The worst office suite ever

[Ruben Benjamin]

open office is not even good for kids to play. It has serious flaws. I am not a pro microsoft or anything.. but compared to ms office your software sucks... learn some programming before you continue with this.. a real help that you can do to mankind would be to quit

[DrewJensen]

Ah- OK Ruben, thanks for the feedback.

[Ruben Benjamin]

Great,

this would be a good begining
http://www.amazon.com/Beginning-Program ... 0764508350

Beginning Programming for Dummies (Paperback)
by Wally Wang (Author), Wallace Wang (Author) "First of all, anyone can learn to program a computer..." (more)
Key Phrases: computer that the program, byte code format, looping instructions, Visual Basic, Advanced Programming, World Wide Web (more...)

WISHING YOU AND ALL OPEN OFFICE MEMBERS GOOD LUCK

[DrewJensen]

Oh OK - I'll bite.

Is there something in particular that you just can't do in OpenOffice.org that you have to do - or is it just that you can't do the same way as in MSO?

[Ruben Benjamin]

explain this to me.. i made a simple drawing.. a flowchart. then i decided that the arrows needed to be put in a different position as before. when i hit ctrl-z the arrows go to the left bottom corner. if i hit ctrl z again and again all the arrows go and line up in the corner like some sort of drill.

its so funny

[DrewJensen]

Doesn't sound funny at all -

I am using OpenOffice.org 2.3.1 under MS Windows XP, presently - I assume we are on the same version and platform?

Haven't experienced that - but will give it a quick try - and let you know what happens here.

[Ruben Benjamin]

i am not at office now.. for your convinience i can do a screen capture and sent it to you on monday. maybe its not funny to you but we had a good laugh at office today.

[DrewJensen]

Well as it happens on my installation of OpenOffice.org CTL-Z is the keyboard short cut for "Edit Undo"

So what ever the last action you did would be undone.

CTL-Y is the shortcut for "Edit Redo"

Anway it appears to work as expected on my machine...

[DrewJensen]

Sure you can do that on Monday...I'll be around.

Listen every application has problems - and sometimes they can be maddening...trust me - my first ever email about OpenOffice.org was to tell the develoeprs of a particular module that it was totally worthless...I was, shall we say, frustrated at that moment...

But one of the things about an opensource application is that if you are willing to put some effort in there are ways to get things fixed and here on the forum are a large number of users that are willing to help other users find ways to work with the package - no paid support on this site - not to many of the developers. This is one group of Users tyring to help other Users.

[Ruben Benjamin]

I agree every program has errors but this is just simply extreme. I am not trying to pick a fight with you.

most ppl think open office is very good, it is ONLY because it is free. The media has also given a lot of unwanted attention to open office. Had there been no open office ppl would have used other alternateves which function normally and so even my company would have used ms office that would make me 100 times more productive than openoffice.

thats why I am so mad at openoffice. let me see if i can make a screen cap on monday..


have a great weekend

[DrewJensen]

Ok and please when you do post on monday - be sure to include the Operating System and the Version of OpenOffice.org that you are using at work it will help.

[Hagar Delest]

i made a simple drawing.. a flowchart. then i decided that the arrows needed to be put in a different position as before. when i hit ctrl-z the arrows go to the left bottom corner. if i hit ctrl z again and again all the arrows go and line up in the corner like some sort of drill.

Could you detail all the steps?
If I create in Draw some arrows and want to invert them, it works fine if I hit CTRL+Z to undo the change.

[Cambirder]

most ppl think open office is very good, it is ONLY because it is free.

No, its because it meets my requirements. The fact that its free is a bonus.

The media has also given a lot of unwanted attention to open office

Unwanted by who exactly?

I can't repeat your problem either, and I think if this was a general problem with the program, there would have been a lot of noise made about such a bug.

[megankalu]

Well, i sure do understand your frustration with office.org, actually, i posted a question from the forum just now in the "writer" catagory and i hope to God that someone will respond to my problem on macros and tabs. So, yes, it is annoying when you spend hours trying to figure out a function, especially when your time is money, as mine is. I get paid per page so the quicker i finish this transcript, the sooner i get paid.

Actually, i switched from office 2000 to open office.org because i've heard nothing but good reviews on this software, but i'm starting to think i've made a mistake after having read some of the comments in this community.

Hang tight, i'm sure someone will come through for you.

megan

[acknak]

I think, of all the people who try OpenOffice.org, the ones who experience the most frustration are the MS Office "power users." This is because they know how to do their tasks, which often use more advanced features, in MS Office, and they feel very productive. Moving to OOo, the advanced features are either in a different place, or work differently, or are missing altogether. For a power user, those three situation are nearly equivalent.

Power users have a huge investment in learning to be productive in MS Office, and it requires another huge investment to throw that out and start over with OOo.

OpenOffice is not appropriate for everybody, but that's one of the nice things about it: you have a choice.

[DeShock]

True. I am NOT a power user and I find I can do everything I want in Writer and Calc (the only two parts of the suite I really use). I like that it is free and fulfills MY needs. To be honest I have never had a real issue with OOo other than learning how to do what.

[kingfisher]

FWIW, I've just installed 2.3.1. It is so buggy that I may well uninstall it and re-install an older version which I know does not have the bugs in the latest version.

[Weatherlawyer]

What Sun needs to do to corner the market in desktops is bribe a few Apple programmers out of retirement. With the move to open sourcery at last taking off, it is time the geeks monopolising it were washed of their silly, nerdy ways.

I hope they do as they deserve all the kudos they can get for releasing so much to so many. It's just a pity you need a science degree, or no life, to use the bloody stuff.

[floris v]

Lol. I remember toying with OOo in a SuSe Linux 9.1 environment. I just couldn't manage to get accented letters without hell. Linux didn't display text well on-screen either. That said, I wonder when it will dawn on Ruben that he's barking up the wrong tree.

[keme]

Our Ruben did address the forum in a big way, but didn't return with the promised evidence to back up his views.
I know I called troll before, and have sometimes received flames in return. Still, seeing that R displays ample aggression with little substance, I gather the purpose was to initiate some controversy, and not to contribute to progress in any way. That fits the troll bill to me... Consider it called.

And btw, Draw is the one OOo application that doesn't have any parallel in any MS Office suite. With layers, object grouping, transparency, and connectors, it helps my productivity immensely. That one application is the most important reason why MS Office isn't enough for me. (Then again, I could easily have bought Visio, forking out the same amount again as my employer already did for the Office suite, and noone would have raised an eyebrow. Don't see the point, though.)

[gcaleval]

New to the forum but not new OpenOffice, I just have to make an observation:

The patience and kindness extended to someone coming in with a huge shoulder chip and even bigger attitude, well you guys are pretty impressive.

I think it would be fair to call me an MS Office power user and I do sometimes shift back to MSO 2003 for very specific things that I haven't figured out how to do easily in OOo yet. But I recognize that I'm making the trade off against learning the right way to do it (the open source way) and immediate gratification <smile>. If I had started with OOo, I would not have these mental glitches or trade offs to deal with.

OOo has saved me hundreds of dollars in avoiding upgrading to MSO 2007. My only big wishlist item is for my other big open source tools Thunderbird and Firefox to more completely integrate with OpenOffice, but hey, I haven't been prevented from doing more than I need with the projects exactly as they are.

I continue to recommend them as key assets in avoiding excess costs for my small business clients. Keep in mind that your efforts enable start-ups and SOHOs to have seriously robust applications that otherwise they could not afford or in some cases would feel forced into cheating. It is a truly massive contribution literally on a global scale.

So sincere thanks to the whole community that develops and tests OOo. And really impressed that no one took off Reuben's head.

Glenn Caleval

[acknak]

Encouraging words!

... impressed that no one took off Reuben's head.

I expect most anyone who's used OOo for any non-trivial task knows how he feels.

Drew showed exemplary graciousness in trying to turn the thread around to something constructive. Usually the best response I can muster is to just let it go and call it a night: Duty Calls (xkcd.com)

[bockreiter]

Even though I just joined this board, I've used the open office suite for over a year now. I'm also a MS-Office Power user, but I refuse to shell out a couple of hundred bucks so I can work at home on the weekends or in the evenings. Open source is a great concept and Open Office is a great suite!. Yes, some of the functions are accessed differently, but I would call that a learning experience helping me to grow new neuron pathways. The biggest plus over all other office suites I've looked at is the transparent compatibilty with MS-Office I use at work. I can bounce documents, spreadsheets and databases back and forth without having to save them in rich text or comma de-limited text files and then importing in a cumbersome fashion.
Lastely: reading the responses and banter in this thread, I am impressed with the patience exhibited by the members of this board. Kudos!

[crusader]

I couldn't help jumping in with my two cents worth about the “worst office suite ever.”

It appears there are elements bent on maligning OOo. I am sure each has their own reason(s). If OOo is the worst office suite ever, than it is getting worse, based on improvements and uptake.

This is the second thread I am reading –- and responding to (the other being in Writer) that paints OOo negatively. Because I cherish OOo and the concept of open source, I truly hope that unfair, biased remarks do not poison potential users before they have had a chance to taste (and test) OOo.

I am initiating a new thread in this area about my thoughts on this negativity.

[Boatman189]

We have been using OO for over three years now and it is all we use at our office. I, like this poster, was very critical at first of OO because it did not do things the way I wanted them too, but now think it is a fantastic piece of software. It did take me over a year to be converted though. So hang in there!!

[fasti]

I just registered especially to this forum
just to tell you HOW MUCH I HATE Open-Office!

I just spent 4 HOURS now, trying to get text in 2 languages (English and Portuguese)
in a table of 3 columns to be on the same height,
and IT'S JUST IMPOSSIBLE ON THIS WORD PROCESSOR THAT DOESN'T PROCESS!

It sure doesn't handle foreign languages...
(I attached a screenshot).

Such a simple thing to do..! Get all the text rows in a table to be side by side!
I know how to use Format>Paragraph>Spacing and Line spacing, but it doesn't fix it!
The lines won't get aligned, no matter what values I put in Spacing and Line spacing...!!!
I'm trying to use it as a teaching aid, but I might as well write the table with a pencil on paper!

Don't even get me started about using OO with Hebrew (ככה). It's worse that trying to write with your feet!

I'm not a programmer, and I imagine the developers put a lot of time and effort
into this software, but... f*ck! I can't use it! IT'S USELESS!

I apologize for caps-lock shouting, but I'm just FURIOUS!!!!

D-E-B-U-G I-T !

[RoryOF]

Perhaps you should rush out and buy some other program. Be sure to get a money-back option with it, if the money-back option covers finger trouble.

[Villeroy]

Trolls attach screenshots instead of documents.

[Robert Tucker]

Some screenshots of OpenOffice created documents.

Hebrew:

Chinese:

[Villeroy]

C'mon. You did that in WinWord and cut off the window elements.