Published: August 28, 2008 01:49 am            

Open Office free alternative to office programs

Computer Bytes

If you are like me, you are always looking for good software that's free. One such program I find extremely useful is Open Office by Sun Microsystems, Inc. If you haven't heard of this program, consider taking a few minutes to read about it.

Open Office is an open-source program that contains spreadsheets, word processing, graphics, databases, presentation applications plus more. Not only is it available in different languages, but also it works on all common computers storing the data in an international open standard format. And, it can read and write files from other common office-type software.

Since Open Office is an open development program, anyone can report bugs, enhance the software or request new features. If you are currently using another office program, there is a very good chance that Open Office will probably be able to read the files without any problem.

On the Open Office web site you will find links to pages that offer different extensions and applications posted by outside users. Here you can search for other applications by extension, operating system, highest rated, most recent and most popular. Since these extensions to existing Open Office applications are offered by individuals, not all of them may be free.

There is an excellent User's Guide online for reference purposes. In addition to the User's Guide, there are links for commercial support and training, free community support, and general community resources. In the help section you will find links to the member's forum , access to various templates and clip-art, FAQ's, tutorials as text and pictures, MAC support, and 'how to' links. Also, there are books available on Open Office that you can order for a fee.

Best of all — Open Office can be downloaded and used totally free — no license fees. Open Office is released under the LGPL license meaning you can use it for any purpose — commercial, domestic, public administration, or educational — and you can install it on as many computers as you choose. You can even make copies and give them away if you like. That being said — what are you waiting for? You can find all of the above information including help links and the free download at http://www.openoffice.org or visit www.moncriefwebdesign.com for a direct link to Open Office where you can download it.

Have a computer question on a particular topic you would like to see covered? Send me an email at Moncrief@startel.net. Be sure to 'whitelist' my email address so you can receive my reply. Visit Computer Bytes at www.moncriefwebdesign.com where all past articles are available on line. ‘Til next time “Happy Surfing.”

        

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