OpenOffice Versus Google Docs

 

For almost 25 years, Microsoft Office has dominated the market with respect to office software.  Most of us grew up using Word, Excel and PowerPoint.  However, times are changing and there are some new kids in town, Google Docs and Open Office. 

Both of these software programs are free and offer similar programs to what is offered in Microsoft Office.   So which one is better?  That question can only be answered on a user to user basis.  They both have their strengths and weaknesses, it just depends on how you intend to use them.

Let’s start with Google Docs.   If you are looking to collaborate online to help you create documents quickly and with a less of a paper trail, then this is the program for you.  Although Google Docs programs offers much less in they way of formatting options, they really make it easier to share and edit documents with others.  Watch this video that illustrates how Google Docs has improved and simplified the way that we share documents.  As well, Google also allows users to live chat while in the same window that the document is being created in.  

  Another major advantage of using Google is that it is portable.  Where ever you are or whatever computer you are on, you will be able to access it.  By storing all of your documents online, you will not need to worry about storing documents on flash drives or backing up in case your computer malfunctions.  Another great aspect is that it saves documents in real-time as you write them, so you do not need to worry about constantly saving as you go.  

The downside to Google Docs is that because it is online you chance having issues based on connectivity.  However, they do allow you the option of working offline, but this must be selected prior to exiting the document. Also, as mentioned above, there are substantially less options with regards to formatting.  For instance, in Google Presentations, there are only seven different animations possible, whereas, in Open Office there are well over 100.  Although some of these options might be minor to some, they are very important to others depending on the task.

When looking at Open Office, it is much closer to the original Microsoft Office.  The learning curve for a steady Microsoft Office user to an Open Office user would be much quicker.  As well, Open Office has a much larger selection of options compared to Google Docs.  For instance, Open Office offers an entire program dedicated to Math as part of their suite, whereas, Open Office does offer a toolbar with a math tool, but it is much less extensive.  However in saying that, it is interesting to note to Google Docs offers a separate program that is designed just to create online Forms.

The other interesting thing that I noticed is that Google does not underline and/or auto fix spelling and grammatical errors.  They do have ‘Spelling’ in their Tools, but it does not work effectively, whereas Open Office has a very similar auto correct/convention alerts as Microsoft office. 

Obviously, the downside to Open Office with regards to Google Drives is that is not portable and is become more difficult to collaborate on.  If you are need the best of both worlds and are willing to pay for it, Office 365 might be the choice for you.   It allows you to collaborate online, much like Google Docs, using Microsoft Office. 

In a nutshell, if you like to keep it simple and collaborate online Google Docs is the program for you.  But if you like the more traditional approach to creating documents with a greater variety of options, then Open Office or LibreOffice would be your best bet.