I do most of my word processing with other applications. Sometimes I just use Emacs for simple text documents or LyX if I want to have a nice and well balanced printout that is typeset with LaTeX. But usually when I have to write a paper for the school I use Abiword.
Abiword does a reasonable job in importing from and exporting to RTF and DOC. It is not perfect but usually good enough for my simple text documents that don't have any graphics. If I need to edit documents that include graphics I usually edit the documents with OpenOffice and finish them using MS Word at school where I can ensure that the document is formatted using the official template of the school.
I like also the good selection of import and export plugins available for Abiword. There are plugins for all kinds of applications ranging from nroff and LaTeX to WordPerfect. The plugins are not perfect but usually good enough.
Abiword has been localized in many languages. Try Abiword, it might well be good enough for you.
3 comments:
I have also found Gnumeric to be a good alternative to OpenOffice's spreadsheet. I haven't looked for a replacement for powerpoint or access, but I have no need for them.
Abiword is awesome; my only qualms are in the very, very poor spell check. But it's worth the performance.
I am desperately looking for a lightweight word processor, but AbiWord is far from being perfect. First, it's buggy: it has crashed numerous times and it shows artifacts at scrolling and more. Second, it ties some dependencies that aren't welcome in non-GNOME environment. Finally, it's plugin system is weird. Most distros package all AbiWord plugins in one package and AbiWord adds them all, without allowing me to choose. That makes interface pretty clumsy. I am looking forward for TED's GTK+ port to finish.
Any other alternative?
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