An alternative to Microsoft Office that goes where you do

Portable OpenOffice.org 3.0 has at last hit the shelves – but is it a viable alternative to Microsoft Word?

Well, the answer is yes. OpenOffice.org reveals itself as a very decent competitor, and this no-install, portable version is no exception: it’s light on resources, easy to use and offers full compatibility with standard document formats – including the latest .docx, .xlsx, .pptx and so on from the Microsoft Office suite.

Portable OpenOffice.org includes six different apps that enable you to work with text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, vector-based graphics and mathematical formulas, respectively. All Portable OpenOffice.org apps are easily accessible from a launcher (the Start Centre) with freshly designed icons, as well as from the Quickstarter icon in the System Tray.

Portable OpenOffice.org’s applications met our expectations in every regard: they’re easy to use (especially if you’re used to working with Microsoft Office) and feature all the necessary tools to create complete documents, spreadsheets, presentations, databases and more. What’s more, there is a great selection of OpenOffice templates, which means that getting started will never be a problem. The program is also thoroughly documented.

We particularly liked the wizard-style interface in OpenOffice Impress (similar to PowerPoint), which enables you to create presentations in no time. But the best thing about Portable OpenOffice.org is probably the possibility to improve and customize your suite with new templates and extensions, downloadable directly from the developer’s site.

Portable OpenOffice.org made a great impression. It’s a very decent alternative to other suites and can be easily customized with new extensions. Definitely worth a try!