It contains: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and Publisher
It contains: Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Base and Math
Open Office applications can modify Microsoft Office 2003 (and earlier) files. For example, a Word 2003 .doc document can be modified in Open Office Writer.
Please note that the exception to this is Microsoft Publisher publisher files can not be viewed or modified by other applications. You will need to use Publisher.
To view and or modify Open Office files in Microsoft Office you will first need to open the file in Open Office eg Writer, select File, Save As and select from the Save As Type drop down menu Microsoft Word 97/2000/XP.
Office 2007 documents can be viewed and modified in Office 2003 programs because the Microsoft Compatibility Pack for Office 2007 is installed. Office 2007 documents are not currently compatible with Open Office. To view and or modify Microsoft Office 2007 files using Open Office you will need to open the 2007 file in Microsoft Office 2003 first and then save the file as a Office 2003 document.
For example if you open a file with extension .docx in Word 2003, select File, Save As and change the save as type drop down box to Word Document (.doc).
When deciding what application to create and save your work in remember to consider your audience. If you do not know what software programs your audience will be using to view your work then consider saving your file as a .pdf.
PDF files can be viewed using Adobe Reader a free application downloadable from the Internet (and installed on the People’s Network public pcs).
To create a PDF using Microsoft Office, for example Word, first save you work as you normally would, then select File, Print and from the drop down menu for Printers select CutePDF. Select OK, then select the location you wish to save your .pdf file, for example My document or your USB Pen drive.
Open Office can create .pdf files by selecting File, Save As, and clicking on the drop down menu in Save As Type.
PDF files are also useful if you wish to preserve the formatting of you document.
PDF files can not be modified using Adobe Reader but you can use the select text tool to copy and paste information from a PDF to an Office document.