Apache OpenOffice vs. Wondershare EdrawMax

In my opinion, Apache OpenOffice is best suited for writing, editing and proofreading texts in any language. You can also download additional language packages that really take up little space in your PC's storage. Of course, Apache OpenOffice is comprehensive of spreadsheet-/drawing-/database-related softwares and so on, but I primarily use it for writing and editing my own texts. I don't see any scenarios where it is less appropriate, at least so far.

Incentivized

I have used over a dozen apps of this sort across 50 years of computing. None are even close to being as good!!

• The number one strength of OpenOffice is the flexibility it gives. We can open any file type, save any file type - it's pretty much invincible. Even if we're going to work on this in a different program, just being able to open some of these ancient files that we get from local city governments is a huge win for us.
• It's also administrator friendly - I'll use it a lot on the road because the licensing is so much easier to deal with than trying to check out a license from a server or make sure that everybody has internet connectivity.
• It just looks pretty! It's legitimately a quality product, the layout looks good, it's not nearly as pushy as "other suites," and for the money it's the best!

Incentivized

• Flow charting
• Depict a complex process so its easily understood
• Its structure and organization are very similar to how mainstream apps work.
• Its huge and expandable feature set blows away all other apps
• I want the right tools because my time is precious. This is the right choice by far.

• Some people used to Microsoft products can feel it's a little bit old in its style
• I saves documents in its native format, which is incompatible with MS Word or Excel, unless you change that in the preferences tab
• The UI is not very pretty

Incentivized

• One-click auto-export feature to a preferred format. Currently, you'd have to go through at least 3 steps to export)
• More ready-to-use Icon libraries
• API to adjust vector graphics
• AI augmentation to provide user input during complex diagramming

It is a cheap alternative; however, with Microsoft 365 licenses also dropping significantly, we might opt to go in that direction to maintain uniformity.

Incentivized

It's good overall, just the UI it's not the prettiest, feels like an older version of MS office, but gets the job done. Once get the hang of it it's easy to use, besides it has great documentation on how to use it and there are many forums that discuss many related topics.

Incentivized

It is super easy to use because it works like the mainstream apps. Almost everything's familiar and easy to access

Is there really support? There is a user forum but I do not see much developer input. Support options are limited. The most recent (Sept 2019) version of the product seems to have issues operating under Windows 10, yet there are few recent comments in the community forum, most comments are regarding older versions.

Incentivized

Needed to contact the support team as I had lost license details. Their response was fast, professional and what's more, very helpful. All the needed data was sent to me and I was able to reinstall Wondershare EdrawMax again.

We found that it is possible to use Open Office to accomplish everything we need. Some tasks required searching for steps on Google.

Incentivized

Apache OpenOffice is less intense on our computer systems and saves us a ton of financial resources. Since our document creation and editing needs are typical of a small business and not very complex, Apache OpenOffice is sufficient for us. We think that almost any smaller to medium sized business would feel the same way if they don't have a need to make or edit complex documents.

Incentivized

Obviously, Visio is considered the Gold standard, But you are locked into the MS ecosystem. Lucidchart felt less polished and cumbersome to use. ConceptDraw UI was a bit more cluttered and the learning curves were a bit step.

• Moving to OpenOffice will save the company the cost of 500+ of Microsoft Office licenses in our company.
• Because it is cross-platform, we could also save 500+ of Microsoft Windows licenses if we move everyone to Linux.
• On the negative side, the lack of online collaboration and browser support may be an issue when you use clouds like Box, Workboard etc.

Incentivized

• Intellectual leverage
• Develops a large-scale trust (good graphics is always appreciated even if its complex to read)
• Impactful visualization (hard to enumerate)