MS Word is deservedly the most popular text editor in the world. This program finds its application in many areas and will be equally good for home, professional and educational use. Word is just one of the programs included in the Microsoft Office suite, which is known to be distributed by subscription with an annual or monthly payment.
Actually, it is the cost of a Word subscription that makes many users look for analogues of this text editor. And today there are many of them, and some of them are not inferior in their capabilities to the full-featured editor from Microsoft. Below we will consider the most worthy alternatives to Word.
Note: The order of description of programs in the text should not be regarded as a rating from worst to best, as well as from best to worst, this is just a list of worthy products with consideration of their main characteristics.
This is a cross-platform office suite, one of the most popular in the free segment. The product includes approximately the same programs as in the Microsoft Office package, even a little more. It is a text editor, spreadsheet, presentation tool, database management system, graphics editor, math formula editor.
The functionality of OpenOffice is more than enough for a comfortable work. As for the word processor itself, called Writer, it allows you to create and edit documents, change their design and formatting. As in Word, it supports the insertion of graphic files and other objects, the creation of tables, graphs and much more is available. All this, as expected, is packed into a simple and intuitive, conveniently implemented interface. It is also important to note the fact that the program is compatible with Word documents.
Another free and cross-platform office editor with a wide range of options for work. Like OpenOffice Writer, this office suite is well compatible with Microsoft Word formats, according to some users, even to a slightly greater extent. If you believe them, this program also works much faster. Analogs of all the components included in the Microsoft Office package are also of interest here, but we are only interested in one of them.
LibreOffice Writer is a word processor, which, as it should be for such a program, supports all the functions and capabilities necessary for comfortable working with text. Here you can set up text styles and format it. It is possible to add images to a document, create and insert tables, columns. There is an automatic spell checker and much more.
Here is another office suite, which, like the above-mentioned analogs, is a free and quite worthy alternative to Microsoft Office. By the way, the interface of the program is in many ways similar to that in the brainchild of Microsoft, however, if you do not take into account the latest versions of the program. If the appearance does not suit you with something, you can always change it for yourself.
The Office Writer word processor supports Word document formats, provides the ability to export documents to PDF and can download file templates from the Internet. As expected, the capabilities of this editor are not limited to just writing and formatting text. Writer supports the insertion of pictures, the creation of tables, mathematical formulas and much more is available, without which it is impossible to imagine comfortable work with text documents today.
And again an office suite, and again quite a worthy analogue of the brainchild of Microsoft. The product includes an application for creating presentations and a word processor, which we will look at. It is noteworthy that the program for working with text is well adapted for touch screens, has a rather attractive graphical interface and a number of other advantages.
In Galligra Gemini, as in all the above programs, you can insert images and mathematical formulas. There are tools for page layout, DOC and DOCX standard formats for Word are supported. The office suite works quite quickly and stably, without loading the system. True, on Windows sometimes slight slowdowns are observed.
An office suite from the world famous search giant, which, unlike all of the above programs, does not have a desktop version. Google documents are tailored exclusively for working online, in a browser window. This approach is both an advantage and a disadvantage. In addition to a word processor, the package includes tools for creating spreadsheets and presentations. All you need to get started is a Google account.
All software services from the Google Docs package are part of the Google Drive cloud storage, in the environment of which the work takes place. Created documents are saved in real time, constantly synchronizing. They are all in the cloud, and projects can be accessed from any device - via an application or a web browser.
This product is focused on collaborative work with documents, for which there are all the necessary features. Users can share files, leave comments and notes, and edit. If we talk directly about the tools for working with text, there are more than enough of them for most users.
Here we are with you and examined the five most relevant and functionally equal analogues of Microsoft Word. Which one to choose is up to you. As a reminder, all products covered in this article are free.
It is important for every user to have a good text editor on their device.
If you are a student or are often faced with the need to edit text documents, presentations or spreadsheets, such a program is simply necessary for you.
SoftMaker Office
SoftMaker Office can also replace Microsoft Office. This office suite is available for Windows, Linux, Windows Mobile and Windows CE.
With SoftMaker Office, you can handle text, scripts, spreadsheets and presentations. The program also offers the ability to automate routine tasks.
Extended version of SoftMaker Office has the ability to work with e-mail, contacts. There is also a set of dictionaries Berlitz.
Unlike LibreOffice, this office suite is paid. There is also a free version with some limitations, namely the lack of support for docx, xlsx, pptx formats.
Calligra Suite
Calligra Suite is another office suite. The program consists of six modules: Words, style and frame-oriented word processor, Sheets spreadsheet, diagram and flowchart editor, eBook editor, and presentation and database management software.
In addition, you get two graphics editors: Krita for drawing with a tablet device and Karbon for creating vector graphics.
Calligra Suite is designed for Linux operating system, there is also a version for Windows. Calligra Suite uses the OpenDocument format by default.
Lotus symphony
Lotus Symphony is a free suite of office applications. The program includes a word processor, spreadsheet applications and presentations.
The package supports Lotus Symphony all popular office document formats: doc, OOXML (MS Office format) and ODF (Open Document Format). One of the interesting features of Lotus Symphony is an integrated browser that can open web pages in the main window. Lotus Symphony is free and easy to use.
Ashampoo Office 2012
The package consists of the TextMaker word processor, the PlanMaker spreadsheet application, and the Presentations tool for creating presentations. Supports all major MS Office formats.
By the way, the application's graphical interface is very similar to the Microsoft Office shell. The application package includes a special program that allows you to install Ashampoo Office 2012 not only on your hard drive, but also on a flash drive. This office suite is not free and costs RUB 1.959.49.
Google docs
An online version of the office suite for the lazy and greedy. Google Docs lets you import and create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, and then edit them in a web browser.
The service includes a word processor Writely, tools for working with spreadsheets and presentations Spreadsheets and Presentations, respectively. Google Docs supports most of the popular formats like DOC, RTF, ODT, ODS, CSV, PPT, XLS and more.
You can create bulleted lists, categorize by columns, work with tables, images and formulas. It is also possible to change fonts, styles, cell background colors and much more.
Openoffice
An excellent free analogue of Microsoft Office. OpenOffice supports working with tables and images, text documents of varying complexity, presentations and databases. You can work with many Microsoft Office documents, as well as save them in any format convenient for you.
The set includes six "office" applications - a text editor Writer and Calc - an application for working with tables. The Impress utility is designed to work with presentations.
For working with vector graphics, there is an application Draw. In addition, the suite includes Base and Math applications for working with databases and mathematical formulas. You can also note the presence of a good set of templates.
Outcome
So, what would you prefer Microsoft Office? Indeed, the task is not easy. The choice is quite large, but there are not so many functional and easy-to-use editors. Personally, I prefer OpenOffice for its simplicity, free, stable and fast work.
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There are enough programs for working with office documents. But here the same situation is repeated as with operating systems: the ubiquitous Microsoft company has already managed to occupy the software niche. Therefore, today we will not talk about Microsoft Office, but about possible alternatives to Office 2010 and newer developments from Microsoft. In general, we will compare this package with developments and alternatives from other companies. This includes free solutions, shareware, offline and online applications.
We will focus on text editors for desktop platforms. If you need a mobile version of an office suite, see our OfficeSuite review.
Alternative "offices" offline
IBM Lotus Symphony beta 4
Developer: IBM Corporation
Installer size: 200 MB
Program website: www.ibm.com
License: Freeware
... And the time when the majority of the audience preferred Microsoft Office, IBM developers took and released their "Office". The project began its development quite recently, in 2007. True, at first it was a semi-independent product, since Lotus Symphony was originally based on OpenOffice. Recently, the package code has been completely rewritten, and today IBM Lotus Symphony is a completely independent development. It has nothing in common with OpenOffice unless it's free.
The package includes three components:
- Lotus Symphony Documents - word processor,
- Lotus Symphony Spreadsheets - spreadsheet,
- Lotus Symphony Presentations program for creating presentations.
Unlike MS Office and other “Offices”, Lotus is a unified environment for editing documents of various types. Applications open in one window, in several tabs. This principled approach makes Lotus look like a browser. Thanks to the so-called multi-document interface (MDI), greater application integration is achieved. Editing several documents at the same time, it is convenient to copy tables, images and other types of data from one window to another. If there are too many open windows, you can use the preview (like in Opera - using thumbnails).
IBM Lotus Symphony beta 4 toolbar
The interface is no doubt user-friendly. The developers managed to minimize the upper tool area and expand the work area. Comparison with Microsoft Office 2007 is not very appropriate here, since this “Office” has a number of visual features. Basic formatting is available through the top panel, additional formatting through the sidebar (sidebar). Menu bars do not take up much space and only contain the most important options.
The word processor and Symphony Spreadsheets did not cause any complaints, except that font anti-aliasing is not performed at such a high level as in Microsoft Office. As far as Lotus Symphony Presentations is concerned, we found the functionality of this application too simple. The number of multimedia templates and templates leaves much to be desired.
Regarding the document format - support is provided for popular file types, including MS Office (except for docx - the format is not yet supported). If you save a document in a non-Lotus extension, the program displays a warning: formatting may be lost. As practice has shown, compatibility does not cause concern. You can safely save the document to doc for later opening in other applications.
One caveat: if you open a document saved by Lotus in Microsoft Office, you will notice some changes in the graphics and images. The text content remains unchanged.
Overall, IBM Lotus Symphony is a complete product that can be used as an alternative to Microsoft Office. The current version is “beta” - however Lotus Symphony is stable. During testing, the package never gave an error, only once when the tab was opened, the application “hung”. We also noticed some sluggishness when expanding menus and checking spelling.
[+] convenient laconic interface
[+] relatively small size
[+] support for many formats
[-] initial lack of checking Russian spelling and grammar, lack of localized help
[-] low speed
OpenOffice 2.3
Developer: OpenOffice.org 2.3
Installer size: 110 MB
Program website: www.openoffice.org
License: Freeware
OpenOffice is perhaps the main alternative to Microsoft Office. Moreover, the main difference from alternative “Offices” is that here we are dealing with a multiplatform product. Initially, OO worked (and works) on a Linux platform, six months ago a preliminary version for MacOS appeared. We are considering a version ported to Windows.
OpenOffice includes the following components:
- Writer - word processor,
- Calc - table editor,
- Draw - creating and editing images,
- Impress - program for creating presentations
- Base - work with databases,
- Math is a formula editor.
The program's interface bears a discernible resemblance to earlier versions of Microsoft Office (97–2003). Although the buttons are on the panel, the dialog boxes are built in a special way. And, for example, in the settings dialog, the options are grouped in much more than in MS Office.
OpenOffice word processor settings
Another difference from MS Office: when creating a document, in the menu of any OO application, you can select the type of the created: table, Writer document, etc., and not just the format. In this regard, the relationship with related components is well organized.
The insertion of tables, graphs, formulas and other information is organized at a high level. Even if MO has more funds for these purposes, everything is more laconic here. It is convenient to work with tables in Calc due to the fact that the document area is not cluttered with unnecessary panels and menus. Calc has a task pane (Write does not). The names of the formulas are unified: both in the Russian version and in the English - they are spelled the same. This has its advantages over MS Excel.
On the performance issue: OO is faster than Microsoft Office itself. The package is stable, does not "hang", does not "think" when typing words or checking spelling. Thanks to the Quickstarter gadget, OpenOffice takes a long time to start (this is achieved by keeping the libraries in RAM).
It is possible to connect plugins. The standard add-ons include the media player and gallery. If the need for the former is in question, then a gallery is a useful thing. You can quickly find and insert a suitable picture from standard images.
In the Russian version of OpenOffice there is support for Russian spelling, there is a function of auto-completion of words - this significantly speeds up typing. Help fully translated. By default, Writer saves documents in its own odt format, but it also has support for the doc format. As with Lotus Office, it is possible to export data to PDF. Other formats include SDW (StarOffice), RTF (Microsoft), XML, HTML and others.
It's very, very convenient to create and edit documents in OO. For people with ambiguous opinions about ported products, all doubts should disappear. The multiplatform nature of OpenOffice is only a plus, because we can edit the same document in almost the same program, but in different operating systems, be it Linux, MacOS or Windows.
[+] functionality
[+] excellent localization
[+] multiplatform
[+] performance
Ashampoo Office 2008
Developer: SoftMaker Software GmbH
Installer size: 15 - 30 Mb
Program website: www.ashampoo.com
License: shareware
Ashampoo produces not only beautiful, but at the same time high-quality, compact programs that may well serve as an alternative to Microsoft Office. In some fifty megabytes, the developers managed to fit a word processor, an editor for tables and presentations. The applications are called TextMaker, PlanMaker and Presentations, respectively.
Of course, Ashampoo Office does not flaunt colorful templates, diagrams, a collection of cliparts, but let's give it credit to the developers: they managed to recreate the Microsoft Office environment. The toolbar is unremarkable compared to, say, Microsoft Office, while at the same time it covers the most essential tools. There are 7 panels in total, including a convenient review panel. They are activated through the context menu. The program has a good installation wizard, integrates with the context menu. The toolbar has buttons for hot switching to other Ashampoo Office programs.
Compatibility with doc-format documents did not cause any complaints - the structure of the document is recreated without changes.
Regarding Russification: unfortunately, the program did not initially include Russification and, consequently, there is no Russian sang-checker. All dictionaries are stored as modules. It is assumed that the Russian module can be found on the Web.
In terms of speed, of the programs reviewed today (plus Microsoft Office), AO is the leader in the review. It can be used not only as an office application, but also as a replacement for "Notepad" - and the replacement is very high quality.
[+] compact size
[+] performance
[-] lack of checking Russian spelling and grammar
"Offices" online
Today, developers of microsoft office alternatives are moving towards creating two types of applications - desktop and online. The main advantage of web applications is that they are independent of the user's preferred platform. It doesn't matter what operating system you are on, you only need access to the Internet and a browser. New documents are saved directly on the online service, so there is no danger of accidental deletion. Consequently, you do not need to transfer data on hard media. Therefore, if you have a high-speed Internet at your disposal, you can think about using one of the two online editors. This is at least Microsoft Office Live and Google Docs. Today we will try to compare them.
Google docs
An alternative word processor from Google, a popular online alternative to Office 365 2010. While it can't compete with Microsoft Word in terms of functionality, don't forget that it is an online application. This solution is intended for people who are not too puzzled by the installation of applications and are not too demanding in terms of functionality. Why look for something else if there is a free service for quick and efficient editing of documents of various formats?
The first feature of Google Docs is that you do not need to fill out any questionnaires during registration. It is enough to indicate your e-mail and your initials.
The interface is based on Ajax web technology. This means that all changes are displayed without reloading the page. The loading speed of the Docs workspace was a pleasant surprise: javascript does not load the computer processor by 100%, as it usually happens in such cases. The interface is rather "modest" and not overloaded. Unfortunately, the service is still available in English (however, users who are accustomed to working in English-language programs will quickly get used to it). Accordingly, no Russian spelling check is expected.
Dialogues, formatting tools - in Google Docs they are implemented as in a regular destop application (see screenshots).
The old version of Google Docs could not be an alternative to MS Office
Google Docs Word Processor Toolbar
The insertion of pictures is provided. But since the file size is very limited to 500 KB, using text with makes you think about the final file size. However, this is quite enough for solid text, and the Internet speed must be good to wait for this file.
All documents are stored on the server. An autosave system is provided, and the corresponding button on the panel can save the document at any time. By the way, with the help of the special utility Documents List Uploader, you can quickly upload the necessary files to the server.
In terms of editing capabilities, Google Docs does not differ from any advanced WYSIWYG editor, the changes concern only the ability to save and import documents. The following popular formats are available for import: RTF, DOC, TXT, HTML, for export - Word, RTF, OpenOffice, HTML and PDF.
Briefly about the rest of the features: Google Docs supports tags (keywords), RSS feeds (to notify about changes), the system of changes is thought out. A very convenient feature is to send the received file by e-mail. In conjunction with Gmail, this is very convenient.
Microsoft Office Live Workspace
As in response to the opening of the online service Google, Microsoft introduced its own alternative version of "Office". On the resource Windows Live Workspace, in addition to the photo gallery, search, tools for publishing a site, the ability to edit text is provided.
The account registration process takes significantly longer than in the case of Google. After that, you will be given an ID number that you need to confirm. Only then does the panel become open for access.
A year ago, the project existed in the “beta” status. At the time, the interface called was overly “heavy”. At the moment, on the contrary, it has changed towards conciseness. Unfortunately, this did not significantly affect the download speed of "Office". Your Internet connection must be fast and stable, or working in Office Live will not bring any results.
The resource is loaded only in Internet Explorer. Even at the registration stage in other browsers, the page… disappears. It might be better than settling for errors in an alternate browser later on, but still - what about compatibility?
There is no need to talk about the functionality of Office Live for a long time: the functions are partially duplicated with the desktop version of Office 2007.
The communication between these platforms is carried out at a high level. Plus, we can note the integration with Microsoft Outlook and all kinds of online services like Live Mail, Live Search. Of the types of documents available for import / export, we note the formats Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
Conclusion
Of course, each of the considered alternative office suites will find its user. For a Russian-speaking audience, from desktop applications, we can recommend OpenOffice as the most functional russified package. An office suite without a spell checker (for example, Ashampoo Office 2008) is not the best option. As for IBM Lotus Symphony: you need to wait until the final version is released, where all errors will be fixed, a spell checker has been added and a Russian-language help will appear.
Of the two considered online applications, Google Docs is the most adapted to our Internet realities. This "Office" does not require a high connection speed (even a dial-up is suitable), is open for registration and does not raise questions.
1. Google Docs is an online word processor. In terms of the number of possibilities and features, it cannot compete with MS Word, but it is available from any computer connected to the Internet. Google Docs is used by General Electric. By the way, I have been using Google Docs as my main word processor for three weeks now, despite the fact that there is no need to type texts from different computers (my working tool is a laptop). It's just that Google Docs is free, and its functionality suits me completely. :)
2. Zoho Writer is another online word processor. It has a pretty good interface and additional features (in comparison with Google Docs). WWD thinks it's worth a try.
3. ajaxWrite - its distinctive feature does not require registration on the site to get started.
4. is a cross-platform open source word processor. Its advantage is a quick start (when compared with MS Office and OpenOffice).
5. DarkRoom is a ported version of WriteRoom (text editor for Mac). DarkRoom requires .NET installed on the system.
6. JDarkRoom - Another alternative to WriteRoom, a cross-platform application. Powered by JAVA, free distribution.
7. Writer - Again we mention WriteRoom, only this is an online option.
8. Writer.app is a word processor for Mac. Flexible, many possibilities.
9. TextEdit is a text processor that comes with Mac OS X. It can read and create documents of various formats, incl. DOC, RTF, HTML.
10. RoughDraft is a free word processor (Windows) that is said to be specially made for writers. So if you are writing a new novel, check out this program, you might like it.
On my own I want to add, on Windows I worked at OpenOffice.org, and on Mac I really like TextEdit. On rare occasions when complex formatting is required, I use NeoOffice (this is the same OpenOffice.org, but with a Cocoa interface). What do you use?
MS Word is deservedly the most popular text editor in the world. This program finds its application in many areas and will be equally good for home, professional and educational use. Word is just one of the programs included in the Microsoft Office suite, which is known to be distributed by subscription with an annual or monthly payment.
Actually, it is the cost of a Word subscription that makes many users look for analogues of this text editor. And today there are many of them, and some of them are not inferior in their capabilities to the full-featured editor from Microsoft. Below we will consider the most worthy alternatives to Word.
Note: The order of description of programs in the text should not be regarded as a rating from worst to best, as well as from best to worst, this is just a list of worthy products with consideration of their main characteristics.
This is a cross-platform office suite, one of the most popular in the free segment. The product includes approximately the same programs as in the Microsoft Office package, even a little more. It is a text editor, spreadsheet, presentation tool, database management system, graphics editor, math formula editor.
The functionality of OpenOffice is more than enough for a comfortable work. As for the word processor itself, called Writer, it allows you to create and edit documents, change their design and formatting. As in Word, it supports the insertion of graphic files and other objects, the creation of tables, graphs and much more is available. All this, as expected, is packed into a simple and intuitive, conveniently implemented interface. It is also important to note the fact that the program is compatible with Word documents.
Another free and cross-platform office editor with a wide range of options for work. Like OpenOffice Writer, this office suite is well compatible with Microsoft Word formats, according to some users, even to a slightly greater extent. If you believe them, this program also works much faster. Analogs of all the components included in the Microsoft Office package are also of interest here, but we are only interested in one of them.
LibreOffice Writer is a word processor, which, as it should be for such a program, supports all the functions and capabilities necessary for comfortable working with text. Here you can set up text styles and format it. It is possible to add images to a document, create and insert tables, columns. There is an automatic spell checker and much more.
Here is another office suite, which, like the above-mentioned analogs, is a free and quite worthy alternative to Microsoft Office. By the way, the interface of the program is in many ways similar to that in the brainchild of Microsoft, however, if you do not take into account the latest versions of the program. If the appearance does not suit you with something, you can always change it for yourself.
The Office Writer word processor supports Word document formats, provides the ability to export documents to PDF and can download file templates from the Internet. As expected, the capabilities of this editor are not limited to just writing and formatting text. Writer supports the insertion of pictures, the creation of tables, mathematical formulas and much more is available, without which it is impossible to imagine comfortable work with text documents today.
And again an office suite, and again quite a worthy analogue of the brainchild of Microsoft. The product includes an application for creating presentations and a word processor, which we will look at. It is noteworthy that the program for working with text is well adapted for touch screens, has a rather attractive graphical interface and a number of other advantages.
In Galligra Gemini, as in all the above programs, you can insert images and mathematical formulas. There are tools for page layout, DOC and DOCX standard formats for Word are supported. The office suite works quite quickly and stably, without loading the system. True, on Windows sometimes slight slowdowns are observed.
An office suite from the world famous search giant, which, unlike all of the above programs, does not have a desktop version. Google documents are tailored exclusively for working online, in a browser window. This approach is both an advantage and a disadvantage. In addition to a word processor, the package includes tools for creating spreadsheets and presentations. All you need to get started is a Google account.
All software services from the Google Docs package are part of the Google Drive cloud storage, in the environment of which the work takes place. Created documents are saved in real time, constantly synchronizing. They are all in the cloud, and projects can be accessed from any device - via an application or a web browser.
This product is focused on collaborative work with documents, for which there are all the necessary features. Users can share files, leave comments and notes, and edit. If we talk directly about the tools for working with text, there are more than enough of them for most users.
Here we are with you and examined the five most relevant and functionally equal analogues of Microsoft Word. Which one to choose is up to you. As a reminder, all products covered in this article are free.
