OpenOffice.org, commonly known as OOo or OpenOffice, is an
open-sourceOpen-source software is computer software that is available in source code form: the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that permits users to study, change, improve and at times also to distribute the software.Open...
application suite whose main components are for
word processingA word processor is a computer application used for the production of any sort of printable material....
,
spreadsheetA spreadsheet is a computer application that simulates a paper accounting worksheet. It displays multiple cells usually in a two-dimensional matrix or grid consisting of rows and columns. Each cell contains alphanumeric text, numeric values or formulas...
s,
presentationsA presentation program is a computer software package used to display information, normally in the form of a slide show...
,
graphicsIn computer graphics, graphics software or image editing software is a program or collection of programs that enable a person to manipulate visual images on a computer....
, and
databasesA relational database management system is a database management system that is based on the relational model as introduced by E. F. Codd. Most popular databases currently in use are based on the relational database model....
. OpenOffice is available for a number of different computer
operating systemAn operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
s, is distributed as
free softwareFree software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
and is written using its own
GUI toolkitIn computing, a widget toolkit, widget library, or GUI toolkit is a set of widgets for use in designing applications with graphical user interfaces...
. It supports the
ISOThe International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...
/
IECThe International Electrotechnical Commission is a non-profit, non-governmental international standards organization that prepares and publishes International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies – collectively known as "electrotechnology"...
standard
OpenDocumentThe Open Document Format for Office Applications is an XML-based file format for representing electronic documents such as spreadsheets, charts, presentations and word processing documents....
Format (ODF) for data interchange as its default
file formatA file format is a particular way that information is encoded for storage in a computer file.Since a disk drive, or indeed any computer storage, can store only bits, the computer must have some way of converting information to 0s and 1s and vice-versa. There are different kinds of formats for...
, as well as
Microsoft OfficeMicrosoft Office is a non-free commercial office suite of inter-related desktop applications, servers and services for the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, introduced by Microsoft in August 1, 1989. Initially a marketing term for a bundled set of applications, the first version of...
formats among others. , OpenOffice.org supports over 120 languages. As free software, users are free to download, modify, use and distribute OpenOffice.org.
LibreOfficeLibreOffice is a free and open source office suite developed by The Document Foundation as a fork of OpenOffice.org. It is largely compatible with other major office suites, including Microsoft Office, and available on a variety of platforms...
is a fork of OpenOffice.org which was formed by many of the original developers of OpenOffice.
OpenOffice.org originated as
StarOfficeStarOffice, known briefly as Oracle Open Office before its discontinuation in 2010, is a proprietary office suite. It was originally developed by StarDivision which was acquired by Sun Microsystems in 1999...
, an office suite developed by StarDivision and acquired by
Sun MicrosystemsSun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
in August 1999. The
source codeIn computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
of the suite was released in July 2000 with the aim of reducing the
dominantMarket dominance is a measure of the strength of a brand, product, service, or firm, relative to competitive offerings. There is often a geographic element to the competitive landscape...
market shareMarket share is the percentage of a market accounted for by a specific entity. In a survey of nearly 200 senior marketing managers, 67 percent responded that they found the "dollar market share" metric very useful, while 61% found "unit market share" very useful.Marketers need to be able to...
of
Microsoft OfficeMicrosoft Office is a non-free commercial office suite of inter-related desktop applications, servers and services for the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, introduced by Microsoft in August 1, 1989. Initially a marketing term for a bundled set of applications, the first version of...
by providing a free and open alternative . OpenOffice.org was an open-source version of the StarOffice suite, with development sponsored primarily by Sun Microsystems. After acquiring Sun in 2010,
Oracle CorporationOracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
stopped supporting commercial development and in June 2011 contributed the suite to the
Apache IncubatorApache Incubator is the gateway for Open source projects intended to become fully fledged Apache Software Foundation projects.The Incubator project was created in October 2002 to provide an entry path to the Apache Software Foundation for projects and codebases wishing to become part of the...
to become a project of the
Apache Software FoundationThe Apache Software Foundation is a non-profit corporation to support Apache software projects, including the Apache HTTP Server. The ASF was formed from the Apache Group and incorporated in Delaware, U.S., in June 1999.The Apache Software Foundation is a decentralized community of developers...
.
The project and software are commonly known as
OpenOffice, but this term is
trademarkA trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
ed both in the
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, by a company co-founded by Wouter Hanegraaff, and, independently, in the UK by Orange UK. As a result, the project adopted
OpenOffice.org as its formal name.
History
OpenOffice.org versions
| Version |
Release Date |
Description |
| Build 638c |
2001-10 |
The first milestone release. |
| 1.0 |
2002-05-01 |
|
| 1.0.3.1 |
2003-05-02 |
Recommended for Windows 95. |
| 1.1 |
2003-09-02 |
|
| 1.1.1 |
2004-03-30 |
Bundled with TheOpenCDThe now defunct OpenCD project aimed to introduce users of Microsoft Windows to the benefits of free and open source software . It is a CD image that can freely be downloaded and copied...
. |
| 1.1.2 |
2004-06 |
|
| 1.1.3 |
2004-10-04 |
|
| 1.1.4 |
2004-12-22 |
|
| 1.1.5 |
2005-09-14 |
Last release for 1.x product line.
Final version for Windows 95.
It can edit OpenOffice.org 2 files. |
| 1.1.5secpatch |
2006-07-04 |
Security patch (macros) |
| 2.0 |
2005-10-20 |
Milestone, with major enhancements. |
| 2.0.1 |
2005-12-21 |
|
| 2.0.2 |
2006-03-08 |
|
| 2.0.3 |
2006-06-29 |
|
| 2.0.4 |
2006-10-13 |
|
| 2.1.0 |
2006-12-12 |
|
| 2.2.0 |
2007-03-28 |
Included a security update.
Reintroduced font kerning |
| 2.2.1 |
2007-06-12 |
|
| 2.3.0 |
2007-09-17 |
Updated charting component and minor enhancements |
| 2.3.1 |
2007-12-04 |
Stability and security update. |
| 2.4.0 |
2008-03-27 |
Bug fixes and new features. |
| 2.4.1 |
2008-06-10 |
Security fix, minor enhancements, and bug fixes. |
| 2.4.2 |
2008-10-29 |
Security fix, minor enhancements, and bug fixes. |
| 2.4.3 |
2009-09-01 |
Bug fixes and minor enhancements. |
| 3.0.0 |
2008-10-13 |
Milestone, with major enhancements. |
| 3.0.1 |
2009-01-27 |
Bug fixes. |
| 3.1.0 |
2009-05-07 |
Overlining and transparent dragging added. |
| 3.1.1 |
2009-08-31 |
Security fix and bug fixes. |
| 3.2 |
2010-02-11 |
New features, and performance enhancements. |
| 3.2.1 |
2010-06-04 |
Updated Oracle Start Center and OpenDocumentThe Open Document Format for Office Applications is an XML-based file format for representing electronic documents such as spreadsheets, charts, presentations and word processing documents....
format icons. |
| 3.3 |
2011-01-25 |
Release motto: "Fit and Trim". |
Originally the German company StarDivision developed the application as the
proprietary softwareProprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder. The licensee is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, while restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.Complementary...
suite
StarOfficeStarOffice, known briefly as Oracle Open Office before its discontinuation in 2010, is a proprietary office suite. It was originally developed by StarDivision which was acquired by Sun Microsystems in 1999...
. In 1999 Sun Microsystems purchased the code. In August 1999 version 5.2 of StarOffice was made available free of charge.
OpenOffice.org 1
On 19 July 2000, Sun Microsystems announced that it would make the source code of StarOffice available for download under both the LGPL and the
Sun Industry Standards Source LicenseThe Sun Industry Standards Source License is now a retired free and open source license, recognized as such by the Free Software Foundation and the Open Source Initiative . Under SISSL, developers could modify and distribute source code and derived binaries freely. Furthermore, developers could...
(SISSL) with the intention of building an open-source development community around the software. The new project was known as OpenOffice.org, and its website went live on 13 October 2000. OpenOffice.org 1.0 was released on 1 May 2002 for MS Windows, Linux and Solaris. OpenOffice.org 1.0 for MacOS X (X11) was released on 23 June 2003.
OpenOffice.org 1.1 introduced One-click Export to PDF and can Export presentations to Flash (.SWF). It also added the 3rd Party Add-ons ability.
OpenOffice.org 2
Work on version 2.0 began in early 2003 with the following goals: better interoperability with
Microsoft OfficeMicrosoft Office is a non-free commercial office suite of inter-related desktop applications, servers and services for the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, introduced by Microsoft in August 1, 1989. Initially a marketing term for a bundled set of applications, the first version of...
; better performance, with improved speed and lower memory usage; greater
scriptingA scripting language, script language, or extension language is a programming language that allows control of one or more applications. "Scripts" are distinct from the core code of the application, as they are usually written in a different language and are often created or at least modified by the...
capabilities; better integration, particularly with
GNOMEGNOME is a desktop environment and graphical user interface that runs on top of a computer operating system. It is composed entirely of free and open source software...
; an easier-to-find and use database front-end for creating reports, forms and queries; digital signatures (only in ODF format; this feature is not defined in ODF 1.1 specification); a new built-in
SQLSQL is a programming language designed for managing data in relational database management systems ....
database; and improved
usabilityUsability is the ease of use and learnability of a human-made object. The object of use can be a software application, website, book, tool, machine, process, or anything a human interacts with. A usability study may be conducted as a primary job function by a usability analyst or as a secondary job...
. Sun released a beta version on 4 March 2005.
On 2 September 2005 Sun announced that it was retiring the SISSL. As a consequence, the OpenOffice.org Community Council announced that it would no longer
dual-licenseMulti-licensing is the practice of distributing software under two or more different sets of terms and conditions. This may mean multiple different licenses or sets of licenses. Prefixes may be used to indicate the number of licenses used, e.g...
the office suite, and future versions would use only the LGPL.
On 20 October 2005,
Sun MicrosystemsSun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
formally released OpenOffice.org 2.0 to the public. Eight weeks after the release of Version 2.0, an update, OpenOffice.org 2.0.1, was released. It fixed minor bugs and introduced new features.
As of the 2.0.3 release, OpenOffice.org changed its release cycle from 18 months to releasing updates, feature enhancements and bug fixes every three months. , new versions (including new features) are released every six months (so-called "feature releases") alternating with so-called "bug fix releases" which are being released between two feature releases (every three months).
OpenOffice.org 3
In October 2008, version 3.0 was released, featuring the ability to import, but not export, Office Open XML documents, support for the new ODF 1.2 document format, improved support for
VBAVisual Basic for Applications is an implementation of Microsoft's event-driven programming language Visual Basic 6 and its associated integrated development environment , which are built into most Microsoft Office applications...
macros, and a native port for
Mac OS XMac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
. It also introduces the new Start Center.
Version 3.2 included support for PostScript-based
OpenTypeOpenType is a format for scalable computer fonts. It was built on its predecessor TrueType, retaining TrueType's basic structure and adding many intricate data structures for prescribing typographic behavior...
fonts. In addition, the software will now warn users when ODF 1.2 Extended features have been used. An improvement to the document integrity check will determine if an ODF document conforms to the ODF specification and offer a repair if necessary. The Calc and Writer components both have a reduced "cold start" time by 46% compared to version 3.0.
New features in version 3.3 include an updated print form, a FindBar and interface improvements for Impress.
In future versions, the user interface will receive incremental improvements. This work began with Impress in version 3.3.
The new version 3.4 will include " new SVG import, the improved ODF 1.2 support and other enhancements".
Features
OpenOffice.org 1.0 was launched under the following
mission statementA mission statement is a statement of the purpose of a company or organization. The mission statement should guide the actions of the organization, spell out its overall goal, provide a path, and guide decision-making...
:
OpenOffice.org 3 is promoted as being available in many languages, working on all common computers, storing data in an international open standard format and being able to read and write files from other common office software packages, as well as being available for download and use completely free of charge for any purpose.
In particular, the publishers of the office suite stress that it is the result of over twenty years' software engineering, it is easy to use, and it is free, released under the
LGPLThe GNU Lesser General Public License or LGPL is a free software license published by the Free Software Foundation . It was designed as a compromise between the strong-copyleft GNU General Public License or GPL and permissive licenses such as the BSD licenses and the MIT License...
licence.
Platforms
Platforms supported by OO.o include
Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
,
LinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, Solaris, BSD,
OpenVMSOpenVMS , previously known as VAX-11/VMS, VAX/VMS or VMS, is a computer server operating system that runs on VAX, Alpha and Itanium-based families of computers. Contrary to what its name suggests, OpenVMS is not open source software; however, the source listings are available for purchase...
,
OS/2OS/2 is a computer operating system, initially created by Microsoft and IBM, then later developed by IBM exclusively. The name stands for "Operating System/2," because it was introduced as part of the same generation change release as IBM's "Personal System/2 " line of second-generation personal...
and
IRIXIRIX is a computer operating system developed by Silicon Graphics, Inc. to run natively on their 32- and 64-bit MIPS architecture workstations and servers. It was based on UNIX System V with BSD extensions. IRIX was the first operating system to include the XFS file system.The last major version...
. The current primary development platforms are Microsoft Windows, Linux and Solaris.
Support for
Mac OS XMac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
exists for OS X's native
Aqua user interfaceAqua is the GUI and primary visual theme of Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X operating system. It is based around the theme of water, as its name suggests, with droplet-like elements and liberal use of translucency and reflection effects...
, as of version 3.0. Previous versions required installing the
X Window SystemThe X window system is a computer software system and network protocol that provides a basis for graphical user interfaces and rich input device capability for networked computers...
component.
NeoOfficeNeoOffice is an office suite for Mac OS X. It is a fork of the free/open source OpenOffice.org that implements nearly all of the features of the corresponding OpenOffice.org version, including a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation program, and graphics program...
is an independent
forkIn software engineering, a project fork happens when developers take a legal copy of source code from one software package and start independent development on it, creating a distinct piece of software...
of OpenOffice, specially adapted for Mac OS X.
Operating system compatibility
- FreeBSD
FreeBSD is a free Unix-like operating system descended from AT&T UNIX via BSD UNIX. Although for legal reasons FreeBSD cannot be called “UNIX”, as the direct descendant of BSD UNIX , FreeBSD’s internals and system APIs are UNIX-compliant...
: v3.2.1
- Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
- OpenBSD
OpenBSD is a Unix-like computer operating system descended from Berkeley Software Distribution , a Unix derivative developed at the University of California, Berkeley. It was forked from NetBSD by project leader Theo de Raadt in late 1995...
- NetBSD
NetBSD is a freely available open source version of the Berkeley Software Distribution Unix operating system. It was the second open source BSD descendant to be formally released, after 386BSD, and continues to be actively developed. The NetBSD project is primarily focused on high quality design,...
- Solaris: v3.2.1
- Mac OS X v10.2
Mac OS X version 10.2 "Jaguar" is the third major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system. It superseded Mac OS X v10.1 code name Puma and preceded Mac OS X Panther...
: up to v1.1.2
- Mac OS X v10.3
Mac OS X Panther is the fourth major release of Mac OS X, Apple’s desktop and server operating system. It followed Mac OS X v10.2 "Jaguar" and preceded Mac OS X Tiger...
: up to v2.1
- Mac OS X v10.4
Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger is the fifth major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. Tiger was released to the public on 29 April 2005 for US$129.95 as the successor to Mac OS X Panther , which had been released 18 months earlier...
–v10.5Mac OS X Leopard is the sixth major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. Leopard was released on 26 October 2007 as the successor of Tiger , and is available in two variants: a desktop version suitable for personal computers, and a...
(PowerPC): up to v3.2
- Mac OS X v10.4
Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger is the fifth major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. Tiger was released to the public on 29 April 2005 for US$129.95 as the successor to Mac OS X Panther , which had been released 18 months earlier...
–v10.5Mac OS X Leopard is the sixth major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. Leopard was released on 26 October 2007 as the successor of Tiger , and is available in two variants: a desktop version suitable for personal computers, and a...
(Intel): v3.2
- Mac OS X v10.6
Mac OS X Snow Leopard is the seventh major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers.Snow Leopard was publicly unveiled on June 8, 2009 at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference...
: v3.2.1
- Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products...
: up to v1.1.5
- Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 6 – up to v2.0.1
- Windows 98
Windows 98 is a graphical operating system by Microsoft. It is the second major release in the Windows 9x line of operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on 15 May 1998 and to retail on 25 June 1998. Windows 98 is the successor to Windows 95. Like its predecessor, it is a hybrid...
– Windows MEWindows Millennium Edition, or Windows Me , is a graphical operating system released on September 14, 2000 by Microsoft, and was the last operating system released in the Windows 9x series. Support for Windows Me ended on July 11, 2006....
: up to v2.4.3
- Windows 2000
Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the...
– Windows 7: v3.3 (Tablet PCA Microsoft Tablet PC is a term coined by Microsoft for tablet computers conforming to a set of specifications announced in 2001 by Microsoft, for a pen-enabled personal computer, conforming to hardware specifications devised by Microsoft and running a licensed copy of Windows XP Tablet PC Edition...
input is not supported)
- OS/2
OS/2 is a computer operating system, initially created by Microsoft and IBM, then later developed by IBM exclusively. The name stands for "Operating System/2," because it was introduced as part of the same generation change release as IBM's "Personal System/2 " line of second-generation personal...
and eComStation: up to v3.2.0
- IRIX
IRIX is a computer operating system developed by Silicon Graphics, Inc. to run natively on their 32- and 64-bit MIPS architecture workstations and servers. It was based on UNIX System V with BSD extensions. IRIX was the first operating system to include the XFS file system.The last major version...
(mips4): up to v1.0.3
Components
OpenOffice.org comprises a collection of applications that work together closely to provide the features commonly included in modern office suites. Many of the components mirror those available in Microsoft Office. The components available include:
| Module | Notes |
 |
WriterOpenOffice.org Writer is the word processor component of the OpenOffice.org software package. Writer is a word processor similar to Microsoft Word and Corel's WordPerfect, with some of their features....
|
A word processorA word processor is a computer application used for the production of any sort of printable material....
similar to Microsoft WordMicrosoft Word is a word processor designed by Microsoft. It was first released in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS , the Apple Macintosh , the AT&T Unix PC , Atari ST , SCO UNIX,...
and WordPerfectWordPerfect is a word processing application, now owned by Corel.Bruce Bastian, a Brigham Young University graduate student, and BYU computer science professor Dr. Alan Ashton joined forces to design a word processing system for the city of Orem's Data General Corp. minicomputer system in 1979...
. It can export Portable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
(PDF) files, and can function as a basic WYSIWYGWYSIWYG is an acronym for What You See Is What You Get. The term is used in computing to describe a system in which content displayed onscreen during editing appears in a form closely corresponding to its appearance when printed or displayed as a finished product...
editor for creating and editing web pageA web page or webpage is a document or information resource that is suitable for the World Wide Web and can be accessed through a web browser and displayed on a monitor or mobile device. This information is usually in HTML or XHTML format, and may provide navigation to other web pages via hypertext...
s. |
 |
CalcOpenOffice.org Calc is the spreadsheet component of the OpenOffice.org software package.Calc is similar to Microsoft Excel, with a roughly equivalent range of features. Calc is capable of opening and saving most spreadsheets in Microsoft Excel file format...
|
A spreadsheetA spreadsheet is a computer application that simulates a paper accounting worksheet. It displays multiple cells usually in a two-dimensional matrix or grid consisting of rows and columns. Each cell contains alphanumeric text, numeric values or formulas...
similar to Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Excel is a proprietary commercial spreadsheet application written and distributed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications...
and Lotus 1-2-3Lotus 1-2-3 is a spreadsheet program from Lotus Software . It was the IBM PC's first "killer application"; its huge popularity in the mid-1980s contributed significantly to the success of the IBM PC in the corporate environment.-Beginnings:...
. Calc can export spreadsheets to the PDF format. (See ooWriter entry, above, for details of PDF). 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. |
| |
Impress OpenOffice.org Impress, a part of the OpenOffice.org office suite and developed by Sun Microsystems, is an open source presentation program compatible with and similar to Microsoft PowerPoint. In addition to being able to create PDF files from presentations, it is also able to export presentations...
|
A presentation programA presentation program is a computer software package used to display information, normally in the form of a slide show...
similar to Microsoft PowerPointMicrosoft PowerPoint, usually just called PowerPoint, is a non-free commercial presentation program developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Office suite, and runs on Microsoft Windows and Apple's Mac OS X operating system...
and Apple Keynote. Impress can export presentations to Adobe FlashAdobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
(SWF) files, allowing them to be played on any computer with a Flash player installed. It also includes the ability to create PDF files, and the ability to read Microsoft PowerPoint's .ppt format. Impress lacks ready-made presentation designs but this can be overcome by downloading free templates on-line. |
 |
BaseOpenOffice.org Base , a database module, initially appeared with OpenOffice.org version 2.0. As of 2010, it builds on the HSQLDB database engine written in Java....
|
A database management program similar to Microsoft AccessMicrosoft Office Access, previously known as Microsoft Access, is a relational database management system from Microsoft that combines the relational Microsoft Jet Database Engine with a graphical user interface and software-development tools. It is a member of the Microsoft Office suite of...
. 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 MS Access, Base can function as a front-end to a number of different database systems, including Access databases (JET), ODBCIn computing, ODBC is a standard C interface for accessing database management systems . The designers of ODBC aimed to make it independent of database systems and operating systems...
data sources and MySQLMySQL officially, but also commonly "My Sequel") is a relational database management system that runs as a server providing multi-user access to a number of databases. It is named after developer Michael Widenius' daughter, My...
/PostgreSQLPostgreSQL, often simply Postgres, is an object-relational database management system available for many platforms including Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, MS Windows and Mac OS X. It is released under the PostgreSQL License, which is an MIT-style license, and is thus free and open source software...
. Base became part of the suite starting with version 2.0. Native to the OpenOffice.org suite is an adaptation of HSQL. While Base can be a front-end for any of the databases listed, there is no need to install any of them. Raw SQLSQL is a programming language designed for managing data in relational database management systems ....
code can be entered by those who prefer it, or graphical user interfaces can be used. |
 |
Draw OpenOffice.org Draw is a vector graphics editor and is part of the OpenOffice.org office suite. It features "connectors" between shapes, which are available in a range of line styles and facilitate building drawings such as flowchart...
|
A vector graphics editor A vector graphics editor is a computer program that allows users to compose and edit vector graphics images interactively on a computer and save them in one of many popular vector graphics formats, such as EPS, PDF, WMF, SVG, or VML....
comparable in features to early versions of CorelDRAWCorelDRAW is a vector graphics editor developed and marketed by Corel Corporation of Ottawa, Canada. It is also the name of Corel's Graphics Suite...
and Microsoft VisioMicrosoft Visio , formerly known as Microsoft Office Visio, is a commercial diagramming program for Microsoft Windows that uses vector graphics to create diagrams.- Features :...
. It features versatile "connectors" between shapes, which are available in a range of line styles and facilitate building drawings such as flowchartA flowchart is a type of diagram that represents an algorithm or process, showing the steps as boxes of various kinds, and their order by connecting these with arrows. This diagrammatic representation can give a step-by-step solution to a given problem. Process operations are represented in these...
s. It has similar features to desktop-publishingDesktop publishing is the creation of documents using page layout software on a personal computer.The term has been used for publishing at all levels, from small-circulation documents such as local newsletters to books, magazines and newspapers...
software such as ScribusScribus is a desktop publishing application, released under the GNU General Public License as free software. It is based on the free Qt toolkit, therefore native versions are available for Linux, Unix-like operating systems, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, and OS/2...
and Microsoft PublisherMicrosoft Publisher is a desktop publishing application from Microsoft. It is an entry-level application, differing from Microsoft Word in that the emphasis is placed on page layout and design rather than text composition and proofing...
. Draw can also export its creations to the PDF format. (See ooWriter entry, above, for details of PDF). |
 |
Math OpenOffice.org Math is a tool for creating and editing mathematical notation, similar to Microsoft Equation Editor and is part of the OpenOffice.org office suite. The created formulae can then be embedded inside other OpenOffice.org documents, such as those created by Writer...
|
A tool for creating and editing mathematical formulae, similar to Microsoft Equation Editor. OOo users can embed formulae inside other OpenOffice.org documents, such as those created by Writer. It supports multiple fonts In typography, a typeface is the artistic representation or interpretation of characters; it is the way the type looks. Each type is designed and there are thousands of different typefaces in existence, with new ones being developed constantly....
and can export to PDF. |
- QuickStart
QuickStart is a loading method used by several different software applications, designed to speed up the loading time of their software. Some load the core files and libraries during computer startup and allows the applications to start more quickly when selected later. QuickStarters typically...
er
- A small program for Windows and Linux that runs when the computer starts for the first time. It loads the core files and libraries for OpenOffice.org during computer startup and allows the suite applications to start more quickly when selected later. The amount of time it takes to open OpenOffice.org applications occasioned complaints at version 1.0 of the suite. Substantial improvements were made in this area for version 2.2.
- Can record user actions and replay them later to help with automating tasks, using OpenOffice.org Basic (see below).
It is not possible to download these components individually for Apple OSX or Microsoft Windows platforms, though they can be installed separately. Most Linux distributions break the components into individual packages which may be downloaded and installed separately.
- Fonts
A computer font is an electronic data file containing a set of glyphs, characters, or symbols such as dingbats. Although the term font first referred to a set of metal type sorts in one style and size, since the 1990s it is generally used to refer to a scalable set of digital shapes that may be...
- OpenOffice.org includes DejaVu fonts
The DejaVu fonts are modifications of the Bitstream Vera fonts designed for greater coverage of Unicode, as well as providing more styles. The Bitstream Vera family was limited mainly to the characters in the Basic Latin and Latin-1 Supplement portions of Unicode but was released with a license...
and OpenSymbol font in its installation packages. Installation packages for different operating systems may also contain Liberation fontsLiberation is the collective name of four TrueType font families: Liberation Sans, Liberation Sans Narrow, Liberation Serif and Liberation Mono...
(starting with OpenOffice.org 2.4) or GentiumGentium is a Unicode serif typeface designed by Victor Gaultney. Gentium fonts are free and open source software, and are released under the SIL Open Font License , which permits modification and redistribution. Gentium has wide support for languages using the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic alphabets,...
fonts (since OpenOffice.org 3.2). Older versions of OpenOffice.org (up to versions 2.3.x) included Bitstream VeraVera is a group typeface with a liberal license.It was designed by Jim Lyles from Bitstream, and it is closely based on Bitstream's Prima, for which Lyles was also responsible. It is a TrueType font with full hinting instructions, which improve its rendering quality on low-resolution devices such...
fonts. OpenOffice.org applications use the default fonts of the running operating system. For example, , recent versions of GNU/Linux distributions (Mandriva Linux, Ubuntu and OpenSUSE) use the Liberation fonts or DejaVu fonts as default fonts for new documents (when a new document is created).
Extensions
Since version 2.0.4, OpenOffice.org has supported extensions, in a similar manner to
Mozilla FirefoxMozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. , Firefox is the second most widely used browser, with approximately 25% of worldwide usage share of web browsers...
, including the unique extension .oxt. Extensions make it possible to add new functionality to an existing OpenOffice.org installation. , the OpenOffice.org Extension Repository lists more than 650 extensions. Developers can easily build new extensions for OpenOffice.org, for example by using the API Plugin for
NetBeansNetBeans refers to both a platform framework for Java desktop applications, and an integrated development environment for developing with Java, JavaScript, PHP, Python, Groovy, C, C++, Scala, Clojure, and others...
.
OpenOffice.org Basic
OpenOffice.org Basic is a
programming languageA programming language is an artificial language designed to communicate instructions to a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine and/or to express algorithms precisely....
similar to Microsoft
Visual Basic for ApplicationsVisual Basic for Applications is an implementation of Microsoft's event-driven programming language Visual Basic 6 and its associated integrated development environment , which are built into most Microsoft Office applications...
(VBA) but based on
StarOffice BasicStarOffice Basic is a dialect of BASIC that is included with the OpenOffice.org and StarOffice office suites.-Example:...
. In addition to the macros, the Novell edition of OpenOffice.org has Microsoft VBA macros support from version 2.0, a feature partly incorporated into the mainstream version with version 3.0.
OpenOffice.org Basic is available in the Writer and Calc applications. It is written in functions called subroutines or macros, with each macro performing a different task, such as counting the words in a paragraph. OpenOffice.org Basic is especially useful in doing repetitive tasks that have not been integrated in the program.
As the OpenOffice.org database, called "Base", uses documents created under the Writer application for reports and forms, one could say that Base can also be programmed with OpenOffice.org Basic.
Connectivity
OOo can interact with databases (local or remote) using:
- ODBC: Open Database Connectivity
In computing, ODBC is a standard C interface for accessing database management systems . The designers of ODBC aimed to make it independent of database systems and operating systems...
- JDBC: Java Database Connectivity
Java DataBase Connectivity, commonly referred to as JDBC, is an API for the Java programming language that defines how a client may access a database. It provides methods for querying and updating data in a database. JDBC is oriented towards relational databases...
- SDBC: StarOffice Database Connectivity
OpenDocument format
OpenOffice.org pioneered the ISO/IEC standard
OpenDocumentThe Open Document Format for Office Applications is an XML-based file format for representing electronic documents such as spreadsheets, charts, presentations and word processing documents....
file formats (ODF), which it uses natively and by default. Since version 3.0 the default format of OpenOffice.org is based on draft versions for OASIS ODF 1.2 (but this setting can be changed to ODF 1.0/1.1 in application settings). Versions 2.0–2.3.0 of OpenOffice.org default to the ODF 1.0 file format; OpenOffice.org versions 2.3.1–2.4.3 default to ODF 1.1.
The OpenDocument 1.0 specification was approved for release as an ISO and IEC International Standard under the name ISO/IEC 26300:2006.
OpenOffice.org used the
OpenOffice.org XMLOpenOffice.org XML is an open XML-based file format developed as an open community effort by Sun Microsystems and other OpenOffice.org project contributors in 2000-2002. The open-source software application suite OpenOffice.org 1.x and StarOffice 6 used the format as their native and default file...
file format in its 1.x versions as its native and default format for saving files. OpenOffice.org developers contributed the OpenOffice.org XML File Format to
OASISThe Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards is a global consortium that drives the development, convergence and adoption of e-business and web service standards...
. On the basis of that format OASIS developed the OpenDocument format, which became the native file format of OpenOffice.org. OpenOffice.org XML file format is still supported in all later versions of OpenOffice.org.
PDF export
OpenOffice.org 1.1 introduced Export to PDF and can Export presentations to Flash (.SWF). Since OpenOffice.org 2.4.0 it also supports export to
PDF/APDF/A is an ISO-standardized version of the Portable Document Format specialized for the digital preservation of electronic documents.PDF/A differs from PDF by omitting features ill-suited to long-term archiving, such as font linking...
-1a format (ISO 19005-1).
Other formats
OpenOffice.org also supports reading (and in some cases writing) many legacy and current proprietary file formats, e.g.:
- Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office is a non-free commercial office suite of inter-related desktop applications, servers and services for the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, introduced by Microsoft in August 1, 1989. Initially a marketing term for a bundled set of applications, the first version of...
formats,
- Rich Text Format
The Rich Text Format is a proprietary document file format with published specification developed by Microsoft Corporation since 1987 for Microsoft products and for cross-platform document interchange....
,
- Microsoft Pocket Word (.psw), Microsoft Pocket Excel (.pxl),
- MS Works
Microsoft Works is an integrated package software that is produced by Microsoft. Works is smaller, less expensive, and has fewer features than Microsoft Office or other major office suites. Its core functionality includes a word processor, a spreadsheet and a database management system...
through libwps,
- WordPerfect
WordPerfect is a word processing application, now owned by Corel.Bruce Bastian, a Brigham Young University graduate student, and BYU computer science professor Dr. Alan Ashton joined forces to design a word processing system for the city of Orem's Data General Corp. minicomputer system in 1979...
through libwpd,
- Quattro Pro
Quattro Pro is a spreadsheet program developed by Borland and now sold by Corel, most often as part of Corel's WordPerfect Office.Historically, Quattro Pro used keyboard commands similar to Lotus 1-2-3. It is commonly said to have been the first program to use tabbed sheets. Actually, Boeing Calc...
6,
- StarOffice
StarOffice, known briefly as Oracle Open Office before its discontinuation in 2010, is a proprietary office suite. It was originally developed by StarDivision which was acquired by Sun Microsystems in 1999...
,
- Lotus Software
Lotus Software is a software company with headquarters in Westford, Massachusetts...
,
- Hangul
Hangul is a proprietary word processing application published by the South Korean company Hancom Inc.. It is used extensively in South Korea, especially by the government....
WP 97 format,
- AportisDoc (Palm)
- T602
- SYLK
Sylk may refer to:* Sylk, a character from the movie Glitter* An initialism for SYmbolic LinK, a spreadsheet file format....
- and others.
OpenOffice.org also supports:
- Unified Office Format
Uniform Office Format sometimes known as Unified Office Format is an open standard for 'office' applications developed in China. It includes word processing, presentation, and spreadsheet modules, and is made up of GUI, API, and format specifications...
since OpenOffice.org 3.0,
- DocBook
DocBook is a semantic markup language for technical documentation. It was originally intended for writing technical documents related to computer hardware and software but it can be used for any other sort of documentation....
since OpenOffice.org 1.1,
- Data Interchange Format
Data Interchange Format is a text file format used to import/export single spreadsheets between spreadsheet programs . It is also known as "Navy DIF"...
,
- HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
- TXT,
- Comma-separated values
A comma-separated values file stores tabular data in plain-text form. As a result, such a file is easily human-readable ....
- dBASE
dBase II was the first widely used database management system for microcomputers. It was originally published by Ashton-Tate for CP/M, and later on ported to the Apple II and IBM PC under DOS...
- and many others.
Governance
The OpenOffice.org project is governed by the
Community Council, comprising members from the OpenOffice.org community, which created the charter establishing the Community Council. The Community Council suggests OpenOffice.org project goals, coordinate with Sun Microsystems or Oracle on StarOffice, with producers of other derivative commercial products and with Open Source projects on long-term development planning issues, represents the project, gathers and allocates funds, adjudicates conflicts, offers a forum for community members, etc.
The Council have no power over intellectual-property ownership of OpenOffice.org, licenses under which OpenOffice.org is released, resources controlled by Sun Microsystems or Oracle, sponsors or the contributing individuals. The Council also may not sign contracts or enter into binding legal agreements. The Council will not attempt to directly manage individual projects, except where strictly necessary in pursuing other Council's duties.
Since acquiring Sun Microsystems, Oracle has made many decisions without consulting the Council or in contravention to the council's recommendations. Disputes with the community over these actions led to the departure of a large portion of the independent developers to form
The Document FoundationThe Document Foundation is an open-source software organization. It was created by members of the OpenOffice.org community to manage and develop a fork called LibreOffice. The goal is to produce a vendor-independent office suite with ODF support and without any copyright assignment requirements...
and work on
LibreOfficeLibreOffice is a free and open source office suite developed by The Document Foundation as a fork of OpenOffice.org. It is largely compatible with other major office suites, including Microsoft Office, and available on a variety of platforms...
. In April 2011, Oracle announced that it would discontinue commercial development of OpenOffice.org, and that it would become a "purely community based project".
Overview
The OpenOffice.org
APIAn application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
is based on a component technology known as
Universal Network ObjectsIn computing, Universal Network Objects is the component model used in the OpenOffice.org application suite of programs. It is interface-based and designed to offer interoperability between different programming languages, object models and machine architectures, on a single machine, within a LAN...
(UNO). It consists of a wide range of interfaces defined in a
CORBAChorba , ciorbă , shurpa , shorpo , or sorpa is one of various kinds of soup or stew found in national cuisines across Middle East...
-like
interface description languageAn interface description language , or IDL for short, is a specification language used to describe a software component's interface...
.
The
document file formatA document file format is a text or binary file format for storing documents on a storage media, especially for use by computers.There currently exist a multitude of incompatible document file formats....
used is based on
XMLExtensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
and several export and import filters. OpenOffice.org converts all external formats which it reads - back and forth from an internal XML representation. By using
compressionIn computer science and information theory, data compression, source coding or bit-rate reduction is the process of encoding information using fewer bits than the original representation would use....
when saving
XMLExtensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
to disk, files are generally smaller than the equivalent binary Microsoft Office documents. The native file format for storing documents in version 1.0 was used as the basis of the
OASISThe Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards is a global consortium that drives the development, convergence and adoption of e-business and web service standards...
OpenDocument file format standard, which became the default file format in version 2.0.
Development versions of the suite are released every few weeks on the developer zone of the OpenOffice.org website. The releases are meant for those who wish to test new features or are simply curious about forthcoming changes; they are not suitable for production use.
Native desktop integration
OpenOffice.org 1.0 was criticized for not having the
look and feelIn software design, look and feel is a term used in respect of a graphical user interface and comprises aspects of its design, including elements such as colors, shapes, layout, and typefaces , as well as the behavior of dynamic elements such as buttons, boxes, and menus...
of applications developed natively for the platforms on which it runs. Starting with version 2.0, OpenOffice.org uses native
widget toolkitIn computing, a widget toolkit, widget library, or GUI toolkit is a set of widgets for use in designing applications with graphical user interfaces...
, icons, and font-rendering libraries across a variety of platforms, to better match native applications and to provide a smoother
experienceUser experience is the way a person feels about using a product, system or service. User experience highlights the experiential, affective, meaningful and valuable aspects of human-computer interaction and product ownership, but it also includes a person’s perceptions of the practical aspects such...
for the user. Projects have started to further improve this integration on both
GNOMEGNOME is a desktop environment and graphical user interface that runs on top of a computer operating system. It is composed entirely of free and open source software...
and
KDEKDE is an international free software community producing an integrated set of cross-platform applications designed to run on Linux, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Mac OS X systems...
desktop environments.
This issue had been particularly pronounced on Mac OS X, whose standard user interface looks noticeably different from either Windows or X11-based desktop environments and required the use of programming toolkits that were initially unfamiliar to most OpenOffice.org developers. Early versions of OpenOffice.org required the installation of
X11.appXQuartz is Apple Inc.'s version of the X server, a component of the X Window System, for Mac OS X. The current version of XQuartz is a DDX included in the X.Org Server and implements support for hardware-accelerated 2D graphics , hardware OpenGL acceleration and integration with Aqua, the Mac OS...
or
XDarwinXDarwin was a port of the X Window System to run on the Mac OS X and Darwin operating systems. It permitted the use of programs written for X11 on those operating systems....
. Versions since version 3.0 run natively using Apple's Aqua GUI.
Security
The OpenOffice.org project includes a security team, and as of October 2011 the security organization
SecuniaSecunia is a Danish computer security service provider best known for tracking vulnerabilities in a large variety of software and operating systems.Numbers of "unpatched" vulnerabilities in popular applications are frequently quoted in software comparisons....
reports no known unpatched security flaws for the software.
Kaspersky LabKaspersky Lab is a Russian computer security company, co-founded by Natalia Kaspersky and Eugene Kaspersky in 1997, offering anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-spam, and anti-intrusion products...
has shown a
proof of conceptA proof of concept or a proof of principle is a realization of a certain method or idea to demonstrate its feasibility, or a demonstration in principle, whose purpose is to verify that some concept or theory that has the potential of being used...
virus for OpenOffice.org. This shows OOo viruses are possible, but there is no known virus "in the wild".
The lab director of the French Ministry of Defense, Lt. Col. Eric Filiol, demonstrated security weaknesses, in particular within macros. OpenOffice.org developers have responded and noted that the supposed vulnerability had not been announced through "well defined procedures" for disclosure and that the Ministry had revealed nothing specific. However, the developers have had discussions with the researcher concerning the supposed vulnerability.
Ownership
The project and software are informally referred to as
OpenOffice, but since this term is a
trademarkA trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
held by other parties,
OpenOffice.org is its formal name. Due to a similar trademark issue, the
Brazilian PortugueseBrazilian Portuguese is a group of Portuguese dialects written and spoken by most of the 190 million inhabitants of Brazil and by a few million Brazilian emigrants, mainly in the United States, United Kingdom, Portugal, Canada, Japan and Paraguay....
version of the suite was distributed under the name
BrOffice.org. Stewardship of the slightly re-branded BrOffice builds was moved to
The Document FoundationThe Document Foundation is an open-source software organization. It was created by members of the OpenOffice.org community to manage and develop a fork called LibreOffice. The goal is to produce a vendor-independent office suite with ODF support and without any copyright assignment requirements...
in December 2010.
Until May 2011, staff members of the Sun / Oracle StarOffice team managed the development of OpenOffice.org. Developers who wished to contribute code were required to sign a Contributor Agreement granting joint ownership of any contributions to Oracle Corporation. An alternative Public Documentation Licence (PDL) was also offered for documentation not intended for inclusion or integration into the project code base.
On 1 June 2011, Oracle announced that the code base of OpenOffice had been proposed for submission to the
Apache Software Foundation'sThe Apache Software Foundation is a non-profit corporation to support Apache software projects, including the Apache HTTP Server. The ASF was formed from the Apache Group and incorporated in Delaware, U.S., in June 1999.The Apache Software Foundation is a decentralized community of developers...
as an
Incubator projectApache Incubator is the gateway for Open source projects intended to become fully fledged Apache Software Foundation projects.The Incubator project was created in October 2002 to provide an entry path to the Apache Software Foundation for projects and codebases wishing to become part of the...
. On 13 June, it was officially accepted as an incubator project.
Partnerships
On 4 October 2005, Sun and
GoogleGoogle Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
announced a
strategic partnershipA strategic partnership is a formal alliance between two commercial enterprises, usually formalized by one or more business contracts but falls short of forming a legal partnership or, agency, or corporate affiliate relationship....
. As part of this agreement, Sun added a Google search
toolbarIn a graphical user interface, on a computer monitor, a toolbar is a GUI widget on which on-screen buttons, icons, menus, or other input or output elements are placed. Toolbars are seen in office suites, graphics editors, and web browsers...
to OpenOffice.org, and Google agreed to help distribute OpenOffice.org. Sun and Google also agreed to engage in joint marketing activities, and joint research and development. StarOffice was formerly distributed with the
Google PackGoogle Pack was a collection of software tools offered by Google to download in a single archive. It was announced at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show, on January 6. Google Pack is currently only available for Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7...
.
On 23 May 2007, the OpenOffice.org community and Redflag Chinese 2000 Software Co, Ltd. announced a joint development effort focused on integrating the new features that have been added in the RedOffice localization of OpenOffice.org, as well as quality assurance and work on the core applications. Additionally, Redflag Chinese 2000 made public its commitment to the global OO.o community stating it would "strengthen its support of the development of the world's leading free and open source productivity suite", adding around 50 engineers (who have been working on RedOffice since 2006) to the project.
On 10 September 2007, the OO.o community announced that
IBMInternational Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
had joined to support the development of OpenOffice.org. "IBM will be making initial code contributions that it has been developing as part of its Lotus Notes product, including accessibility enhancements, and will be making ongoing contributions to the feature richness and code quality of OpenOffice.org. Besides working with the community on the free productivity suite's software, IBM will also leverage OpenOffice.org technology in its products" as seen with
Lotus SymphonyIBM Lotus Symphony is a suite of applications for creating, editing, and sharing text, spreadsheet, presentations and other documents, and is currently distributed as freeware. First released in 2007, the suite has a name similar to the 1980s DOS suite Lotus Symphony, but the two programs are...
. Sean Poulley, the vice president of business and strategy in IBM's
Lotus SoftwareLotus Software is a software company with headquarters in Westford, Massachusetts...
division, said that IBM plans to take a
leadershipLeadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...
role in the OpenOffice.org community together with other companies such as Sun Microsystems. IBM will work within the leadership structure that exists. IBM also announced 35 developers would be assigned to work on OpenOffice.org, and that it would join the OpenOffice.org foundation. Commentators noted parallels between IBM's 2000 support of Linux and this announcement.
Reviews
In September 2005
Federal Computer WeekFederal Computer Week is a magazine covering technology mostly within the federal government, although coverage can also extend to state, local, tribal and international governments....
listed OpenOffice.org as one of the "5 stars of open-source products." In contrast, OpenOffice.org was used in 2005 by
The GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper to illustrate what it sees as the limitations of open-source software, although the article does finish by stating that the software may be better than MS Word for books. OpenOffice.org was featured by
eWeekeWeek is a weekly computing business magazine published by Ziff Davis Enterprise.The magazine consists of a print publication and web site covering enterprise topics and is targeted at IT professionals rather than hobbyists.-Audience:The eWeek audience is actively involved in buying enterprise...
several times, version 2.0 was reviewed by
Linux MagazineLinux Magazine is a European professional journal. It addresses itself to readers who work professionally with operating systems based around the Linux kernel. Linux Magazine is published by Linux New Media AG and was born after the great success of Linux-Magazin...
and previewed by other media. A
PC ProPC Pro is one of several computer magazines published monthly in the United Kingdom by Dennis Publishing. PC Pro also licenses individual articles for republication in various countries around the world - and some articles are translated into local languages...
review awarded OOo Version 2.0 6 stars out of 6 and stated: "Our pick of the low-cost office suites has had a much-needed overhaul, and now battles Microsoft in terms of features, not just price." The reviewer also concluded:
In early October 2005,
ComputerWorldComputerworld is an IT magazine that provides information for senior IT leaders. It is published in many countries around the world under the same or similar names. Its publisher is International Data Group. Computerworld serves the needs of IT management via print and online...
of
IDGInternational Data Group is a technology media, research, event management, and venture capital organization.IDG evolved from International Data Corporation which was formed in 1964 in Newtonville, Massachusetts, by Patrick Joseph McGovern and a friend, Fred Kirch...
reported that for large government departments, migration to OpenOffice.org 2.0 cost one tenth of the price of upgrading to
Microsoft Office 12Microsoft Office 2007 is a Windows version of the Microsoft Office System, Microsoft's productivity suite. Formerly known as Office 12 in the initial stages of its beta cycle, it was released to volume license customers on November 30, 2006 and made available to retail customers on January 30, 2007...
.
The above information dates from January 2006 or earlier. Links to reviews of the October 2008 version 3 and earlier releases appear on the
Oo.o website.
Market share
Problems arise in estimating the
market shareMarket share is the percentage of a market accounted for by a specific entity. In a survey of nearly 200 senior marketing managers, 67 percent responded that they found the "dollar market share" metric very useful, while 61% found "unit market share" very useful.Marketers need to be able to...
of OpenOffice.org because it can be freely distributed via download sites (including mirrors), peer-to-peer networks, CDs, Linux distributions and so forth. Nevertheless, the OpenOffice.org tries to capture key adoption data in a market-share analysis. However, studies have shown that OpenOffice has reached a point where it has an "irreversible" installed user base and that it will continue to grow.
According to
Valve CorporationValve Corporation is an American video game development and digital distribution company based in Bellevue, Washington, United States...
, 14.63% of Steam users have OpenOffice.org installed on their machines as of July 2010.
A market-share analysis conducted by a
web analyticsWeb analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of internet data for purposes of understanding and optimizing web usage....
service in 2010, based on over 200,000 Internet users, showed a wide range of adoption in different countries: between 0.2% in China, 9% in the US and the UK and over 20% in Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany.
Although Microsoft Office retained 95% of the general market as measured by revenue as of August 2007, OpenOffice.org and StarOffice had secured 15-20% of the business market as of 2004. The OpenOffice.org web site reported more than 98 million downloads as of September 2007. OpenOffice.org 3.x reached one hundred million downloads just over a year since its release.
Notable users
Large-scale users of OpenOffice.org include
Singapore’s Ministry of DefenceThe Ministry of Defence is a ministry of the Government of Singapore entrusted with overseeing the national defence needs of the Republic of Singapore. It is the headquarters of the Singapore Armed Forces...
,
BristolBristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
City Council in the UK and
Banco do BrasilBanco do Brasil S.A. is the largest Brazilian and Latin American bank by assets, and the third by market value. The bank, headquartered in Brasília, was founded in 1808 and is the oldest active bank in Brazil — and one of the oldest financial institutions in the world.Banco do Brasil is controlled...
. In France, OpenOffice.org has attracted the attention of both local and national government administrations who wish to rationalize their software procurement, as well as have stable, standard file formats for archival purposes. OOo is the official office suite for the French Gendarmerie. Several government organizations in India, such as IIT Bombay,
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentNational Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development is an apex development bank in India having headquarters based in Mumbai and other branches are all over the country...
, the
Supreme Court of IndiaThe Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India...
,
ICICI BankICICI Bank Ltd. is India's second largest financial services company headquartered in Mumbai, India. It offers a wide range of banking products and financial services to corporate and retail customers through a variety of delivery channels and through its specialised subsidiaries in the areas of...
, the
Allahabad High CourtThe Allahabad High Court or the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad is a high court having jurisdiction over the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh since 1950...
, which use Linux, completely rely on OpenOffice.org for their administration. In 2008
Grafton Fraser IncGrafton-Fraser Inc. is a leading Canadian seller of men's apparel. Grafton-Fraser Inc. operates through its retail chains, Tip Top Tailors, George Richards Big and Tall, Mr. Big & Tall, and Kingsport Clothiers, which are located coast to coast in Canada...
, a Canadian menswear company, dropped Microsoft Office for its store computers and now runs OpenOffice.org exclusively.
Use of Java
In the past OpenOffice.org was criticized by the
Free Software FoundationThe Free Software Foundation is a non-profit corporation founded by Richard Stallman on 4 October 1985 to support the free software movement, a copyleft-based movement which aims to promote the universal freedom to create, distribute and modify computer software...
for an increasing dependency on the
Java Runtime EnvironmentA Java virtual machine is a virtual machine capable of executing Java bytecode. It is the code execution component of the Java software platform. Sun Microsystems stated that there are over 4.5 billion JVM-enabled devices.-Overview:...
which was not
free softwareFree software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
. Because Sun Microsystems was both the creator of Java and the chief supporter of OpenOffice.org, the software maker drew accusations of ulterior motives.
Version 1 depended on the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) being present on the user’s computer for some auxiliary functions, but version 2 increased the suite’s use of Java requiring a JRE. In response,
Red HatRed Hat, Inc. is an S&P 500 company in the free and open source software sector, and a major Linux distribution vendor. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina with satellite offices worldwide....
increased their efforts to improve
free Java implementationsFree Java implementations are software projects that implement Oracle's Java technologies and are distributed under free software licences, thus making them free software...
. Red Hat’s
Fedora CoreFedora is a RPM-based, general purpose collection of software, including an operating system based on the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat...
4 (released on 13 June 2005) included a beta version of OpenOffice.org version 2, running on
GCJ and
GNU ClasspathGNU Classpath is a project aiming to create a free software implementation of the standard class library for the Java programming language. Despite the massive size of the library to be created, the majority of the task is already done, including Swing, CORBA, and other major parts. The Classpath...
.
The issue of OpenOffice.org’s use of Java came to the fore in May 2005, when
Richard StallmanRichard Matthew Stallman , often shortened to rms,"'Richard Stallman' is just my mundane name; you can call me 'rms'"|last= Stallman|first= Richard|date= N.D.|work=Richard Stallman's homepage...
appeared to call for a fork of the application in a posting on the Free Software Foundation website. This led to discussions within the OpenOffice.org community and between Sun staff and developers involved in
GNU ClasspathGNU Classpath is a project aiming to create a free software implementation of the standard class library for the Java programming language. Despite the massive size of the library to be created, the majority of the task is already done, including Swing, CORBA, and other major parts. The Classpath...
, a free replacement for Sun’s Java implementation. Later that year, the OpenOffice.org developers also placed into their development guidelines various requirements to ensure that future versions of OpenOffice.org could run on free implementations of Java and fixed the issues which previously prevented OpenOffice.org 2.0 from using free-software Java implementations.
On 13 November 2006, Sun
committed to release JavaOpenJDK is a free and open source implementation of the Java programming language. It is the result of an effort Sun Microsystems began in 2006...
under the
GNU General Public LicenseThe GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
in the near future. This process would end OpenOffice.org's dependence on non-
freeFree software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
software.
Between November 2006 and May 2007, Sun Microsystems made available most of their Java technologies under the GNU General Public License, in compliance with the specifications of the Java Community Process, thus making almost all of Sun's Java also free software.
The following areas of OpenOffice.org 2.0 depend on JRE installation:
- The media player on Unix-like systems
- All document wizards in Writer
- Accessibility tools
- Report Autopilot
- JDBC driver support
- HSQL
HSQLDB is a relational database management system written in Java. It has a JDBC driver and supports a large subset of SQL-92 and SQL:2008 standards. It offers a fast, small database engine which offers both in-memory and disk-based tables...
database engine (used in OpenOffice.org Base)
- XSLT
XSLT is a declarative, XML-based language used for the transformation of XML documents. The original document is not changed; rather, a new document is created based on the content of an existing one. The new document may be serialized by the processor in standard XML syntax or in another format,...
filters
- BeanShell
BeanShell is a Java scripting language, invented by Patrick Niemeyer. It runs in the Java Runtime Environment and uses Java syntax, in addition to scripting commands and syntax.- Features :...
, the NetBeansNetBeans refers to both a platform framework for Java desktop applications, and an integrated development environment for developing with Java, JavaScript, PHP, Python, Groovy, C, C++, Scala, Clojure, and others...
scripting language and the Java UNO bridge
- Export filters to the Aportis.doc (.pdb
PDB is a container format for record databases in Palm OS, Garnet OS and Access Linux Platform. Its structure is similar to PRC resource databases...
) format for the Palm OSPalm OS is a mobile operating system initially developed by Palm, Inc., for personal digital assistants in 1996. Palm OS is designed for ease of use with a touchscreen-based graphical user interface. It is provided with a suite of basic applications for personal information management...
or Pocket Word (.psw) format for the Pocket PCA Pocket PC is also known by Microsoft as a 'Windows Mobile Classic device'. It is a hardware specification for a handheld-sized computer, personal digital assistant , that runs the Microsoft 'Windows Mobile Classic' operating system...
- Export filter to LaTeX
LaTeX is a document markup language and document preparation system for the TeX typesetting program. Within the typesetting system, its name is styled as . The term LaTeX refers only to the language in which documents are written, not to the editor used to write those documents. In order to...
- Export filter to MediaWiki
MediaWiki is a popular free web-based wiki software application. Developed by the Wikimedia Foundation, it is used to run all of its projects, including Wikipedia, Wiktionary and Wikinews. Numerous other wikis around the world also use it to power their websites...
's wikitextWikitext language, or wiki markup, is a lightweight markup language used to write pages in wiki websites, such as Wikipedia, and is a simplified alternative/intermediate to HTML. Its ultimate purpose is to be converted by wiki software into HTML, which in turn is served to web browsers.There is no...
A common point of confusion focuses on the need for the Java API
JavaMailJavaMail is a Java API used to receive and send email via SMTP, POP3 and IMAP. JavaMail is built into the Java EE platform, but also provides an optional package for use in Java SE.On March 2, 2009, JavaMail 1.4.2 was released....
in
mail mergeMail merge is a software function which allows to create multiple documents from a single template form and a structured data source.-History:This technique of merging data to create gave rise to the term mail merge....
to generate emails in
StarOfficeStarOffice, known briefly as Oracle Open Office before its discontinuation in 2010, is a proprietary office suite. It was originally developed by StarDivision which was acquired by Sun Microsystems in 1999...
; however, as of version 2.0.1, OpenOffice.org uses a
PythonPython is a general-purpose, high-level programming language whose design philosophy emphasizes code readability. Python claims to "[combine] remarkable power with very clear syntax", and its standard library is large and comprehensive...
-component instead.
Retail
The free software license (under which Sun distributes OpenOffice.org) allows unlimited use of the software for both home and business use, including unlimited redistribution of the software. Several businesses sell the OpenOffice.org suite on auction websites such as
eBayeBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
, offering value-added services such as
24/724/7 is an abbreviation which stands for "24 hours a day, 7 days a week", usually referring to a business or service available at all times without interruption...
technical supportTechnical support or tech support refers to a range of services by which enterprises provide assistance to users of technology products such as mobile phones, televisions, computers, software products or other electronic or mechanical goods...
, download mirrors, and CD mailing. One retail site, Open Office Anywhere, also offers the ability to run the suite using just a web browser.
In July 2007 Everex, a division of
First International ComputerFirst International Computer, Inc. is a Taiwanese computer and components manufacturer, that designs and manufactures computer products and electronic components for other electronics equipment manufacturers worldwide. The company's products include motherboards, embedded computing systems,...
and the 9th-largest PC supplier in the U.S., began shipping systems preloaded with OpenOffice.org 2.2 into
Wal-MartWal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
and
Sam's ClubSam's Club is a chain of membership-only retail warehouse clubs owned and operated by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., founded in 1983 and named after Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. , the Sam's Club chain serves more than 47 million U.S. members...
outlets in North America.
Derivative software
A number of open source and proprietary products
deriveIn software engineering, a project fork happens when developers take a legal copy of source code from one software package and start independent development on it, creating a distinct piece of software...
from OpenOffice.org. The OpenOffice.org site also lists a large variety of complementary products, including groupware systems.
StarOffice / Oracle Open Office
OpenOffice.org inherited many features from the original StarOffice upon which it was based, including the
OpenOffice.org XMLOpenOffice.org XML is an open XML-based file format developed as an open community effort by Sun Microsystems and other OpenOffice.org project contributors in 2000-2002. The open-source software application suite OpenOffice.org 1.x and StarOffice 6 used the format as their native and default file...
file format which it retained until version 2, when the ISO/IEC standard
OpenDocumentThe Open Document Format for Office Applications is an XML-based file format for representing electronic documents such as spreadsheets, charts, presentations and word processing documents....
Format (ODF) replaced it.
Sun subsidized the development of OpenOffice.org in order to use it as a base for its commercial
proprietaryProprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder. The licensee is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, while restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.Complementary...
StarOffice application software. Releases of StarOffice from version 6.0 were based on the OpenOffice.org source code, with some additional proprietary components, including the following:
- additional bundled fonts (especially East Asian language
CJK is a collective term for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, which is used in the field of software and communications internationalization.The term CJKV means CJK plus Vietnamese, which constitute the main East Asian languages.- Characteristics :...
fonts)
- Adabas D
Adabas D is a relational database management system owned by Software AG since 1994, when Software AG acquired SQL-Datenbanksysteme GmbH from Siemens Nixdorf AG....
database (the OpenOffice database module does not use Adabas)
- additional document templates
The term template, when used in the context of word processing software,refers to a sample "fill-in-the-blank" document that can be completed either by handor through an automated iterative process, such as with a software assistant. Once...
- clip art
Clip art, in the graphic arts, refers to pre-made images used to illustrate any medium. Today, clip art is used extensively in both personal and commercial projects, ranging from home-printed greeting cards to commercial candles. Clip art comes in many forms, both electronic and printed. However,...
- sorting functionality for Asian versions
- additional file filters
- migration assessment tool (Enterprise Edition)
- macro migration tool (Enterprise Edition)
- configuration management tool (Enterprise Edition)
Following the acquisition of Sun by Oracle,
StarOffice and
StarSuite became known as Oracle Open Office for the 3.3 release. In April 2011, Oracle announced the discontinuation of Oracle Open Office as part of the decision to turn OpenOffice.org into a "purely community-based project".
Go-oo
On 2 October 2007, Michael Meeks announced (and generated an answer by Sun's
Simon PhippsSimon Phipps is a computer scientist and web and open source advocate.Phipps was instrumental in IBM's involvement in the Java programming language, founding IBM's Java Technology Center. He left IBM for Sun Microsystems in 2000, taking leadership of Sun's open source programme from Danese Cooper...
and Mathias Bauer) a derived OpenOffice.org work, under the wing of his employer
NovellNovell, Inc. is a multinational software and services company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Attachmate Group. It specializes in network operating systems, such as Novell NetWare; systems management solutions, such as Novell ZENworks; and collaboration solutions, such as Novell Groupwise...
, with the purpose of including new features and fixes that do not get easily integrated in the OOo-build up-stream core. The work was called Go-oo, a name under which a set of patches for OO.o software has been available for five years. The new features, shared with Novell's edition of OOo, include:
- Support for VBA
Visual Basic for Applications is an implementation of Microsoft's event-driven programming language Visual Basic 6 and its associated integrated development environment , which are built into most Microsoft Office applications...
macros
- Faster start-up time
- Improved GTK theme handling (especially dark-colored)
- "A linear optimization
Linear programming is a mathematical method for determining a way to achieve the best outcome in a given mathematical model for some list of requirements represented as linear relationships...
solver to optimize a cell value based on arbitrary constraints built into Calc".
- Multimedia content support in documents, using the gstreamer
GStreamer is a pipeline-based multimedia framework written in the C programming language with the type system based on GObject.GStreamer allows a programmer to create a variety of media-handling components, including simple audio playback, audio and video playback, recording, streaming and editing...
multimedia framework
- Support for Microsoft Works
Microsoft Works is an integrated package software that is produced by Microsoft. Works is smaller, less expensive, and has fewer features than Microsoft Office or other major office suites. Its core functionality includes a word processor, a spreadsheet and a database management system...
formats, WordPerfectWordPerfect is a word processing application, now owned by Corel.Bruce Bastian, a Brigham Young University graduate student, and BYU computer science professor Dr. Alan Ashton joined forces to design a word processing system for the city of Orem's Data General Corp. minicomputer system in 1979...
graphics (WPG format) and T602 files imports
- Export for Office Open XML files such as docx, xlsx, pptx by using Novell OpenXML Converter
The office suite branded OpenOffice.org in most Linux distributions (including
UbuntuUbuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...
,
openSUSEopenSUSE is a general purpose operating system built on top of the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported openSUSE Project and sponsored by SUSE...
and
Mandriva LinuxMandriva Linux is a Linux distribution distributed by Mandriva. It uses the RPM Package Manager...
) was in fact based on Go-oo. The Go-oo project was deprecated and merged into LibreOffice upon its establishment.
LibreOffice
On 28 September 2010, key members of the OpenOffice.org Project formed a new group called
The Document FoundationThe Document Foundation is an open-source software organization. It was created by members of the OpenOffice.org community to manage and develop a fork called LibreOffice. The goal is to produce a vendor-independent office suite with ODF support and without any copyright assignment requirements...
, and made available a rebranded fork of OpenOffice.org, provisionally named
LibreOffice. The Foundation stated that it will coordinate and oversee the development of LibreOffice.
Oracle was invited to become a member of the Document Foundation, and was also asked to donate the
OpenOffice.org brand to the project. However, Oracle declined this invitation and demanded that all members of the OpenOffice.org board involved with the LibreOffice project step down.
The Document Foundation received statements of support from members of the OpenOffice.org community, including the companies
NovellNovell, Inc. is a multinational software and services company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Attachmate Group. It specializes in network operating systems, such as Novell NetWare; systems management solutions, such as Novell ZENworks; and collaboration solutions, such as Novell Groupwise...
,
Red HatRed Hat, Inc. is an S&P 500 company in the free and open source software sector, and a major Linux distribution vendor. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina with satellite offices worldwide....
,
CanonicalCanonical Ltd. is a private company founded by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth to market commercial support and related services for Ubuntu Linux and related projects. Canonical is registered in London and employs staff around the world...
and
GoogleGoogle Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
. The goal is to produce a vendor-independent office suite with ODF support and without any copyright assignment requirements.
Go-ooGo-oo was an office suite which started as a set of patches for the cross-platform OpenOffice.org office suite, then later became an independent fork of OpenOffice.org with a number of enhancements...
improvements are being merged in LibreOffice. Improvements done in other forks are expected to be incorporated as well.
Debian Linux (including
UbuntuUbuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...
) and
OpenSUSEopenSUSE is a general purpose operating system built on top of the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported openSUSE Project and sponsored by SUSE...
prefer
LibreOfficeLibreOffice is a free and open source office suite developed by The Document Foundation as a fork of OpenOffice.org. It is largely compatible with other major office suites, including Microsoft Office, and available on a variety of platforms...
to the original OpenOffice.org.
Other projects
- IBM's Lotus Symphony
IBM Lotus Symphony is a suite of applications for creating, editing, and sharing text, spreadsheet, presentations and other documents, and is currently distributed as freeware. First released in 2007, the suite has a name similar to the 1980s DOS suite Lotus Symphony, but the two programs are...
, with a new interface based on EclipseEclipse is a multi-language software development environment comprising an integrated development environment and an extensible plug-in system...
(based on OO.o 1.x).
- OpenOffice.org Novell edition, integrated with Evolution
Evolution or Novell Evolution is the official personal information manager and workgroup information management tool for GNOME. It combines e-mail, calendar, address book, and task list management functions. It has been an official part of GNOME since version 2.8 in September 2004...
and with an OOXML filter.
- Beijing Red Flag
Red Flag Linux is a Chinese Linux distribution developed by Red Flag Software. Red Flag's logo is Tux carrying a prominent red flag.The current executive president of Red Flag Software is Jia Dong .-Description:...
Chinese 2000's RedOffice, fully localized in Chinese characters and with support for English.
- OOo4Kids is an Open Office.org education project designed for 7-12 year-old age range with specific adaptations to the world of education. These include an interface that is easier to learn, where more complex math, word-formatting and some other functions no longer explicitly appear. These features are still present and working, but are hidden. A portable version for Windows (17 locales) is available. See
- NeoOffice
NeoOffice is an office suite for Mac OS X. It is a fork of the free/open source OpenOffice.org that implements nearly all of the features of the corresponding OpenOffice.org version, including a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation program, and graphics program...
, an independent portIn computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
, offered a native OS XMac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
’s Aqua user interface even before such integration was available in OpenOffice.org. Its releases lag behind the official releases, due to its small development team and the concurrent development of the technology used to port the user interface.
- PortableApps.com
PortableApps.com is a site offering portable software for Windows.The site was founded by John T. Haller and includes contributions from over 100 people, including developers, designers and translators.-History:...
and LiberKeyLiberKey is a platform for freeware, free and open source portable software for Windows. It includes some unique features in the area of Portable Application Suites, like dedicated tools for portabilization , portable file associations, portable desktop shortcuts and online updates of...
distribute portable versionsA portable application , sometimes also called standalone, is a computer software program designed to run independently from an operating system...
of OpenOffice.org designed to run the suite under Microsoft Windows from a USB flash driveA flash drive is a data storage device that consists of flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus interface. flash drives are typically removable and rewritable, and physically much smaller than a floppy disk. Most weigh less than 30 g...
, where the user can install new TrueTypeTrueType is an outline font standard originally developed by Apple Computer in the late 1980s as a competitor to Adobe's Type 1 fonts used in PostScript...
fonts in the folder openoffice/share/fonts/truetype.
- OxygenOffice Professional extends OpenOffice.org, adding the ability to run Visual Basic for Application (VBA) macros in Calc (for testing), improved Calc HTML export, enhanced Access support for Base, enhanced color-palette, enhanced help and documentation, additional clip art
Clip art, in the graphic arts, refers to pre-made images used to illustrate any medium. Today, clip art is used extensively in both personal and commercial projects, ranging from home-printed greeting cards to commercial candles. Clip art comes in many forms, both electronic and printed. However,...
, several templates and sample documents and over 90 fonts.
- OpenGroupware.org
SOGo is an Open Source collaborative software server with a focus on simplicity and scalability...
is a set of extension programs to allow the sharing of OpenOffice.org documents, calendars, address books, e-mails, instant messaging and blackboards, and to provide access to other groupwareCollaborative software is computer software designed to help people involved in a common task achieve goals...
applications.
- A set of Perl
Perl is a high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming language. Perl was originally developed by Larry Wall in 1987 as a general-purpose Unix scripting language to make report processing easier. Since then, it has undergone many changes and revisions and become widely popular...
extensions (available through the CPANCPAN, the Comprehensive Perl Archive Network, is an archive of nearly 100,000 modules of software written in Perl, as well as documentation for it. It has a presence on the World Wide Web at and is mirrored worldwide at more than 200 locations...
) allows external programs to process OpenOffice.org documents. These libraries do not use the OpenOffice.org API. They directly read or write the OpenOffice.org files using Perl standard file compression/decompressionA codec is a device or computer program capable of encoding or decoding a digital data stream or signal. The word codec is a portmanteau of "compressor-decompressor" or, more commonly, "coder-decoder"...
, XML access and UTF-8UTF-8 is a multibyte character encoding for Unicode. Like UTF-16 and UTF-32, UTF-8 can represent every character in the Unicode character set. Unlike them, it is backward-compatible with ASCII and avoids the complications of endianness and byte order marks...
encoding modules.
See also
- LibreOffice
LibreOffice is a free and open source office suite developed by The Document Foundation as a fork of OpenOffice.org. It is largely compatible with other major office suites, including Microsoft Office, and available on a variety of platforms...
- List of office suites
- Comparison of office suites
- Open format
An open file format is a published specification for storing digital data, usually maintained by a standards organization, which can therefore be used and implemented by anyone. For example, an open format can be implementable by both proprietary and free and open source software, using the typical...
- Universal Network Objects
In computing, Universal Network Objects is the component model used in the OpenOffice.org application suite of programs. It is interface-based and designed to offer interoperability between different programming languages, object models and machine architectures, on a single machine, within a LAN...
External links