Open Office: Suite Freedom

Disclaimer: When searching for a subtitle for the post, I gave in and took the punny route. I have self-control on most matters, but not puns. So very much not with puns. Sorry.

While many companies and businesses enjoy the luxury of budgets that leave room for software like Microsoft Office Suite, individual consumers and users aren't so lucky in the financial department. Words I've often heard associated with Microsoft Office Suites are "bulky" with "unnecessary features." Grievances also frequently include the need to buy new versions when Microsoft feels like making you do it. I do believe that some things are worth paying for; you can sometimes get your money's worth. In this blogger's opinion, Microsoft Office does not fall in the ever-dwindling category of "Money Well-Spent." The average consumer will never need all those fancy schmancy features that are thrown into the software. Paying for something you don't need, especially these days? Not such a good idea. Fortunately, Microsoft Office has a nice open source counterpart: Open Office.

Some quick facts about OpenOffice:

It's free. That wonderful, magical word: free!

It has the capability to not only open documents and files originally created in Microsoft products, it also has the function that allows you the option of saving something in one of those formats. (Be they .doc, .xls, .ppt., etc.)

It has built in PDF converters in each program. (You usually have to get an uberprofessional - and more expensive - form of Microsoft Office to get this function.)

All your old software utility friends are there! Writing program? Yep. Presentation creator? Oh yes. Spreadsheet buddy? You bet!

Did I mention it's free?

Here's a quick list of the Open Office counterparts for Microsoft Office programs:
OpenOffice Writer -- Microsoft Word
OpenOffice Impress -- Microsoft Powerpoint
OpenOffice Base -- Microsoft Access
OpenOffice Calc -- Microsoft Excel

Those who switch to OpenOffice are in for some extra treats. In addition to the PDF conversion capability mentioned earlier, Open Office has some handy bonus programs bundled in. First there's OpenOffice Math (not to be confused with Calc). OpenOffice explains that you can use the program to "create and edit scientific formulas and equations." I can't say I've ever used or needed it, but hey, it's not like I paid for it.

The other is, in my opinion, a true gem of a program: OpenOffice Draw. Draw is an extremely versatile program that allows you true freedom in terms of the layout for whatever document you wish to create. I found it quite handy when I was working at an internship this past summer. I was asked to make a layout for a pitch -- the pitch document was to include a certain amount of graphics placed in varying places on the page. If you've ever had to insert images in a Word document and deal with the issue of playing with the space bar and enter keys to get the picture where you want it yet ultimately settling for "close enough," you will be gleeful to know that Draw's philosophy is to just let you stick whatever you want - be it text box or graphic, wherever you want. (Draw's very considerate like that.)

Now, I'm not saying that this little open source wonder is in perfect condition. Everything is flawed, and nothing's really been as great as sliced bread since, well, sliced bread. Frequent users of symbols and certain shortcut keys in Microsoft programs may encounter some frustrating instances. Additionally, the layouts of the Open Office programs are close to those of their Microsoft counterparts but not identical. Some tasks require that you reorient yourself to these new programs. Still, there's always help out there. (And by "out there," I mean OpenOffice's website.)

If you're interested in an expert opinion on the software, check out PC Magazine's review.