13. Linux in the Office
Office applications for Linux are now quite mature.
Linux desktop productivity tools are in fact so capable and feature rich
that corporations are beginning to look at alternatives to MS Office
with its high TCO, and leaning towards office suites like
OpenOffice and StarOffice. OpenOffice in fact is a part of discussion
being held between multiple companies including Boeing Aeronautics, a
major international technology contractor, to begin to define a standard
for Office document formats. Allowing greater portability of documents
between office suites; XML of course is being discussed as the most
viable vehicle for the mission. But I digress, to sum it up, if someone
wishes to do all of their word processing, spreadsheets, and so on
on the Linux desktop they would find themselves very satisfied with
today's applications.
13.1 Word Processing
User's choices for word processing on Linux are varied and diverse. To
list several applications would probably only begin to scratch the
surface of what is available. So in an
effort to simplify things I will include a review of those applications
with which I have experience and list a few more with which I do not. In
addition all of the Word Processors I have used in the past are
Microsoft Word compatible - meaning that they can both read and write
MS Word documents. This will come in handy for all those who are afraid
they will never be able to open a '.Doc' (Word Document) once they
move over to Linux.
13.1.1 StarOffice Star Writer
StarOffice is an office suite written for Unix / Linux and developed by
Sun Microsystems. Until recently StarOffice was a freely available
download but recently with their newest version (I believe StarOffice
6.0) they have begun charging a license fee. I haven't
used StarOffice 6.0 but I am familiar with the final release just before
it. StarOffice is a functional Office suite with many additional
features. When you first open StarOffice you are presented with a screen
very similar in appearance to the MS Windows desktop complete with
'Start' bar. StarOffice provides the full suite of functionality
including word processing, spreadsheets, email, and MS PowerPoint-like
presentations. And again, any and all documents written in StarOffice
can be saved in the equivalent MS Office format so you lose no
compatibility with co-workers / family members / unconverted Windows-
but-soon-to-be-Linux users. StarOffice, along with all the other
applications I review here provides a very similar interface to MS
Word. So there is little to any learning curve involved with using
it. In fact the only real difference between the list of applications
reviewed here and those in MS Office is how well the applications can read and write
in the MS format. StarOffice does a very adequate job of processing MS
Word documents. The only area where StarOffice runs into trouble is
reading and writing MS Word documents that have tables embedded in them
or those containing forms. However if it is merely straight text, such as a
report there is typically no problem involved. But it is my unconfirmed
suspicion that even this has changed now that you can pay for
StarOffice. Again I have not checked this first hand but I believe the
reason Sun now charges for StarOffice is because they paid
Microsoft for the APIs that allow StarOffice to read and write MS Office
documents. Up until now the formats have merely been reverse-engineered,
kind of a best guess at how to interpret the symbols in a MS Word
document. For more information, and to confirm / deny my crazy
allegations check out StarOffice at http://www.staroffice.com.
13.1.2 OpenOffice Writer
OpenOffice is a spinoff of Sun's StarOffice (as the name may
suggest). And like StarOffice, OpenOffice also provides a suite of
applications including word processing, spreadsheets, and MS
PowerPoint-like presentations. OpenOffice also supports the
reading and writing of MS Office documents.
Recently I rewrote my resume (and being a Linux-only kinda
guy I of course couldn't use MS Word) using OpenOffice. This consisted
of multiple fonts and font sizes, the embedding of tables so as to
properly position the many elements of my resume, and also included
bullets. After completing my resume I proceeded to save it in both the
native OpenOffice format as well as the MS Word 2000 format. Of course
before shipping it out to employers I wanted to check to see how it
would look in MS Word. So when I went to work the next day I proceeded
to open it using (the very expensive) MS Word 2000. Much to my surprise,
with the exception of some bullets the resume had made it through quite well.
All the tables
were properly in place, the fonts well represented in their multiple
sizes, and the only thing wrong with the bullets was that instead of the
`>' arrow I had originally had, it was replaced with a round bullet
(I guess perhaps that MS Word didn't support the particular type of
bullet I had specified.) So OpenOffice (if you absolutely refuse to pay
for software) will do very well for your Office and Word Processing
needs. More can be learned about OpenOffice (you can download a copy of
OpenOffice from here too) at http://www.openoffice.org.
13.1.3 AbiWord
The only complaint I can really make concerning AbiWord can be summed up
in one word - tables. While AbiWord does support tables the
interface and handling of tables has a long way to go. Otherwise AbiWord
is much like StarOffice and OpenOffice. Reads and writes simple MS Word
documents, very MS-like interface, etc. Another nice feature of AbiWord
is its support of Gnome themes; a feature that neither OpenOffice or
StarOffice provide.
13.2 Others Word Processors
13.2.1 Kword
Kword is part of the KOffice office suite for the KDE desktop. It has
all the usual bells and whistles, frames, numbering, bullets, tables,
paragraph alignment, etc. However from what I can see at on the webpage
KOffice does not support reading and writing of MS Word documents. If
you would like to learn more point your browser to
http://www.koffice.org
13.2.2 Corel WordPerfect
WordPerfect was once the dominant word processor for PCs, and the latest available
version for Linux is WordPerfect2000. It is a fully featured application and is unusual
in that it is not Linux native, but is essentially the Windows binaries running under
a built-in version of Wine. For this reason, it may not be as stable or fast as some of the
others. You can find out more about Corel WordPerfect 2000 at:
http://linux.corel.com/products/wpo2000_linux/index.htm
13.3 Spreadsheets
Spreadsheets are possibly the most widely used Office program, and as with word processors, Linux users
have several quality offerings to choose from.
13.3.1 Gnumeric
Gnumeric is the GNOME projects spreadsheet, and it is a mature and stable program. Compatability with
MS Excel files is quite good, and gnumeric is often installed by default with many distros, or at least is
available on the installation CDs. A good choice for those who don't want to install a big, fullblown suite
like Star/Open Office.
13.3.2 StarOffice/OpenOffice Calc
The Calc spreadsheet is another very competent office tool, with very good Excel compatability. Possibly
the best choice for heavy duty spreadsheet users.
13.3.3 kspread
Koffices' spreadsheet, kspread, is a good looking, powerful app, however its Excel compatability is somewhat
limited, so if this is important to you, perhaps one of the others would be a better choice. Otherwise an
excellent spreadsheet.
13.4 Other Office Applications
The number and quality of office type apps. has grown rapidly in the last couple of years.
Some of these are listed below, along with a brief description and links. Most people will
probably find these will meet their needs, though some may find they are dependant on certain features of
Microsoft Office apps. that just aren't available under Linux yet.
For these users, a proprietary product known as Codeweavers Crossover Office allows MS Office
(as well as some others) to be installed and run directly from Linux.
I've only listed the more well known programs here, and some of these are probably already
installed on your computer. If you need to install them, most of these packages can be found on your
installation CDs, otherwise just follow the links. The KDE apps listed here are mainly included
in the koffice package, while the GNOME programs are usually separate
packages.
13.4.1 Address Books
GNOME has `gnomecard' (part of the gnome-pim package), KDE uses `kaddressbook'.
13.4.2 Fax Apps
There is `kfax' with KDE, gfax for
GNOME. Programs like hylafax and mgetty+sendfax are also popular.
13.4.3 Email/PIM
Outlook users will probably be most interested in Ximians'
Evolution, a fully
featured email/PIM program.
There is also a proprietary add-on for Evolution named Connector, and this can enable Evolution to function
as an MS Exchange client. As well as email, it has address book, calendar and task-scheduling/alarm
features.
13.4.4 Drawing/Graphics
Dia is a structured
diagrams program similar to Visio, while Sketch
is a vector drawing package.
KDE has Kontour
(another vector drawing tool), Kivio
for flowcharts, and KChart kchart for drawing
charts/graphs.
13.4.5 Financial
Gnucash is a popular
personal finance manager, though there are several others. And if you just can't survive without Quicken,
you'll be pleased to know it will run under Linux using Codeweavers Crossover Office.
13.4.6 Database
postgreSQL is included with distros such as Mandrake and RedHat, also there is
MySQL, a somewhat simpler database.
As well, there are databases such as
Interbase, and
Firebird a free, open source
version of Interbase.
The big names like Oracle and
IBM (DB2 for Linux) support Linux too.
13.4.7 Presentation Apps.
The major office suites (StarOffice, OpenOffice, Applix, KOffice) all have
functional presentation programs. The StarOffice and OpenOffice versions can handle MS PowerPoint format
files.
13.4.8 Organizers
If you are looking for something a little lighter than Evolution, KDE has
`korganizer', and GNOME uses `gnomecal' (part of the gnome-pim package).
13.4.9 Calculators
RedHat distribution installs three calculators by
default. Xcalc,GNOME Calculator,KCalc.
Xcalc is a scientific calculator desktop accessory that can
emulate a TI-30 or an HP-10C. Xcalc can be started from a
terminal emulator or from the Run dialog box by typing xcalc. It
takes the following command line argument (among others)
-rpn
- This option indicates that Reverse Polish Notation should be used. In
this mode the calculator will look and behave like an HP-10C. Without
this flag, it will emulate a TI-30.
GNOME Calculator is a double precision calculator
application. GNOME Calculator is included in the gnome-utils
package, which is part of the GNOME desktop environment. It is intended
as a GNOME replacement for xcalc. To run GNOME Calculator, select gcalc
from the Utilities submenu of the Main Menu in GNOME, or type
gcalc on the command line in a terminal emulator or Run Program
dialog box.
KCalc can be started by typing kcalc on the command prompt
or in the Run Program Dialog box.
13.5 PDF Files Viewer
PDF (Adobe's Portable Document Format) is a format for transfering
documents with formatting (including fonts, sizes, etc) with a few more
extra features (such as URLs). It is a quite common format for
publishing documents - it is generally quite difficult to edit such a
document, but relativly easy to show it, as it already contains an exact
definition of the document (somewhat similar to postscript). There are a
number of viewers for PDF documents under GNU/Linux.
13.5.1 XPdf
`xpdf' supports most of PDFs features, including LZW-compressed
images URLs and encryption. It can be started from command prompt by
typing xpdf. xpdf's home is at
http://www.foolabs.com/xpdf/ . It also comes with a number of
distros, including RedHat, Mandrake and SuSE.
13.5.2 Adobe Acrobat Reader
This is not free software (although it can be used free of charge for
non-commercial use). Free software gives you permission to use, copy,
study and improve the software. You can learn more about Free Software
here.
You can get Adobe Acrobat Reader from:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
13.6 Links
It's impossible to cover all the available office type programs in just a few paragraphs; if you need to
know more try the links below:
The Linux-Office Site is a very useful resource for Linux office apps.
The KOffice website
The Gnome-Office website
Codeweavers Crossover Office can run Windows apps
like MS Office, Lotus Notes and others under Linux.
This document was generated
on March, 5 2003
using texi2html