OpenOffice

PDF files are much easier to send and read than your standard Open Office files. This app claims to convert your Office files into PDFs, but it does the bare minimum to live up to that name. In fact, Open Office to PDF Creator seems much more like a basic file viewer than anything else.

Most of Open Office to PDF Creator's navigation buttons are clouded by ads that take up the top and bottom of the screen. That really doesn't matter, since you can do most of the converting right from your file menu. Converting .odt files … Read more

If you need to view OpenOffice, Microsoft Office, and other documents, this download can offer some help. AndrOpen Office plays on the familiar free Office suite, but it is purely a viewer so you won't be able to edit any of the multiple formats it supports for viewing.

Though the name plays on the free favorite, OpenOffice, it isn't made by the same people. It does seem to be made on the same skeleton of open source software, though. When you open AndrOpen Office, you're greeted by a mess of files that most users won't have … Read more

Apache OpenOffice.org is the free open-source productivity suite that rivals Microsoft's Office suite, the business world's standard. OpenOffice.org is compatible with most Office documents and many other file types. Like Office, it's a collection of powerful tools, but you don't have to install all its modules. The latest version of OpenOffice.org supports Windows 8.

The OpenOffice.org installer's custom option lets users choose which Program Modules to install from Writer, Calc, Draw, Impress, Base, and Math, plus shared Optional Components. During setup, we chose to make OpenOffice.org our default program for … Read more

LibreOffice, the project forked from OpenOffice.org, is moving into the modern era with developers working on versions that run in Web browsers and on iOS and Android devices.

The Document Foundation announced the moves today at the LibreOffice Conference, but the work isn't available yet for ordinary folks to try.

"These are not products available to end users, but advanced development projects which will become products sometimes in late 2012 or early 2013," the foundation said today.

Still, the work shows signs that the project, which never seriously threatened the strength of Microsoft Office, is working … Read more

In word processing, there are three beasts: Microsoft Word, OpenOffice, and Google Docs. Most users are likely tied to Word, but its offline, collaboration-free nature makes it look a little boring next to Google Docs. 

Whether you use Docs as your primary word processor, as a place to keep your files in the cloud, or just as a notepad for your online finds, these tips will help you get the most out of Google Docs.

1. Easy uploading. To quickly upload files of almost any format to Google Docs, drag and drop files from your hard drive to the Docs home page. To upload an entire folder (like My Documents), go to Upload > Folder. Subfolders will also be added. 

2. Better photo inserting. Easily insert a photo into your doc by dragging and dropping files from your hard drive into the doc. To wrap text around the photo (pictures are put in-line with text by default), click it and select "Fixed." If you plan to grab a photo from the Web, go to Insert > Image > Google Image Search. This tool is far better than searching, saving a photo to the desktop, and reuploading it to Google. … Read more

Oracle has ceded control of the OpenOffice.org code base to the Apache Software Foundation Incubator project, it announced on Wednesday.

OpenOffice.org is the most popular free productivity suite, and a major rival to Microsoft Office. The software giant said it was "donating" the open-source code so as to "demonstrate its commitment to the developer and open-source communities."

Read more of "Oracle 'donates' OpenOffice.org to Apache foundation" at ZDNet UK.

Programmers have released the first version of LibreOffice for Windows and Mac, the product of a rebellion against Oracle's open-source office suite called OpenOffice.org.

A group called the Document Foundation--unhappy with Oracle's control over OpenOffice after it was acquired along with Sun Microsystems--forked the software into the group's own version in September. LibreOffice 3.3 is the first stable release.

LibreOffice has won support from longtime open-source allies such as Red Hat, Novell, and Ubuntu. But it's got rivals aplenty: while the Document Foundation focuses on separating from its Oracle and Sun roots, the larger … Read more

I love that you can now write full, rich, graphical applications for the Web--even for core tools like word processors. As Stephen Shankland recently noted, Google Docs has evolved into something surprisingly useful, even for a professional writer. I second that opinion, and add that competitors like Zoho Writer are similarly powerful, usable, and useful--as are other "Office 2.0" apps for spreadsheets, presentations, project management, and other tasks. Cloud apps have come a long way, baby!

Online editors let you move your work easily to just about any connected computer, and they enormously facilitate live, real-time collaboration. … Read more

A group of programmers has forked OpenOffice.org, the open-source rival to Microsoft Office that Oracle acquired when it bought Sun Microsystems.

The group, called the Document Foundation, published beta versions of its software, called LibreOffice for download on Tuesday. And although the group invited Oracle to offer its OpenOffice trademark, they made it clear they're willing to proceed without the software and now hardware company.

"Developers are invited to join the project and contribute to the code in the new friendly and open environment, to shape the future of office productivity suites alongside contributors who translate, test, … Read more