OpenOffice.org? Any exp?

Chubby · 10-17-2007, 07:55 PM

Anyone using this? Thoughts?

st.cronin · 10-17-2007, 07:58 PM

I use it, I like it.

Rich1033 · 10-17-2007, 08:01 PM

Good stuff

duckman · 10-17-2007, 08:09 PM

I use it to write my papers for college. You can save them in Word format, so it's great if you can't afford Office.

MJ4H · 10-17-2007, 08:13 PM

I use it all the time at work. Everyone else uses Microsoft Office, I use Open Office. I work seamlessly with them. They don't even know I'm not using MS Office.

That said there is one problem. I think it will be solved soon, but Open Office can't open .docx files (and MS is pushing this to be the standard doc format now, it seems). There are some convertors online and free viewers for that file type, but it definitely screws up the interoperability.

Antmeister · 10-17-2007, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattJones4Heisman

I use it all the time at work. Everyone else uses Microsoft Office, I use Open Office. I work seamlessly with them. They don't even know I'm not using MS Office.

That said there is one problem. I think it will be solved soon, but Open Office can't open .docx files (and MS is pushing this to be the standard doc format now, it seems). There are some convertors online and free viewers for that file type, but it definitely screws up the interoperability.

Ditto. I use it at work and have made converts out of a number of employees. The only thing I have to use is Microsoft Access.

lighthousekeeper · 10-17-2007, 08:26 PM

yeah, ooo's counterpart to ms access is horrible.

ThunderingHERD · 10-17-2007, 08:30 PM

Good stuff. I don't see why anyone would buy MS Office for personal use.

RPI-Fan · 10-17-2007, 08:45 PM

For those that actually PREFER OO, what is the advantage?

sterlingice · 10-17-2007, 08:48 PM

OO is nice because it's a little smaller and, of course, it's free without losing too much over office. Sure, lots of people walk around with pirated or company versions of office but not everyone can plop down the $200+ for a legal version.

It's quite compatible.... that is, if you're using word processing. I don't think the others are nearly as far along. The spreadsheet is missing a lot of functions that Excel has and I've also heard similar things about their db program.

SI

terpkristin · 10-17-2007, 08:48 PM

Wow, good to know all this about OO. I've wondered about it in the past, and have made due with the versions of Office that came pre-installed on my computer, nice to know I have options.

Bummer their version of Access isn't so hot, that's one program I need to use almost daily right now and I don't have it on my personal laptop.

/tk

Chubby · 10-17-2007, 09:03 PM

good to see a lot of people like it. I don't do anything mind bending so as long as basic stuff works I'm happy. The ability to make .doc files is huge too.

Lorena · 10-17-2007, 10:02 PM

Yup, good stuff

lcjjdnh · 10-17-2007, 10:28 PM

I've actually been using the IBM version of OO, Lotus Symphony, which was recently released. I like it a little better than OO so far, mainly because everything can be opened in the same program (i.e. you just tab between spreadsheets, documents and presentations like in Firefox; they're not in different programs).

Logan · 10-17-2007, 10:50 PM

Interesting, never used this before. Is there an option I can select where all my text files will automatically save as .docs, instead of having to manually change it each time?

ThunderingHERD · 10-17-2007, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Logan

Interesting, never used this before. Is there an option I can select where all my text files will automatically save as .docs, instead of having to manually change it each time?

Yes. Tools -> Options -> Load/Save -> General

daedalus · 10-18-2007, 04:50 AM

i also use oo at home and have had no problem with integrating it with office files at work.

i do find the UI to occasionally be clunky in their effort to not be office-like [i have the same problem with macromedia's attempt at not looking like adobe]. alas, it is tough to beat the price [while, as SI said, retaining that sense of non-piracy].

Logan · 10-18-2007, 07:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThunderingHERD

Yes. Tools -> Options -> Load/Save -> General

Excellent, thanks.

Antmeister · 10-18-2007, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThunderingHERD

Yes. Tools -> Options -> Load/Save -> General

Brilliant! Never even thought about doing this, but this makes sense for work. Thanks.

dj_morton · 10-18-2007, 02:08 PM

I use this mainly bc its free! Really great product though. I've recommended it to friends and family.

molson · 10-18-2007, 05:08 PM

It seems like it takes way longer to starup than word sometimes - like 5-10 seconds. Probably just me.

Otherwise love it. Its doc recovery when something crashes seems to work much better than word.

ThunderingHERD · 10-18-2007, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by molson

It seems like it takes way longer to starup than word sometimes - like 5-10 seconds. Probably just me.

Otherwise love it. Its doc recovery when something crashes seems to work much better than word.

Do you have the OO quickstarter loading on Windows startup? Also, you might try going to Tools -> Options -> OpenOffice.org -> Java and unchecking "Use a Java runtime environment" if you aren't working working with databases or using the wizards or some other minor features. Oh, and if you're not using version 2.3, it's supposed to improve startup performance.

KevinNU7 · 10-18-2007, 06:56 PM

is OO legal, how is MS reacting to it

duckman · 10-18-2007, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinNU7

is OO legal, how is MS reacting to it

If I remembered correctly, MS actually helped OO with coding, so they could load Office documents.

ThunderingHERD · 10-18-2007, 08:26 PM

I certainly don't think that Microsoft helped in any way, but the Office formats' specifications have been available for royalty-free use for several years under a covenant not to sue.

lcjjdnh · 02-25-2009, 02:10 PM

Sorry to bump and old thread, but I've been using Open Office 3.0 on the netbook I got over the holidays and must say it's much improved from the last time I used. It runs much faster and has many more capabilities than the one I used many moons ago.

I was wondering, however, if anyone knows of any good, free OneNote equivalents that either act as a plug-in within OpenOffice or on a standalone basis.

Vegas Vic · 02-25-2009, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sterlingice

The spreadsheet is missing a lot of functions that Excel has and I've also heard similar things about their db program.

The OO spreadsheet program ("Calc") is a very light version of Excel; it's OK if all you'll be doing are simple spreadsheets with basic formulas. However, their "solver" function only does linear analysis. I use Excel's solver for a lot of my sports betting power ratings, and since the least squares error reduction is non-linear, it can't be done on OO.

As for their database program, it's absolutely horrible compared to Access. The query capabilities are almost non-existent, and it's a very cumbersome program to navigate through.

Greyroofoo · 02-25-2009, 06:48 PM

I somewhat like openoffice

However I like Microsoft better.
Just some things I take for granted with Microsoft doesn't happen with open office.

lcjjdnh · 02-25-2009, 07:38 PM

Alternatively, does anyone have any experience with using Office on a netbook? Microsoft says the required resolution is 1024x768, but my Asus 1000HA is 1024 x 600.

stevew · 09-03-2009, 11:35 AM

Any idea how to open a .docx file yet? My wife's starting college and her assignments are in this file format. I've never bought Word, and would prefer to not buy it now

Ronnie Dobbs2 · 09-03-2009, 11:38 AM

I haven't tried it, but have you tried a converter like this (http://www.oooninja.com/2008/12/bett...converter.html)?

stevew · 09-03-2009, 11:43 AM

hmm, i may not have the latest open office either.

DaddyTorgo · 09-03-2009, 11:44 AM

didn't someone upthread say there are converters online? i don't know where exactly...googlefu it

Cuckoo · 09-03-2009, 12:17 PM

The latest OpenOffice opens docx files.

lcjjdnh · 09-03-2009, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevew

Any idea how to open a .docx file yet? My wife's starting college and her assignments are in this file format. I've never bought Word, and would prefer to not buy it now

Worse case scenario, they probably sell Word for $10 or so at your wife's college's bookstore.

Samdari · 09-03-2009, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lcjjdnh

Worse case scenario, they probably sell Word for $10 or so at your wife's college's bookstore.

The 'student' version is now the same as the 'home' version with MSRP of $150 and a street price of around $100.

dolfin · 09-03-2009, 01:31 PM

You can also find Office 2007 online for $60-$80 if you really need Office.

dolfin · 09-03-2009, 01:34 PM

dola, here's a good version for about $60. Requires proof of student/faculty.

JourneyEd

dacman · 09-03-2009, 02:00 PM

There's a free conversion tool for docx files (and other 2007 Office files) so you can open them in older versions of Office.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en

Rizon · 09-03-2009, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dolfin

You can also find Office 2007 online for $60-$80 if you really need Office.

$59-$79 more than that POS is worth!

Comey · 09-03-2009, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lcjjdnh

Worse case scenario, they probably sell Word for $10 or so at your wife's college's bookstore.

Gum goes for more than $10 at a college bookstore.

Cringer · 09-03-2009, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cuckoo

The latest OpenOffice opens docx files.

What this guy said. I have no problem opening docx files. Double click and it opens Open Office and there it is.

lcjjdnh · 09-03-2009, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samdari

The 'student' version is now the same as the 'home' version with MSRP of $150 and a street price of around $100.

Schools often sign deals to get Office at a lower price than the "home" version would cost at your average retail outlet.

At UVa, for instance, I found this:

Quote:

Software for Just $10: Yes, you really can get Microsoft software such as Microsoft Office for the very low cost of just $10—a significant savings from the full-priced software, or even the educational discount pricing. This is possible through UVa’s Campus Agreement with Microsoft.

stevew · 09-03-2009, 07:24 PM

She is taking grad courses at an offsite location.

Open office works for now. Although I have been thinking about driving her up to the school so I can get cheap Software.

fantom1979 · 09-03-2009, 08:59 PM

There is some patent problems with the .docx format. Should be interesting to see how it plays out

Financial Mail - Patently prohibitive
Office Open XML - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

10-17-2007, 07:58 PM	#2
st.cronin General Manager Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: New Mexico	I use it, I like it. __________________ co-commish: bb-bbcf.net knives out

10-17-2007, 08:13 PM	#5
MJ4H Coordinator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Hog Country	I use it all the time at work. Everyone else uses Microsoft Office, I use Open Office. I work seamlessly with them. They don't even know I'm not using MS Office. That said there is one problem. I think it will be solved soon, but Open Office can't open .docx files (and MS is pushing this to be the standard doc format now, it seems). There are some convertors online and free viewers for that file type, but it definitely screws up the interoperability. __________________ My YouTube channel My Twitch channel My Sharona

10-17-2007, 08:26 PM	#7
lighthousekeeper College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000	yeah, ooo's counterpart to ms access is horrible. __________________ ... Last edited by lighthousekeeper : 10-17-2007 at 08:27 PM.

10-17-2007, 08:30 PM	#8
ThunderingHERD College Benchwarmer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: North Carolina	Good stuff. I don't see why anyone would buy MS Office for personal use. __________________ "I'm losing my edge--to better looking people... with better ideas... and more talent. And who are actually really, really nice." "Everyone's a voyeurist--they're watching me watch them watch me right now."

10-17-2007, 08:45 PM	#9
RPI-Fan Pro Starter Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Troy, NY	For those that actually PREFER OO, what is the advantage? __________________ Quis custodiets ipsos custodes?

10-17-2007, 08:01 PM	#3
Rich1033 High School Varsity Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Sylvania, Ohio	Good stuff

10-17-2007, 08:48 PM	#10
sterlingice Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Back in Houston!	OO is nice because it's a little smaller and, of course, it's free without losing too much over office. Sure, lots of people walk around with pirated or company versions of office but not everyone can plop down the $200+ for a legal version. It's quite compatible.... that is, if you're using word processing. I don't think the others are nearly as far along. The spreadsheet is missing a lot of functions that Excel has and I've also heard similar things about their db program. SI __________________ Houston Hippopotami, III.3: 20th Anniversary Thread - All former HT players are encouraged to check it out! Janos: "Only America could produce an imbecile of your caliber!" Freakazoid: "That's because we make lots of things better than other people!" Last edited by sterlingice : 10-17-2007 at 08:48 PM.

10-17-2007, 08:48 PM	#11
terpkristin Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2003 Location: Ashburn, VA	Wow, good to know all this about OO. I've wondered about it in the past, and have made due with the versions of Office that came pre-installed on my computer, nice to know I have options. Bummer their version of Access isn't so hot, that's one program I need to use almost daily right now and I don't have it on my personal laptop. /tk __________________ GO TERPS! https://www.flickr.com/photos/terpkristin https://twitter.com/terpkristin

10-17-2007, 09:03 PM	#12
Chubby Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Syracuse, NY	good to see a lot of people like it. I don't do anything mind bending so as long as basic stuff works I'm happy. The ability to make .doc files is huge too.

10-17-2007, 10:02 PM	#13
Lorena Unregistered Join Date: May 2004	Yup, good stuff

10-17-2007, 10:28 PM	#14
lcjjdnh College Prospect Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: NJ	I've actually been using the IBM version of OO, Lotus Symphony, which was recently released. I like it a little better than OO so far, mainly because everything can be opened in the same program (i.e. you just tab between spreadsheets, documents and presentations like in Firefox; they're not in different programs).

10-17-2007, 10:50 PM	#15
Logan Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: NYC	Interesting, never used this before. Is there an option I can select where all my text files will automatically save as .docs, instead of having to manually change it each time?

10-18-2007, 04:50 AM	#17
daedalus Pro Rookie Join Date: Oct 2000	i also use oo at home and have had no problem with integrating it with office files at work. i do find the UI to occasionally be clunky in their effort to not be office-like [i have the same problem with macromedia's attempt at not looking like adobe]. alas, it is tough to beat the price [while, as SI said, retaining that sense of non-piracy].

10-18-2007, 02:08 PM	#20
dj_morton H.S. Freshman Team Join Date: Jan 2007	I use this mainly bc its free! Really great product though. I've recommended it to friends and family.

10-18-2007, 05:08 PM	#21
molson General Manager Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: The Mountains	It seems like it takes way longer to starup than word sometimes - like 5-10 seconds. Probably just me. Otherwise love it. Its doc recovery when something crashes seems to work much better than word. Last edited by molson : 10-18-2007 at 05:08 PM.

10-18-2007, 06:56 PM	#23
KevinNU7 College Starter Join Date: May 2003 Location: Beantown	is OO legal, how is MS reacting to it __________________ Boston Bashers - III.14 - (8347)

10-18-2007, 08:26 PM	#25
ThunderingHERD College Benchwarmer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: North Carolina	I certainly don't think that Microsoft helped in any way, but the Office formats' specifications have been available for royalty-free use for several years under a covenant not to sue. __________________ "I'm losing my edge--to better looking people... with better ideas... and more talent. And who are actually really, really nice." "Everyone's a voyeurist--they're watching me watch them watch me right now."

02-25-2009, 02:10 PM	#26
lcjjdnh College Prospect Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: NJ	Sorry to bump and old thread, but I've been using Open Office 3.0 on the netbook I got over the holidays and must say it's much improved from the last time I used. It runs much faster and has many more capabilities than the one I used many moons ago. I was wondering, however, if anyone knows of any good, free OneNote equivalents that either act as a plug-in within OpenOffice or on a standalone basis.

02-25-2009, 06:48 PM	#28
Greyroofoo Pro Starter Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Alabama	I somewhat like openoffice However I like Microsoft better. Just some things I take for granted with Microsoft doesn't happen with open office.

02-25-2009, 07:38 PM	#29
lcjjdnh College Prospect Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: NJ	Alternatively, does anyone have any experience with using Office on a netbook? Microsoft says the required resolution is 1024x768, but my Asus 1000HA is 1024 x 600. Last edited by lcjjdnh : 02-25-2009 at 07:38 PM.

09-03-2009, 11:35 AM	#30
stevew Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: the yo'	Any idea how to open a .docx file yet? My wife's starting college and her assignments are in this file format. I've never bought Word, and would prefer to not buy it now Last edited by stevew : 09-03-2009 at 11:42 AM.

09-03-2009, 11:38 AM	#31
Ronnie Dobbs2 Pro Rookie Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Bahston Mass	I haven't tried it, but have you tried a converter like this (http://www.oooninja.com/2008/12/bett...converter.html)? __________________ There's no I in Teamocil, at least not where you'd think

09-03-2009, 11:43 AM	#32
stevew Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: the yo'	hmm, i may not have the latest open office either.

09-03-2009, 11:44 AM	#33
DaddyTorgo Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Massachusetts	didn't someone upthread say there are converters online? i don't know where exactly...googlefu it __________________ If I've ever helped you and you'd like to buy me a coffee, or just to say thanks, I have my Bitcoin and Ethereum addressed listed below :) BTC: bc1qykhsfyn9vw4ntqfgr0svj4n9tjdgufryh2pxn5 ETH: 0x2AcdC5cd88EA537063553F5b240073bE067BaCa9

09-03-2009, 12:17 PM	#34
Cuckoo College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Edmond, OK	The latest OpenOffice opens docx files. __________________ Commissioner - North American Football League Dallas Cowboys GM

09-03-2009, 01:31 PM	#37
dolfin High School JV Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Texas	You can also find Office 2007 online for $60-$80 if you really need Office.

09-03-2009, 01:34 PM	#38
dolfin High School JV Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Texas	dola, here's a good version for about $60. Requires proof of student/faculty. JourneyEd

09-03-2009, 02:00 PM	#39
dacman College Benchwarmer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: speak to the trout	There's a free conversion tool for docx files (and other 2007 Office files) so you can open them in older versions of Office. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en __________________ No signatures allowed.

09-03-2009, 07:24 PM	#44
stevew Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: the yo'	She is taking grad courses at an offsite location. Open office works for now. Although I have been thinking about driving her up to the school so I can get cheap Software.

09-03-2009, 08:59 PM	#45
fantom1979 College Benchwarmer Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Sterling Heights, Mi	There is some patent problems with the .docx format. Should be interesting to see how it plays out Financial Mail - Patently prohibitive Office Open XML - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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