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(OOo) OpenOffice 2.0 due March 2005

Posted 15 Jan 2005 01:31:47
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15 Jan 2005 01:31:47 Chris Charlton posted:
If you need a wonderful (cross platform), free "office" suite, check out <b>OpenOffice.org</b> (www.openoffice.org) - especially if you are still paying almost $400 for Microsoft Office Suites.

At least five programs in the suite...
<ul><li>one like Word called <b>Writer</b> (www.openoffice.org/product/writer.html)</li><li>one like Excel called <b>Calc</b> (www.openoffice.org/product/calc.html)</li><li>one like Powerpoint called <b>Impress</b> (www.openoffice.org/product/impress.html)</li><li>a drawing app like Visio called <b>Draw</b> (www.openoffice.org/product/draw.html)</li><li>for Access lovers there is a <b>Query/Data Source component</b> (www.openoffice.org/product/dbase.html) that's shared throughout the whole suite...*wink*wink* if you need to make some fairly advanced SQL queries this is a decent app no matter what database you use!</li></ul>

Did I mention it reads and writes MS Office 97/98-XP-2003 formats! You can even set it to default to writing MX Office formats. Here's some other reasons/advantages of OpenOffice: www.openoffice.org/product/suite.html

For those who use OOo already, here's the released notes on version 2.0 additions: marketing.openoffice.org/2.0/featureguide.html

*Available for Windows, Mac OSX, Linux, and others like Solaris, etc.

Edited by - ccharlton on 15 Jan 2005 01:33:42

Replies

Replied 07 Mar 2005 20:37:09
07 Mar 2005 20:37:09 Chris Charlton replied:
<b>OpenOffice.org 2.0 <i>Beta</i> Is Here!</b> - download.openoffice.org/2.0beta/

A great list of features (with screenshots) - www.openoffice.org/dev_docs/features/2.0/ (complete feature guide: marketing.openoffice.org/2.0/featureguide.html)

The UI is so enhanced! PDF export is getting better (looks like)! I can't wait!!! Good-bye M$ Office Suite (~$500). Here are some feature highlights:
<ul><li>Open Standards XML File Format (OASIS OpenDocument)</li><li>New Multi-pane View</li><li>New CustomShapes (compatible with Microsoft AutoShapes)</li><li>More Slide Transitions and Animation Effects</li><li>Enhanced PDF Export</li><li>New enhanced Database Frontend</li><li>Mail Merge Wizard</li><li>Enhanced Word Count</li><li>Support for Nested Tables</li><li>Digital Signatures Support</li><li>XForms Support</li><li>WordPerfect Filters</li><li>65,536 Rows in Calc</li><li>Enhanced PivotTable Support</li><li>Native Installers</li><li>Native Desktop Integration</li><li>Floating Toolbars</li><li>Support, Services and Solutions</li><li>... and more.</li></ul>

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Chris Charlton <i>- DMXzone Manager</i>
<font size=1>[ Studio MX/MX2004 | PHP/ASP | SQL | XHTML/CSS | XML | Actionscript | Web Accessibility | MX Extensibility ]</font id=size1>
Replied 07 Mar 2005 22:20:21
07 Mar 2005 22:20:21 Simon Martin replied:
Hi Chris,

Is it a desktop DB, i.e. standalone DB that doesn't require a DB server; something that could be used as a website backend in place of Access?
And does it support stored procedures or have any other advantages from the web builders perspective??

Live the life you love
Love the life you live
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
<b>Simon Martin</b> - <i>DMXzone Manager</i>
<font size=1>[ Dreamweaver MX/MX2004 | ASP | SQL | XHTML/CSS | Web Accessibility ] </font id=size1>
Replied 08 Mar 2005 02:30:40
08 Mar 2005 02:30:40 Chris Charlton replied:
<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>Is it a desktop DB, i.e. standalone DB that doesn't require a DB server; something that could be used as a website backend in place of Access? And does it support stored procedures or have any other advantages from the web builders perspective??<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>
Nope, neither - but better! It's a GUI to interface with <i>any</i> DB! MySQL, ODBC, etc.etc. So you can use this like using Access to control a database that's live. So if you're using a local DB (MSDE, MySQL, Access), then you can use it to build your queries like MS Access.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Chris Charlton <i>- DMXzone Manager</i>
<font size=1>[ Studio MX/MX2004 | PHP/ASP | SQL | XHTML/CSS | XML | Actionscript | Web Accessibility | MX Extensibility ]</font id=size1>
Replied 06 May 2005 20:08:30
06 May 2005 20:08:30 Chris Charlton replied:
<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote><b>OpenDocument Format Formally Approved</b>
On May 1st, the OASIS OpenDocument Technical Committee approved as a standard the OpenDocument file format, which OpenOffice.org 2.0 Beta uses. OASIS (www.oasis-open.org) is the primary body for e-business standards. <b>As an OASIS open standard, any office application may use the format; vendor lock in to a proprietary format is not possible.</b><hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>

I read somewhere that Microsoft is talking about the OASIS stadard, but I don't think they'll drop their Word DOC format (XML-based) as the default saveing format... what do you think? OpenOffice v1.x document formats are not built on OASIS, so now there's that old format that OOo will open/save too, but now I doubt MS Office will need to save to that format, but maybe opening would be a wise option. <b>I can't wait for OOo2!</b> <img src=../images/dmxzone/forum/icon_smile.gif border=0 align=middle>

P.S.&gt; OOo 1.9+ is out, the screenshots of the apps are great! Here's <b>Writer</b> (Word opponent - output SWF, HTML, & PDF):
<img src="www.openoffice.org/product2/pix/writer-big.png" border=0>
<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>Styles and Formatting puts the power of style sheets into the hands of every user.<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>




Here's <b>Calc</b> (Excel opponent - output SWF & PDF):
<img src="www.openoffice.org/product2/pix/calc-big.png" border=0>
<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>Hide or reveal Design Themes with a single click - use CALC's defaults or add your own.<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>




<b>Impress</b> (Powerpoint opponent - output SWF & PDF):
<img src="www.openoffice.org/product2/pix/impress-big.png" border=0>




<b>Base</b> - a <i>free</i> <b>database GUI</b>, yes use it for pratically any database! (Access opponent - output relationships and schemmas to PDF):
<img src="www.openoffice.org/product2/pix/base-big.png" border=0>
<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>Create and modify tables, forms, queries, and reports, either using your own database or BASE’s own built-in HSQL database engine. BASE offers a choice of using Wizards, Design Views, or SQL Views for beginners, intermediate, and advanced users.

For more advanced requirements, BASE supports many popular databases database natively (Adabas D, ADO, Microsoft Access, MySQL), or any database through industry-standard ODBC and JDBC drivers. It also supports any LDAP compliant address book, as well as common formats such as Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Windows, and Mozilla.<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>




<b>Draw</b> (Visio opponent - output SWF & PDF):
<img src="www.openoffice.org/product2/pix/draw-big.png" border=0>
If you don't have a tool like FH, FW, Visio, Omni Graffle, SmartDraw to produce flowcharts and site-maps then you need this program!




They also got an extra app...

<b>Math</b> - a formula and calculation generator:
<img src="www.openoffice.org/product2/pix/math-big.png" border=0>




Honestly, I can't tell the difference that it's not MS Office itself! Free too!!! <img src=../images/dmxzone/forum/icon_smile.gif border=0 align=middle>

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Chris Charlton <i>- DMXzone Manager</i>
<font size=1>[ Studio MX/MX2004 | PHP/ASP | SQL | XHTML/CSS | XML | Actionscript | Web Accessibility | MX Extensibility ]</font id=size1>
Replied 07 May 2005 00:03:35
07 May 2005 00:03:35 Chris Charlton replied:
Wired mag online has a short snippet on OOo2 getting ready to explode.

www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,67446,00.html?tw=rss.TOP
Replied 11 May 2005 15:26:50
11 May 2005 15:26:50 Matt Bailey replied:
I wish OOo was easier to install on a Mac... kind of puts me off <img src=../images/dmxzone/forum/icon_smile_sad.gif border=0 align=middle>

___________________________________
* Sorry... how do you do that again?... *
Replied 11 May 2005 19:29:08
11 May 2005 19:29:08 Chris Charlton replied:
<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>I wish OOo was easier to install on a Mac<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>
I remember reading that they weren't supporting OSX natively and there was a side-site that was compiling for OSX for free, but I lost track of all that jazz. Maybe they don't want to hurt Apples' new iWork since it's small & new... joking.

Any info on this, I think is sad that OOo doesn't port OSX offerings, but I do understand that it takes more $$$ and volunteers to manage code, forums, support, bugs, etc.
Replied 11 May 2005 20:58:43
11 May 2005 20:58:43 Matt Bailey replied:
It's perfectly possible to install it on OS X, but from what I remember you have to use the X11 windowing system or something like that. Because of OS X's BSD roots it's possible to port any Unix apps that use X11 and Open Office is one of them. However, I'm not that familiar with X11. Maybe when I have a bit more time I'll look into it. Also, you don't get Apple's nice Aqua interface so X11 apps can look a bit naff, a bit like when you run an old OS 9 classic app in OS X. Anyway, blah, blah, blah... <img src=../images/dmxzone/forum/icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

___________________________________
* Sorry... how do you do that again?... *
Replied 11 May 2005 21:25:55
11 May 2005 21:25:55 Chris Charlton replied:
<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>It's perfectly possible to install it on OS X, but from what I remember you have to use the X11 windowing system or something like that. ... I'm not that familiar with X11.... you don't get Apple's nice Aqua interface so X11 apps can look a bit naff, a bit like when you run an old OS 9 classic app<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>
Wow, well I will surely keep my eyes peeled and post any tutorials/links I find! <img src=../images/dmxzone/forum/icon_smile.gif border=0 align=middle>
Replied 11 May 2005 23:14:25
11 May 2005 23:14:25 Chris Charlton replied:
<b>OpenOffice 2.0 Criticized on Use of Java</b> on Slashdot...
developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/11/1754221&from=rss
Replied 27 May 2005 00:22:15
27 May 2005 00:22:15 Chris Charlton replied:
Detroit High School is using 100% OpenOffice and has 30 "library copies" on CD to lend to teachers/students to take home and install. Cool little article.

software.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=05/05/18/1944227&from=rss

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