Office Suite Options

	An “Office Suite” is a group of applications (apps) which can be used for common office tasks such as producing text documents, mathematical spreadsheets, presentations, etc. Microsoft Office is the best known office suite in use today, but there were many before it and there are others in use today. Undoubtedly, other applications will gain favor in the future.
	Read/Study: Wikipedia articles about Microsoft Office, Libre Office, and Google Suite
For today’s purposes, you should be acquainted with at least three different office suites. Two can be legally used for free (Libre and Google); the third one (Microsoft) is not free. Microsoft is in common use in Zambia, but the truth is that most copies in use are not legal. Buying a computer with Microsoft Office installed does not mean that the software is legal. Most office suites have the same basic programs: o Word processing o Spreadsheet o Presentation o Graphics o Database Libre Office Libre is an “open source” office suite which includes the usual programs found in an office suite. The term “open source” simply means that this office suite is completely free. The suite includes programs which go by the following names: o Word processing: Write o Spreadsheet: Calc o Presentation: Impress o Graphics: Draw o Mathematics: Math o Database: Base Libre functions are nearly identical to Microsoft Office. It can be downloaded for free and can be installed on a PC or an Apple. It is not available as a cell phone suite. Here are two useful links related to Libre: o Website: https://www.libreoffice.org/ o Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LibreOffice A typical Libre Write window looks much like any other word processing program: Google Apps (aka, G Suite) We think of Google as a “searching” service. However, like Libre, Google has a suite of office applications which are free. They come as part of a free Google account. If you have a Gmail account, you have access to these online apps. Unlike Libre, Google Apps are NOT available for a stand alone computer or laptop; they require connectivity to function. However, they ARE available for use on a cell phone. The names of the Google Apps are: o Word processing: Docs o Spreadsheet: Sheets o Presentation: Slides Additionally, Google offers some useful applications for other purposes: o Online survey/quizzes: Google Forms o Contacts: Google Contacts (for organizing and accessing your contacts) o Calendar: Google Calendar (for organizing your schedule) o Blogging: Google Blog o Talking: Google Chat, Duo and Meet o Drive (for storing files in the cloud) o Maps/Earth (for navigating and mapping the world) If you are logged into your Google account, you have access to all these applications and can use them freely to produce documents of various kinds. Because they are designed for easy online use, Google Apps are somewhat less powerful than either Libre or Microsoft applications. However, the fact that they are free and that they are readily available online makes Google Apps a useful suite. The ribbon and tabs of Google Docs is very similar to Libre and Word: Here are a few useful web links related to Google Apps: o Docs: > https://www.google.com/docs/about/ > Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Docs o Sheets: > https://www.google.com/sheets/about/ > Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Sheets You can easily download and install any of the Google apps by going to the Google store, search for the app, download it, and install it on your smart phone. Once you have done this, you can begin learning how to them. Microsoft Office Suite Microsoft Office has been around for nearly 20 years and has similar applications in its suite. It has been the standard for many years, but other services (especially Google) are beginning to take market share away from Microsoft. The components of Microsoft Office are these: o Word processing: Word o Spreadsheet: Excel o Presentation: Powerpoint o Graphics: Paint o Database: Access o Email management: Outlook Most students are familiar with Microsoft Word and know its basic features. The ribbon and tabs of a typical Microsoft Word screen look like this: The basic features of all three of these office suites are almost identical. There are slight differences, the truth is that they all have similar features and one can learn any of them with a moderate amount of effort. Moreover, with today’s helper applications, it is a simple matter to convert documents from one format to another. Indeed, both Libre and Google Docs have conversion built into their programs. Microsoft has been increasingly moving toward cloud computing, making its standalone applications obsolete. At the present, it is pushing Microsoft Office 365 for Windows 10. This suite is completely online and requires users to have reliable network connectivity to use it. However, older versions of Microsoft Office are still available on the market and for most purposes, these are just fine.