Register    Login    Search    Articles & downloads     Who We Are    Donate    Jaylach Free Sites

Board index » Technical Forums » Programs (Applications)




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 24 posts ] 
Author Message
 Post Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2017 3:47 pm 
Offline
welcoming committee
User avatar

Joined: Fri Nov 30, 2012 12:47 am
Posts: 2399
Location: North Central Arkansas
Is anyone familiar with FreeOffice, which is advertised as the free alternative to Microsoft Office.
http://www.freeoffice.com/en/

I am currently using Office 2007, and Microsoft's support ended on 10 Oct. So I'm needing to update or replace.

Thanks in advance..........

_________________
BB
http://barrypatch.net


Top 
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2017 4:13 pm 
Offline
Resident Geekazoid Administrator
User avatar

Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 5:09 am
Posts: 9438
Location: The state of confusion; I just use Wyoming for mail.
I've never used 'FreeOffice' so cannot really comment.

I will say to do yourself a favor and look at Libre Office before making a decision. It is excellent.
http://www.libreoffice.org/

_________________
Image
Free sites from jaylach.com
I NEVER forget... I just remember late.


Top 
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2017 6:35 pm 
Offline
welcoming committee
User avatar

Joined: Fri Nov 30, 2012 12:47 am
Posts: 2399
Location: North Central Arkansas
Thanks, Jay. I saw where LibreOffice is rated higher in most online reviews, so I will take a look.

_________________
BB
http://barrypatch.net


Top 
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2017 7:16 pm 
Offline
Resident Geekazoid Administrator
User avatar

Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 5:09 am
Posts: 9438
Location: The state of confusion; I just use Wyoming for mail.
YW, BB. :)

I haven recommended Libre often for people that either can't afford of just don't want MS Office.

Actually I have Libre installed and may cancel my MS Office subscription as it really does nothing that Libre can't unless you need Access. The only issue with Libre is that it requires Java to be installed for advanced features to work. Actually not even all that advanced as my Excel movie menu won't work without Java and all it works on is hyper links. To be honest I forgot about Java being needed. I may take a look at FreeOfice to see if it also requires Java. If it does not it is possible that I may switch.

_________________
Image
Free sites from jaylach.com
I NEVER forget... I just remember late.


Top 
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2017 7:29 pm 
Offline
welcoming committee
User avatar

Joined: Fri Nov 30, 2012 12:47 am
Posts: 2399
Location: North Central Arkansas
Jay, please let me know what you find out about FreeOffice requiring Java.

_________________
BB
http://barrypatch.net


Top 
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2017 8:34 pm 
Offline
Resident Geekazoid Administrator
User avatar

Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 5:09 am
Posts: 9438
Location: The state of confusion; I just use Wyoming for mail.
Just got done installing FreeOffice and everything works with Java removed. While I don't have any major issues personally with Java it is the policy of these forums to advise against. Due to this site policy I now must recommend FreeOffice over Libre.

Actually I was surprised that my Excel movie menu didn't work in Libre even after installing Java. I don't really understand that as I'm positive that it worked on previous Libre installs. Possibly just a glitch in the current Libre build... I could make the menu work in Libre by re-establishing the hyper links but with a current total of 659 videos it would be a LOT of work to re-do... NOT gonna happen. ;)

I DO think that I'll leave FreeOffice installed and play. Everything that I tried from MS Office worked just fine. I tried Word, Excel and Power Point files and all were fine. Still it must be remembered that there are features such as One Note, Access and Publisher that are not available in either FreeOffice or Libre.

Just due to my movie menu not currently working in Libre and Libre needing Java I am going to have to reverse myself and recommend FreeOffice. Actually my movie menu works a bit better in FreeOffice than MS Excel. With Excel, when I select a movie, I have to click OK on an alert box as the 'info file' on a DVD is not recognized as safe by Excel. I do not get the alert in FreeOffice. On the downside it must be understood that not getting the alert in FreeOffice is probably an indication that the security is not as tight.

_________________
Image
Free sites from jaylach.com
I NEVER forget... I just remember late.


Top 
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2017 9:18 pm 
Offline
Resident Geekazoid Administrator
User avatar

Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 5:09 am
Posts: 9438
Location: The state of confusion; I just use Wyoming for mail.
Just to be sure, since I installed Java for Libre then removed, I did a restart and FreeOffice still woks fine.

Sigh, it hit me that I need to really think about replacing MS Office. The one aspect to which I never gave thought is Outlook. I could go to another email client such as Thunderbird or even, possibly, the Windows 10 built in mail app but it would be a total royal pain. A wonderful package called MailStore ( https://www.mailstore.com/en/products/mailstore-home/ ) would enable me to port everything but it would still be a pain. Oh well I have till September 2018 until my current subscription ends so I have plenty of time to figure things out and decide. ;)

_________________
Image
Free sites from jaylach.com
I NEVER forget... I just remember late.


Top 
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2017 12:24 am 
Offline
welcoming committee

Joined: Sun Apr 15, 2012 5:52 pm
Posts: 970
A lot depends on how you use office. The replacements don't work for me precisely because of Outlook and how it ties in. I use quickbooks, and when I send invoices, they are sent thru Outlook. When I want to look at routes, I use Microsoft maps and it picks up Outlook contacts and maps them. I haven't seen anything that replaces that.


Top 
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2017 8:45 am 
Offline
welcoming committee
User avatar

Joined: Fri Nov 30, 2012 12:47 am
Posts: 2399
Location: North Central Arkansas
@Jay & Pete - I understand your need for Outlook, but I don't use that program. These days, all I use from Office are Word & Excel. Back in my working days I also used PowerPoint and even Access. But requirements 'slack off' when you have been retired for 20years, lol.

_________________
BB
http://barrypatch.net


Top 
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2017 3:48 pm 
Offline
Resident Geekazoid Administrator
User avatar

Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 5:09 am
Posts: 9438
Location: The state of confusion; I just use Wyoming for mail.
If all that you use are Word and Excel I think that you would be happy with FreeOffice.

_________________
Image
Free sites from jaylach.com
I NEVER forget... I just remember late.


Top 
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2017 5:04 pm 
Offline
welcoming committee

Joined: Sun Apr 15, 2012 5:52 pm
Posts: 970
bbarry wrote:
@Jay & Pete - I understand your need for Outlook, but I don't use that program. These days, all I use from Office are Word & Excel. Back in my working days I also used PowerPoint and even Access. But requirements 'slack off' when you have been retired for 20years, lol.


Why not just keep office 2007. It didn't stop working did it.


Top 
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2017 5:18 pm 
Offline
Resident Geekazoid Administrator
User avatar

Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 5:09 am
Posts: 9438
Location: The state of confusion; I just use Wyoming for mail.
Office 2007 has reach end of life as of October 10th, 2017. It will still work but will not get security patches.

_________________
Image
Free sites from jaylach.com
I NEVER forget... I just remember late.


Top 
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2017 6:43 pm 
Offline
welcoming committee
User avatar

Joined: Fri Nov 30, 2012 12:47 am
Posts: 2399
Location: North Central Arkansas
@ Pete - What Jay said. And Office 2007 is still working fine on my computer, although Patty sometimes makes fun of me for using such old software, lol.

_________________
BB
http://barrypatch.net


Top 
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 8:00 pm 
Offline
Fearless Leader
User avatar

Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 5:42 am
Posts: 2819
Moi? Would I do that?

:295:

_________________
Patty MacDuffie
Computer Haven Administrator

Live Long and Prosper
Mr. Spock


Top 
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 8:19 pm 
Offline
Resident Geekazoid Administrator
User avatar

Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 5:09 am
Posts: 9438
Location: The state of confusion; I just use Wyoming for mail.
MacDuffie wrote:
Moi? Would I do that?

:295:

Absolutely! :rofl2: No way would I EVER admit on these forums that two of my favorite DVD ripping packages are from the days of Windows XP... Oh, totally disregard the previous sentence as I would never admit... :mrgreen:

Still tongue in cheek but not as much... Isn't it sort of funny that, as years go by, 'old' software becomes old at a younger age?

_________________
Image
Free sites from jaylach.com
I NEVER forget... I just remember late.


Top 
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 8:54 pm 
Offline
welcoming committee
User avatar

Joined: Fri Nov 30, 2012 12:47 am
Posts: 2399
Location: North Central Arkansas
Although I will still use Office 2007 for awhile, I did download/install FreeOffice on my friend's new laptop that I am helping to set up. She was actually using Word & Excel from Office XP, which Microsoft says won't run under Win 10. Since she didn't really want to purchase another version of Microsoft Office, we decided to try FreeOffice. And it works great.....it will read and work with all her old Word & Excel files.

@Jay - FreeOffice did have a couple of program folders that she will never use (e.g., clear.fi and abphoto), so I wanted to delete them. When I tried, I got the popup that said I would need to provide administrator permission to delete the folders, even though she is the Local Account Administrator. Ever time I look to modify permissions, I get all confused. Can you provide me with the steps for doing this; no big deal if it is a lot of trouble.

_________________
BB
http://barrypatch.net


Top 
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 9:00 pm 
Offline
Resident Geekazoid Administrator
User avatar

Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 5:09 am
Posts: 9438
Location: The state of confusion; I just use Wyoming for mail.
Since I don't really know FreeOffice I cannot advise removing folders.

Still, if it is the dialog I think and she is logged on as an admin, you should be able to just click on 'Continue' to proceed and delete the folders. A screenshot of the dialog would help.

_________________
Image
Free sites from jaylach.com
I NEVER forget... I just remember late.


Top 
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 9:29 pm 
Offline
welcoming committee
User avatar

Joined: Fri Nov 30, 2012 12:47 am
Posts: 2399
Location: North Central Arkansas
@ Jay - I will send dialog screenshot tomorrow (almost bedtime). However, clicking on Continue does not help in this case, like it does in most. Here it says administrator permission is required.

_________________
BB
http://barrypatch.net


Top 
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 9:56 pm 
Offline
Resident Geekazoid Administrator
User avatar

Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 5:09 am
Posts: 9438
Location: The state of confusion; I just use Wyoming for mail.
I won't say anything absolute until I see the dialog and can't promise even then...

My gut reaction is to leave the folders be. For instance 'clear.fi' has an unusual extention of 'fi'. Of course I do not know but am going to give a guess. My guess is that the '.fi' extension is short for file and contains info for the default workspace. I can't remember the name off hand but MS Office uses something similar for default document settings.

You state that your friend will never use these files/folders but are you sure. Have you searched for their purpose? It is possible that they are required for proper operation of FreeOffice. I could search this info myself but not gonna happen right now... Top of the 6th inning of game 4 of the World Series with a 0-0 score. ;)

In all honesty, unless the file/folder references are obnoxious, I'd leave things as they are.

_________________
Image
Free sites from jaylach.com
I NEVER forget... I just remember late.


Top 
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2017 8:43 am 
Offline
welcoming committee
User avatar

Joined: Fri Nov 30, 2012 12:47 am
Posts: 2399
Location: North Central Arkansas
Jay, I will just leave things as they are. They may indeed be workspace folders, as they are currently empty.

But the dialog was simple. It said permissions were required, and the only choices were Try Again and Cancel. So what I was actually asking help for was.....how do I give permissions to a Local Account Administrator? But I'm not going to worry about it now. Thanks.......

_________________
BB
http://barrypatch.net


Top 
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2017 9:50 am 
Offline
Resident Geekazoid Administrator
User avatar

Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 5:09 am
Posts: 9438
Location: The state of confusion; I just use Wyoming for mail.
The normal way:
1) In File Explorer right click on the folder and select Properties then Security.

2) Click on Edit and select the account you want to have advanced permissions.

3) Click the check box for Full Control and Apply.

The easy way:
1) Download 'Take Ownership' from http://jaylach.com/downloads/

2) Unzip and run the Registry hack 'InstallTakeOwnership.reg'.

3) Right click on any file/folder and select 'Take Ownership' from the right click context menu. The process is now automated. I have used Take Ownership for years. It is safe and pretty effective.

In either case there are times when nothing will work to allow deletion. This is an issue that requires 'special permissions' and these cannot be assigned. You would need to access a hidden admin account to do. Winaero Tweaker allows for enabling/disabling this account. This is rare and likely involves a system file/folder that you shouldn't be messing with. ;) With the dialog you describe this may one of these cases but possibly not.

There are also cases where you will have to delete starting at the deepest level of the directory tree and work your way out using Take Ownership or setting permissions at each level. Is not common but happens. Usually involves a file/folder created during a program install.

_________________
Image
Free sites from jaylach.com
I NEVER forget... I just remember late.


Top 
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2017 11:49 am 
Offline
Moderator
User avatar

Joined: Thu Apr 05, 2012 3:25 pm
Posts: 1916
Location: Pembrokeshire, South Wales, UK
I'll admit I still have Office 2007 on this Asus of mine, I was still using it till a couple of years ago when I got the subscription to Office 365 and I never uninstalled it.
The other computers here had Office 2010 before I put Office 365 on them. Which is why I used my copy of 2007 as I'd used all the allowed licences of 2010.

_________________
Joan Archer
http://crossstitcher.webs.com
Image


Top 
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2017 1:47 pm 
Offline
welcoming committee
User avatar

Joined: Fri Nov 30, 2012 12:47 am
Posts: 2399
Location: North Central Arkansas
@Jay - Although I am going to leave the FreeOffice files/folders alone for now, I truly appreciate your helpful instructs on how to gain permissions/ownership. I have printed the instructs and put them in my "how to' notebook for later reference. You are an excellent teacher.......

_________________
BB
http://barrypatch.net


Top 
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2017 2:17 pm 
Offline
Resident Geekazoid Administrator
User avatar

Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 5:09 am
Posts: 9438
Location: The state of confusion; I just use Wyoming for mail.
No problem BB. :) Using Take Ownership, in my opinion, is the better way to go.

_________________
Image
Free sites from jaylach.com
I NEVER forget... I just remember late.


Top 
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
 
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 24 posts ] 

Board index » Technical Forums » Programs (Applications)


Who is online

Registered users: No registered users

 
 

 
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  

cron