[libreoffice-users] Review of AndrOpen Office (was: Re: What do you think of AndrOpenOffice?)

There is ambiguity in abbreviating AndrOpen Office and Apache OpenOffice since they are both 
referred to as AOO. I'll use AOO1.x to the former and the customary AOO for the latter. AOO1.x is 
based on v3.4 of AOO. It's the most usable OOo derivative that I've found for Android tablets or 
smart phones. 

There is also a LO based app but I definitely do NOT recommend it for any serious work YET. I 
installed it a few months ago but then uninstalled it again as it was definitely not all that 
usable. Now I don't know where to get it to test it again (help anyone?).

I started using AOO1.x last week for a spreadsheet application after KingSoft Office (KSO) lost a 
file for me right after it was saved. It also only supports the M$ file formats (e.g. .xls or .xlsx 
for spreadsheets).

AOO1.x implements all the modules (Text Document, Spreadsheet, Presentation, Drawing, Data Base, 
and Formula) in Apache OpenOffice v3.4 with a touch screen interface instead of the mouse 
interface. The screen appearance is unchanged. 

The app plays very well with the Hacker's Keyboard app which provides at least full US keyboard 
functionality via an on screen set of keys.

I have over a dozen issues with AOO1.x Calc:

• The UI is hard to use on my smart phone which has a screen 2/3 the size of a dollar bill. I can't 
speak regarding tablets with 7" or 10" screens. I know some will howl at the idea but the truth is 
that a separately scrolling ribbon similar to the one used by KSO is much more usable on the tiny 
screen of my smart phone than the menus and icons that the traditional OOo family jams into the 
upper part of the display.

• When saving a file, a password dialog is always offered. I apparently  INADVERTENTLY set a 
password and since it was not intentional I have no way of knowing what it is. I simply can no 
longer update that file. :(

• Help appears to have not been ported to the Android project.

• Being based on AOO v3.4, I can't specify that protected cells are not to be selected. 

• I have not found how to specify the directory (folder) when performing a Save As …. It simply has 
to be possible.

• Not all keyboard shortcuts that I'm used to using work (e.g. to fill a range of cells Upward 
Alt+E, I, U works in LO but the "I" does not work in AOO1.x). With my 75 year old eyes I cannot see 
if a different letter might be specified. I guess I could try "F" or "L."

• Alt+O, E (Merge) simply toggles cell merging on/off. This may be a LO vs AOO difference. I don't 
know. I left OOo shortly after LO came into being and have not looked back until now.

• I have not found a way to Print (even to a PDF file). AOO1.4,1 complains about there being no 
default printer.

• There is no Exit on the File menu.

* I have found no way to toggle between two open documents.

• There being no title bar, the file name is not displayed automatically and as is true throughout 
the OOo family, the function call CELL("filename") does NOT get recalculated when a Save As … is 
executed.

* Swiping a finger across the screen does not scroll. Also, pinching/spreading does not zoom. These 
functionalities are supposedly provided via a hidable button bar though I haven't figured out some 
of the buttons.

• It appears that template files need to be saved in one particular directory.

These are the issues that sprang to mind over the course of some three hours. All in all it's a 
good product and will undoubtedly get better. I look forward to the day that the LO community gets 
its entry in this environment as good as this.

-- 
Jim
Simi Valley, CA USA




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