| PC Utilities review: Office suites may be most intensively used in business environments but we can all benefit from their services every once in a while. If you want to put together a newsletter or flyer, for example, it helps to have a decent word processing tool at your disposal; and a spreadsheet application can prove very handy when running up a shopping list or balancing your home budget. The problem with most office suites is that they're priced for business rather than home use, making them very expensive. There are some decent lower priced options out there, but why pay anything at all when you can get your hands on a suite as advanced as OpenOffice.org for absolutely nothing?
The latest stable release, version 1.1.4, includes a word processor, spreadsheet application and a presentation maker, which are comparable to Word, Excel and PowerPoint in almost every respect. OpenOffice.org also include a vector-based drawing tool, which is ideal for designing flow charts and simple graphics. Although there's no equivalent to Access in the suite as yet, a database component is in development and will join the existing applications when version 2.0 is released later this year.
All the major tools and features available in Microsoft Office are replicated in OpenOffice.org's applications, and those familiar with other office suites will feel right at home. The suite also supports Microsoft Office file formats, though you can opt to save files in the suite's more efficient XML-based formats if you don't need to share your files with non-OpenOffice.org users. It's even possible to export documents in the .pdf format - something Office can't manage without external help.
Review last modified 7/09/05 Each month PC Utilities magazine reviews scores of great new programs. Have you considered taking advantage of our no-risk subscription offer? | | User reviews: cyberman says: Not my cup of tea, falls far short of the real program. I've installed MS Office. Long live Microsoft. (28/03/2008) hotspurs says: This is the program to get if you want a portable Office that you can carry around on your pen drive, and it is free!!! (07/10/2006) davidbradforth says: For those of us working on PCs and Macs at the sametime, OpenOffice.org brings something
that the others do not. A saving of £800 (two copies of Office) and a fairly consistent user
interface. Recommended - and free! (19/05/2006) PinkFloyd says: When you consider that MIcrosoft Office costs hundreds of pounds, Openoffice is amazing because its free. (25/04/2006) daven29 says: A bit rough around the edges but each version gets better. (12/09/2005) Dave Cusick says: Who needs Microsoft Office? OpenOffice does the business, and doesn't cost £400. Job's a good'un. (09/09/2005) To contribute a user review, you must log in or sign up (it's free!). |
