For this week’s Freeware Frenzy, I will be taking a look at OpenOffice.org 2.0. OpenOffice has been around for some time now, and was reviewed earlier here on PCMech. You can read about it in this set of articles:
http://www.pcmech.com/show/opensource/695/
http://www.pcmech.com/show/opensource/697/
http://www.pcmech.com/show/opensource/700/
Since its inception OpenOffice.org has undergone a lot of updating, and now that the official 2.0 release is available, I felt it was time to take a look and see how it stacks up both versus Microsoft Office and versus its past. I am a long time user of the Office products, mostly Word, and I currently use Microsoft Office 2003. To avoid rehashing what has been covered earlier, I will be looking exclusively at the latest 2.0 features. Also, note that this article was created entirely in OpenOffice.org 2.0 Writer.
Installation
Installation of OpenOffice.org 2.0 was easy. Since it is published under the GPL, anyone can download and use it for free. Those are words I like to hear. The only step that differs from any installation was choosing which Microsoft files to associate with OpenOffice.org 2.0. I chose only Word documents, as that is what I am mostly concerned with, but the option for Powerpoint presentations and Excel spreadsheets are available as well.
Overview
OpenOffice.org 2.0 is a full featured suite of Office applications. Besides Writer, there are Base, Impress, Math, Draw and Calc. Base is the equivalent of Access, a database program. Calc is the Excel equivalent for spreadsheets. As they describe it: OpenOffice.org Draw lets you create simple and complex drawings and export them in a number of common image formats. Impress is Powerpoint and Math allows you to create mathematical formulas and worksheets.
2.0 Features. Twice the fun?
A full list of the latest features is here on the OpenOffice.org website: http://www.openoffice.org/dev_docs/features/2.0/index.html Let’s explore them shall we?
OpenDocument
OpenDocument is a new file standard developed by OASIS and used by other open source office suites as well as Sun Microsystems. The idea behind it is to avoid proprietary formats such as .doc Word files. Because of its market share, Microsoft has created an (unintentional?) monopoly on file types. But why should everyone be forced to spend $100s of dollars, if not thousands for a whole office, for Microsoft programs, just so they can share files? The OpenDocument format certainly has it’s backers, and is creating a bit of political turmoil. http://searchopensource.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid39_gci1138949,00.html
MultiPane View
This is certainly a carry over from Microsoft Powerpoint. When you open Impress, the familiar main window sits in the center, with your slides on the left and new slide menus on the right. Anyone who has used Powerpoint and I know I used to use it constantly, will be right at home with this feature.
Enhanced Database Frontend.
If you are not familiar with database programs, they can seem quite daunting. I will admit that I have not used Access, simply because I have never needed it. And indeed it seems tough for a beginner. OpenOffice.org does a great job helping out new users with Base and how it works. The program opens with a very handy wizard.
Other Features
A plethora of new features in 2.0 makes it the best version of OpenOffice.org yet. A new Word Count feature, makes it easy to keep Mrs. Jones from complaining you were ten words short of 500. Calc expands its size to allow for the full 65,536 rows that Excel uses. Native Desktop Immigration allows the look and feel of the OpenOffice to meld seamlessly with your computer. Indeed Writer looked very similar to Word and true to my Windows XP, crashed a couple times. Brilliant.[/sarcasm] There are many other features included in this go-round that I won’t get into simply because the majority of users probably have little need for them. But they are there should you need them.
Conclusion
OpenOffice.org 2.0 is an incredible value. You are downloading a full suite of office programs for absolutely zero dollars. Granted, it is not without the occasional flaw, butt hat is to be expected with open source software. But the funny thing is that I didn’t notice any additional wonkiness then I do with my usual office programs. Just as Word occasionally freezes and recovers my work, so does OpenOffice. I encourage everyone to try OpenOffice. The only problem is that I’d bet most people reading this already have some kind of office suite that they paid too much for. If only we had known earlier! Sigh. But it is still worth looking into. OpenOffice is an incredible open source achievement. Sure there are lots of little widgets out there, but few programs go this far for free. Give it a look see. You won’t be disappointed.
