Always in need of a good word program, I knew there had to be a free alternative to Microsoft Office. I can't count how many times I have had to reformat a computer and end up not having all the disks needed to reinstall the office suite programs. A quick search online landed me with a wonderful download and here's why:

It's completely, 100% free and so are all the add-ons that you may possibly want to go with it. Microsoft Office Suite, even in its most basic form and used can cost you nearly $100. Plus if you are like me and many others out there, the disks can easily get lost in the shuffle since they aren't used all the time. Open Office is not provided on disk. It is a free online download that everyone with an internet connection gets access to. Now if you love the program and you are feeling a little generous, you do have the option to make a donation in any amount and at any time but it is by no means required or necessary. This is simply one of the ways that they can help to keep this program free to its users for as long as possible.

Since Microsoft Office is so widely used, Open Office had created their suite to be compatible with Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point and more. Any document that you need to open up say at work or at a friend's house in Microsoft, it will automatically convert. It also works the other way around. Got a document sent to you to work on that was saved in Microsoft Office format? Not a problem. It will open right on up with Open Office where you can edit change and save the document with out any hassles.

Other office suite programs like Corel Wordperfect can take some time to learn how to navigate. It's a completely different set up than Microsoft Office that almost everyone on the planet is used to using. Open Office is almost identical to the Microsoft setup. All the tool bars, drop down lists and icons are recognizable and most are even in the same order. There is even a similar desktop helper to guide you along if you need it.

The initial, basic download will give you Office Documents, Spreadsheet, Presentations, Drawing and Database to work with. All of these programs are replicas of Microsoft's more pricey programs. Again, they are all compatible with Microsoft and no one but you will know that you're using a different program. You can even easily import and export PDF files as needed with a click of your mouse.

Most sites that offer office suite programs let you download 30 or 60 day trials of their programs. Many of which only let you use and sample a limited number of functions that the programs claim to offer and Microsoft Office is one of them. Open Office gives you the full version of their program to download the first time. They make sure that the most current version is posted on the site and upon instal you are asked if you want the program to automatically download updates for you. There are no strings attached and you aren't required to give up any information about yourself; not even your personal email address meaning no spam!