OpenOffice is one of the leading open source office software suites available online. At OpenOffice.org you can download their full package for free, which includes presentations, spreadsheets, databases and a word processor based on Windows XP’s edition of Microsoft Word.
OpenOffice’s word processor is one which should take no time getting used to. Most people will recognise its interface and layout as that of Microsoft Office XP, so for that reason it is easy to use. All the basics are there, but refreshingly for a free piece of software available online its ability to lay out tables is very user-friendly. Its most important feature, though, is the fact that, although it encourages users to save documents as ODF files (OpenOffice’s own file format) in order to keep layouts and formats the same, it does allow documents to be saved as .doc files, therefore cutting out any of the usual compatibility issues with Windows. I have yet to find an issue with OpenOffice as a word processor, but what of its other features, all the extras surely being one of the main reasons why most will choose to set this as their default program?
