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OpenOffice.org
- Thread starter mpaar
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Use NeoOffice instead, it is the exact same, but runs natively on the Mac.
It's pretty similar to MS Office, but I don't really like either of them. My preference is iWork. OpenOffice/NeoOffice just seems kind of bloated to me. And I don't like all of the toolbars.
It's pretty similar to MS Office, but I don't really like either of them. My preference is iWork. OpenOffice/NeoOffice just seems kind of bloated to me. And I don't like all of the toolbars.
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OpenOffice is horrible on OS X as it runs under X11. NeoOffice looks much better but is very slow to load and a bit of a memory hog. I've also found some compatibility issues with Office Documents. If you want something that gives you total Office compatibility then Office is really your only option. If you just need to exchange occasional office docs then I'd recommend iWork
OpenOffice is horrible on OS X as it runs under X11. NeoOffice looks much better but is very slow to load and a bit of a memory hog. I've also found some compatibility issues with Office Documents. If you want something that gives you total Office compatibility then Office is really your only option. If you just need to exchange occasional office docs then I'd recommend iWork
I've been an OpenOffice user on various platforms since the days it was commercial software (StarDivision - StarOffice). It's a perfectly acceptable alternative to MS Office - especially for word processing (it's less buggy than Word) and I exchange file with MS Office users daily without difficulties I find the NeoOffice port to be perfectly useable for daily work purposes (more so than OO/X11), albeit the startup time is rather slow, but there are two other alternatives coming:
Firstly OpenOffice are doing their own port to Aqua. It's still only an alpha, but it shows promise.
Secondly, IBM/Lotus are porting Symphony (an OpenOffice derivitive) to Mac. The Windows version is excellent and it may well wind up being the best of the three options for OS X too. It's due sometime in the first half of this year.
Firstly OpenOffice are doing their own port to Aqua. It's still only an alpha, but it shows promise.
Secondly, IBM/Lotus are porting Symphony (an OpenOffice derivitive) to Mac. The Windows version is excellent and it may well wind up being the best of the three options for OS X too. It's due sometime in the first half of this year.
I've been using openoffice (now neooffice) for over 3 years, so I don't really know how similar it is to Office 
But startup time isn't much of an issue, unless you are in a super quick hurry to write something, which you might as well use textedit anyways. If you're opening up neooffice 20 times a day, might as well leave it open.
But startup time isn't much of an issue, unless you are in a super quick hurry to write something, which you might as well use textedit anyways. If you're opening up neooffice 20 times a day, might as well leave it open.
I use Open Office routinely and it opens MS Office documents just fine. I make edits and others using MS Office can read the files.
Open Office uses X11 window system. These is a port of OO to a native Mac environment but it is always a version or two back from the "real" OO.
The best feature of OO is that it runs on many platforms. It looks and feels identical on all of them. So if you bounce around between (say) Linux, Solaris and Mac OS like I do it is nice to have to same _exact_ office suite on all platforms.
There is a current effort inside the Open Office project to port OO to the native "Aqua" environment making Neo Office moot. They are not there yet.
I use iWork for my stuff, and NeoOffice to open Windows users' stuff, when iWork doesn't like it. Excel databases are a good example. Numbers never seems to like them.
NeoOffice is fine. It's fugly, but it does get the job done on the rare occasion I have to use it. It basically feels like a 1-year old version of MS Office. Does start up a little slow.
NeoOffice is fine. It's fugly, but it does get the job done on the rare occasion I have to use it. It basically feels like a 1-year old version of MS Office. Does start up a little slow.
Haven't used openoffice on the Mac. But on Windoze it's a little overweight. I have iWork and love it. Pretty yet functional. Who created it you might ask? Our beloved Apple.
Edit: Wow, that sound sappy.
Edit: Wow, that sound sappy.
just installed neooffice on mbp since my girlfriend needed me to print off an excel file for her... loading time was rather quick and the excel file opened and printed perfectly... probably won't be using it too much as i just ordered office 07 for $30 through my university
I use NeoOffice periodically. Its not that bad, really. Its pretty much a clone of Microsoft Office XP/2003, so its not really all that Mac-like, but its Word and Excel compatibility is very, very good - much better than Pages/Numbers, Nisus Writer, Mellel, etc. Haven't really used NeoOffice's presentation module, so can't speak to its compatibility.
Takes a little bit to launch the first time, but big deal... not like it should be a deal-breaker.
The developers are very good about patching/upgrading the application on a regular basis. About I year ago I donated money to the project to help continue its development.
While its not as "Mac-like" as Office 2008, it may actually have fewer bugs than Office 2008 in its current state. For example, it actually works properly with Exposé and Spaces.
And there are separate optimized builds for PPC Macs and Intel Macs.
Takes a little bit to launch the first time, but big deal... not like it should be a deal-breaker.
The developers are very good about patching/upgrading the application on a regular basis. About I year ago I donated money to the project to help continue its development.
While its not as "Mac-like" as Office 2008, it may actually have fewer bugs than Office 2008 in its current state. For example, it actually works properly with Exposé and Spaces.
And there are separate optimized builds for PPC Macs and Intel Macs.
OpenOffice port to Mac is coming along quite well. I had downloaded the first alpha a few months ago and dumped it after a few minutes. I used the latest build this week, and it is much better. However, it seems a little slower than NeoOffice presently. I am on Tiger 10.4.11, so don't know how it would be on Intel and Leopard.