Document Editing and Creating in 2022

When using our document templates you might wonder which document editors there are besides Microsoft Office and Google Docs. In this business blog article, we provide you with some quality alternatives that offer the same functionality.

Basic comparison.

Office 365 and Google Docs are more than only document editors. There are complete collaboration suits that even offer chat and mail solutions as many SAAS providers nowadays do. This strong integration makes both Microsoft Office and Google Docs still the best solutions there are but the competition is fears. For sure in countries where firewalls prevent Google to be accessible, are slowing down Onedrive, or even prevent web access to Word Online.

Because 99% of all our business templates are PDF, Powerpoints, Spreadsheets, and “Word” it is important that alternatives at least provide offline access (desktop version) and edit those documents.

WPS Office – The rising star from the east.

This office suite created by Kingsoft, one of the biggest software developers in Asia, is growing rapidly and runs on all major OS platforms including Windows, Linux, IOS, and macOS. WPS Office lets you create and edit files in WPS Writer, WPS Presentation, and WPS spreadsheet. It also offers a cloud storage solution called WPS Docs that enables you to store and share your documents online.

The solution is a freeware solution but there are also premium versions that are highly recommended because they provide access to tons of document templates and even a resume builder.

We do recommend small businesses also have a look at their “WPS Office for Business” solution which will enable you to work even more smart and productive. Last but not least, an advanced PDF editor is part of their office suite. So no need to install Acrobat Reader/Editor anymore.

For more info and the free download go to wps.com

Impressive is that WPS in a very short time truly has become an alternative to Office 365. Even the spreadsheet solution offers all the basic and even more advanced functions we know in MS Excel.

Open Office – Apache’s solution for document processing

Still, remember StarOffice created by Star Division that was acquired by Sun Microsystems in the early times of the PC when connecting to the internet meant dialing in using a modem? StarOffice was the predecessor of Open Office after they open-sourced it. It got open-sourced after it was not commercially viable anymore.

Ever since OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards) adopted the OpenDocument (ODF) format it became a document solution able to edit and create truly interchangeable documents. ODF is supported by all major office suites.

Currently, millions of users are using Open Office on a daily base. The suite is maintained by a professional online community, so don’t worry that it is another dying open-source solution. Due to its nature but also the fact it was owned by Sun and Oracle you will have a quality office suite and nothing is being hidden. Sadly enough no mail client like Outlook is included.

The suite consists of a Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Base, and a Math program. So you even have a Microsoft Access alternative and professional mathematical equations editor. It supports all major document format types. It is free and may be used commercially. Perfect solution if your startup is on a tight budget.

Try it out at openoffice.org

By the way. Did you know that LibreOffice is a fork of Open Office?

iWork – If you only like apples

In case your operating system is not Ubuntu Desktop or Windows 11 and you love to breathe the air at an Apple Store, you might want to consider going “Apple Only” (Almost sounds like a new James Bond title :P). For sure with all the weekly issues Microsoft Office 365 for Mac is experiencing and the limitations it has ever since they introduced the new interface. IT support engineers helping Apple users are getting bold because of all the trouble they enjoy when providing support to Office Mac users. The question we need to ask is if iWork is an alternative if we only need the basics.

Apple’s Office Suite works both on IOS and macOS. Like Microsoft Office 365 they do offer an online version and collaboration across team members is possible. It consists of the following parts:

1. Pages (Word)
2. Numbers (Excel)
3. Keynote (PowerPoint)

Like every Apple product, the solutions are very appealing and user-friendly. You will be able to create out-of-the-box awesome-looking presentations. You won’t be making advanced Excel dashboards or Microsoft Access databases but your management will be astonished by the graphics in numbers just keep in mind not every member in your organization might be an Apple user. It doesn't run natively on Windows so you will need a Mac or Ipad. A workaround when presenting on Windows or Linux-based computers is to open the browser version. Due to its user friendliness is it easy to learn so unexperience people can start creating documents fast.

Check out Iwork at Apple

Other references:

1. Blockage of Google - Wikipedia
2. WPS Office - Wikipedia
3. Fixes and workarounds for recent issues in Outlook for Mac - Microsoft
4. More than 333 million downloads - Apache