In computing, an office suite is a collection of productivity software usually containing a word processor, spreadsheet and a presentation program. There are many different brands and types of office suites. Popular office suites include Microsoft Office, G Suite, Apache OpenOffice, and LibreOffice.
Aug 06, 2019 This means that the vast majority of PCs in the world use Microsoft Office, the office suite that includes applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access, among others. But, is there no other Microsoft Office alternatives? Has only Microsoft been given the task of creating applications that can fulfill this purpose? For customers who are not yet ready for the cloud, Office offers three suites that are available through volume licensing—Office Professional Plus 2019, Office Standard 2019, and Office Standard 2019 for Mac. If you need fewer than five licenses, see the comparison page for other Office suites. Jan 23, 2018 Microsoft Office, whether installed as a standalone set of apps or as part of the subscription-based Office 365 service, is the colossus of office suites, one that much of the world uses by default. Microsoft Office Professional-The difference between this version of Microsoft Office and the other versions is the inclusion of Microsoft Access, a powerful database. If your business needs a database app, this is the version you’re looking for. Now Microsoft gives Mac users an office suite comparable to what PC users have. What to try if you can't install or activate Office for Mac. Important: Scripts are not supported under any Microsoft standard support program or service. Scripts are provided AS IS without warranty of any kind. Microsoft disclaims all implied warranties including, without limitation, any implied warranties of merchantability or of fitness.
Multi-platform office suites[edit]
Free and open source suites[edit]
- Apache OpenOffice (descended from OpenOffice.org)
- Calligra Suite – the continuation of KOffice under a new name
- LibreOffice – independent fork of OpenOffice.org with a number of enhancements
- ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors – an open source offline edition
- Giggle Computer Suite - an open source productivity suite
Proprietary suites[edit]
- G Suite – has applications like Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides
- MobiSystems OfficeSuite – available for Windows, Android and iOS[1]
- SoftMaker Office – The current edition is available for a fee; a slightly feature-limited version is distributed for free under the name 'FreeOffice'. Available for Windows, Linux and Mac(2018)
- Hancom Office Suite & ThinkFree Office - Available for Windows and Mac.
- WPS Office– Free and complete office suite, includes writer, spreadsheet, presentations, enjoys the features of small-size, easy-to-use and compatible, covering multiple platforms including Windows, Linux, Android, iOS and Mac
- Yozo Office (formerly EIOffice (Evermore Integrated Office)) – a Polish / English / Japanese / French language integrated office suite. Available for Windows / Linux operating systems using Java
Office suites for Microsoft Windows only[edit]
Proprietary suites[edit]
- Breadbox Office – DOS software, but has been successfully tested with Windows 3.x, Windows 95/98/98 SE/ME, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000 and the 32-bit versions of Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7
- Framework – historical but also still supported for Windows by the present developer, Selection & Functions Inc.
- Gobe Productive – Originally written for BeOS by developers of the original ClarisWorks, GoBe Productive is a lightweight integrated Works-like office suite with a generous 'Hassle-Free License.'
- Ichitaro JUST Suite 2008 – a full Japanese-language suite from JustSystems, the most direct competitor to Microsoft Office in Japan. For Windows only.
- Microsoft Office – Note that while Microsoft makes both a Windows and Mac version of Office, the Windows only version is named just Microsoft Office and has a slightly different feature set than the Mac version, which is named 'Microsoft Office for Mac'. While both are part of the MS Office family, they are separate programs, as the Mac version is not simply a port of the Windows version. (see Office suites for Mac OS X only section below).
Free and open source suites[edit]
- Giggle Computer Suite - an open source productivity suite
Office suites for DOS[edit]
Proprietary suites[edit]
- Breadbox Office – a word processor, spreadsheet, address book and drawing program. It is part of a broader software package called Breadbox Ensemble which also includes programs such as email, web-browser and HTML editor. Breadbox Ensemble runs under the GEOS (16-bit operating system) and effectively requires a version of DOS to be installed on the host system.
- Corel WordPerfect for DOS – a word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation software from Corel (containing WordPerfect 6.2, Quattro Pro 5.6, Presentations 2.1, and Shell 4.0c)
Office suites for macOS only[edit]
Open source suites[edit]
- NeoOffice – a Mac-specific open-source software development project dedicated to integrating LibreOffice with native features of macOS, in addition to an aesthetic and design language suited to said operating system. While the source code is available for free, developers charge for the binary version of this application.[2]
Proprietary suites[edit]
- iWork – Apple Inc.'s Mac-only office suite. Includes Pages for word-processing, Numbers for spreadsheets, and Keynote for presentations. iWork replaces the now-discontinued AppleWorks suite.
- MarinerPak – MarinerPak includes Mariner Write, a fully featured word processor, and Mariner Calc, a fully featured Spreadsheet application.
- Microsoft Office for Mac – Microsoft's office suite for macOS. Since Microsoft Office for Mac 2011, the suite requires an Intel-based Mac.[3]Prior editions ran on both PowerPC systems and Intel based systems using Rosetta.[4]
Office suites for Unix/Unix-like operating systems only[edit]
Free software suites[edit]
- AUIS – an office suite developed by Carnegie Mellon University and named after Andrew Carnegie
- Siag Office – a free office suite for Unix systems. Primarily written by programmer Ulric Erikkson, with contributions from other authors. Includes a word processor, a spreadsheet, and an animation program.
Proprietary suites[edit]
Mobile and tablet office suites[edit]
Office suites for Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Symbian, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone, and others. Used in smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices.
Software Other Than Microsoft Office
Open source suites[edit]
- LibreOffice for Android – currently under development led by The Document Foundation, Smoose, B.V., and Collabora[5][6]
- AndrOpen Office – a non-official port of Apache OpenOffice for Android
Proprietary suites[edit]
- MobiSystems OfficeSuite (Android, iOS and Windows[7])
- Microsoft Office Mobile (Android, iOS and Windows Mobile/Phone)
- Documents To Go (Android and others)
- G Suite – Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides
- iWork (iOS)
- WPS Office, Free and complete office suite, includes writer, spreadsheet, presentations, enjoys the features of small-size, easy-to-use and compatible, covering multiple platforms including Windows, Linux, Android, iOS and Mac
- QuickOffice, QuickOffice HD Pro (Android, iOS and others)
- ThinkFree Office Mobile (Android)
Online office suites[edit]
Freeware suites[edit]
- G Suite – Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides – an AJAX-based online office suite from Google. The suite includes a word processor, a spreadsheet program, and a presentation editor. Available free and as an enterprise service.
- ONLYOFFICE Personal – online office suite; combines text, spreadsheet and presentation editors
- Office Online – online office suite from Microsoft which is based on OneDrive. It includes a word processor, a spreadsheet, a presentation application and a notetaking program. Allow users to create, edit, save and share documents.
- Zoho Office Suite – free online office suite from Zoho Corporation. Includes a word processor, spreadsheet, presentations, and collaboration groupware.
- iWork for iCloud – a free-to-use but somewhat feature-limited online version of Apple's iWorks office suite, accessible using both Mac and PC web browsers. It is currently still in beta.[when?]
Open source suites[edit]
- Feng Office (formerly OpenGoo) – open source, fully featured online office suite. The application can be downloaded and installed on a server.
- LibreOffice Online – currently under development led by The Document Foundation, Collabora and IceWarp with a projected initial release in the beginning of 2016.[8][9]
- ONLYOFFICE Community Server – open source online office suite that can be downloaded and deployed on a server
- Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware – full-featured web application, which includes a spreadsheet and webmail
Proprietary suites[edit]
- ONLYOFFICE – online office suite integrated with document and project management toolset and CRM system. It includes a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation program written in HTML5 using Canvas.
- ShareOffice – Web-based office suite from ShareMethods. This suite utilizes separate word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation applications from other vendors. It is distributed through Salesforce.com's AppExchange program.
- Simdesk – online office suite from Simdesk Technologies, Inc. This suite offers partial compatibility with the Microsoft Office file formats (Word, Excel, and Powerpoint). With a monthly subscription to Simdesk Services (costing $3.50 – $20 per month), one is allowed to install the application anywhere. (no longer available)
- ThinkFree Office – office suite written in Java, from ThinkFree, Inc. It includes a word processor (Write), a spreadsheet (Calc), and a presentation program (Show). For Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X.
Discontinued office suites[edit]
- AppleWorks (previously known as 'ClarisWorks') – an early Mac Office suite. It has morphed and branched into AppleWorks and GoBe Productive. When the original developers split up, ClarisWorks continued as AppleWorks after being bought by Apple, and GoBeProductive was redeveloped from the ground up using ideas from the original. Apple discontinued this suite after the release of iWork '08 in August 2007.[10]
- IBM Lotus SmartSuite – for OS/2, Windows 9x, NT, 2000 and XP.
- IBM Lotus Symphony – freeware; based on OpenOffice.org
- IBM Works – an office suite for the IBM OS/2operating system. It included word processing, spreadsheet, database and PIM applications.
- Jambo OpenOffice, an abandoned project to translate the OpenOffice.org project into Swahili.
- Lotus Jazz – Mac sister product to Lotus Symphony
- Lotus Symphony – Following the popularity of office suites made by competitors, the makers of the wildly popular Lotus 123, tried their hand at a suite for DOS. (Name resurrected by IBM in September 2007 as IBM Lotus Symphony)
- Microsoft Works – discontinued in 2009[11] and replaced by Microsoft Office 2010 Starter Edition. 4.0 is the last version for Mac.
- Open Access – integrated software by Software Products International (SPI)
- Q&A – featured a flat file database whose 'intelligent assistant' could answer natural language questions, and integrated word processor
- StarOffice – discontinued except as part of paid Solaris licenses; continued as open source suite OpenOffice.org, which subsequent versions of StarOffice were based on
References[edit]
- ^'OfficeSuite'. www.officesuitenow.com. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
- ^'NeoOffice FAQ'. Neooffice.org. Retrieved 2017-01-10.
- ^'Installing Office for Mac 2011 error 'This software requires an Intel-based Macintosh computer.''. Microsoft Support. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ^MacTech Editorial Staff. 'Office 2004 Benchmarks on Intel-based Macs'. MacTech. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
- ^'LibreOffice Viewer Beta for Android Is Now Available for Download'. Softpedia. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
- ^Sam Tuke (April 21, 2015). 'LibreOffice for Android: Prototype Editor Preview'. Collabora LTD. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
- ^'MobiSystems' OfficeSuite makes the jump to Windows PC'. Windows Central. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
- ^Simon Phipps. '4 keys to success for LibreOffice as a service'. InfoWorld, Inc. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
- ^Sam Tuke (March 25, 2015). 'LibreOffice Online Questions Answered: What, Who, How, and When'. Collabora, LTD. Archived from the original on April 15, 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
- ^Evans, Jonny (2007-08-15). 'Apple cans AppleWorks'. Macworld UK. Retrieved 2007-08-15.
- ^'New Ways to Try and Buy Microsoft Office 2010 Microsoft Office 2010 Engineering'. Microsoft TechNet. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
You don't have to leave Microsoft Office if you decide to switch from PC to Mac. Microsoft has a perfectly good version of Office 365 for Mac that comes with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, and more. If you've been thinking about switching away from the Office productivity suite, there are alternatives that offer many of the features you love in Microsoft's programs, plus some features you can't get anywhere else.
iWork Suite
Apple's alternative to Office is iWork. It's the most comparable alternative to Microsoft's productivity suite, only it comes free with every Mac. The interface is different, and will take some time to get used to, but if you're really interested in kicking Office to the curb, the iWork suite is the best alternative on Mac.
If you're ready for change, and Office's user interface, design, and tools aren't burned into your psyche, get Apple's iWork suite of apps. It comes preinstalled on new Macs, but you can also find it in the Mac App Store.
- Pages - Download now
- Numbers- Download now
- Keynote - Download now
OpenOffice
OpenOffice by Apache is probably the most similar to Microsoft Office in look and design. It comes with a word processor, a spreadsheet maker, and a presentation creator, all with many of the same features their Office counterparts have. Files are saved as open document format files, so they can be opened with any document viewer, including Office apps, without needing to be converted first. The best part is that OpenOffice is completely free.
If you're looking for an alternative to Microsoft Office that looks and works pretty much exactly the same, but doesn't cost a dime, OpenOffice is for you.
LibreOffice
LibreOffice is an open source productivity suite very similar to Microsoft Office that comes with a word processor, spreadsheet maker, and presentation creator. It also includes a vector graphics editor, a math formula editor, and a database manager. Files are saved as open document format files, so you can open them with any document viewer, including Office apps, without needing to be converted first, though it does provide tools for saving a document as an Office-specific file. LibreOffice is totally free. It is very similar in design to Microsoft Office, with some minor differences in the design.
LibreOffice is a solid replacement for the Office apps and includes some useful extra programs that Office doesn't even have.
Google Docs
Google Docs is the easiest replacement for Microsoft office because it's so accessible. If you have a Gmail account, or a Google Hangouts account, or a YouTube account, you have Google Docs. Just visit the web-based app from your browser and you can create word processor documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. There is a Google Drive app you can download onto Mac so you can work offline. The changes will be made when your Mac is back online. Google Docs doesn't look at all like Microsoft Office, and has a very different user interface, but it does have many of the same, familiar features you know from Office.
The thing that makes Google Docs so useful, however, is it's real-time collaboration, which works seamlessly with multiple users. I've worked alongside a dozen other people in one document. I am able to see where everyone is within the documents and can see exactly when changes are made.
Service Other Than Microsoft Office Suites For Mac Os X
If you're looking for a very easy to use Office replacement that is ideal for working with others in real-time, you'll be pleased with Google Docs.
What's your pick?
Do you use a Microsoft Office alternative you'd recommend to our readers that are new to Mac or just want to switch from Microsoft? Put your suggestion in the comments below and tell us why its the one you chose.
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