AbiWord

AbiWord is a Free Software word processor licensed under the GNU General Public License. It runs on Linux, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, ReactOS, SkyOS, BeOS and other operating systems. AbiWord was originally started by SourceGear Corporation as the first component of AbiSuite, as an ambitious plan to create a full Office Suite that would be Free/Open source software. SourceGear gradually moved to other business interests and the project is currently run entirely by a team of volunteer developers. AbiWord is part of GNOME Office, a collection of office applications with some degree of integration. The name "AbiWord" is derived from the root of the Spanish word "Abierto" meaning open.

AbiWord Version 1.0 was released on April 18, 2002 and received praise for its speed and small size. Version 1.0 did not include support for table-based layout, which many users considered an essential feature. Table support was included as planned for version 2.0, which was released on September 15, 2003.

AbiWord has a very similar user interface to Microsoft Word to help make it easier for new users to migrate to Abiword. Although there are differences, the AbiWord developers aim to embrace and extend what has become a de facto standard in business, producing a better improved design.

AbiWord has several import/export filters including Rich Text Format, HTML, OpenDocument and LaTeX (export only). The native file format uses XML, so documents written with the program are perceived to be a safe investment from a digital archiving perspective.

Versions

Abiword 0.7 : May 19, 1999.
Abiword 0.9 : July 31, 2001.
Abiword 1.0 : April 18, 2002.
Abiword 2.0 : September 15, 2003. Included support for Tables, Footnotes and Endnotes.
Abiword 2.2 : December 3, 2004. Included support for Tables of Contents.
Abiword 2.4 : September 30, 2005. Included support for OpenDocument file import, equation editing, and grammar checking.
Abiword 2.4.2 : January 2, 2006. Included support for OpenDocument file export and improved import.

External links

AbiSource.com, the website.
Andrew Leonard: Abiword Up. Salon.com, Nov 15 2002. History of the project and comparison with closed source development.
AbiWord vs. MS Word Flexbeta.net, Sep 1 2004.
Comparison between OOo Writer, AbiWord, and KWord newsforge.com, Aug 23 2005.

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Versions

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External links