ThinkFree Show works like PowerPoint and uses the same .ppt file format. This allows for users of ThinkFree Office to edit original PowerPoint presentations without needing any previous conversion and to be able to share its own generated presentation files with PowerPoint users.
The formatting and rendering features of ThinkFree Office Show ensure that PowerPoint files opened in Show display just like in the software that originated them. The reverse is also true.
Also to note that the ThinkFree Office 3 Show interface was designed to look, feel and behave like PowerPoint itself. That way, users minimize their learning curve and approach presentation assembly just like they did in their own PowerPoint application.
Most every tool and feature that you may have already learned in Powerpoint is to be found in the same position. Even the contextual menus that can be accessed when right clicking on objects or on a slide background are all to be easily found with the same approach.
ThinkFree Show includes an extensive variety of fonts, bullets, colors, page designs and more than 600 pieces of clip art. Show also integrates Master and Title Master Slide features, Slide Notes, animations, transition effects, 140 drawing tools, AutoShapes and more.
Just like in the Write module, files can also be saved in .pdf and .svg as well as in HTML for Web pages and .pps (PowerPoint Show).
When exporting presentation to the Web, ThinkFree Show also allows the setting of color depth (how many colors to be used) and of the final web resolution to be utilized.
When you create or open a file, you can save it to your online storage account. You can access the files you have in your storage account from any computer that has a Web browser.
Most interesting for presentation professionals is a special version of ThinkFree Office labelled iPod Edition.
The ThinkFree Office 3 Show, iPod Edition uses in fact the popular Apple iPods as external USB hard disks. This allows iPods to be used to effectively carry large presentations which can then be edited, while on the iPod hard disk from any computer to which the iPod gets connected to.
That's right. The iPod acts as a carrying storage medium for your presentations and when you connect the iPod to any computer, be it PC or Mac, you can load up the stored presentations and edit them while viewing them on the connected computer.
A separate "Export to iPod" menu in ThinkFree Office 3 Show, iPod Edition converts slides to the JPEG graphic file format and uses Apple's iTunes software to move the slide images to a photo database on the iPod. These JPEG images are used for viewing slides on the iPod. The same images can also be utilized for running slide shows directly from the iPod when it is directly connected to an external monitor or projector.
N.B.: These features are available only on iPods with color display. And although iPod Nano can show slide shows on its color screen,it cannot be connected to an external monitor.
ThinkFree Office 3 Show, iPod Edition can also convert slides to Adobe Potable Document Format (PDF).
Thinkfree Write comes with many of the basic and advanced editing features found in Word including the following:
This list is not exhaustive.
Anyone who knows Microsoft Word will find it equally easy to use ThinkFree Write. The only noticeable difference in Write is the slight delay when taking certain actions. That is expected of online applications.
Calc is ThinkFree's version of Excel that uses .xls format. Calc features 300 functions, AutoCorrect, Chart Wizard, formulas, cell formatting and comments and more. Files can be saved as HTML, comma delimited (.csv) to work with databases, XML and others. No noticeable features are missing.
To post ThinkFree documents on your blog, register your blog with ThinkFree. Here's an example of a ThinkFree Write document posted to a blog. As you see from the example, posting a Write document into a blog means the Write application appears in the blog entry along with the selected document. It's awkward to see the document open within the Write application rather than just the document.
ThinkOffice has recently released additional features. You can work in light-Preview, Quick Edit or the full-featured Power Edit mode. Collaboration includes document sharing, tagging, commenting, publishing and full-text search. Version management lets you view document history including changes, comments and tags.
Operating System Requirements:
For Windows users: 98/ME/2K(Service Pack 3 or later)/XP(Service Pack 1 or later)
For Linux users: Haansoft Linux Workstation 2005, Fedora Core 3(gnome) or Linspire 5.0 (gnome)
For Mac users: Mac OS X 10.4 with Power Mac G4 or G5
Hardware (PC) Requirements:
CPU: Minimum Pentium III /Recommended Over Pentium IV
Memory: Minimum 256 MB / Recommended Over 512 MB
Price:
For the ThinkFree Office online version, a basic account is free and it comes with a quota of 1 GB of file storage. A download edition is available for USD $49.95 (upgrade: USD $29.95).
Editions:
- ThinkFree Office Desktop: ThinkFree Office 3 is a downloadable suite of Microsoft Office compatible-applications. It includes word processing, spreadsheet and graphical presentation applications that let users create or edit their documents and files on PCs, Macs and Linux computers.
- ThinkFree Office Server: Companies installed the package on their servers for employees to use. The detailed fact sheet covers the features and requirements.
- iPod Edition: Turns the iPod into a portable PowerPoint presentation system. The detailed fact sheet covers the features and requirements.
- Online Service: The online edition allows you to access and use the suite online. Currently the Basic Edition is free and an online premium edition is coming soon.
Users who are familiar with Microsoft Office won't have trouble learning their way around ThinkFree Office Online. The suite is still a work in progress (beta) as not all features work. There are plans to add better support for Mac, Linux, Firefox and Safari.
Try it out now.
