OpenOffice 2.0 Takes on Microsoft Office Head to Head

For those that do not want to purchase the high priced Microsoft Office Software, you can download absolutely free the OpenOffice 2.0. OpenOffice is comparable to Microsoft Office Software and Microsoft Office users are able to open OpenOffice documents, spreadsheets, and slide presentations.

Downloading OpenOffice takes just a few minutes with high speed internet connection which is far less time than the downloading of Microsoft Office from their CD. OpenOffice takes up 93MB of space on your hard drive and is as easy to install and use as Microsoft Office products.

OpenOffice Writer

OpenOffice Writer is the name for their word processor. OpenOffice Writer is nearly identical to Microsoft Word and the program is easy to use for die-hard Microsoft Word users.

OpenOffice Writer Pros

There are many similarities to Microsoft Word with OpenOffice Writer. Their tool bars, spell checker, and various other options are easy to navigate like Microsoft Word. There is also a draw feature with OpenOffice that is similar to Microsoft Word's draw feature.

OpenOffice Writer Cons

The best way to save the OpenOffice Writer documents are through the file menu, and choosing the Microsoft Word format from the Save As Option from the list. There is not a grammar-checking option with the Writer that is a standard option with Word.

OpenOffice Calc

OpenOffice Calc is the spreadsheet component for this office suite.

OpenOffice Calc Pros

The OpenOffice Calc is based on Microsoft Excel software and recognizes the same formulas that are used in Excel. You are able to print to PDF with your Calc documents. You are able to create PDF documents through the print procedure using OpenOffice Calc without the need of Adobe Acrobat Professional.

OpenOffice Calc Cons

You will need to save any Calc documents to another location on your computer if you are emailing such documents from one user to another before opening. You will not be able to use Calc in the same manner as you would Excel with accounting software like QuickBooks. There isn't any advance support for using Calc and QuickBooks together in business accounting procedures.

OpenOffice Impress

OpenOffice Impress is the equivalent of Microsoft's PowerPoint. Impress greets you with a wizard interface that will help you with your presentation or aide you with opening other presentations.

OpenOffice Impress Pros

For students who are unable to purchase Microsoft's PowerPoint to create presentations or open and view their professor's classroom notes, and Impress is the thing for college students to use. You are able to open presentations which are created with PowerPoint, make any changes to the presentation, and resave the presentation.

OpenOffice Impress Cons

Impress could crash if you try to create a new presentation upon adding a background effect through the wizard. There are only two choices of backgrounds to use with Impress when creating a presentation.

In Conclusion

For anyone on a budget, OpenOffice 2.0 is a great alternative to Microsoft Office. For those that aren't high octane fans or users of Microsoft Office's PowerPoint or Excel, you will be able to save almost $500.