Frequently Asked Questions
- What is NeoOffice?
- I am having problems. How can I get help?
- Can I copy NeoOffice?
- Where can I get the NeoOffice source code?
- Why use the full GPL?
- Why is NeoOffice separate from OpenOffice.org?
NeoOffice is a full-featured set of office applications for Mac OS X. Created in 2003 when there was no Mac OS X version of OpenOffice.org available, Patrick Luby and Ed Peterlin have devoted their decades of Mac software engineering experience to create an office suite that is adapted to the unique needs of Mac users.
While OpenOffice.org and LibreOffice now have their own Mac OS X versions, Patrick and Ed continually add improvements to NeoOffice that our Mac OS X users will not find in OpenOffice.org or LibreOffice such as:
- Extremely stable Mac OS X code that has been in daily use by hundreds of thousands of NeoOffice users since 2003
- Significant speed improvements to the OpenOffice.org text layout, rendering, and printing code
- Native Mac OS X text highlighting
- Native file locking support for local and networked volumes
- Mac OS X Services support
- Native floating tool windows
NeoOffice is not perfect. Although we try very hard to make NeoOffice free of bugs and crashes, our users still find new bugs and new cases that cause NeoOffice to crash. So, if you feel that you need software that has been heavily tested, we recommend that you use a commercially-supported product like Microsoft Office or Apple iWork.
I am having problems. How can I get help?
If you have any problems, a list of suggested steps for finding an answer for a problem as fast as possible is available on the NeoOffice Support page.
Yes. Since NeoOffice is distributed under the GNU General Public License (GPL), you can copy it as much as you like and give it to whomever you want.
Since providing user support consumes much of our donations, there are some restrictions on when you can use the NeoOffice trademark. So, if you are selling NeoOffice, you must comply with the NeoOffice CD Distribution and Trademark Usage policy.
Where can I get the NeoOffice source code?
Instructions for accessing and building the NeoOffice source code are on the NeoOffice Build Instructions page.
Note that if you modify any of the NeoOffice code, you must release your modifications under the GPL. In other words, you cannot make proprietary modifications to NeoOffice and we aggressively enforce the terms of the GPL against anyone who does not GPL their modifications.
Using the full GPL ensures that anyone who makes improvements to NeoOffice will share them with the community.
Why is NeoOffice separate from OpenOffice.org?
When we started the NeoOffice project, our primary reason for being separate was that we did not like OpenOffice.org's SISSL license. However, now that the NeoOffice project has been active for a few years, license issues are no longer the primary reason that keeps us separate. The primary reason that we stay separate is that we can develop, release, and support a native Mac OS X office suite with much less time and money than we could if we worked within the OpenOffice.org project.
Another reason that we stay separate is that we believe that we have produced a more stable product and we can provide a significantly higher level of Mac user support than OpenOffice.org can provide. Even though Oracle has added Mac OS X to their list of supported platforms starting with OpenOffice.org 3.0, our Mac OS X code has been in daily use by hundreds of thousands of NeoOffice users since 2003 and has proven to be extremely stable and, in some cases, to run faster than OpenOffice.org's much newer Mac OS X code. It required many years of programming and user testing to achieve NeoOffice's current level of stability and speed so we will continue to replace OpenOffice.org's Mac OS X code with our own Mac OS X code in future releases of NeoOffice.
Why would running a separate project be so much more efficient than using OpenOffice.org's infrastructure? Basically, the reason is that OpenOffice.org's processes and infrastructure are designed to handle the tens (or maybe hundreds) of millions of users on very different platforms. This is a huge job that requires a huge amount of infrastructure and processes. Furthermore, OpenOffice.org is paid for by Oracle so its paid staff are most concerned with completing whatever goals Oracle sets. In comparison, NeoOffice averages less than a million downloads per month and NeoOffice only runs on a platform that Oracle has rarely released software for. Because of these differences, any Mac OS X work must be coordinated with the OpenOffice.org paid staff to ensure that the Mac OS X work does not conflict with any work on the Windows, Linux, or Solaris platforms.
Both Ed Peterlin and Patrick Luby have worked within the OpenOffice.org project in the past and, in our experience, this coordination requires a significant amount of time. We have very limited time and such coordination can quickly use up most of it. By running a separate project, we have eliminated most of this coordination time and have used that time savings on things that are important to NeoOffice users such as frequent bug fixes and responsive support.