Thanks for trying OpenOffice.org and thanks for the email.
Sorry your writers were having such problems. We do hope you'll give us a try again sometime. I'm not sure what the problem was, but I understand how frustrating computer problems can be.
One thing to keep in mind, the MS Word .doc format is a prioriatary secret, meaning that Microsoft doesn't reveal to other developers (other than a select few they work with) how to create perfectly formed - perfectly compatible files. All programs, including OpenOffice.org, that use the MS Word .doc formats (again, aside from the few that work directly with MS) do so through reverse engineering. While OOo's developers have done an amazing job so far with the format, there is still room for improvement, and we will continue to improve. This "guess work" and the problems associated with it would not be necessary if MS were to release the specifications for the Word .doc format to everyone. But, as you have attested to, people's need to work with .doc and for it to "just work" keeps people coming back to Microsoft Office.
That being said, it seems clear that at this time OpenOffice.org is not able to meet your needs. I appreciate your input and insights into areas in which we need to improve. Again, please do check back with us the next time you hear about a new release.
Thanks again for trying OpenOffice.org!
On 1/26/06, kip
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
no, the docs are crashing exponentially as they grow. we start with a style
set and a blank doc. when they strart hitting the 50 page range, systems
start crashing. its not just some are crashing--all of them seem to. they
never--i repeat, NEVER crash with word. and i dont like Frame. its
pervasive, but its got the worlds most clumsy stylesheet creator. RAM is 512
on laptops and 1 gig on descktops. seems to crash with different styles and
different platforms. workflow is simple--writer, review/markup on paper or 1
online markuop saved to a network drive, and then revised.
wish i had your luck. you should see how mad my writers were.
Note: Word doc converted to OO is worse.
kip
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bruce Byfield" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected] >
Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2006 10:23 PM
Subject: Re: [social] no more OO here
> On Thu, 2006-26-01 at 21:24 -0500, kip wrote:
>
>> secondly, sure--OO runs fine on my computer too-until i start getting
>> into
>> 50 - 60 pages of a book with a dozen styles and a bunch of screen
>> captures.
>> its good for a proposal or a white paper, but not the creation of a book,
>> which Word does somewhat clumsily but without crashing.
>
> Funny. I've done over a dozen manuals varying from 200 to 1200 pages in
> OpenOffice.org, crammed with screen shots, and only rarely had problems.
> In general, I've not only found it vastly more stable than MS Word for
> long documents, but also a suitable replacement for FrameMaker, which is
> designed for long documents
>
> I can't help wondering if your problem lies in your doc team's work
> flow. Or maybe it's a lack of RAM?
> --
> Bruce Byfield 604-421.7177
> Burnaby, BC, Canada
> http://members.axion.net/~bbyfield
>
--
- Chad Smith
http://www.gimpshop.net/
Because everyone loves free software!
