What is a good, free Office-type program to D/L?

Discussions of applications and operating systems and any problems, tips or suggestions. Win XP, 9x/2k, Linux, NT, photo editing, Virus/Spyware help
Post Reply
User avatar
darcy
Posts: 6263
Joined: Tue Jun 01, 2004 9:33 pm
Location: NYC

What is a good, free Office-type program to D/L?

Post by darcy »

My refurbished laptop show Office 2010 in All Programs and Task Bar.

When I clicked on it, it asked for a license key,,, which I don't have.

What would be a good free alternative?
( Attorney sent me a Word doc w/extension ".docx" that I need to save,, )

Thank you!
Briquette, 1992 - 2008 ~ < Forever In Our Hearts >

Lily, 1995 - 2009 ~ < Forever In Our Hearts >

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched.
They must be felt with the heart. ~ Helen Keller.
User avatar
FlyingPenguin
Flightless Bird
Posts: 32773
Joined: Wed Nov 22, 2000 11:13 am
Location: Central Florida
Contact:

Re: What is a good, free Office-type program to D/L?

Post by FlyingPenguin »

First of all your attorney is an idiot. He should have sent that to you as a PDF. Not everyone has Office. Not to mention that a Word document can be altered. Most attorneys that I've dealt with use a PDF that's locked so you can read it, but not alter it.

I would ask him to resend it as a PDF. Word can save as a PDF and there's lots of free conversion apps.

If you just need to read or print the Word document, there's a free Word viewer. Microsoft no longer has it for download but you can get it here: http://m.majorgeeks.com/files/details/m ... iewer.html

Beware, there might be fool you 'download' ads on that site. Just click on one of the Download Locations and wait for it to start downloading.

If you need a whole office suite, Open Office is free and can read and save Word files: https://www.openoffice.org/download/
"Turns out I’m 'woke.' All along, I thought I was just compassionate, kind, and good at history. "

Image
User avatar
Genom
Steely Eyed Missile Man
Posts: 866
Joined: Thu Aug 28, 2014 4:14 pm
Location: Hotlanta

Re: What is a good, free Office-type program to D/L?

Post by Genom »

Libre Office is also an option and my preferred version.
User avatar
darcy
Posts: 6263
Joined: Tue Jun 01, 2004 9:33 pm
Location: NYC

Re: What is a good, free Office-type program to D/L?

Post by darcy »

I used Open Office years ago, so I will go w/that, thank you, FP : )
Thank you Genom, always good to have options.
My husband uses Kings Writer(?),,
Briquette, 1992 - 2008 ~ < Forever In Our Hearts >

Lily, 1995 - 2009 ~ < Forever In Our Hearts >

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched.
They must be felt with the heart. ~ Helen Keller.
User avatar
FlyingPenguin
Flightless Bird
Posts: 32773
Joined: Wed Nov 22, 2000 11:13 am
Location: Central Florida
Contact:

Re: What is a good, free Office-type program to D/L?

Post by FlyingPenguin »

I keep using Office 2003. I only use Word & Excel, and it does the job for me. Yes, I have it locked down (macros off, hyperlink text disabled, latest service pack and patches). And with the correct patch it can read and right modern .DOCX and .XLSX files. It loads WAY faster than modern versions, and just does what it needs to do without the bloat. I really despise the modern ribbon toolbar.

Still runs just fine with no issues on Win 10. If they ever somehow break it in a future Win10 feature upgrade, I guess I'll go with Libre Office. I've installed that for residential clients and it seems to work well.

But they'll have to pry my Office 2003 out of my cold, dead hands first :)
"Turns out I’m 'woke.' All along, I thought I was just compassionate, kind, and good at history. "

Image
User avatar
psypher
Golden Member
Posts: 884
Joined: Sun Nov 02, 2014 1:05 pm
Location: Marietta

Re: What is a good, free Office-type program to D/L?

Post by psypher »

Make sure your attorney actually sent that file, which would be really strange if they did. There's an attack vector used by Emotet that will come in a Word docx. It essentially launches an obfuscated powershell command that downloads the payload to infect your computer and network. Lawyers are big targets. Saw one get hit a couple months ago.
User avatar
Executioner
Life Member
Posts: 10133
Joined: Wed Nov 22, 2000 11:34 am
Location: Woodland, CA USA

Re: What is a good, free Office-type program to D/L?

Post by Executioner »

Another + for Libre Office. I also agree with psypher. It could be an attack on your pc. I never recall getting a word document in native format. They always come in a PDF.
User avatar
Nuby1Canuby
Posts: 385
Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2012 10:45 am

Re: What is a good, free Office-type program to D/L?

Post by Nuby1Canuby »

I've been impressed with Libre Office also. I've been using it for the last few years.
It's based on Open Office and seems easier to install updates then Open Office. I was having an issue with the spellchecker not working in Open Office.

https://www.libreoffice.org/
User avatar
wvjohn
Posts: 9238
Joined: Wed Nov 22, 2000 7:09 am
Contact:

Re: What is a good, free Office-type program to D/L?

Post by wvjohn »

Depends on what you need a wp for - all I need is something I can write letters /longer docs with and I use an ancient version of Wordperfect - X4 circa 2009. Runs fine under win10 . Paid about $20 for it somewhere about 10 years ago.
User avatar
Err
Life Member
Posts: 5842
Joined: Thu Nov 22, 2007 11:54 am

Re: What is a good, free Office-type program to D/L?

Post by Err »

While your lawyer should've send a pdf, as FP previously stated, you can install a trial version of Office 365 and then remove it: https://products.office.com/en-us/try

DO NOT BUY this version. Microsoft has moved to a subscription model and wants us to pay $70 per year for 365. You'll want Office 2019 or preferably an earlier version.

There's also Office online that's supposed to be free and only requires a Microsoft account: https://products.office.com/en-us/offic ... line?rtc=1

I honestly don't much about it and wouldn't trust uploading sensitive material to a cloud.
User avatar
FlyingPenguin
Flightless Bird
Posts: 32773
Joined: Wed Nov 22, 2000 11:13 am
Location: Central Florida
Contact:

Re: What is a good, free Office-type program to D/L?

Post by FlyingPenguin »

Anyone know if Google Docs can open Word docs? Never used it .
"Turns out I’m 'woke.' All along, I thought I was just compassionate, kind, and good at history. "

Image
User avatar
Genom
Steely Eyed Missile Man
Posts: 866
Joined: Thu Aug 28, 2014 4:14 pm
Location: Hotlanta

Re: What is a good, free Office-type program to D/L?

Post by Genom »

Pretty sure it does.
User avatar
Nuby1Canuby
Posts: 385
Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2012 10:45 am

Re: What is a good, free Office-type program to D/L?

Post by Nuby1Canuby »

FlyingPenguin wrote:Anyone know if Google Docs can open Word docs? Never used it .
In Google Docs, I saved a file on my Android tablet as a Word .docx file, then opened it and it worked fine.
User avatar
darcy
Posts: 6263
Joined: Tue Jun 01, 2004 9:33 pm
Location: NYC

Re: What is a good, free Office-type program to D/L?

Post by darcy »

psypher wrote:Make sure your attorney actually sent that file, which would be really strange if they did. There's an attack vector used by Emotet that will come in a Word docx. It essentially launches an obfuscated powershell command that downloads the payload to infect your computer and network. Lawyers are big targets. Saw one get hit a couple months ago.
Yes, it is legit, but thank you for letting me know,,, probably a Temp at the office didn't know to save/send; I've let them know.

I've already installed Open Office, and it does what I need ( for simple stuff, like John :) ).
I'll keep Libre in mind, though, thank you, everyone! :)
FlyingPenguin wrote: * * *
But they'll have to pry my Office 2003 out of my cold, dead hands first :)
lol : )
Briquette, 1992 - 2008 ~ < Forever In Our Hearts >

Lily, 1995 - 2009 ~ < Forever In Our Hearts >

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched.
They must be felt with the heart. ~ Helen Keller.
Post Reply