Open Office 3.2

[Bigaldoc]

I suppose it's close to release, but if there any Open Office fans here, they have made RC4 of Version 3.2 available here:

    OpenOffice.org - Release Candidate 4

Seems like a ton of new features:

    OpenOffice.org 3.2 New Features

[GeoffW]

There were earlier versions which never installed for me, after downloading 80MB.

I had hoped to use it interchangeably with Office, transferring files created with MS Office to a computer with Open Office- but the rendering is just too different to make it worth while.

I'll give this a go when I get the chance, but I have the feeling that I will have to purchase another MS Office licence.

[Bigaldoc]

There were earlier versions which never installed for me, after downloading 80MB.

I had hoped to use it interchangeably with Office, transferring files created with MS Office to a computer with Open Office- but the rendering is just too different to make it worth while.

I'll give this a go when I get the chance, but I have the feeling that I will have to purchase another MS Office licence.

Sorry to hear that tale of woe, Geoff. I've loaded and saved DOC and XLS file in both directions and never had a problem.

The only significant problem I've ever had with Open Office is spreadsheet macros in Excel not working, but that's not a big deal for me since I rarely run into it.

[GeoffW]

Sorry to hear that tale of woe, Geoff. I've loaded and saved DOC and XLS file in both directions and never had a problem.

The only significant problem I've ever had with Open Office is spreadsheet macros in Excel not working, but that's not a big deal for me since I rarely run into it.

Do you have a word file called BigAl.doc?

Thinks which don't work well for me:
.Margins set differently (prints perfectly from MS Office to the same printer)
.Merge cells not showing (yes, Hans has just saif in the last 2 days that merged cells should not be used, but I've used them for many years in Excel)
.Printing to the right printer.

[Bigaldoc]

Do you have a word file called BigAl.doc?

Not sure what you're asking, Geoff. I have a number of very old files, created back when I did use Word, but they're simple files like this attached poem. When I open them with Open Office, they look OK to me, but there's no tables or anything "fancy" like that.

I've also been composing some short clips (stories) about my life in and around the nursing home (format .ODT) and saved them in both .DOC form to send to someone AND PDF form to place on my web page for someone to read (http://www.alhoffman.org/ - the bar called "Stories.)

I can well imagine functions that may not be exactly compatible but they've not hurt my use of the freebie rather than paying MS for a lot of function I don't need.

[GeoffW]

Do you have a word file called BigAl.doc?

Not sure what you're asking, Geoff.

Sorry. Joke missed target.

Bigaldoc- I associated your name with the file type. Bigal.doc.

Nothing more than that

[Bigaldoc]

Ahhh, sorry Geoff, I guess I shouldn't be reading at 5 am! I've kinda gotten out of the habit of reading your many puns and that one went right over my head - I guess because I haven't had my coffee yet.

[IanWilson]

I guess I shouldn't be reading at 5 am!

Indeed not! I thought 5 am was a time for

Ian

[Skitterbug]

Ahhh, sorry Geoff, I guess I shouldn't be reading at 5 am! I've kinda gotten out of the habit of reading your many puns and that one went right over my head - I guess because I haven't had my coffee yet.

It is long past 05:00 but here's one to help you through until brewski time!

[Bigaldoc]

Ahhh, sorry Geoff, I guess I shouldn't be reading at 5 am! I've kinda gotten out of the habit of reading your many puns and that one went right over my head - I guess because I haven't had my coffee yet.

It is long past 05:00 but here's one to help you through until brewski time!

Ahhh, it IS brewski time here in The Bluegrass region... (4:30 pm) so I think I'll pop-a-top and read my emails.

[Carol W.]

Has anyone had any experience migrating an Access app with lots of VBA code into Open Office?

The last time I checked this out, there were a lot of compatibility issues. Just curious.

[HansV]

VBA compatibility is one of OpenOffice.org's weaker points. I think converting an Access database with VBA code into OpenOffice.org would be a (very) tough challenge.

[Bigaldoc]

I agree with you Hans, as little as I know about the "heavy" topics. If I were a VBA code writer, I would definitely continue to buy the MS product. As I've said, my only "incompatibility" knowledge had to do with Excel macros and I haven't checked on that for several versions of Open Office. I don't know if they've made any progress there. I imagine copyright is a big concern in these areas.

For the "average Joe (or Jane) on the street" however, Open Office fills the bill.

[Samantha]

Have you installed version 3.2 yet, Al? I just downloaded it on my home computer, and now I have to decide whether to take the jump now, or wait until the final release is made official.

[Bigaldoc]

Have you installed version 3.2 yet, Al? I just downloaded it on my home computer, and now I have to decide whether to take the jump now, or wait until the final release is made official.

Nope, not yet. I downloaded it too, figuring that if it's a problem, I can always remove it. I just haven't had time to do the install yet.

[Samantha]

I may install this weekend when I have time to experiment with the new version. I definitely don't have time before work this morning.

I'll let you know if I run into any problems.

[Carol W.]

To all,

Thanks for the feedback.

I'll be sticking with the MS suite for now.

[Samantha]

I'd probably stick with MS Office for my at-home suite, too if I didn't have to foot the bill for installing it on my desktop computer and three laptops. As it is, I use the Portable Apps version of Open Office on the older laptops, and the full install on the desktop and newest laptop; and I sync most of the stuff that needs to travel between laptop/work/home by uploading it to Google Docs.

[jonwallace]

OOo3.2RC4 seems to be stable enough here on win2k(at least the Calc bit).

Carol W. » 29 Jan 2010, 16:17

I'll be sticking with the MS suite for now

If you already have MS suite, then unless you need a feature in OOo, there seems little point in installing OpenOffice.

OTOH, if you don't want to pay 70-100GBP (or whatever in the currency of your choice...) for MS Office AND you don't need something that only MS Office can give (Access and full VBA capability spring to mind) then you'll find OpenOffice.org perfectly capable.

(security note: I'm sure I don't need to remind to watch out for sites which offer to sell you OpenOffice. Always download from http://download.openoffice.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; )

[Carol W.]

I support a number of Access applications, each of which contains a considerable amount of VBA code. These applications were written, for the most part, for non-profit organizations on a volunteer basis.

I was thinking of the cost of upgrading to later versions of Access for the organizations (one group in particular). They're currently using Access 2003 on two machines. If migration to OO was an option (It doesn't sound as if it is, at least for the time being), I would consider installing OO on their computers and migrating the applications to it.

Oh well!

Thanks.