Office Suite Software

Create professional documents, spreadsheets and presentations with office suite software programs
By Lea Terry, Freelance Journalist / Copywriter Office suite software is the cornerstone of any office computing system. With office suite programs, you can perform the tasks essential to any business: typing letters, logging expenses onto a spreadsheet, even creating a presentation to help you land that big account.
 

Whether you run a home-based business or a large corporation, there are numerous office suite software solutions with the features you need, and there's something for every budget. In fact, many office suite programs are even free.

With office suite software programs, you can:

1. Write letters, reports, business plans and other documents.
2. Plan your budget or track expenditures using a spreadsheet.
3. Create presentations, PDF documents, HTML documents, or databases with some office suite software applications.
   

Take your office with you--using the web-based office suite software system ThinkFree Online

This free office suite software is accessed via the Internet rather than installed on your computer, and includes a word processor, presentation graphics and a spreadsheet program. ThinkFree also makes it easier to share your thoughts online, with its document embedding feature, through which you can documents, presentation slides or spreadsheets into a blog post.
Try: With ThinkFree's Workspace feature, you can authorize others to read and make changes to your files, allowing multiple users to contribute to a project. Using the MyOffice feature, and its 1GB online storage, you can save copies of all of your files into its secure storage server, creating an automatic backup, and allowing you to access your files even when you're away from your own computer.

Get more versatility from your office suite software solution with IBM Lotus Symphony

Many free office suite software applications offer features and versatility that rival paid versions. That's the case with IBM Lotus Symphony, a free, downloadable office suite software solution ideal for individuals, users and even developers. With IBM Lotus Symphony's word processor, presentation and spreadsheet programs, you can create a project from scratch or using a template.
Try: Enhance Lotus Symphony with the Developer's Toolkit or plug-ins.

Go beyond standard office suite software solutions with OpenOffice

This free office suite program offers several features in addition to the standard word processor, spreadsheet and presentation programs. Because it's open-source software, anyone can make suggestions or changes. And, it can be freely copied and distributed. It's designed with a wide range of users in mind, including individuals, educational institutions, nonprofits, government entities, businesses, and IT companies.
Try: Try OpenOffice's drawing program, database application and HTML function.

Get enhanced office suite software from Corel WordPerfect Office X3

Corel WordPerfect Office X3 integrates basic office suite functions with more advanced features, and is designed for everyone from consumers to small businesses to large organizations and even government entities, though it costs less than MicroSoft Office. The suite includes a full-featured email client with spam protection, and you can create PDF files and access online services within the program.
Try: WordPerfect Office has several versions, including standard, small business, and home editions.

Don't overlook the longtime standard in office suite software programs: MicroSoft Office

With all the new office suite programs entering the market, promising enhanced features, lower cost or a more user-friendly setup, it may be easier to forget about MicroSoft suite software, which has long been the standard in office computing. But MS office suite software is far from obsolete. With new versions released regularly, the program is still a contender in the increasingly crowded office suite market.
Try: Download a free 60-day trial version of Office 2007, and learn how to use the system with the online training center.

• Before you install any office suite software program, check the system requirements. Some office suite software systems can only run on newer systems, need a sizable amount of memory to function properly, or take up several megabytes of your computer's memory.