How to Choose Applications that Can Substitute MS Word – The In-depth Review

There are enough programs for working with office documents. But here the situation is the same as with operating systems: the ubiquitous Microsoft company has already managed to occupy the software niche.

The Best Programs for PC Users to Supercede MS Word

Therefore, today, we are not talking about Microsoft Office, but about possible alternatives to Office and newer developments from Microsoft.

In general, we will compare this package with developments and options from other companies. This includes free solutions, shareware, offline, and online applications.

IBM Lotus Symphony

And the time when most of the audience preferred Microsoft Office, IBM developers took and released their “Office.” The project began its development recently in 2007. True, at first it was a half-standalone product since Lotus Symphony has initially been based on OpenOffice. Newly, the package code has been completely rewritten, and today IBM Lotus Symphony is an entirely independent development.

The package includes three components:

• Lotus Symphony Documents – word processor,
• Lotus Symphony Spreadsheets – a table processor,
• Lotus Symphony Presentations is a program for creating presentations.

The interface is no doubt convenient. The developers managed to minimize the upper tool area and expand the work area. The main formatting is available through the top panel, additional – through the sidebar (side panel). Menu bars do not take up much space and contain only the most critical options.

OpenOffice

OpenOffice is perhaps the main program out of many word alternatives nowadays. Moreover, the main difference from alternative “Offices” is that here we are dealing with a multi-platform product. Initially, OO worked (and works) on a Linux platform. We are considering a version ported to Windows. OpenOffice includes the following components:

• Writer – a word processor
• Calc – table editor,
• Draw – create and edit images,
• Impress – presentation program
• Base – work with databases,
• Math is a formula editor.

Another difference from MS Office: when creating a document in the menu of any OO application, you can choose the type of creation: a table, a Writer document, etc., and not just the format. In this regard, communication with related components is well organized.

Creating and editing documents in OO is very, very convenient. For people with mixed opinions about ported products, all doubts should disappear. The multi-platform OpenOffice is only a plus because we can edit the same document in almost the same program, but in different operating systems, whether it be Linux, MacOS or Windows.

Ashampoo Office

Ashampoo company produces not only beautiful but at the same time high-quality, compact programs that may well serve as an alternative to the Microsoft Office suite. In some fifty megabytes, the developers managed to accommodate a word processor, an editor of tables and presentations. The applications are called TextMaker, PlanMaker, and Presentations, respectively.

In terms of speed, of the programs reviewed today (plus Microsoft Office), AO is the leader of the review. It can be used not only as an office application but also as a replacement for Notepad – and the alternative has very high quality.

Microsoft Office Live Workspace

As in response to the opening of the online service Google, Microsoft introduced its alternative version of the “Office.” On the Windows Live Workspace resource, in addition to the photo gallery, search, and tools for publishing the site, the ability to edit text is provided.

The process of registering an account takes significantly longer than in the case of Google. After that, they give you the ID number that you need to confirm. Only then does the panel become open for access.

Communication between these platforms is carried out at a high level. Plus, integration with Microsoft Outlook and all sorts of online services like Live Mail, Live Search can be noted. Among the types of documents available for import/export, we note the formats of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Conclusion

Of course, each of the considered alternative office suites would find its user. Nonetheless, all mentioned alternative applications are worth your attention if you want to replace Microsoft Word.