Microsoft Office or OpenOffice?

wazza

Require something for writing reports etc etc.

I take it microsoft works/office is not free. Do they still offer discount for students? On the microsoft website the office software is an eye watering £100+

I know openoffice software is free. Is it compatible with microsoft? If my neice writes a report on openoffice will she be able to open/amend it at school using their microsoft software?

santer_2

Slightly cheaper here

http://www.software4students.co.uk/

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Are_OpenOffice.org_and_Microsoft_Office_compatible

http://go-oo.org/

bat999

wazza wrote: »

If my neice writes a report on openoffice will she be able to open/amend it at school using their microsoft software?

When files are 'saved' using OpenOffice software there is a choice of formats.
If the correct format is selected then the answer is 'yes'.

John_Gray

I must make my ritual comment that OpenOffice may well be a dead end, unless things change, and LibreOffice has effectively taken over from it.

WhiteChristmas

Libre/OpenOffice are excellent programs which will do the job.

HOWEVER, if your niece has learned to use Word 2007 or 2010 and hasn't used an older version then the "old fashioned" interface will be alien to her.

If you work for a company with an IT department, ask them if they participate in Microsoft's Home User Programme - if so, you'll be able to get a licensed copy of the full Office Suite for less than a tenner.

prowla

Why not try Open/LibreOffice and see how it goes; it'll cost you nothing.
And if it doesn't work out then you can still buy M$ Office anyway.
My opinion is that Open/LibreOffice will work fine, up to a point, but there will be issues in swapping documents back and forth between them, and tweaking docs may prove to be a pain.

Miss_Scrooge_2

I think if you try to open a document created in OpenOffice in Microsoft Office, you'll experience some formatting issues.

jackieblack

I bought Microsoft Office for my daughter from here
Microsoft Office Pro Plus 2010 £36.26, free delivery and excellent service

System

You will find that if children are using MS products in school then at some point they may well also end up using Powerpoint and/or Publisher for some things (especially if they do D&T), in which case Open/Libre Office will not be much use.

Do you fork out £38 to get it or will your child have to stay after school or work during breaks to do her work?

dixiebb

Give LibreOffice a try -- it's free and an excellent piece of software . :cool:

Darren_G

I have Microsoft office on my PC, but only because it only cost me £8 (now £8.95) through the Microsoft home use programme

My kids manage fine using Google Docs for their homework etc, and can open their work more or less wherever they are without having to carry a memory stick around with them.