Software Publishers

PALO ALTO, CA /Publishers Newswire/ -- The popular office productivity suite, OpenOffice.org, reached version 2.0 today, it was announced by Sun Microsystems. According to the company, with new features, advanced XML capabilities and native support for the OASIS Standard OpenDocument format, OpenOffice.org 2.0 gives users around the globe the tools to be engaged and productive members of their society.

Ideal for authors, web editors, and writers of all kinds, OpenOffice.org is compatible with Microsoft Office products, without the price.

Notable improvements for authors include enhanced PDF capabilities, ability to open WordPerfect files, and better word count features.

The basic Word Count functionality provided in earlier versions of OpenOffice.org has now been extended to include advanced information including a count of selected words and characters. This feature has now been moved to a more accessible location.

Significant improvements have been made in the functionality of proprietary office suite filters, allowing for improved compatibility between office applications, including Microsoft Office. In addition, import support for Corel WordPerfect documents has been added, allowing for easier cross-suite communication.

Available in 36 languages, with more on the way, and able to run natively on Windows, GNU/Linux, Sun Solaris, Mac OS X (X11) and several other platforms, OpenOffice.org banishes software segregation and isolation and dramatically levels the playing field. And, with its support for the OASIS Standard OpenDocument format, OpenOffice.org eliminates the fear of vendor lock in or format obsolescence. The OpenDocument format can be used by any office application, ensuring that documents can be viewed, edited and printed for generations to come.

"OpenOffice.org is on a path toward being the most popular office suite the world has ever seen; providing users with safety, choice, and an opportunity to participate in one of the broadest community efforts the Internet has ever seen. As a member of that community, I'd like to offer my heartiest congratulations." - Jonathan Schwartz - President and CEO of Sun Microsystems.

Built by a community including Sun Microsystems, its primary sponsor and contributor, Novell, Red Hat, Debian, Propylon, Intel, as well as independent programmers, translators, writers, and marketers; OpenOffice.org 2.0 demonstrates the success, dedication and proficiency of the open source software community.

Louis Suárez-Potts, OpenOffice.org Community Manager, commented that "OpenOffice.org 2.0 is the culmination of a collaborative process involving thousands working in dozens of languages everywhere in the world. It shows that open source can produce software of the highest quality and assure the robustness, usability and security that users expect in their office suite."

In addition to the OpenDocument format, the redesigned user interface and a new database module, OpenOffice.org 2.0 also adds improved PDF support, a superior spreadsheet module, enhanced desktop integration and several other features that take advantage of its advanced XML capabilities, such as the ability to easily create, edit and use XForms.


Download the latest version at
http://www.openoffice.org