OpenOffice.org 4.0.1

OpenOffice is an open source office program that is similar to Microsoft Office. The suite consists of applications for word processing, spreadsheets, databases, graphics, and presentations. It also supports documents from other popular office suites. The OpenOffice suite consists of six applications:

Writer – word processing application
Calc – spreadsheet program for calculations, data analysis, graphs, and numerical reports
Impress – multimedia application
Draw – program for creating simple diagrams and complex 3D illustrations
Base – database management utility
Math – mathematical program with equation editor

The programs included in the OpenOffice suite were designed to be included in a package. All the six programs have a similar interface, which makes it easy to use. The programs also have some common tools that can be used with other programs within the suite. Also, all six programs share the spell-checker feature. Changes made on the spell-checker on one application changes the options for the other applications, too. Users do not need to determine the type of file to open, since the OpenOffice automatically opens the document using the correct program.

Saving documents with OpenOffice is done using the OpenDocument format. OpenDocument is the international standard used for all office documents. Since the program uses an international standard, all documents created and saved using the program are compatible with programs that also support the OpenDocument format.