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NeoOffice 2.2.5 Feature Comparison
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Revision as of 19:32, 13 September 2008 (edit) Sardisson (Talk | contribs) (commit some more changes; the official download pages only link to en-US Intel build, though there are unofficial builds for PPC and languages) ← Previous diff |
Revision as of 23:52, 13 September 2008 (edit) (undo) Sardisson (Talk | contribs) (commit some more changes) Next diff → |
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'''N.B.''' ''This page compares NeoOffice 2.2.5 <!--(a legacy version of NeoOffice)--> to OpenOffice.org Aqua 3.0rc1 and Microsoft Office 2008. <!--For a comparison between the current versions of NeoOffice, OpenOffice.org/X11, and Microsoft Office, see [[NeoOffice Feature Comparison]].-->To see the version of this page comparing NeoOffice 2.2.4 with then-current versions of OpenOffice.org (X11) and Microsoft Office 2008, see [[NeoOffice 2.2.4 Feature Comparison]].'' | '''N.B.''' ''This page compares NeoOffice 2.2.5 <!--(a legacy version of NeoOffice)--> to OpenOffice.org Aqua 3.0rc1 and Microsoft Office 2008. <!--For a comparison between the current versions of NeoOffice, OpenOffice.org/X11, and Microsoft Office, see [[NeoOffice Feature Comparison]].-->To see the version of this page comparing NeoOffice 2.2.4 with then-current versions of OpenOffice.org (X11) and Microsoft Office 2008, see [[NeoOffice 2.2.4 Feature Comparison]].'' | ||
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This page attempts to provide a balanced, but by no means complete, comparison of NeoOffice with two comprable office suites, Microsoft Office and OpenOffice.org, to help you make a more informed decision when evaluating office software. Some other software developers have similar comparison pages; those we are aware of are linked [[#Other Comparisons|below]]. | This page attempts to provide a balanced, but by no means complete, comparison of NeoOffice with two comprable office suites, Microsoft Office and OpenOffice.org, to help you make a more informed decision when evaluating office software. Some other software developers have similar comparison pages; those we are aware of are linked [[#Other Comparisons|below]]. | ||
- | + | == NeoOffice vs. Microsoft Office vs OpenOffice.org Aqua == | |
As an open source project, NeoOffice is free to incorporate useful code from other open source projects that corporate products often cannot use. In turn, this allows NeoOffice to react to needs of its users in ways that others are unable to match. | As an open source project, NeoOffice is free to incorporate useful code from other open source projects that corporate products often cannot use. In turn, this allows NeoOffice to react to needs of its users in ways that others are unable to match. | ||
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<td align="center">2001</td> | <td align="center">2001</td> | ||
<td align="center">2008</td> | <td align="center">2008</td> | ||
+ | </tr> | ||
+ | </table> | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | <TABLE WIDTH=100%> | ||
+ | <tr {{HeaderRow}}> | ||
+ | <th align="left">Feature</th> | ||
+ | <th valign="top">NeoOffice 2.2.5</th> | ||
+ | <th>MS Office 2008 for Mac</th> | ||
+ | <th>OpenOffice.org Aqua 3.0rc1</th> | ||
</tr> | </tr> | ||
<tr {{HeaderRow}}> | <tr {{HeaderRow}}> | ||
Line 83: | Line 93: | ||
<td align="center">Some</td> | <td align="center">Some</td> | ||
<td align="center">Some</td> | <td align="center">Some</td> | ||
+ | </tr> | ||
+ | <tr {{BlueRow}}> | ||
+ | <td>Standard Mac keyboard shortcuts for document navigation</td> | ||
+ | <td align="center">{{N}}</td> | ||
+ | <td align="center">?</td> | ||
+ | <td align="center">Some</td> | ||
+ | </tr> | ||
+ | <tr> | ||
+ | <td>Option key available as shortcut modifier key</td> | ||
+ | <td align="center">{{N}}</td> | ||
+ | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | ||
+ | <td align="center">Partial</td> | ||
+ | </tr> | ||
+ | <tr {{BlueRow}}> | ||
+ | <td>Native toolbar buttons</td> | ||
+ | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | ||
+ | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | ||
+ | <td align="center">{{N}}</td> | ||
+ | </tr> | ||
+ | <tr> | ||
+ | <td>Native context and overflow menus</td> | ||
+ | <td align="center">{{N}}</td> | ||
+ | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | ||
+ | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | ||
+ | </tr> | ||
+ | <tr> | ||
+ | <td>Native floating palettes</td> | ||
+ | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | ||
+ | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | ||
+ | <td align="center">{{N}}</td> | ||
</tr> | </tr> | ||
<tr {{BlueRow}}> | <tr {{BlueRow}}> | ||
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<td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | ||
<td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | ||
- | <td align="center"> | + | <td align="center">{{Y}}•</td> |
</tr> | </tr> | ||
<tr> | <tr> | ||
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<td align="center">{{N}}•</td> | <td align="center">{{N}}•</td> | ||
</tr> | </tr> | ||
- | <tr | + | <tr> |
- | <td> | + | <td>High-quality Quick Look previews</td> |
+ | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | ||
<td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | ||
- | <td align="center">{{N}}</td> | ||
<td align="center">{{N}}</td> | <td align="center">{{N}}</td> | ||
</tr> | </tr> | ||
- | <tr> | + | <tr {{BlueRow}}> |
- | <td> | + | <td>Uses Mac OS X spelling (and grammar, on 10.5) checker and dictionaries for supported languages</td> |
- | + | ||
<td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | ||
+ | <td align="center">{{N}}</td> | ||
<td align="center">{{N}}</td> | <td align="center">{{N}}</td> | ||
</tr> | </tr> | ||
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<td align="center">{{Y}}•••</td> | <td align="center">{{Y}}•••</td> | ||
<td align="center">{{N}}(?)</td> | <td align="center">{{N}}(?)</td> | ||
+ | <td align="center">{{N}}</td> | ||
+ | </tr> | ||
+ | <tr> | ||
+ | <td>Image Capture support, for inserting images from scanners and digital cameras</td> | ||
+ | <td align="center">{{Y}}•••</td> | ||
+ | <td align="center">?</td> | ||
<td align="center">{{N}}</td> | <td align="center">{{N}}</td> | ||
</tr> | </tr> | ||
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<td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | ||
<td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | ||
- | <td align="center"> | + | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> |
</tr> | </tr> | ||
<tr> | <tr> | ||
<td>Drag-and-drop between other applications</td> | <td>Drag-and-drop between other applications</td> | ||
<td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | ||
- | <td align="center">{{ | + | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> |
- | <td align="center"> | + | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> |
</tr> | </tr> | ||
<tr> | <tr> | ||
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<td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | ||
<td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | ||
- | <td align="center"> | + | <td align="center">Partial¥</td> |
</tr> | </tr> | ||
<tr> | <tr> | ||
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<td align="center">?</td> | <td align="center">?</td> | ||
</tr> | </tr> | ||
+ | </table> | ||
- | + | <TABLE WIDTH=100%> | |
+ | <tr {{HeaderRow}}> | ||
+ | <th align="left">Feature</th> | ||
+ | <th valign="top">NeoOffice 2.2.5</th> | ||
+ | <th>MS Office 2008 for Mac</th> | ||
+ | <th>OpenOffice.org Aqua 3.0rc1</th> | ||
+ | </tr> | ||
<tr {{HeaderRow}}> | <tr {{HeaderRow}}> | ||
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<td align="center">{{Y}}*</td> | <td align="center">{{Y}}*</td> | ||
<td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | ||
- | <td align="center"> | + | <td align="center">Partial*</td> |
</tr> | </tr> | ||
<tr {{BlueRow}}> | <tr {{BlueRow}}> | ||
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<td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | ||
<td align="center">{{N}}</td> | <td align="center">{{N}}</td> | ||
- | <td align="center"> | + | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> |
</tr> | </tr> | ||
<tr> | <tr> | ||
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<td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | ||
<td align="center">{{N}}</td> | <td align="center">{{N}}</td> | ||
+ | <td align="center">{{N}}</td> | ||
+ | </tr> | ||
+ | <tr> | ||
+ | <td>EPS preview and printing</td> | ||
+ | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | ||
+ | <td align="center">{{Y}}(?)</td> | ||
<td align="center">{{N}}</td> | <td align="center">{{N}}</td> | ||
</tr> | </tr> | ||
+ | |||
+ | <TABLE WIDTH=100%> | ||
+ | <tr {{HeaderRow}}> | ||
+ | <th align="left">Feature</th> | ||
+ | <th valign="top">NeoOffice 2.2.5</th> | ||
+ | <th>MS Office 2008 for Mac</th> | ||
+ | <th>OpenOffice.org Aqua 3.0rc1</th> | ||
+ | </tr> | ||
+ | <tr {{HeaderRow}}> | ||
+ | <th align="left" colspan="4">Internationalization and Localization:</th> | ||
+ | </tr> | ||
<tr {{BlueRow}}> | <tr {{BlueRow}}> | ||
<td>Localized user interface and help files (number of languages)</td> | <td>Localized user interface and help files (number of languages)</td> | ||
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<td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | ||
<td align="center">{{N}}</td> | <td align="center">{{N}}</td> | ||
- | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | + | <td align="center">{{Y}}µ</td> |
</tr> | </tr> | ||
<tr {{BlueRow}}><td align="left">Armenian</td> | <tr {{BlueRow}}><td align="left">Armenian</td> | ||
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<td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | ||
<td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | ||
- | <td align="center"> | + | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> |
</tr> | </tr> | ||
<tr><td align="left">Japanese</td> | <tr><td align="left">Japanese</td> | ||
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<td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | ||
<td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> | ||
- | <td align="center"> | + | <td align="center">{{Y}}</td> |
</tr> | </tr> | ||
<tr><td align="left">Roman (Vietnamese)</td> | <tr><td align="left">Roman (Vietnamese)</td> | ||
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<td align="center">Unknown</td> | <td align="center">Unknown</td> | ||
<td align="center">Likely**</td> | <td align="center">Likely**</td> | ||
+ | </tr> | ||
+ | </table> | ||
+ | |||
+ | <TABLE WIDTH=100%> | ||
+ | <tr {{HeaderRow}}> | ||
+ | <th align="left">Feature</th> | ||
+ | <th valign="top">NeoOffice 2.2.5 Writer</th> | ||
+ | <th>MS Word 2008 for Mac</th> | ||
+ | <th>OpenOffice.org Aqua Writer 3.0rc1</th> | ||
</tr> | </tr> | ||
- | <tr {{HeaderRow}}><th align="left" colspan="4"> | + | <tr {{HeaderRow}}><th align="left" colspan="4">Word Processor:</th></tr> |
<tr> | <tr> | ||
<td>A logical style system that does not invent styles based on your layout choices</td> | <td>A logical style system that does not invent styles based on your layout choices</td> | ||
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<td align="center">Good</td> | <td align="center">Good</td> | ||
</tr> | </tr> | ||
+ | </table> | ||
- | <tr {{HeaderRow}}><th align="left" colspan="4"> | + | |
+ | <TABLE WIDTH=100%> | ||
+ | <tr {{HeaderRow}}> | ||
+ | <th align="left">Feature</th> | ||
+ | <th valign="top">NeoOffice 2.2.5 Calc</th> | ||
+ | <th>MS Excel 2008 for Mac</th> | ||
+ | <th>OpenOffice.org Aqua Calc 3.0rc1</th> | ||
+ | </tr> | ||
+ | <tr {{HeaderRow}}><th align="left" colspan="4">Spreadsheet:</th></tr> | ||
<tr> | <tr> | ||
<td>More conditional layout options for cells</td> | <td>More conditional layout options for cells</td> | ||
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<td align="center">{{N}}</td> | <td align="center">{{N}}</td> | ||
</tr> | </tr> | ||
+ | </table> | ||
- | <tr {{HeaderRow}}><th align="left" colspan="4">Impress (presentation):</th></tr> | + | |
+ | <TABLE WIDTH=100%> | ||
+ | <tr {{HeaderRow}}> | ||
+ | <th align="left">Feature</th> | ||
+ | <th valign="top">NeoOffice 2.2.5 Impress</th> | ||
+ | <th>MS PowerPoint 2008 for Mac</th> | ||
+ | <th>OpenOffice.org Aqua Impress 3.0rc1</th> | ||
+ | </tr> | ||
+ | <tr {{HeaderRow}}> | ||
+ | <th align="left" colspan="4">Impress (presentation):</th> | ||
+ | </tr> | ||
<tr> | <tr> | ||
<td>The ability to export to [http://www.macromedia.com/software/flash/ Flash] animation</td> | <td>The ability to export to [http://www.macromedia.com/software/flash/ Flash] animation</td> | ||
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<td align="center">?</td> | <td align="center">?</td> | ||
</tr> | </tr> | ||
+ | </table> | ||
+ | <table width="100%"> | ||
<tr><td colspan="4">'''Notes:'''</td> | <tr><td colspan="4">'''Notes:'''</td> | ||
</tr> | </tr> | ||
- | <tr><td colspan="4">* NeoOffice includes support for Word 2007 (<tt>.docx</tt>), Excel 2007 (<tt>.xlsx</tt>), and PowerPoint 2007 (<tt>.pptx</tt>) files using code from the [http://odf-converter.sourceforge.net/ odf-converter project].</td> | + | <tr><td colspan="4">* NeoOffice includes support for Word 2007 (<tt>.docx</tt>), Excel 2007 (<tt>.xlsx</tt>), and PowerPoint 2007 (<tt>.pptx</tt>) files using code from the [http://odf-converter.sourceforge.net/ odf-converter project]. Office 2008 includes native support for reading and writing OpenXML file formats. OpenOffice.org Aqua inculdes support for opening these document types but not for saving them.</td> |
</tr> | </tr> | ||
<tr><td colspan="4">†NeoOffice only ships with a UI for [http://www.neooffice.org/neojava/download.php?fragment=installlanguages English]; UIs for the other 57 languages are freely available in [http://www.neooffice.org/neojava/download.php?fragment=installlanguages language packs]. All versions of Office 2008 are available in Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Spanish, and Swedish<!-- still can't tell if they're all in one binary or separate purchases like 2004 --> [http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2007/sep07/09-24ParisExpoPR.mspx?rss_fdn=Press%20Releases]. OpenOffice.org Aqua 3.0rc1 is [http://download.openoffice.org/680/?intcmp=1461 officially available] in English for Intel Macs, but unofficial versions are available in 92 different single-language builds; see [http://ooopackages.good-day.net/pub/OpenOffice.org/MacOSX/3.0.0rc1/ this list].</td> | <tr><td colspan="4">†NeoOffice only ships with a UI for [http://www.neooffice.org/neojava/download.php?fragment=installlanguages English]; UIs for the other 57 languages are freely available in [http://www.neooffice.org/neojava/download.php?fragment=installlanguages language packs]. All versions of Office 2008 are available in Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Spanish, and Swedish<!-- still can't tell if they're all in one binary or separate purchases like 2004 --> [http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2007/sep07/09-24ParisExpoPR.mspx?rss_fdn=Press%20Releases]. OpenOffice.org Aqua 3.0rc1 is [http://download.openoffice.org/680/?intcmp=1461 officially available] in English for Intel Macs, but unofficial versions are available in 92 different single-language builds; see [http://ooopackages.good-day.net/pub/OpenOffice.org/MacOSX/3.0.0rc1/ this list].</td> | ||
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</tr> | </tr> | ||
<tr> | <tr> | ||
- | <td colspan="3">• NeoOffice includes the [[NeoLight]] Spotlight Importer | + | <td colspan="3">µ OpenOffice.org Aqua requires manual selection of an appropriate Arabic script font in order to correctly display Arabic text. |
+ | </td> | ||
+ | </tr> | ||
+ | <tr> | ||
+ | <td colspan="3">Â¥ OpenOffice.org Aqua is not able to successfully perform all of the "email document" functions listed in its menus. | ||
+ | </td> | ||
+ | </tr> | ||
+ | <tr> | ||
+ | <td colspan="3">• NeoOffice includes the [[NeoLight]] Spotlight Importer and the [[NeoPeek]] Quick Look importer; OpenOffice.org Aqua also includes a Spotlight inporter. On Mac OS X 10.5, Apple includes OpenDocument Text (<tt>.odt</tt>) files in the file types natively supported by Spotlight and Quick Look.</td> | ||
</tr> | </tr> | ||
<tr> | <tr> | ||
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Comparison of these office suites performing a number of different tasks can be found on the [[NeoOffice Performance Comparison]] page. | Comparison of these office suites performing a number of different tasks can be found on the [[NeoOffice Performance Comparison]] page. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===Supported File Formats=== | ||
+ | |||
+ | NeoOffice can read and write a large variety of file formats, both current and legacy. Current and recent Microsoft Office file formats are just some of the import and export possibilities; for a more complete listing, see the [[NeoOffice File Formats]] matrix. | ||
=== Still To Do === | === Still To Do === | ||
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In all fairness, NeoOffice is not perfect. No software is. Along with relatively large RAM requirements (minimum 512 MB, 1 GB or more recommended), there is always room for improvement. NeoOffice can (and will) get better. | In all fairness, NeoOffice is not perfect. No software is. Along with relatively large RAM requirements (minimum 512 MB, 1 GB or more recommended), there is always room for improvement. NeoOffice can (and will) get better. | ||
- | + | == Other Comparisons == | |
Additional feature comparisons between selected office suites and word processors are available at [http://www.redlers.com/mellelcompetitive.html Mellel: Competitive Comparison] (redlers.com; compares Mellel 2.0 with Microsoft Office 2004, OpenOffice.org 2.0.x, and Nisus Writer Express 2.7, but not NeoOffice) and [http://www.apfelwiki.de/Tests/WordAlternativenTest Word-Alternativen: Der Test] (apfelwiki.de; compares AbiWord 2.4.5, Mellel 2.2, NeoOffice 1.2.2/2.0.3 Aqua Beta, Nisus Writer Express 2.7, and Apple's Pages 2.0.2 [de]). | Additional feature comparisons between selected office suites and word processors are available at [http://www.redlers.com/mellelcompetitive.html Mellel: Competitive Comparison] (redlers.com; compares Mellel 2.0 with Microsoft Office 2004, OpenOffice.org 2.0.x, and Nisus Writer Express 2.7, but not NeoOffice) and [http://www.apfelwiki.de/Tests/WordAlternativenTest Word-Alternativen: Der Test] (apfelwiki.de; compares AbiWord 2.4.5, Mellel 2.2, NeoOffice 1.2.2/2.0.3 Aqua Beta, Nisus Writer Express 2.7, and Apple's Pages 2.0.2 [de]). | ||
- | |||
- | ===Supported File Formats=== | ||
- | |||
- | NeoOffice can read and write a large variety of file formats, both current and legacy. Current and recent Microsoft Office file formats are just some of the import and export possibilities; for a more complete listing, see the [[NeoOffice File Formats]] matrix. | ||
<!-- | <!-- |
Revision as of 23:52, 13 September 2008
N.B. This page compares NeoOffice 2.2.5 to OpenOffice.org Aqua 3.0rc1 and Microsoft Office 2008. To see the version of this page comparing NeoOffice 2.2.4 with then-current versions of OpenOffice.org (X11) and Microsoft Office 2008, see NeoOffice 2.2.4 Feature Comparison.
The advantages of NeoOffice over other office suites, particularly Microsoft's, are legion. Most importantly, NeoOffice is free and open source software, relieving you of costly licensing fees. There is also a strong community support forum that is frequented by the developers
At the same time, other office suites also contain features missing in NeoOffice which may be indispensable to your work, and your purchase of commercial software generally assures the software has passed professional quality assurance and typically entitles you to professional technical support.
This page attempts to provide a balanced, but by no means complete, comparison of NeoOffice with two comprable office suites, Microsoft Office and OpenOffice.org, to help you make a more informed decision when evaluating office software. Some other software developers have similar comparison pages; those we are aware of are linked below.
NeoOffice vs. Microsoft Office vs OpenOffice.org Aqua
As an open source project, NeoOffice is free to incorporate useful code from other open source projects that corporate products often cannot use. In turn, this allows NeoOffice to react to needs of its users in ways that others are unable to match.
NeoOffice is also far more integrated with OS X than the Mac releases of OpenOffice.org. Rather than relying on the vision and goals of Sun Microsystems to determine features, NeoOffice includes many features designed specifically for Mac OS X.
Apart from these benefits, NeoOffice 2.2.5 has features that outshine Microsoft Office and OpenOffice.org Aqua:
Feature | NeoOffice 2.2.5 | MS Office 2008 for Mac | OpenOffice.org Aqua 3.0rc1 |
---|---|---|---|
General: | |||
Type ahead word-completion (optional), similar to features found in mobile phones | |||
A logical, safe and suite-wide system for templates, so these are never accidentally updated | |||
Clean HTML code export (compliant with international web standards) | |||
Support for international standard ISO 26300 OpenDocument file formats | |||
Support for Microsoft Office 2007 (OpenXML) file formats | * | Partial* | |
Unified User Interface, reducing learning time and costs | |||
Optimized PDF generation | |||
EPS preview and printing | (?) |
Feature | NeoOffice 2.2.5 | MS Office 2008 for Mac | OpenOffice.org Aqua 3.0rc1 |
---|---|---|---|
Internationalization and Localization: | |||
Localized user interface and help files (number of languages) | 58†| 11†| 92†|
International spelling checkers | 88‡ | 12‡ | 88‡ |
Support for text entry in non-Roman scripts including South Asian, East Asian, right-to-left and complex text layout scripts | Some [1] | ||
Supported scripts or languages: | |||
Arabic | µ | ||
Armenian | |||
Cyrillic | |||
Cherokee | |||
Chinese (Simplified) | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | |||
Devanagari & Gujarati (Indic languages) | |||
Greek | |||
Hebrew | |||
Inuktitut | |||
Japanese | |||
Korean | |||
Roman (Western and Eastern European languages) | |||
Roman (Hawaiian, Northern Sami) | |||
Roman (Vietnamese) | |||
Tamil | |||
Thai | |||
Other | Likely** | Unknown | Likely** |
Feature | NeoOffice 2.2.5 Writer | MS Word 2008 for Mac | OpenOffice.org Aqua Writer 3.0rc1 |
---|---|---|---|
Word Processor: | |||
A logical style system that does not invent styles based on your layout choices | |||
Functional bullet/list numbering | |||
The ability to import WordPerfect documents (thanks to the libwpd project) | |||
The ability to import Microsoft Works word processing documents (thanks to the libwps and ooo-build projects) | ††| ||
Table drawing options | Good | Very good | Good |
Feature | NeoOffice 2.2.5 Impress | MS PowerPoint 2008 for Mac | OpenOffice.org Aqua Impress 3.0rc1 |
---|---|---|---|
Impress (presentation): | |||
The ability to export to Flash animation | |||
Superior (3D) font art possibilities. | |||
Support for playing QuickTime-supported audio and video | *** | ? |
Notes: | |||
* NeoOffice includes support for Word 2007 (.docx), Excel 2007 (.xlsx), and PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) files using code from the odf-converter project. Office 2008 includes native support for reading and writing OpenXML file formats. OpenOffice.org Aqua inculdes support for opening these document types but not for saving them. | |||
†NeoOffice only ships with a UI for English; UIs for the other 57 languages are freely available in language packs. All versions of Office 2008 are available in Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Spanish, and Swedish [2]. OpenOffice.org Aqua 3.0rc1 is officially available in English for Intel Macs, but unofficial versions are available in 92 different single-language builds; see this list. | |||
‡ NeoOffice uses the native Mac OS X spell-checker by default. If there is no native spell-checker dictionary available for a language, NeoOffice will fall back to Hunspell dictionaries. An ever-growing number of writing (proofing) tools for many languages are available from the OpenOffice.org project [3] using the Dictionary wizard (in the File menu, choose Wizards, then "Install new dictionaries..."). Microsoft Office 2008 ships with proofing tools for Danish, Dutch, English (US/UK/AU), Finnish, French (FR/CA), German (DE/CH), Italian, Japanese, Norwegian (NB/NN), Portugese (PT/BR), Spanish and Swedish [4]. | |||
** Because OpenOffice.org includes support for languages and scripts which do not have keyboard layouts in Mac OS X, and because Mac OS X includes system-level Unicode support for many of these languages even though Apple does not ship fonts or keyboards, it is very likely that NeoOffice will support text entry (and perhaps sorting) in the language/script if one installs third-party Unicode fonts and keyboard layouts. See Tom Gewecke's Your Multilingual Mac for more resources. For instance, there is a report that NeoOffice handles Khmer very well, and there has even been a report of using NeoOffice with characters in Unicode Planes 1 and 2. | |||
††Experimental support; VBA: all macros may not work perfectly; Microsoft Works documents: not all versions of the format are supported, and some formatting may be lost. | |||
‡‡ Microsoft announced in August 2008 that the Solver is available again as a stand-alone application that is downloadable for free by Excel 12.1.2 users. | |||
*** Mac OS X 10.4 and higher required for video support. | |||
µ OpenOffice.org Aqua requires manual selection of an appropriate Arabic script font in order to correctly display Arabic text. | |||
Â¥ OpenOffice.org Aqua is not able to successfully perform all of the "email document" functions listed in its menus. | |||
• NeoOffice includes the NeoLight Spotlight Importer and the NeoPeek Quick Look importer; OpenOffice.org Aqua also includes a Spotlight inporter. On Mac OS X 10.5, Apple includes OpenDocument Text (.odt) files in the file types natively supported by Spotlight and Quick Look. | |||
•• This feature was expected in OpenOffice.org 2.3 but is not present in that release. Presumably it will appear in a future OpenOffice.org release. | |||
••• Mac OS X 10.4 and higher required for video support and the Media Browser. | |||
+++ OpenOffice.org is missing support for iDisk and webdav volumes and also is missing support for using Base .odb files on any remote volume. | |||
++ Microsoft Office 2008 requires Mac OS X 10.4.9 or later. The official Mac OS X version of OpenOffice.org Aqua 3.0rc1 is officially available in English for Intel Macs running Mac OS X 10.4 or higher. To check availability for your language and hardware (PPC or Intel), look here. Unofficial builds, builds for other languages, or older versions that support more languages, may or may not be available. |
Performance Comparisons
Comparison of these office suites performing a number of different tasks can be found on the NeoOffice Performance Comparison page.
Supported File Formats
NeoOffice can read and write a large variety of file formats, both current and legacy. Current and recent Microsoft Office file formats are just some of the import and export possibilities; for a more complete listing, see the NeoOffice File Formats matrix.
Still To Do
In all fairness, NeoOffice is not perfect. No software is. Along with relatively large RAM requirements (minimum 512 MB, 1 GB or more recommended), there is always room for improvement. NeoOffice can (and will) get better.
Other Comparisons
Additional feature comparisons between selected office suites and word processors are available at Mellel: Competitive Comparison (redlers.com; compares Mellel 2.0 with Microsoft Office 2004, OpenOffice.org 2.0.x, and Nisus Writer Express 2.7, but not NeoOffice) and Word-Alternativen: Der Test (apfelwiki.de; compares AbiWord 2.4.5, Mellel 2.2, NeoOffice 1.2.2/2.0.3 Aqua Beta, Nisus Writer Express 2.7, and Apple's Pages 2.0.2 [de]).