Office software

We have installed OpenOffice.org, an open-source application that combines a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation creator, drawing tool, and web browser. It is compatible with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. To run it, you must be in an X-windows session.

OpenOffice.org is also available for Windows, so you can install it at home. Visit http://www.openoffice.org/ for more information and to download it.

Before you can use OpenOffice, you must create your own personal installation by executing the user-setup script. To do so, execute the command soffice. Tell setup to perform a Workstation installation. (This should copy about 1.4 MB of files to your home directory.) Tell it to store the files in your home directory under the OpenOffice.org1.1.2 subdirectory (this is the default). Follow the instructions, fill in your contact details, and accept the defaults for everything else.

If you use GNOME or KDE, you will find that OpenOffice is fully integrated in your environment. If you use a different window manager, you can always start OpenOffice from a shell by typing the command soffice.