Author Topic: free scaled down word replacment (Read 38,467 times)

techidave · « **on:** June 26, 2009, 03:48 AM »

I have a teacher that doesn't like all the bells and whistles of Word 2003. Is there a free replacement that just does basic word processing? Perhaps AbiWord or something like that?

Dave

rsatrioadi · « **Reply #1 on:** June 26, 2009, 04:12 AM »

AbiWord sure is, but for the most basic word processing you can always use (in windows) WordPad.

tsaint · « **Reply #2 on:** June 26, 2009, 04:27 AM »

Quote from: techidave on June 26, 2009, 03:48 AM

I have a teacher that doesn't like all the bells and whistles of Word 2003. Is there a free replacement that just does basic word processing? Perhaps AbiWord or something like that?

Dave

What "bells and whistles" do you mean? Or do you mean a light on resources, relatively small hard drive footprint? I ask because Kingsoft had a very nice free Office replacement which worked very well. Most of the time I prefer using it to either Office 2003 or 2007, which I get (legitimately) free from school

lanux128 · « **Reply #3 on:** June 26, 2009, 05:09 AM »

i also use Kingsoft Office and i find it quite lightweight when it comes to resources. however if you're just looking to replace Microsoft Word 2003 and don't mind creating documents in RTF format, then try Atlantis.

btw, this might be an overkill but you can also refer to Zaine's excellent review on word processors.

tomos · « **Reply #4 on:** June 26, 2009, 05:17 AM »

Quote from: rsatrioadi on June 26, 2009, 04:12 AM

. . for the most basic word processing you can always use (in windows) WordPad.

Jarte is based on wordpad, but much better in terms of features
I used it a while and the only thing I missed was the ability to see the individual pages (is it standard view in word?)

edit/ they may (or may not) enjoy Jarte's quite different GUI (best to switch to 'Classic Layout' though as default may be too minimal). Another plus: no install - just unzip)

40hz · « **Reply #5 on:** June 26, 2009, 05:55 AM »

IMHO, one of the best small word processors is a product called Angel Writer. Has a sane selection of features and supports saving to RTF format.

Info & download: http://www.angelicsoftware.com/en/angel-writer.html

[attach]

techidave · « **Reply #6 on:** June 26, 2009, 11:58 AM »

Quote from: tsaint on June 26, 2009, 04:27 AM

Dave

What "bells and whistles" do you mean?
[/quote]

He doesn't like the automatic stuff. I personally have that turned off as well but he says he has to do it for each document. I guess I don't understand why he has to do it for each one and I don't.

The school does own Microsoft Works 4.5 for Windows 95. Maybe I should have him try that.

f0dder · « **Reply #7 on:** June 26, 2009, 01:31 PM »

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned OpenOffice? It's pretty fully-featured, but not as big and complex as the later MS Office versions (although it's just about as heavy startup-time wise). Has the advantage that it works reasonably well with MS .doc files (and .docx) as long as they don't use too fancy features.

My favorite is still Office2000 though - fully featured, lightweight and fast as hell.

40hz · « **Reply #8 on:** June 26, 2009, 06:33 PM »

Quote from: f0dder on June 26, 2009, 01:31 PM

My favorite is still Office2000 though - fully featured, lightweight and fast as hell.

+1 on that with f0dder. It's still my favorite edition for Word and Excel.

4wd · « **Reply #9 on:** June 28, 2009, 01:11 AM »

Quote from: techidave on June 26, 2009, 11:58 AM

He doesn't like the automatic stuff. I personally have that turned off as well but he says he has to do it for each document. I guess I don't understand why he has to do it for each one and I don't.

The school does own Microsoft Works 4.5 for Windows 95. Maybe I should have him try that.

Start a new document, set all the options you want, (eg. turn off the auto features), then save it as a template with the name: Normal.dot

This should replace the default one which turns on all the crap so that when you start a new doc the options are set how you want by default.

Another free word processor/spreadsheet: SoftMaker Office 2006 - this is the one I use and you have the option to make it portable.

tomos · « **Reply #10 on:** June 28, 2009, 08:49 AM »

Quote from: 4wd on June 28, 2009, 01:11 AM

Another free word processor/spreadsheet: SoftMaker Office 2006 - this is the one I use and you have the option to make it portable.

forgot that's free - highly recommended

paulobrabo · « **Reply #11 on:** June 28, 2009, 11:44 AM »

Polyedit free:

http://polyedit.com/free.html

Dazzling fast, tabbed, dockable windows. An absolute gem.

johnk · « **Reply #12 on:** June 28, 2009, 06:21 PM »

Quote from: 4wd on June 28, 2009, 01:11 AM

Another free word processor/spreadsheet: SoftMaker Office 2006 - this is the one I use and you have the option to make it portable.

I'm another fan of SoftMaker Office. Excellent software.

Darwin · « **Reply #13 on:** June 28, 2009, 06:38 PM »

Another vote for SoftMaker Office

Kingsoft is also an excellent choice, but (if memory serves), it's heavier on resources and more a feature for feature copy of Office.

techidave · « **Reply #14 on:** June 28, 2009, 08:54 PM »

All the suggestions listed look really good. I did d/l a few of them and they were fast and slim on resources. Softmaker Office is one that I need to look at a little harder. The new Softmaker Office 2008 does have a presentation program and it offers a site license for education for only $99 US.

sajman99 · « **Reply #15 on:** June 28, 2009, 09:12 PM »

@techidave:
Perhaps you should also try Atlantis Nova, the freeware version of the Atlantis Word Processor mentioned by lanux128.
http://www.atlantiswordprocessor.com/en/nova.htm
http://web.archive.org/web/20050308175916/www.rssol.com/en/html/download/nova.htm

40hz · « **Reply #16 on:** June 28, 2009, 11:37 PM »

There's another decent wordprocessor available from NativeWinds Software called Tomahawk PDF+, which is the freeware edition of their flagship Tomahawk Gold product.

One nice feature is its ability to export documents directly to a PDF file. It's also a portable application, so all you need is the standalone .exe to run it. Works very well running off a USB key too.

Tomahawk PDF+ is free for personal use. NativeWinds also allows for use by non-profits and schools free of charge.

Quote

Non-profit and educational organizations may obtain a free site license for Tomahawk PDF+ (This free site license is NOT for Tomahawk Gold) by sending us a request on their company or business letterhead along with a copy of their 501c3 status (or similar status verification for your country). See address above for mail requests. Similar status verification would include any current official documentation that proves you are a charitable or "Not for Profit" organization.

Info and download: http://www.nativewindsofmontana.com/software/tpdfplus.html

If you need more features, Tomahawk Gold is a steal (IMHO) at $36 per copy

criss · « **Reply #17 on:** July 01, 2009, 11:08 AM »

Polyedit is great: fast, small, easy to use, all the features you need without the bloat. Try it.
The professional version is cheep and has additional features.
Also good and free: Atlantis Nova.
Nice and free: qjot (from xtort.net).

40hz · « **Reply #18 on:** July 01, 2009, 08:20 PM »

Quote from: criss on July 01, 2009, 11:08 AM

Polyedit is great: fast, small, easy to use, all the features you need without the bloat. Try it.

@ criss: re:Polyedit. Great find!

@Techidave: Polyedit is probably a better choice than the two I suggested since it can read and write .doc format files.

Dormouse · « **Reply #19 on:** July 01, 2009, 08:58 PM »

Polyedit doesn't have controls for editing tables. Planned for version 6 apparently. I stopped testing it when I found that.

Edvard · « **Reply #20 on:** July 01, 2009, 09:50 PM »

Quote from: f0dder on June 26, 2009, 01:31 PM

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned OpenOffice? It's pretty fully-featured, but not as big and complex as the later MS Office versions (although it's just about as heavy startup-time wise). Has the advantage that it works reasonably well with MS .doc files (and .docx) as long as they don't use too fancy features.

Perhaps because the request was for "basic word processing".
OpenOffice is still my favorite and the new version is quite nice, but installing it does bring in draw, calc, base, math, etc.
Wait... can't that stuff be selected or deselected at install?
That might be the way to go...

tsaint · « **Reply #21 on:** July 01, 2009, 10:28 PM »

FWIW, a link to an OO / Softmaker Office comparison landed in my inbox this morning.
Its at Infoworld

tomos · « **Reply #22 on:** July 06, 2009, 06:26 PM »

Quote from: criss on July 01, 2009, 11:08 AM

Also good and free: Atlantis Nova.
Nice and free: qjot (from xtort.net).

Atlantis Nova isnt free - you can get a free version via TrialPay
http://www.atlantiswordprocessor.com/en/register.htm
[edit] sorry bout that, see http://www.atlantiswordprocessor.com/en/nova.htm [/edit]

the other one (qjot) sound nice
http://xtort.net/xtort-software/qjot/

Dormouse · « **Reply #23 on:** July 07, 2009, 12:11 AM »

qjot doesn't do tables at all.

Whether it matters depends on whether you use them of course, but I always regard the ability to do tables well as an essential element of a word processor. Lots of note programs do them well too.

elpresi · « **Reply #24 on:** July 07, 2009, 08:16 AM »

For those interested in Softmaker office 2008, there is a killer Ashampoo deal (same as Softmaker):

http://r.ashampoo.com/mailings/1/090410_en.htm for $4.99