Open office for mas os. OpenOffice is a free alternative to Microsoft Office for Mac. Alternatives to Microsoft Office

OpenOffice for Mac- free powerful office suite which provides a good replacement Microsoft Office for Mac, This version is for older Mac PPCs running OS X 10.3 or higher. You can download the latest version for Intel Mac here.

Features all the Office tools you need

OpenOffice for Mac is a multi-platform and multilingual office suite that is compatible with all other office suites (meaning it will open and edit Word documents, Powerpoint, etc.) And best of all, it's completely free to use.

OpenOffice for Mac includes key desktop applications such as text editor, spreadsheet, presentation manager and drawing program with user interface and a set of functions similar to other office suites. It may not be as polished as Microsoft Office, but given that you don't give it all up, you really can't complain. Six OpenOffice for Mac components come with Write, Calc (spreadsheets), Impress (presentations), Draw, Base (database management), and Formula (math application).

Java can sometimes become unresponsive

Of course, there are some drawbacks to OpenOffice for Mac. Sometimes, when using documents that were made in Microsoft Office, there are formatting or printing problems. However, the main one is that since it is heavily Java based, it can be quite slow and unresponsive, especially when opening new files. This has certainly been improved in latest versions but still remains sluggish old compared to Microsoft Office. The numerous settings and buttons that come with it can also be a little overwhelming, and it would be nice to see it get a little bit simpler and simpler in future releases.

Great free solution for MS Office

If you are tied to cash or just don't want to install software Microsoft on its Mac, OpenOffice for Mac is a great, if slightly imperfect alternative.

For a user who has decided to switch from a Windows computer to a Mac OS, it will not be easy at first. Despite the general similarity of control systems between Microsoft and Apple operating systems, there are still quite a few tangible differences.

Among other things, you won't find many programs you are familiar with on the iMac and Macbook. As a rule, most of all new Mac OS users lack the office package. And here there are two ways - to master new programs or download familiar ones. If you decide to go the second way, this article is for you, in it we will tell you how to install the Microsoft Office package on a MacBook.

If you install the classic Word + Excel + Power Point triplet on your computer, you have two ways - official, but expensive, and illegal, but free. Which one to choose is up to you. We will cover both installation methods.

So, if you can quite afford to pay for "native" Word, then proceed as follows:

Well, as you can see, everything is very simple. Now about whether it makes sense to download trial version... In our opinion, there is, and here's why. Microsoft Office Suite is not paid at once, but in the subscription format, that is, you have to pay 339 rubles every month. Thus, the button "Try Office for free" makes sense - it makes it possible to use full version Word, Excel and Power Point for 30 days, meaning you get one free month and save 339 rubles.

As for the need to indicate bank data, according to the company, their indication is required "for the smooth operation of programs after the trial period" - in short, I mean the following - if after trial period, you decide to purchase the programs, but you forget to pay, the office will stop working, and when the card details are already there, the money is simply debited at the right time and there is no need to worry about anything.

Alternatives to Microsoft Office

At the beginning of the article, we mentioned that in addition to the Microsoft Office installation path, there is a way to work with alternative programs. This path is perfect for those who do not want to pay for the official package, but also do not want to download unlicensed software.

To begin with, Apple has a package similar to Word, Excel, and Power Point - Pages, Numbers and Keynotes. Another free and very popular replacement is Open Office. However, it should be noted that all the alternatives are inferior in functionality to the Microsoft package. However, if the range of options you use is not very wide, then programs from Apple or Open Office will suit you perfectly.

The famous Microsoft Office, created by the Redmond company, has been considered the benchmark among office applications in the home and business segment. Unfortunately, every year the pricing policy does not become more profitable for users, and even vice versa - more expensive, and that is why you have to look for alternatives. Well, let's see how convenient the well-known free analogue is. Apache OpenOffice.

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A bit about Office 365 and iWork

Microsoft's greed is starting to get really frustrating these days. The last straw was the release of the newest Office suite 365, which began to be distributed by subscription. For customers who choose to purchase Office 365 Home, it will cost "only 339 rubles per month" or 3 399 rubles per year. The package includes the ability to install all office applications on 5 PCs or Macs and 5 mobile devices, online versions of applications and cloud storage for documents with a capacity of 1 TB.

The quality of the offered software is really impressive, but I don’t want to give such sums annually. Here you start looking for budget or free options (oh, this soul of a Russian person).

Apple's branded iWork package (Pages, Numbers and Keynote) does an excellent job of only the simplest tasks (there is also a cloud version on icloud.com, which works even without installation). However, there can be no talk of any advanced functionality (perhaps for many iWork features will be enough with your head). And there is no analogue of an application for working with databases like Access or advanced programs like Visio or Publisher. Apache's product became a compromise between venerable competitors.

A bit of history

The development of OpenOffice in 2000 begins not with a clean slate of a product, but with the study and transformation of the developments of the German office suite StarOffice (1999), which gave rise to open source free software for working with documents.

The first public launch took place in 2002 and the package could be freely installed and used on home computers, in educational institutions and various kinds of organizations. The product gained enormous popularity in the territory of the post-Soviet space.

In 2010, during the reorganization and the creation of a new non-profit company The Document Foundation, most of the developers split off, which later began working on their own project LibreOffice (which is often compared to OpenOffice).

In the fall of 2016, the last one came out. current version Apache with index 4.1.3, which we'll talk about.

What does OpenOffice include?

The package is characterized by six modules for working with office documents in all directions:

— Writer- word processor and visual HTML editor (analog Microsoft Word, Pages, AbiWord and other programs);
— Calc- table processor ( Microsoft Excel, Numbers, Gnumeric and others);
— Impress- a tool for creating and editing presentations (Microsoft PowerPoint, Keynote, KPresenter);
— Base- work with DBMS ( Microsoft Access, Kexi);
— Draw- graphic vector editor(Microsoft Visio, Adobe illustrator, CorelDRAW);
— Math- formula editor (MathType, KFormula).

Well, the hardware is really impressive (especially if you focus on the fact that it is a free product).

Compatibility and formats

No matter how developers declare support for all conceivable and inconceivable office formats, problems still arise from time to time. Apache's brainchild still cannot open Microsoft Office OpenXML documents, that is, * .docx, * .xlsx and * .pptx. If with the help of short dances with a tambourine, the problem with import and export in * .docx can be solved, then nothing can be done with the other two formats.

Not quite correct work with formats is observed in other similar applications of the office suite. Complex Microsoft documents Office opened in will have visible and sometimes significant changes. The Apache developers swear that they are constantly working on this problem, but the results so far are frankly weak.

Design and functionality

The design of the software package stopped at the level of Microsoft Office 2003. Before the ergonomics and clarity of at least 2007 "office" is far away. Otherwise, there is a typical arrangement of tools and quite extensive functionality that allows you to cope with the daily tasks of both a home user and a person working in an enterprise.

The latest up-to-date version 4.1.3 received many small changes, and we should separately note the accelerated loading of the program and the optimized work with multimedia files and diagrams.

The entire office suite works stably, except for the tool for working with databases. There are sometimes crashes and even non-starts on some Macs (more related to old machines).

Output

It sits between a rock and a hard place in the face of paid Office 365 and free iWork. The Redmond product is flawless except for an obscenely high price tag. Apple's brainchild is rapidly developing and gaining popularity, but still the focus is still on ordinary users rather than clerks. improvements are needed. It's worth starting small: add support for new formats, make modern interface and qualitatively integrate cloud technologies- without them today in any way. About mobile versions and there can be no question yet.

Openoffice this is a project that came to the Mac from the OpenSource world (open source source). Originally created for Linux, it has gradually migrated to other platforms. OpenOffice, like all OpenSource projects, is free and created as an alternative to commercial software, primarily from Microsoft. In fact, we can say that the developers set themselves the task of creating a complete analogue of Microsoft Office, but only free, and in general they succeeded. Functions, interface, menu structure are almost identical to Microsoft Office. OpenOffice allows you to open and save Microsoft files, but has its own proprietary formats preservation of documents.
The Mac OS X version of OpenOffice has a significant feature that can be called a drawback. From a programming point of view, this is a "non-native" program for Mac OS X, and requires the X11 environment, which is included with Mac OS X since version 10.3, to run. X11 is a special execution environment for programs originally written for UNIX and ported to Mac OS X, let's say in part. This means that such programs do not use the Aqua graphics libraries, which are part of Mac OS X, but use their own, from the UNIX world. Apple designed X11 specifically so that a huge number of popular programs for different UNIX systems can run on Macs without much effort on the part of developers. X11 is in many ways similar to the Classic environment, that is, programs are launched in a certain separate runtime environment and have a look that is not typical for Mac OS X, but for operating system, under which they were originally written. Optionally, you can translate X11 to full screen mode, and then your Mac will visually turn into UNIX. OpenOffice is one of such programs and therefore has a corresponding interface (see figure), and also, importantly, keyboard shortcuts are accepted in the PC world. That is, roughly speaking, the Command key (bull's-eye) does not work, since there is simply no such key in the pc-oriented world. Because of this, you may have a problem with switching the language, and note that all the usual keyboard shortcuts start with cntrl, not Command. But judging by the functionality, OpenOffice is a powerful package that can completely replace MS Office. It does not consist of individual programs and how Apple Works switches to different modes, depending on the type of document, word processor, spreadsheet, database, presentation creation.

Innovations in OpenOffice 3.0:
- New control (slider) to support multiple pages at once during editing (Writer)
- Improved work with notes (Writer)
- Added the ability to edit wiki documents (Writer)
- Number of columns increased to 1024 (Calc)
- Added the ability to collaborate with multiple users (Calc)
- Increased maximum size supported document up to 3 square meters (Draw)
- Added a fully functional table designer right inside the presentation (Impress)

Program in the catalog:

An office suite can rightfully be considered an essential tool on any computer. We are all well aware of products such as iWork or Microsoft Office but do you know what exists for them completely free alternative? It is called Apache OpenOffice and is in no way inferior to these two wonderful programs.

Six programs in one package is all you need

Apache OpenOffice comprises six independent programs solving different problems, in one package... These utilities give everything you need to create documents, from texts to vector graphics , a user-friendly design makes the application very easy to use.

Six instruments Apache OpenOffice

• Writer: a word processor that supports a wide variety of formats, including those associated with Word. It includes various dictionaries and allows you to export any document you create to PDF format.
• Calc: program Apache OpenOffice to work with spreadsheets, compatible with document formats created in Excel. She can not only create custom tables, but also includes collaboration tools.
• Draw: a tool with which you can create both technical drawings and art drawings using vector graphics.
• Base: besides simple database management, with this tool, you can organize and manage any type of data.
• Impress: PowerPoint compatible program is a slideshow maker application using all kinds of editable templates. Ready slideshows can be save in HTML or Flash formats.
• Math: tool for performing all kinds of mathematical calculations.

OpenOffice proves that even free programs can be very high quality. Download office suite Apache OpenOffice from Apache for Mac, as it is a serious and efficient alternative to more common office suites.