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 My prime choice is - without doubt - OpenOffice.org 3. The basics of office document creation are well covered with an excellent module for each; word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, a desktop database, and some other gimmicks are all well worth exploring. All of the modules are easy to learn and if you've ever used any other office software, it's a doddle. It is extendable via extensions and handles all the same document types and you'll have no problem exchanging documents with MS Office.
OpenOffice in available in various 'flavors'. Sun Microsystems offers an almost identical StarOffice, IBM calls it Symphony, and there's also OxygenOffice with a lot of extras I don't really need.
A big plus is that it is available in many languages, but the most astounding fact is that even if you have thousands of employees and PCs, the cost is always the same - zero! Even for business use.
 If you're not in need of a full blown office suite and just want to write, you're fine with AbiWord. It's also a multi platform application, reads many standard document types (OpenOffice, MS Word, WordPerfect, RTF, HTML...) and you will be pleased with it's layout capabilities. As the program is very small, it requires very little resources and can blithely be used on even older machines. Of course, it is extendable via plugins and thus a perfect choice if your heart belongs to writing!
 Jarte, (see also this review) a fresh light weight, truly novel in design, is showing in the field of word processors. I've been using it for a while now, and there's nothing much I could wish for. It comes up in lightning speed, serves with all the necessary features plus an integrated screen grabber, which is very useful for writing how-to's on the fly. Some solutions are as simple as clever, e.g. when you mark a word and click the 'Encyclopedia' button, Jarte looks that word up in the Wikipedia. Correspondingly 'Dictionairy' and 'Thesaurus' take you online. The freeware version is a very respectable program, personally I use it as stand by word processor designed rather for short texts as I found no way of defining format styles - an essential feature (for me) when working on large documents.
 Gnumeric -The Gnome Office Spreadsheet is an excellent alternative to commercial products. It has been recommended over MS Excel for precision and stability, shines with "519 functions for use in spreadsheets. 154 of these are unique to Gnumeric", an online tutorial plus manual. Again, there are a lot of formats the program can process, so don't be shy and give it a try.
This software category is maintained by Christoph. Registered site visitors can contact Christoph (cy) by clicking here.
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Doesn't seem to offer columns in the format menu...
Just downloaded the app & tried installing it. It just quit somewhere in the middle of the process for no reason. Not a good sign, if you ask me, since I never had any problems installing anything before...
Ready for the bin...
If a recommendation says something is "stable" but there is no indication of the period of stability, I assume it's about 30 seconds (being a cynical bastard). I only had one crash, after a short period, and stopped using it as the previous version crashed too often, but one crash is not conclusive.
So, please tell me how long was it stable.
Redrik
I have been using OpenOffice for years and have the same problem: it is very slow to load and it crashes daily. I keep upgrading hoping these two problems would be solved. I have also tried the other free variations (e.g., Go-OO), but with no difference.
I just received my new Asus EEE 1000HE, which has StarOffice 8 installed, and it is perfect: few freeze-ups and opens as fast as the Office '07 on my work PC. I am very pleased and will stop upgrading now that I have found one I like. (I still use Jarte for light duty work -- I love it too.)
Interestingly, I tried OpenOffice 3.x on the Asus and had the same problems I have always had. Can anyone explain why StarOffice rocks and OpenOffice is a sluggard?
Can I ask a question. I have the 1000he also and it came with
the StarOffice 8 also. We use MS Office 2007 not because its
so great but it links files and data with MS Office. How do you
change the default from star to office for opening files.
Chas.
Funny, for me, both StarOffice and OpenOffice were perfectly stable, and seemed very similar when I used them...
et brocklesby
I am certainly interested in any one of these freebies. I currently have off2003 with front page and today it comes up after 4 years of use with updates that It is a pirate copy, I know that this is not the case and it is a legitimate copy, Microsft is a bit of a bumber with all of this.
They also say that the updates will be stopped in a short while. I will certainly not be paying megga bucks for office 2007. I will uninstall and install one of the others. IBM looks the best bet. I also have office 2000 which is a genuine copy but it is way out of date.
Do you think it is a good idea to ditch office 2003 and install one of the others. I have 1.5 gigs of ram
Advice would be appreciated
eriv
Do you actually need all of Office ? or perhaps just a "word processor". You might want to try playing with Jarte.
et brocklesby
Thanks for comments that have been mentioned they are very useful and I will certainly work around all of them and see which is best and what will work with office 2003
No I need a complete office suite. I construct posters, tickets, fliers, recipes etc,etc. I reproduce photos for posters and recipes so I do need a comprehensive suite.
Do you actually have to share files with anyone?
Microsoft Works can sometimes be found for free and might be enough for your needs.
A rather wild suggestion is Cardfile:
http://www.techsupportalert.com/node/201
It's great for recipes (you can dl collections) and you can use it for free for a long period. It has excellent export facilities.
et brocklesby
Yes I do have to share files from time to time for costing purposes. I do have microsoft works 7 which I uninstalled when I installed office 2003 with front page. I am thinking of uninstalling office 2003 but I would like to keep XL and WORD, If i do install one of the freebies, or reinstall microsoft works 7.
reading the comments on Cardfile it appears people are very impressed with it.
what do you think
eric
I think you should try AZZ Cardfile. It's free, small, instantly available, and has endless uses. If you don't like it, it uninstalls perfectly.
And at least you could dl some recipe collections and get some ideas!
My experience with the latest version of IBM Lotus Symphony: Windows XP with all outstanding service applied - installation crashed with weird error message - uninstalled. Windows 2000 SP4 + all outstanding service: Same problem as with XP - uninstalled. Friends of mine who work at IBM tell me it's IBM's corporate strategy to replace all MS Office licenses with the new Symphony. Symphony is also integrated in Notes 8, too. Consequently, I believe IBM will make ongoing improvements and code corrections as time moves forward.
Yes, that's my experience too. I never ever had any problem with O3 (OpenOffice.org) but never succeeded in installing the IBM version. That is the reason, it is not reviewed here - I simply don't get it installed :o
kostenlose programme
So on this very day (Feb 6th 2009) I've gone through 3 different Office Suites
- Open Office
- IBM Lotus Symphony
- Starmaker Office
Each one has there perks and there downfalls I'll admit it as quick as anyone else, I was (perhaps the keyword) partial to Open Office as I found things rather nice to use but rather slugish (don't be blamin Ram on this one folks I'm runnin on 1.5 Gig)
But speaking of Ram so I thought I would do a lil research to see what is the ram spects for each one of these products PLUS I thought I would toss in Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate (I only use the Ultimate one cause it has everything even though I did look and the ram usage for any other flavor of office suite by Microsoft is no different) so anyways here's what I found:
Open Office needs at minimum 256 but requires 512
IBM Lotus Symphony needs (my guess is the same) it doesn't say on the website but it does say that it is based on the Open Office Code (so once again 256 min but requires 512)
SoftMaker Office - it also doesn't say however it claims that the paid version can run on minimum resources to the point of runnin it smoothly on Win 2000
Microsoft Office 2007 asks for 256 and up (depending on what you want to do)
I currently have Lotus Symphony on my computer as I type this, I'm unsure if I'm going to keep it or not, as I have thought about putting out the money (as much as I REALLY don't want to) and buy Microsoft Office 2007
But I do know that what I use MUST be compatible with OpenOffice as I stated once before I work on a few different computers and keep things up and running and the other computer have open office on them with numerous files saved as the .odt format that open office uses...
So if you have any suggestions by all means let me know.
- Shane -
thank you for sharing the information
I first started using OO when it was brought to my attention a few years back and I ditched Microsoft Office 03 (except frontpage) for it, and now I find that on my girlfriends parents computer when I updated to the latest that it installed anywhere from 1-7 "Unknown Devices" to the computer, which really freakd me out as I do all the admin and cleanup stuff on that computer as well as mine and they both basically have the same stuff on it so when this happened I decided to stay safe from OO and remove it from that computer as well as my own, I've been searchin for somethin that is .odt compatible since that's the default save format for OO.
So if you have any suggestions let me know, as I prefer not to use anythin OO based just because of the fact that I know they got a lil freaked by it as well.
try using portable open office, no install, just run from the directory on the hard drive or from a usb drive
and softmaker office can read and write *.odt files :)
try using softmaker office 2006 http://www.softmakeroffice.com/ . they give this software for free. it is fully compatible with office 2003 through textmaker as word and planmaker as excel.
Why don't you just use portable version of OO. You can put it wherever you want. You know what is portable, right?
Password prompt appears at this url... : (
I'm fully aware of what portable is, however when maintaining other peoples computers and recommending software for them I NEVER give them "portable" software.
Actually, If I were "maintaining other peoples computers and recommending software" I would always point them to portable, that way their PC would be less prone to unintentional misintallation(s)/mususes.
Openoffice is OK, but something is really annoying -- every time you install it, remember to remove the temporary folder from your desktop, which is unfortunately over 100M. And you should first uninstall the older version if you want to install new one, because new version will be the OpenOffice X.X folder in program files. And after uninstall, you might want to manually delete the older folder to make it neat. Maybe all these are trivial -- I am just think what the goal of their software, to make thing simpler?
IBM products? as big and slow as Lotus Notes or EClipse? Maybe I should give a try.
thank you webmaster good blog
cy, what do you think of SoftMaker Office 2006?
once you go to Office 2007, there is no going back. It is like watching TV in color compared to black and white.
It is unbelievable how much more productive I have become, how I don't waste time trying to make my spreadsheets look nice. I just make them look nice, without effort.
I know it costs money, but ask yourself - how much is your time worth?
Office 2007 increase productivity? Do you work for microsoft or what?
Office 2007? You have to be kidding. Microsoft replaced an interface that lets me do complex things with a single click, with an interface that often takes two, three, or even four clicks.
In Office 2003, everything I needed was right there in one toolbar. Now its behind a tab, and frankly, I don't have the time to go learning where they've hidden the buttons I need to get the job done.
For example... Print Preview... used to be a single button on the toolbar. Now I have to click the main menu, then select Print, then select Print Preview. Or Set Print Area, which used to be a single click. Now it takes two. More productive? I don't think so, and frankly, I could fill this web page with "features" of 2007 that are like that.
Hi,
I think this subject depends on the intensity of how an Office suite is used and how compatible you must be in sharing your documents.
For intensive and professional usage of an Office Suite combined with necessary intercommunication with others (mostly so in the business world) there is no doubt that MS Office is the defacto standard. Specifically in international businesses the widely spread MS Office is the only way to go. Unfortunately so MS let's you pay for that. Imho the MS Office suite is overpriced but due to the lack of alternatives businesses are paying for it.
But there are a lot of less professional and intensive usage areas of an Office suite where the free products reviewed here are very capable to fulfill the individual needs. I am actually using both, MS Office and Open Office on my computer - depending on what I wanna do and who is the receiver of the outcome.
Anyways, we are reviewing Freeware here and, thus, MS Office is not a contender in this category.
Best regards,
George
normally I love free software, it is just in this category Office 2007 has no competition.
That's precisely the point Gizmo is making right in the intro of this review. No use comparing multi-billion dollar mogul products, nor advertising them on a freeware site...
I think the next reviewer should give Go-OO another look, as it is now based on Openoffice 3 code. It also avoids the clipart, etc. that make OOOP huge.
et brocklesby
I find things so confusing here.
I use microsoft office suite and sometimes find it a bit of a bind. I produce posters tickets and fliers for our organisation. Working around the office suite can be time consuming especially doing tickets for up 100 people. I would like something that i could use a lot more easily than microsoft office suite 2003 with front page
Microsoft Publisher?
Scribus? Opensource. Get it from http://scribus.net or http://filehippo.com/download_scribus/
Can anyone advise me on the best program to use for producing tickets and posters for events that I organize. Currently i am using microsoft office suite. It is ok but I want something that will number my tickets automatically
Just wondering, can you point the link to OpenOffice v.3.0 PORTABLE ?
Seems to me there's no such portable app available - YET !
It seems to only be in beta:
http://portableapps.com/apps/office/openoffice_portable/test
I have been using that beta for a while, pdf export function is not working. I had to turn back to 2.4.1 portable. Nothing on http://www.portablefreeware.com/?id=212 either, or http://www.thindownload.com/ (my favorite apps, these days). Thanks anyway.
The Open Office 3 is out now, it sees pretty good, and is fully compatible with word 2007 files
Ive used OO for a long time but miss having something like MSAccess for databases... Any suggestions?
Sorry to apologize: What about base (integrated with o3)?
--
always look on the bright sight of life...
I'm interested in a free program that is like Access but without the size restrictions. A query builder. Does anyone know of anything like that? I don't understand what "base (integrated with O3)" is.
Some news:
SoftMaker Office 2006 is now FREE:
http://www.softmakeroffice.com/
Prompts the user to register each time the app opens... a bit annoying, but at least it has the columns feature that many other apps don't
SoftMaker Office is so fast that it runs impeccably from USB sticks and that it performs nicely on all those new netbooks. I'm happy!
Yes, I like the softmaker office. It has a much nicer windows interface than the open office versions, and having less options is a lot more usable and less confusing. If I need something it doesn't have, then I use OO.
KOffice (koffice.org) is pretty solid, offers:
Productivity Applications
KWord - A frame-based word processor that can work in two modes: page oriented or layout oriented
KSpread - A powerful spreadsheet application.
KPresenter - A full-featured presentation program.
Kexi - An integrated environment for creating databases and database applications.
Creativity Applications
Kivio - A Visio®-style flowcharting application.
Karbon14 - A vector drawing application.
Krita - A layered pixel image manipulation application
Management Application
KPlato - An integrated project management and planning tool.
Supporting Applications
KChart - An integrated graph and chart drawing tool.
KFormula - A powerful formula editor.
Kugar - A tool for generating business quality reports.
Version 2.0alpha is lightning fast and a complete rewrite.
Check it out, for windows, at
winkde[DOT]org/pub/kde/ports/win32/installer/kdewin-installer-gui-latest.exe
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