OpenOffice: An Excellent Alternative to Microsoft Office

So you've just bought your new computer, and now you want to use it to type up a important document for work or for school. You go to your computer menu, you click on all programs and you start looking for Microsoft Word...but you find something called Microsoft Works instead. After using it, you figure that it would still be better to have Microsoft Word (and Microsoft Office for that matter), but you don't want to buy it because it is too expensive.

This is a scenario that I have been in and that many other people are experiencing. Microsoft Office is a must-have for people at work and college students, but it is too expensive. Thankfully, there is a solution to that problem, called OpenOffice.

OpenOffice consists of six different applications, many of which are similar to Microsoft apps. For example, Writer is the OpenOffice version of Microsoft Word, Calc is similar to Microsoft Excel, and Impress to Microsoft PowerPoint. While these applications are probably not as high-quality as their Microsoft counterparts are, they can certainly rival with the earlier versions of the Microsoft apps. For instance, OpenOffice Writer has all of the features that Microsoft Word 2003 does, and it includes its own unique features, like being able to instantly convert a document into PDF format. Word documents are saved by default in OpenOffice's own ODT format, but of course you can save documents in the traditional DOC format and even in HTML format.

OpenOffice Calc contains an impressive list of formulas that make it very easy for the user when needing to enter specific data. Like Writer, Calc can do everything that its old Microsoft counterpart can do, and it is very simple to use.

OpenOffice Impress, however, is a little more complicated to use. It can do all the things that the 2003 version of PowerPoint can do, but it is sometimes difficult to find what you're looking for. For example, if you are in the middle of editing a slideshow, you may have a hard time trying to figure out how to change the background for one of your slides individually. But if you don't mind these small glitches in the program, you will be very satisfied with Impress.

Other applications coming with OpenOffice are Base (an application that helps you create or search different databases), Draw (an application allowing you to design and edit objects and shapes), and Math (a very interesting program allowing you to create mathematical formulas involving simple concepts like summation or more advanced concepts such as integration and differentiation).

Microsoft Office remains the best choice out there, but there is no doubt that OpenOffice is a fantastic alternative to Microsoft's program, a much, much better alternative than Microsoft Works.

Also, did I mention that OpenOffice is available for FREE! To download or to find more information, visit www.openoffice.org.