Writer is a full-featured word-processing program that can compete on almost every level with Microsoft Word. You might see some minor display issues when opening Word documents in Writer that have complex formatting. Other than those small quirks, Writer is very compatible and can pleasantly work as your writing and desktop-publishing friend.
OpenOffice.org Calc
Great
Great
The other anchor to the OOo suite is a very strong spreadsheet program. Many experienced veterans of Excel who have tried Calc actually like Calc better. The paring of extra features that most users do not use and the simplicity of the program enable you to concentrate on your productivity rather than making you futz with the program details.
OpenOffice.org Impress
Good
Good
Impress won't win a wrestling match with Microsoft PowerPoint or Apple KeyNote, but it serves well for basic slides and presentations and can even add animations.
OpenOffice.org Draw
Good
Good
Don't think that Draw will replace your photo-editing program, complicated flowchart program, or full vector-drawing program, but it will suffice to add quick sketches and diagrams to your other OpenOffice.org documents.
AbiWord
Good
Fair
AbiWord is a great standalone word-processing program. If you need only word processing and don't want to have all the other programs of an office suite installed, this program can offer you the light, fast, and efficient alternative. The program does a good job of displaying documents formatted in MS Word and other programs when the formatting is basic, but it balks even more than OOo Writer at complex tables and styles.
KOffice
Good
Great
KOffice is still a bit of a work in progress, but it has potential. The interface to each program is very consistent and beautiful, like most KDE programs. KOffice is very admirable for not just trying to clone the features of Microsoft Office, but trying to create and integrate unique features and innovative ideas.
PDFs Documents
Great
Great
PDF viewing is completely functional and smooth in Linux when using either your file manager or a separate program such as XPDF. Creating PDFs is actually easier in Linux than it is in Windows because programs such as those in OpenOffice.org create a PDF without making you buy the commercial program from Adobe.
