How can I view MS Word files in Solaris?

How can I view MS Word files in Solaris?

Multiple applications support viewing MS Word files.
None are perfect, as MS Word file format is a trade secret
and changes constantly.


StarOffice,
produced by a German subsidiary of Sun,
supports MS Word, basic PowerPoint, Excel files, and other formats.
StarOffice 6 is available for US $75.95 (UK £52.99) at computer stores and
http://www.Sun.COM/staroffice/.
StarOffice is my preferred word processor because it's available on
multiple platforms (Solaris x86 & SPARC, Linux, MS Windows)
and because it has a familiar MS Office-type interface.


OpenOffice,
an open-source spin-off from StarOffice, is free.
It doesn't contain some components of StarOffice
(such as some fonts and image libraries), but is perfectly
acceptible for casual use.
Solaris x86 binaries are available, as are SPARC, Windows, and Linux.
Experimental "developer" Apple Mac OSx binaries are available.


AbiWord is also available for
Solaris Intel.
AbiWord only does word processing, but I understand it has
all the basic functionality.
I have no personal experience with it however.
It's available in source form only, so you have to build
it yourself (download the gcc compiler). Good luck!
If anyone has had success or experience with AbiWord on Solaris Intel,
email me at <dan@drydog.com>.


Corel WordPerfect 8, although getting a little "long in the tooth"
(outdated), it is still available. WordPerfect for UNIX supports
WordPerfect, Word (old and new), HTML, RTF, FrameMaker, Applix,
and several other document formats.
Price varies and it's not cheap.
There's no Sparc Intel binary available, but some people run
Linux Intel binary on Solaris using lxrun software
(see elsewhere in this fax).
See
http://www.corel.com/wpunix/


The VistaSource's Applixware Office suite can read Word files,
among other formats, as above,
and comes with a spreadsheet and other applications. I still prefer
WordPerfect for word processing, but Applix Office offers a broader array
of applications.
Applix Office is also getting "long in the tooth."
See
http://www.vistasource.com/products/axware/


You can also try wv (free), which converts Word 8 (Office 97), but
not older, Word files to HTML. WordView is available in source form
(mostly Perl and some C) from
http://www.wvWare.com/


For the above software, more complicated Word format files cannot be
converted, especially those saved with "Quick Save" enabled.
Be aware that these office suites seem to require systems with 128MB of
memory or more to perform reasonably (in my experience).


Finally, you CAN'T use Sun's PC File Viewer.
It's available (and free) only for the
SPARC-resident Solaris 2.6 PC File Viewer is Sun's relabeled
version of Inso Corp.'s
(http://www.inso.com/) QuickView Plus.
See
http://www.Sun.COM/desktop/products/software/pcviewer.html



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