Editorial Review
Let's see--a full-featured, interoperable, multiplatform office suite that's light on your hard drive
and drastically cheaper than the competition. Could it be true? Check out Sun StarOffice 5.2 Deluxe and find a sleek alternative to Microsoft Office that's compatible with that suite's files, incorporates nearly all of the same tools and features, and runs on a breathtaking range of operating systems.
It might take a little noodling for Windows users to get the hang of the interface, as it essentially takes over the desktop and changes a few things around; after the learning period, though, you won't want to go back. Instead of opening a new program for each type of file (text document, spreadsheet, database, image, appointment, Web page, etc.), simply tell StarOffice what you want and each file opens in its own window, speeding up access considerably. OLE-style embedding is easy, and most of the look and feel will be comfortable for Office users. Currently there's not much third-party support, and help functions are ever present but inconsistent, so it's important to consider the costs carefully before installing.
StarOffice is perfect for those switching to Linux or multiple operating systems, or any new user who needs an inexpensive office suite with plenty of options. Current users of Microsoft Office might be better off sticking with Uncle Bill--between learning new commands and the marginal differences between the two, you might think inertia's not so bad after all. The programs included will definitely surpass your expectations if you consider price alone: the presentation and drawing programs are simple and wonderful, the basic office features of document and personal information management are intuitive, and the e-mail, news, and Web browsing are snappy. Integrated as they are with the word processor, spreadsheet, and database functions, they all come together to form a powerful and inexpensive challenge to Microsoft Office. --Rob Lightner
Pros:
- Inexpensive
- Interoperable with Microsoft Office
- Multiplatform--runs on Windows, Linux, OS/2, and more
Cons: - Little third-party support
- Underdocumented
Cached date: AWS Called=true
Customer Reviews
Awesome alternative to MS Office 
2003-05-30
Using the program is very simple, and all programs in Star Office can be saved in MS Office formats. A awesome alternative to MS Office.
Far more than just an office suite. 2002-11-05
StarOffice 5.2 has most all the office component capabilities one needs; spreadsheet, word processor, database, draw program, visual basic and macros, etc. However, with OpenOffice.org developer support, this core "office suite" is only a starting point for many possible applications. Applications interfaces such as "point of sale" or "scientific instrumentation" can be built on this office component core. StarOffice 5.2 is, in effect, a visual component library that works on many operating system and hardware platforms. This puts StarOffice in a class by itself.
HELP! 
2002-09-20
I am not a dummy, but I think that I need StarOffice 5.2 for Dummies also. As one of the others has stated. I have had nothing but problems getting this thing installed and finally gave up! It is just a big mess! And now I cannot get it to completely uninstall and it is causing a lot of complications with my system? I cannot understand what is going on here. I have tried everything! It seems it isn't installed completely, so I can't actually use it, but I can't uninstall anything more than I already have and my systems still says it is there and it is reaking havoc on my system! I am glad to see that there a few other people out there that seems to be having the same problem that I have. I thought I was losing my mind for a while there.
ARGH!
Best office 2002-05-23
StarOffice 5.2 is the best office suite to get. ITS FREE TO DOWNLOAD AND ITS POWERFULL
Star Office Comments 
2002-05-17
Basically an excellent program but with some irritating faults. The help menu is fragmented and unco-ordinated and it does have difficulty opening some MS documents. The biggest fault, I find, is that with labels it truncates the right hand row so that only half the labels are usable without a lot of adjusting. You can look in Page Preview for a label and all is correct but on printing all the right hand lettering is missing, also it sometimes insists on printing registration marks in the middle of the label, seemingly at random. Otherwise, excellent incorporation of spreadsheets into documents and very easy to use with excellent HTML editing.
Star Office: Better than Office for a Fraction of the Price 2002-04-24
Let's see--a full-featured, interoperable, multiplatform office suite that's light on your hard drive
and drastically cheaper than the competition. Could it be true? Check out Sun StarOffice 5.2 Deluxe and find a sleek alternative to Microsoft Office that's compatible with that suite's files, incorporates nearly all of the same tools and features, and runs on a breathtaking range of operating systems.
It might take a little noodling for Windows users to get the hang of the interface, as it essentially takes over the desktop and changes a few things around; after the learning period, though, you won't want to go back. Instead of opening a new program for each type of file (text document, spreadsheet, database, image, appointment, Web page, etc.), simply tell StarOffice what you want and each file opens in its own window, speeding up access considerably. OLE-style embedding is easy, and most of the look and feel will be comfortable for Office users. Currently there's not much third-party support, and help functions are ever present but inconsistent, so it's important to consider the costs carefully before installing.
StarOffice is perfect for those switching to Linux or multiple operating systems, or any new user who needs an inexpensive office suite with plenty of options. Current users of Microsoft Office might be better off sticking with Uncle Bill--between learning new commands and the marginal differences between the two, you might think inertia's not so bad after all. The programs included will definitely surpass your expectations if you consider price alone: the presentation and drawing programs are simple and wonderful, the basic office features of document and personal information management are intuitive, and the e-mail, news, and Web browsing are snappy. Integrated as they are with the word processor, spreadsheet, and database functions, they all come together to form a powerful and inexpensive challenge to Microsoft Office. --Rob Lightner
Pros:
- Inexpensive
- Interoperable with Microsoft Office
- Multiplatform--runs on Windows, Linux, OS/2, and more
Cons: - Little third-party support
- Underdocumented
StarOffice 2002-04-18
como obtener el progra de star office en demo o sea gratis
Maybe I should buy Dummies for StarOffice 
2002-04-14
I read the reviews, loved the price, and bought it. I don't like it. I guess I should stick with Unca' Bill.
I used Netscape for 3 years before going to Microsoft IE. I did not have half the hard time switching gears with those two.
I deleted StarOffice from my desktop, but changed my mind and wanted to reinstall it. It kept telling me I had the application already loaded and running.
Well, du-uh to me...maybe I am getting too old to switch gears again. Hey, I can use FTP, write HTML, and work critical care without difficulty, so who's the problem child here?
nora
Super Product 2002-04-10
This is one of the best products that I have ever puchased! I installed it on a system that I built, running Win XP. Within 10 minutes I was expiermenting with the highly powerful image editor. I am a student, and have the need to send and recieve documents in many different formats, and StarOffice does it all. It opens and saves Word files perfectly, without any sort of formatting errors. The only downfalls of this software are the scant documentation and rough user interface. However, once you become accoustomed to it, there is every tool that you could ever need, and many more than you could ever use... :)
Got a corrupted Word doc? Fix it with StarOffice! 
2002-04-05
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GENERAL COMMENTS:
I first tried StarOffice 5.1 on a very unstable Win98 machine, with mixed luck. Version 5.2 behaved much better on it. Now I have StarOffice 5.2 on a WinXP machine, and it works well.
I would have given it 5 stars, but the learning curve for someone used to MS products is rather steep, unless you're doing plain vanilla stuff, and I must admit I haven't had the time to really learn the various components yet.
I do plan to learn to use it well and hopefully replace the equivalent MS products with it --the only thing keeping me from doing it right now is that I'm heavily dependent on Office macros and templates, so it's faster to just use Office for now. But the moment I have the time to figure out how to fully import or re-do all my macros and templates in StarOffice, it's goodbye Word!
FIXING WORD DOCS:
What I use it for most of the time is to fix Word 97 and Word 2000 documents, which have an unfortunate penchant for becoming corrupted, specially when you use both headers and footers with automatic insertion of page numbers, date, and time (as many of us "baldies-from-pulling-our-hair-out-with-MS-products" know).
If a Word or .RTF doc has become corrupted, rather than spending hours dinking with it in Office, I import it into StarOffice, then do a "save as" back into Word 97/2000 format - lo and behold, I then have a perfectly healthy Word document!
WORD OF CAUTION:
You WILL have to dink with some of the formatting once you're back in Word, as some things can be lost at times --for instance, some table settings like spacing between cells (and it's easy to fix). But the time spent tweaking it back to the way it was is WAY less, and far less frustrating, than trying to fix the corrupted document in Office!
CONCLUSION:
If you find that your Word or .RTF docs glitch fairly often, then do try out StarOffice as a cure. This alone is more than worth the asking price!
