OpenOffice was designed from scratch as a comprehensive suite of programs for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations and databases – free to download and compatible with Microsoft Office files.
With its global native language community and multiple operating system support, this program has quickly become a top choice among businesses worldwide. Furthermore, the program also features extension tools and document templates which add extra functionality.
Document Management
Apache OpenOffice offers a suite of programs including word processor, spreadsheet and presentation maker designed for ease of use and compatibility with other software applications. Available in over 20 languages worldwide and free to download unlike many office productivity suites like Microsoft Office; small businesses seeking cost-cutting alternatives might find OpenOffice an appealing choice.
Writer offers a broad array of writing tools, such as a spell checker and thesaurus, that enable users to create or download templates as needed for editing purposes. Users can customize keyboard shortcuts as well as modify menu and toolbar items for easier management. A range of file formats can also be saved automatically while files can also be tagged for easier organization.
Writer now supports not only DOC and DOCX formats but also OpenDocument Standard (ODT), making ODT files easily readable across different computers. Furthermore, users can publish ODT documents into HTML, PDF and MediaWiki formats for web publication or wiki usage.
Apache OpenOffice stands out from competing products by being easy to learn and intuitive, even for people new to office productivity suites. Although OpenOffice supports most older office file formats like XSLX and PPTX files, its modern support may not cover them fully.
Spreadsheets
If you haven’t experienced OpenOffice yet, simply download it now for free to gain all of the applications needed for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations and databases. OpenOffice updates twice annually with support for over 100 languages from its contributors – should it turn out that this suite isn’t right for you, a few simple steps will allow for its removal from your computer.
Calc spreadsheet program features an assortment of formulas designed to assist both novice and experienced number crunchers alike. DataPilot technology makes cross-tabulating and summarizing data easy; additionally it features natural language calculator, Intelligent Sum Button and Scenario Manager and Solver to solve complex problems efficiently.
As well as formatting single cells, you can also select multiple cells and use the Formatting toolbar to apply a common formatting. For instance, changing the background color of all A2-D2 merged cells to Sea Blue by selecting it from the drop-down menu on the Formatting toolbar would apply across them all.
OpenOffice does have some compatibility with Microsoft Excel; however, the newer.xlsx file format is incompatible. LibreOffice suite’s codebase mirrors OpenOffice but has better support for.xlsx files; additionally offering additional capabilities such as error bars on graphs and polynomial regression analysis.
Presentations
OpenOffice Impress is an accessible way to create powerful multimedia presentations in an intuitive environment. Compatible with both Microsoft PowerPoint files (ppt) and the OpenDocument Presentation format (odp), OpenOffice Impress offers features for adding 2D and 3D clip art, special effects, animation and drawing tools – as well as organizing slides using master pages, specifying themes, fonts and colors, setting keyboard shortcuts and changing the number of undo steps available. Advanced object formatting features like text wrap and color replacement enable advanced formatting features while table formatting includes features such as headers/footers/page numbers/date formats – in other words all features required for creating effective presentations!
Saving presentations as OpenDocument Presentation files could result in some content, formatting and usability being lost due to not all presentation software supporting all features and options of odp files.
Some slide transitions such as Blast, Flash bulb, Grow and Shrink and Vertical Height have been altered into simple Appear or Disappear animations, while animations on chart parts like Bomb, Comb or Newsflash are not supported; however you may still use standard charts that feature standard appearances. While these might not provide optimal accessibility or look great in presentations; other elements which might not work in an ODP file format include:
Databases
Any person needing to store and retrieve information can benefit from using a database. Beyond simply storing information, however, databases have many other uses beyond simply storing files: they can create forms for users to enter data quickly; create relationships among tables so you can display or print connected data; build forms that allow users to enter data quickly and easily; build relationships among tables so you can display or print connected information; build mail merges – the list goes on and on!
OpenOffice features an easy-to-use database wizard for quickly creating new databases. The first screen prompts you to give your database a name and directory; on the next page you are asked whether the database will be for viewing data only or entering new entries into it via Form Wizard; to do this click Forms icon at left of Database column in Database window (Database column).
Once complete, click Finish to have the Table Wizard create sample tables for your database. This includes creating a Sample table to hold your new records with header labels of whatever choice and row fields for each record as well as total fields if applicable.
Once your database is created, it’s ready for editing. To save space when adding multiple records at once, select all and paste via Edit | Paste before using Edit | Sort/Filter for queries to sort in ascending or descending order or filter out query results by criteria; or change its layout by dragging columns and rows around DataPilot.