MS Office or Open Office

[P1]

I apologize if I have the wrong spot for this. So I haven't had to pay for MS office for awhile. But I'm all out of free (legal) keys and certainly don't want to spend the $70 to purchase office. I want to be able to edit my resume as I look for a better job. Any way to get a free or discounted activation? Legally of course I'm not asking for illegal keys.

I tried to download open office off the top link of Google but I ended up with some vicious malware. Anyone have a link to the safe version of Open Office? Hopefully it's not just a front for malware and viruses.

[CarDude]

http://www.libreoffice.org/ That's Libre Office, which I use...

[Nords]

Another vote for Libre Office vice Open Office.

[Christof]

Google Docs? Unless the layout of your resumé is too complex, that is.

[YK-Phil]

I have been using OpenOffice, and StarOffice before that, since the late 90s, on my home computer. To cut cost, I tried once to push for a full Linux environment at my office but this plan was met with some resistance so I retreated. I am on a full Linux OS at home and I am very happy with it. At work, I always had MS Office and rarely had compatibility issues between documents created with MSOffice or OpenOffice but I never felt the need to have MS Office at home even if I could install the full suite at no cost.

[strider3700]

libreoffice is a fork of open office after some internal conflicts took place.  Libre is becoming the preferred choice between the two.    I use google docs for everything until it becomes overly complex at which time I switch to libre.    My wife swears by ms office  but she's pushing it way harder then I ever do. 

[m0nk3y]

If work pays for it, MS Office. If not, Open Office. I've been using Open Office primarily since the days of Star Office. I haven't had much experience with Libre Office, but being a fork... I'd assume it's just as good. You can download Open Office from http://www.openoffice.org

That said, if it's just your resume... Google docs will work perfectly without the need to install software on your machine.

[cthulhu]

hi,

i've used openoffice for a while and love it, pretty much the same as MS and i have it on both my work macintosh and home pc so its easy to share files.  i don't have experience with libre so i can't compare - but http://www.openoffice.org/

al

[cdub]

Google Docs? Unless the layout of your resumé is too complex, that is.

+1 for Google Docs... It also backs up as you type.

[hybrid]

Since most work environments use MS Office I think it is worth it to stay familiar with that tool, even if you have to spend money for it. Anything will work for your basic needs however, and I just installed Open Office for a nice retired lady who just needs to be able to read her various email attachments. 

[avongil]

If you know Libre Office you pretty much know MS Office.  No need to spend any sort of money. The concepts are the same. For the simple stuff you are doing, there is really no benefit to purchasing office.

At work, I convert as many people as I can to Libre Office so I dont have to manage serial numbers or purchase any more licenses. Only a bunch of guys need to run macros that were developed in MS Office.

Some things like mail merges I actually prefer Open Office.

The export at Word 2003 doc works well if you need to share documents. 

For a job resume, export as PDF. I can't stand getting documents in doc or docx format, people assume you are using Office - and I find that a bad start.  Play it safe and send a PDF.

[shira]

+2 for google docs you can access it from anywhere.

[DaKini]

I wrote a full book with openoffice (later libreoffice as my linux distribution switched over) and do all my financial planning with it. Its quite powerful. I cant think of a usecase where ms office has a significant egde worth the money.

Besides that, i really enjoy my full linux environment at home for about 10 years now and dont miss windows (which i have to use in my office dayly). Open siurce software is really advanced nowadays, easy to lear, easy to use and mostly quite stable as well as often more secure than closed software.

Besides that, i do not trust google docs and backup myself.

[hybrid]

If all you have to do is dash out a quick Word document or put together a simple Excel spreadsheet, then yes, any basic knockoff program will do. As in the example for my client I mentioned above.

But the business world works with Microsoft Office for the most part, and one of the biggest reasons for that is because other programs integrate with Office products (especially Word and Outlook).

I'm all for marching to the beat of a different drummer, but saying there is no reason to thoroughly know Office if you are working behind a desk is simply ignoring the reality of the workplace. The moment one needs to work with irregular formatting, margins, paging, watermarks, password protection, etc. etc. one will quickly wish they had spent some time with Word first. More to the point, Word itself has changed dramatically over the last three iterations.

[Jack]

If you need to be able to let other people edit the documents in MS Office, you might have formatting (etc.) issues. (I've just started doing side-gig work editing presentations, so I sent my changes in .odp, .ppt, .pptx, and .pdf and asked the client to tell me which worked best.)

Otherwise, LibreOffice is perfectly sufficient and has the distinct advantage of being both free and Free.

I tried to download open office off the top link of Google but I ended up with some vicious malware. Anyone have a link to the safe version of Open Office? Hopefully it's not just a front for malware and viruses.

Pay attention to whether the top link(s) are marked "Ad." Choose the first non-ad link. Also, for any Free Software project, prefer downloading from:

• The domain corresponding to the name of the project
• gnu.org
• github.com
• sourceforge.net

Do not download from "download sites" like download.com, etc. because they're leeches who bundle legitimate software with malware for their own profit.

[hybrid]

Pay attention to whether the top link(s) are marked "Ad." Choose the first non-ad link.

This is great advice, and I see this all the time. As a further example, I Googled Microsoft Security Essentials, the free AV product Microsoft gives away to home users and small businesses. Note the first link is NOT the Microsoft site you want if you are trying to download the product, the second link is.

(Click on picture to expand)

[galliver]

For your resume...teach yourself LaTeX B)

http://www.latex-project.org/

Just another alternative; steeper learning curve, but it can produce beautiful documents.

I actually still have my resume and CV in MS Word because it's a hassle to redo and as they say "aint' no one got time for that"

[LadyStache]

If you're currently employed, you may be eligible for the Microsoft Office Home Use Program (or you may have a friend/family member who is). If so, you can purchase a MS Office license for just $10.

[Jamesqf]

For your resume...teach yourself LaTeX B)

http://www.latex-project.org/

+1 for that.  Yes, there's a learning curve, but IMHO if you are a programmer or other technical type, it's a much shallower curve than with Office-type stuff (whether MS, Open, or Libre).

And a big +100 for not mailing any document in proprietary formats, unless you know that the recipient will accept it.

[hybrid]

If you're currently employed, you may be eligible for the Microsoft Office Home Use Program (or you may have a friend/family member who is). If so, you can purchase a MS Office license for just $10.

Yes, yes, yes!!!! Great point LadyStache. If you don't know, ask the propeller-head in charge (although you may not want to address them as propeller-head in charge, YMMV). Many businesses have that perk available to them from Microsoft, but not every business does a good job of advertising that benefit to the staff. So ask.

BTW, that $10 ($15 if you want a DVD) copy of Office is typically for MS Office (current year version) Professional Edition, so you get the entire suite of Office products including Outlook. Also, you get to install this on up to three computers.

[hybrid]

And a big +100 for not mailing any document in proprietary formats, unless you know that the recipient will accept it.

And if you have no idea what a proprietary format is, just one more reason to be on MS Office.

[Jmoody10]

You can always use the Office online apps - go to onedrive.com - create - word document.

[avongil]

Personally I think someone is more valuable to a company that has the ability to use different sorts of software and is not limited to Office. Learning software is much easier for some people than others because they took the time to figure it out.  This says something about their personality.
Not being afraid to try new things and see how they work is a huge asset. No one gets promoted for being worker bee and keeping the status quo.

When I see a resume that's not a PDF, RTF or other open document it raises a huge flag.

[hybrid]

Personally I think someone is more valuable to a company that has the ability to use different sorts of software and is not limited to Office. Learning software is much easier for some people than others because they took the time to figure it out.  This says something about their personality.
Not being afraid to try new things and see how they work is a huge asset. No one gets promoted for being worker bee and keeping the status quo.

When I see a resume that's not a PDF, RTF or other open document it raises a huge flag.

I guess that depends on where you work and what you do. At our law firm if one is support staff and doesn't know Office they are damn near worthless to the attorneys (who increasingly need to be fluent in Office). Yes, being good with all the other programs is a huge plus but most of our programs have a hook into Office somehow. If a potential hire is not fluent in Office they aren't going to get an interview.

[P1]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I downloaded the regular non malware version of open office. I'll try the MS home office license thing tomorrow.

[arebelspy]

I use MS Office because I got it quite cheap years ago.  I'd use Libre Office if I didn't have it.

I wouldn't pay anywhere close to retail for MS Office, and I wouldn't use Open Office.

[Rural]

If you're currently employed, you may be eligible for the Microsoft Office Home Use Program (or you may have a friend/family member who is). If so, you can purchase a MS Office license for just $10.

Thanks for this! I've just emailed our head propellerhead because we're about to replace an antique laptop. I'd figured on the educational license version, but if this is an option, it's better.


I need Office because I do extensive editing in Word's Track Changes and create complex spreadsheets I need to share with people who would not have a clue what a .csv file is (and who are higher up the food chain than I am).

[Mr. Frugalwoods]

+n for google docs:

• Free!
• Works anywhere
• Is "good enough" for most household tasks
• Shared access is great for spousally (hi MrsFrugalwoods!) shared documents like budgets and projection spreadsheets
• Exports to PDF, which almost any hiring manager is going to be happy to have in place of a .doc

Don't worry too much about super fancy resume formatting anyway.  Clean, well edited resumes often stand out much more.

And coming from someone who has done a ton of hiring recently: For the love of flying spaghetti monster PLEASE name your resume lastname-firstname-resume.pdf.  I have so many folders on my computer with resume.pdf, resume (1).pdf, resume (2).pdf (and so on...) that the few people who think this through get an extra reading just for being considerate.

[AlanStache]

And coming from someone who has done a ton of hiring recently: For the love of flying spaghetti monster PLEASE name your resume lastname-firstname-resume.pdf.  I have so many folders on my computer with resume.pdf, resume (1).pdf, resume (2).pdf (and so on...) that the few people who think this through get an extra reading just for being considerate.

It is common to submit pdf versions of a resume?  Have not applied for a job in many moons.

[Mr. Frugalwoods]

It is common to submit pdf versions of a resume?  Have not applied for a job in many moons.

It's common in my line of work (software engineering) but I think it makes sense in general.  You never know what version of Office the person doing the hiring will have on their computer.  It might looks great on your computer and terrible on theirs.  A PDF looks pretty much the same anywhere, as long as you don't get too fancy.

[Jamesqf]

+n for google docs:

• Free!
• Works anywhere

Yeah, for a given value of 'works' :-(  That is, not with any version of Opera (my browser of choice) I have, not with several versions of Firefox...

[Rural]

If you're currently employed, you may be eligible for the Microsoft Office Home Use Program (or you may have a friend/family member who is). If so, you can purchase a MS Office license for just $10.

Thanks for this! I've just emailed our head propellerhead because we're about to replace an antique laptop. I'd figured on the educational license version, but if this is an option, it's better.

...and it is! Thanks again for saving me a hundred bucks -- I don't even have to pay the $10. Also, apparently our head propellerhead works Saturdays, or at least this Saturday.

[avongil]

It is common to submit pdf versions of a resume?  Have not applied for a job in many moons.

Yes. The smart ones do. It's a huge red flag when something comes in as a doc or docx file.  One more reason not mentioned before is fonts. If you don't have the same fonts, then your document will not be formated the same either.

Be smart and safe -  export as PDF.  It's a win-win situation. They either care or they don't, either way your document will look exactly as you intended. 

[taekvideo]

To address the malware problem further... NEVER download anything from CNET.  They used to be a great source and still come up high in search engines, but they've gone to the darkside (still haven't completely eliminated the Conduit virus from my computer... cleared firefox which is what I use but IE and Chrome are still infected).
Also get adblockplus, so you don't see those stupid ads while searching.

[TomTX]

I use LibreOffice - but it's from whichever repository Linux Mint usually uses.  MrsTX takes care of that part ;) - she's the reason the last Windows I installed was Win2K Pro, and I kept using that way past expiration, by tricking programs into thinking it was XP. Anyway, she said "No more Windows support!" and offered to continue as Linux support.

[hybrid]

If you're currently employed, you may be eligible for the Microsoft Office Home Use Program (or you may have a friend/family member who is). If so, you can purchase a MS Office license for just $10.

Thanks for this! I've just emailed our head propellerhead because we're about to replace an antique laptop. I'd figured on the educational license version, but if this is an option, it's better.

...and it is! Thanks again for saving me a hundred bucks -- I don't even have to pay the $10. Also, apparently our head propellerhead works Saturdays, or at least this Saturday.

And since you get three installs, you can be a hero to another family member (I'd hang onto the last install in case you swap out equipment).

[Rural]

If you're currently employed, you may be eligible for the Microsoft Office Home Use Program (or you may have a friend/family member who is). If so, you can purchase a MS Office license for just $10.

Thanks for this! I've just emailed our head propellerhead because we're about to replace an antique laptop. I'd figured on the educational license version, but if this is an option, it's better.

...and it is! Thanks again for saving me a hundred bucks -- I don't even have to pay the $10. Also, apparently our head propellerhead works Saturdays, or at least this Saturday.

And since you get three installs, you can be a hero to another family member (I'd hang onto the last install in case you swap out equipment).

Interestingly, our guy told me there was only one install, but he also mentioned that no one would come to my house to check. :-) I guess I'll see what's to be seen when we've bought the computer it will go on. I'd like to be able to install on both our computers here; it'll be annoying to have one on Office 2007 and one on 2013. Bet I can at least do two legitimately; after all most people have (or had until recently) both a desktop and a laptop.


I also learned I can get a copy of Windows 8 for nothing if I decide I want to update my current machine. I don't want to, really, but it's good to know in case I have to later.


Given that I didn't have to pay the $10, I wonder if this is a slightly different program. We are (quasi) government, so it could be.