or do you have to get the office bundle.

or, is there a lower cost option that opens and edits my file.doc word documents?

Didn't Microsoft go to the subscription only license for the office line of products?

FWIW I use OpenOffice since it's free. Sometimes it opens word docs without an issue, sometimes it doesn't. I've had better luck with Google Docs for viewing/editing word docs.

If I just need a decent word processor (with the ability to have tables/images etc) then I use open office and save in a universal format (PDF usually).

Per sreding's post above, try LibreOffice (it's a sibling of OpenOffice).

It's available for most environments: Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.

It's free. FREE! So you have nothing to lose by trying it.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
...try LibreOffice (it's a sibling of OpenOffice).

quote:

Originally posted by sreding:
...I use OpenOffice since it's free.

Thanks guys. OpenOffice is working fine. For some reason, LibreOffice wouldn't install. I think I'm good. SIGforum comes through once again.

I see you found a lower cost solution. But to answer your first question, it is possible to purchase a single MS Office application likw MS Word directly from Microsoft's Web site. You just have hunt around for it. They don't make it easy to find.

For what it's worth, if you have a gmail account or outlook.com (or other microsoft free account such as hotmail, msn, etc.) you can work with .doc(x) documents online. Going through a gmail account requires converting to/from a Google Docs format. Not a big deal, but could be a problem/bother for some folks.

I’ve yet to encounter any compatibility issues between OpenOffice and MS Office. I’m not a power user by any stretch but it’s been seamless.

I write my club newsletter on open office. I keep it all filed as .odt and publish as pdf. But if I send a working document to someone else, I re-save it to save as .doc

Seldom are there problems between odt and doc. If there are it usually is messed up formatting.

When I used to sell that stuff, we did sell Word by itself. But it was something like ten bucks less than the full Office package, so it wasn't a big seller.
If you do need the real deal, check to see if your employer makes you eligible for the "Home Use Program", which costs ten bucks.
You can also get discounts with an .edu email.

At school we have the students use Google docs. It's compatible and free also.

i'm working on red cross volunteer status and had to dust off the ole resume. openoffice did the trick on the *.doc file.

Have you looked on Ebay for Microsoft Office? Going pretty cheap these days. Especially for Office 2016.

quote:

Originally posted by Leemur:
I’ve yet to encounter any compatibility issues between OpenOffice and MS Office. I’m not a power user by any stretch but it’s been seamless.

Yes, works seamlessly. Give it a try. No cost.

I bought a key to Office Pro on eBay for like $13. Works perfect for the past few years.