OpenOffice.org 3.4 Beta 1

OpenOffice.org is a free of charge software, perfect if you want to write presentations, graphics, databases and more. The main advantage of this application is that it supports languages and can run on all common computers.

OpenOffice.org 3 is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose.

OpenOffice.org 3 is the result of over twenty years' software engineering. Designed from the start as a single piece of software, it has a consistency other products cannot match. A completely open development process means that anyone can report bugs, request new features, or enhance the software. The result: OpenOffice.org 3 does everything you want your office software to do, the way you want it to.

OpenOffice.org 3 is easy to learn, and if you're already using another office software package, you'll take to OpenOffice.org 3 straight away. Our world-wide native-language community means that OpenOffice.org 3 is probably available and supported in your own language. And if you already have files from another office package - OpenOffice.org 3 will probably read them with no difficulty.

Best of all, OpenOffice.org 3 can be downloaded and used entirely free of any licence fees. OpenOffice.org 3 is released under the LGPL licence. This means you may use it for any purpose - domestic, commercial, educational, public administration. You may install it on as many computers as you like. You may make copies and give them away to family, friends, students, employees - anyone you like.

Developed over twenty years, OpenOffice.org is a mature, reliable, product. OpenOffice.org was designed from the start as a single piece of software - not bolted together from separate software packages. This makes it very consistent and easy to use - what you learn in one application is immediately usable in another. The context-sensitive help works across all applications, unobtrusively providing the precise help you need. You can even open any type of document from any application - OpenOffice.org 3 is really one piece of software. It also runs on all major computing platforms - Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, Sun Solaris, Apple Mac - isn't that great!

OpenOffice.org 3 contains all the office software you need, in one single package. You don't have to worry which version to install: one installation program provides everything. The installation also includes features which some expensive rivals do not - for example, the ability to create .pdf files when you want to guarantee what the recipient sees on their computer. There is also a growing range of extensions: additional features that any developer can provide. OpenOffice.org releases release software several times a year so you can take advantage of new features as quickly as possible.

OpenOffice.org 3 is developed using an open-software, \"no secrets\" approach. Anyone can look at the programs and suggest improvements, or fix bugs. Anyone can report problems or request enhancements, and anyone can see the response from other users or developers. The status of current and future releases is displayed on a public wiki, so you can decide if and when you want to upgrade to take advantage of new features. Anyone used to commercial software and its hyping and marketing speak will find OpenOffice.org 3 refreshingly different. Enjoy the benefits of open-source!

For people used to other office software, OpenOffice.org 3 is a pleasant surprise. It's so straightforward! Studies have proved it is easier (and cheaper) to move to OpenOffice.org 3 from Microsoft Office than it is to upgrade to Microsoft's latest Office 2007. Because OpenOffice.org is one piece of software, everything works consistently between applications. Even the help system is the same. You don't even have to know which application was used to create a document - OpenOffice.org 3 will use the correct one. You only need to do a single download from the Internet (or install from one CD) and you've got your office suite.

We understand that many people already have documents which they have created using other common office software packages. OpenOffice.org 3 can read these files with a very high degree of accuracy, making migration to OpenOffice.org 3 very straightforward. In fact, we have reports where OpenOffice.org 3 has been able to read files which the original software package had said were corrupted and unusable. If your friends or colleagues use different software, you can still swap files with them - but better still, give them a free copy of OpenOffice.org 3!

When you're starting something new, it's great to know tens of millions of people have been there before you. OpenOffice.org 3 is developed, translated, supported, and promoted by an international community of tens of thousands of enthusiasts. If you have ever waited for ages for paid-for support from a commercial software provider, community support from enthusiastic and knowledgeable volunteers may come as a surprise. You may even find yourself talking to people who have developed or translated the software you are using. Welcome to the community!

It's hard to believe that high quality, easy to use software like OpenOffice.org 3 can really be free. But thanks to contributions of time and money, from individuals and companies (large and small), OpenOffice.org is free for you to use today. Furthermore, the open-source licence used by OpenOffice.org 3 means this freedom can never be taken away. The OpenOffice.org community are delighted if you find our software of use. Please help us by telling people about OpenOffice.org 3, and if you can, pass them on a copy. More people use OpenOffice.org 3 as a result of personal recommendation than any other route.

However, a free software licence means much more than a one-off cost saving. It means you never need worry again whether your software is legal, or whether it will expire some day. For people responsible for a number of computers - from just a few in a small business, hundreds in a school, thousands in a corporation - this is a huge weight off the mind. No need for software audits, for keeping invoices for years, no worry about ending up in court because you misread some small print in a licence agreement.

As part of a community dedicated to free software, we also value your freedom of choice. OpenOffice.org 3 will read and write files which can be used in other common office software. It was the first software in the world to fully support the ISO standard for office file formats which is being adopted by a growing number of software vendors. If you want to use other software, we want you to be free to do so. If you want to change your PC from Microsoft Windows to Apple Mac to Linux to Sun Solaris, we want you to be free to do so. If you like this approach, feel free to join the OpenOffice.org community.