OpenOffice.org 3.2 Beta Available
While all the hype this week has been about Microsoft’s release of Windows 7, OpenOffice.org (OOo) announced the availability of its newest Beta (a preview of the next major release) which will be the next stable version of this application.
OOo is an open source office application suite consisting of six basic components. The six basic components are of Writer (a word processing and HTML editor), Calc (a spreadsheet application), Impress (a presentation program), Draw (a graphics editor), Base (a database application) and Math (an equation editor).
OOo creation was aimed at reducing Microsoft domination of the office productivity market by providing an alternative for users that is good quality and free to users (domestic, commercial, educational, public administration) for any purpose — it is free of any license fees.
This first 3.2 Beta release is for reviewers, enthusiasts and testers and should not be used by everyday users. See http://download.openoffice.org/next/ for this Developer Build download. It contains most of the new features, but there may still be some bugs to be worked out, thereby a preview to the actual release. A list of all the new features and enhancements can be obtained from http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Feature_Freeze_Testing_3.2. Some of the changes pertain to:
- Charts: The formatting toolbar within charts will include a list box of all the charts available; can now rotate data labels; context menu now shows more descriptive names for selected objects; Bubble chart now available; and ability to display hidden cells
- Database Access: Database forms can now be zoomed; the Copy Table Wizard now has check boxes for Rich Text Format and HTML to copy into a database; Report Builder has a new toolbar entry which handles up and down of grouping entries and a delete button to remove grouping entries
- Draw: Now supports comments for collaboration and a “Page Count” field like in the Writer application which is similar to MS Word
- Formula Editor/Math: “View/Selection” menu item is now “View/Formula Editor
- Framework: ALT as well as SHIFT-ALT, CTRL-ALT, SHIFT-CTRL-ALT modifiers can now be used in the dialog
- Graphic System Layer (GSL): Postscript OpenTypes are now supported for formatting, printing, PDF exporting and display
- Impress: Now supports comments for collaboration and a “Page Count” field.
- Writer: Notes feature renamed to Comments and implementing support for Microsoft Word 97/2000/XP filter to create encrypted documents
- Spreadsheet: AutoFill for cells with numbers at the start and end; easier de-selection of cells if all sheets are selected; inserting and deleting in the middle of merged cells
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