StarOffice 8: Office Killer?

By: Martin C. Brown
Monday, March 6, 2006 01:20:47 PM EST
URL: http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/reviews/6194/1/

Alternatives to Microsoft Office

I've been using word processors--starting with Wordstar--for twenty years, the last eight of those as a professional writer. Having a decent word processor goes a long way to making the writing process easier. Looking beyond the word processor in a typical office environment it is not difficult to imagine the requirements for a spreadsheet (for planning, data manipulation, accounts), a presentation package and a simple database application.

Together these applications make an office suite. There are many solutions available, including open source offerings like OpenOffice.org and KOffice and commercial offerings like Lotus SmartSuite and Microsoft Office. But in a business environment you may want a solution that is based on free software (because you like the principles), but has the backup and support you would expect from a commercial solution. In the process you will almost want to retain data compatibility with your clients and suppliers and your existing base of documents and information.

The suite against which all suites are measured is Microsoft Office. There's good reason for this. Microsoft Office is both the market leader and one of the oldest application suites on the market. It is also, of course, used on the market leading operating system (Windows), so it is inevitable that it is going to be widely used among the high proportion of businesses that use Windows.

Microsoft Office is though not the ultimate in such solutions, and the recent rise in open source software, and particularly Linux, has garnered a lot of interest in more open and transparent solutions. The Microsoft document format has often been an issue of contention with developers. You have to be able to read Office documents to remain compatible, but information about the file format used by Microsoft is not always enough to provide true compatibility between Office and competing applications.

The problem with the proprietary approach of Office is that it really means if you want to communicate using Office documents then you need to use Office applications. Unless you have Windows (or Mac OS X) this is not a choice you can make. The document compatibility issue came to a head when Massachusetts State declared their decision to only support documents based on open standards.

Open document standards (through the OpenDocument Format (ODF)) mean that exchanging documents and information between applications should be easier. That engenders choice, and means that you can use the application that you want on your choice of platform and environment, while retaining the ability to use and share documents based on the OpenDocument standard.

A number of companies and applications have already stated that they will support the ODF format, some natively (i.e., ODF will be the default format, as in StarOffice 8) and some will support ODF as an available exchange format. At the time of writing (Dec 2005) Microsoft have not yet embraced the ODF standard and continue to push forward with their own XML-based format.

StarOffice from Sun Microsystems is not open source, but Sun and StarOffice do support the OpenDocument standard. Sun, in fact, sponsors both the OpenDocument standard (which is handled by OASIS) and the development of OpenOffice.org, an open source office suite. StarOffice is based on the OpenOffice.org code, with some additions specially designed for enterprise customers.

I've been using StarOffice 8 since it was released in September 2005, for a variety of different projects, from book chapters to articles and letters and accounts and presentations. StarOffice incorporates five components, called StarOffice Writer, StarOffice Calc, StarOffice Impress (a presentation package), StarOffice Base and StarOffice Draw. This article is a combination of a review of the functionality and my own experiences of using StarOffice 8 for day-to-day tasks.

Availability

StarOffice is available on three primary platforms: Windows, Solaris and Linux. The difference between StarOffice on different platforms is minor and really only noticeable because of the differences in the GUI environment of these systems. There are some minor interface differences, but otherwise few users would be able to distinguish the difference between StarOffice on the different platforms. Even keyboard combinations are retained across the different platforms making it much easier to migrate between platform and Office suite.

There are two different versions of StarOffice available, a standard and an enterprise edition. The main version on offer is StarOffice 8 standard edition available from Sun (either shipped or downloaded) and suppliers as a standard software package. To larger customers, supplied directly by Sun (and their partners), a special Enterprise version is available. The Enterprise edition includes three additional components designed to aid the deployment of StarOffice in a corporate environment, especially when replacing an existing Microsoft Office installation. The three tools are:

• Macro Migration Wizard--Eases the migration of Visual Basic macros so that they can be used within StarOffice.
• Document Analysis Wizard--This helps businesses determine the amount of work required to migrate their existing office documents to StarOffice from Microsoft Office.
• Java Desktop System Configuration Manager--Aids the deployment of StarOffice across multiple machines, allowing you to simplify the configuration of multiple machines from a single point.

StarOffice 8 is available for $99.95, or just $69.95 if you download it, rather than purchase a boxed version. For customers buying licenses in bulk, you can get StarOffice 8 for as little $35 per seat in volumes above 10,000. That inevitably compares favorably to the cost of Microsoft Office, either at the full or discounted licensing prices available.

Installation

Whether you download StarOffice or obtain it on CD you will need to run the installer to setup the software. There are a few issues with the installer on Linux, not least of which that the installer relies on RedHat Package Manager format packages. For those of us not using an RPM based distribution (I use Gentoo) the installer fails with no particularly helpful error messages. Although I can install an RPM utility for Gentoo it took me a while to determine that this was the underlying problem even after examining the detailed log file produced during the failed installation attempt. It is unfortunate that there is not a quick check by the installer to determine whether an RPM utility is available.

The installer is Java-based, and exists as a wrapper around the underlying RPMs. Some users may also experience problems depending on the exact version of the Java Runtime Environment they have installed. Without Java you can install from the RPMs directly, providing you have an RPM tool installed.

One final issue for Linux is the installation itself; the files seem somewhat spread about the filesystem. The entire installation is placed into /opt/soffice8 and then symbolic links are placed in /usr/bin for the applications and from /etc/staroffice back to /opt/soffice8. Confusingly, /usr/bin/soffice is actually a symbolic link to /etc/staroffice8/program/soffice, which is in turn really a symbolic link back to the original /opt/soffice8 directory. While I don't have an issue with this kind distribution (StarOffice does come with an uninstaller to remove these files) it seems odd to create symbolic link in /etc/staroffice when the application already has a standard directory. As for the symbolic links in /usr/bin why not link directly to the file in /opt/soffice8 rather than through /etc/staroffice?

The inclusion of an installer will make the removal of the software easier, but it is not removal that worries me. I'm more concerned about the mass spread of files across the system and a heavy reliance on links. It wouldn't take much for the accidental deletion of a directory or link to make the application unusable.

Once installed my experiences have been mixed. On some machines I can continue to use StarOffice 8 without any problems. On others, StarOffice will run immediately after installation, but then never run again. The program just terminates--no errors or problems are reported in any log file that I can find. On some machines the Java tool javaldx which determines Java library locations required by StarOffice simply freezes, preventing StarOffice from running at all.

StarOffice Writer

As a writer, a decent word processor is one of my main concerns, and I know from experience that it is one of the heaviest used applications in a typical office suite. Personally, I deal with a lot of different templates, requirements and formats when dealing with publishers and clients. Compatibility with Microsoft Word and the templates that many publishers use is therefore a prime concern, closely followed by an environment that makes the writing process as easy and straightforward as possible. For my clients, I know the key elements for a word processor are the ability to produce the documents they need while retaining compatibility with their clients, suppliers and the documents they already have.

The first thing you notice with StarOffice 8 if you are migrating from an earlier version is the improved compatibility with Office documents. I've opened numerous documents from simple letters to complex chapters and not once experienced any problems with the files within StarOffice. One of the elements that had kept me away from StarOffice in the past was the unreliable compatibility with the track changes feature of Word, something used a lot by my publishers and editors to highlight changes in the documents. StarOffice 8 seems to have addressed all the issues that caused me problems in previous editions.

In terms of functionality of the core product there is little to distinguish between Microsoft Word and StarOffice Writer. Where you do start to see differences they are in the subtle areas that would probably be identified by the power users. Styles in StarOffice 8 are, like previous versions, much more intuitive than in Word. The Styles and Formatting window makes it easy to apply styles to specific areas, from individual characters up to frames and pages. Styles can also now be assigned hotkeys to enable to select a style with ease while typing. This will be boon for heavy typists who prefer to keep their fingers on the keyboard instead of hovering between the keyboard and the mouse.

For more advanced documents Writer has extended support for text frames to make it easier to create complex, layout driven documents like magazines and brochures, and a built-in drawing tool (which complements the full-blown StarOffice Draw) enables you to add drawings and diagrams quite easily. Graphics support has also been improved; when importing a picture (from JPEG, GIF and others, or directly from a scanner) the result can now be edited for transparency and color directly within Writer. One of my clients uses Word to produce sales sheets for woods that incorporate a complex design along with maps, photos and drawings and I had no problem either opening, saving or updating the file within StarOffice 8.

Navigation has also been improved and you can now bookmark specific locations within the document during editing. A Navigator panel enables you to move to specific areas of your document by selecting areas and components from a list. The Navigator includes automatic elements, such as headers and inserted graphics, and manual elements like bookmarks, cross-references and table of contents and index entries.

These links are also exported when exporting your documents as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file. PDF functionality was available in previous versions, but the quality of the PDF produced and improved significantly. When you generate an Adobe PDF from your Writer document these links are converted to a suitable PDF construct. For example, cross references and bookmarks are retained a clickable elements, enabling you to create a navigable PDF without having to leave Writer or make post PDF production changes from within Adobe Acrobat or similar PDF manipulation tools.

Links and cross referencing are also retained if you export to XHTML, again, greatly simplifying the process of creating web pages from StarOffice documents. The XHTML produced is also very clean and makes very effective use of CSS and styles to format the document. One of the worst elements of Microsoft Word is that the HTML it generates is riddled with excessive inline markup elements. By comparison the XHTML from Writer is as clean and clear as you would expect had you generated the document by hand.

Familiar functionality from previous versions has also been updated. The toolbars have been updated to make them easier to use and understand. The word completion feature (which I still find a minor annoyance) will undoubtedly be useful for those people who really don't like to type. Spelling, thesaurus and auto-correction have also been improved.

The mail merge is still a popular part of many small business processes and a new wizard has been introduced to make this much easier. I had absolutely no trouble working with mail merge documents or reproducing mail merge projects that I might produce in Word using Writer. You can source your mail merge data from a Writer document and also from a Calc or Base document. You can also import information from Outlook, Mozilla/Netscape and LDAP source. Related to the mail merge system is an environment for creating and filling in XForms documents to make form-filling on the web easier. Creating an XForms document is as easy as selecting the document type when you create a new document. You can then add controls and fields to the document and publish the XML form to the web without any further processing.

Throughout, there is nothing to fault Writer; it takes a while to get used to some of the idiosyncrasies, but otherwise it is a solid and capable product. It is really the extras that lift it for me to another level. Creating a fully linked, bookmarked and indexed PDF with all the hotlinks already embedded will save me hours, not to mention the cost of the full Acrobat product. The other features--XHTML, XForms, and so on--will be just as useful to clients and associates.

StarOffice Calc

The spreadsheet is one of the oldest applications for a computer and many saw the development of the computer spreadsheet as the first 'killer app' for computing. Excel has already won the spreadsheet war against CA's Supercalc and Lotus 1-2-3. There may be a new war brewing.

StarOffice Calc is yet another good spreadsheet program. I opened a number of my Excel spreadsheets, including all my accounts and did not experience any problems with the documents I opened. These documents include sheets that use Pivot Tables (called Data Pilot in StarOffice) and complex lookup and calculation functions.

Calc incorporates a new design that more closely resembles Excel. They have also improved the interface in terms of data management. There are new tools for reducing the screen real-estate used by certain data groups, for example you can collapse a group of rows or columns, or both to help you focus on the information you really need.

The redesign also extends to an improved charting system and chart wizard. These charts can be dynamically updated and embedded into sheets (instead of operating as separate components), which works particularly well if you are using the built-in interface to the database system or through the database interface to an external database. For working with and aggregating tabular data in this way it is hard to beat the row/column approach of a spreadsheet and it is a great way to give users the ability to manipulate raw data within an environment they are familiar with.

Finally, a 'What if' system enables you to try different factors within a spreadsheet to arrive at appropriate results. For example, you can run a business planning model based on different profit or growth curves and summarize the results to show the effects. Similar functionality is available within Excel, but Calc feels less fussy in its approach and I found it much easier to develop a scenario using StarOffice Calc.

StarOffice Impress

Impress starts up by default with a presentation wizard. You get to select from a huge range of sample styles and backgrounds, or you can build your own on the fly by selecting backgrounds and other components. Sadly, in terms of creating the slideshow I didn't find anything that I am not already familiar with within other packages, PowerPoint included.

There are some improvements over the previous versions--most of the vector drawing capability we now find in StarOffice Draw is also available directly within Impress, and we can import outlines and content from other packages, including charts and tables from Calc, simply by dragging and dropping the content into your presentation.

Where Impress shines is the ability to export your presentation not only to PowerPoint, but also as a PDF (including slides and handouts) as an HTML presentation and a Macromedia Flash file. The latter produces a self-running animation of the presentation, which could make Impress a viable alternative for some simple Flash applications. Supporting Flash in this way will certainly make distributing presentations online much easier than converting to HTML--although as I said Impress handles this process well too.

For the HTML formats you can select bare HTML (with self navigation), a frame-based interface (showing an outline and slides), and automatic slide view (auto-advancing through pages). You can also generate a webcast using ASP or Perl to provide the content automatically to the user. This approach allows a speaker to control the output of web pages so that you can do a presentation over a speaker phone while viewers watch the presentation live on the Internet. As presenter you retain full control over the slides that are shown at all times.

StarOffice Draw

Draw is a vector drawing package that adds some useful extensions that turn Draw into more than a simple diagram application. For example, you can draw objects to scale and show the scale and relative size. With the addition of a 3D modeling component Draw just stops short of treading on the toes of a low-end CAD package.

Draw also provides a common feature in many illustration packages--the idea of connected objects. Connections have relevance because the lines drawn between objects remain connected even if you move the individual objects. For example, you can create an organization chart and move individuals about the diagram while retaining their relationship to other individuals.

I did have a few problems with the connections--occasionally the connection would 'hop' between objects, even when I'd set the source object specifically. I also couldn't find any way of automatically adjusting the layout--a feature I find useful when designing networks and organization charts for illustrations in articles and books. An auto-layout feature tidies up the display and keep objects consistent along certain layout models.

There are also a couple of oddities in the Draw application. Documents support multiple pages, and there is a Pages navigation panel, but the individual pages are called 'Slides.' I know why this is occurring, but I could see the difference causing problems in a support call.

StarOffice Base

I've always thought of a database application within Office suite as an odd inclusion. Not that I don't appreciate the functionality, but I find very few users willing to put in the time required to develop an effective database application. Most either turn to a spreadsheet (which they feel more familiar with) or ask a developer to produce a custom solution.

I could see this change with StarOffice Base. Key among the new functionality is a new database wizard system that simplifies the development of a database application into a few simple, but well scripted, clicks and choices. The wizards take you through every step of the process and even offer suggestions based on common database types such as assets, customers and employees. You can even produce entry and report forms in the same wizards and more or less create the entire application within the wizard environment.

Even better, the same wizards--and Base in general--can be used to connect to an existing database with built-in connectors (depending on the OS) for dBase, JDBC, ODBC, MySQL, ADO, Access and Oracle. You will though need to double-check that the underlying Java classes are available. It took me no time at all to get a data view from one of the MySQL databases on my server and to start designing and developing forms and reports from the information.

Previous versions of StarOffice have been supplied with a reduced version of Adabas D. StarOffice Base is a completely new application. As such, it feels moderately less polished than other applications in the suite, but no less capable. The wizards go a long way to improving the usability of the application. Certainly Base is no alternative to a traditional database server application with a web or dedicated application front end. It is definitely no direct replacement for Access yet. But Base will admirably fill the role of a database usable by end-users.

Office Killer?

StarOffice is a complete alternative to Microsoft Office and I wouldn't have any worries about suggesting StarOffice as an alternative to Office for me, my clients, or indeed anybody. The fact that I can also use StarOffice on multiple platforms with a consistent interface is obviously also appealing.

The pricing alone makes it attractive; the functionality--particularly when you go beyond the standard features of an Office suite--is what really piques the interest. Key highlights include the ease with which we can generate PDFs and XHTML, the improved compatibility with Office documents and the interface to external databases like MySQL.

These features take the product beyond the standard desktop office software. I continually found myself marveling at the 'final step' functionality available within the different applications, such as the ability to export directly to PDF, HTML or Flash. I can easily see myself developing non-web interfaces to a MySQL database using StarOffice and gaining the ability to mail merge or produce reports from the data in the process, for example.

Purists will argue that the lack of a bundled email package or business contact manager limit the effectiveness of an office suite. It would be easy to point the doubter towards capable open source products like Thunderbird or SugarCRM.

Pointing them to such free solutions also helps to crystallize the idea of open formats and applications. The OpenDocument format support by StarOffice, and the free OpenOffice.org on which it is based, are just more examples of why you should use this software. In a few years time I find it likely that many different applications will be offering OpenDocument support, and even if OpenOffice.org and StarOffice fail, the use of a standard document format means that new applications and developers can step into the market without having to redevelop the wheel that is Office file compatibility.

If I have one criticism of StarOffice it is that the application is so like Microsoft Office that many will fail to see the difference. While file compatibility is one thing, virtually duplicating the look and feel of an application is another. I am not entirely sure it is the right approach, but I appreciate that to compete with Office we should have an application that is as simple and easy to use as the suite we are replacing.

Even with this minor complaint, I cannot really fault StarOffice 8 as an effective Office Suite. StarOffice 8 is available on a 30-day evaluation basis and is certainly worth investigating.