Goodbye OOo, hello Softmaker!

[Chilli Bob]

Right now I am completely blown away by two things. Firstly, just how good the Softmaker Office word processor, Textmaker, is, and secondly, that I have never heard of it before.

I have been having trouble with my word processing in Linux. Abiword is clunky (especially in scrolling, and inserting images) and OOo is clunky and slow. But the biggest problem with both of them is their total lack of compatibility with .doc formats. I have a number of places that I have to send documents that MUST be in .doc format, and neither Abiword ot OOo can reliably save or load .doc formats without stuffing things up completely.

Abiword changes fonts randomly throughout the document, and is particularly bad with bulleting and tables. OOo always messes up layouts, page breaks, and worst, randomly adds new lines throughout the documents. And I'm not just referring to documents opened later in Word, I mean you can save a OOo document in .doc format, then re-open it in OOo immediately, and the layout is ruined.

I have had to resort to typing up plain text documents in Ubuntu, then later re-booting into XP to do the layout in Word before sending the documents.

Well, for two days now I have been using the trial version of Texmaker, and I am loving it. Faster and smoother than both Abiword and OOo, and has not messed up a .doc document yet. Sure, it may not have all the features of OOo, and I have not yet tried the spreadsheet or presentation package, but I am already ready to part with my hard earned dollars and get the full version.

My point is this: Why did it take so long for me to stumble on this product by accident. I have been using Ubuntu since 6.06, but have never seen this recommended anywhere. Is it because it is a proprietary product and Linux users are so adverse to paying for software? Sure there are a (very) few reviews out there, but you have to know what to search for. Personally I think that if the spreadsheet and presentation package are this good too, this could be the killer software for moving Windows users to Linux, as Microsoft Office compatibility is one of the biggest sticking points for many.

If you want to give it a try (and I recommend you do), you can download a .deb of the 30 day trial from here...

http://www.softmaker.com/english/ofl_en.htm

Now before the detractors get in let me say..

1. This post is not spam. I am in no way affiliated with Softmaker.
2. Yes, you have to pay for this. This is not a bad thing. Still, it is far cheaper than Microsoft Office.
3. No, OOo is not perfect. Yes it has many good features, but it is not a solution for everyone.
4. Proprietary != Evil.

[Mr. Picklesworth]

Skimming over your post, the first thing I did was find Texmaker (http://www.xm1math.net/texmaker/), which is also (from the looks of it) a pretty solid piece of software. I have sworn by Lyx for the last year or so, but Texmaker looks like a nice option if I decide to get closer to the LaTeX code.

And yeah, Abiword makes me a bit crazy with little problems, too. Like how drag & drop works unlike anything I have ever used (and has caused the application to hang while grabbing the mouse because it needs to update the text layout for no reason), how tedious it is to customize font styles, and its bothersome ignorance of the font I have chosen For Documents in Appearance Preferences. There is a lot of potential there, but they need some help.

TextMaker looks pretty nice, too. Another thing here is IBM's Lotus Symphony, though that one's a little sluggish.

There are definitely lots of good choices beyond OpenOffice (thankfully) :)
Here's my conspiracy theory for why it took so long for you to find TextMaker: there are a lot of people suffering from the strange delusion that the only way you can build office software is like Microsoft Office, and thus OpenOffice (by shamelessly cloning it in many cases) is the only valid choice.
In fact, you can make good software that is simpler than its comparable component in Microsoft Office (like Gnumeric (http://projects.gnome.org/gnumeric/)), and you can make good software that works nothing like Microsoft Office (like Glom (http://www.glom.org/)), and that software can easily be a better choice for people! What's more? If it's good enough, and designed with some sense of taste, normal users — those ones we're afraid can't learn anything other than MS Word — will enjoy using it.

[slooksterpsv]

Kool, I was going to try it out the other day, but decided against it. I really like Lotus Symphony personally; doing LS3 Beta 4 now.

A few items will still make me use OpenOffice.org:
1. Open Source ( won't get rid of it, for that mainly )
2. It has a Database app
3. It's far more advanced than Lotus Symphony - feature wise.

[Chilli Bob]

Skimming over your post, the first thing I did was find Texmaker (http://www.xm1math.net/texmaker/),.


Whoops, fixed now, thanks for spotting that.

[koleoptero]

Actually it's not much cheaper than Microsoft Office 2007 Home and student edition, so why not go for that? You'll also get OneNote with it which is by far the best note-taking app.

[murderslastcrow]

I agree- I like Softmaker. It's a native solution if you need superior doc/docx compatibility, rather than 'pretty good' compatibility like in OpenOffice.org. I really think that's the main feature people want these days, although OpenOffice doesn't purport to be a Microsoft Office clone or anything, and shouldn't be.

To be honest, the people I know who have issues with OpenOffice just install Microsoft Office in Wine. However, if we could get SoftMaker a good running, and they became dominant over Microsoft Office, since SoftMaker is cheaper and cross-platform, it would be better for everyone if we all bought SoftMaker instead of Microsoft Office (if we're going to buy something).

While I still use OpenOffice for everything, I don't have really deep roots with Microsoft Office, and neither does anyone I work with. Also, I believe that we should support open standards as far as we can, and not simply settle with old formats that threaten to lock up things as vital as words, spreadsheets, and presentations.

But, while we live in a doc-loving world, and until everyone gets compatible with ODF, Softmaker is definitely a good option, and very flexible in its licensing as well.

[Sand & Mercury]

I'll check this out now, actually - OOo is not doing it for me at all.

[beew]

I have been having trouble with my word processing in Linux. Abiword is clunky (especially in scrolling, and inserting images) and OOo is clunky and slow. But the biggest problem with both of them is their total lack of compatibility with .doc formats. I have a number of places that I have to send documents that MUST be in .doc format, and neither Abiword ot OOo can reliably save or load .doc formats without stuffing things up completely. All the compatibility problems will disappear if everyone just dumps MS and its closed formats. There is no reason why OOO and other office suits have to waste time and energy to reverse engineer MS formats in the first place and OOO has been doing a great job for such a thankless task even though it is not perfect.

I for one would not pay $140 for this. Well since MS Office2010 can now read open formats I am going to start sending out documents unconverted.

[smellyman]

All the compatibility problems will disappear if everyone just dumps MS and its closed formats. That is no reason why OOO and other office suits have to waste time and energy to reversed engineer MS format in the first place and OOO have been doing a great job for such a thankless task even though it is not perfect.

Agreed. Always bugs me when I read a thread complaining about OOo and Abiword not doing better with .doc files.

There is only one company to blame.

[Sand & Mercury]

All the compatibility problems will disappear if everyone just dumps MS and its closed formats.
That is not going to happen.

[Chilli Bob]

There is only one company to blame.


Actually, there are thousands, nay, hundreds of thousands of companies to blame, as well as thousands of schools, governments, universities, and above all, the ISO.


Well since MS Office2010 can now read open formats I am going to start sending out documents unconverted.


Lol, this won't help me at all. The Government departments that I send to can still only deal with Office 2003. I can't even send PDFs (though they will accept documents in .bmp format, presumably they find it easier to run a .bmp through OCR, than download the MS Office compatability packs). And the Government calls this "The Smart State". BAH, I didn't vote for them.

[Spr0k3t]

I'm kind of curious as to how well this Softmaker suite integrates with the looks of Gnome/KDE/QT. I'm not a fan of software which doesn't mesh with the looks of the rest of the system. I haven't been able to find any screenshots worth a hoot. It's either windows snaphots or only SoftMaker apps and nothing else running.

Anyone care to take a snapshot of one of their apps running with thewidgetfactory. Would be nice to see the differences without having to download/install.

[beew]

The Government departments that I send to can still only deal with Office 2003Well then they probably can't even handle .docx. Now that is compatibilty for you (I know there is pluggin for MS Office2003 to read MS Office 2007 formats, but chances are it is not installed.) I have heard many people using older versions of MS Office complaining that they can't open .docx and .xlsx (OpenOffice opens them all)

[beew]

That is not going to happen.
It takes someone to start. It will happen when some big companies start using open formats.

I am counting on China to adopt RedOffice, then all the greedy corporations who want to make a buck in China would have to change. :p

[bash]

All the compatibility problems will disappear if everyone just dumps MS and its closed formats.

No they won't. Ever tried using only ODF? If your text-document is a bit more complex than just formatted paragraphs and some bullet-point lists, then there is a good chance that the same .odt will look quite different in Abiword and in OOo.

So using an open format doesn't just magically eliminates all compatibility problems.

[alexan]

Give a try to Lotus Symphony 3 beta 4. ;)

[murderslastcrow]

Hm, I guess I don't have enough experience with obscure layouts to know about those compatibility issues, either. Hm.

Well, if Office 2010 DOES support ODF, for real, then I think it'd be great to just send stuff out in ODF format. Because then you can say, "what, you're not on Office 2010 yet?" Because, believe it or not, people constantly pressure you to get their new stuff. Just like how .docx forced a bunch of users up. So people would probably get Office 2010 after you note it's the new standard, blah blah blah.

Or, you could simply suggest OpenOffice.org.

Of course, this is rude, and there are issues involved, but it would probably get a few people to switch over. Also, when I saw, "stop supporting closed formats and switch over to OpenOffice," I realized that many, many Windows users I know have already done this, but they submit in .doc format or powerpoint format and excel formats whenever it's necessary.

My College uses OpenOffice exclusively.

So really, I thought he was just describing a new trend, not making a prediction.

[TNT1]

69Euros? For "word" "excel" and "powerpoint"? I can get microsoft software for that price, and run those three in wine... What's the point?

[pwnst*r]

It takes someone to start. It will happen when some big companies start using open formats.

I am counting on China to adopt RedOffice, then all the greedy corporations who want to make a buck in China would have to change. :p

Dreamland.

[neu5eeCh]

My point is this: Why did it take so long for me to stumble on this product by accident. I have been using Ubuntu since 6.06, but have never seen this recommended anywhere. Is it because it is a proprietary product and Linux users are so adverse to paying for software?

In fact, just two weeks ago I was harping about Softmaker when a number of users were swooning at the thought that Oracle might pull their support for OOo. "Oh woe is me! [Swwon] I'll have to give up Linux! [Swoon] I'll have to use Windows! [Gnashing of teeth.] Damn you, Oracle!!!! [Swoon]"

http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=9762049&postcount=40

I'm glad to hear you like it. Encourages me to try it out. OOo is just "ok".

[JustinR]

I downloaded the trial of the 2010 version and it doesn't seem to support Office 2010 files (in the xxtx format?). I tried to open a Office 2010 powerpoint from school and I couldn't open a .pptx file - only an older ppt file.

But anyways - the word processor is extremely ugly - I would rather use OpenOffice.

[bash]

I downloaded the trial of the 2010 version and it doesn't seem to support Office 2010 files (in the xxtx format?). I tried to open a Office 2010 powerpoint from school and I couldn't open a .pptx file - only an older ppt file.

But anyways - the word processor is extremely ugly - I would rather use OpenOffice.

From what I could gather from the website, it seems only the word-processor and the spreadsheet application support OOXML (.xxtx) documents.

As for screenshots and integration into the WM/DE: Found a couple of pictures of it running under Ubuntu with one of the older themes:

http://labs.v3.co.uk/TextMaker1.png
http://labs.v3.co.uk/PlanMaker.png

Seems it uses the system window border and at least partially tries to mimic the theme & colours. Although it doesn't get close to looking like a native GTK+ program.

Btw has anyone managed to get the 30 day test version running in Maverick? It installs just fine, but if you try to launch it, nothing happens. Even tried running the binaries directly from the Terminal, but no success. It just quits without any error message.

[beew]

Dreamland.

They would have said that about Linux and OpenSource.

But come now, in the OP's case, what is the justification for the government to assume that a citizen actually has access to an expensive paid Office Suite and set that as a requirement to communicate with his/her elected representatives and civil services which he/she funds through taxes? Instead of sheepishly dishing out X$ either to get soft maker or the real deal M$, he should write to his government and the newspapers to protest, more people might even catch on, because this situation is absurd. The government is not elected to keep MS in business, if it insists on using MS, then it should either install free copies of MS Office in public terminals or legalize pirating MS Office because access to government is a democratic right.

The whole world has gone metric now (except for the U.S.) This is a massive standard change. If that is possible I can't see why we would be forever stuck with MS and its closed formats.

[nigel]

The 2008 version is free till the end of the month, if anyone is interested that includes the linux version, and they even give a donation to charity:D

http://www.loadandhelp.de/home-en.html

[slooksterpsv]

THANK YOU! Downloading now =D

http://www.loadandhelp.de/home-en.html

Keep the link alive people!

64-bit - you have to run the following like so:
sudo dpkg --force-architecture -i ~/Downloads/softmaker-office-2008_i386.deb

It works

[Megaptera]

The 2008 version is free till the end of the month, if anyone is interested that includes the linux version, and they even give a donation to charity:D

http://www.loadandhelp.de/home-en.html
Thanks!

[drdos2006]

I downloaded the .deb version and I am running 10.4. Here is the command : sudo dpkg --force-architecture -i ~/Downloads/softmaker-office-2008_i386.deb
and here are the errors :
dpkg: warning: overriding problem because --force enabled:
package architecture (i386) does not match system (amd64)
Selecting previously deselected package softmaker-office-2008.
(Reading database ... 199843 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking softmaker-office-2008 (from .../softmaker-office-2008_i386.deb) ...
Setting up softmaker-office-2008 (503) ...
Error in file "/usr/share/mimelnk/application/x-applix.desktop": "dummy" is an invalid MIME type ("dummy" does not contain a subtype)
Error in file "/usr/share/mimelnk/application/x-ooimpress.desktop": "dummy" is an invalid MIME type ("dummy" does not contain a subtype)
Error in file "/usr/share/mimelnk/application/x-oowriter.desktop": "dummy" is an invalid MIME type ("dummy" does not contain a subtype)
gtk-update-icon-cache: Cache file created successfully.
gtk-update-icon-cache: Cache file created successfully.
gtk-update-icon-cache: Cache file created successfully.

Processing triggers for desktop-file-utils ...
Processing triggers for python-gmenu ...
Rebuilding /usr/share/applications/desktop.en_AU.utf8.cache...
Processing triggers for shared-mime-info ...
Unknown media type in type 'all/all'

Unknown media type in type 'all/allfiles'

Unknown media type in type 'uri/mms'

Unknown media type in type 'uri/mmst'

Unknown media type in type 'uri/mmsu'

Unknown media type in type 'uri/pnm'

Unknown media type in type 'uri/rtspt'

Unknown media type in type 'uri/rtspu'

Unknown media type in type 'fonts/package'

Unknown media type in type 'interface/x-winamp-skin'


If anyone can help, then I shall be eternally grateful to test this software.
At the moment it bombs by not finding "texmaker"

regards

[wilee-nilee]

I downloaded the .deb version and I am running 10.4. Here is the command : sudo dpkg --force-architecture -i ~/Downloads/softmaker-office-2008_i386.deb
and here are the errors :
dpkg: warning: overriding problem because --force enabled:
package architecture (i386) does not match system (amd64)
Selecting previously deselected package softmaker-office-2008.
(Reading database ... 199843 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking softmaker-office-2008 (from .../softmaker-office-2008_i386.deb) ...
Setting up softmaker-office-2008 (503) ...
Error in file "/usr/share/mimelnk/application/x-applix.desktop": "dummy" is an invalid MIME type ("dummy" does not contain a subtype)
Error in file "/usr/share/mimelnk/application/x-ooimpress.desktop": "dummy" is an invalid MIME type ("dummy" does not contain a subtype)
Error in file "/usr/share/mimelnk/application/x-oowriter.desktop": "dummy" is an invalid MIME type ("dummy" does not contain a subtype)
gtk-update-icon-cache: Cache file created successfully.
gtk-update-icon-cache: Cache file created successfully.
gtk-update-icon-cache: Cache file created successfully.

Processing triggers for desktop-file-utils ...
Processing triggers for python-gmenu ...
Rebuilding /usr/share/applications/desktop.en_AU.utf8.cache...
Processing triggers for shared-mime-info ...
Unknown media type in type 'all/all'

Unknown media type in type 'all/allfiles'

Unknown media type in type 'uri/mms'

Unknown media type in type 'uri/mmst'

Unknown media type in type 'uri/mmsu'

Unknown media type in type 'uri/pnm'

Unknown media type in type 'uri/rtspt'

Unknown media type in type 'uri/rtspu'

Unknown media type in type 'fonts/package'

Unknown media type in type 'interface/x-winamp-skin'


If anyone can help, then I shall be eternally grateful to test this software.
At the moment it bombs by not finding "texmaker"

regards

I used gdebi it is a deb installed no problem. I used the link in the post above yours.

Honestly it doesn't seem to have a .docx save, open office and abiword do. Maybe I missed it, it seems the 2008 version is a little lacking.

[Johnsie]

I will try this out, but I'm currently happy with my Office 2003/OOO combo.

I work with data quite alot... Office 2003 is good at some things and OOO can do others. It just depends on the task I need to do.

[alaukikyo]

No they won't. Ever tried using only ODF? If your text-document is a bit more complex than just formatted paragraphs and some bullet-point lists, then there is a good chance that the same .odt will look quite different in Abiword and in OOo.

So using an open format doesn't just magically eliminates all compatibility problems.

a specific issue ?
using an open format DOES eliminate compatibility problems for the simple reasons it is open.

[alaukikyo]

You'll also get OneNote with it which is by far the best note-taking app.
Have you tried never note and many other free alternatives (http://alternativeto.net/software/microsoft-onenote/?sort=likes&platform=linux&license=free)

[screaminj3sus]

I've been using Lotus Symphony 3, basically openoffice with a decent (but laggy :( ) gui.

Gotta say MS Office 2010 still blows everything out of the water though, not only does it have tons of feature, its looks very good and its very responsive and starts up instantly.

[koleoptero]

Have you tried never note and many other free alternatives (http://alternativeto.net/software/microsoft-onenote/?sort=likes&platform=linux&license=free)

I have tried nevernote (fitting name), basket, zim wiki, and various others, none of them works as well as onenote does. Basket was somewhat good, but still has some way to go before it becomes as good as onenote.