Portable OpenOffice.org

The complete office suite that's completely portable

Portable OpenOffice.org is the complete OpenOffice.org office suite -- including a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation tool, drawing package and database -- packaged as a portable app, so you can take all your documents and everything you need to work with them wherever you go.

Download Portable OpenOffice.Org 2.0.2 Now
2.0.2 for Windows, English 86MB

OpenOffice.org 2 - Product Description

Version 2 - another first for OpenOffice.org

OpenOffice.org Version 1 was the first product to deliver the benefits of open-source software to mass-market users, delivering essential everyday software tools completely free of charge. Translated into over 30 languages, available on all major computing platforms (Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X X11, GNU/Linux, Solaris), OpenOffice.org Version 1 is now in use by tens of millions of delighted users worldwide.

With Version 2, it gets even better:

the first office suite to use the new OASIS OpenDocument format, the future-proof international standard for office software (ISO/IEC 26300)
easier to install, with a whole new look and feel, matched to the type of computer in use
more intuitive, more easy to use than ever, with a host of new usability features
introducing a major new component, Base: an easy-to-use database manager with a fully integrated database
more compatible with other software packages – now understands even obscure and rarely used features in major competitors

But the license is still the same: you may download OpenOffice.org Version 2 completely free of any license fees, use it for any purpose– private, educational, government and public administration, commercial – and pass on copies free of charge to family, friends, students, employees, etc.

What’s so great about OpenOffice.org?

As the name suggests, OpenOffice.org is the most open office suite available:

no commercial licenses or software compliance issues to worry about
no language barriers - if it’s not yet available in your language, the chances are it will be soon
available on all major computing platforms
the first office suite to comply with the OASIS OpenDocument format
the source code for the software is freely available under a full OSI certified license

OpenOffice.org is synonymous with quality

the roots of OpenOffice.org go back twenty years, creating a huge wealth of experience
hundreds of thousands of users have participated in the beta testing of version 2
with a fully open development process, OpenOffice.org has nothing to hide - the product stands or falls on its reputation

OpenOffice.org is friendly

the software looks and feels familiar and is instantly usable by anyone who has used a competitive product
it’s easy to change to OpenOffice.org - the software reads all major competitors’ files
OpenOffice.org is supported by a global community of friendly volunteers, only too happy to provide assistance to newcomers and advanced users alike

What’s in OpenOffice.org?

WRITER is OpenOffice.org’s word processor: use it for anything from writing a quick letter to producing an entire book with embedded illustrations, cross-references, tables of contents, indexes, bibliographies... Auto-complete, auto-format, and real-time spelling check make light work of the hardest task. Writer is powerful enough to tackle desktop publishing tasks such as creating multi-column newsletters, brochures – the only limit is your imagination.

Use CALC to bring your numbers under control. This powerful spreadsheet has all the tools you need to calculate, analyse, summarise, and present your data in numerical reports or sizzling graphics. A fully-integrated help system makes entering complex formulas a breeze. Sophisticated decision-making tools are just a few mouse clicks away. Pull in external data using the Data Pilot, and sort it, filter it, and produce subtotals and statistical analyses. Use previews to select from thirteen categories of 2-D and 3-D charts including line, area, column, pie, XY, stock and net with dozens of variants.

IMPRESS is the fastest, most powerful way to create effective multimedia presentations. Your presentations will truly stand out with special effects, animation and high-impact drawing tools.

DRAW will produce everything from simple diagrams to dynamic 3D illustrations and special effects.

New to Version 2, BASE enables you to manipulate database data seamlessly within OpenOffice.org. Create and modify tables, forms, queries, and reports, either using your own database or Base’s own built-in HSQL database engine.

Try the Free Desktop Version too - Find out more or try it today!

Installing Portable OpenOffice.org

To install Portable OpenOffice.org, just download the ZIP file at the top of the Portable OpenOffice.org page and unzip it anywhere on your portable drive. To do this in Windows XP:

Click the Download Now! link at the top of this page to download the file.
Save it to your desktop, so it's easy to find.
Once it's done, double click the Portable OpenOffice.org zip file on your desktop.
Click once on the PortableOpenOffice directory and click Edit and then Copy on the menu.
Double-click My Computer and browse to your portable drive to the directory you want to install in.
Click Edit and then Paste from the menu.

The directions will be a little different if you're using another version of Windows or if you've installed another ZIP utility like WinZip. In that case, check the help file of your ZIP utility to learn how to unzip the file.

Can You Pick Which Apps Are Installed?

Unlike, say, Microsoft Office, which is actually multiple programs that are loosely interconnected, OpenOffice.org is actually one big application with multiple functions. So, even if you were to only install Writer and Calc, it would only save you a grand total of about 9MB. And it would be one more full distribution to maintain... the largest one, that takes an hour to upload every release.

Using Portable OpenOffice.org

To start up Portable OpenOffice.org, just double-click PortableOpenOffice.exe file where you installed Portable OpenOffice.org on your portable drive. Then, use it just like you would a local copy of OpenOffice.org. There are a couple of things to keep in mind:

Stay Safe - When using portable apps, it's always a good idea to practice Safe Portable App-ing.
Removing Your Drive - When you're done, exit OpenOffice.org and then wait for the activity light on your removable drive to stop flashing. Then select the 'Safely remove [device]' option from the icon in the system tray. If you remove the drive while it is writing, you may lose data.

Upgrading Portable OpenOffice.org

General Upgrades: To upgrade to a newer version of Portable OpenOffice.org, just download a new copy and unzip it to your portable drive. You can delete your old copy. If you've saved any preferences or other macros, be sure to copy your PortableOpenOffice\userprofile\Application Data\OpenOffice.org2 directory from the old copy to the PortableOpenOffice\settings directory in the new one.

Portable Apps Suite Upgrades: If you're using the Portable Apps Suite the upgrade requires a few steps:

Download a copy of Portable OpenOffice.org and unzip it to your Desktop (or another easy to find location)
In your copy of the suite, delete everything inside the PortableApps\Apps\PortableOpenOffice directory
From the new copy of Portable OpenOffice.org, copy the openoffice and PortableOpenOfficeCode directory to the suite's PortableApps\Apps\PortableOpenOffice directory
(Optional) If you wish to save your old Portable OO.o settings, copy the contents of PortableApps\Data\PortableOpenOffice\userprofile\Application Data\OpenOffice.org2 to a safe location
Delete everything within the suite's PortableApps\Data\PortableOpenOffice directory
From the new copy of PortableOpenOffice.org, copy the settings directory to your suite's PortableApps\Data\PortableOpenOffice directory
(Optional) If you saved your old settings, copy the user directory from the copy you saved to the PortableApps\Data\PortableOpenOffice\settings directory replacing any files it asks you to
Finally, copy the PortableOpenOffice.exe, PortableOpenOfficeWriter.exe etc files to your PortableApps directory in the suite

Copying Your Local OpenOffice.org Settings to Portable OpenOffice.org

If you're using a local copy of OpenOffice.org, you may wish to just copy your local settings right into Portable OpenOffice.org. Your local OpenOffice.org settings are usually installed in C:\Documents and Settings\[user]\Application Data\OpenOffice.org2\ Just copy everything in that directory to the PortableOpenOffice\settings directory and you're all set. This will also enable Java to function with Portable OpenOffice.org when used with your computer and any others that have Java installed in the same location.

Additional Options

There are a few additional options that can make using Portable OpenOffice.org even easier:

Starting Writer, Calc, etc Directly - In addition to the included mini-launchers, you can also start the Portable OpenOffice.org applications directly by passing a commandline parameter. You can pass this directly to PortableOpenOffice.exe (which is useful when using PStart and other menus), or use a custom INI file (explained in the readme file in the PortableOpenOfficeCode directory). The options to start the apps are: -base -calc -draw -impress -math -writer. Just pass one of those and the app will start right up.

Known Issues

The following are known issues with this package:

Trojan/Virus detected - AntiVir and Avast, on more than one occasion, have claimed there is a trojan or virus in the launcher. This is due to poor trojan detection in both products that will occasionally mis-identify many NSIS-based applications as trojans. It will usually occur after a definitions update. You should contact your antivirus provider and let them know of their mistake.
No Java - Java is not yet portable with the OpenOffice.org launcher (though a promising lead is being investigated). Thus, some functions like wizards in all apps, macros and design work in the Database app will not function and may cause OOo to crash.

Modifications

John Haller has made some modifications to the default ZIPped version of OpenOffice.org to make it more USB key friendly (decreasing total install size and the number of writes to the drive, which will increase drive life). These changes are listed here so you'll know what they are, and so you can recreate the process, if so desired.

Friendly Launcher - Portable OpenOffice.org Launcher 1.1.3 is now included by default.
Mini Launchers - Launchers for each OO.o app are also included.
EXEs and DLLs Compressed - All EXEs and DLLs were recompressed using UPX. This gets our installed size down to one that is a bit more manageable. Additionally, it will speed up use of OpenOffice.org when you're running over USB 1.1. The options used were: --best --compress-icons=0 --nrv2d --crp-ms=999999 -k
JARs re-compressed - The JAR files in have been recompressed at the maximum level, getting our package down. (For the curious, JAR files are just ZIP files with a different extension