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Hi I have got a spreadsheet that has got loads of macros into it and i want to convert it from .xls into an .odt file because i am switching over to openoffice instead of MS office. Does anyone know how i can convert the file and still keep the macros and they still work ?? Thanks EaglesNerd

I have been asked to summarise the pros and cons in connection with the choices between Microsoft Office Vs OpenOffice. I have a broad idea of what needs to be said. However I would like to open a discussion here and have a single place to go to when the time comes to give the summary to SLT. There are obvious points of contention: For me the lack of compliance with Group Policy is a major concern [Default save location/visibility of C:/Visibility of files and folders on the HDD] However I am sure that functionality and compatibility will be the prime mover. We are looking at making major savings by reducing our commitment to Microsoft licensing. So what are your experiences? What happens when there are no direct equivalents? [Word has a close match in OpenOffice, but a database solution match is not as close, neither is an Outlook [connecting to Exchange Server and downloading all calendars, shared calendars, scheduled events, for Exchange will still exist after the move to OpenSource solutions] In summary then: What do you see as: The benefits of this plan? How do you see the problems being manifest? Discuss.... Many thanks.

My dilemma is whether or not to keep holding out against the pressure to buy M$ Office. Last year we quadrupled (from a very low base) the number computers available to pupils. A lot of economies were made to achieve this, one of which was to install Open Office instead of buying 60 new M$ Office licences. We're an infant school, so chose netbooks, which work well as the small size is helpful and requirement for processing power is limited. The saving in licences therefore bought an extra 12 computers. The children have no problem using OOo, but it's very unpopular with staff. This is essentially the inconvenience factor: not only unfamiliarity, but the fact that templates they've prepared in M$ Office don't work due to formatting inconsistencies and the fact that every time a new user uses a client for the first time, it forces you to go through the registration process. Staff have to have M$ Office licences as it's part of our contract with the LA to use their centrally hosted services (RDP to a Win 2008 server). OOo isn't available on Central Hosting, so school admin docs will always be produced in M$ and so we won't get away from formatting problems. The above doesn't make a very convincing argument for OOo, but: Buying licences would use up half of the entire ICT budget for the year; We should teach children capability to adapt and not force them / their parents to add to the profits of an American conglomerate; Teachers have to use Office 2007 (upgrading their licences would take the remainder of the ICT budget), so we'd either still have an inconsistency or I'd be installing a version 2 generations out of date and be perpetuating the requirement to keep adding to M$ coffers. I'm not supposed to control the ICT curriculum, but I do have a responsibility to ensure best value. Has anyone else won this battle, or should I just give in to the inevitable?

I have a start-up private school that heavily uses CBT, approx 70 students, but will be expanding into multiple campuses rather quickly. Basically the staff uses paper files, spreadsheets, and lots of email all on personal laptops. (Most of them are Mac) So now it is time for them to pull the trigger and do it right. Email and web hosting is outsourced. They need everything from backup to scheduling, office automation, databases, everything one would expect. I have already made a decision on smoothwall's firewall/content filtering & for a firewall to separate the students from the office intranet that I will set up. So now it comes down to the philosophical question ... Pay the Microsoft tax and go with office, sharepoint, and all the other content management, or use OpenOffice as a foundation (with Intel-based Solaris) , or something else? Suggestions? I want to learn from all of the coulda' shoulda's and build the right foundation from the start. P.S. I haven't picked the hardware, but have been a storage/RAID architect for 20 years, so no headaches or questions concerning backup/availability/reliability. I will be using VMWare to virtualize the Smoothwall software, as well as any other machines necessary to get these guys into the 21st century.

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