Excell vs OpenOffice

[stanier]

I ask that experienced users advise if there are any deficiencies in the open source software compared to Excel.

Geoffrey D Stone FIMechE C.Eng;FIEAust CP Eng

http://www.waterhammer.bigblog.com.au

 

[francesca]

I've had some trouble manipulating graphs - really just aesthetics. I haven't tried the OpenOffice scripting language. I'm sure it's perfectly good, just not identical.

 

[MikeHalloran]

For the simple stuff that I do, the programs interchange.

I've noticed some oddities with colored borders, but Excel can screw them up all by itself.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[GregLocock]

Charting is the big issue, but I found that earlier versions were lousy when the files got too big.



Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[IFRs]

I prefer it to Excel but I have to use Excel to cut and paste a spreadsheet snippet into AutoCAD. Otherwise it's OO all the way.

 

[MortenA]

I find the printing from opencalc to be a bit annoying - but apart from this for the simple stuff its amazing that people will pay money to M$ (or even care to steal the software).

Best regards

Morten

 

[Feric]

Hi there:

In my opinion, I would go with Microsoft products.

Thanks,

G. Feric, PE

http://engware.i-dentity.com

 

[MortenA]

Im only considering private use. My company uses MS of course - but since they stopped giving away a free copies for home use i now use open office on my private machine (and firefox and thunderbird...=.

Best regards

Morten

 

[IFRs]

I was in an office today and watched two people try to help another find a fairly basic editing command in new MS Word. They were so happy when they stumbled on it!! Rewarding yes, but what a collosal waste of time. MS might have made new Word do some fancy things and look kinda cool, but most people just need to write letters. For the cost of "upgrades" and then the hidden expense of training, I just don't see the payoff. Add to that the malware attacks, etc. Firefox, Thunderbird, Sunbird and OpenOffice work for me. Not one of my clients has ever noticed that my documents, presentations and spreadsheets were not created in MS.

 

[IRstuff]

We're still using Office2000. Works fine for us.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[markruble]

For home use I have OpenOffice installed on all my computers. Both my kids are in High School and need presentation which OpenOffice has. The best part of this is the cost.

At work when I first started working here every computer had Microsoft Office but since then the IT people decided OpenOffice was a better selection and it saved the company money. It was a great idea that has worked for us.

 

[NCCaryME]

Have you tried Google's spreadsheet software (

http://docs.google.com)

for your home computer? No software to install, and your work is available on any computer (makes it easy to share work between the office and home). Of course, I've only started using it and I've only used it for VERY basic sheets, but I like it. I haven't tried any of my bigger, more complex spreadsheets on Google yet so I don't know how it handles those, and I don't know what features Google may be missing, so take my recommendation with a grain of salt.

 

[GregLocock]

How do you feel about your data being stored on, and searchable by, a third entity?



Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[francesca]

I have used Google Documents & Spreadsheets. The Documents is good for drafting, but not good for final production, while the spreadsheets is abysmal for anything beyond a family budget or high school homework. I was able to do Graduate homework with OpenOffice Calc, but not without frustration (especially with printing), but of course OpenOffice has a very steep development curve still and continues to improve.

 

[MortenA]

Year printing from opencalc is a pain.

Either it print all the pages, none or...

Ofcourse its all in compliance with its own logic but its slightly different from EXCEL and when you use both (and excel the most) then...

Best regards

Morten

 

[Pressed]

If you are already a medium to high end excel user and calculations have true value then excel would be my choice for work. I have oo at home and find it real nice for the price. I got a new machine and MS-office was going to be around $500 if I remember correctly, so it wasn't hard to decide.

A while ago I remember excel not being as polished as it is today for graphs and data manipulation, so maybe oo will follow. As oo seems to be right in the shadow (and a little of the light) of MS; I am sure they will.

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[GregLocock]

To be honest Excel's charting has always seemed second rate to me, 123 or Quattro was a lot better ten years ago, I still curse the series selection method in Excel.

Also... not being able to add individual data labels. Sucks.





Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[joerd]

Also... not being able to add individual data labels. Sucks.

Maybe this one helps:

http://peltiertech.com/Excel/ChartsHowTo/OutlierLabels.html

referring to Rob Bovey's XY Chart Labeler, a free and absolutely must have add-in available from

http://www.appspro.com.

The Chart Labeler adds an item at the bottom of Excel's Tools menu.


Cheers,
Joerd

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[MikeHalloran]

WRT charting, I agree with Greg, Excel was better ten (or more) years ago than it is now.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA