For many years now, Microsoft and Lotus
have been the heavyweights in the world of Office software suites.
Of late Microsoft seems to have seen off all its rivals and remains
supreme …… but is that all about to change!
Microsoft
Office is a very professional package that comes in numerous guises
with prices to suit all pockets from the cut down student version
to the heavyweight professional and premium packages that contain
a whole range of programmes for the office/professional environment.
There
is a new suite on the block………AND IT’S
ALL FREE!!!!!!
So
what is it? Where is it? And more importantly how good is it?
Well to answer all these questions, Steve Orrell kindly let us
all into the incredible world of OPENOFFICE 2.0. Steve explained
that he had been exploring the packages potential for some months
now but still hadn’t used all the facilities available to
the end user.
Steve
emphasized that the package was an ongoing development by numerous
enthusiasts throughout the world and in his view was a good alternative
to the rather expensive Microsoft Office. So what has the package
got going for it?
1.
The code is open source therefore the package is FREE.
2. The technology used is the latest cross platform language –
XML, which means that it will work just as well on your PC or
your mate’s Apple Mac.
3. The Beta version of OpenOffice 2.0 was launched in January
and there are regular updates every 2 weeks or so.
4. The package is very stable and in the rare event of a crash
the package is self-
recoverable.
The
package consists of 5 main sections, which can be interlinked
:-
Writer – wordprocessor programme
Calc – spreadsheet programme
Impress – multimedia presentation programme
Base – database programme
Draw – comprehensive drawing programme
Math – a mathematical equation-creating programme
The
package is large and if you need to download it then it is essential
you have access to a broadband link. You will also need to download
Java if your system does not support it already – that means
anybody with Windows 2000 or later. However, Steve has created
all you need on disc and is happy to supply for the extremely
good value of £2.00 per disc with proceeds going to club
funds.
Steve
explained that he had really only scratched the surface of the
packages potential but was extremely impressed with what he had
found so far. What it does need is about 300Mbyte of space for
the OpenOffice and Java runtime environment. It also requires
a minimum of Windows 98, 64Mbytes of ram and at least 300Mbytes
of spare hard disc space.
Steve,
using a slideshow presentation (created by Impress and Draw) went
on to explain the workings of Writer and Calc and their compatibility
with their Microsoft equivalents. He started off by showing us
a screen grab of the OpenOffice website front page and showed
that the site offers comprehensive support via forums, tutorials
and help lines. The environment is run entirely by enthusiasts
and volunteers who are continuing to develop the source code.
Writer
has all of the bells and whistles you would expect from a modern
word processor and looks very similar to Microsoft Word on the
screen. The user has a myriad of dropdown menu options. There
are also helpful Wizard options that will guide you through and
open the other OpenOffice applications as required. Documents
can be saved in a host of different formats including the new
OpenDocument format, which is XML based and portable across numerous
compliant packages. It will happily read and save work in Microsoft’s
Word format. Documents can be exported to the web with Writers
HTML option or you can even create PDF files to guarantee what
you write is what the reader sees.
Calc
offers all you would probably ever need from a spreadsheet and
again Wizards guide the user through the comprehensive range of
functions available. Again everything is accessible from drop
down menus. Information can be saved in the OpenDocument format
as well as Microsoft’s Excel format. Spreadsheets can also
be exported in PDF format.
Impress
is OpenOffices answer to Microsoft’s PowerPoint presentation
package and had been used in Steve’s presentation to very
good effect. There is a complete range of drawing tools to add
impact to the presentation and slideshow animation and effects
are also available to give that professional touch. Presentations
can be saved in the OpenDocument format but will also happily
use the PowerPoint format.
Draw
is a powerful graphics package very useful to create flowcharts,
organizational charts and network diagrams. As with the other
programmes it has dropdown menus and a comprehensive range of
tools available to the user. It will import all the common graphic
formats including .bmp, .jpeg, gif and .tiff.
Base
is a powerful database programme that has all the necessary tools
to manipulate data. Created tables can be indexed for faster data
access. As with the other elements of this package, there are
Wizards to help the user get the best out of the programme.
Math,
the final programme offers the user the chance to create complex
equations for text documents. It offers a host of symbols that
are available from the selection menu. If you are in the business
of creating mathematical or scientific reports, you will know
only to well how difficult it is to create mathematical equations
that look correct within the document.
I
am sure you will agree that the package looks extremely powerful
and could well gain a strong niche in the marketplace. Steve explained
that there is a growing interest from many quarters including
large industrial organizations and professionals. The package
is also being targeted at developing countries and one Indian
state is even handing out free disks in its local language to
get the ball rolling across the community. Is this the first cracks
appearing in fortress Microsoft? We will have to wait and see
what their response will be.
If
you are interested in further information, Steve has given us
a list of useful web addresses to peruse.
Web
links to source material
http://www.openoffice.org/
http://www.java.com/en/
http://documentation.openoffice.org/manuals/OOo2.x/user_guide2_draft.pdf
Article
– New Users Need To Know
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8443
Article
– Sharing Files Between OpenOffice And Microsoft
http://software.newsforge.com/software/05/07/21/1834257.shtml
Screengrabber
http://www.grabcapturescreen.com/
Our
thanks go to Steve for a very interesting and informative evening.
If this package has whet your appetite and you feel like a change,
this may be for you. And don’t forget, it seems incredible,
the package is FREE.
Dave
Robb |
