Free office suites

SME IT/ COST CUTTING

Continuing our series on cheaper IT solutions.

SMEs can save drastically on costs using free office suites. In fact, you may never again need Microsoft office after downloading this free one. I will touch upon other free online office suites in the next column. The logic is simple. If you have 10 computers, this free suite will easily save you at least Rs 20,000 in the least.

OpenOffice.org (free, open source office suite from Sun Microsystems) is both a fully-featured office suite compatible with leading office products, and a virtual community working through its numerous projects. Best of all, it works with Microsoft file formats. The 76MB download (if you request, you can also get it on a CD) comprises the following:

Writer is a word processor (similar in look and feel to Microsoft Word). It includes the ability to export Portable Document Format (PDF) files with no additional software, and can also function as a WYSIWYG editor (what you see is what you get) for creating and editing web pages. One important difference between Writer and Microsoft Word is that in Writer, many functions and number formats from Calc (below) are available in Writer's tables.

Calc is a spreadsheet (similar to Microsoft Excel) that provides a number of features not present in Excel, including a system which automatically defines series for graphing, based on the layout of the user's data. Calc is also capable of writing spreadsheets directly as a PDF file. However, there is a slight learning curve if you have used excel before.

Impress is a presentation programme that clones Microsoft PowerPoint. It can export presentations to Adobe Flash (SWF) files allowing them to be played on any computer with the Flash player installed. It also includes the ability to create PDF files. It lacks ready-made presentation designs. However, templates are readily available on the Internet.

Base is a database programme similar to Microsoft Access. Base allows the creation and manipulation of databases, and the building of forms and reports to provide easy access to data for end-users. As with Access, Base is able to work as a front-end to a number of different database systems, including Access databases (JET), ODBC data sources and MySQL /PostgreSQL. Base became part of the suite starting with version 2.0.

Draw is a vector graphics editor comparable in features to CorelDRAW. It features versatile "connectors" between shapes, which are available in a range of line styles and facilitate building drawings such as flowcharts.

Math is a tool for creating and editing mathematical formulae, similar to Microsoft Equation Editor. Formulae can be embedded inside other OpenOffice.org documents, such as those created by Writer. It supports multiple fonts and can export to PDF.

QuickStarter is 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 was a common complaint in version 1.0 of the suite, and Quickstarter was a solution of sorts. Substantial improvements were made in this area for version 2.0.

Heavily-formatted Word files opened in Writer almost exactly as they do in Word, even when they included tracked changes, drawing objects, and other advanced features. However, Word's animated text to translate into Writer generally doesn't work. Anyone who doesn't want to pay Microsoft's premium prices for rarely-used features may prefer this free suite. It does mostly everything that typical users need it to do.

The writer is in-charge of 'ICE World' at Business Standard