OpenOffice.org is a free, multi-platform office suite. It includes key desktop applications, such as a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation manager, drawing program, and database module.

OpenOffice.org is an Open Source project and available on all major platforms, including Linux, Solaris and Windows. At present, you can choose from more than 40 different language options.

OpenOffice.org works with a variety of file formats, including those of Microsoft Office. It avoids the risk of vendor lock-in because it uses a standardised, XML-based file format that makes interoperability easy and your documents future-proof.
www.openoffice.org

OpenOffice.org: The Great Escape

“It’s just powerful and sophisticated software at everyone’s favourite price.” Geoff Palmer highlights the benefits of using OpenOffice.org.
www.pcworld.co.nz

Stick or Twist?

“It’s hard to justify the expense of £90 to £150 per computer a year to run software that’s definitely no better than the free alternative.” Chris Johnston reports on why OpenOffice.org could loosen Microsoft’s grip on UK schools.
education.guardian.co.uk

Microsoft’s Crib Sheet for Combatting OpenOffice.org

Read carefully, Microsoft’s OpenOffice 1.1 Competitive Guide represents one of the most interesting adverts of OpenOffice.org and its capabilities.
competitive_guide.pdf (PDF file, 54 kb)

The Hidden Dangers of Documents

“The UK government has now largely abandoned Microsoft Word for documents that become public”, writes Mark Ward. If only they had used OpenOffice.org’s one-click PDF export…
news.bbc.co.uk

Installing OpenOffice.org 2.3.1 on Windows NT/2000/XPSP1/XPSP2

OpenOffice.org works best with Java installed on your system. Hence, you should begin by downloading the latest version of the Java Runtime Environment and installing it onto your system.

Next, download OpenOffice.org by saving the self-extracting archive OOo_2.3.1_Win32Intel_install_wJRE_en-US.exe onto the Desktop. You are now ready to install OpenOffice.org.

Double-click OOo_2.3.1_Win32Intel_install_wJRE_en-US.exe and select a destination folder for unpacking the OpenOffice.org installation files. When prompted, choose Complete as the setup type. Select the file types Microsoft Word Documents, Microsoft Excel Spreadsheets and Microsoft PowerPoint Presentations to be opened with OpenOffice.org. Click Finish to complete your OpenOffice.org installation.
download.openoffice.org

Open Formats Make History—And Maintain It

“Open formats are an important part of computing freedom because they give people control of their own data.” Gervase Markham on why there really is no alternative to open data formats.
business.timesonline.co.uk

What Is OpenDocument…Again?

“OpenDocument was created to overcome the problems of proprietary document formats. Yet it is not solely a competitive missile directed at the established format owner, Microsoft.” Sam Hiser summarises some of the key considerations.
fussnotes.typepad.com/plexnex/

What Is OpenDocument

“Given the obscurity of document formats and of technical standards work, it’s easy to miss the importance of an XML-based open document format standard.” Sam Hiser on how ODF represents a triumph of common sense and why Microsoft’s petulant response ulitmately is pure entertainment.
www.onlamp.com

Debunking Myths on Open Document Formats

“As we’ve talked to folks about the OpenDocument format, a few consistent ‘myths’ kept coming up. Here is our attempt to move some of that discussion closer to reality.”
www.sutor.com

Open Must Be More Than a Marketing Term

“I will not allow myself to get locked in by a vendor on the basis of the format in which an application saves its documents.” Bob Sutor is adamant that document formats for office applications be open, and not owned by a single vendor.
www.sutor.com

No Love Lost Between Microsoft and OpenDocument

“The reason Microsoft wants to block OpenDocument, is because OpenDocument is a threat to Microsoft's bottom line. Period.” Neil McAllister is not impressed with Microsoft’s announcement of an ODF plug-in.
www.infoworld.com

Teacher, Those IBM Meanies Are Hurting Me!

“Don’t be fooled. Microsoft’s whining is because they fear true and fair competition.” Walt Hucks provides some much needed context to Microsoft’s latest critisism of IBM and the OpenDocument format.
lnxwalt.wordpress.com

Why the Office Format Wars Are Not Over

“The office file format war must continue: users in general, and open source in particular, need a single open file format to be adopted, otherwise the considerable benefits of standardisation will be lost”, says Glyn Moody.
www.linuxjournal.com

The Converter Hoax

“The only way to not be locked into MS-OOXML is to stay away from it. Because no matter what Microsoft and its business partners claim, the converters promote lock-in, they don’t avoid it.” The Free Software Foundation Europe does not recommend the use of the MS-OOXML to ODF converter.
www.heise.de

Eleven Tips for Moving to OpenOffice.org

“Replacing a complicated piece of software like an office suite can be a major undertaking. But, if you apply a few simple rules to make sure your needs are met, you’ll be ready to be productive on the new software right away.”
www.linuxjournal.com

The Elephant in the Living Room— OpenOffice.org and MS Office

“For OpenOffice.org, it is the elephant in the living room. As much as the project might want to ignore MS Office, it cannot.” Bruce Byfield explains OpenOffice.org features designed to make the interaction with MS Office as easy as possible.
www.linuxjournal.com

OOo Off the Wall

A series of articles showing you how to get more from OpenOffice.org.
www.linuxjournal.com Setting Up Page Styles in OOo Writer, Bullet Proof Templates, Style Is Everything, Right?, Fonts of Wisdom, Building Characters, Shooting the Sun, Paragraph Styles, Part II, It’s Numbering, but Not as We Know It, Getting in the Frame, The Outlining and the Ecstasy, Macros and Add-ons, Floating Windows, My Objects All Sublime, ToCs, Indexes and Bibliographies in OOo Writer, Fielding Questions Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4, Tabling the Notion Part 1 Part 2, Recovering Hidden Treasures, Back to School with Bibliographies, Adding AutoText to Your Work Flow, Domesticating Autocorrect, Master Documents, Find and Replace, That’s Your Version-Document Control in OOo Writer

OpenOffice.org Forum

Interact with other OpenOffice.org users to help with your questions.
www.oooforum.org

Tutorials for OpenOffice.org

This site provides a collection of tutorials intended to help you get off the ground with OpenOffice.org.
www.tutorialsforopenoffice.org

Tipps zur Textverarbeitung OpenOffice Writer

In German

Andreas Borutta maintains a comprehensive list of tips and tricks covering all aspects of configuring and using OpenOffice.org Writer.
borumat.de

OpenOffice.org Tips, Tricks and Ideas

Solveig Haugland maintains this blog with a lot of useful information on how to get more from OpenOffice.org.
openoffice.blogs.com

Kaaredyret.dk

Beautifully presented site offering additional information on all aspects of OpenOffice.org.
www.kaaredyret.dk