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October 7 , 2005.
Is OpenOffice Writer better than MS Word?
OpenOffice Writer 2.0 vs. Microsoft Word 2003
The common wisdom of OpenOffice vs. Microsoft Office can be summed up in a few, choice phrases.
OpenOffice is probably good enough for most users.
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Microsoft Office costs several hundred dollars, but you can get an educational version for 150 without having to prove you have anything to do with education.
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Hardcore Excel users don't think Calc is good enough for their needs.
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OpenOffice saves to PDF files. MS Office doesn't.
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Though OpenOffice can open and save to Office formats, tricky stuff like advanced tables or headers and footnotes might not format properly.
In other words, the general consensus is that OpenOffice might be good enough and might have a few neat features, but it's not as good, and MS Office can be purchased for a lot less than the "official" price.
Let's really break a few things down and take a look at what for most users is the most important component of an office suite, the word processor.
Different Features
Features aren't everything, but...
Writer and Word share most of the same features, but do have a few differences.
Although it's tempting to compare software by listing features, unless there's a real killer tool, it can be a largely futile exercise. Each succeeding software version generally incorporates the most valued features of its competitors. Being able to make PDF files natively from Writer is certainly neat, but it's not a must-have tool. The free PDFCreator, for example, can adequately create PDF files from any Windows application, though not as well as OpenOffice, and Microsoft has announced that they intend to include it in their next version of Word.
Features are still important
That said, we still need to take a look at the differing features of each program. Aside from some minor tricks, these are the primary unique features of each program. Perhaps there is a must-have for you.
| |
MS Word | OpenOffice Writer |
|---|---|---|
| Conditional Text | X | |
| Master Documents | Broken | X |
| Research | X | Available with add-on macro |
| Multiple Clipboard | X | |
| Collaboration / Shared Workspace | X | |
| Translator | X | |
| Font Downloader / Installer | X | |
| Grammar Checker | X | |
| PDF Export | X | |
| Outlines | X | Very limited |
Conditional Text
Conditional text is an interesting concept. It allows you to hide or unhide a section of text in a document. For example, let's say you have a standard letter and have a section that pertains only in certain situations, say on a certain date. By linking the conditional text to that date, that section will automatically be added when it's supposed to be.
Master Documents - Broken in Word.
Master documents have been so poorly implemented in Word for years, that for all practical purposes they don't exist as a feature. The idea behind master documents is to be able to combine several smaller documents into a larger, "master", document. Frankly, in Word, it doesn't work. Ever since Word 6, this "feature" has been broken. In Writer, it works.
"Research"
"Research" is simply the ability to look up relevant information on the internet straight from the program. Not surprisingly, Word uses sources such as Encarta and MSN for its research. The closest thing that Writer has to this concept is a plugin that can access Wikipedia.
Clipboard Manager
The ability to store multiple items on your clipboard and access their history is an old one to *NIX users, but it's only been available in Windows in their office suite. OpenOffice Writer doesn't support this, though you might want to explore other, more powerful, clipboard managers.
Collaboration / Shared Workspace – Not in Writer
This is something that has no equivalent in Writer. The ability to collaborate or share with others a single document is at this time, Microsoft only.
Automatic Translator in Word
By selecting Tools>Language>Translate, you can translate any selected word or phrase straight from the program.
Font Downloader
Writer has a wizard for downloading and installing additional, free fonts.
Grammar Checker
Computerized grammar checking, love it or hate it. Either way, only Word has this.
PDF Export
As stated before, all OpenOffice applications export to PDF. As of Writer version 2.0, you can control many of the settings and create PDF files with links and bookmarks.
Writer's Outlines are Limited
Writer doesn't really have true outlining capabilities. Navigator, a small, floating window allows you to jump to key parts of a document such as to a picture, a table, or to headings. It is useful for navigation, but not for creating real outlines.
Word has a robust outline view mode that allows you to create documents, if you wish, based on an outline, and to easily move, add or delete sections. For advanced papers or articles, this feature can be very handy.
next> Same Features - Implemented Differently
