Switching From Microsoft Office

Are you a dissatisfied Microsoft Office user ? Come on in, the software's fine.

Ten good reasons

If you haven't, read Top Ten Reasons to Use OpenOffice.org on page 4.

Take it out for a spin

Dip your toe in the pool. Use the CD with this book to install OpenOffice.org and see how you like it. Note: OpenOffice.org has no WordPerfect import filter at this time, though they're working on it.

Try converting files

Once you've dipped your toe in the pool, try a test import. We're pretty sure it'll go really well. Just open a Microsoft Office file by simply choosing File > Open and choosing the right format in the format dropdown list.

You can also do a mass import using the AutoPilot, shown at right. It's no-risk experimentation since it leaves your Microsoft documents intact, just creating converted copies.

Spend some time with the tutorials

Get to know OpenOffice.org.

• Chapter 5, Setup and Tips , on page 95

• Guided Tour of Writer on page 170

• Guided Tour of Web on page 444

• Guided Tour of Calc on page 500

• Guided Tour of Impress on page 636

• Guided Tour of Draw: Vector and Raster Graphics on page 753

• Tutorial: Creating a Data Source on page 873