You don’t have to pay for Microsoft Office – Give Apache OpenOffice a try.

What Is Apache OpenOffice?
Open Office was the first free contender to Microsoft Office, though it has fallen slightly behind in recent years to alternatives like Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, and its own spinoff product Libre Office.

The open source suite includes word processing (Write), spreadsheets (Calc), presentation (Impress), and database management (Base) programs, along with drawing and math apps that don’t have a direct Microsoft corollary. Open Office works with most Microsoft formats including DOCX, XLS, PPT, and XML

Apache OpenOffice is the open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It’s available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose.

Here’s what you get with OpenOffice

  • Writer a word processor you can use for anything from writing a quick letter to producing an entire book.
  • Calc a powerful spreadsheet with all the tools you need to calculate, analyze, and present your data in numerical reports or sizzling graphics.
  • Impress the fastest, most powerful way to create effective multimedia presentations.
  • Draw lets you produce everything from simple diagrams to dynamic 3D illustrations.
  • Base lets you manipulate databases seamlessly. Create and modify tables, forms, queries, and reports, all from within Apache OpenOffice.
  • Math lets you create mathematical equations with a graphic user interface or by directly typing your formulas into the equation editor.

 

OpenOffice is available for PC’s, Mac’s and Linux systems. If you still remember how Microsoft Office 2003 looked, OpenOffice will seem very familiar. They kept the old interface and avoided the “trendy” ribbon interface so common today.

The major differences – there’s no integrated cloud storage, no email or calendar program like Outlook, and there aren’t any mobile apps.

If you’re ready to save some big money and give OpenOffice a try, here’s the link:
https://www.openoffice.org/