Using Ubuntu 8.04 ver

[atc_traffic856]

A question can I use Microsoft Office with Ubuntu?

[awaj]

unless things have changed since the version I have, not easily. There is Open Office which is the open source version of Office. (and it's portable too, so you can throw it on a flash drive and use it no matter what computer you are at... and I think no matter what OS you are in too, but I haven't tried that so don't quote me on that...)

[atc_traffic856]

Yes quite right although there is a new version 8.10 coming out very shortly>>
May be some new upgrades>>

[mjc]

Don't ever expect any version of Linux to easily run MS Office. MS Office is a Windows program...full stop.

That said, WINE, a Windows 'emulator' can run Office, it just takes an extra bit of setting up...

[Paul Komski]

I personally had various problems installing directly under WINE but found that CrossOverLinux (http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxlinux/) made installing Office seamless under Ubuntu. Only MS Access 2000 is fully supported but all the other applications in the MS Office Suite from Office 97 to 2007 are supported.

I myself don't use MS Office this way, preferring Open Office, but I have a number of clients who wont tolerate trying Ubuntu without being able to use MS Word and Excel.

[atc_traffic856]

Open office within the Ubuntu OS is the same efficiency as Microsoft office?
I am am more concern about spread sheets that i have created and I believe using open office rather then excel, if possible can I transfer these programs from excel to openoffice?

[awaj]

yes, you can open the files up in open office (if you save the files as a new name, Microsoft won't read them, but you can save as .dotx, or .doc with little problem) There may be formating problems as well, but those are easy enough to fix. Expect problems that you would expect going from a newer version of Microsoft to an older version assuming file types are correct and such.

[Paul Komski]

I am am more concern about spread sheets that i have created and I believe using open office rather then excel, if possible can I transfer these programs from excel to openoffice?

OO v2 can both Open and SaveAs MS Excel spreadsheets (versions 5.0, 95, 97, 2000 and XP). It looks as if OO v3 has the filters (http://www.openoffice.org/dev_docs/features/3.0/#Microsoft_Office_2007_Import_Filters) to deal with Excel 2007 in an analagous way but I havent yet tried v3 under Windows nor under Linux.

[mjc]

With OpenOffice.org 3 you should be able to save the files in formats that MS Office will have no problems with reading. In the 2.x series there are several formats that are cross-compatible...but in 3 the compatibility is improved.