OpenOffice.org for Mac

CNET Editors' review

by: CNET staff on August 29, 2012

OpenOffice.org is the free alternative to Microsoft Office. Even on a Mac, Open Office.org mostly feels and looks like a Windows application, but Mac users should have no trouble getting up and running with this multifeatured app.

With Open Office, you can create the same types of documents, spreadsheets, and presentations available in Microsoft Office and even save them with the MS Office extensions such as .doc or .ppt. OpenOffice.org also has its own file extensions, which can't be opened with their Microsoft Office counterparts, so you'll need to make sure you remember to save with the appropriate extension so MS Office users can read them. This is made much easier with the Preferences Panel, which lets you select the default file type for documents you create.

During our testing, the application performed very well; it handles MS Office documents with the same ease as its own native documents. And you don't need to be an advanced Office user to find all the features you used in Microsoft's suite. All the basic editing tools are available at a glance, so you can start using the application from the first launch.

Overall, OpenOffice.org is a very useful and powerful app for document editing and reading. We recommend this free app for any-level user who wants a less expensive way to create files and share them with OpenOffice.org or Microsoft Office users.