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Best MS-Office open-source alternative?

Posted on 09/23/2013 2:29:33 AM PDT by djf

I am running a very, very, very old version of MS-Office, as in like the first version!

I am curious about people who have tried some of the open-source newer versions of Office compatible software. My OS is still XP SP3 with all the fixes.

Recommendations? Horror stories?

I have a second laptop I can try suggestions on without losing anything.

Thanks in advance!


TOPICS: Computers/Internet; Hobbies
KEYWORDS: msoffice
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To: djf

MS Office ‘97 is vastly superior to all of the open source alternatives that I have tried. This is most apparent in trying to use spreadsheets. I use Excel ‘97 mostly for engineering plotting. The Open Office attempts don’t even come close to being able to make the simplest multi-axis non-linear plots. Excel ‘97 does just fine.


41 posted on 09/23/2013 5:35:57 AM PDT by norwaypinesavage (Galileo: In science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of one individual)
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To: djf

http://openoffice.apache.org/ - version 4.0 now available


42 posted on 09/23/2013 5:42:20 AM PDT by Adult Dog
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To: Adult Dog

Here’s the pricing for the real Office. If you don’t need Outlook, you can get the standalone home version for $140. Or you can get the office 365 version which can be installed on 5 computers and 5 devices for $99/year.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/buy/


43 posted on 09/23/2013 6:01:07 AM PDT by bigtoona
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To: djf; rdb3; Calvinist_Dark_Lord; Salo; JosephW; Only1choice____Freedom; amigatec; Still Thinking; ...

44 posted on 09/23/2013 6:15:35 AM PDT by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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To: djf

I’m running LibreOffice 4.1 with zero issues.


45 posted on 09/23/2013 6:16:33 AM PDT by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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To: bigtoona

Thanks, but OO is all that I need; and for email, I’m using MS’s cloud-based Outlook.com (which is excellent), until StartMail.com is finally rolled out.


46 posted on 09/23/2013 6:17:17 AM PDT by Adult Dog
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To: djf

I use OpenOffice exclusively on my own personal machines.

For one, I have a mix of Linux, Windows, and OS X computers that I access on at least a semi-regular basis. OpenOffice gives me consistency between platforms.

The only problem I’ve had is that while it will read and export to MS Office formats, anything that’s dependent on exact positioning for layout might not look right going from one to the other. (I usually send PDFs rather than the document files if the receiver just needs to read, not edit.)


47 posted on 09/23/2013 6:20:27 AM PDT by kevkrom (It's not "immigration reform", it's an "amnesty bill". Take back the language!)
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To: kevkrom

What kevkrom just said - as self contained apps they rock. For exchanging prezos between formats - caveat emptor. Or perhaps weird excel macros might be another weak point. But creating a doc from scratch - word processing, spreadsheet, prezo - no problemo.


48 posted on 09/23/2013 6:24:30 AM PDT by 2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten
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To: 2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten

‘Cept my experience has been with libreoffice - not Open Office but undoubtedly the comments apply to both.


49 posted on 09/23/2013 6:25:06 AM PDT by 2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten
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To: djf
Chiming in late with an OPEN OFFICE recommendation.

http://www.openoffice.org/

I've been using it for the last 2 1/2 years. Works very well and very good compatibility with MS Office and other word processing progs.
And its free.
50 posted on 09/23/2013 6:34:11 AM PDT by Tainan (Cogito, ergo conservatus sum -- "The Taliban is inside the building")
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To: djf
PDF?

Try FOXIT READER. Read and create PDFs.

http://www.foxitsoftware.com/

Also has an DL that lets you fill-in forms with no problemos.

And its free.
51 posted on 09/23/2013 6:37:45 AM PDT by Tainan (Cogito, ergo conservatus sum -- "The Taliban is inside the building")
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To: GeronL

Dido that! Libre Office is currently the best. It’s a shootoff of OpenOffice.org which was bought out.

OOo is in essence the same as Libre Office and what I used to use before it was bought. I haven’t touched it since it was bought.

I’m a software developer who daily uses Libre Office (on a linux box.)

http://www.libreoffice.org/


52 posted on 09/23/2013 6:57:11 AM PDT by the_boy_who_got_lost
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To: Conspiracy Guy

I thought you were still on rotary dial... when did they upgrade you to touch-tone? :)


53 posted on 09/23/2013 7:00:04 AM PDT by ken in texas (Obama schedule- Nice weather: golf, else play spades with Reggie)
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To: ken in texas

We got touch tone, running water and flush toilets about 3 months ago. We get electricity in March.


54 posted on 09/23/2013 8:01:39 AM PDT by Conspiracy Guy (What's the frequency, Kenneth?)
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To: djf

The only one I’ve tried is Open Office, and I’d describe it as adequate for most people, but clunky. There are several features in office that I need that OO doesn’t replicate, so I can’t use it as a total replacement Search for non-printing characters in work, like ^t for tab, Excel has some things missing from Calc, but I can’t remember which ones. Plus I hate some of the other items the common MRU file list, etc.


55 posted on 09/23/2013 8:26:37 AM PDT by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
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To: Abby4116
I’m still using Word Perfect 8.0 (from the middle 90’s sometime). It has loaded on every version of windows including 8 and is still a great word processing program.

Does it still have the "reveal codes" feature? I loved that back in the old DOS days. WP5.1 rocked for years.

56 posted on 09/23/2013 9:39:16 AM PDT by zeugma (Is it evil of me to teach my bird to say "here kitty, kitty"?)
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To: zeugma

Yes it has the reveal codes.


57 posted on 09/23/2013 9:45:51 AM PDT by Abby4116
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To: zeugma

Word for DOS kicked WP’s butt. I think I still have a copy.


58 posted on 09/23/2013 5:36:06 PM PDT by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
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To: Conspiracy Guy

Still working on fire? How about the wheel?


59 posted on 09/23/2013 5:37:14 PM PDT by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
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To: GeronL; djf
> LibreOffice is the top choice I think. It is free and easy.

I second GeronL on this. I've used pretty much all of them, was an OpenOffice devotee for years (and StarOffice before that) and I have NeoOffice on the Mac, but LibreOffice is the best at the moment.

Also seems to be the most compatible with real MS-Office, though none are perfect. Heck, even MS-Office N+1 isn't compatible with MS-Office N sometimes...

60 posted on 09/23/2013 6:25:03 PM PDT by dayglored (Listen, strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government!)
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