Greetings, I've just joined the list. If I'm posting to the wrong list please except my apologies and kindly point me in the right direction. I searched the archives for any previous comment of this topic and found nothing. If this turns out to be one of those flame inducing topics like asking "how can anyone use that piece of crap editor xxxx?" on comp.editors then please know that I do it in ignorance.
I've been using Open Office since it could first be downloaded. Prior to that I used Star Office from just after Sun had acquired it. It's my office suite of choice. The standard office software in my company (a large US Government contractor) is MS Office (no surprise there). I use OO and just save my files in Microsoft Word 97/2000/XP (.doc) format. I've had very few problems (especially recently) with files not looking right in Word after being created in OO Writer. My point in saying all this that Open Office *really is* an extremely viable alternative to MS Office. Several times, however, I''ve installed OO on colleagues' computers only to have them call me in a panic when they save a document, edit it some more, and then get this message when they attempt to save it again: ------------------------------------------------------ MyGreatestBook.doc may contain formattings that are not compatible with Microsoft Word 97/2000/XP Format. Do you want to save the document in this format? - To save in Microsoft 97/2000/XP Format, click 'Yes' - To preserve formatting, click No. Next save the document in the latest OpenOffice.org format. ------------------------------------------------------- I have a couple of comments about this particular message and the philosophy that (I think) is behind it. First, my idea about the philosophy behind it. It appears to me that the intent of this message is to say (in so many words) "We can do things (i.e. formatting things) that Word cannot do; we are better than Word. To take advantage of this 'betterness' you have to save this file in our format." That may or may not be true, but this is the wrong place to try and assert that advantage. The largest body of potential users of OpenOffice are corporations (or divisions within corporations) moving away from the draconian licensing requirements and exorbitant licensing fees of Microsoft. These enterprises are most likely to have a huge inventory of Office documents and in many instances need to maintain those documents in their present format (e.g. my company prepares documents for the US Government and many other corporations). To the novice OpenOffice user, this message says "You've done something that is not compatible with Microsoft Office format and now it won't look right." (or worse, that it can't be saved now) That isn't really what the message says, but that is how it can be interpreted and it scares the crap out of potential users. You know the old adage that nobody ever got fired for buying IBM. Well the adage these days is nobody ever got fired for using Microsoft Office. Nobody is going to dare be a champion for OpenOffice if they have to keep explaining that "It reallys doesn't mean that." It's safer to just not rock the boat. OpenOffice has significant advantages over Office, but the ability to format something in a way that Office cannot is not a feature that will make users switch. At the very least, if this is a configurable warning that can be turned off, have it off by default. Enough about my thoughts behind the philosophy of the message. The message itself is enough to discourage a potential Office user for switching (even if they don't have to go against their corporate policy). First of all, it implies that my 300 page masterpiece that I've spent weeks formatting with pictures, etc. is now going to lose all formatting if I save it in Word format (even though my customer will only accept it in Word format). I know that isn't what it means, but you have to look at it through the eyes of the novice "maybe I'll use it maybe I won't" type user. If there are formatting features that cannot be preserved in Word format (which I have a hard time believing there are), then make it a configurable option that warns the user that "The selected formatting can only be preserved by saving the document in the latest OpenOffice.org format." or some such thing. My guess is that 99.9% of the time, the user meant to do something else anyway. If it sounds like I'm on a soapbox, I am. OpenOffice is good. Not good; great! I want it to succeed in a big way! However, I know from personal experience that people are resitant to change and as soon as that message pops up (especially for someone sticking their neck out a bit), they'll just scrap it. Thanks, Rick. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
