OpenOffice.org

OpenOffice.org (OO.o or OOo) is an office application suite available for a number of different computer operating systems. It supports the OpenDocument standard for data interchange as its default file format, as well as Microsoft Office '97-2003 formats - among many others.

OpenOffice.org is based on StarOffice, an office suite developed by StarDivision acquired by Sun Microsystems in August 1999. The source code of the suite was released in July 2000 with the aim of reducing the dominant market share of Microsoft Office by providing a free, open and high-quality alternative to users. OpenOffice.org is a free software, available under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL).

The project and software are informally referred to as OpenOffice, but this term is a trademark held by another party requiring the project to adopt OpenOffice.org as its formal name.

Components

OpenOffice.org is a collection of applications that closely work together to provide the features expected from a modern office suite. Many of the components are designed to mirror those available in Microsoft Office. The components available include:

	Writer	A word processor similar in look and feel to Microsoft Word that offers a comparable range of functions and tools. It also includes the ability to export Portable Document Format (PDF) files with no additional software and can also function as a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor for creating and editing web pages.
	Calc	A spreadsheet similar to Microsoft Excel with approximately the same  range of features. Calc provides many features not available in Excel, including a system which automatically defines series for graphing, based on the layout of the user’s data. Calc is also capable of writing spreadsheets directly as a PDF file.
	Impress	A presentation program similar to Microsoft PowerPoint. It can export presentations to Adobe Flash (SWF) files allowing them to be played on any computer with Flash player installed. It also includes the ability to create PDF files and  read Microsoft PowerPoint's .ppt format. Impress suffers from a lack of ready-made presentation designs. However, templates are readily available on the Internet.
	Base	A database program comparable to Microsoft Access. Base allows the creation and manipulation of databases along with the building of forms and reports to provide easy access to data for end-users. As is the case with Access, Base may be used as a front-end to a number of different database systems, including Access databases (JET), ODBC data sources and MySQL/PostgreSQL. Base became part of the suite starting with version 2.0. Native to the OpenOffice.org, suite is an adaptation of HSQL. While ooBase can be a front-end for any of the databases listed, there is no need for any of them to be installed.
	Draw	A vector graphics editor related in features to early versions of CorelDRAW. It features versatile "connectors" between shapes - which are available in a range of line styles - and facilitate building drawings such as flowcharts. It also has similar features to Desktop publishing software such as Scribus and Microsoft Publisher.
	Math	A tool for creating and editing mathematical formulas, similar to Microsoft Equation Editor. Formulas can be embedded inside other OpenOffice.org documents, like those created by Writer. It supports multiple fonts and can export to PDF.

QuickStarter

QuicStarter is a small program for Windows and Linux that runs when the computer kick starts for the first time. It loads core files and libraries for OpenOffice.org during computer startup and allows the suite applications to start quicker when selected at a later time. The amount of time it takes to open OpenOffice.org applications was a common complaint in version 1.0 of the suite and Quickstarter was an attempt to find a solution. Substantial improvements were made in this area for version 2.2.

The macro recorder

Is used to record user actions and replay them later to help with automating tasks while using OpenOffice.org Basic (see below).

It is not possible to download these components individually on Windows - though they can be installed separately. Most Linux distributions break the components into individual packages which may be downloaded and installed separately.

Features

According to its mission statement, the OpenOffice.org project aims "To create, as a community, the leading international office suite that will run on all major platforms and provide access to all functionality and data through open-component based APIs and an XML-based file format."

OpenOffice.org aspires to compete with Microsoft Office and emulate its look and feel where suitable. It can read and write most of the file formats found in Microsoft Office and many other applications; an essential feature of the suite for many users. OpenOffice.org has been found to be able to open files of older versions of Microsoft Office and damaged files that newer versions of Microsoft Office itself cannot open. However, it is not able to open older Word for Macintosh (MCW) files.

Platforms

Platforms for which OO.o is available include Microsoft Windows, Linux, Solaris, BSD, OpenVMS, OS/2 and IRIX.[10] The current primary development platforms are Microsoft Windows, Linux and Solaris.

A port for Mac OS X exists for OS X machines which have the X Window System component installed. A port to OS X's native Aqua user interface is in progress and is scheduled for completion for the 3.0 milestone.[11] NeoOffice is an independent offshoot of OpenOffice that is specially adapted for Mac OS X.

OpenOffice.org Basic

OpenOffice.org Basic is a programming language similar to Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) based on StarOffice Basic. In addition to the macros, the upcoming Novell edition of OpenOffice.org 2.0 supports running Microsoft VBA macros, a feature expected to be incorporated into the mainstream version soon.

OpenOffice.org Basic is available in the Writer and Calc applications. It is written in functions called subroutines or macros, with each macro performing a different task such as counting all words in a paragraph. OpenOffice.org Basic is especially useful in performing repetitive tasks that have not been integrated in the program.

As the OpenOffice.org database (called "Base") uses documents created under the Writer application for reports and forms, one could say that Base can also be programmed with OpenOffice.org Basic.

File formats

OpenOffice.org pioneered its own file format-  OpenDocument (ODF) - which became an accepted industry standard. It also supports reading (and in some cases writing) a large number of legacy proprietary file formats (e.g.: WordPerfect, StarOffice, Lotus software, MS Works, Rich Text Format.) Most notably Microsoft Office formats after which the OpenDocument specification was "approved for release as an ISO and IEC International Standard" under the name ISO/IEC 26300:2006.

Microsoft Office interoperability

In response to Microsoft's recent movement towards using the Office Open XML format in Microsoft Office 2007, Novell released an Office Open XML converter for OOo under a liberal BSD license (along with GNU GPL and LGPL licensed libraries), that will be submitted for inclusion into the OpenOffice.org project. This allows OOo to read and write Microsoft OpenXML-formatted word processing documents (.docx) in OpenOffice.org. Currently it works only with the latest Novell edition of OpenOffice.org.

Sun Microsystems has developed an ODF plugin for Microsoft Office which enables users of Microsoft Office Word, Excel and PowerPoint to read and write ODF documents. The plugin currently works with Microsoft Office 2003, Microsoft Office XP and Microsoft Office 2000. Support for Microsoft Office 2007 is only available in combination with Microsoft Office 2007 SP1.

Several software companies (including Microsoft and Novell) are working on an add-in for Microsoft Office that allows reading and writing ODF files. It presently only works for Microsoft Word 2007 / XP / 2003.

Microsoft provides a compatibility pack to read and write Office Open XML files with Office 2000, XP and 2003. The compatibility pack can also be used as a stand-alone converter with Microsoft Office 97. This might be helpful in converting older Microsoft Office files via Office Open XML to ODF if a direct conversion doesn't work as expected. However, the Office compatibility pack does not install for Office 2000 or Office XP on Windows 9x.

Note that some office applications built with Microsoft components may refuse to import OpenOffice data. Simply Accounting, for example, can import Excel xls files, but refuses to accept OpenOffice xls files for the reason that the OO xls files are not "genuine Microsoft" xls files.

Complementary software

OpenOffice.org provides a replacement for MS Office's Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Equation Editor and Microsoft Visio. But matches the level of functionality with MS Office, OOo can be complimented with other open source programs such as:

    * Evolution or Thunderbird/Lightning for a PIM like Microsoft Outlook.
    * OpenProj (which seeks integration with OOo but might be limited in its range due to licensing issues) for Microsoft Project.
    * Scribus for Microsoft Publisher