Free Office Software with Open Office

At Thesmallbizpro, we're not only providing information about starting up and running a business.  We will also try to save you time and money by providing links and information to free and low-cost alternatives.

Have a computer?  Have Microsoft (MS) office or considering buying it?  The full office suite is expensive but there are good alternatives.

Have you heard or considered 'open source' software?  This software, based on the Linux operating system, has many applications that mirror or duplicate ones available for Microsoft's Windows system.

Most notable of these is Open Office, available for FREE at http://www.openoffice.org .  At this site, the product can be downloaded, one can join the open source community, and assistance is available.  All of these services are FREE.

Once downloaded and installed, the word processing and spreadsheet applications are very similar to MS Word and Excel respectively, and can even save files or open files that have a .doc or .xls extension.  The user interface is very similar to MS products, stable, and easy to navigate.  Open Office also has database and presentation software (aka Access, PowerPoint) and is available in many languages.

For the start up company that wants to save big $$ on software licensing without losing the key functionality, Open Office is an excellent and attractive alternative.


- AJ