Compatibility

Tom_Davies · April 20, 2011, 11:05am

Hi
There seems to be an assumption that MS Office would be un-installed or that
people would be forced to stop using MS Office and that the change would have to
be implemented 'overnight'. None of that assumption is valid.

People could and probably would continue to use MS Office but would gain access
to the extra functionality offered in LibreOffice. This is much the same as
Adobe Acrobat Writer which office workers are often expected to install or
upgrade in order to read pdf.

Pdf is dominant on websites as THE way that documents are available for
download. Often there is a download link nearby in case anyone has not got the
latest version. People seem to consider it completely normal to have to
download and update Acrobat but it doesn't stop them using MS Office.

Regards from
Tom

planas · April 20, 2011, 2:21pm

All,

Hi
There seems to be an assumption that MS Office would be un-installed or that
people would be forced to stop using MS Office and that the change would have to
be implemented 'overnight'. None of that assumption is valid.

People could and probably would continue to use MS Office but would gain access
to the extra functionality offered in LibreOffice. This is much the same as
Adobe Acrobat Writer which office workers are often expected to install or
upgrade in order to read pdf.

Pdf is dominant on websites as THE way that documents are available for
download. Often there is a download link nearby in case anyone has not got the
latest version. People seem to consider it completely normal to have to
download and update Acrobat but it doesn't stop them using MS Office.

Regards from
Tom

________________________________
From: Glenn <glennst01@gmail.com>
To: users@libreoffice.org
Sent: Wed, 20 April, 2011 8:35:14
Subject: Re: [libreoffice-users] Re: Compatibility 2

All,

I agree with many to a large extent.

You can't expect business to be smart enough or even care
enough to act in the best interest of their customers. The
right thing is never thoroughly examined, much less even
considered, and the paying user is thereby cheated.

Glenn

inOn 4/19/11 7:08 AM, Ken Springer wrote:
>
>> You simply cannot expect a commercial concern who have already spent a fortune
>>on MS
>> licences to download and use LibO just because I want to send them an
>>non-standard slide
>> show. They won't change therefore if I want the business I have to.... end of
>>story.
>
> This is generally my thought/point about MS and the lack of willingness of big
>business to abandon Windows XP for Vista and/or Windows 7.
>
> If you want a business to change to a different OS and/or software package, you
>are going to have to provide something business sees as a smart, cost effective
>change.
>
> Being free just doesn't cut it, since that doesn't take into the account the
>number of paid manhours it would take to make the swap, a swap which would
>include training, and being able to access years of company records.
>
> Ken
>

-- Unsubscribe instructions: E-mail to users+help@libreoffice.org
Posting guidelines + more: http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Netiquette
List archive: http://listarchives.libreoffice.org/www/users/
All messages sent to this list will be publicly archived and cannot be deleted

The only time I have ever see an office suite removed is when I used the
Ubuntu repository to install LO, OOo was removed by the OS. This is a
Linux only issue when using the repository. I do not know if other Linux
distros do this. If you installed LO without using the Ubuntu software
management you can install LO along side OOo. The installation of other
suites (KOffice in Linux) or office software does not affect LO in
Linux.

In Windows, the only possible effect is changing the default program for
MS Office file types. This could occur if the user is not paying
attention and blindly clicks boxes. I believe the default install
behavior does not change the default program for MS Office file types to
LO. This is true if someone installed any other office suite in Windows.
They can happily coexist with affecting each other.

Ken_Springer1 · April 20, 2011, 2:25pm

Hi
There seems to be an assumption that MS Office would be un-installed or that
people would be forced to stop using MS Office and that the change would have to
be implemented 'overnight'. None of that assumption is valid.

Agreed, it would be a gradual change, but it would change. Having two office suites installed means more work for IT support for the program and it's features, plus supporting the interchange of files. And, you will always have those users who will not make a voluntary switch from old to new until forced, causing continuing difficulty is sharing files. I'm not IT, but been there done that when the switch was made from WordPerfect (the better program IMO) to MS Word.

People could and probably would continue to use MS Office but would gain access
to the extra functionality offered in LibreOffice. This is much the same as
Adobe Acrobat Writer which office workers are often expected to install or
upgrade in order to read pdf.

Pdf is dominant on websites as THE way that documents are available for
download. Often there is a download link nearby in case anyone has not got the
latest version. People seem to consider it completely normal to have to
download and update Acrobat but it doesn't stop them using MS Office.

I suspect no one considers having a special program to read PDF's as being "strange" is because only recently have office suites started to be able to read and create PDF files.

I haven't used MS Office for a long time now, but if memory serves, 2003 can't do anything with them, 2007 can only create. I don't know about 2010.

I've not done any kind of comparison, but I'd bet no office suite can match the features of Adobe Reader 9. And I'd bet 10 has even more features. So, until the office suites can "meet or exceed" Reader's abilities to work with PDF files, there's going to be a separate program to read and manipulate them, plus Acrobat or similar to create them.

Ken

Glenn1 · April 20, 2011, 3:09pm

Hi,

I have used MS Office side-by-side with both OO and LO
on my iMAC (10.6.7) without a problem.

In fact, I invited danger running them all at the same time.

Not a problem! Dump MS Office! I hear it won't be supported
about 2 years from now. As matter of fact, neither will MS
Windows according to some reports.

Glenn

Ken_Springer1 · April 20, 2011, 3:26pm

I actually read some speculation MS may see bankruptcy in about 3 years. Just a prediction, and my Magic 8 ball broke when I was a kid. LOL

Wayne_Borean · April 20, 2011, 5:17pm

The speculation about Microsoft seeing bankruptcy originated with me. You
can read about it on my website <http://madhatter.ca>. Do a search on the
term 'Microsoft Death Watch', you'll find a large archive of articles. I'm
still following the issue. The next major update will come when they release
their year end report (10Q) in July.

Wayne

Ben_McGinnes · April 21, 2011, 4:32am

Is the aim to have a fully compliant .ppt file or to have a
presentation with integrated audio and visual presentation to an
audience that can't or won't install OOo or LO?

If it is the former, then there will inevitably be problems resulting
from issues relating to attempts to reverse engineer Microsoft's
proprietary file formats.

If it is the latter, then try exporting the completed presentation as
a Macromedia flash (.swf) file. To do this, click on File -> Export
and select flash in the pull down menu.

Regards,
Ben

planas · April 21, 2011, 4:44am

Ben

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA512

> Hi Tom,
>
> Thanks again for your previous assistance.... looks like LibO and
> OOo Impress have a generic bug in that both versions lose links to
> audio files (MP3) and in particular are unable to save a correctly
> structured .ppt conversion.

Is the aim to have a fully compliant .ppt file or to have a
presentation with integrated audio and visual presentation to an
audience that can't or won't install OOo or LO?

If it is the former, then there will inevitably be problems resulting
from issues relating to attempts to reverse engineer Microsoft's
proprietary file formats.

If it is the latter, then try exporting the completed presentation as
a Macromedia flash (.swf) file. To do this, click on File -> Export
and select flash in the pull down menu.

Regards,
Ben

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/

iEYEAREKAAYFAk2vs14ACgkQNxrFv6BK4xMYCQCgiJL+XKoHbjtT03J3JWzNb3YP
TXMAoPLH7fbcMSNlBDTOFdoZpE85VbID
=aJN5
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

Would embed mp3 or other audio files play correctly when exported as a
flash file? I think that was one of the major problems.

Ben_McGinnes · April 21, 2011, 4:51am

Anecdotal evidence from OOo days suggest yes, but I've never done it.
I prefer to write, rather than produce content for sales teams.

Regards,
Ben

NoOp · April 22, 2011, 2:22am

...

The only time I have ever see an office suite removed is when I used the
Ubuntu repository to install LO, OOo was removed by the OS. This is a
Linux only issue when using the repository. I do not know if other Linux
distros do this. If you installed LO without using the Ubuntu software
management you can install LO along side OOo. The installation of other
suites (KOffice in Linux) or office software does not affect LO in
Linux.

And therein lies the problem with the Ubuntu PPA and everything
associated with it. Hence the reason why you should just install
directly from http://www.libreoffice.org/download/

Anyone that is foolish enough to follow the advise on
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LibreOffice
should have their head examined. Not only does Fabian Rodriguez advise
against using the LO debs:

<quote>
If you're using Ubuntu, don't install LibreOffice manually from the
".deb" files available at LibreOffice.org. Otherwise you will not get
automatic updates & upgrades when new versions come out and you will be
missing the integration to Ubuntu. Using official packages also ensures
you get the best assistance from the community as this is the
recommended method to install & use LibreOffice in Ubuntu.
</quote>

He then goes on to advise this:
<quote>
Please note OpenOffice.org and LibreOffice don't coexist. Install
LibreOffice following these instructions will effectively remove
OpenOffice.org.
</quote>

Now, if you are of a mind to muck about with the Ubuntu PPA's and wish
to help them troubleshoot the mess, be my guest & have at it.

Also notice:
https://launchpad.net/~libreoffice/+archive/ppa
https://bugs.launchpad.net/~libreoffice
has zaro bugs. This is because all of the "Ubuntu" users that have
installed this PPA version wind up reporting the bugs in the standard LO
or Unbuntu OOo. Fabian neglects to mention that the Ubuntu related bugs
should be filed here instead:
https://bugs.edge.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/libreoffice
or is it:
https://launchpad.net/~libreoffice/+archive/ppa
For questions and bugs with software in this PPA please contact
LibreOffice Packaging.
https://launchpad.net/~libreoffice
https://bugs.launchpad.net/~libreoffice

Just install from LO unless you are using Ubuntu Natty (aka the next
linux Vista) 11.04 and be done with it.

...