In two short words I would describe Star Office as Free MS-Office.
I saw it first in a ZDNet CD and decided to install it for two reasons. First, I was looking for MS-Office. Second, it was free. When I ran Star Office, I found out that it is a very good clone of the well acclaimed, MS-Office.
Now I have become a regular user of Star Office. I use it for many purposes, which I will tell you later in this review.
The Introduction
To introduce such a product was to break the monopoly of Microsoft. Star Office is a product of Sun Microsystems Inc., the same people who invented Java. They created a software that was all-in-one, instead of having different application. Also, they distributed for free! It is also an open-ended program.
Star Office has everything. From text document typing, to database designing. You can say that Word, Excel, Access, Powerpoint have come together and have merged in a single, versatile program. There are many other features. Let's start by reviewing each of them.
Text Document
This is a clone of Microsoft Word. All the functionalities and functions are exact copy of Word. Like Word, you can type in, edit, and then print your documents. But the extra feature is that you can add in form elements directly without requiring to draw them. Then you can insert images, objects and even formulas! So, you can have a complete document with everything in it. Printing is simple as ever. You can also adjust fonts, format page properties, and check the spellings. So, this much is enough for the text part.
Spreadsheet
By hearing the word 'Spreadsheet' the only software that comes in our minds in Excel. And this part of Star Office is a perfect photo copy of Excel. You can do the same things that you thought of doing in Excel. You can create charts of various shapes, sizes and colors from your spreadsheet. There are 3-D shapes available for your chart. Now, let's move on to the next part.
Presentation
Here we have a clone of Powerpoint. You can create multimedia presentations by using this Star Office option. When you first begin a presentation, you are prompted to start an empty presentation or from a template. You have the option of selecting one of the many themes available for your presentation. You can also put in numerous other effects. You can also draw in objects like Circle, Square, Line, etc. You can put in images or 3-D objects. You can also out in animations. So, you see that the presentation part is also very complete.
Drawing
Here we have a competitor for PaintBrush, but I think this one is a bit advanced. You can draw in simple objects like Circle or Square. But you can also put in 3-D objects, which is not possible in PaintBrush. You also have the option to align your objects, and make this part work for you as a good DTP Illustration software.
Image
Like Drawing was an illustrating software, this part is an image-editing software! So, Paint Shop Pro and PhotoShop can have a run for their money as this Image part of Star Office performs every function of these two software. You can not only draw objects, but you can also edit images, and even scan images! This is truly great to have such a software.
HTML Document
Now this one's against Frontpage. It performs the same purposes as Frontpage does. You can put in tables, frames, images, OLE objects, and so many more. It is a WYSIWYG software. You are visually seeing what you are creating. It is a very handy software to have in Star Office.
Database
This one's up against Access. You can create a database for your forms running on your Web Server. You can also provide ODBC connectivity through it, without using Access! It is good for any server; no matter whether it is IIS or SQL.
Templates
Like all the MS-Office software, Star Office too has many templates that you can start working on. There are also many Wizards that will help you create whatever you want. There are templates for your bills, documents, resume, business cards, and so many else. There is no need to create everything manually. Everything can be derived automatically by using Star Office Templates.
Other features
When Star Office starts, it takes all the elements of your Desktop as its start up and even puts in the same 'Start' button on its bottom left corner. So, you can start any other application through Star Office without requiring to minimise the Star Office window.
Star Office window can become a browser for you if you type in a web address. Just like Windows Explorer!
Star Office supports all the extensions like doc, jpg, pwp, mdb, gif, etc. It also has its own extensions! So, you can edit other application's files in Star Office. But to edit Star Office files, you need Star Office.
You can also compose, send and receive your E-mails through Star Office.
So, you see that Star Office is a single program that has bundled in all the world's leading program. And what more, it is FREE! So, just by buying Star Office you are not only saving bucks, but also you are learning software like Word, Excel, Access, Powerpoint, Corel Draw, PhotoShop and FrontPage!
I highly recommend this one of my favourite program.
