Open Office - Free alternative to Microsoft Office

Open Office - Free Office Suite

OpenOffice.org is a multiplatform and multilingual office suite and an open-source project. Compatible with all other major office suites, the product is free to download, use, and distribute.

What are the system requirements?

Generally, 64-128MB of RAM is recommended, with a minimum of 32MB present under the Windows and Linux installation. 64MB is suggested to be the bare minimum as more memory improves start-up speed and overall performance. On Windows and Linux, a minimum of 115MB of hard disk space is required (this can go up to about 240MB), while on Mac OS X, you require about 450MB of disk space.

Where can I get the downloads for my platform?

The best place to look for the latest, greatest releases and related information is at OpenOffice.org's Download Central web page, which can also be accessed via the Download tab at the top of most pages at the OpenOffice.org web site. Click the "Download OpenOffice.org" part of the screen.

Most operating systems will run the latest stable release, but there are exceptions.

Can I download only parts of the OpenOffice.org suite?

No, this is not possible at this time. OpenOffice.org is an application suite. A suite is one application with several different faces. Most of these faces use the same set of libraries. Although the download size of the entire application may be around 70 MB, the download for the core components needed to enable only the word processor module would probably be over 50 MB. This is not much of a saving compared to the loss of extra functionality included in the other modules of the office suite.

What is the best way to download such a large file?

Use a download manager. This allows you to start, suspend, and resume the download. There is information about various download mangagers at OpenOffice.org's Download Central web page.

How do I find the file I just downloaded?

You can use the Search utility if you cannot remember where you placed the file during the download process. If you just downloaded the Windows version of OOo, then the file should be called something like OOo_1.1.3_Win32Intel_install.exe or OOo_1.0.3.1_Win32Intel_install.zip.

To use the search utility in Win98, click on the Start button, choose Find > Files or Folders, type OOo into the Named field, then click the Find Now button. This will bring up a list of all files on your system that contain OOo, and it will show where they live.

To use the search utility in WinXP or Win2000, click on the Start button, choose Search > Files or Folders, type OOo into the Search for files or folders named field, then click the Search Now button.

The path to the search utility will not be exactly the same on every operating system, but it will be similar. (If you can provide exact steps to the search utility on your operating system, please do!)

It's too large to download. What other choices do I have?

You can order OpenOffice.org on CD from various distributors.

How do I install OpenOffice.org on Windows?

If you have downloaded the binary file for Windows from OpenOffice.org, it may be in ZIP, TAR, or EXE format.

1. If the file is in the ZIP or TAR format, decompress it into a temporary folder (with a program such as WinZip or Pkzip).
   If the file is in the EXE format, simply double-click the file to decompress it.
2. Double-click the Install icon that you find in the Install Folder; or, double-click the file named setup.exe. A guided installation dialog will begin and will step you through the installation process.

I've installed OpenOffice.org, now what do I do?

Simply start the OpenOffice.org application. After the installation, an entry for OpenOffice.org is listed in the Programs menu. After OpenOffice.org has started, an icon will be available on the system tray. (It looks like flying seagulls on a blue and white background.) Click on the icon with the right mouse button to quickly start the various different components of the office suite. This quick-launcher will automatically start when you log in.

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