# Free-download word processor that can handle Word documents? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 8, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-download-word-processor-that-can-handle-word-documents/556497 "2010-10-08T14:47:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-download-word-processor-that-can-handle-word-documents/556497/1 "2010-10-08T14:47:29Z")
Owing to a switch in home computers I no longer have a registered copy of Microsoft Word, and cannot buy a new one, which means I have a large number of Word files in (an auxiliary) memory that I cannot open, view or edit. And I need to create some new ones for a jobhunt. My brother told me there is a free downloadable product called “Office Works” that is the functional equivalent of Word and can edit Word documents. But the only thing I could find by googling that phrase is a Microsoft program which allows one to read, but not write, Word files. Googling for free-download word processors turns up nothing so far as I can see. Do you know of any? ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-download-word-processor-that-can-handle-word-documents/556497/2 "2010-10-08T14:53:10Z")
You want [OpenOffice](http://www.openoffice.org). It should do what you need it to. ---
**Author:** ![Archeonomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Archeonomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archeonomist)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-download-word-processor-that-can-handle-word-documents/556497/3 "2010-10-08T14:54:49Z")
OpenOffice is a free alternative to the office suite, and it should handle MS Office file formats. [http://www.openoffice.org/](http://www.openoffice.org/) ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-download-word-processor-that-can-handle-word-documents/556497/4 "2010-10-08T14:56:08Z")
[Open Office](http://www.openoffice.org/) ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-download-word-processor-that-can-handle-word-documents/556497/5 "2010-10-08T14:57:08Z")
That makes it unanimous (so far). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-download-word-processor-that-can-handle-word-documents/556497/6 "2010-10-08T15:05:32Z")
Out of fear that Open Office will shortly no longer be what it is (thanks to Oracle being the new owner), it’s been forked into LibreOffice to keep it open source and free. > **[OpenOffice Breaks from Oracle, Goes Libre](https://www.cmswire.com/cms/enterprise-20/openoffice-breaks-from-oracle-goes-libre-008737.php)** > > Developers of OpenOffice.org (news , site ) software broke free of Oracle to create a modified version of the software called LibreOffice, that will be free of Oracle oversight.   OpenOffice. ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-download-word-processor-that-can-handle-word-documents/556497/7 "2010-10-08T15:17:33Z")
There is also [Google Docs](https://docs.google.com), which is a web based service you access through your browser (nothing to install) and keeps your files online. It is much lighter than open office but has the advantage of being accessible from any computer with internet. There is plenty of room to easily store all of your documents. If you have a gmail account you can use the same account for Google docs. I use both. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-download-word-processor-that-can-handle-word-documents/556497/8 "2010-10-08T16:04:11Z")
You might want to check out the Office Web Apps to see if they’d work for you. > **[Free Microsoft 365 Online | Word, Excel, PowerPoint](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/free-office-online-for-the-web?legRedir=true&CorrelationId=4db8f01f-5ec6-4cc3-861d-c76e99eb110b)** > > With Microsoft 365 for the web you can edit and share Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote files on your devices using a web browser. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-download-word-processor-that-can-handle-word-documents/556497/9 "2010-10-08T16:49:34Z")
Have you tried OpenOffice? 😃 You might also look into [Microsoft Live](http://login.live.com/), an online and (so far) free version of Microsoft Office. It actually works quite well. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-download-word-processor-that-can-handle-word-documents/556497/10 "2010-10-08T16:51:37Z")
> [@FluffyBob](#): > > There is also [Google Docs](https://docs.google.com), which is a web based service you access through your browser (nothing to install) and keeps your files online. A while ago, Google stopped the ability to work offline on Google Docs via Gears. Has that functionality been restored? ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-download-word-processor-that-can-handle-word-documents/556497/11 "2010-10-08T17:11:07Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > > [@FluffyBob](#): > > > > There is also [Google Docs](https://docs.google.com), which is a web based service you access through your browser (nothing to install) and keeps your files online. > > A while ago, Google stopped the ability to work offline on Google Docs via Gears. Has that functionality been restored? I don’t think so. It was supposed to be replaced using HTML5. To the OP: Another option is [AbiWord](http://www.abisource.com/). It is lighter-weight than Open Office. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-download-word-processor-that-can-handle-word-documents/556497/12 "2010-10-08T17:34:22Z")
Pardon my gignorance, but what does “lighter-weight” mean in this context? ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-download-word-processor-that-can-handle-word-documents/556497/13 "2010-10-08T17:43:14Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Pardon my gignorance, but what does “lighter-weight” mean in this context? Sorry: smaller installation size (hard-disk usage), smaller memory requirements (RAM usage), and less complexity because AbiWord only replaces Word and not the entire office suite. I should add that I haven’t used AbiWord for a while. I can get by with Google Docs. ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-download-word-processor-that-can-handle-word-documents/556497/14 "2010-10-08T18:22:53Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > A while ago, Google stopped the ability to work offline on Google Docs via Gears. Has that functionality been restored? A real draw back of google docs is poor functionality when connections are bad. There is a linux app that I saw on ubuntu that was supposed to make it usable offline. I had to reinstall at one point and wasnt able to find it again after a small search. I dont know if the microsoft product gets around this - probably not as they would want you to use MS Office offline I imagine. ---
**Author:** ![Iggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Iggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggins)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-download-word-processor-that-can-handle-word-documents/556497/15 "2010-10-08T20:30:00Z")
Another vote for Google Docs. It’s also good if you want to collaborate with other Google Docs users on a single doc. ---
**Author:** ![dzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzero)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-download-word-processor-that-can-handle-word-documents/556497/16 "2010-10-08T23:22:22Z")
There’s an online suite called Zoho. [Here’s more info about the Zoho writer.](http://writer.zoho.com/home?serviceurl=%2Findex.do) Apparently it can read Word documents as well as Google docs and others. ---
**Author:** ![NetTrekker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nettrekker/32/2909_2.png) [@NetTrekker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NetTrekker)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-download-word-processor-that-can-handle-word-documents/556497/17 "2010-10-09T02:26:51Z")
> [@FluffyBob](#): > > There is also [Google Docs](https://docs.google.com), which is a web based service you access through your browser (nothing to install) and keeps your files online. > > It is much lighter than open office but has the advantage of being accessible from any computer with internet. There is plenty of room to easily store all of your documents. If you have a gmail account you can use the same account for Google docs. > > I use both. Is G/D compatible with MS Word, per OP request? ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-download-word-processor-that-can-handle-word-documents/556497/18 "2010-10-09T02:43:14Z")
Use Microsoft’s \*\*\*free \*\*\*[Office Web Apps](http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/web-apps) This replaces Microsoft Works and is the Microsoft’s answer that you don’t need any other freeware out there…check it out. There’s a lot of cool stuff in Windows Live 4 beta. All you need is a free passport account. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-download-word-processor-that-can-handle-word-documents/556497/19 "2010-10-09T02:49:35Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > > [@mhendo](#): > > > > A while ago, Google stopped the ability to work offline on Google Docs via Gears. Has that functionality been restored? > > I don’t think so. It was supposed to be replaced using HTML5. > > To the OP: Another option is [AbiWord](http://www.abisource.com/). It is lighter-weight than Open Office. I ran abiword before I switched to Open Office. The version I had would not run .docx files, which was the whole reason I needed something to supplement MS-works that came with the system. Open Office is far better compatibility wise. I will further extol the greatness of Open Office. Get that.