Open Office Updated to 1.1.2

[Brett_Tabke]

One of the premier Office pages available was updated today.

[download.openoffice.org...]

Mostly bug fixes and a couple new features (such as an auto font updater)

Starting to use it more and more.

[danieljean]

It's a great package for me.

I like the fact that I can export PDFs without a problem- looks very professional on quotes and proposals :)

[danieljean]

SlyOldDog- most of the problems you mention are Microsoft "features"

As long as they obfuscate their formats to prevent interoperability, you'll either need to convince the rest of the office to work with you in OpenOffice for your internal communications, or you'll need to go with a product that doesn't let you own your own damn data.

[ddent]

Keep in mind that "passworded .doc" and "secure" are opposites...

[planit]

If we can get the world to change there won't be any problems with compatability.
(and we would all be richer)

[bluelook]

>Can't open MSOffice password protected files

You can open password protected files with Word Viewer, that it´s freely available at Microsoft´s site.

[Adam_C]

Dabbled with this on a new computer for a few days.

It crashed loads and couldn't handle my Excel spreadsheets at all.

Made me shell out for MS Office!

[edited by: Adam_C at 8:29 am (utc) on June 22, 2004]

[operafan]

We won't need to BUY any more software in the future :)

[SlyOldDog]

>>You can open password protected files with Word Viewer, that it´s freely available at Microsoft´s site.

Yes, but you cannot edit the output, and in excel viewer you cannot see into the formulas. That makes understanding a big spreadsheet impossible, and it also makes it impossible to cut and paste formulas into Open Office.

On the compatibility: OpenOffice could not calculate an XLS sheet I made using arrays. Unfortunately it is the most important spreadsheet in our company so it looks like I'll be headed back to Microsoft soon :(

[danieljean]

Actually, the freebie from Microsoft not showing formulas properly (I expect cells to be color-coded when you highlight a formula, damn-it!) is what made me appreciate OOo.

Migration from some XLS formats to OOo is going to be tough in some cases, just as it's difficult sometimes to go from one Microsoft format/version to another. With OOo however, you will be better off long-term. But for heaven's sake, please don't claim it's OOo that's broken: you're just seeing the result of monopolistic practices by Microsoft.

Operafan: you won't get everything for free if I have anything to do about it. I make my living programming, and give out a lot of open-source software, but you sure will pay a premium when you want your package customized for your needs. As far as the applications most of us use on a daily basis though, you are quite right, and it's about time :)

[CritterNYC]

Can't open MSOffice password protected files. Without that I cannot communicate with office users on a secure level.

*snicker* Communicating securely using MS Office's password protecion features? Yer kidding, right?

[SlyOldDog]

I doubt anyone in my office would be able to hack an office password. Most of them have trouble opening the application.

[CritterNYC]

I doubt anyone in my office would be able to hack an office password. Most of them have trouble opening the application.

What kind of office do you work in where your mail server and file server is so insecure that you have to resort to password-protected office documents? Or are you just using it for "good enough" security for communicating externally?

[Herenvardo]

I play rpg (role-playing games) and I often use self-calculating character sheets in MS Excel. I use (and abuse ;)) features like:
- Options lists: When making a choice (such as the character's race, his/her main weapon, etc), I select it from a list (Human, elf, dwarf... for races; short sword, battle axe, runic staff... for weapons and so on).
- Dice rolling: In most RPGs, there are atributes that depend, partially or totally, on your luck rolling the dice. With the Excel sheet I can roll random values for each dice-depending field.
- Auto-calculation: Whenever I modify a field, all depending values are refreshed. This means that even when I add something to the inventory, since the carried weigth gets modified, the sheet updates my maximum speed (that logically is reduced as more weigth is carried). For example, if I replace a Small Dagger with a Great Double-bladed sword, the speed is reduced from 30 to 20.

I've tried to open some of these sheets in open office and it is unable. So, that's my question:
Are these features someway implementable on OpenOffice spreadsheets? If so, how are they implemented?
Note that the MS Excel version uses a lot of VBA. :S

Greetings,
Herenvardo
Open Software Forever ;)

[ronin]

Admittedly, I never do anything particularly complex with either spreadsheets or written documents (just accounts, forecasts and invoices) but I switched from MS Office to OOo at the end of March 2003 and I've never looked back.

[MatthewHSE]

I grabbed Open Office after reading the initial post in this thread and have been impressed so far. I think it has a ways to go before it is capable of completely replacing MS Office for everyone, but on the whole it's very good. I especially like the ability to export to PDF and Flash.

But does anyone know how to fix it so the header and footer only appear on the first page of a text document? ;)