A Free Office Suite

Do you need a computer office suite such as Microsoft Office (MS Word, Publisher, Exel, Powerpoint . . .), but can't afford the price?

Try OpenOffice . . . it is FREE!

Apache OpenOffice is one of the better-known open source office software suites available. It provides tools for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics and databases. Apache OpenOffice lets you save documents in the OpenDocument format, read Microsoft Word documents and save your work in Microsoft Word format.

The full Apache OpenOffice suite includes six tools for managing office tasks:

1. Writer, the word processor, can handle anything from writing a quick letter to producing a book. Features include design wizards, autocorrect, formatting, styles, HTML and MediaWiki export, tables and desktop publishing tasks.

2. Calc, the spreadsheet application, will calculate, analyze and present data in numerical reports or graphics. Features include options to pull in raw data from databases, natural language formulas, a quick sum button, wizards, styles and a Scenario Manager for "what if" analysis.

3. When creating multimedia presentations, Impress supports multiple monitors and a complete range of views. including draw, outline, slides and notes. Drawing and diagramming tools, slideshow animation and effects are also available.

4. Draw is an image application that can produce everything from simple diagrams to 3D illustrations.

5. The database tool, Base, can create and modify tables, forms, queries and reports within Apache OpenOffice.

6. Finally, Math can create mathematical equations through either a graphic user interface or by directly typing formulas into the equation editor.

Apache OpenOffice is released under the Apache License, Version 2.0 and can be downloaded and used entirely free of any license fees. The current version, Apache OpenOffice 3.4.1 supports the Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux and Mac OS X operating systems. Third-party extensions and frameworks for OpenOffice are available.

http://www.openoffice.org/