Office Automation Tools

Unit-1
Office Automation

 Office automation refers to the use of computer and software to digitally create, collect,
store, manipulate and relay office information needed for accomplishing basic tasks and
goals.
 In other words, the term office automation refers to all tools and methods that are applied
to office activities which make it possible to process written, visual and sound data in a
computer-aided manner.
Office Suite Tools

 The term "office suite" refers to all software programs which make it possible to meet
office needs. In particular, an office suite therefore includes the following software
programs:
 word processing
 a spreadsheet
 a presentation tool
 a database
 a scheduler
Office Suite Tools

 The main office suites are:

 OpenOffice (freeware)
 Microsoft Office
 Libre Office
 AppleWorks
 Corel WordPerfect
 IBM/Lotus SmartSuite
 Sun StarOffice
Benefits of Office Automation

1. Data management offers advantages such as simplifying the management of stored data

and information. Program schedulers, reminder systems, and task management allow
businesses to monitor and control office projects and activities.
2. Data storage includes confidential and important office records and documents.
An office automation system would include data applications which are used to create
and edit spreadsheets, documents and files or images.
Benefits of Office Automation

3. Data exchange of stored or manipulated data and information makes it easier for one or
more members of an organization to send files and exchange data and information in
real-time with an electronic transfer application or network connection, which enhances
productivity.
4. Accuracy is greatly improved as programs and applications assist staff in getting 100%
accuracy in day-to-day business processes.
Benefits of Office Automation

5. Saves time and resources by simplifying and automating complex tasks. Digital storage
eliminates the need for hard copies, which not only saves money and office space, but it
helps the planet too.
6. Reduces costs by not investing too much on hiring new resources to take care of tasks
which can be easily executed by an office automation system.
Open Source Software & Proprietary Software

 Open-source refers to the software whose source code is available for anybody to access
and modify.
 i.e. Open-source software (OSS) is a type of computer software in which source code is
released under a license in which the copyright holder grants users the rights to study,
change, and distribute the software to anyone and for any purpose.
 E.g. Apace Open Office, Libre Office etc.
Open Source Software & Proprietary Software

 Proprietary software is software that is solely owned by the individual or the organization
that developed it. 
 The owner of is the exclusive copyright holder of the software and only he has the rights to
modify or add features to the program’s source code. He is the sole owner of the program
who can sell it under some concrete conditions which should be followed by the users in
order to avoid any legal disputes.
 E.g. Microsoft Office.
 Open Source Software Proprietary (Commercial
Software)
It refers to the software that is It refers to the software that is
developed and tested through solely owned by the individual
open collaboration. or the organization that
developed it.
Anyone can access, inspect, Only the owner or publisher
modify and redistribute the who holds the legal property
source code rights of the source code can
access it.
The project is managed by an The project is managed by a
open source community of the closed group of individuals or
developers and programmers. team that developed it.
 Open Source Software Proprietary (Commercial
Software)
They are not aimed at unskilled They are focused on a limited
users outside of the marked of both skilled and
programming community. unskilled end users.
It provides better flexibility There is a very limited scope of
which means more freedom innovation with the restrictions
which encourages innovation. and all.
e.g. Android, Firefox, e.g. Windows, macOS, Google
Libreoffice, Ubuntu etc. Earth etc.
 Open Office

 Open Office is an open-source office productivity software suite. 

 As an open-source product, OpenOffice is free of purchase or licensing fees and it can be
installed on any suitable computer.
 Open Office’s native file format is OpenDocument. This produces several new file
extensions including .odt for documents, .ods for spreadsheets and .odp for presentations.
 Open Office can also open and save documents in many other formats, including those
used by several versions of Microsoft Office.
Components of Open Office

1. Writer:
 It’s a word processor.
 Writer is a feature-rich tool for creating letters, books, reports, newsletters, brochures and other
documents.
 You can insert graphics and objects from other components into Writer documents.
 Writer can export files to HTML, XHTML, XML, Adobe’s Portable Document Format (PDF) and
several versions of Microsoft Word files.
Components of Open Office

2. Calc:
 It’s a spreadsheet program.
 Calc has all of the advanced analysis, charting and decision-making features expected from a high-end
spreadsheet.
 It includes over 300 functions for financial, statistical and mathematical operations among others.
Components of Open Office

3. Impress:
 It’s a presentation software.
 Impress provides all the common multimedia presentation tools such as special effects, animation and
drawing tools.
 It is integrated with the advanced graphics capabilities of Open Office’s Draw and Math components.
Components of Open Office

4. Draw :
 Draw is a vector drawing tool that can produce everything from simple diagrams of flowcharts to 3-D
artwork.
 Draw can be used to create drawings for use in any of Open Office’s other components.
 Draw can import from many other formats and save them in over 20 formats including PNG, HTML,
PDF and Flash.
Components of Open Office

5. Base (database)
 Base provides tools for day-to-day database work within a simple interface.
 It can create and edit forms, reports, queries, tables, views, and relations .
 Base provides many new features such as the ability to analyze and edit relationships from a diagram
view.
 Base incorporates HSQLDB (Hyper SQL Database) as its default relational database engine.
 It can also use dBASE, Microsoft Access, MySQL, or Oracle or any ODBC(Open Database
Connectivity)- or JDBC(Java Database Connectivity)- compliant database.
Components of Open Office

6. Math (formula editor)

 Math is Open office’s formula or equation editor.
 You can use it to create complex equations that include symbols or characters not available in standard
font sets.
 While it is most commonly used to create formulas in other documents such as Writer and Impress files,
Math can also work as a stand-alone tool.
 You can save formulas in the standard Mathematical Markup Language (MathML) format for inclusion in
webpages and other documents not created by Open Office.
Advantages of Open Office

1. No licensing fees
2. Open Source
3. Cross-Platform: Open Office runs on several hardware architectures and under multiple
operating systems.
4. Extensive Language Support: Open Office user interface is available in several
languages. It also provides support for both Complex Text Layout (CTL) and Right to
Left (RTL) layout languages (such as Hindi, Hebrew and Arabic)
Advantages of Open Office

5. Consistent User Interface: All the components have a similar “look and feel”, making them
easy to use and master.
6. Integration: The components of Open Office are well integrated with one another.
7. File Compatibility: In addition to its native OpenDocument formats, it includes PDF and
Flash export capabilities as well as support for opening and viewing files in many common
formats including Microsoft Office, HTML, XML, WordPerfect etc.
Advantages of Open Office

8. No Vendor Lock-in: Open Office uses Open Document, an XML (eXtensible Markup
Language) file format developed as an industry standard by OASIS (Organization for the
Advancement of Structured Information Standards). These files can easily be unzipped and
read by any text editor and their framework is open and published.
Libre Office

 The LibreOffice software suite is a derivative of OpenOffice.org that contains applications

for word processing, spreadsheet, presentations, database management, and graphics
editing. It is compatible with other similar software suites, like Microsoft Office, and
works on several platforms, including Microsoft Windows, macOS X, and Linux.
Libre Office

 It is the default office suite of most popular Linux distributions.

 It is the most actively developed free and open-source office suite, with approximately 50
times the development activity of Apache Open office, the other major descendant of
OpenOffice.org.
 LibreOffice was first released on September 28, 2010 by "The Document Foundation" as a
beta version based on the OpenOffice.org 3.3 beta version.
Libre Office

 The software suite includes:

 Writer (word processor, compatible with Microsoft Word)
 Calc (spreadsheet editor, compatible with Microsoft Excel)
 Impress (presentation software, compatible with Microsoft PowerPoint)
 Base (database management, compatible with Microsoft Access)
 Draw (vector graphics editor)
 Math (mathematical formula creation and editing)
Microsoft Office

 Microsoft Office is a suite of desktop productivity applications that is designed specifically

to be used for office or business use.
 It is a proprietary product of Microsoft Corporation and was first released in 1990.
 Microsoft Office is available in 35 different languages and is supported by Windows, Mac
and most Linux variants.
 It mainly consists of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, OneNote, Outlook and Publisher
applications.
Microsoft Office

 Microsoft Office was primarily created to automate the manual office work with a collection of
purpose-built applications.
 Each of the applications in Microsoft Office serves as specific knowledge or office domain
such as:
 Microsoft Word: Helps users in creating text documents.
 Microsoft Excel: Creates simple to complex data/numerical spreadsheets.
 Microsoft PowerPoint: Stand-alone application for creating professional multimedia presentations.
 Microsoft Access: Database management application.
 Microsoft Publisher: Introductory application for creating and publishing marketing materials.
 Microsoft OneNote: Alternate to a paper notebook, it enables an user to neatly organize their notes.