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With all the enthusiasm being expressed about OpenOffice.org, I'd like to
add that
(a) I'm switching over to it as much as possible, because I don't have to
pay a licensing fee, and I can use it on as many computers as I want, but I
wouldn't use it if it didn't do what I want and need.
(b) You can produce PDFs directly from the latest version (1.1) -- if I
recall, Bonnie needs to produce PDFs of her resume, so she can do it with
OOo as well as viewing those PowerPoint slides.
(c) The documentation (online help) varies from very good to abysmal and
sometimes wrong, but depending on what you're trying to do, that may not
matter. Several books have been published, and others are coming soon, from
a variety of authors (check Amazon.com for titles).
(d) As Bruce Byfield noted, sometimes conversions between MSOffice and
OpenOffice.org don't work exactly right, but in most cases there's no
problem. I've got some information on my OpenOffice.org website about this,
but it's far from complete.
(e) I've written two books using the software, and it works at least as
well as Word for this purpose, and sometimes better. It's not in
FrameMaker's league, but for many purposes that doesn't matter. I think
there's a relatively recent note on this list from Bruce comparing OOo
Writer and FM; ah, yes, here it is:
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/archives/0311/techwhirl-0311-00009.html
RoboHelp for FrameMaker is a NEW online publishing tool for FrameMaker that
lets you easily single-source content to online Help, intranet, and Web.
The interface is designed for FrameMaker users, so there is little or no
learning curve and no macro language required! Call 800-718-4407 for
competitive pricing or download a trial at: http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l4
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