OpenOffice
From AFSWiki
The OpenOffice.org software suite (OO.o or OOo) is a cross-platform office application suite available for a number of different computer operating systems. Microsoft Office, by constrast is a proprietary (and not cross-platform) office application suite. From the OpenOffice.org site: "OpenOffice.org2 is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose." The suite includes "Writer" for word-processing text (uses .odt file name type extension), "Calc" for spread-sheets (.ods), "Impress" for slide-shows and multi-media presentations (.odp), "Draw" for graphics (.odg), "Base" for data-bases (.odb), and "Math" for displaying mathematical symbols and formulas (.odf).
The OpenOffice.org suite is free and easy to use
- To use it:
- Go to the OpenOffice.org downloads site
- Follow the instructions at the above site to download and install a copy
- Just use it!
Advantages of OpenOffice
- It's free
- OpenOffice supports
- the ISO standard OpenDocument Format (ODF) for data interchange as its default file format,
- Microsoft Office '97–2003 formats,
- as well as many others.
- In the spirit of AFS' well-known philosophy of tolerance of diversity, OpenOffice.org is an admirable fit for AFS staff, volunteers, and families! It differs from proprietary software suites, such as Microsoft Office, that mainly work with the same proprietary suites, and often only with the identical versions of those proprietary suites, and fail to even recognize ISO Standard Formats. You'll be practicing what AFS preaches,-- a more tolerant, cooperative, and open world.
- Millions of users world-wide, including many AFS host families and volunteers, already use OpenOffice.org's cross-platform suite.
And if you really need to keep your current proprietary software suite?-- You can have and use both!
