Apache OpenOffice vs draw.io

Apache OpenOffice

OpenOffice is the best for smaller offices, or offices that need flexibility and the ability to work with multiple file types. It's amazing when you're starting out and you can work without worrying about licensing, fees, or restrictive trial programs. It just works, and it works for free - which is pretty much the best case.

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Nathan Bowman

Environmental Scientist

HMB Professional Engineers, Inc.Civil Engineering, 51-200 employees

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draw.io

This is a great product for anyone needing to brainstorm or diagram processes. I use it to design a user's path through my application. Draw.io is easy-to-use and quick to get started. It's a great service that I'm glad I found. It's akin to Google Drawing or PowerPoint/Keynote if you're familiar with those services.

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Verified User

Professional in Product Management

Consumer Services Company, 51-200 employees

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Pros

OpenOffice is nice to have as an application on your computer vs. using an online word document application like Google Docs.
OpenOffice can handle a variety of file types (.doc, .rtf, .xml) , making it an essential tool for those who don't have access to Microsoft Word
OpenOffice is a deeper software than Word and is more accessible. I know, accessibility for a document typing software, I know. But, OpenOffice allows for quickly changing margins, typeface, size, etc, and I think does it better than Word, and in an easier format.
OpenOffice can handle spreadsheets, basic databases, presentations, and basic drawings. It handles all of the usual Microsoft Office tools within one application.
OpenOffice allows for user created third-party plugins so you have many options for pursuing very specific things within the program. This is great because OpenOffice is user-sourced, so there's plenty of new things to try for improving workflow.

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Chris Hecox

Business Owner

Lucky Whisker LLCOnline Media, 1-10 employees

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Diagramming user flows using shapes and arrows
Easily exportable outpouts
Ready-to-use, BPMN library

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Verified User

Professional in Product Management

Consumer Services Company, 51-200 employees

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Cons

The system is fairly bloated. The amount of space the office suite takes up is increasingly larger and larger with each iteration.
Macro support is weak.
Greater XLSX and DOCX extension compatibility without required "conversions" would be good.

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Verified User

Administrator in Professional Services

Writing and Editing Company, 1-10 employees

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Allow for multiple pages
Keyboard shortcuts
Crisper icons in User Interface

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Verified User

Professional in Product Management

Consumer Services Company, 51-200 employees

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Usability

Apache OpenOffice9.0

Based on 2 answers

It is pretty straight-forward as well as easy to learn. Its documents can be saved in various formats.

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Kim Dammers

Head Teacher

StudyRoom Educational CenterEducation Management, 11-50 employees

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Alternatives Considered

The products are certainly equivalent, with OOO having a much better price and better performance than the non-Microsoft offerings.I've used Lotus Smartsuite (now deprecated), Coral Office, Star Office (a previous version of OOO), and Microsoft Office. Functionality across all is equivalent, with some being better than others (Coral is notably speedy, but is weak on features and compatibility). OpenOffice is a good option because of its price and compatibility.

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Verified User

Administrator in Professional Services

Writing and Editing Company, 1-10 employees

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Similar to PowerPoint and Keynote only designed specifically for diagramming

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Verified User

Professional in Product Management

Consumer Services Company, 51-200 employees

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Return on Investment

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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Verified User

Employee in Information Technology

Higher Education Company, 5001-10,000 employees

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