Unfortunately, if you're unfamiliar with Microsoft Office products, this program might take a little additional time to get used to, particularly if you want to master some of its more advanced features. It also has its own document format called Open Document. LibreOffice is compatible with Microsoft Office's document formats and also supports PDFs natively.

Then you also have two additional programs in Drawing and Formula, which are an added bonus to the entire package. Presentation mirrors Microsoft's PowerPoint, and Database is similar to Access. Some of your heavily formatted documents may be read and worked with under the OpenOffice component in question, but upon reediting in MS Office, the formatting of the information in the file may be corrupted, requiring a great deal of rework.Text Document is relatively synonymous with Microsoft Word, where Spreadsheet is like Excel. Basic formatting in all your documents (bold, italics, bullets, etc.) will likely transfer in and out of OpenOffice without issues or concerns. While is MS Office compatible, it is NOT MS Office. The tools are intuitive and easy to use, especially if you've used Office Suite products before, and at this price point, it's really hard to beat.Ĭaution should be exercised however, when reading and writing MS Office (and other suite) compatible file formats. OpenOffice offers Microsoft Office (as well as other) suite compatibility in a familiar environment. Though Microsoft has a student version of Office, it's still somewhat expensive. Best of all, this Open Office Download can be used for free.Ĭons: MS Office Compatibility is NOT 100%, doesn't write back native MS Office file formats.Ĭonclusion: Having a free, open source alternative to Microsoft Office, especially for budget conscious families and students is important. If you've used Microsoft Office, or a similar set of tools, will be familiar and comfortable to you. It stores all your data in a standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages, including Microsoft Office. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. is the leading open-source office suite, and includes applications for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, and databases. It's an MS Office compatible free office suite and its available for multiple platforms. That's why I'm thankful for things like Oracle's. Not everyone can afford its heavy down stroke, even though it can be heavily discounted. While MS Office is the defacto standard for word processing, spreadsheets and presentations, it IS rather expensive. Over the years, I've had a number of people come to me asking for help picking a word processor, spreadsheet, Office component or full suite. Create stunning, MS Office compatible documents with this industry leading office suite.

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