Documentation/OOoAuthors User Manual/Getting Started/Features
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Features
The following tables list some important features of OpenOffice.org and compare them with two leading office suites, Microsoft Office 2003 (MSO) and WordPerfect X3' (WP).
Styles and formatting
Feature | OOo | MSO | WP |
---|---|---|---|
Navigator | yes | limited1 | no |
Styles and Formatting window | yes | yes | no |
Keyboard support for paragraph styles | yes | yes | no |
Support for page, frame, and list styles | yes | no | no |
Word completion | yes | Excel only | no |
Spelling and language proofing modules | 70+ | 50+2 | 25 |
Formula or equation tools | yes | yes | no |
1 "Outline View" in Word offers a subset of the features of OOo's Navigator.
2 Requires an additional license for the the Multilingual User Interface Pack.
Interoperability
Feature | OOo | MSO | WP |
---|---|---|---|
PDF export capability | yes | yes1 | yes |
Flash export capability | yes | no | yes |
XML export capability | yes | yes | yes |
OpenDocument XML format | yes | no | no |
Import/Export Microsoft Office files | yes | yes | yes |
Import WordPerfect files | yes | yes | yes |
Import Lotus 123 files | yes | yes | yes |
Connect to external databases (MySQL, Oracle, Access, etc.) |
yes | yes | yes |
Languages available (localizations) | 40+ | 35+ | 30 |
Supported operating systems | Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Solaris |
Windows only2 | Windows only |
Unicode language support | yes | yes | no |
1 Requires additional third-party software, such as PDF Writer or PDF Converter.
2 Microsoft Office: Mac is not feature compatible with Microsoft Office 2003.
Programmability
Macros are programs that automate tasks and can be embedded in a document. The following table lists the languages available for macro development in each office suite.
Language | OOo | MSO | WP |
---|---|---|---|
Basic-derived language | OpenBasic | VBA | VBA |
Beanshell | yes | no | no |
Java | yes | no | no |
JavaScript | yes | no | no |
Python | yes | no | no |
Beyond simple macros, some office suites can be extended to include new features. This capability usually takes the form of plug-ins. In the case of OpenOffice.org, it can also be done through changes to the source code.
Feature | OOo | MSO | WP |
---|---|---|---|
C and C++ | yes | yes | yes |
Java | yes | no | no |
Python | yes | no | no |
Source code available! | yes | no | no |
Security
Feature | OOo | MSO | WP |
Digital signatures | yes | yes | yes |
Strong encryption | yes | yes | yes |
Secure paths for macro execution | yes | yes | no |
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