Opening MS Office Documents
The question was brought up as to whether or not OpenOffice.org can open windows documents. The question was eloquently answered by Chad Smith -- cws456456 at aol.com -- on 12/14/2004:
http://www.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=users&msgId=1671832
>Can I open a windows document in openoffice and can I open an an openoffice document in windows?
>
Hi Sandra,
Thanks for your question, and your interest in OpenOffice.org.
I'd like to make sure I understand your question - so please correct me
if I am wrong. Are you asking if OpenOffice.org (OOo for short) can
open Microsoft Office files? Like Microsoft (MS) Word, MS Excel, MS
Powerpoint, those types of files.
If that's your question, then the answer is yes. OOo has filters for
the main file formats that MS Office uses. Sometimes there are some
formatting differences when OOo opens an MS Office file - this is
because the makers of OOo don't have access to the code that Microsoft
uses to make its files. MS keeps that information a secret, so when
OOo, or any other program uses MS Office formats, they are actually
"reverse engineered". That means that they take an MS Word file, (for
example), and through a process of trial and error, they make a file
filter that works as good as they can make it. A "file filter" is the
part of a program that tells the computer how to save and open a file.
Now, to recap that answer, yes, OOo can open MS Office files pretty well
- but not 100%.
On to your second question. If my assumption about "windows" meaning MS
Office holds true, you want to know if Microsoft Office can open
OpenOffice.org files. If that's your question the answer is no - *but*
- OpenOffice.org can save files as MS Office formats, and MS Office can
open *those* files. This might seem confusing. When you save a file in
MS Word, the thing that Word normally does is save the file as an MS
Word document, with the file extension .doc. OOo can open .doc files,
like I talked about in the last paragraph, *and* it can save files to
the .doc format. When OOo does this - MS Word can open the file.
Although, again, because Microsoft keeps its formats a secret, the
formatting isn't always exactly the same. Sometimes, even different
versions of MS Office (like Office 2003 and Office 97) can open files
from each other differently. OpenOffice.org has its own type of file,
.swx, that MS Office can't open at all. This is because Microsoft
doesn't want to make a file filter for it, even though OpenOffice.org
has let everyone see how to do it.
Again, to recap the second answer, no, Microsoft Office can't open
OpenOffice.org's native files, *but* OOo can save to formats, like .doc,
that MS Office *can* open.
Basically, I think what you are wanting to know is can OpenOffice.org
and MS Office work together. The answer to that is yes, they can. You
just have to use MS Office's formats, and expect a little formatting
differences.
I hope this answers your question. I know it was an in-depth answer,
but I wanted to make sure I gave you the most accurate information possible.
Now, just in case I did misunderstand your question. OpenOffice.org
*does* run on MS Windows 95 and newer. And any version of
OpenOffice.org can open a file from any other version of OpenOffice.org.
-Chad Smith OpenOffice.org user and volunteer
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