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Microsoft excel options

9 years ago

I use only excel for spreadsheets and writing (and MS outlook) on the office suite and am wondering if I can use something else. I don't think it's worth the money when I don't use anything else. Any thoughts or help would be appreciated.

Featured Answer

steve_o

9 years ago

You don't say what operating system you use. You also don't say what you do with these spreadsheets -- if they're for personal use only or if you must share those documents/files with others or if they're part of a larger integrated application.

But if you're using a desktop/laptop and documents/spreadsheets for your own purposes, there are some free alternatives to the Microsoft Office suite in LibreOffice, NeoOffice, etc. They will open and save Microsoft Office documents provided they're not extremely complicated (and save in their own formats as well if you don't care so much about compatibility).

I have been using NeoOffice (a version of LibreOffice massaged for the Macintosh interface) for years for my own use and within a few organizations to which I belong and have never had a serious issue with compatibility or reliability. You can download them for free; try them out and see what you think.

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Comments (7)

User
9 years ago
Try LibreOffice ... it can read all your ols MSOffice stuff and it's FREE!

www.libreoffice.org
yeonassky thanked User
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yeonassky
Original Author
9 years ago
They're for personal use only. Windows is my operating system. I guess I'm a little confused about losing/gaining data with regards to the others' formatting, but reassured that they work for you. I will try the ones suggested by both of you. Thank you!
mike_kaiser_gw
9 years ago
For the vast majority of users, using one of the alternative office suites isn't going to cause any problems. If I'm not mistaken Microsoft offers a free, basic, online version of Word and Excel. You'll need a Microsoft account to use it (Hotmail, Outlook, Skype, etc.)
yeonassky thanked mike_kaiser_gw
Elmer J Fudd
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Google Docs is excellent as an online service, completely compatible with all major file types and offering all the main program types.

As for Outlook, what are you using it for? The Google system of Contacts, Calendar, web email, etc is great and secure and integrates seamlessly with apps on smartphones. If using Outlook for email, it's easily replaceable any one of several ways.
yeonassky thanked Elmer J Fudd
mike_kaiser_gw
9 years ago
Elmer,

I haven't used Google Sheets or Slides enough to form an opinion but Google Docs (the word processing application) pales in comparison to the functionality of Microsoft Word. Google Docs is fine for simpler documents like, say, a letter or resume but it's not the application to use if you need advanced formatting. Even something fairly routine like creating a mail merge for something like holiday card list, requires using an add-on. Inserted graphics can only be adjusted for size by dragging unlike Word where they can be adjusted to an actual size, which is useful if you documents has multiple images. On the bright side, the price is pretty low. <lol>

I do, very much, like Gmail. The contacts organization is ok too.
yeonassky thanked mike_kaiser_gw
yeonassky
Original Author
9 years ago
I use email very little. Mostly to receive e pay and send invoices. It seems as if I could do it all by text but some people print out paper copies still of invoices I send. Oh yes and to receive notification that I have a response from my GW friends. :)

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