Installing OpenOffice.org

Windows users: Open the OOo-Windows folder on the CD. Click on the OOo-install file to start your installation.

Linux users: Copy the OOo-Linux folder to your hard drive. Follow standard procedures to extract the OOo tar.gz file in that folder. Then, install the RPM files you'll see after extraction. Or, use the binary version you downloaded from your distribution's repository and install OOo the same way you install any other binary program in your distribution.

OpenOffice.org Windows installer.

Mac OS X users: If you choose NeoOfficewhich is highly recommended"unstuff" NeoOffice like any other program.

The OOo Windows Installation Wizard.

The setup procedure is approximately the same in Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X.

Right now, let's concentrate on the Windows version.

In Windows, double-click the OOo-install file to start the installation.

The next window (not shown) asks you to select the folder where OOo will install itself. The default location is fine for virtually all standard Windows setups. (Do not change this if you do not know what you are doing!) Once you accept the default file location, click Unpack and the program will prepare to install itself. It will check to see if you have enough free hard drive space for OOo. If there is not enough space, you need to cancel the installation and delete some old, unused programs or possibly use the Windows defragmentation utility so your hard drive can more efficiently use its space. Either way, once you get through this step, you'll come to the actual Installation Wizard.

Click Next and you'll see an "Accept the license" agreement windowand because this is open source software, its license is much more generous toward software users than typical proprietary software licenses. Read the license and then click to accept it.

After you've accepted the license, the next screen asks for your name and organization. Filling in these blanks is optional, as is your answer to whether you want all users of your computer to have access to OOo or whether you want to keep it for yourself.

The Customer Information window.

Next, select a setup type. You should go with the default Complete installation.

Your next choice is whether you want OOo to automatically open Microsoft Word documents, Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, or Microsoft PowerPoint presentations. Click all three boxes if you're serious about using OOo all the time, and then click Next.

The File Type window.

Now you're ready to actually install the program. Click Install, and away you go. Installation time depends on your computer's speed, but it won't be more than a few minutes. The next window you see says "Installation Wizard Completed," and the only choice you have is to click Finish.

That's it. No reboot is needed. OpenOffice.org is now installed on your computer.