Open Office.....What say Ye ?

  • Thread starter Thread starter weezer
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Bob said:
I'm impressed by your restraint. I was expecting you to cut loose
with both barrels. :D

Bob
Click to expand...


Bob, do you have bi-polar syndrome ?
First you give an informative rep and and then turn around and kiss a
troll's butt in the same string...< hero worship is no excuse>
All the original poster wanted was some help...jeez, I thought that was
what this group was about.
 
Access is a database frontend & a RAD environment, not a database engine
(by default it uses the MS Jet engine).

As a database frontend, OOo can do less than MS Office Pro, but more than
MS Office Standard...
On this subject we realy differ.
I wouldn't even consider it a database engine, even less a fully featured
database.
Click to expand...

The built-in DBF engine is a database engine, just not a relational one.

Using one of the database client libraries (MySQL, ODBC, JDBC) you can even
use OOo Writer as a simple relational database frontend. Through ODBC you
can create and use an .mdb with several tables in it, for example.

IMHO, OOo doesn't _need_ an advanced database engine built-in, as almost
every OS comes with one these days (MS Jet on Windows, Berkeley DB for most
linux distros) or it's easy to install if you don't have one yet.

A RAD environment to create OOo-based applications (not only database
frontends) would be nice though...
 
23mike said:
Bob, do you have bi-polar syndrome ?
First you give an informative rep and and then turn around and kiss a
troll's butt in the same string...< hero worship is no excuse>
All the original poster wanted was some help...jeez, I thought that
was what this group was about.
Click to expand...

Oh, my! Talk about trolling! Hiding behind a 'nym and scolding someone.
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a
monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also
into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Besides, I did help. I helped bring a smile to Bob's face (well, in his
typed reply, anyway). :)
 
Bob, do you have bi-polar syndrome ?
First you give an informative rep and and then turn around and kiss a
troll's butt in the same string...< hero worship is no excuse>
All the original poster wanted was some help...jeez, I thought that was
what this group was about.
Click to expand...

It was all in good fun. You can be informative and also enjoy yourself. This
NG is really about fun. If it weren't fun, nobody would hang around very
long, would they?

Lighten up Mike. Life's too short to be worrying about trivial things. :)

Bob

Remove "kins" to reply by e-mail.
 
Oh, my! Talk about trolling! Hiding behind a 'nym and scolding someone.
Click to expand...

I feel so, er, scolded. <sniff>

"He who plays with sock puppets will eventually get lint in his mouth".



Bob

Remove "kins" to reply by e-mail.
 
My 2 cents:

1: Slower on start if you have quick launcher turned off.

2: There are a few conversion format issues, but I have NEVER seen an MS
Office file that OOo version 1.1 can't open - ever (note that Microsoft
Office 97 will not open some XP documents). The doc may look a little
funny, but a few minutes of cleanup takes care of it. If one wanted to
ensure the ability to view MSO files as saved, you could install the MSO
viewers (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio) avaialble at Micorosoft.com.
Alternatively, you could install OOo on all PC's in a company, and only
MSoffice where you needed it.

3: No database engine in version 1.1 From tapping into some of the OO
forums, I hear that one is planned for rollout with version 2.0.

4: Macros/scripting - comes with StarBasic language support, not Java.
How hard is it to do? Unknown. Note that StartOffice comes with a VBA
to Starbasic converter.

5: OOo interface is butt-ugly but very practical. "Date the cute one,
marry smart one."

6: No text to columns in spreadsheet - see
http://www.ooodocs.org/modules.php?name=Downloads&d_op=viewdownload&cid=23

No Paste-Format see: http://www.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=23756
 
Frank Hahn said:
One thing to keep in mind in that MS Office is a closed format. To me
this means there will almost always be incompatabilities. If this is a
problem, then you buy the expensive MS Office.

I have transferred a few simple documents back and forth between school
(which had MS Office installed) and home (OpenOffice) and had a few
problems, but nothing insurmountable. Since I saved myself several
hundred dollars, I could live with it. ;)
Click to expand...

In my work situation most documents are text only and could just as
well have been in RTF, but somehow people are reluctant to use that
format. No compatibility problems with RTF and smaller documents too.
However, I've even come across (ignorant) people who said that their
pc can't handle RTF, would you believe it.

Frank
 
in
MSOffice compatible, there are still some flaws.
Therfore it is not that interesting if you're
planning for cross company use, since most other
companies rely compleetly on Microsoft Office
compatabilityclosed format. To me this means there will almost
always be incompatabilities. If this is a problem,
then you buy the expensive MS Office.
True, if that is your only concern, MS-office is
Click to expand...
way to expensive and bloated for this kind of job,
and open office handels it just perfect. My
custommers, however, heavly depend on compatibility
with other businesses. Epsecialy on spreadsheats
and word documents. A lost document can mean the
cancellation of an order. This is indeed a reasen
to still choose for MS Office
Actually, there is compatibility problems between
MSOffice versions. A doc created in MSO97 may not
work in MSO2000, or XP. Going backwards, it is
even worse. Whereas, with OOo I have managed to
open every MSO doc with at most minor formatting
issues. Most importantly though is that I COULD
open the MSO doc when MSO could not. Add in the
native ability to create PDF files (Which MSO does
not have), for those who do not need a powerful
Database frontend (and if they do, there is plenty
of freeware/opensource options out there), OOo is
what I recommend. Especially if money is also a
factor, but even when it is not.
 
Gonzo said:
Actually, there is compatibility problems between
MSOffice versions. A doc created in MSO97 may not
work in MSO2000, or XP. Going backwards, it is
even worse. Whereas, with OOo I have managed to
open every MSO doc with at most minor formatting
issues. Most importantly though is that I COULD
open the MSO doc when MSO could not. Add in the
native ability to create PDF files (Which MSO does
not have), for those who do not need a powerful
Database frontend (and if they do, there is plenty
of freeware/opensource options out there), OOo is
what I recommend. Especially if money is also a
factor, but even when it is not.
Click to expand...

Hmm... I never have encounterd that documents of older versions were not
compatible with newer versions,
at least text and layout wise. Macro wise it is a whole different story
(Word 97 NL to word 2000 UK is a crime against humanity, I agree). Backward
compatability problems I only encountered if people saved as the wrong
version (eg as word 2000 document in stead of Word 97 document - yes, there
are small differences).

I neither have had any problems with OOo documents, but then again, ther
always has been little need for me to open MS-Word documents with Open
Office Word

MightyKitten
 
In my work situation most documents are text only and could just as
well have been in RTF, but somehow people are reluctant to use that
format. No compatibility problems with RTF and smaller documents too.
However, I've even come across (ignorant) people who said that their
pc can't handle RTF, would you believe it.
Click to expand...
When you start making blanket statements like above about "no
compatibility problems with RTF" then something comes along that ends up
causing problems. ;)

There is a discussion right now on the OpenOffice users mailing list
about an RTF file that will not open up in OpenOffice but that a later
version of Word will open. A link to the document is here:

http:/members.cox.net/shawn.mcdermott/dss_face_sheet.rtf

For those that may be interested in reading the OpenOffice Users Mailing
list without subscribing to a high volume list, you can use your
newsreader by setting it to news.gmane.org. The list name is:

gmane.comp.openoffice.questions
 
You were, but that's OK, I feel your pain. :)


Spit out the lint and continue playing.
Click to expand...

Wait! It's that other guy that plays with sock puppets, not me!

Bob

Remove "kins" to reply by e-mail.
 
MightyKitten said:
Hmm... I never have encounterd that documents of older versions were not
compatible with newer versions,
at least text and layout wise. Macro wise it is a whole different story
(Word 97 NL to word 2000 UK is a crime against humanity, I agree). Backward
compatability problems I only encountered if people saved as the wrong
version (eg as word 2000 document in stead of Word 97 document - yes, there
are small differences).

I neither have had any problems with OOo documents, but then again, ther
always has been little need for me to open MS-Word documents with Open
Office Word
Click to expand...

I've got a good one for you. I had a .DOC file that opened, but as
noted, some reformatting was required. In order to make the file
"cross-platform" I re-saved the fixed file in the .DOC format provided
by OOo. The file now required reformatting when opened in either Word or
OOwriter. In other words, OOo could not faithfully open a Word file it
had itself saved. Interesting huh?

These issues are, of course, largely due to the fact that MS does not
publish file format information for others to provide compatibility. Any
success that has come about here is due to the efforts of very talented
people, working very hard to reverse engineer a very closed and secret
file format, that is ever changing with each new Office version
released. As a matter of fact, no other office suite offers MSO
compatibility a whole bunch better than OOo does. 100% compatibility
will probably never happen. One day MS will include OOo *.SXW support in
MSO, wouldn't that be a switch?

HK
 
Frank Hahn said:
There is a discussion right now on the OpenOffice users mailing list
about an RTF file that will not open up in OpenOffice but that a later
version of Word will open. A link to the document is here:

http:/members.cox.net/shawn.mcdermott/dss_face_sheet.rtf
Click to expand...

It opens up ok but you see nothing, simlarly in Wordpad, Metapad,
Keynote and Lister. PSPad shows RTF code and text but word wrap does
not function properly. So the problem is not Open Office related, I
presume. My guess is that the the file was made with M$ Word. M$ is
known to ignore various international standards.

Frank
 
Bob Adkins said:
Wait! It's that other guy that plays with sock puppets, not me!
Click to expand...

Oh. Well then, I don't think I want to know how that lint got in your
mouth.
Really, Bob, you should at least *glance* at a mirror before you go out
in public.
 
Oh. Well then, I don't think I want to know how that lint got in your
mouth.
Really, Bob, you should at least *glance* at a mirror before you go out
in public.
Click to expand...

Glance in the mirror? You. Another 40-year-old virgin surfing the web
looking for free bestial porn. No big surprise there.

HTH
Thanks for your time and patience!
 
Frank Delamarre said:
It opens up ok but you see nothing, simlarly in Wordpad, Metapad,
Keynote and Lister. PSPad shows RTF code and text but word wrap does
not function properly. So the problem is not Open Office related, I
presume. My guess is that the the file was made with M$ Word. M$ is
known to ignore various international standards.
Click to expand...

Microsoft writes the RTF specifications, and there are several versions of
them, so this might be a version issue...
 
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