Major Tom
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Another vote for OpenOffice.
Freeware to replace MS Office?
- Thread starter omni550
- Start date
target2019
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I installled libreoffice to a new win10 desktop in our home, about one year ago. apparently ms office user of more than a long time has no problem with it.
I use google docs more than before. It is in the cloud of course, and you can work locally if necessary.
The cost is perfect price point...
I'd install both.
I use google docs more than before. It is in the cloud of course, and you can work locally if necessary.
The cost is perfect price point...
I'd install both.
donheff
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I have used Libre Office for several years and it is fine. But for the last couple of years I have transitioned to Google Docs. It’s easy to use and my files are stored in the cloud accessible from all my devices.
Red Badger
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I've used Google docs/sheets/present for years. Easily translates MS products. When my last Windows laptop retired around 2010, I replaced it with a Chromebook. Haven't found the need for any Windows products since then. YMMV!
I've not looked into Chromebooks other than make a mental note to check them out when I need a new computer. I know they are lightweight and popular. Are there ongoing fees with them...like for cloud storage or any other "stuff" (software, etc.)? What are other plusses or minusses?
omni
(Don't even ask. 
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2014
- Messages
- 9,201
For those who may wonder, when using google docs, you can certainly save a document onto your hard drive (flash drive, whatever). It takes a couple small steps, but it's easy to do. Of course, once you make a copy to another media, then you have to deal with version control, but I just wanted to let people know that you're not 100% locked into the cloud.
Red Badger
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
No cost as long as you are logged in to your gmail account (you can surf as a "guest", but not much else). Two other pluses: a) no anti-virus software, malware protection, ect, and never had any issue over many years; b) Chromebooks take about 10 seconds to fully boot up.
I have both an 11" (for travelling) and a 16". Both are several years old and the battery still last 5-7 yours.
When you need a new unit, at least consider giving CB's a test drive.
Hermit
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I had Open Office installed on a Linux machine and MS Office on a Windows machine. Trying to edit documents between the two programs/machines did not work. I am sure things have gotten better in the last decade, but I have not tried the alternatives to MS Office since then.
I think in your shoes I would either go the PDF route, or Google Docs if Sis is willing to step up to a Google account, as a first choice and then either Open Office or LibreOffice as a more time consuming and training intensive backup choice if needed.
I think in your shoes I would either go the PDF route, or Google Docs if Sis is willing to step up to a Google account, as a first choice and then either Open Office or LibreOffice as a more time consuming and training intensive backup choice if needed.
W2R
Moderator Emeritus
Wow. Maybe that is some sort of problem with Linux? A decade or more ago I went back and forth from MS Office (Excel) to Open Office constantly, editing my gargantuan retirement/financial spreadsheet, and had ZERO trouble at all. But both were up to date versions of the software, both on up to date Windows machines. Normally I would not have bothered to respond to your post above, except that to me Open Office is unusually compatible and problem free in this respect, and always has been.
Hermit
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
My problems were in my Word financial plan that had many embedded spread sheets, etc. My son was also using Word documents and was also switching back and forth to do his high school assignments which also had some complex embedded stuff in them and wound up needing to recreate some of the docs from scratch. Lets just say he was not happy.
I'm glad to hear you had good success. I am still using MS Office 2007 and would like to move to a later product. After I finish my house I plan to upgrade both the computer and the software and will probably move to Linux. After spending many years doing maintenance and development on Unix and Linux machines, I am quite comfortable with the environment including the command line. My financial plan also needs to be slimmed down/redone since retirement so I think everything will work out nicely.
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I have used Open Office for a decade or more, and I absolutely love it. I love it so much that I haven't tried Libre Office, which everyone seems to like better. It may be better! But I suspect that I'll never know.
I'm in exactly the same situation. Had the chance to switch to LibreOffice when we switched to Macs a few years ago but instead stuck with OpenOffice. I have the file defaults set to be the MS Office format and I can open workbooks etc to read on my iPad and iPhone when needed. (e.g. I still maintain our address book in a spreadsheet - what a dinosaur eh?)
W2R
Moderator Emeritus
Oh OK, that explains it! I almost never use anything in Open Office except the spreadsheet and I don't know a thing about the Word equivalent part of it. Sorry that I didn't think about that, and I am sure you are right.
W2R
Moderator Emeritus
Hey, I still use a spreadsheet for my calendar.
If you are a dinosaur, join the herd because there are a lot of us here.
ExFlyBoy5
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Not much love for the Google docs
Have it and like it. I'm not a power user though. We are almost all transitioned off MS
I did the slide show for my FIL funeral on Google Slides. Very easy to post up and then hook up to the video equipment
I prefer Google docs over Open Office. I have found that there are less formatting errors when opening a MS doc with Google docs over Open Office...which is very helpful with legal documents which can have odd formatting.
It's also very easy to share/modify with others (and can be done in real time) w/ Google docs.
I like LibreOffice a lot, but I might give OpenOffice another try sometime as Libre sometimes gets glitchy (I have lost my work. Rarely, but it has happened.)
Google Docs might work fine, but I don't feel comfortable giving the Googleborg access to my documents, spreadsheets, etc for their info mining biz. I'm surely an outlier in this regard.
Google Docs might work fine, but I don't feel comfortable giving the Googleborg access to my documents, spreadsheets, etc for their info mining biz. I'm surely an outlier in this regard.
W2R
Moderator Emeritus
I feel the same way about Google. Also, I feel we have so little privacy in this world today, that I cherish every scrap of it and do not like using clouds any more than I have to. It's just "a thing" that I have, I suppose. I do not use Microsoft's cloud either.
As I've not ever used these...how do you access? Do you need a google account, like gmail?
Sis is a bit paranoid...not sure how she'll react to storing things in a cloud.
Thx.
omni
Yup, just go there and sign up, or use an existing Google account.
https://docs.google.com
jetpack
Recycles dryer sheets
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2013
- Messages
- 437
Google Docs all the way. Replacing my desktop machine no longer means buying or installing much new software .. or even moving over documents.
Just add chrome and sign into google. done.
Just add chrome and sign into google. done.
Google's "Terms of Service" doesn't offer much comfort. In part;
"11.1 . . . . By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. This license is for the sole purpose of enabling Google to display, distribute and promote the Services and may be revoked for certain Services as defined in the Additional Terms of those Services.
11.2 You agree that this license includes a right for Google to make such Content available to other companies, organizations or individuals with whom Google has relationships for the provision of syndicated services, and to use such Content in connection with the provision of those services.
11.3 You understand that Google, in performing the required technical steps to provide the Services to our users, may (a) transmit or distribute your Content over various public networks and in various media; and (b) make such changes to your Content as are necessary to conform and adapt that Content to the technical requirements of connecting networks, devices, services or media. You agree that this license shall permit Google to take these actions."
Whatever Google "promises", claims, etc about data agglomeration, anonymity, sharing, etc--the above is what you agree to if you use their services. And, they can change it at any time.
Their business is scraping and selling information on those who use their services. There's nothing disreputable, or hidden, about that. I'm glad we all have the option to choose to participate in that endeavor--or not.
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I agree. Things are just that much simpler. And if you need to access your content from a different machine (perhaps on the road), it's trivial.
Add a Chromebook and it's pretty much an optimal combination at a terrific price point.
That's what we use for my wife. And I'd use one too if I wasn't still tied to a few Windows applications. Hopefully in a few years I'll be completely MS-free!
aja8888
Moderator Emeritus
My Chromebook has become my "main man" when it comes to internet searching/forums/general use/etc, and I have two desktops sitting idle (Win 10 and Win 7 machines).
Gmail is my e-mail client, Google Docs and Sheets are what I use to replace MS. Now that I am retired, I have nothing new to hide or have anything that is so important that I would feel uncomfortable using cloud based services. Our financial stuff is downloaded and either printed or put into a pdf file for local storage.
I guess if you have a lot of sensitive data, it makes good sense to not use cloud services.
