free OpenOffice suite

janh8 · 05-17-2009, 02:11 PM

Can anybody tell me about this free OpenOffice suite? It's sounds too good to be true. It is suppose to be just like Microsoft Office & can totally interact with Office. I am afraid to download any freeware as I just had to reinstall Vista to fix my PC. PC is running great & I want to keep it that way.

**gistek** · 05-18-2009, 08:06 AM

Go for it. It doesn't "totally" interact with Office, but it does read and write .doc and .xls files, including most formatting and formulas. However some highly complex documents and spreadsheets will have some differences - especially between Open Office and MS Office 2007.

I've also looked at the new OpenOffice Base application, and it is beginning to approach Access in ease of use. It won't open Access files, but it can be set up to read from tables and queries in an Access file. This allows you to download an access format database and use the data in it to create your own queries, reports, and forms.

I use both Open Office and MS Office. There have been occasions where an MS Office file wouldn't open properly in it's associated application, but I was able to open it in OpenOffice, then save it to a new MS Office format file that worked in the original MS Office application.

janh8 · 05-19-2009, 09:53 PM

Thanks for the info. I just downloaded & installed it.

05-17-2009, 02:11 PM	#1 (permalink)
janh8 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Texas, USA Posts: 26 OS: Vista	free OpenOffice suite Can anybody tell me about this free OpenOffice suite? It's sounds too good to be true. It is suppose to be just like Microsoft Office & can totally interact with Office. I am afraid to download any freeware as I just had to reinstall Vista to fix my PC. PC is running great & I want to keep it that way.

05-18-2009, 08:06 AM	#2 (permalink)
gistek Folding Along Join Date: May 2007 Location: PA, USA Posts: 1,904 OS: Bobbi=xp, sp3 Muse=Vista Home Premium	Re: free OpenOffice suite Go for it. It doesn't "totally" interact with Office, but it does read and write .doc and .xls files, including most formatting and formulas. However some highly complex documents and spreadsheets will have some differences - especially between Open Office and MS Office 2007. I've also looked at the new OpenOffice Base application, and it is beginning to approach Access in ease of use. It won't open Access files, but it can be set up to read from tables and queries in an Access file. This allows you to download an access format database and use the data in it to create your own queries, reports, and forms. I use both Open Office and MS Office. There have been occasions where an MS Office file wouldn't open properly in it's associated application, but I was able to open it in OpenOffice, then save it to a new MS Office format file that worked in the original MS Office application. __________________ I am not a computer professional, My advice comes from personal experience and/or friends who are computer professionals. Learn By Doing Un-versity Interested in Search and Rescue? Check out the Civil Air Patrol. Come Fold with us. TSF Folding@Home Team

05-19-2009, 09:53 PM	#3 (permalink)
janh8 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Texas, USA Posts: 26 OS: Vista	Re: free OpenOffice suite Thanks for the info. I just downloaded & installed it.