pp.]

Limewire :P

Duh - how does using Limewire get you a legitimate license for any software? And please don't endorse here using software without the required license.

[Slug71]

Duh - how does using Limewire get you a legitimate license for any software? And please don't endorse here using software without the required license.

I have MS Office 07 on Vista with key and i didnt pay for it.

I'm not endorsing nothing.

[CrazyDesi]

I use both OpenOffice and Microsoft Word. I try to type my notes and stuff on OpenOffice, but I reopen the file in Word using Wine to get the grammar check. OpenOffice might be able to serve peoples purposes, but there is no doubt in my mind that Word is better.

[jonathonblake]

So, as end-users, we're not really any better off than we were.

For some language/writing system combinations, the small changes in the API means that one can actually do grammar checking in OOo.

I still think that OOo's biggest failure is its inability to support writing systems which use a reverse boustrophedon direction for writing.

jonathon

[pp.]

writing systems which use a reverse boustrophedon direction for writing.

If I remember correctly, boustrophedon would be changing direction with each line. What would "reverse boustrophedon" mean?

Jost for curiosity's sake: are there any living languages which employ that style?

[jonathonblake]

If I remember correctly, boustrophedon would be changing direction with each line. What would "reverse boustrophedon" mean?


Both Reverse Boustrophedon and Boustrophedon writing systems alternate writing direction at the end of the line.

The glyphs of a Boustrophedon writing system face the direction of the line.

The glyphs of a Reverse Boustrophedon writing system face the same direction. The lines alternate between "right side up",and "upside down".


are there any living languages which employ that style?

Yes, and No.

CJKV _can_ be written in Reverse Boustrophedon. However, it is exceedingly rare, the most common being fine calligraphy. (Unless you are a serious collector, you probably wont' see an example.)

The most common usage of Reverse Boustrophedon is in textbooks, where the answer is written upside down, after the question.

Languages can be written using any writing system. The living languages which historically used a Reverse Boustrophedon writing system, have been converted to using the Latin Writing System.

jonathon.

[Thirtysixway]

I miss some things from microsoft office but not much. I like open office. When turning in papers at school, mine always has a different font than everyone else because of it being openoffice :) I wonder if anyone notices...

[73ckn797]

I loaded Windows 7 Beta and found that Word Pad supports the "odt" format.

Does anyone remember Word Perfect Works, later became ArkoseWorks?

That had about the easiest database I have ever seen. The database in MS Works was not as good. It made setup of a data base easy and very configurable but without all of the complexities of OpenOffice Base or Access.

[Namtabmai]

Whats the big deal when MS Office works on Linux anyway with a bit of help from VB?

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1608743

Because you'd still need a copy of Windows to put on to Virtualbox?