A look at Apache OpenOffice and its new Sidebar.

A 'sneak peek' of the side panel user interface that comes new in Apache OpenOffice 4.0, of which we already spoke on one occasion.

Apache OpenOffice 4.0 on Ubuntu.

Apache Open Office Ubuntu

Apache OpenOffice 4.0 on Windows 7.

Apache Open Office Windows

To download the Apache OpenOffice 4.0 beta you can do it at the following address.

Download Apache OpenOffice

Contains packages available for:

  • Windows
  • Linux 64bitRPM
  • Linux 64bit DEB
  • Mac OSX

Clearly, the Apache Foundation has leveraged the Lotus Symphony code, with the improved widgets and vcl libraries rewritten by IBM. IBM was based on OpenOffice at the time, but debugged the vcl libraries improving them and giving a better look with a sidebar.

The code is under the Apache and BSD license. Therefore these libraries and enhancements (code rewritten) cannot be implemented in LibreOffice due to licensing conflicts, unfortunately.


Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *

*

*

  1. Responsible for the data: Miguel Ángel Gatón
  2. Purpose of the data: Control SPAM, comment management.
  3. Legitimation: Your consent
  4. Communication of the data: The data will not be communicated to third parties except by legal obligation.
  5. Data storage: Database hosted by Occentus Networks (EU)
  6. Rights: At any time you can limit, recover and delete your information.

  1.   f3niX said

    Also the download link does not go to the download, it goes to the OpenOffice Sidebar wiki!

    1.    marianogaudix said

      Below you will see the download links,
      The download links appear as follows.

      Windows
      Linux 64bitRPM
      Linux 64bit DEB
      Mac OSX

  2.   waKeMaTTa said

    My opinion is that it is not very comfortable to have it next to it as if it were a gimp or photo shop

  3.   Ankh said

    Code with Apache and BSD licenses can be used within a GPL project like LibreOffice; what cannot happen is the reverse. In fact, the BSD code can be used within proprietary projects.
    As far as I know, LibreOffice is taking things from OpenOffice.

    1.    f3niX said

      I think the same! There should be no problems in implementing it, the Apache license only requires that a notice be kept that informs the recipients that code with the Apache License has been used in the distribution. Even derivative works can be closed under the terms of another license.

      1.    marianogaudix said

        Send a question to Micheal Meeks.

        michael.meeks@suse.com

        and you will see what it tells you.

    2.    Phytoschido said

      Exactly, the writer of this post is not well informed. LibreOffice, it's your MPL / LGPL volume license, can take code from Apache, while Apache cannot take code from LibreOffice.

      Another lie is that IBM "has rewritten VCL widgets and" libraries "(sic)." Anyone who follows the commits in the AOO repository you will notice that there is a lot of duplicate code (and duplicate icons too). Of course, cleaning needs to be done, but I doubt it.

      1.    marianogaudix said

        Fitoschido you are giving old news of Apache OpenOffice 3.6.
        Which Micheal Meeks checked and saw no change.
        That is why Apache OpenOffice 3.6 is the same as Oracle OpenOffice 3.4.

        Fitoschido we are talking about Lotus Symphony where new widgets were written and used. That in the old Open Office 3.6 they don't exist and that LibreOffice doesn't have them either.

        As far as I know I have not seen the tabbed notebook widget in libreoffice, the toolpalletes, the color buttons, the Lotus comboboxes have nothing to do with the LibreOffice widgets.

        All not these retouched widgets are not present in LibreOffice
        LibreOffice developers would have had no trouble making these widgets more aesthetic, if they already existed in LibreOffice.
        But they don't exist in LibreOffice.
        The guys at LibreOffice showed me their API and I haven't seen these widgets.

    3.    marianogaudix said

      You can ask Micheal Meeks.
      He himself said that Apache did not share the same philosophy as LibreOffice.

      The licenses for both projects mark a separation.
      Micheal Meeks told me that LibreOffice will not see radical changes in its interface, and that LibreOffice will continue on its way.
      It's been more than 1 year since Lotus Symphony was released and LibreOffice has not undergone radical changes to its interface since then.

      1.    Ankh said

        That has nothing to do with the fact that LibreOffice can use BSD code if it wants to. I don't understand what you are trying to argue.

        1.    marianogaudix said

          Well, the LibreOffice developers due to differences with the Apache project and its license.
          For now they will not implement Lotus code.
          I discussed this with them out of curiosity.
          They also told me that the changes in LibreOffice will not be drastic as in Apache OpenOffice 4.0 and that the graphical interface will remain almost the same as the current one. In LibreOffice

  4.   just-another-dl-user said

    Looks like Calligra's sidebar

    1.    truko22 said

      That's right 😀 very similar.

  5.   rots87 said

    It completely reminds me of calligar 0.0 thank God they are open source projects hehehe

    1.    Snock said

      That was what I was going to say, it's nailed.

  6.   pavloco said

    About license compatibility, it depends on what version of BSD license you are using. The author may be correct.

  7.   pandev92 said

    Mhh interesting, but it's not that I find the interface great, the level is still mediocre, they must hire designers.

    1.    Miguel said

      Mediocre is a very simple word to describe something, finally, if you are going to criticize, do it with foundation,

      1.    Cristianhcd said

        So it sucks, well, the interface is not so bad anymore, it is just catching up with caligra, after a delay since openoffice was born from startoffice too many years ago ...

  8.   st0rmt4il said

    Let's try it and see how it goes ..

    Although I prefer Libreoffice first and foremost!

    Regards!

  9.   Christopher castro said

    I'll give it a try, although in my mind the OpenOffice brand is already smeared.

    1.    marianogaudix said

      I am also with LibreOffice, I help LibreOffice as much as I can.
      I'm designing an unofficial icon pack for LibreOffice, based on Faenza.

      http://gnome-look.org/content/show.php/Faenza+Icons++for+LibreOffice++4.0.0?content=157970

      1.    mono said

        Very good icons, I tried them and my libreoffice now looks much better.

        Thank you for your time and dedication.

        Greetings from Chile.

        1.    marianogaudix said

          You're welcome, I'm going to try to do everything possible for the free software community to improve.
          even with these simple icons.

          Greetings Mariano.

  10.   proving said

    Thanks a lot. In time I will try them too, a second chance can be given

  11.   eliotime3000 said

    LibreOffice follows the philosophy of free software, while Apache Open Office follows that of open source. Hence their notable differences, although it is seen that Apache Open Office reminds me of Office XP when it came out.

    Congratulations to those Apache Open Office users, because despite the slow development process, they show that they want to convince MS Office users that open source is just as productive as proprietary closed source software.

  12.   gallaecia said

    I would like to try it, does anyone know if I can install it in parallel to LibreOffice on Ubuntu 12.04?

    1.    eliotime3000 said

      Yes, as long as you download it from the official site. This is what I did with libreoffice 4 and I had no problems with package "swapping".

  13.   Daniel said

    I installed Lotus Symphony for a while to be able to edit many documents at the same time since it seemed more comfortable to me because of the fact that it opens them in the same window but in tabs regardless of whether they are spreadsheets or text documents.

    1.    Yuriy Istochnikov said

      Too bad that Apache Open Office did not retain that feature ... it would be a delight 😛

      1.    marianogaudix said

        I expected the same thing that Apache OpenOffice 4.0 would look more like Lotus Symphony.