Open Office Converter Integrator

It has come to my attention that there may be some minor file format changes as of Microsoft(TM) Office 2007. It is either that or the tool I am about to discuss is simply a way to allow clicking on the Microsoft files and directly loading them into OpenOffice. I have downloaded the file, but since I do not have a copy of Office 2007, I can not verify the operation of the below. I would appreciate it if someone would verify this for me and post a comment. Anyhow:

The tool is called an odf converter-integrator

1. It opens XML, docx xlsx,pptx with high quality conversion on any linux or windows system
2. Upon file click it springs into action, converts the .docx/.xlsx/.pptx to an .odt/.ods/.odp, and then automatically opens the new document in OpenOffice.org, StarOffice, Abiword, KWord, Gnumeric, Microsoft Office 2003, or whatever is your default ODF editor
3. It replaces the Novell ODF converter

http://katana.oooninja.com/w/odf-converter-integrator/download

Above is the link to the download and it has me scratching my head.

The function can be reached manually from within OpenOffice 3 beta by selecting File -> Wizards – > Document converter. And you get the following dialog box:

After some extensive research here are the results:
The open document format is the result of the obvious need to be able to move documents between various operating systems and to be able to edit these files. Microsoft jumped on the bandwagon and agreed this is a good idea.

But:
Microsoft slapped the open-source community with litigation threats if distributors and users do not strike deals with the vendor to pay for patents Microsoft allegedly holds for technology in Linux and other open-source software. Microsoft made appear it rose above the squabble to do the right thing.

End result: the format has been implemented and the rest is history

Open Office Sharing files with others

Switching to open office may put you off.

There is no need to worry all the documents that you had from before can be read into Openoffice. There are however some things to keep in mind when you share your documents out to others

Sending OpenOffice Files To Others

1. If you send a file in the OpenOffice format to someone who does not have OpenOffice, he or she cannot open the file.
2. If you send a file to someone without OpenOffice on his or her computer, send the file in the Microsoft file format. Most people may have Microsoft Office. Also you can send it in the RTF format

3. If someone does not have OpenOffice on their computer, you might suggest they download OpenOffice to their computer.

4. Another solution for a person who only has Microsoft on their computer is to download a free plugin that will give users of Microsoft Office the ability to open, edit, and save files in the OpenOffice format. To get more information go to

http://www.sun.com/software/star/odf_plugin/index.jsp

The big motivator for making the switch to Openoffice is cost and:

OpenOffice Is More Flexible Than Microsoft Word

Preview and evaluation of Open Office

I delayed this post to give people time to download and evaluate Open Office.

My first impression upon clicking the first program Writer.

This program and the rest of the Suite needs a splash screen. Adobe Photoshop(TM) has one. What the splash screen does is let you know that it is loading up it’s plugins and fonts etc. But what I saw instead is dead splash screen, I could not tell that anything was going on. Not a single indication that there was anything going on at all. So I clicked again. No surprise when I ended up with 2 copies running.You can be sure when this post is finished that I will so to the web site and make the suggestion of the splash screen.

To be fair though Microsoft(TM) office suite did not have a splash screen as of office 2003, I have not used 2007 yet

Open Office

What is OpenOffice?

OpenOffice.org is a collection of applications that work together closely to provide the features expected from a modern office suite.  The components available include:
Writer A word processor similar in look and feel to Microsoft Word and offering a comparable range of functions and tools. It also includes the ability to export Portable Document Format (PDF) files with no additional software, and can also function as a WYSIWYG editor for creating and editing web pages.
Calc A spreadsheet similar to Microsoft Excel with a roughly equivalent range of features. Calc provides a number of features not present in Excel, including a system which automatically defines series for graphing, based on the layout of the user’s data. Calc is also capable of writing spreadsheets directly as a PDF file.
Impress A presentation program similar to Microsoft PowerPoint. It can export presentations to Adobe Flash (SWF) files allowing them to be played on any computer with the Flash player installed. It also includes the ability to create PDF files, and the ability to read Microsoft PowerPoint’s .ppt format. Impress suffers from a lack of ready-made presentation designs. However, templates are readily available on the Internet.
Base A database program similar to Microsoft Access. Base allows the creation and manipulation of databases, and the building of forms and reports to provide easy access to data for end-users. As with Access, Base may be used as a front-end to a number of different database systems, including Access databases (JET), ODBC data sources and MySQL/PostgreSQL. Base became part of the suite starting with version 2.0. Native to the OpenOffice.org suite is an adaptation of HSQL. While ooBase can be a front-end for any of the databases listed, there is no need for any of them to be installed.
Draw A vector graphics editor comparable in features to early versions of CorelDRAW. It features versatile “connectors” between shapes, which are available in a range of line styles and facilitate building drawings such as flowcharts. It has similar features to Desktop publishing software such as Scribus and Microsoft Publisher.
Math A tool for creating and editing mathematical formulae, similar to Microsoft Equation Editor. Formulae can be embedded inside other OpenOffice.org documents, such as those created by Writer. It supports multiple fonts and can export to PDF.