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Hey guys and gals! I did a forum search for this, but found only a few single posts that mentioned OO.o I love the program myself, but wanted to start a thread where people could discuss which one of the two they like and why. What features do you like about OpenOffice that MS Office doesn't have? (I want to spread the word about OO.o) I know that not everyone is comfortable using something that isn't branded "Microsoft" but I want to know what y'all think?


P.s. What is OO.org Math for?? Who uses a program like that? Engineers?

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TacticalGamer TX LAN/BBQ Veteran:

aculle01

I like that Open Office is free and does everything I need it to do.

Buckets

Ditto. I also like that it can use MS file formats. I can make a presentation in Impress and then show it at school in Powerpoint.

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CingularDuality

I like the fact that Open Office is free. I dislike the fact that the Excel files that I have from work don't look right in OO.o Calc. We use Excel at work to produce official forms, as it's a format that is very easy to edit. In order to keep the proper fonts, text size and spacing, I have to convert the Excel file to an .ods file and I haven't figure out a way to get the correct formatting back into an Excel file.

<shrug>

But it's free... I don't expect much more. If moving files back and forth between Open Office and MS Office wasn't something that I wanted to do, then OO.o would be perfect!

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TacticalGamer TX LAN/BBQ Veteran:

=Sarc=

I've been brainwashed over the years and am quite used to MS Office. Although, Office 2007 is such a huge interface change it's like using a completely different productivity package.

With both OO and Office, I've seen others have compatibility problems, or rather mistakes. One of my friends had upgraded to Office 2007 and accidentally forgot to convert his assignment to pre-2007 format. He had to resubmit after the deadline so he wouldn't get a 0. My other friend was using OO (newest version) and submitted an assignment. He was shocked to be given a 0 and ejected from the course (assignments must be 60% or better in order to pass). The problem was that the professor used an older version of OO and the spreadsheet was a jumbled mess.

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AzrealDarkmoon

I will use OO.o in a pinch or on my OSX/Linux boxen. I prefer Office 2000 myself and that is what I run on my Windows box and for all my needs.

Excel is the big difference for me. Word is hit or miss I don't use many of the freature beyong basic formatting but with Excel its handier han the OO.o equivalent.

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Zoopy

Microsoft Office 2007 is so sexy, even if you don't realize it saves in a new format until you get zero on an assignment.

Acreo Aeneas

Issues aside, I think OO is a nice program and very good alternative to Office.

With the new Office out, I'm more attracted to the new interface and supposedly easier to work program. On top of that, I have gotten a few free copies of Office Pro 2003, so I don't have OO installed on any of my systems. In addition, most professors that I know of have never heard of OO and they only use Office/Word/Excel.

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Acreo_Aeneas
Former 9th MID Member

ednos

Jumpin' Jehoshaphat, Open Office Math is my favorite application in all of desktop software! You can use it for ANYTHING math-related! At school I use it for taking notes in my math and science courses since the notation is quick and easy, even when you're dealing in very theoretical stuff. It's also great for teaching my little brother calculus via instant messenger. The best part is that you can insert formulas left and right into any other OO.o application!

Wow, I just got really worked up about that. I love that program so much!

sc1ence

I am not pleased with the new format. I am running into the issue of students giving me files I cant read.

The major issue for me is that converting a file between msoffice and open office never works right. formatting issues get mixed up.

If I make a presentation file in open office it looks like crap using powerpoint and vice versa. I cant even put together my lectures on a linux box because all comps at school use powerpoint for thier in class computer projection machines.

I did have linux on my ibook for a while but the formatting issues of living in a msoffice world were just too much.

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JAMerica

LOL! Ooffice Math is an excellent equation editor, even more so because the syntax is very similar to LATEX and allows some very nice presentation.

BTW, if you really like typing math, check out Texmacs...they do have a windows port, but to me it runs much better under linux. It's a bit of a bear to learn, but worth it.

I do all my presentations in Ooffice, save them as a pdf et voila! Looks the same on any computer and all you need is Acrobat Reader. It does full-screen presentations quite nicely, as long as you don't get into fancy animations, etc. etc.

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Acreo Aeneas

You can use CutePDF to export MSWord or other "text" fiiles into a readable .pdf format (all for free).

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Acreo_Aeneas
Former 9th MID Member

=Sarc=

PrimoPDF is another good free converter. CutePDF and PrimoPDF both use the same APIs to print to a PDF document. I'm not sure if CutePDF has an append ability but PrimoPDF can convert a file and append it to an existing PDF file.

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Iceberg

I'd like to say it's a big learning curve going from an old excel versions to the new 2007. The interface is bloated and takes up a lot of the screen, tools aren't located where you think they are, some tools seem like they are missing (or at least I haven't found them yet), and I'm still not as efficient with it after a few weeks of using it as I have been with older versions of excel.

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Zoopy

First mistake, using Linux. Second mistake, using Open Office.