OpenOffice - software for writers

Juniper1 · Mar 8, 2008

So I recently discovered that people have actually continued to make computers after 1998, when I got mine, and that mine was no longer compatible with lots and lots of stuff. Well, make that incompatible with life in every possible way.

Oddly enough I have two brothers who work with computers. One of them decided to rebuild something for me, and don't ask me to describe or name anything having to do with what he did. It involved stuff, computer stuff. That's all I know. It also involved laughing at the amount of memory on my noble machine, something unkind about his phone having more space. Anyway, it happened, things were moved to a newer computer and nothing important has vanished.

The main change (aside from no longer being able to clean the house while waiting for my email to open in the morning) is that we no longer have all the official Microsoft doodads. I'm curious whether anyone would like to weigh in with an opinion on OpenOffice. It seems fine so far but I suck at handling change and I periodically envision myself finding that it only saves every third page of documents on Tuesdays or something else equally devestating. Any flukes worth knowing about or is it basically the same as Word (the 1998 version)?

Daimeera · Mar 8, 2008

I've been using OpenOffice for awhile now--at least a year--and I haven't had any problems with it. I find it much faster than Microsoft Word (although admittedly, I was using Word 97 because I'm too cheap to buy anything new). Saving as a .doc file seems to work perfectly; I've done it with graphs, regular text, text with formatting, and more. I generally save in .odt, which is the native file type, but both seem to work.

I would recommend it, personally. I find it easy to use and it has yet to crash on me, which is really important. I used to only use notepad; now I'm relatively comfortable using OpenOffice Writer.

I'm less familiar with the equivalents of PowerPoint, Excel, etc. But from what I've seen, they too are very similar. Hopefully if you plan on using those, someone else will be able to provide more information.

DragonHeart · Mar 8, 2008

I've been using OpenOffice for awhile now since my computer did not actually come with any version of Microsoft Word (weird, I know), and I've never had any problems with it. Sometimes the autosave annoys me as it will cause a delay between typing and the text showing up on the screen, but other than that I have no complaints about the program.

~DragonHeart~

Juniper1 · Mar 8, 2008

Thanks! I don't expect to use much outside of the Word equivalent. My one spreadsheet is just business stats and doesn't anything beyond rows and columns.

And yes, the auto stuff is making me a little nuts, if only because one of my MCs has a head injury and I am continually distracted by headlights being suggested every time I type head.

DragonHeart · Mar 8, 2008

You can probably disable that if it's really distracting you. Personally I like that particular feature so it doesn't bother me in the least.

~DragonHeart~

Matera the Mad · Mar 8, 2008

RTFM and explore all options dialogs -- just as you probably should have done with the Mikro$haft stuff. Open Office is very capable. A word processor is a word processor, and the OO one is same old standard stuff. MS Word drives me crazier.

Anything automatic in any program should be shut off until you decide you want it.

dark_opus · Mar 9, 2008

I've got friends who use OO on Windows. Some use it on Linux, and I've never had a problem using it on the one system I've got running Linux. However, I confess to doing all my "serious" writing in Word on Windows.

From a critique group I participated in a few years ago, I remember one person who was die hard Linux and a devout OO user. He never mentioned any issues regarding submitting his OO-produced RTF or DOC files for consideration.

Naturally, Your-Mileage-May-Vary. As long as it can produce standard output file formats, particularly RTF, then the best word processor for you is pretty much the one you feel most comfortable using.

steveg144 · Mar 9, 2008

It gets the job done. Like all software, it's a tool and can be utilized effectively or wind up being a major time-waster. It all depends on the user.

inkkognito · Mar 9, 2008

I use OpenOffice with Windows XP and so far I really like it. The only problem I've ever had is when using an APA template for some schoolwork. When I converted it to Word format and tried to make any changes, it developed a mind of its own. Other than that, I use it for all my manuscripts and send editors a .doc file and none has had any trouble.

HoosierCowgirl · Mar 9, 2008

I've been using it for a couple of years and, like the OP, got my "new" computer in 1998. It finally bit the dust last fall just as my lovely extended family passed the hat and got us a new one. I installed OO on the new one and like it.

JacobWorld · Mar 9, 2008

Hi mate

I am using open office , but sometimes it has problems
like other languages , or people cant read it but I reckon its a good idea and we should support it . Not the big companies!

robertmblevins · Mar 9, 2008

I'm not a big OO fan, but neither do I like Office 2007. I had it for a week and dumped it for the 2003 version. I create ms. in Word and then convert them to PDF when necessary with Adobe 8 pro.

Tsu Dho Nimh · Mar 9, 2008

I'v ebeen using isng OO for a long time - my one BIG (really big show-stopping) gripe is that it doesn't do outline mode like Microsoft Word.

If you don't use outline mode, you will be OK.

Thekherham · Mar 10, 2008

I have Open Office with my new Windows XP and I am having major problems. It keeps crashing, and then it does recoveries, but it keeps recovering the same documents over and over again. I'm beginning to have my doubts about OO.

V.W. Singer · Mar 10, 2008

Thekherham said:
I have Open Office with my new Windows XP and I am having major problems. It keeps crashing, and then it does recoveries, but it keeps recovering the same documents over and over again. I'm beginning to have my doubts about OO.

I have four machines running XP and OO with no problems. Might be a conflict with something else.

Shadow_Ferret · Mar 10, 2008

Is OpenOffice free?

inkkognito · Mar 10, 2008

Yes, it's free!

I have XP also and haven't had any problems.

Juniper1 · Mar 11, 2008

It's free. And not Microsoft (we had the option of getting MSOffice through work but it seems pointless). So far I haven't had any concerns. I appreciate the feedback from users. I was more concerned that there might be glitches that come up over time or in specific circumstances and from the results of this small pool it sounds as if it functions as well as anything else.

Thanks all!

Cav Guy · Mar 12, 2008

I've been using OO since one of the 1. whatever versions, and I've never had any major problems with it. It gets a little fussy at times about footnotes and such, but for fiction that's not an issue in most cases. The detailed menus are laid out somewhat differently than Word/Office, but on the whole that doesn't bother me much. It converts pretty cleanly into just about every format out there (aside from .docx) and even does a .pdf convert that seems darned good.

OpenOffice - software for writers

Juniper1

Daimeera

DragonHeart

Oerba Yun Fang

Juniper1

DragonHeart

Oerba Yun Fang

Matera the Mad

Bartender, gimme a Linux Mint

dark_opus

steveg144

Crusty Polemicist

inkkognito

Onlyifyouwanttowillyoufin daway-Enya

HoosierCowgirl

JacobWorld

robertmblevins

Tsu Dho Nimh

Thekherham

The Alien Writer

V.W. Singer

Shadow_Ferret

Court Jester

inkkognito

Onlyifyouwanttowillyoufin daway-Enya

Juniper1

Cav Guy

Living in the backstory