Apache OpenOffice vs draw.io

• The program is free-ware. It can be quickly downloaded.
• Correcting typos and finding errors in text are easy with this program.
• OpenOffice documents can be saved in other formats such asthose from Microsoft and more basic ones.
• Its interface is fairly straightforward and relatively easy to use.
• For people used to Microsoft products, most of the basic functions are essentially the same.

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• draw.io makes it easy to edit whatever you're mapping out. Whether adding or removing a box, arrow, etc., draw.io automatically auto corrects your map and snaps things back into place. This keeps everything looking clean while you're working.
• draw.io syncs with Google Drive which is awesome for collaboration. When I used other, offline software, I would have to complete whatever I was working on in draw.io, save the file and then add it to my Dropbox or Google Drive. From there, the person I was showing it to would have to download it and was unable to make revisions. draw.io makes it simple to send easy-to-edit in real time drawings to anyone through Google Drive.
• draw.io is super simple to use. The interface is not confusing at all. All you have to do is point and click and the drawing builds itself out.
• It's easy to add text and layer things together.
• Copying and pasting whole sections of your drawing is easy and can save massive amounts of time. All you have to do is create a template once and then you can use it multiple times.

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• Though not often, the software can occasionally act glitchy: it can lag a little bit or crash altogether, though this is rare in my experience.
• The primary document format in OpenOffice is ODF, rather than DOC. I sometimes experience incompatibility when opening files from Microsoft DOC in OpenOffice, such as formatting errors.
• OpenOffice does not have a built-in grammar check tool. This can be remedied by downloading an extension, but I'd like to see it built-in.

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• It's not completely robust like Visio is. I'm limited in the type and quantity of shapes I can use. But hey, it's free. And it works great.
• Creating a swimlane process flow to show how different actors work together to complete a process was a little tough to figure out at first. But you can just look up quick "how to" instructions (hint - swimlanes are called containers, and you have to rotate them so they're horizontal rather than vertical - kind of a pain).
• Adding special shapes and other graphics can slow down the speed of the application. However, I just try to keep it simple. If you're looking for something more robust, you'll probably be a little disappointed with draw.io.

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• In my personal use, Apache OpenOffice has been a very wise decision. It is completely free and a very stable product.
• Our use of the OpenOffice API to handle document conversion process in a programmatic fashion was very successful as well.

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• I am not a business guy. For myself, the positive things are:
• I can draw figures easily.
• I can put them in PowerPoint with good resolution for presentations.
• Export them in a PDF format to put in latex which gives me the best illustration and clarity of my drawing.
• It is handy to use and it takes me a very short time to draw my required figures compared to other tools.

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