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SWildfire · 31-10-2007, 11:04

I had to delete Office 2003 off of my laptop, as the software belonged to another comp and it had to be re-activated because of some rebuilding.. Now I'm looking into downloading some free office software to read Office documents.
Any suggestions as to what is good to use, and what I should avoid??

Right now I'm leaning towards openoffice.org, or ibm lotus symphony.

Transmogrify · 31-10-2007, 11:59

Open Office is as good as you'll get for a free office package. I haven't used Lotus Symphony - not since about 1992 when it was Lotus 123 and Ami Pro and Lotus SmartSuite after that - but it does look to use Open Document Format and supports Word, Excel etc. documents.

The good thing about free software is it's free. You can try them all out and see what you like best but you're probably best sticking with one of the two you're suggesting.

steveb · 31-10-2007, 12:03

I've used Open Office for 4 years and it's always proved to be perfectly compatible with all Microsoft files. Excellent value for money.
Have to say though that I use other free programs for word processing (Jarte and Atlantis).

doffy · 31-10-2007, 12:08

If you're primarily gonna _read_ [Microsoft] Office documents, then you definitely should check out Word Viewer; -it'll best retain how the actual documents looked, and in any case WV is so small it doesn't interfere with whatever other Office Suite you choose to go with.

[ Download details: Word Viewer ]

I used to do this alot with Excel stuff, but then I used Excel Viewer, naturally.

SWildfire · 31-10-2007, 12:24

ahh.. thanks for the suggestions! I'm going to try open office and see how that treats me. Do you know if there's any problems with office users opening open office docs? I also like the suggestion of Word Viewer, I may download that as well depending on how open office treats me.

Herr Kurm · 31-10-2007, 12:36

~You can save it in .doc format so ms office users should be fine. I myself dont use anything besides Indesign to take a quick look at some tossers .doc file.

doffy · 31-10-2007, 12:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Herr Kurm

I myself dont use anything besides Indesign to take a quick look at some tossers .doc file.

Doesn't that just trigger some Microsoft *.doc rendering engine (or whatever?) Hm, gotta try it with some overly advanced *.doc here on Mac/OS X, with no Microshit installed..

- Interesting.

Patr100 · 31-10-2007, 17:55

For online use Googledocs is more well known but I've found recently Zoho gets the best overall reviews

Online Office, Word Processor, Spreadsheet, Presentation, CRM and more

SWildfire · 05-12-2007, 15:22

I've been using open office now a little bit. I must say that it is nowhere near as nice to use as Microsoft Office. The Excel type program is okay, but I find the word processing part of open office sort of hideous...

pgo · 05-12-2007, 16:18

Really? I think OpenOffice is worlds better than MSO.

MSWord is a nightmare. In the running for worst desktop application ever developed, in my opinion.

freelancr · 05-12-2007, 16:35

Much prefer OpenOffice and Mozilla Thunderbird instead of using MS Office with Outlook.

pgo · 05-12-2007, 17:10

Sadly, though, most of us in the corporate world don't have a choice.

adam c · 06-12-2007, 04:54

I think just beating Word in the running for the worst app ever is Power Point. Thank god I don't have to use that app very much. I use the open source word processor 'Bean', which is really good for opening .doc files. Mac only though.

John Good · 07-12-2007, 05:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by adam c

I think just beating Word in the running for the worst app ever is Power Point. Thank god I don't have to use that app very much. I use the open source word processor 'Bean', which is really good for opening .doc files. Mac only though.

and we have keynote for those ugly .pps files

pracas · 24-12-2007, 16:13

Openoffice is the best tool in comparision with Ms office, MS office 2007 created me a great troulbe when i first installed into my HP laptop.

It was taking neary 3/4 minutes to load and after that i uninstalled it , again i installed 2003 office, but the panic was same, so i left the ms office and using openoffice , probably the best one.

Hunch · 24-12-2007, 23:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by pgo

Really? I think OpenOffice is worlds better than MSO.

MSWord is a nightmare. In the running for worst desktop application ever developed, in my opinion.

I think MS Office peaked around the Office XP/2003 period and has completely lost its way now. I can understand Microsoft's problem though. Their huge cash cow basically did pretty much everything 99% of users ever needed an office suite to do to do a couple of versions back and they're having a nightmare trying to invent reasons for people to keep upgrading.

Actually, aside from a few quibbles with Powerpoint, I have a reasonably high regard for MS Office. Word is a very decent word processor and well ahead of the competition. I hear people bashing it from time to time, and when I ask them why, they usually can't name a single reason. It just gets lumped in with all the other anti-MS whining.

suedenem · 08-01-2008, 06:34

Lotus Symphony is effectively a fork of OOo. Adds a bit of corporate 'respectability' for corporate users who wouldn't otherwise touch open source software with a bargepole.

Don't like the interface myself, though; OOo is the way to go.

SWildfire · 12-03-2008, 11:56

I must admit Open Office has grown a little on me.. I still prefer Excel to their version though. I'm going to have to look into Mozilla Thunderbird. I love Firefox as a browser.

31-10-2007, 11:04	#1 (permalink)
SWildfire Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 57	free office suite software I had to delete Office 2003 off of my laptop, as the software belonged to another comp and it had to be re-activated because of some rebuilding.. Now I'm looking into downloading some free office software to read Office documents. Any suggestions as to what is good to use, and what I should avoid?? Right now I'm leaning towards openoffice.org, or ibm lotus symphony.

31-10-2007, 11:59	#2 (permalink)
Transmogrify Rough Creep Arse™ Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 1,894	Open Office is as good as you'll get for a free office package. I haven't used Lotus Symphony - not since about 1992 when it was Lotus 123 and Ami Pro and Lotus SmartSuite after that - but it does look to use Open Document Format and supports Word, Excel etc. documents. The good thing about free software is it's free. You can try them all out and see what you like best but you're probably best sticking with one of the two you're suggesting. __________________

31-10-2007, 12:03	#3 (permalink)
steveb Quality maintenance Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Järvenpää, Finland Posts: 3,756	I've used Open Office for 4 years and it's always proved to be perfectly compatible with all Microsoft files. Excellent value for money. Have to say though that I use other free programs for word processing (Jarte and Atlantis). __________________ My free fonts www.utfi.net Moje vznášedlo je PLNÉ úhořů

31-10-2007, 12:36	#6 (permalink)
Herr Kurm bloody peasant Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Tallinn, Estonia Posts: 2,649	~You can save it in .doc format so ms office users should be fine. I myself dont use anything besides Indesign to take a quick look at some tossers .doc file. __________________ refreshed portfolio

05-12-2007, 16:18	#10 (permalink)
pgo Moderator Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Brooklyn, NYC Posts: 11,869	Really? I think OpenOffice is worlds better than MSO. MSWord is a nightmare. In the running for worst desktop application ever developed, in my opinion. __________________ Find good advice in the beginners web design thread. patrick o'neill web developer \| blog \| spam humor

31-10-2007, 12:08	#4 (permalink)
doffy Sophistered luser Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Norway Posts: 123	If you're primarily gonna _read_ [Microsoft] Office documents, then you definitely should check out Word Viewer; -it'll best retain how the actual documents looked, and in any case WV is so small it doesn't interfere with whatever other Office Suite you choose to go with. [ Download details: Word Viewer ] I used to do this alot with Excel stuff, but then I used Excel Viewer, naturally.

31-10-2007, 12:24	#5 (permalink)
SWildfire Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 57	ahh.. thanks for the suggestions! I'm going to try open office and see how that treats me. Do you know if there's any problems with office users opening open office docs? I also like the suggestion of Word Viewer, I may download that as well depending on how open office treats me.

31-10-2007, 17:55	#8 (permalink)
Patr100 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 87	For online use Googledocs is more well known but I've found recently Zoho gets the best overall reviews Online Office, Word Processor, Spreadsheet, Presentation, CRM and more

05-12-2007, 15:22	#9 (permalink)
SWildfire Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 57	I've been using open office now a little bit. I must say that it is nowhere near as nice to use as Microsoft Office. The Excel type program is okay, but I find the word processing part of open office sort of hideous...

05-12-2007, 16:35	#11 (permalink)
freelancr Web Developer Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, UK Posts: 1,848	Much prefer OpenOffice and Mozilla Thunderbird instead of using MS Office with Outlook. __________________ codekeepers \| web developer

05-12-2007, 17:10	#12 (permalink)
pgo Moderator Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Brooklyn, NYC Posts: 11,869	Sadly, though, most of us in the corporate world don't have a choice. __________________ Find good advice in the beginners web design thread. patrick o'neill web developer \| blog \| spam humor

06-12-2007, 04:54	#13 (permalink)
adam c berserker than thou Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Bristol Posts: 444	I think just beating Word in the running for the worst app ever is Power Point. Thank god I don't have to use that app very much. I use the open source word processor 'Bean', which is really good for opening .doc files. Mac only though.

24-12-2007, 16:13	#15 (permalink)
pracas Registered User Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Biratnagar Nepal Posts: 3	Openoffice is the best tool in comparision with Ms office, MS office 2007 created me a great troulbe when i first installed into my HP laptop. It was taking neary 3/4 minutes to load and after that i uninstalled it , again i installed 2003 office, but the panic was same, so i left the ms office and using openoffice , probably the best one.

08-01-2008, 06:34	#17 (permalink)
suedenem Registered User Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 23	Lotus Symphony is effectively a fork of OOo. Adds a bit of corporate 'respectability' for corporate users who wouldn't otherwise touch open source software with a bargepole. Don't like the interface myself, though; OOo is the way to go.

12-03-2008, 11:56	#18 (permalink)
SWildfire Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 57	I must admit Open Office has grown a little on me.. I still prefer Excel to their version though. I'm going to have to look into Mozilla Thunderbird. I love Firefox as a browser.

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