Open Word, Excel, PowerPoint files without Microsoft Office

There are many legal solutions that allow you to open files created in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, without having to spend any money. Below we've listed several online and offline solutions:

Offline solutions

There are dozens of free programs that can be installed on your computer to open Microsoft Office documents and other office or rich-text documents. Below are a listing of our favorites.

OpenOffice

A free and open source project from Sun that includes different solutions; available for all major platforms including Microsoft Windows, Apple MacOS, and Linux. Below are a listing of programs this package includes.

• Base - Database
• Calc - Spreadsheet
• Draw - Drawing program used to create logos and flow charts.
• Impress - Presentation program
• Math - Allows a user to create scientific formulas and equations.
• Writer - Word processor and text editor.

Official OpenOffice page

LibreOffice

One of the most popular free office suites that supports Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Publisher documents as well as . support for OpenDocument Format (ODF).

Official LibreOffice page

IBM Lotus Symphony

Another fantastic solution from IBM, that enables users to open documents created in word processors, spreadsheets, and presentations.

Compatible formats: .doc, .dot, .docx, .dotx, .odt, .ott, .sxw, .stw, .lwp, .mwp, .rtf, .txt, .xls, .xlt, .xlsx, .xltx, .ods, .ots, .sxc, .stc, .123, .12m, .xml, .csv, .ppt, .pot, .pptx, .potx, .odp, .otp, .prz, .mas, .smc, .sxi, .sti, and more.

Official Lotus Symphony page

Online solutions

There are also many free online solutions as well. Below is a listing of our favorites.

Google Docs

Available from Google, Docs not only allows you to freely open and create files, but also collaborate and share with anyone who has Internet access.

The official Google Docs page can be found at: http://docs.google.com/

Compatible formats: .doc, .docx, .rtf, .sxw, .pdf, .ppt, .pps, .csv, .xls, .xlsx, .ods, .html, and many more.

ThinkFree

Another solution capable of opening and viewing many Microsoft Office and other rich-content file formats.

Compatible formats: .doc, .dot, .rtf, .ppt, .pot, .pps, .xls, .xlt, .docx, .pptx, .xlsx, .pdf, .hwp, and more.

The official ThinkFree page can be found at: http://www.thinkfree.com/