OpenOffice.org 3.0 Officially Released

This version is able to import files in the new Microsoft Word format, OOXML. These are recognised by the additional x in the file extension. OpenOffice.org's support for .docx, .xlsx and .pptx is currently read-only, but that is all you need to share documents with users of Office 2007, as you can save in the older Microsoft Office formats (which all Office 2007 programs can read).

OOXML write support would be useful in a heterogeneous environment, but we will have to wait a little longer for that. Some distros already include some OOXML support in OpenOffice.org 2.4, but having it as a core feature is an improvement.

Writer has gained the ability to display multiple pages at once. As you zoom out, a task made easier by the new zoom slider at the bottom of the window, the previous and next pages are displayed, showing the current text in context and the effect of changes you make on the formatting of the next page.

With large or multiple monitors, a display of several pages is quite readable. Notes are now displayed in the margin - they show the user and time and are displayed in a different colour for each user.

Calc has also seen some improvement. The old limit of 256 columns has increased fourfold and the collaboration features mean that a spreadsheet can be shared, allowing other users to add data. The spreadsheet owner can then integrate the added data after checking it. There are other additions to Calc, such as custom error bars.

Meanwhile, in Impress you can now insert tables instead of the using the previous fiddly workaround of embedding a spreadsheet object to get a similar effect.