StarOffice's multiple personalities finally make it available to most computer users. The Linux (kernel 2.2.14 or higher), Windows and Solaris versions share file formats, making it a breeze to swap documents with folks running any of these OSs.

Like its predecessor, Sun Microsystems StarOffice 6.0 is a full-fledged office suite and won't cost a cent when you download it from the Net. It's not nearly as feature jammed as Microsoft Office XP--StarOffice lacks that expensive suite's data sharing, Web collaboration, and integration--but for folks trying to eke out a living, StarOffice is a solid deal. Based on what we've seen in this beta release, StarOffice can handle most day-to-day office chores for less (Australian pricing yet to be confirmed). We predict that once Sun has worked out some of the integration kinks, StarOffice will give Microsoft Office a run for your money.

Multiple personalities
Downloading and installing StarOffice takes just a few moments (the beta's download file is only 80MB). But like every other suite, the full version requires serious disk space. A standard installation demands 240MB, while the minimum install needs 158MB (Microsoft Office's default install requires 210MB, minimum). To save space, you can choose a custom installation that lets you skip some of StarOffice's apps, such as the spreadsheet or the drawing module.

Does Windows but not Macs
StarOffice's multiple personalities finally make it available to most computer users. The Windows, Linux (kernel 2.2.14 or higher), and Solaris (Sun's own OS) versions share file formats, making it a breeze to swap documents with folks running any of these OSs. Better yet, StarOffice also supports Windows 95, whereas Microsoft Office XP no longer does. The biggest downside is that StarOffice still lacks a Macintosh edition. Sun should get on the stick and give Mac owners an alternative to Microsoft Office.

What's in the box?
Happily, StarOffice covers most of the office suite bases. It comes with a word processor (Writer), a spreadsheet (Calc), and a presentation program (Impress). However, unlike Microsoft Office, Lotus SmartSuite, or Corel WordPerfect Office, the StarOffice beta doesn't come with a database. Instead, Sun includes a tool that acts as a conduit between its apps and outside data sources such as SQL databases, spreadsheets, and your e-mail address book. Don't even bother looking for Web page tools such as FrontPage.

But StarOffice pulls some slick moves, even with this limited list of apps. Our favorite: its XML-based file format. This format not only creates small file sizes--a 200-page document that chews up 477K in Word is just 135K in StarOffice's XML format--it's also the foundation of document sharing between the different OS editions of the suite.

Hits and misses
This free suite includes a number of improvements from version 5.2. The Help window has been completely redesigned for easier access and searchability, while Print Preview now appears in the current window, not in a new window, as before. StarOffice 6.0 supports Asian languages (including Japanese and Chinese), lets you e-mail documents as attachments directly from its applications (using the File > Send command), and puts an icon in the taskbar system tray for one-click access to the suite's applications.

But don't kid yourself: this is no Microsoft Office XP clone. Compared to Redmond's suite, StarOffice is poorly integrated and barely makes use of the Web. For instance, you can't create a spreadsheet within a word processor document (as you can with Word and Excel); instead, you must drag and drop a copied section from Calc to Writer. Want to use StarOffice to collaborate with coworkers or use the Web to share documents? No way, baby.

Writer and Calc vs. Word and Excel
Writer and Calc are the cornerstones of this suite, and both do a solid job handing documents and spreadsheets, respectively. The 6.0 versions sport some new features, most of which should have shown up long ago, such as the ability to set hanging indents in text and tables in Writer.

Writer matches up well against Word for light to medium-sized text tasks, such as creating documents, and even boasts some advanced tools. For instance, it includes AutoCorrect (which automatically checks and corrects your spelling), nifty WordCompletion (which finishes words for you), multicolumn layout, a save-as-HTML feature, a mail merge for addressing letters and envelopes, and the ability to make bibliographical entries. Alas, Writer is still missing a macro creator--a serious omission that makes it virtually impossible to customize or automate repetitive chores.

Calc suffers from similar shortcomings. Although, for some, it's a credible substitute for Microsoft's spreadsheet, it lacks a few advanced features that Excel includes, such as Web Query, the ability to import data from Web tables into your spreadsheet, and AutoRepublish, which keeps Excel data fresh on your Web site. Calc does offer a slick chart-making wizard, though, and DataPilot, an Excel-like PivotTable tool that lets you completely reoganize columns and rows.

Although Impress, StarOffice's slide show maker, won't make PowerPoint vets ditch their software, it's a slick presentation maker in its own right. It supplies more than 50 interslide transition effects and lets you create new presentations with an easy-to-use wizard, export your show to HTML for posting on a Web site (very nice), and package a presentation into a single file for sharing.

Flummoxed by file formats
Sun makes a big deal about StarOffice's compatibility with Microsoft Office file formats. That's smart, since Office is the de facto standard. Not so smart, however, is StarOffice's translation accuracy. With simple documents, such as lightly formatted Word docs or straightforward Excel spreadsheets, StarOffice is usually on the mark, though the beta version does create some pagination differences between a Word doc opened in Word and the same one opened in StarOffice's Writer. Give it something more complex, and it often chokes. When we opened a Word document with tables, two small charts, a footer, and minimal headings in Writer, it looked very different from the real thing, with one nearly blank page stuck into the document, and the table all on its lonesome on a separate page. We hope the final version fixes these problems.

Expect complaints from Office owners if you trade documents more complex than plain text. If you're looking for a low-cost (as opposed to no-cost) suite that translates Microsoft's file formats more accurately, steer for WordPerfect Office.

Excellent support
Whereas many free apps have taught us not to expect extensive tech support, StarOffice's support options (based on that available for version 5.2) are better than some for-pay programs. Sun's online support includes discussion forums, searchable problem/solution databases, and fee-based e-mail and phone support. Various Web sites, such as StarOffice.com (Web site) (not affiliated with Sun), also provide message boards and tools.

Unless StarOffice shapes up in its final version, we won't be able to recommend that Office XP acolytes rush to download it. This beta gives Office owners no reason to switch. However, if the gold code works out the kinks, small-business owners, home office users, and college students should download this in a heartbeat. Why? Because of the price, silly.

Sun Microsystems StarOffice 6.0 Beta
Company: Sun Microsystems
Price: Free download subject to GNU General Public License agreement
Distributor: Sun Microsystems

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