The 4th RC is due out tomorrow.. may want to wait for that:

[wiki.services.openoffice.org]

fuhrysteve

While I love the fact there is an open source movement behind the whole Office Suite, I still can't hide the feelings that it is crap on Mac OSX. It is slow to load, really Java-like crappy look to it and just not that awesome at all when compared to Pages and MS Office 2008. I understand it is their first non-X11 native app on Mac, I just don't understand if they were going to create a native App on Mac, why didn't they take the extra time to use the OSX native widgets and style?

MikhailT

@MikhailT:

[www.neooffice.org]

runiteking1

The last time I tried giving up MS office for open office, I spent hours trying to figure out how to put multiple data series on a line graph.
Then I read the help page, and it turns out that it wasn't a supported feature.

I'm sorry, but without something as basic as that, I kind of wonder what the point in using it is.

jdeezy

I think 3.0 will be make-or-break for me. I ditched Microsoft Office long ago, and don't expect to go back, but now I'm coming to terms with the fact that OpenOffice doesn't perform much better. It's big, it's slow, and it's the only core application that still freezes my computer on a regular basis. Given my relatively light word processor demands, I'm close to seeking a Foxit-like alternative.

Kaelri

@jdeezy: I've been able to do some things in OpenOffice I couldn't do in MS Office, and vice versa. Both OpenOffice and MS Office are so complex it depends sometimes on how good you are in finding help files for obscure features, and how well written the help files are.

Capone

I'm stoked - as a high school student, I only really use Writer and Impress for basic stuff, but I still welcome any new features.

InfectedWithDrew

@quoick: Abiword and Gnumeric good, Google Docs bad. Google Docs is better for saving stuff to an online storage space for backups more than anything else.

InfectedWithDrew

@jdeezy: Saving money. And supporting the software which in the future should support something like that. I think 3.0 will, actually.

InfectedWithDrew

@Kaelri:

Try Abiword, Gnumeric or Google Docs. I have to admit that I'm not a big fan of OO either and I find the aforementioned apps are perfect for my basic needs. In fact, Abiword transposes PDFs into other formats better than Acrobat Pro so it is better than basic.

quoick

@Capone: Can you tell me what aren't available on MS Office, that are available on OpenOffice?

EDENe

NO! I've used both, and NeoOffice is even slower. It was much more convenient before, not relying on X11, but still slower. I feel that OOo 3 is much faster, and flies on my macbook. See if this makes a difference: http://www.zolved.com/synapse/view_content/28209/How_to_make_OpenOffice_run_faster_in_Ubuntu It's for Ubuntu, but the settings are all the same. that and it only uses java for a couple of the wizards and add-ons, nothing major.

SerleWinecor

Anybody happens to know if there exists an MS Word "Outline view" alternative? I cannot find such function in OOo, Abiword, Google Docs etc. Would happily ditch MS Word if there is an app that can provide this! Thx for feedback.

ma_xyz

@quoick:
also maybe notepad++

portezbie

this RC support .doc format?

idogis1

yes, full support for .doc, it supports reading .docx as well, you just can't write to a .docx.

SoccerCore11

@EDENe: Export to PDF for free?

urukhaifive

@MikhailT: Open Office 3.0 is using the OSX native widgets and style I thought. I've been using the beta and hadn't noticed that it wasn't, but I'm not as dedicated to the OSX look and feel as some people are.

urukhaifive

@InfectedWithDrew:

For most people, using inadequate software doesn't save money.

unknownsoldierx

@urukhaifive: CutePDF / PrimoPDF... plus they work from other applications.

johnsmith1234

@Kaelri: I'm with you, in that I don't need a lot of bells and whistles when it comes to word processing. I'm on a mac, and I love AbiWord and WriteRoom.
If you're on a PC, I recommend DarkRoom.
WriteRoom and DarkRoom are minimalist word processing programs that darkens the screen and allows you to focus on the text being typed, which is as it should be :)

William Mize

@johnsmith1234: Oh and I just remembered, that's for office 2003 or older. Office 2007 comes with PDF export.

johnsmith1234

@Kaelri: For Windows I recommend the free Softmaker office 2006. It gives word processor and spreadsheet functionality, MS office compatibility, portable version, and is much smaller / faster than open office.

johnsmith1234

*sigh* Another OOo release, another group of people complaining...

People, it's FREE. If you have MS Office and you prefer that, use it. If you don't like it and/or you can't afford a legal copy, try OOo. If you don't like it, fine. If so, great. Just please stop bitching about it every time the name comes up...

aphexbr

@SerleWinecor: Nice tip. Very snappy now.

transient

@InfectedWithDrew: I've been trying to use Open office / Star office for 8 years... it was lagging behind MS office then, and it still is.

Using it for feel good reasons is false economy. In the real world, businesses want an office suite to produce documents, not to feel good about FOSS. Even considering the relatively high cost of Office, amortized from 2003 to present, it actually works out to be fairly inexpensive, especially if you consider at any given moment there's usually at least one MS office app open at any given time.

Consider the time saved by not dealing with open office crashing, reformatting mis-imported documents, time spent waiting for open office to load. In business, time = money

johnsmith1234

I have friends who buy every new version of MS Office when it comes out. It seems the look and feel change so dramatically that they spend hours on the phone to India trying to figure out how to do 'catalog' style mail merges. Then they call me to figure it out.

I don't see the point in changing all the time. We do the same job and have the same basic needs. My copy of Office 2000 still works great and has far more capability than I have ever needed. And I don't have to learn the new arbitrary menus in the newer versions.

dchall8

@Kaelri: You might also take a look at Angel Writer. ^__^

Angel Writer Rich Text Editor

Here is a description from the website:

Angel Writer has a lot of features for editing and formatting documents: you can change text fonts and color, insert images, work with tables and use hyperlinks.

Asian Angel

Huh, I've never had a problem with open office. I had a few with Star office back in the day, but it never kept me from getting work done. Sure, the latest revision of .doc doesn't always work properly in OOo, but that's true of Microsoft Office too.

Now I'll admit I rarely do anything more then type out papers or basic spreadsheet work, but honestly, how many people outside of a job at a multi-national corporation do more then that?

damaged_drew

I love Open Office, I really do, but making graphs in Calc is almost surreal

exmeatball

@damaged_drew: I wonder this, too. I'm a computer scientist, so really for me, opening OpenOffice is maybe a once every three months venture.

I think most of the people talking bad about it are just anti-open source, or something, because I really don't understand why you'd hate it so much otherwise.

urukhaifive

Wow. Well. I'm embarassed to say that I didn't realize there were so many alternatives. Thanks, y'all. :)

Kaelri