10 replies to this topic

[Atnes]

My brother has purchased a new laptop, VISTA included. He asked me to help him find a free word processor: Would OpenOffice 3.1 be O.K.? Is it compatible with VISTA? Does OpenOffice also include a program like/similar to PowerPoint? I sincerely apologize for these - in the eyes of manyof you, I'm sure - stupid questions, but I reeeeeally couldn't find any useful peace of information dealing with these issues on the whole wide world net .

Thank you for your answers!

All the best, Atnes

[Andavari]

I don't know much about OpenOffice, however you could try the portable version to see if he even likes it, if he doesn't like it deleting it will get rid of it for good without leaving tons of stuff behind.

The portable version is here:
http://portableapps....office_portable

Edit: The portable version page states it supports Vista!

[papajoe]

If you are thinking about Open Office, then I agree that it is probably best to start out with the portable version.

However, if he just wants a word processor, here are comments on Jarte, a free MS compatible processor that I think is really great.

http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/wo...replacement.htm

[Andavari]

As a standalone there's also AbiWord (install version), and AbiWord Portable. Both support Windows Vista.

[Atnes]

Atnes, on Jul 8 2009, 06:39 PM, said:

My brother has purchased a new laptop, VISTA included. He asked me to help him find a free word processor: Would OpenOffice 3.1 be O.K.? Is it compatible with VISTA? Does OpenOffice also include a program like/similar to PowerPoint? I sincerely apologize for these - in the eyes of manyof you, I'm sure - stupid questions, but I reeeeeally couldn't find any useful peace of information dealing with these issues on the whole wide world net .

Thank you for your answers!

All the best, Atnes

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
A.

[Atnes]

papajoe, on Jul 8 2009, 08:21 PM, said:

If you are thinking about Open Office, then I agree that it is probably best to start out with the portable version.

However, if he just wants a word processor, here are comments on Jarte, a free MS compatible processor that I think is really great.

http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/wo...replacement.htm

Big THANKS to you, too!
Atnes

[DennisD]

Abiword is pretty good, and maybe this to go with it:

http://www.best-freeware.com/freeware/open...ce/impress.aspx

I don't know how big Open Office is, but two standalone programs might have a much smaller footprint.

[Atnes]

DennisD, on Jul 8 2009, 09:02 PM, said:

Abiword is pretty good, and maybe this to go with it:

http://www.best-freeware.com/freeware/open...ce/impress.aspx

I don't know how big Open Office is, but two standalone programs might have a much smaller footprint.

Thank you, Dennis!
Regards, A.

[rridgely]

Openoffice is compatible with vista.
It includes alternatives to word, powerpoint, excell and a few other programs as well.

http://why.openoffic.../why_great.html

I still use openoffice a lot when I use linux, I really think its the best ms alternative around.
However if you got the cash for office, I really think you should consider buying it, office 07 is just in another league then anything else right now.(even my mac user friends acknowledge that its better than anything on that platform. )

[Atnes]

rridgely, on Jul 9 2009, 04:11 AM, said:

Openoffice is compatible with vista.
It includes alternatives to word, powerpoint, excell and a few other programs as well.

http://why.openoffic.../why_great.html

I still use openoffice a lot when I use linux, I really think its the best ms alternative around.
However if you got the cash for office, I really think you should consider buying it, office 07 is just in another league then anything else right now.(even my mac user friends acknowledge that its better than anything on that platform. )

Yeah, you are right. Monesy is the world's ruler sometimes. I'll show your suggestion to my brother - I personally am using MS Office - an older version, 2003. Thanks
anyway :-)

[rridgely]

One important thing I forgot to say...

Openoffice is compatible with microsoft's native formats (.doc, .ppt, ect) so you can use it to create/edit documents that ms office can use. Office 2007 sp2 actually ads support for opendocument(the default format for openoffice) so it can read openoffice's native formats as well. I think its only for text documents though.

I've found openoffice to work really well with basic text documents(things like school reports, ect) but its powerpoint/excel compatibility can be pretty screwed up sometimes.