If your tasks are not enough for the standard Notepad and its more advanced brother WordPad from the classic set of programs Microsoft Windows, then you need powerful office tools. Fortunately, in the digital world it is in abundance.
Is there free Microsoft Office?
Microsoft Office is a paid software. It includes a huge array of built-in services, features and tools. This is not an application in the classical sense. And a whole operating system for the office.
But The “office” can still be free. In alternative versions. There are many of them and are available for free download with similar capabilities:
Writer to replace Word,
Calc instead of Excel,
Impress instead of PowerPoint and so on.
Users often need such a program only once. But out of habit or on the advice of other people, they convince themselves that such a tool must necessarily be a full-scale professional “office” with “reserve” capabilities.
As a result, it is downloaded from torrents in order to hack it Microsoft Office « crack», « tablet», « activation", published license key. And it doesn’t matter that during the call not even a third of its functionality will be revealed. This choice brings a lot of problems to the user.
What will happen if you choose to download a pirated version of Microsoft Office for free?
Option to download free pirated Microsoft Office is fraught with updating and security problems, due to which the package does not work properly and leads to a lot of trouble:
Word or Excel crashes while working;
Crashes and suggestions to run “Word in safe mode” appear;
Failures at startup with errors “Microsoft Word has stopped working”;
It produces errors when installing Microsoft Office (“error 1935” or “Unable to write value”);
Lack of Microsoft Office updates;
Failures when trying to install them (errors like: “Something went wrong - unfortunately, we have problems”).
With pirated Microsoft Office your computer will never be protected from viruses due to the absence of “hot fixes” in the free downloaded package - patches for security gaps that are released almost daily. The “office” structure is powerful enough to hack any computer, so attackers only dream of gaining access to it and collecting your personal data through Word or Excel.
In addition, you may incur administrative and even criminal liability:
Behind download pirated software ( Article 1252 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) - recovery by the copyright holder from 10 thousand to 5 million rubles of damage;
Behind usage pirated software for the purpose earnings(Article 7.12 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation) - for individuals a fine of 1500-2000 rubles, for legal entities 30000-40000;
If you have also tried hack software activator or " crack» ( Article 273 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) - punishment in the form of imprisonment or restriction of freedom for up to 4 years, or a fine of up to 200,000 rubles.
Why is paid Microsoft Office better than free? Real benefits from the purchase
In a successful business environment, it is common to invest in profitable instruments. This is understood by both students engaged in large projects in qualified universities and professionals who will never throw money away. U Microsoft Office there are good reasons to consider it a good investment.
The main advantages of purchasing a paid office suite of Microsoft Office applications:
Internet-oriented with support for cloud services and remote data storage;
Providing additional Microsoft tools on favorable terms (free packages for Skype, OneDrive, and so on);
A complete security suite with all security updates and fixes for detected vulnerabilities;
Continuous improvement of the functionality of office suite applications;
User support directly from Microsoft in case of errors and operational problems.
Microsoft Office in 2017 (latest current version " Office 2016") can be used in several distribution options. Including subscription.
The main difference between Office 365 and Office 2016
First of all, subscribe to Microsoft Office 365 different from buying Office 2016 because it always offers the latest version of the office application package without the need to purchase additional updates.
How else is Microsoft Office 2016 different from Office 365?
Microsoft Office 365
Office 365 is a giant office software system with a paid subscription for each month or for the whole year. You pay a certain amount (depending on the version of the package, which is discussed below) and get the most complete set of applications even when completely new versions are released Microsoft Office.
Here's what the ultimate Microsoft Office 365 suite offers:
Full Microsoft Office 2016 package (and subsequent newer versions too);
Inability to use outdated versions of programs as part of the package;
Installation of Microsoft Office on 5 computers and 5 mobile devices (license check every month);
OneDrive cloud storage (formerly SkyDrive Pro - the service is constantly improving) with additional free file space of 1024 GB;
Additional 60 minutes of Skype calls.
Microsoft Office 2016
Office 2016 is a paid package of office applications that you buy once without a monthly or annual subscription. This method of use has a significant advantage over Office 365- you get the “office” once and for all. But there's also the downside of having to pay extra to upgrade to more advanced versions in the future.
What's included in Microsoft Office 2016:
New tools for Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote;
Designed for one computer only;
Support for all security updates;
Access to OneDrive cloud storage;
The ability to contact Microsoft at any time for help in solving problems.
Which version of Microsoft Office should I buy for home use?
Office 365 for home.
Subscription: 3399 rubles for a year or 339 rubles per month
Windows/Mac
The most versatile option with a full suite of applications, 1 TB of online storage on OneDrive and 60 minutes of Skype. Can be installed on 5 computers, 5 tablets and 5 phones - use the toolkit with friends, relatives or independently in different places.
Office 365 Personal.
Subscription: 2690 rubles for a year or 269 rubles per month
Windows/Mac
An ideal choice for those who actively work with documents on one computer and access files on OneDrive from one phone. There is also access to 1 TB of cloud service and 60 minutes of Skype.
Office 2016 for home and school.
One-time price: 5190 rubles
Windows/Mac
By paying once, you get the latest versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote for 2017 and access to Microsoft cloud services. They can only be installed on one computer running Windows or macOS.
Which version of Microsoft Office should I buy for professional use?
Office 365 business.
Subscription: 520 rubles per month
Windows/Mac
You have the entire Office 2016 package at your disposal for 5 computers, 5 tablets and 5 phones. There is Access, but no email as part of the subscription. The choice for most business tasks supporting up to 300 users at a time.
Office 365 Business Premium.
Subscription: 790 rubles per month
Windows/Mac
In addition to the basic set of Office 2016 applications, it offers email with a mailbox capacity of up to 50 GB, unlimited video conferencing, a corporate social network, collaborative document editing, and Microsoft Teams chats. Installation on 5 computers, 5 tablets and 5 phones.
Office 365 Business Basic.
Subscription: 320 rubles per month
Windows/Mac
Basic functionality of Office 365 for enterprise tasks for 300 users in Office Online mode (without local installation on the computer). There's 50GB email and premium online tools, but no compatibility with tablets or phones.
Office 2016 for home and business.
One-time price: 18,890 rubles (electronic version Windows/Mac and boxed Mac)
One-time price: 17,400 rubles (boxed version of Windows)
Office 2016 Professional.
One-time price: 32,790 rubles
Windows only
All applications of the Office 2016 suite with local installation on one computer, including Outlook, Publisher, Access.
At the beginning of this year, sales of the Microsoft Office 2013 office suite began. The interface was updated, new useful functions appeared and integration with the SkyDrive online storage was added, so you can now access your documents almost anywhere. Alas, prices for this popular and quite expensive office suite have now become even higher. Licensing conditions have also become more stringent - now one license is intended for only one device, while, for example, in the case of Microsoft Office Home and Business 2010, according to the license, it was necessary to install two copies of the program - one on a desktop computer, the second on a portable device ( laptop). Of course, you can go the other way - get a so-called household license by subscribing to Microsoft Office 365 Home Premium for RUB 2,149. per year, which at first glance is about four times cheaper. In this case, the application package can be installed on five computers simultaneously, including “some smartphones and tablets.” However, this is also not cheap for home users, because the subscription will have to be renewed annually, and not every user will like the idea of a “cloud” office.
Therefore, the task of choosing an alternative office solution for a home PC is quite relevant, especially since the potential majority of users in practice do not require such a powerful and multifunctional solution as Microsoft Office. Finding affordable or even free alternatives to Microsoft's expensive creation on the market today is not so difficult. Another question is whether they will suit you as a replacement for your usual office product. That is, will they be convenient to use, will they be functional enough from the point of view of the tasks being solved, and how well will they be compatible with Microsoft Office file formats, because MS Office, without a doubt, will continue to be actively used at the corporate level and in the overwhelming majority of cases will have to deal with files created in its environment. Support for the Russian language is also desirable - both at the interface level and in terms of spell checking. Therefore, we will try to evaluate the possible options for such alternative solutions, taking into account the listed aspects.
Free "office"
In addition to MS Office, the list of office products on the market includes many different solutions, which differ in the supported platform and the range of capabilities provided. Among them there are also free office products, the palm among which for quite a long time belonged to the multi-platform office suite OpenOffice.org. Now the situation has changed - the OpenOffice.org solution has faded into the background, and it has been replaced by the LibreOffice suite of office applications, developed by the non-profit organization The Document Foundation as an offshoot of OpenOffice.org. Today this is perhaps the most complete free alternative to the Microsoft office solution. However, LibreOffice is quite heavy and slow. Therefore, users who are willing to sacrifice functionality (see table) in favor of compactness and higher performance should pay attention to the free editions of the SoftMaker Office and Kingsoft Office Pro packages, known on the market under the names SoftMaker FreeOffice and Kingsoft Office Suite Free.
LibreOffice 4.0.2
Developer: The Document Foundation
Websiteprograms: http://www.libreoffice.org/
Distribution size: 184 MB
Work under control: Windows (all versions); There are versions for Mac and Linux
Distribution method: freeware (http://www.libreoffice.org/download)
Price: for free
LibreOffice is an office suite created in 2010 based on the well-known office solution OpenOffice.org. This set of office applications is an open source software product and can be considered as a serious competitor to Microsoft Office, as it offers the same wide functionality. At the same time, the package has Russian-language assemblies, which provide a Russian-language user interface and spell check, and is characterized by good compatibility with MS Office. True, this solution cannot boast of operating speed - opening and saving documents in LibreOffice (especially in spreadsheets and the presentation editor) takes much more time than in MS Office. But thanks to its powerful tools, LibreOffice is certainly one of the best free alternatives to MS Office today.
When you launch LibreOffice, the main window opens (Fig. 1) with icons for launching the applications included in the package - in particular, the Writer word processor (Fig. 2), Calc spreadsheets (Fig. 3) and the Impress presentation preparation system. The capabilities of the Writer text editor are impressive: support for a table of contents and links, full formatting, automatic spell checking and autocorrection, the ability to include illustrations, etc. Thus, in the editor you can prepare documents with very complex designs - books, brochures, etc. Spreadsheets also include all the functionality necessary for work, including tools for entering complex formulas, creating various charts and conducting statistical analysis. Impress's capabilities allow you to prepare impressive multimedia presentations with various kinds of animation and special effects. In addition, LibreOffice includes a database management program, Base, an editor for creating diagrams and sketches, Draw, and a mathematical formula editor, Math. Finally, this office suite includes another useful tool - an in-application module for creating PDF files, with which you can export created documents to PDF format (including in accordance with the ISO PDF/A standard).
Rice. 1. LibreOffice main window
Rice. 2. LibreOffice Writer word processor
Rice. 3. LibreOffice Calc Spreadsheets
When you launch LibreOffice, a main menu opens with icons for launching specific applications: a word processor, spreadsheets, etc. The interface of each application is similar to the Microsoft Office interface, so you can start working in this solution literally immediately after installation. Documents open in different windows. Compatibility with Microsoft formats is implemented at a high level - it is possible to open MS Office files from versions 6.0 to 2010 and save files in MS Office 97/2000/XP/2003 and MS Office 2007/2010 formats. However, the display of imported documents in some cases is not entirely correct. For example, we noted that Writer paginates DOC documents differently than Word and shifts text in callouts slightly vertically, while Calc can distort the type of chart (depending on the type) and sometimes shifts chart labels.
SoftMaker FreeOffice 675
Developer: SoftMaker Software GmbH
Distribution size: 58.7 MB
Work under control: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7/8; there is a version for Linux
Distribution method: freeware (http://www.freeoffice.com/en/download); To use the product you must register and receive a free serial key
Price: for free
SoftMaker FreeOffice is a lightweight version of the commercial product SoftMaker Office 2012, offered on the market in two editions: the basic Standard and the extended Professional (the latter additionally includes an “mail client”). The solution is compact, high-performance, minimal requirements for hardware resources and good support for MS Office formats. In addition, the product can work from any flash drive, which allows you to always have the necessary programs at hand. SoftMaker FreeOffice has Russian localization and can be configured to automatically check spelling in Russian (you will need to download and install the Hunspell Russian dictionary). The capabilities of the free version of SoftMaker FreeOffice (compared to SoftMaker Office), of course, are limited, and documents with complex design cannot be created in this office product. It is also impossible to save DOCX, XLSX and PPTX files in it (only reading files in these formats is available); Documents in DOC, XLS and PPT formats can be opened and saved without problems. However, the functionality of this solution is quite sufficient to perform most office tasks faced by home users, so this product is very promising for equipping a home PC.
SoftMaker FreeOffice includes three modules: the text editor TextMaker (Fig. 4), the spreadsheet PlanMaker (Fig. 5) and the program for creating presentations Presentations. TextMaker will help you prepare a variety of documents with highlighted paragraphs, lists, tables, text-flowing pictures, links, columnar text, and a table of contents using fills and borders. With PlanMaker you can perform all the basic operations in tables, including calculations involving functions, using named references, analyzing data, illustrating calculations with graphs and charts, etc. The Presentations presentation software allows you to create easy-to-design presentations with a variety of transitions, animations, audio commentary and video. SoftMaker FreeOffice also includes the ability to export working documents to PDF format.
Rice. 4. Text editor TextMaker (SoftMaker FreeOffice)
Rice. 5. PlanMaker Spreadsheets (SoftMaker FreeOffice)
The application interfaces from the SoftMaker FreeOffice suite are very similar to the interfaces of the corresponding MS Office 2003 applications, so mastering the products requires a minimum of time. Thanks to broad support for all popular office formats, it is possible to open and save files in DOC, XLS and PPT formats for MS Office versions 6.0-2010 (including password protected ones), as well as OpenDocument, RTF, HTML and a number of others documents. For DOCX, XLSX and PPTX files, only opening is implemented. The display of documents created in MS Office, as a rule, completely corresponds to the original ones, although exceptions are possible. For example, we noticed that TextMaker in some documents, when displayed, changes the borders of labels, flips text in callouts, and can resize OLE objects. In PlanMaker, we were faced with the inability to work with pivot tables created in MS Excel.
Kingsoft Office Suite Free 2012 (8.1.0.3385)
Developer: Kingsoft Software
Distribution size: 39.1 MB
Work under control: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7/8
Distribution method: freeware (http://www.kingsoftstore.com/download-office)
Price: for free
Kingsoft Office Suite Free is a free, stripped-down version of the commercial office suite Kingsoft Office Pro from Chinese developers, which is widely known in China under the name WPS Office. This software product is distinguished by its modest dimensions, high operating speed and low demands on system resources (it even works on netbooks without problems). The solution has a higher level of compatibility with MS Office (compared to the office suites discussed above), and looks like an office product from Microsoft, and has impressive (albeit limited when compared with Kingsoft Office Pro) functionality. True, this office suite does not have a Russian-language interface, and spell checking in Russian is not up to the task. Nevertheless, the “office” from Chinese developers still looks attractive as an alternative to expensive commercial products for the home PC.
Kingsoft Office Suite Free includes: the Kingsoft Writer word processor (Fig. 6), Kingsoft Spreadsheets (Fig. 7) and the Kingsoft Presentation presentation creation program. The text editor is used to create professional-quality documents with styles, columnar text, colorful tables, charts, and even watermarks. Kingsoft Spreadsheets include all the necessary tools for processing, analyzing and graphically presenting data, and the Kingsoft Presentation solution can be successfully used to create effective presentations based on thematic templates. Kingsoft Office Suite Free also has a built-in PDF converter that allows you to convert office files (including Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents) to PDF files; If necessary, the generated PDF documents can be password protected from changes.
Rice. 6. Kingsoft Writer word processor
Rice. 7. Kingsoft Spreadsheets
The Kingsoft Office Suite Free office solution resembles Microsoft Office 2003 in appearance: the layout of panels, buttons and commands is copied almost one to one; The functionality is almost completely duplicated. The fundamental difference is only in the support for tabs at the application level, and this is good, because with tabs working with multiple documents becomes more convenient. Compatibility with Microsoft Office is almost 100% - you can open and edit MS Office documents (97/2000/2003/2007/2010) in DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, PPT, PPTX formats, as well as files in DOT, RTF, XLT formats, CSV, HTML, PPS, etc. True, saving in the new DOCX, XLSX and PPTX formats is not supported, which means you will have to save documents as DOC, XLS and PPT files, but for most users this makes no difference. And in this solution, in terms of compatibility, some distortions are, of course, possible when displaying documents created in MS Office, but after viewing a lot of materials (including very complex structures), we were only able to notice a slightly different distribution of text within paragraphs. This sometimes causes text to move on pages and within captions and callouts.
Office in the clouds
Thanks to the widespread use of the Internet, cloud technologies are becoming closer to us, and an increasing number of different tasks, including working with office documents, are solved in the clouds. An example of this is the Google Docs and Zoho Docs services, which are real online offices with a traditional set of office software. With their help, you can create and edit documents in a word processor, work with spreadsheets and prepare presentations, however, provided you have access to the Internet (you will also need to create your account on the appropriate service).
Of course, the functionality of cloud office solutions turns out to be an order of magnitude lower than that of conventional desktop products (in particular, MS Office). But when working in an online office, you can easily exchange documents with other users and work with them on project materials in real time. In addition, you can edit office documents online from any computer connected to the Internet (including from a computer on which no office package is installed at all) - this is important for users working on different computers. It should also be noted that with a relatively small total volume of documents, you will not have to pay at all for using online services.
Google Docs
Developer: Google
Google Docs is a popular set of office web services, which is rightfully considered the best online solution of its kind. It's easy to use and relatively fast (allowing you to work even on slower connections if necessary), as well as impressive sharing capabilities and tight integration with other Google products. Russian-language support is provided at the interface level (you will need to select Russian in the settings), spell checking in Russian is possible, but not all errors are highlighted (apparently, the built-in dictionary does not include all terms). The level of compatibility with MS Office documents leaves much to be desired. The total amount of space provided on the Google Docs service is currently limited to 5 GB, additional space is paid for (25 GB - $2.49 per month, 100 GB - $4.99 per month).
Google Docs includes the text editor Google Document (Fig. 8), the spreadsheet processor Google Spreadsheets (Fig. 9) and the service for creating Google Presentations presentations. There is also a toolkit for preparing various diagrams, diagrams, drawings - Google Drawing and creating forms for surveys - Google Form. The formatting options for created documents are minimal, so the service is more suitable for preparing simple materials, spreadsheets and presentations. But the functionality designed for collaboration with documents will allow you to organize private access with certain rights (editing or reading) to specific documents for selected users, which will provide the ability to effectively coordinate materials during their preparation. All materials are placed in collections (Fig. 10) and can be created from scratch or downloaded ready-made in popular file formats.
Rice. 8. Google Document Text Editor
Rice. 9. Google Spreadsheets spreadsheet processor
Rice. 10. Organize documents on Google Docs
The interface of all applications included in Google Docs is very spartan and includes a minimum of tools and functions, but they are quite sufficient for preparing simple documents. Supports file export and import for most standard formats - including loading and editing MS Office documents in DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, PPT and PPTX formats. Since last fall, Google Docs users have lost the ability to export documents to old MS Office 1997-2003 formats (DOC, XLS, PPT), and now export is only possible to DOCX, XLSX and PPTX formats (HTML, RTF, ODT, PDF, etc. .d. are of course supported).
Compatibility with Microsoft Office for complex documents is not yet ideal - a variety of distortions are possible. For example, when opening imported DOC files, you can often see that the text on the pages is distributed differently, and the borders of the tables have disappeared, the contents of the inscriptions are missing or superimposed on other text, pictures torn between pages are also not uncommon, etc. In tables, the situation is the same - some of the formatting settings are discarded, charts often disappear, it is basically impossible to work with pivot tables created in Excel (and the very appearance of such tables may differ greatly from the original one), etc.
Zoho Docs
Developer: ZOHO Corp.
Zoho Docs is the largest office “in the clouds”, which offers two dozen office web services (it’s even possible to work online with databases and a calendar planner), however, many of the services are available only in commercial plans. The text editor and spreadsheets included in Zoho Docs are more functional than their counterparts in Google Docs, but the speed of working with documents in this online office is noticeably slower, and there are more often situations when the servers are unavailable. The interface of a number of office applications has been Russified, the ability to check spelling (including in Russian) has been implemented, but only in a text editor, and such a check is initiated manually. But compatibility with documents created in MS Office is better than in Google Docs. The amount of space provided on the Zoho Docs service and the number of workspaces depends on the selected plan. In the case of the Free tariff, 1 GB of space is allocated and you are allowed to create only one workspace. Commercial tariffs Standard ($3 per month) and Premium ($5 per month) provide free 2 and 5 GB, and the number of workspaces can reach 10 and 50, respectively; It is possible to increase the provided space for files for an additional fee.
Among the basic services of Zoho Docs are the text editor Zoho Writer (Fig. 11), the spreadsheet processor Zoho Sheet (Fig. 12), the solution for creating presentations Zoho Show, as well as the Zoho Notebook and the Zoho Calendar calendar. The document formatting capabilities in Zoho Writer and Zoho Sheet are quite impressive (the same cannot be said about the presentation editor). However, it is still more convenient to create impressively designed complex documents using desktop software products, rather than connecting to online office services. The latter are more interesting to use for quick exchange of materials and when working together on a project - for example, in Zoho Docs you can directly open access (reading or editing) to a series of documents to several users working together within a specific project. It’s even more convenient to create your own thematic workspace for each project and open access to this area to a group of colleagues - as a result, all users of the group will have access to newly added documents automatically (that is, without any effort on your part). Documents and other materials are placed in the Zoho Docs environment into folders and workspaces (Fig. 13); the organization plan also provides the ability to assign tags to files, which may be useful for quickly finding them in the future.
Rice. 11. Text editor Zoho Writer
Rice. 12. Zoho Sheet spreadsheet processor
Rice. 13. Document management in Zoho Docs environment
The interface of the Zoho Docs office applications is designed in the style of MS Office 2007. The range of supported file formats is very wide: you can even download ZIP archives and then unpack them using Zoho Docs and import documents stored on the Google Docs service (however, it can also be distorted in during the import process). For documents in MS Office, support for DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, PPT, PPS, PPTS, PPSX formats is implemented - both import and export.
When importing MS Office documents, some formatting is lost, but the results are often better than the same operation in Google Docs. True, the type of imported documents may be far from the original one. In complex documents created in Word, for example, paragraph indents, table of contents, graphics, and all callouts and notes may disappear, although basic text formatting often remains unchanged. In turn, in spreadsheets, font types and sizes often change, long text in cells breaks off at the border (in Excel it is visible if the next cell is empty), diagrams and images disappear, etc.
Let's summarize the above. Today you can find a worthy alternative to Microsoft's office product. First of all, these are traditional desktop solutions in the MS Office style, which are well compatible with the formats of Microsoft office products and allow you to prepare materials that are very complex in design. In fact, you can prepare almost any document created in Word, Excel or PowerPoint in the considered alternative stationary applications (it is possible, however, that with less convenience). In addition, you can resort to the services of online offices - they have sufficient functionality for preparing simple documents, spreadsheets and presentations and are very convenient when you need to collaborate.
If you do not need all the power of MS Office products on your home computer, then you can save money by limiting yourself to a free desktop office in the form of one of the software products we reviewed. As for online office services, in our opinion, it is more reasonable to use them for exchanging documents and quickly approving them in real time. If the materials used during collaboration do not have a complex design and there are no problems with the Internet, then this way of editing and commenting on documents while working on a project can be very convenient and effective. It’s a different matter when finalizing large, complexly structured and impressively designed documents previously created in the MS Office environment. You may be disappointed here, since in practice compatibility with Microsoft office formats in Office Services is far from perfect, and editing large documents is slow.
I'm not kidding. The number of office suites available on the market is beyond imagination. Another thing is that the majority of users have little interest in this issue and have only heard about Microsoft packages for Windows or, at best, about the developments of the free software community for Linux like OpenOffice and LibreOffice.
In reality, there are many more such packages, and some of them have roots in their native Russian lands. A number of developments have long been frozen, for example, the rather interesting “Russian Office” package from the Arsenal company and some others. The famous company Borland developed its software package.
Subsequently, this development was purchased by Corel and exists on the market to this day. Just go to the product page http://www.wordperfect.com/en/product/corel-office-software/ to see this.
It must be said that this package is quite rich in functionality and in full configuration is by no means cheap. In addition to the main components - a spreadsheet and a text editor, this product contains the wonderful Paradox DBMS and many useful utilities not found in many other packages.
But it just so happened that CorelOffice (Office suite) did not take root in our land, which is due to the lack of a normally localized version and a well-written Russian-language help. A comparison of Paradox and Access speaks in favor of Paradox.
The original ObjectPal language built into the DBMS looks much nicer than VBA in Microsoft Office. Creating interactive applications with it is a pleasure. Moreover, in nature there is a translated book entirely devoted to this process. Are there other alternatives to these software monsters? Of course yes. Lesser-known products include the following offices:
- "SoftMaker" (page here: http://www.softmaker.com/en/softmaker-office-Windows). This system can be installed on the "seven" and contains only a word processor and a spreadsheet, which is quite enough for most consumers.
- China is not far behind, its developers have released a package called “EIOffice” to consumers. As always, there are some issues with Unicode support.
- The British also delighted the audience. Their product, Ability Office, has a long history. Beginning in the late 1980s, it today includes a word processor, spreadsheet, graphics, and database management system. Essentially it is a clone of a Microsoft product.
- “602PC Suite” and “EasyOffice” are simpler products, but also quite suitable. They are easy to find on the Internet.
What to bet on “seven”?
To answer this question, you need to decide on your goals.
If you only need to type and edit text in an editor, then there is no point in purchasing a bulky and “braking” system for good money.
Something very simple will do. The same SoftMaker or (not yet mentioned by us) the “Kingsoft Office Suite Free” package.
With the latter, you can professionally format text while maintaining compatibility with Word, or work in an Excel-like spreadsheet. The product, by the way, is also Chinese. You can download it from the link http://www.kingsoftstore.com/kingsoft-office-freeware.html. Someone may need additional functionality for working with presentations - the program allows this too.
If you need to work with local databases or connect to a server to process its data in a local DBMS, you cannot do without more advanced software. All you have to do is decide for yourself: do you want to pay money for it? If yes, then contact Microsoft to purchase it immediately. If not, then it's better to get the free LibreOffice for Windows.
However, there are alternatives to all this. We are talking about office packages hosted directly on the network. The capabilities of JavaScript make it possible to build some kind of such programs that process data stored in the so-called “Cloud”. And although Larry Ellison (founder of Oracle), like Baba Yaga, is against:
This in no way stops manufacturers. Google has its own cloud office (http://docs.google.com). Microsoft (“360”) is actively working on this same front. And for lovers of exotic things, we can recommend Zoho (http://docs.zoho.com/). So, which office is better for Windows 7 OS, you decide for yourself.
Is Office 2013 better than 2010?
New, called Microsoft Office 2013, was shown to the public on July 16, 2012. Let's look at the main features of this software development.So, the latest “Office” to date is distinguished by its support for MS network services. As a consequence, a new API model was developed.
It is based on JavaScript and HTML5 technologies. However, VBA's past has not been forgotten. Full support provided! There is no need to assume that Office 365 is an alternative to MSO 2013. This statement is fundamentally incorrect - we are talking about only one of the forms of distribution. "The Office" can be purchased online without any problems. In addition, you will be able to become the full owner of this package by subscription (something like a lease).
Now let's look at the main innovations in Office version 2013.
Some users believe that the latest Office has a simplified interface similar to the Windows 8 (Modern) UI.
There is support for the SkyDrive cloud service. With Outlook's IMAP protocol, the entire message is downloaded, not just the header.
You can fully work with PDF files.
It became possible to use online video recordings.
A tool such as “Pipette” is available.
Excel has been significantly improved: “Smart Fill” mode, quick analysis, display of useful graphs.
Radial Menu has appeared in the OneNote section, making touch input possible.
Using the Back View tool, when opening a document, you can go to the last place you edited.
Documents supports exporting online images.
In SmartArt, you can cut out an object yourself.
You can leave comments on documents and presentations.
There is animation in Excel charts.
Exchange ActiveSync.
Through Skype, you can communicate with other users of this service using the Outlook window.
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From all of the above we conclude: Office 2013 has been slightly improved when compared to the 2010 version. Of course, visually it is a different product, but almost everything is the same. On the Internet you can see a lot of user reviews who are dissatisfied with the new design. Honestly, the interface seems nicer. Likewise, externally, Windows 7 is better than the newer Eight.
MS Strategy Change The integration of a large number of online services into “Office” did not take place without great efforts from developers. It seems like a colossal amount of work has been done, but users are unlikely to appreciate such efforts. We haven't seen any revolutionary or fundamentally new ideas in the latest version of the office suite. An evolutionary technique related to functionality and usability is available. And, of course, a lot of questions remain regarding the design.
So, between Office 2010 and Office 2013, we would choose the first option. What choice will you make?
The new version of Office 365 exceeded analysts' expectations and brings in annual revenue of about a billion dollars. Today, Microsoft Office in one form or another is taken for granted, but attempts to completely legalize it continue to fail at the price barrier. Meanwhile, many developers are ready to offer real alternatives to this most popular set of programs for working with electronic documentation on more favorable terms.
1. Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2013
Along with the previous version 2010, this is the most commonly used set of office programs today (for both corporate and home users). Anyone who activated version 2010 before April 30, 2013 can upgrade for free until May 31, 2013.
The trial version is often pre-installed on new computers and laptops. The distribution contains the largest number of applications for creating documents of various types, editing and collaborating - see the short presentation.
An extensive library of templates is available, and it is possible to download additional materials from the Microsoft website. Here it is worth remembering the “90/10 rule”. According to one interpretation, 90 percent of users use 10 percent of a program's functionality.
In fact, the office software package from Microsoft is a de facto standard, the disadvantages of which include resource intensity and high price. The professional version will cost more than 15,000 rubles.
Microsoft Office 2013 comes in 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Both require Windows 7/8 installed and hardware support for DirectX v.10, so will not work on older computers. The speed of the programs is relatively low due to the heavy interface and severe fragmentation of components (their total volume after installation takes up about three gigabytes). The speed problem is partially solved by using an SSD and/or a large amount of RAM. The x64 version requires at least 2 GB of RAM.
2. Microsoft Office 365
A product similar in functionality, but different in operating logic. If Microsoft Office, up to version 2013, was distributed as classic boxed distributions for installation and local use, then Office 365 is offered as a subscription and is a cloud solution.
Office 365 is more convenient for collaborating on projects. It is aimed at corporate users and owners of laptops with a constant Internet connection. In addition to the classic set of office programs, the cloud service offers a set of web tools for planning, access to SkyDrive online storage and free regular backups on the company’s servers.
3. LibreOffice v.4.0.x
A fully featured, free, open source, cross-platform office suite. Works on computers running Linux, Windows 2000 SP4 and higher, even runs on ancient configurations with Pentium III and 256 MB of RAM. It takes up about one and a half gigabytes of disk space (half as much as Microsoft Office 2013). Requires installation of the free Java Runtime Environment component, which is usually present on most computers.
LibreOffice supports most common formats, including Office OpenXML (files with extensions .docx; .xlsx; .pptx and others). Due to the implementation of this format, which is selected by default in Microsoft Office 2007 and newer versions, its support in any third-party programs is significantly limited. Problems still arise if you try to edit complexly formatted documents in LibreOffice created in Microsoft Office and saved in the Office OpenXML format.
The main document format used by LibreOffice itself is ODF (OpenDocument Format). It complies with GOST R ISO/IEC 26300-2010, which came into force on June 1, 2011. Its support has been included in Microsoft Office since version 2007 SP2. Actually, there is no reason to stick with the Office OpenXML format, other than the fact that it is offered by default in Microsoft products. There are half a dozen other equally convenient formats.
4. Apache OpenOffice v.3.4.x
In fact, it is the predecessor of LibreOffice, developing separately from it. In addition to Linux and Windows of all current versions, Apache OpenOffice is supported by Mac OS X, OpenSolaris and FreeBSD. There is even a portable version that does not require installation. OpenOffice with all your personal settings and templates can be carried on a flash drive and run on almost any computer.
The commercial version of another package, InfraOffice.pro, from Infra-Resource, is based on OpenOffice. It contains additional cryptography tools, original design and a set of various improvements. InfraOffice.pro can also be used as a portable assembly on a flash drive. Current cost is 646 rubles. The version is especially relevant for commercial use, as it completely removes the specific problems of the software licensing process.
5. Corel Office
The distribution turned out to be extremely lightweight, since it contains only a set of the most commonly used programs - a text editor, spreadsheets and an application for creating presentations.
The software package can even work on old computers with Windows XP and a screen resolution of 800x600 or higher. The single language version takes up only 125 MB after installation. Both early and latest versions of Microsoft Office formats are supported. Integrated support for cloud solutions works through the Dropbox service.
Corel Office is optimal for netbooks and low-performance configurations. The current price for one license is 45 euros.
The extended functionality distribution for Corel WordPerfect Office X6 is available in English only. Additionally, it includes the Nuance PaperPort 12 SE document manager and PDF editing tools.
6. Ashampoo Office 2012
Like Corel Office, this distribution is limited to the three most current applications: TextMaker (similar to Word), PlanMaker (similar to Excel) and Presentations (replacement for PowerPoint).
Support for Microsoft Office formats includes the latest versions. Saving to PDF is also available. The cost of a license is 1,200 rubles, and an update costs 300 rubles.
This office suite can be installed on a flash drive and used in the portable version. During such an installation, you will notice that the destination directory is called SoftMaker Office 2012. This is because the Ashampoo Office code is partially licensed from the German company SoftMaker Software - the authors of the next set of office programs under consideration.
7. SoftMaker Office 2012
A compact distribution of three basic applications, the main code of which was included in Ashampoo Office 2012. The professional version additionally includes an email client with task scheduler and contact library management functions.
Softmaker Office 2012 “Standard” and “Professional Edition” distributions with three licensesSoftMaker Office 2012 is available in fourteen languages, including Russian. It supports ODF and all Microsoft Office formats. There are versions for Windows (since XP), Linux and Android (since v.2.2). The basic version for Windows costs $80, and the professional version costs $100.
8. Kingsoft Office Suite Free 2012
This distribution was developed in China, but this fact should hardly be considered a disadvantage. Most programs today are written by programmers from China or India.
Like many of the alternatives discussed above, Kingsoft Office includes three main programs: text document and spreadsheet editors and an application with the self-explanatory name Presentation.
Among the distinctive features of the latter is support for flash graphics (.swf) and the ability to display presentations in different modes simultaneously on two monitors. To protect files, encryption using the RC4 algorithm with a key length of 128 bits is used.
The distribution is extremely lightweight (68 MB) and undemanding in terms of resources. The minimum system requirements are record low: Pentium II and 128 MB of RAM.
While the program still has problems with Russification, the purpose of most user interface elements is clear even without translation.
The main difference between Kingsoft Office is the ability to legally use it for free for home users and educational institutions. A commercial license will cost a little more than two thousand rubles (the actual price is tied to the Hong Kong dollar exchange rate).
Nominally, almost all alternative developments now support Office OpenXML, but this office suite works with such files only for opening, saving them after editing in any other format.
9. SSuite Office
This unusual product is distinguished by an abundance of versions with interface optimization for different screen resolutions and system requirements. Personal Edition is a modern minimalistic distribution. It is great for very old computers (even works in Windows 95) and monitors with a resolution of 800x600 or higher. There is a separate version of Excalibur Release, aimed primarily at owners of netbooks with a specific screen resolution of 1024x600. OmegaOffice HD+ version for FullHD screens is also available.
All distributions are as lightweight as possible (from 20 to 40 MB) and contain from six to eighteen programs, including the Tetris game. All of them install without rebooting and do not require Java or .NET. Personal and Deluxe Edition works on all versions of Windows (from 95 to 8 inclusive). The release “The Fifth Element” is intended for users of Windows 95 – XP. "Excalibur", "Premium" and "Omega" are designed for the Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista/7/8 line.
10. Google Docs
This is a set of three main online services that replace the installation of any office software package on a local computer. To connect to them, you only need a free Google Drive client - watch the presentation video.
Versions for Windows XP, Vista and 7 are already ready. Work is underway on a client for Windows 8. Currently, MacOS (v.10.6 and higher), iOS and Android are also supported. You can work with documents from your smartphone without even copying them in advance. There is still no full-fledged local client for Linux users, but there are simple, unofficial ways to use the service.
Documents, tables, presentations - everything can be viewed and edited directly in the browser window, and joint work is allowed. The only thing required is an Internet connection (not necessarily high-speed). Officially supported browsers are Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer, but usually everything works in others.
Among the available formats there are all common ones, including OpenDocument and Office OpenXML. User files are stored on the company's servers with the ability to export to any local media. Backups are created automatically and are available for a month. Initially, 5 GB of cloud storage is provided for free. Additional volume can be purchased according to the prices of the selected tariff plan.
