FAQ OpenOffice.org and NeoOffice
Contents
What is NeoOffice?
NeoOffice is a version of OpenOffice.org for Mac OS X that is specially focused on making OpenOffice.org user-friendly and easy to use for end users. It is currently (as of Jan 2006) the only version of OpenOffice.org that has good native integration with the Mac OS X system. This means, for example, native access to all the fonts in Mac OS X, native menus, native printing, native drag and drop, native cut and paste, and also native access to all files, links, aliases and (mounted) volumes on the Mac OS X system. NeoOffice is currently (Jan 2006) based on version 1.1.5 of OpenOffice.org
For developers: NeoOffice uses GPL license and is built on top of OpenOffice.org X11 by using Cocoa and Java for the User Interface (UI).
More information on NeoOffice in About NeoOffice
What is OpenOffice.org X11 for Mac OS X / Darwin PPC?
OpenOffice.org X11 is a version of OpenOffice.org (OOo for short) that uses the UNIX system, that the Mac OS X is based on. So, the OpenOffice.org X11 behaves like a UNIX program within Mac OS X. While the program can be used quite productively on Mac OS X system, it has lesser amount of integration with the system then NeoOffice. If you are an experienced Mac OS X user or familiar with UNIX systems (e.g. Linux), then you should be able to work with OpenOffice.org with relatively little effort.
For developers: OpenOffice.org X11 uses LGPL license and is developed within openoffice.org CVS. You will also have to sign a JCA (read the bottom of the page) to contribute to the effort.
More information about OpenOffice.org X11 in OpenOffice.org Mac porting pages
What is OpenOffice.org Aqua port / Cocoa port?
Starting in October 2005, there has been an effort to revive the direct native port of OpenOffice.org for Mac OS X. Currently (Jan 2006) this effort is at its first stages and it will take a long time, before it will be ready for final release. News about this effort will be published in OpenOffice.org Mac porting pages.
Q1: So, which version should I use for Mac OS X?
Well, this depends on what you want.
If you are new to Mac OS X, or like to use smoothly working applications like iTunes, Pages, Safari or iPhoto, then we recommend that you try NeoOffice first.
If you are an experienced Mac OS X user or familiar with UNIX and don't mind to tinker a bit, then you could also try OpenOffice.org X11. Remember that you have to have Apple X11 installed, this located in Application -> Utilities folder. If you do not have it, you can install it from your Mac OS X install DVD/CDs or from [xxx Apple's webpages].
Also, this webpage may help you: OpenOffice.org and its Macintosh ports.
Q2: Why there seems to be several parallel efforts?
Well shortly: because this is very normal situation in open source, it is a good thing, really. And because of historical and personal choices. You have to keep in mind that in 2003, when NeoOffice started, the world was a very different place than it is now.
The long version: We encourage you to read first the NeoOffice FAQ. Also, read the History of NeoOffice and OpenOffice.org. Lastly, this mail from Kevin Hendricks also provides some historical details.
reasonably astable version of the OpenOffice.org office suite that has been engineered to run natively on Mac OS X.
This page is a copy-paste, will be edited soon properly.
Q1
A: The NeoOffice forums provide most of the user support for OOo X11. The NeoOffice people are helping there.
Q2
A: One has to separate the users and the developers, they need different things and not all the users want to do development. Also the NeoOffice people actively need OpenOffice X11 to create NeoOffice, so there is strong dependency between them. Sometimes there is extra need to communicate things from NeoOffice to OOo and vice versa, but this is just a small thing that can be solved and is mostly working very well currently. NeoOffice and OOo are a JOINT community.
Q3
A: NeoOffice is a product that builds on top of OpenOffice X11, it is not really doing the same work as OOo X11. If you complain that everybody should be doing the same port (i.e. the GPL/Java versus LGPL/Cocoa), then you are really complaining that there should not be both KDE and Gnome, only one of those. Those who write code have the freedom to choose the licence/toolkit for their own code, it's their work and their rights.
Q4
A: The fact is that NeoOffice is ready for end users NOW, and it uses OpenOffice. So that's the best way to get more _happy_ OOo users to the world. When OOo Cocoa is ready, then we can compare which is more user friendly and make decisions and recommendations based on that.
Q5
A: NeoOffice is not taking developers away from OOo: no matter what codebase is used, OOo X11 will get the important fixes and patches sooner or later. The Java part of NeoOffice is not interesting for OOo since OOo wants to use Cocoa/Carbon. Otherwise people could have started contributing to Java on NeoOffice in the first place.
Q6
A: People, stop being so hostile to projects that are not "your own"!
