Free

Open Office – The Free and Open Productivity Suite

OpenOffice is the easy solution to a problem a lot of computer users have today. Although many purchased PC’s come with a version of Microsoft Office most of the time its is only a short trial. OpenOffice is a free alternative to paying $150.  It often has compatibility issues with layout when opening files that have been saved with the Microsoft product.  Despite that it operates and functions much the same as Microsoft Office. OpenOffice is separated into 5 programs.  Each program has a similar functionality to its alternative.

Writer is the alternative to Word. It is a word processor that allows you to publish any type of document. It has styles and formatting and also allows the publisher to incorporate images tables and other objects into the document. It has all the formatting options you would expect from any publishing software as well as a spell check. Write uses a file extension of .odt (Open Document Text) but can also open and save .doc, .sxw, .sdw, .rtf, .txt, .htm and .html document files.

Calc is the alternative to Excel. This spreadsheet software does everything its counterpart can including formula functions, styles and formatting. Spreadsheets are the best way to organize and arrange data in an easy to read and functional way. They can also perform advanced calculations and make many office accounting and inventory jobs much easier. There are very few compatibility issues when importing spreadsheets that were created on other programs. Calc can open and save .xls, .sxc, .dbf, .sdc, .slk, .csv, .htm and .html spreadsheet files.

Impress is the alternative to PowerPoint. You can create presentations with animation and special effects. I puts all the tools at your fingertips to create visually impressive presentations. It will allow you to export your work as a slide show, flash or even an html file. Impress can open and save .ppt, .sxi, .sxd, and .sdd file formats.

Draw is an open source graphic editor. It can help you make object and images to utilize in your Write or Impress documents. You can use it to easily create clip art, charts or diagrams. Draw can export .jpg, .bmp, .gif, and .png files as well as open .sxd, and .sda file types.

Base is the alternative to Access. It is a database editor that allows you to quickly and easily modify your own database or its own built in HSQL database. The built in wizard, design view and SQL views are made to be easy to use for beginner, intermediate or advanced users.

Resources:
Operating Systems: Windows, Mac, Linux
Why Open Office?
Developer Home Page
Download Open Office

Please Register or Log in to rate this program!

Tags: Document Editing, Free, Home & Office Tools, Open Source, Word Processing