OpenOffice 3.2 - worth it?

[shigzeo]

OpenOffice still looks like hell if you have OSX (window-intrinsic menus, bloated drop-downs, reliance on illegible icons), but it is fast now - I've been using it for a few days and found it altogether, better than its predecessors. Compatibility with the pie-in-the-sky Office 2008 (mac), 2007 (windows) is more or less spot on - in some cases, it is spotty - but it works really well.

I am not a power user, but 3.2 has tickled my stubbornness into thinking: I may just switch. Naturally, if I was a Linux user, I'd probably not think twice - the free software does more than most users could ever need, does it for free, and really kicks tail. And, if you are a Linux nut, integration with the OS design isn't something you can really luxurise in. That said, Windows isn't much better.

A thumb up for the first time!

OpenOffice 3.2 (http://download.openoffice.org)

[Aeaea]

I use it all the time. I have had a little difficulty sometimes with fonts and complex bulletting transferring properly from Mac OpenOffice to Windows MS Office, but normally it isn't too difficult to adjust.

I used the very stable NeoOffice (http://www.neooffice.org/neojava/en/index.php) (Mac only) for many years with great success but switched over to OpenOffice a few months ago because NeoOffice was still on version 2 of the OpenOffice codebase. However I see now that NeoOffice has finally made the upgrade (I may have to look at it again).

Anyway, I think OpenOffice works great and should be completely adequate for most people's needs.

[shigzeo]

I also have used NeoOffice for years and held off because of OO 2.0 compatibility. I didn't know that it was up to 3.0 - I'll have to download. I simply can't stand non-Mac behaviour in a Mac - it is like jumping two steps behind just to do the same job.

[NineSwords]

I switched to open office recently because I cannot find anything I'm looking for in MS Office 07. I hate the new UI and open office's UI is more like I'm used to.

[OTGGamer]

I have been using OpenOffice on the Windows platform for years now and I love it. I'm too cheap to keep buying the Office Suite for what little I even use it for personal projects. Between OpenOffice and Google Docs I can get everything I want done for free! That being said, a recent deal did come up through work where I could purchase the latest MS Office Suite (Enterprise Ed.) for a mere $10 so of course I got it, but still have yet to install it.

We use Office/Outlook at work and the one issue I've had is compatibility of docs when going between the most current MS Word and OpenOffice, often times the formatting gets a little messed up. That is where this office suite will come in handy. But I'd say for the average home user, you can easily get by using OpenOffice.

Oh...and I agree, the Microsoft ribbon interface is useless, annoying and extremely frustrating!

[shigzeo]

OTTG - you know, I've found that compatibility issues exist even between Microsoft Word. If I send via my parents 2004 or 1997 version to their office which has 2007, things change. I tend to save in PDF if there won't be any more changes, and send that way for safety.