LOTUS SYMPHONY 3.1 SKIN
LOTUS SYMPHONY 3.1 FREE
LOTUS SYMPHONY 3.1 WINDOWS

Instead of a dynamically updateable range of cells, I was left with a bunch of static values. Moving on to Calc, I discovered that importing an Excel workbook with external SQL links meant severing all ties to the back-end SQL Server that served up the raw data. Resaving the ODF document in Writer, then reopening it in Word showed that the data loss was indeed permanent: The missing charts were nowhere to be found, while the aforementioned malformed bulleted lists and other layout errors remained. Again, the document was rendered incorrectly, with several chart objects missing and various formatting anomalies quite visible. Worse still, when I attempted to import the same file in Word 2007 format - one of the new capabilities touted by 3.1 advocates - Writer thrashed the document, replacing all of the embedded charts and drawings with a bunch of indecipherable text crammed into the top few lines of the first page.Д¬urious to see if these problems were isolated to Writer's import/export filters, I tried saving the document in Open Document Format (ODF) from within Microsoft Word, then opening it inside of OpenOffice. I found that, after a pass through Writer's export filter, the drawing objects became further mangled, while the placement of various section and paragraph headers had been skewed to the right. The final straw was when I attempted to save the document, then reopen it under Word. Even simple things, like preserving boldfaced headers in a table, were broken by Writer's quirky import filter.

Numerous embedded AutoShape drawing objects were distorted beyond recognition, while hanging indents in the document's bulleted lists were improperly aligned. However, when I attempted to test these associations by launching a Microsoft Word 2003-formatted document, Write completely botched the import process. Installation of the suite was straightforward, with the setup program automatically establishing file associations between OpenOffice's component applications and various data file types, including Microsoft Office.

LOTUS SYMPHONY 3.1 WINDOWS

I evaluated 3.1 under the 32-bit version of Windows Vista with Service Pack 2. Complex Word documents, with lots of embedded charts and drawings, still trip up Writer, while Excel workbooks with external data links are rendered impotent by Calc's lack of connectivity to critical back-end resources.

LOTUS SYMPHONY 3.1 SKIN

However, as I discovered during comprehensive lab testing, that support remains mostly skin deep. In fact, Microsoft Office interoperability is one of the major themes for version 3.1, with new import support for documents, spreadsheets, and presentations in Office 2007's native Open XML file format. Likewise, Writer receives a new commenting system and better file locking so that it plays better in a mixed OpenOffice/Microsoft Office network environment. Calc also receives some much needed usability tweaks, including better sheet renaming (just double-click the tab label and start typing) and improved sorting that respects column headers. It now takes less time to launch the individual applications, and such components as the Calc spreadsheet receive additional tuning to improve the performance of various common functions. A quick perusal of the release notes would seem to offer reason for optimism. With the release of version 3.1, advocates are hoping that the latest round of feature enhancements and performance improvements will help the suite break through with IT decision makers. However, the suite has consistently failed to make significant inroads with IT, prompting OpenOffice proponents to concoct all manner of excuses for why it keeps falling short (see ' Why is Microsoft Office so hard to kill?' for examples). A close cousin of the legendary StarOffice commercial product from Sun Microsystems and the source of numerous variants, including IBM Lotus Symphony, is frequently cited as the most viable competitor to Microsoft's ubiquitous Office platform.

LOTUS SYMPHONY 3.1 FREE

3.1: Pretender to the throne 3.1 is the latest incarnation of the free open source community's most visible business productivity suite.

Lotus symphony 3.1