How to Install the Free IBM Lotus Symphony Office Suite 3.0

There are a number of office suites available: Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, StarOffice, Apple's iWork--but one that isn't heard about very much is IBM's Lotus Symphony Office Suite.

Lotus Symphony is a free office suite created by IBM to help users and businesses be more productive while saving money. Featuring a no-cost, open document interface that is compatible with Microsoft Office and OpenOffice, IBM's Lotus Symphony comes with the three basic pieces of software that any home user or business needs:

IBM Lotus Symphony Documents, a word processor similar to those of Microsoft Word, OpenOffice and other utilities.

IBM Lotus Symphony Spreadsheets, a spreadsheet program compatible with Microsoft Excel. Lotus was one of the first spreadsheet programs available for businesses years ago, and they bring that history with them in this program.

IBM Lotus Symphony Presentations, a presentation program that uses the Open Document format to create presentations without being held hostage to proprietary software technology.

This office suite is currently compatible with Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Apple Macs using Intel hardware with Macintosh OS 10.5 and 10.6.2.

Step One:
To install the free IBM Lotus Symphony Software Suite, visit the Lotus Symphony website and click the orange "Download Now" button on the right side of the page.

Step Two:
Click the round blue button beside "Proceed without an IBM ID" on the right side of this page.

Step Three:
Place your first name, last name, email address and country in the spaces provided, then place a check in the preferred privacy setting box. The choices available are: "No, do not send me e-mail," "No, do not call me," and "No, do not send me postal mail."

Step Four:
Click the hyperlink labeled "View license" to review the license information before placing a check in the "I agree" box.

Step Five:
Click the blue circle with an arrow inside beside the phrase "I confirm."

Step Six:
Place a check mark next to the box labeled "Select all files" to choose both Lotus Symphony 3 for Windows but the Fixpack 1 file as well.

Step Seven:
Click the blue button beside the phrase "Download now." A small window called the Download Director will appear as the download applet loads.

Step Eight:
Click the "Run" button on the Security Warning window that will appear.

Step Nine:
Click the "OK" button to accept the default location for the installation.

Step Ten:
Click "OK" again to give Lotus Symphony permission to create the new directory. A progress bar will appear telling you how far along the download has progressed.

Step Eleven:
Press the "Setup" button on the Download Director window when the download completes.

Step Twelve:
Click "OK" to accept the default download location.

Step Thirteen:
Click the "Close" link on the top right corner of the Download Director window.

Step Fourteen:
Open Windows Explorer by clicking on the File icon on your taskbar.

Step Fifteen:
Click the arrow at the very top of the Explorer Window (beside the small manila folder and select your username to be taken to your main folder on the computer.

Step Sixteen:
Double-click the DownloadDirector folder in this directory.

Step Seventeen:
Double-click the IBM_Lotus_Symphony_w32 file.

Step Eighteen:
Click the "Yes" button on the User Account Control window that appears to give the program permission to install.

Step Nineteen:
Press the "Next" button on the install window.

Step Twenty:
Read the license agreement and place a dot in the radio button beside the phrase "I accept the terms of the license agreement." Click the "Next" button.

Step Twenty-One:
Press "Next" to accept the default install location.

Step Twenty-Two:
Remove any check marks in these two boxes if you do NOT wish Lotus Symphony to be associated with any Open Document Format file types on your computer. Press the "Next" button.

Step Twenty-three:
Press the "Install" button. A progress window will appear showing you how far along the installation process has reached. It will also inform you which phase the installation is in as well.

Step Twenty-four:
Click the "Finish" button when the installation completes. IBM Lotus Symphony will open.

Step Twenty-five:
Enjoy your new install of IBM Lotus Symphony!

Install the Fixpack:
Once you have closed your IBM Lotus Symphony applications, return you the DownloadDirector folder and double-click on the Lotus_Symphony3_fp1 file.

Step Two:
Click "Yes" on the User Account Control Window to give the program permission to run.

Step Three:
Click the "Next" button on the Fix Pack 1 Installation window.

Step Four:
Read the License agreement, place a dot in the radio button beside "I accept the terms of the license agreement," and then click the "Next" button.

Step Five:
Verify that you have shut down Lotus Symphony and then click "Next" to continue.

Step Six:
Click the "Install" button. A progress window will appear to inform you of the installation progress.

Step Seven:
Click the "Finish" button. Congratulations! You have now fully completed your install of IBM Lotus Symphony 3 complete with the Fix Pack! To use the program, click on the IBM Lotus Symphony icon located on your Desktop.

References:
Lotus Symphony Products Page