Kingsoft Office - seems quite compatable with Ms Office 2010

jimbo45 · 12 May 2014

Hi there

For me the main part of looking for an Ms Office replacement is the EXCEL application -- other parts of the suite I could probably manage with any one of the alternatives.

I still don't think LibreOffice is quite ready for primetime but Kingsoft seems to offer a highly stable Free version (works fine on Android and is in Alpha for Linux).

While there IS a PRO version out there (69 USD or so compared with the 499 USD for Ms office PRO at full retail the Free version seems to offer nearly everything one would want -- I already use it on the Samsung S5 phone and I haven't had trouble reading any EXCEL documents yet.

http://www.kingsoftstore.com/spreadsheets-free.html

The EXCEL "Clone" also supports VBA macros which I must have. I'm going to play around with the FREE Windows version and the Linux version to see if it's "useable" and an alternative to LibreOffice.

Anybody else tried this suite - especially the spreadsheet yet.

Cheers
jimbo

Lady Fitzgerald · 12 May 2014

I've heard good things about Kingsoft and have been watching it as a possible replacement for M$ Office 2010 when Win 7 reaches EOL and M$ hasn't come to its senses about their one OS for everything B.S. Open Office and Libre Office depend on Java for some of their features and I do not want Java on any machine of mine, especially after the rash of security issues it's been having. However, I plan on using Office 2010 and Win 7 until sometime in 2019 when I have to decide between M$'s latest and greatest or go with one of the Linux flavors. Office isn't the only program I use that can cause compatibility issues for a switch to Linux although I suspect there will be fewer of those issues by 2019.

Sarris · 12 May 2014

I've been using Kingsoft Office Free for years. I've had no compatibility issues in either direction with MSO. On the Kingsoft comparison chart (Here: http://www.kingsoftstore.com/windows/professional-office-difference.html), there is only one additional function in the pro version that's not in the free one, so it's been the free version for me. I use the word processor and spreadsheets daily.

The only thing I did was to disable two phone home scheduled tasks that were installed.

Plus, a much smaller footprint than OOo or Libre Office.

Available here: Free Office Software, Kingsoft Office Suite Free 2012

Regards;

Sarris

fireberd · 12 May 2014

I have Libre Office installed. I don't have Java installed and don't recall that as being part of the install?

I have to get off of Office 2003 and have been trying out Libre Office (and Thunderbird for e-mail).

Lady Fitzgerald · 12 May 2014

fireberd said:

I have Libre Office installed. I don't have Java installed and don't recall that as being part of the install?...

I doubt it's part of the install (I never installed it myself) but both Libre Office's and Open Offices website state that some of the functions (not all) require Java to be installed.

sunsetlover · 16 May 2014

I was going to start a thread about Kingsoft Office '13, till I saw this thread. It got a great review on CNET, but there are some mixed reviews by users (a minority to be sure).

The issue these reviewers raised was, in a nutshell, do you trust a Chinese company offering you a free office alternative? Some users mentioned they used Revo to deepscan uninstall.

I'm not inferring anything racist here, it's just that I would tend to share that concern, especially given that I lived in China for 4 years.

I'd love to see more reviews by users here.

Layback Bear · 16 May 2014

From post #3 by Sarris about Kindsoft.

The only thing I did was to disable two phone home scheduled tasks that were installed.

Are you ever sure their is no more calling home. Seem like any program from China call home.

Ranger4 · 16 May 2014

As far as I know Open Office only requires Java if you want to use their database.

Lady Fitzgerald · 16 May 2014

Ranger4 said:

As far as I know Open Office only requires Java if you want to use their database.

That's what I seem to recall but I'm not so sure I would trust any software that uses a software language that has well known security issues, even if only for a small part of the software.

Ranger4 · 16 May 2014

Lady Fitzgerald said:

Ranger4 said:

As far as I know Open Office only requires Java if you want to use their database.

That's what I seem to recall but I'm not so sure I would trust any software that uses a software language that has well known security issues, even if only for a small part of the software.

Yes I definitely agree with you, in fact it's why I dumped Open Office sometime ago & bought MS Office Pro 2013.
As I needed Access & I had past experience using Access years ago, I found I quickly remembered a lot of what to do, with setting it all up. I also found Open Office was more difficult & I just could not get my head around it. Most probably old age catching up with everything. :)