If you missed this campaign, here’s another chance to get SoftMaker Office 2008 for free. The German magazine Stern offers it on their website. Click here for the translated download and registration page. You have to provide them with a valid email address to get the registration code.
Besides its excellent compatibility with Microsoft Office, the other neat feature about the Windows version of this suite is that once you install it on a host computer it creates a start menu entry that allows you to copy your installation to a USB flash drive.
Here’s how to make SoftMaker Office 2008 save files in Microsoft Office (.doc, .xls, .ppt) formats automatically. You’ll need to do this in all three (TextMaker 2008, PlanMaker 2008, and Presentations 2008) programs.
After installation, click on Tools, Options… in the menu bar…
…and and then click on the Files tab at the top of the Options window.
The drop-down menu labeled Default file format (as shown above) allows the default file format to be set to your choice of Microsoft Office-compatible formats.
TextMaker documents will then be saved with a .doc file extension, PlanMaker spreadsheets will be saved with a .xls file extension, and Presentations will then be saved with a .ppt file extension automatically by default so they can be shared with Microsoft Office users.
Now there’s a portable version of this software, packaged to be run directly from a USB drive without installing anything nor leaving a footprint on the host PC.
It can be downloaded free of charge from the Keepod Store. This version will run from any USB storage device; ownership of a Keepod is not necessary. You will have to register and give a valid email address to get to the 188 MB file download.
Be advised that this version weighs in at a beefy 493 MB unzipped:
Like many portable applications, it doesn’t start up as quickly as the installed-to-the-hard-drive version. The portability factor is, in our view, a reasonable tradeoff for a slower-than-expected start up. Once the suite is open performance is on par with the installed version.
Many free software programs are licensed for home, non-commercial, or non-business use only. Our Links to Free Software page contains a note about this which states:
Some free software licenses stipulate home or personal use only - read the license agreements and let your conscience be your guide…
Actually, school here in metro Birmingham, AL has been back in session since mid-August. However, since this is Labor Day weekend with tomorrow being the “traditional” start of school for many, we thought we’d note some resources that would be useful for students and parents.
“From staying organized to improving study habits to making sure you reference your research sources properly, the web can help you be a better student.”
“…recommended free downloads that will help you communicate, get those assignments done, have some fun, and manage and protect your system while you’re surfing the Internet.”
Bill mentions Open Office in his picks. We’ve pointed out several Microsoft Office Alternatives over the last few years. As we’ve said before, “free is good”, especially in this day and time of belt-tightening.
Ashampoo/SoftMaker Office 2008 corrects this with a very capable presentation application that can also utilize templates originally created for PowerPoint.
The second link on the left side of that Ashampoo offer (the first black button) says “Download 30 days free full version HERE” Clicking that link in turn takes you to a CNET download.com page where the installation file can be downloaded and saved.
According to the Planete Beranger blog, A full license key to turn this 30-day version of Ashampoo Office 2008 into a full, non-time limited version can be obtained from Ashampoo by filling out this form using a valid email address.
Once you’ve obtained your key from Ashampoo via email, go ahead and run the installation file you downloaded from CNET download.com. Enter the name, email address, and serial number you received from Ashampoo in their reply email when prompted. After the installation is complete, download and install SoftMaker’s service pack from here, which will make sure your Ashampoo/SoftMaker Office 2008 installation is fully up-to-date.
Here’s how to make this very capable office suite save files in Microsoft Office (.doc, .xls, .ppt) formats automatically. You’ll need to do this in all three (TextMaker 2008, PlanMaker 2008, and Presentations 2008) programs.
After installation, click on Tools, Options… in the menu bar…
…and and then click on the Files tab at the top of the Options window.
The drop-down menu labeled Default file format (as shown above) allows the default file format to be set to your choice of Microsoft Office-compatible formats.
TextMaker documents will then be saved with a .doc file extension, PlanMaker spreadsheets will be saved with a .xls file extension, and Presentations will then be saved with a .ppt file extension automatically by default so they can be shared with Microsoft Office users.
Hopefully these links will all last. Either deal - free or five bucks - is pretty hard to beat for what you get. Take advantage of it before Ashampoo does away with it.
The newest version of this free office suite was released June 10. As shown in the screenshot below, it will now open/import Microsoft Office 2007 files and templates:
Here are links to our previous posts on using and configuring this very capable free office suite:
Amy Vernon wrote about Lotus Symphony 1.3 over at HotHardware. She notes that according to an IBM press release there are several large companies that are using this free alternative to Microsoft Office…
OpenOffice.org Novell Edition for Windows contains enhancements and bug fixes, especially for interoperability with Microsoft Office and other word processing programs, that are not available in the standard edition. These enhancements include:
Microsoft Excel*: Compatibility: Improved Excel compatibility for certain built-in functions (e.g., CELL, INFO, INDIRECT), hyperlinks and filters, improved ergonomics, and support for “R1C1″ style addresses. Improved performance on certain text functions such as SEARCH. Natural sorting option in cell range sorting.
Excel VBA Macro Interoperability: OpenOffice.org Novell Edition eases the migration of many macros from Microsoft Excel. Although not all macros can be successfully migrated, this interoperability offers more than the standard edition, which does not support migration of macros.
Data Pilots: Data Pilots are interoperable with Microsoft Office PivotTables*. OpenOffice.org Novell Edition substantially improves the Data Pilot feature, making it possible to edit pilots after creation.
Enhanced Fonts: Licensed fonts from Agfa* Monotype* which are metrically identical and visually compatible with some of the key Microsoft fonts. This allows OpenOffice.org Novell Edition to match fonts when opening documents originally composed in Microsoft Office, and very closely match pagination and page formatting.
EMF+Support: The ability to render EMF+ formatted graphics
SVG Support:The ability to import scalable vector graphics.
Import File Formats: Microsoft Works, WordPerfect* text and graphics, T602 files, OfficeOpen XML, and more.
Groupwise® Integration: OpenOffice.org Novell Edition includes improved integration with ODMA (Open Document Management Architecture) services, for example for GroupWise. If you have the GroupWise client installed on the machine, OpenOffice.org Novell Edition will offer to open documents from GroupWise, or save documents in GroupWise.
Free registration with Novell is required to download OpenOffice.org Novell Edition. For those who regularly share files with MS Office users, this might be the way to go.
Even though OpenOffice.org… can’t do everything (Microsoft) Office can, it can do a lot, and it has some of its own tricks that even (Microsoft) Office can’t manage.
With this guide, we will be providing you with a list of useful applications that we feel stand above all others in what they attempt to do, and when all is said and done, your PC will be ready for nearly any everyday task you throw at it.