While many people believe that they are “locked” into using Microsoft Word for all their document creation needs, it simply isn't true. There are many free alternatives to the costly application from Microsoft, many of which are free. Today we're going to talk about ten alternatives to Microsoft Word that you can quickly and easily start using today. Some will be online and some will be downloadable applications that can be installed on your local computer, but all will enable you to wean yourself off of Microsoft Word and still be productive.
Over the past few years many alternatives have been emerging to
Microsoft Word and Office. A notable freely downloadable option is
OpenOffice which has been in development in one form or another for
almost twenty years. One of the newer and more well-known online
options is of course offered by those masters of online applications,
Google, in the form of Google Documents. So let’s get started on the
tour of ten free alternatives to Microsoft Word.
Downloadable Applications:
Some people are simply not ready to cut the ties to their local
computer and put all their work online, so for you we have several
applications which are open source and freely downloadable to be
installed on your local computer and which don't require an internet
connection to function.
This package actually includes five programs that all use the
same engine making them inherently the same and extremely easy to learn
and use. The 5 are: Writer (word processor), Calc (spreadsheets),
Impress (presentations), Draw (graphics) and Base (database
manipulation). Writer can even natively do some things that Word
cannot, like open PDF files without the addition of a plug-in or
commercial add-on. As the software is open source it is maintained by a
large community meaning help and bug fixes are freely available and
quickly created. This is perhaps the leading free alternative to
Microsoft Word/Office.
This software is part of the AbiSource project which is aimed at a
full cross-platform application suite meaning you could run it on
UNIX, Mac OS and Windows. The software is fully compatible with not
only Microsoft Word but also OpenOffice.org, Word Perfect and Palm OS.
It has advanced document layout capabilities and can do mail merge as
well which allows you to automatically fill in specific form fields in
documents with information from databases and comma separated or tabbed
text files. A highly useful feature if you have many forms you need to
work with at the office. Additionally the software can be enhanced and
expanded with freely available plug-ins that will give it even more
features and functions.
Jarte is based on the WordPad Engine, but is still free. There is
a pay version of the software that adds on some extra functionality,
but the free version is more than adequate and fully compatible with
Word and WordPad documents. Features include Windows Vista
compatibility, an ergonomic tabbed interface, small resource
requirements and quick loading time. It also has built-in spell
checking and can export to HTML and PDF files. Jarte allows you to
insert images, tables, hyperlinks and everything else that you have come
to expect from Word. Jarte contains no ads, trial periods or crippled
features and is funded through user purchases of the Jarte Plus
version.
Yes, IBM is giving away a productivity package, for free. Lotus
Symphony includes a word processor, spreadsheet program and
presentation software. While it was based on an older version of
OpenOffice.org, many modifications have been made to the package making
it unique now. Lotus Symphony Documents supports the open document
format (.ODF extension), Microsoft Office and Lotus SmartSuite files
and can also export to PDF. Tables, charts, shapes and graphics are all
present as well as the standard text formatting options. The software
also contains inline spell checking and correction along with table of
contents, footnote, indices and header/footer creation.
Mac users haven’t been forgotten in the free productivity software
campaign, because Neo Office is made just for them. The package
includes word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, drawing and
database programs and runs on Mac OS X. It also offers compatibility
with Microsoft Office files including most Office 2007 files. The
software has been evolving since 2003 so it is fairly stable and has
incorporated a host of Mac native features. The software also has
grammar and spell checking and can even import images from cameras and
scanners as well as Quicktime videos.
Online:
Sometimes it's easier to collaborate
online than by editing, saving and sending the files. These applications
will not only let you create the documents online but also quickly and
easily share them with others.
From the minds at Google Labs comes Google Docs which allows you
to create, collaborate and share documents, spreadsheets and
presentations. The interface is cleaner than many of the other
alternatives but the functionality is still all there. While it will
automatically save the file online and store it there, you can also have
the documents published as a web page or emailed as an attachment in
Word, ODT, PDF or RTF formats. You can invite collaborators to work on
the document with you or only allow others to view it without the
ability to edit. All it takes is a free account signup.
Zoho offers around 20 free online applications including Writer
for word processing. You can link your Zoho account to your Google and
Yahoo accounts as well. The interface on Writer shouldn't cause anyone
problems as it is comfortably familiar. Working online can be hazardous
and there's always the threat of losing data due to lost network
connection, accidental closing of the browser window or browser crash,
but luckily Zoho automatically saves your documents for you, as you
finish typing. You can also insert images from your local computer or
from the Web. Zoho Writer offers all the standard text formatting and
document creation features and can export to DOCX, ODF, PDF, Latex,
RTF, TXT and even HTML. It can plug into Echosign for digital
signatures, publish the document to a blog or make it public for all to
see. You can even invite online collaborators to work on the document
with you.
The 'My Office' area of the website includes a Java-based
productivity suite. The site will ask if you want to install the
applications to your computer but this is not necessary for online only
usage. As the software is built in Java it will take some system
resources and time but it caches on your computer so it loads quicker
after the first time. The interface on the program is very familiar
looking and should not cause most users any problems with navigating.
Working online can be hazardous at times and you could accidentally
close the application window before you have saved your document, but
don’t worry because it will automatically dump the file onto your
computer when you close the window. Not the best system in the world
but it should save you from having to completely remake the document.
This newer online application suite includes ajaxWrite,
ajaxSketch, ajaxXLS. ajaxPresent and ajaxTunes. AjaxWrite has been
designed to look like Microsoft Word so everyone will be familiar with
the interface. The application is lacking some of the features that
others include, notably a spell checker, but does include many of the
standard formatting options as well as the ability to include an image
from your computer, as well as drag and drop image insertion from web
pages. The application does respond slower than many of the others and
there were problems with the save option though attempting to close the
browser window does ask if you want to navigate away and discard the
changes. Ajaxwrite only supports Firefox at present with IE support on
the way.
Another interesting alternative is Peepel. With a slick interface
the all browser-based word processor allows you to do typical text
formatting, image insertion from the web (no local computer access) and
collaborate with others on the document. It also has templates for
resumes, letters and business cards. You can store files online and
even open multiple applications in the same browser window at the same
time. Applications available include WebWriter, Calculator, WebSheet and
Browser along with file managers and file manipulation features.
Whether you are looking for a free locally installed Microsoft
Word alternative or an online one for easier collaboration and online
file storage, there are many offerings available. The ten that are
covered in this article are only the tip of the proverbial iceberg but
should give you a good starting point. The obvious giants in the arena
are Google Docs and Openoffice.org which are probably also the most
popular though Zoho does offer a wider selection of applications. In
the end the one that best suits you will be the one that offers the
features you need the most.
While using MS Word can be very difficult, using PDF can be even more difficult. Investintech publishes a PDF to Word solution called Able2Doc that has the ability to convert PDF documents to Word efficiently and accurately. It is a top rated PDF to Word Converter solution that has been integrated into several of Investintech’s desktop PDF conversion products.
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