OpenOffice.org
Description:
Full office suite, originally based on Sun's StarOffice but since
heavily developed by the open source community, including Sun
itself. Can do pretty much everything that the big commercial
office packages can do. From the website: “OpenOffice.org
the product is a multi-platform office productivity suite. It
includes the key desktop applications, such as a word processor,
spreadsheet, presentation manager, and drawing program, with a
user interface and feature set similar to other office suites.”
Lots of import and export capabilities, excellent
internationalisation, requires a reasonably modern machine to run
well. Exports to .pdf.
Personal
experience: Demanding on your hardware.
Available
for: Windows, Linux, Solaris, LinuxPPC, Mac OS X (through X11),
FreeBSD.
Download
size: Lots of MB.
Variations:
Portable
OpenOffice.org.
From its website: “Portable OpenOffice.org is the complete
OpenOffice.org office suite -- including a word processor,
spreadsheet, presentation tool, drawing package and database --
packaged as a portable app, so you can take all your documents
and everything you need to work with them wherever you go.”
This usually means on a USB memory stick.
Breeze
Breeze
is a simple Windows 3.1 era word processor
that can output to .rtf. It is no longer in development.
Personal
experience: On modern machines fast and
reliable but of course limited capabilities.
Works
on: Windows 3.1 onwards.
Download
size: 1.4 MB
Variations:
There is a DOS
version but it does not appear to have .rtf output; it does
allow a text file to be turned into
a DOS executable (.exe) file to be distributed as a sort of
electronic book.
Siag
Office
Includes
the interestingly named Pathetic Writer (PW). This is a
light-weight office package with a remarkable range of abilities.
From the website: “Siag Office is a tightly integrated, free
office package. It consists of the spreadsheet Siag, the word
processor PW, the animation program Egon, the text editor XedPlus,
the file manager Xfiler and the previewer Gvu”. Punches way
above its weight in features for the download size.
Personal
experience: Small, powerful, not as easy to configure as some.
Available
for: Linux (binaries for .rpm and .tgz) and Mac
OS X (via fink)
Download
size: Around 1.4 MB for .tgz binary.
Jarte
Smallish
word processor
using “the same word processing engine used by Windows'
WordPad”. It has a bigger brother which you pay for, but is
pretty useful as it is. Useful set of capabilities.
Personal
experience: As reliable as any Windows application that does not
overtax system resources. Trouble-free.
Available
for: Windows 95 onwards.
Download size: 1.4 MB
Ted
Handles
.rtf natively. From the website: “Ted is a text processor
running under X Windows on Unix/Linux systems. Ted was developed
as a standard easy word processor, having the role of WordPad
on MS-Windows. Since then, Ted has evolved to a real word
processor that still has the same easy appearance as the
original.”
Personal
experience: If you want a program that is reliable, fast, and
does not hog system resources, this is an excellent choice.
Available
for: Unix/Linux
Download
size: Around 2 MB (.rpm binary).
yWriter
A
writer's toolkit word processor, specialising in helping manage
large projects like a novel for example. From the website: “I'm
a programmer and a novelist, and yWriter is the result of 3
or 4 years of development. I really struggled over my first novel
because I wrote whole slabs of text into a great big word
processor file and tried to make sense of the whole thing at once.
I then tried saving each chapter to individual files with great
long descriptive filenames, but moving scenes around was a
nuisance and I couldn't get an overview of the whole thing (or
easily search for one word amongst 32 files) In the end I realised
a dedicated program was the way to go, and yWriter is the result.
It may look simple, but as the author of three books written with
this tool I can guarantee it has everything needed to get a first
draft together.”
Personal
experience: Low system demands means it is very stable and its
tools are very useful if you are working on the sort of project it
is designed for.
Available
for: Windows 95 onwards.
Download
size: 3 MB.
Variations:
The website includes instructions
for running yWriter on Linux.
RoughDraft or Here
The writer's
word processor RoughDraft has gone from donationware to freeware, although
no doubt donations will still be accepted. From the website: "RoughDraft is a freeware word processor for Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000 and XP. Although suitable for general use, it has features specifically designed for creative writing: novels, short stories, articles, plays and screenplays. It's designed to be as practical as possible, offering all the features you need, but without being complicated or awkward to use." The website also gives a very extensive list of features.
Available
for: Windows 95 onwards.
Download
size: 1.2 MB.
Microsoft
Word 5.5 (for DOS)
This
is a DOS (and OS/2) word processor that can read and write .rtf
files (keep in mind that rtf is evolving and it won't read modern
rtf faultlessly). It is
free. It is also, of course, blindingly fast on any vaguely
modern machine. The white text on a blue screen is very easy on the eyes compared to
a black on white GUI window, especially when running in a full-screen DOS window.
It can be run on virtually any hardware using
some combination of DOS emulators and/or hardware emulators, for
example QEMU,
Bochs,
dosemu
or dosbox.
Some international versions are available here
(a site containing loads of other really useful DOSware).
Personal
experience: Reliable, low system requirements and limited
capabilities by modern standards.
Available
for: MS-DOS compatible systems
(including FreeDOS).
Should run on OS/2.
Download size: 3.3
MB.
WordPerfect
for Apple II
WordPerfect
for the Apple IIe, IIc and IIgs is in the public domain. It is
close to fully compatible with
WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS, whose files can be read by many programs.
Not tested, may not be capable of .rtf file output, but nifty to
know...
Personal
experience: If it is anything like WordPerfect
for DOS 5.1, it's still a pretty useful thing.
Available
for: Apple IIe, IIc and IIgs (maybe run in an emulator?)
Download
size: Around 1.5 MB.
WordPerfect
8 for Linux
This
is a Linux version of WordPerfect and genuine port. A somewhat
limited version was released for download and can still be found.
Limited in capabilities and tricky to install (uses some old
libraries), it is nevertheless available. Follow the instructions
at the download site carefully and it should work. Legal status
of this is dubious; it may fall into the category of
'abandonware', and since abandonment is not equivalent to
release into the public domain – regardless of what
distributors of abandonware may say or think – use of this
version should perhaps be considered as an experiment. There is a
license for the release which forbids commercial use.
Personal
experience: Annoying to set up, some useful tools stripped out.
Not really worth the trouble.
Available
for: Linux on x86. There exists an .rpm apparently, otherwise it
is a 'manual' installation.
Download
size: 23 MB or thereabouts.
WordPerfect
3.5e for Macintosh
This
is a older Mac version of WordPerfect. Very complete earlier era software. Works
well under Classic environment on OS X as well.
Personal
experience: Trouble free and still useful. Excellent way of recovering data
from those old WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS files, too.
Available
for: Mac OS 8 and 9.
Download
size: 24 MB or thereabouts.
ajaxWrite
An
online word processor, which means it
runs on any platform capable of running a modern Mozilla-based
browser (Firefox
1.5 upwards, say). Not particularly fully featured and not much
use of you are not on the net; in development so maybe should not
be judged too quickly.
Available
for: Anything running a modern Mozilla-type browser. Needs
javascript.
Download
size: Online application.
Google Docs
An
online word processor, as offered by all-conquering Google Corporation! I've never tried it.
Available
for: Anything running a modern browser.
Download
size: Online application.
ThinkFree
Online
An
online office suite. Sign up for a free service... 1 Gb of online
storage.
Available
for: Anything running a modern browser.
Download
size: Online application.
AbiWord
One
of the premier open source word processors. Forms part of the
GNOME
Office suite.
Powerful, lightweight and with excellent internationalisation.
Makes a good choice for everything but the most esoteric
applications of a word processor. Exports to .pdf.
Personal
experience: Trouble-free, easy and
highly compatible with the other major products out there.
Probably the best of the genuine Microsoft Word replacement
options for 90+% of users.
Available
for: From the website: “Windows 95 onward, GNU/Linux, BSD,
Solaris (2.6, 7,8,9,10), AIX, HP/UX (10.20, 11.0), OSF/1, Tru64,
Mac OS X 10.2 or later”. Also QNX and BeOS (sort of).
Download
size: Varies depending on platform. 5 MB for Windows.
KOffice
From
the website: “KOffice is a free, integrated office suite for
KDE,
the K Desktop Environment” and KWord is a “frame-based
word processor that can work in two modes: page oriented or layout
oriented”. Big, powerful, fairly demanding of system
resources but very capable. Getting better all the time, too.
Exports to .pdf.
Availability:
Linux
Download
size: Big.
TextShield
Another
lightweight but usefully featured program. Very small download.
Can be installed on a 1.44 Mb floppy yet has significant
formatting capability. From the website: “TextShield saves
files in the universal RTF format, or in plain text. TextShield is
both a word processor and a plain text editor. For maximum
interchangeability, TextShield has a build-in HTML converter and
can save files as Microsoft Word” and some unusual features
like “AutoPaste: when enabled on a file, everything that
will be copied to the clipboard will automatically be inserted in
the document (handy when collecting data from the internet) ”.
Availability:
Windows 95 upwards. Win95 may need a DLL updated using
riched30.exe.
Download
size: 1.55 MB
Ledit!
Lightweight
cross-platform word processor. Last update is 2002 but still a
useful program.
Available
for: Windows 95 onwards, Mac OS (what's
now called 'classic') and Linux.
Download
size: 3.3 MB.
EZ
This
is not in active development but may be usable
enough such that simply ignoring it is not fair. Read the
website. Appears it can still be downloaded from here.
Available
for: Linux/Unix
Download
size: Around 2 MB.
WinPad
Very
small by modern standards, really a text editor in the Windows
Notepad category but with a few more formatting features, the
ability to insert pictures, superscripts and so forth, and the
ability to read and write .rtf files. Appears
to lack page numbers, headers and
footers.
Availability:
Windows 95 onwards.
Download
size: 500 kB.
CWordPad
Essentially,
an enhanced Widows WordPad, with the capabilities that that
implies. Download from here.
Availability:
Windows 95 onwards.
Download
size: 1.6 MB.
XpertWord
Lightweight
by modern standards but with useful set of features. The link
suggests a shareware archive but the program appears to be
freeware. Quite useful.
Available
for: Windows 95 onwards.
Download
size: 2.8 MB
AEdit
Another
lightweight WordPad-like word processor/editor, although
remarkably full-featured. Has good control over page layout and
includes spell checker and other word processor-like features.
Certainly very full set of capabilities
for the download size.
Personal
experience: Fast, easy, reliable and just a little different.
Worth a look.
Available
for: Windows 95 onwards.
Download
size: 591 kB.
Word Tabs
Yet another
lightweight WordPad-like word processor/editor. Quite full-featured and very useful. Closer to
being a word processor than an editor.
Plenty of power for download size. No longer maintained
but the list of updates at the website gives an idea of its features.
Available
for: Windows 95 onwards.
Download
size: 1 MB.
Copy Writer
An .rtf editor which
specialises in the creation of content (one of the screenshots on the website shows a pulldown
menu revealing a rhyming dictionary, for example). Limited formatting capability but impressive
and unusual feature set in other ways (export to HTML, sort lines, unit convertor) -- all accessed through a system of plug-ins. Definitely worth a look. It is an active project still being
supported.
Available
for: Windows 95 onwards.
Download
size: 600 kB.
Delphad
Another .rtf editor which
replaces WordPad with a slightly different feature mix. Features include (quoted, errors and all, from the
website): "Import / Export Office Files; Different Bullet Types; Print Preview; Start Calculator, PaintB.,CharMap...; Send Mail; Letter Style; View Pictures; Insert Picture; View HTML files; Insert Object; Play WAV files; Drag n Drop; Different Underscore Settings; Office Ruler; Spelling Checker; customized Cool Bar Picture; Password En- Decryption; Many different Paragraph settings; Improved Spelling Checker; WYSYG FontBox; etc. ..."
Appears to be an active project.
Available
for: Windows 98 onwards.
Download
size: 1 MB.
VDE
DOS
word processor which is still being
maintained. According to the website: “It can read and edit
files in a variety of formats: ASCII, ANSI, Wordstar, WordPerfect,
XYWrite, Word, Nota Bene and others”. Does not appear to
(directly) include .rtf, but Word and WordPerfect and Wordstar
were all common formats which would generally allow interchange
with other programs, so it is listed here. Having said that, it
uses a limited subset of the formatting commands available in
these programs and so it is unwise to assume that a complex
document will be successfully transferred; read the documentation.
The download site includes VDE2RTF and RTF2VDE which do the
obvious, again to a limited extent. Has useful DOS command
line syntax options.
Personal
experience: Takes a bit of getting used to after typical
GUI-based programs, but once it becomes familiar is very fast and
capable; there seems to be quite a strong community providing
'after market support', growing mostly out of the HP LX crowd.
Hence there are various utilities to turn VDE into a diary, a
rolodex and so forth. Takes up so few system resources it can
easily sit in a DOS window (or an emulator) while other
applications run.
Available
for: DOS and anything which can run DOS, which means almost
anything at all given the various hardware and DOS emulators that
are around (for
example QEMU,
Bochs,
dosemu
and dosbox).
Also works on HP
LX palmtop machines.
Download
size: 194 kB.
LyX
LyX
is a sort of front end to TeX
and LaTeX.
It makes them look more like a conventional word processor,
without losing the beautiful typesetting qualities of TeX.
Getting any word processor-friendly file out is a problem
(postscript and pdf are the usual outputs) but it is included
since it does offer a sort of option for people who prefer to work
in a more word processor-like environment than conventional LaTeX
offers. Can produce LaTeX-type files, but they are not
identical. .rtf is a problem, since word processors and LyX/LaTeX
use different paradigms so a perfect translation is in a sense
impossible. It is possible to save from LyX into LaTeX then
transllate into .rtf using LaTeX2rtf.
Results cannot be guaranteed.
Personal
experience: LaTeX offers the advantages of being a more widely
used approach, giving greater interchangeability
with other users. LyX is more instantly usable but a helpful LaTeX
editor like TeXnicCenter
or even Emacs (if
you like that sort of thing) closes the gap a bit.
Available
for: Linux and ported to Mac OS X and Windows.
Download
size: Depends on the system and whether all the supporting
applications and libraries (like teTeX)
are already in place.
Other
stuff:
Richard
W. Richards – forgotten Antactic explorer.
OpenGEM
is a complete 16-bit DOS-era desktop still in development. Comes
with all sorts of applications
including mp3 player, DTP program, word processor and various
drawing programs and a developer's kit.
Lotus
Agenda: Still
one of the best PIMs available. Now a free download direct from
Lotus.
TDE
is the best console editor for Windows or DOS. Powerful, easy to
get started in but infinitely
extendable. Can be compiled on Linux/Unix. Has an active
developer and is always getting even
better.
AcroPad
– Windows notepad plus .pdf export. Very handy.
Sharp
MZ700 – the
latest technology!
