Microsoft's Office has been the software suite of choice for home and business usage for a really long time (and still is). Office has come a long way since it's first release to the most recent Office 15 release. Modern UI is everywhere, there is a huge emphasis on cloud and that's how Microsoft's Office 365 works. However, many people do not have the money or do not want to spend son a MS Office license (costly) and a free edition (if available), is always severely limited. Fear not, there are many free and open source alternatives to MS Office that you probably already know about. Now's the time to try them out, rather than turn to piracy.
1. LibreOffice
Developed by The Document Foundation, LibreOffice 4.0 is the latest version of this popular free Office suite first conceived in 2001. LibreOffice has many features that make you wonder why the software is free in the first place.
Collaboration
LibreOffice integrates CMS (Content Management Systems) and online document storage to allow you to directly access documents stored in services such as Microsoft's own SharePoint.
Theming
Customization and personalization is everywhere these days, and LibreOffice has embraced that by allowing you to theme your LibreOffice by using Firefox Themes itself!
Interoperability
File conversion in non native formats such as DOCX allows you to import ink annotations or import and export mathematical equations as well.
Did I mention, there is an Android app for
Want to know more? Head on to LibreOffice's official website.
Download LibreOffice from this link. It's 183 MB only.
2. OpenOffice
Apache OpenOffice has been around for quite some time. OpenOffice.org is a well known open source Office Suite. Before LibreOffice became immensely popular, OpenOffice was THE open source Office Suite. It has all the features that a complete suite should pack.
Writer - A word processor you can use for anything from writing a quick letter to producing an entire book.
Calc - A powerful spreadsheet with all the tools you need to calculate, analyse, and present your data in numerical reports or sizzling graphics.
Impress - The fastest, most powerful way to create effective multimedia presentations.
Draw - Lets you produce everything from simple diagrams to dynamic 3D illustrations.
Base - Lets you manipulate databases seamlessly. Create and modify tables, forms, queries, and reports, all from within Apache OpenOffice.
Math - Lets you create mathematical equations with a graphic user interface or by directly typing your formulas into the equation editor.
As you see, OpenOffice is more than just your average office suite. The ability to create dynamic 3D illustrations is a very impressive feature that you don't see in many open source and free software packages of such kind.
OpenOffice has received really good reviews for it's familiar interface and plethora of features. OpenOffice however lacks is an e-mail client like Outlook. Many might not feel the pinch, but to some that may be a very essential feature.
Want to know more? Head on to OpenOffice's Official Website.
Download OpenOffice from this link. It's 129 MB only.
3. Google Docs
Create, Share and Collaborate online, that is the mantra Google follows to promote it's Web based Docs service. Free to use, Google Docs is a capable office suite that lets anyone with a Google account create, share and collaborate on the Web using Google's tools such as the documents, spreadsheets, drawings and presentations all of which are centrally stored in Google's cloud based drive, Google Drive.
Google Documents
An online word processor from Google, Documents lets you create and edit text documents which can then be shared with people who can collaborate by viewing and editing the content, if the permissions are granted. Google Documents can covert most doc formats. You may download files as DOC, DOCX, PDF or even HTML or ZIP files.
Google Presentations
Presentations lets you create, edit and share visual presentations that can be worked on in a team (collaboration) or by yourself and then easily shared via Google Drive. Easily convert your presentations into popular formats such as .ppt or .pptx. You can insert images, videos all in real time online into your presentations.
Google Spreadsheets
Spreadsheets lets you create and format charts, and spreadsheets (of course). Spreadsheets supports many formats including .xls, .csv and .txt. You can also embed a spreadsheet into your blog easily.
Google Drawings
Drawings is an image editor for creating images, shapes and drawings in general. These can be used in any of Google Docs services. This service is much like Draw from OpenOffice.
Google Docs along with GMail, Google Drive and GTalk chat service provide a wholesome and complete experience. You can very well use Google's free productivity suite for almost all your work, which we think is excellent to start with. All you need is a compatible browser (not IE 6.0 please!) and a working internet connection. Head over to Google Docs now!
Here's hoping that you liked this Guide on Free and Open Source alternatives to Microsoft Office. Who knows, perhaps you may start using one of them from today itself?
1. LibreOffice
Developed by The Document Foundation, LibreOffice 4.0 is the latest version of this popular free Office suite first conceived in 2001. LibreOffice has many features that make you wonder why the software is free in the first place.
Collaboration
LibreOffice integrates CMS (Content Management Systems) and online document storage to allow you to directly access documents stored in services such as Microsoft's own SharePoint.
Theming
Customization and personalization is everywhere these days, and LibreOffice has embraced that by allowing you to theme your LibreOffice by using Firefox Themes itself!
Interoperability
File conversion in non native formats such as DOCX allows you to import ink annotations or import and export mathematical equations as well.
Did I mention, there is an Android app for
Want to know more? Head on to LibreOffice's official website.
Download LibreOffice from this link. It's 183 MB only.
2. OpenOffice
Apache OpenOffice has been around for quite some time. OpenOffice.org is a well known open source Office Suite. Before LibreOffice became immensely popular, OpenOffice was THE open source Office Suite. It has all the features that a complete suite should pack.
Writer - A word processor you can use for anything from writing a quick letter to producing an entire book.
Calc - A powerful spreadsheet with all the tools you need to calculate, analyse, and present your data in numerical reports or sizzling graphics.
Impress - The fastest, most powerful way to create effective multimedia presentations.
Draw - Lets you produce everything from simple diagrams to dynamic 3D illustrations.
Base - Lets you manipulate databases seamlessly. Create and modify tables, forms, queries, and reports, all from within Apache OpenOffice.
Math - Lets you create mathematical equations with a graphic user interface or by directly typing your formulas into the equation editor.
As you see, OpenOffice is more than just your average office suite. The ability to create dynamic 3D illustrations is a very impressive feature that you don't see in many open source and free software packages of such kind.
OpenOffice has received really good reviews for it's familiar interface and plethora of features. OpenOffice however lacks is an e-mail client like Outlook. Many might not feel the pinch, but to some that may be a very essential feature.
Want to know more? Head on to OpenOffice's Official Website.
Download OpenOffice from this link. It's 129 MB only.
3. Google Docs
Create, Share and Collaborate online, that is the mantra Google follows to promote it's Web based Docs service. Free to use, Google Docs is a capable office suite that lets anyone with a Google account create, share and collaborate on the Web using Google's tools such as the documents, spreadsheets, drawings and presentations all of which are centrally stored in Google's cloud based drive, Google Drive.
Google Documents
An online word processor from Google, Documents lets you create and edit text documents which can then be shared with people who can collaborate by viewing and editing the content, if the permissions are granted. Google Documents can covert most doc formats. You may download files as DOC, DOCX, PDF or even HTML or ZIP files.
Google Presentations
Presentations lets you create, edit and share visual presentations that can be worked on in a team (collaboration) or by yourself and then easily shared via Google Drive. Easily convert your presentations into popular formats such as .ppt or .pptx. You can insert images, videos all in real time online into your presentations.
Google Spreadsheets
Spreadsheets lets you create and format charts, and spreadsheets (of course). Spreadsheets supports many formats including .xls, .csv and .txt. You can also embed a spreadsheet into your blog easily.
Google Drawings
Drawings is an image editor for creating images, shapes and drawings in general. These can be used in any of Google Docs services. This service is much like Draw from OpenOffice.
Google Docs along with GMail, Google Drive and GTalk chat service provide a wholesome and complete experience. You can very well use Google's free productivity suite for almost all your work, which we think is excellent to start with. All you need is a compatible browser (not IE 6.0 please!) and a working internet connection. Head over to Google Docs now!
Here's hoping that you liked this Guide on Free and Open Source alternatives to Microsoft Office. Who knows, perhaps you may start using one of them from today itself?
Buying a new phone? Or a tablet? Need help with something everyday-tech related? Ask me and I'm sure to help!
— Preetam Nath (@hipreetam93) April 18, 2013
— Preetam Nath (@hipreetam93) April 18, 2013