OpenOffice facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Apache OpenOffice

Apache OpenOffice Start Center in version 3.4.1
Developer(s)	StarOffice (1984–1999) by StarDivision OpenOffice.org (1999–2011) by Sun Microsystems (1999–2009) Oracle Corporation (2010–2011) Apache OpenOffice (2011—) by the Apache Software Foundation
Initial release	30 April 2002 (2002-04-30)
Written in	C++ and Java
Operating system	Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS X
Platform	IA-32 and x86-64
Available in	current version: 20 languages Past versions: over 110 languages
Type	Office suite
License	Dual-licensed under the SISSL and LGPL (OpenOffice.org 2 Beta 2 and earlier) LGPL version 3 (OpenOffice.org 2 to OpenOffice.org 3.3) Apache License 2.0 (Apache OpenOffice 3.4 and later) and other weak copyleft licenses

Apache OpenOffice (formerly OpenOffice.org) is a free open source office suite. The free software project was formerly hosted by Sun Microsystems and then Oracle Corporation and is currently hosted by Apache. It is available for many different operating systems, including Microsoft Windows, Linux, OS X, FreeBSD and Solaris; and is meant to be an alternative to Microsoft Office. It supports Microsoft Office file formats as well as its own OpenDocument format.

The ".org" part of the previous name OpenOffice.org is there because OpenOffice is already trademarked. It is often called "OOo" for short.

OpenOffice is based on the older StarOffice software that was created by Sun Microsystems.

Parts

OpenOffice is a collection of applications that work together closely to provide the features expected from a modern office suite. Many of the parts are designed to be alternatives to those available in Microsoft Office. The parts available include:

	Writer	A word processor similar in look and feel to Microsoft Word and offering a comparable range of functions and tools. It also includes the ability to export Portable Document Format (PDF) files with no additional software, and can also function as a WYSIWYG editor for creating and editing web pages.
	Calc	A spreadsheet similar to Microsoft Excel with a roughly equivalent range of features. Calc provides a number of features not present in Excel, including a system which automatically defines series for graphing, based on the layout of the user’s data. Calc is also capable of writing spreadsheets directly as a PDF file.
	Impress	A presentation program similar to Microsoft PowerPoint. It can export presentations to Adobe Flash (SWF) files allowing them to be played on any computer with the Flash player installed. It also includes the ability to create PDF files, and the ability to read Microsoft PowerPoint's .ppt format. Impress suffers from a lack of ready-made presentation designs. However, templates are readily available on the Internet.
	Base	A database program similar to Microsoft Access. Base allows the creation and manipulation of databases, and the building of forms and reports to provide easy access to data for end-users. As with Access, Base may be used as a front-end to a number of different database systems, including Access databases (JET), ODBC data sources and MySQL/PostgreSQL. Base became part of the suite starting with version 2.0. Native to the OpenOffice.org suite is an adaptation of HSQL. While ooBase can be a front-end for any of the databases listed, there is no need for any of them to be installed.
	Draw	A vector graphics editor comparable in features to early versions of CorelDRAW. It features versatile "connectors" between shapes, which are available in a range of line styles and facilitate building drawings such as flowcharts. It has similar features to Desktop publishing software such as Scribus and Microsoft Publisher.
	Math	A tool for creating and editing mathematical formulae, similar to Microsoft Equation Editor. Formulae can be embedded inside other OpenOffice.org documents, such as those created by Writer. It supports multiple fonts and can export to PDF.