04.20.07

NeoOffice turns 2(.1)

Posted in Open Source at 6:33 pm by Smokey

I began this post on 27 March, but due to some interruptions and, well, the month of April , finishing it sort-of dragged out.

Today [27 March], NeoOffice turns 2, or specifically, 2.1. It’s actually the third final release of NeoOffice (NeoOffice/J 1.1, NeoOffice 1.2, and now 2.1) but only the second major release. Over a year in development, this is the biggest and best NeoOffice ever, not compromising on its legendary stability while adding a number of the features most requested by NeoOffice users. The release is based on the latest stable OpenOffice.org codebase, 2.1 (which explains what happened to NeoOffice 2.0 “final;” when OpenOffice.org started giving their bug-fix releases new minor-version numbers, we synced the NeoOffice version number so that people don’t get confused about what version of OOo code is being used) and has all of the latest OOo bugfixes. 2.1 also includes code from the ooo-build and the odf-converter project, providing support for Word 2007 import, the only ongoing solution for using Excel VBA macros on the Mac, and some nifty Calc tools like Solver.

More importantly, though, NeoOffice 2.1 is much, much more pleasing to the eye. There are the new file and Akua toolbar icons, Patrick’s Cocoa Open and Save dialogues, and Ed’s amazing Aqua widget work. NeoOffice 2.1 arrives with the NeoWiki in five languages, so that tips, hints, and troubleshooting info is available in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. There is a great community, both at the NeoWiki and in the Trinity forums, that answer questions, write documentation, and generally ensure that anyone who arrives at the forum gets a welcome and helpful advice.

This release is made possible by the hard and creative coding of Patrick and Ed, all of the support, documentation, translation, and artwork from the community members, and the financial support from Early Access Program members and the major anonymous donor. Thanks to all of you for your efforts (especially those of you who had to put up with me at some point during the process ) and congratulations. NeoOffice turns 2(.1), and I’m sure there are more great things ahead.

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