For the past several years, the only word processor I had ever used was Word. I've used every version of Word since Word 95; and looking for an alternative, I found OpenOffice Writer. In this version at least, Writer doesn't look very impressive; but don't let its looks fool you. Once you take a deeper look at Writer, you realize what makes it better than Word—and what makes it worse than Word. Neither is better than the other for all situations. For me, at least, Writer beats Word in what I need from a word processor.
Even to those who have never used a word processor besides Word, OpenOffice's main features are not that hard to use. For the most part, everything is in the same place. The toolbars are aligned very similarly in each. Some of the terminology in the menus is different. For example, in Word, to change the margins or other page layout options, you would go to File > Page Layout. This is fine, but I find Writer's method of going Format > Page to make more sense. Think about it. Commands in the file menu aren't supposed to do formatting tasks. That is why there is a format menu.
Writer has a bunch of useful features that make typing a document easier. One of my favorites is word completion. Start typing a word in writer, and Writer will fill in the rest of the word. If it displays the right word, press enter and begin with the next word. If not, then keep typing the word until the right one shows up or you are done typing the word. It's a lot like IntelliSence in programming, just with a word processor and without a visible list. Another good feature that WordPerfect and Writer both have but Word doesn't have is Direct Cursor, which works similarly to double clicking on an empty space of a document in Word. It just requires one click and there is a guide that shows where the cursor will be placed before you click.
Above I mentioned Direct Cursor as being a good tool for layout. Writer has many other layout tools as well that are all superior to Word's. It is hard to describe all of these layout features well. I'll just say that they give you more power over where you place objects (eg. Pictures) into a document. You can anchor objects to a character, paragraph, or page. From there you are given freedom to move them around further. As I said though, it's hard to describe well.
Writer isn't the clear choice though as I said before. It has its drawbacks. For instance, it lacks Office's task panes and calibration tools. This doesn't make a big difference for most users. If you haven't used versions of Word after 2000, you won't miss these because you won't have ever experienced them. Another thing that Writer lacks is a grammar checker. Word does have a grammar checker that is helpful for people in a hurry who don't have time to proofread a document.
All OpenOffice applications are known well to have the Export to PDF feature. It is indeed helpful and easy to use.
The thing to remember about Writer if you plan on using it is that it is not Word. It will take some getting used to until you can use it quite as easily as Word. I know this guide concentrates more on Writer than Word, but honestly there isn't much to say about Word. It doens't have many features geared to making word processing easy beyond the basic ones. It does, however, have some rather advanced features that would help businesses in some places, but for any one person, I would recommend Writer any day. OpenOffice 2.0 is expected in Q4 2004 and is expected to have a revamped user interface that would make it look more attractive. Those those who choose not to try out OpenOffice yet, that will surely be a great time to give it a try.
Writer is the obvious choice to me for those who use Word 2000 or before and those who don't need Word's advanced tools, but for everyone else, just be patient and wait for 2.0.
If you have any questions about Writer, I can answer them. Just ask them here.
