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OpenOffice.org Calc is an open source/free software spreadsheet which is a component of the OpenOffice.org software package.
Calc is a spreadsheet similar to Microsoft Excel, with a roughly equivalent range of features. It provides a number of features not present in Excel, including a system which automatically defines series for graphing based on the layout of the user's data. Calc is also capable of writing spreadsheets directly as PDF files.
Calc is capable of opening and saving spreadsheets in Microsoft Excel file format. The default format for OpenOffice.org 2.0 Calc can be set to either Microsoft Excel, or the OASIS Open Document Format (ODF). Calc also supports a wide range of other file formats, for both opening and saving files.
As with the entire OpenOffice.org suite, Calc can be used across a variety of platforms, including Mac OS X, Windows, GNU/Linux, FreeBSD and Solaris.
OpenOffice.org is Free software. Anyone can make improvements then share them for everyone to enjoy. As the user and developer base of OpenOffice.org continues to grow, features and enhancements may be added to the package at a higher rate.
In some cases, Calc lacks the GUI wizard to access certain advanced features associated with competing products such as statistical capabilities like error bar support on graphs, and polynomial regression analysis, even though you can still perform such calculations by manually entering the functions and relationships plus a few macros. Another FOSS application called Gnumeric would provide easier access on these statistical analysis features by exposing them to users with Wizard.
As part of the OpenOffice.org suite, OpenOffice.org Calc is available under the LGPL.
Critique on performance
Calc has problems handling very large spreadsheets (20,000 rows, 100 columns) and can be 100 times slower when compared to ExcelThis is in part due to the XML format for handling cell entries. A Novell Linux and GNOME hacker, named Federico Mena-Quintero, has analyzed the cause of the slowdown at his blog* by other OpenOffice.org developers.
Most users dealing with large datasets will use a database program (such as MySQL or PostgreSQL) so it is not a big issue. In OpenOffice.org you can connect to external database using the Base module.
See also
- Excel file format information
- DataPilot - Calc's equivalent feature to Pivot table found in Microsoft Excel
External links
- Calc information page
- OpenOffice.org Spreadsheet Project
- List of feature enhancement in version 2.x
- Excel file format documentation by the OpenOffice.org team (in progress)
- Chart in OpenOffice.org
- User resources at OOo Wiki
Tutorials
- Spreadsheet FAQ
- Calc Spreadsheet tutorials
- OpenOffice.org Calc tutorials and resources
- OpenOffice.org Calc Tips (with a comprehensive list of all articles)
Study and Articles
- FOSS spreadsheet hands-on comparison by Bruce Byfield
- Analyzing survey data using OpenOffice.org Calc
- Usability study: StarOffice Calc v. MS Excel (PDF Report)
-- Improving the Usability of an Open Source Spreadsheet Application - How to create an add-in function for Calc in C++ (programming involved)
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