From the Dark Side
by Tiny Ruisch
I’ve finally decided which office suite to use on my android devices. My requirements are probably a little different than most users. On my phone, I mostly use a half dozen different spreadsheets to track my medical data. On my tablet, I usually connect my portable keyboard to write newsletter articles, etc. Over the last year and a half or so, I’ve tried all of the major suites in the Google Play Store. All of them work fairly well, but each has its own idiosyncrasies. Kingsoft Office for Android is an office suite that is free. Unlike many other suites, there is no paid version with extra features.
The Kingsoft suite has five modules: a widget, Writer for Android, Spreadsheets for Android, Presentation for Android and a file manager. The interface is easy to use. Files are previewed in a large, sliding thumbnail window. I have found this to be much more efficient than a file list which my clumsy fingers seem to always touch the wrong file. More that twenty file formats can be imported. Output file formats are: Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint 97 to 2010 formats: .doc, .docx, .txt, .xls, .xlsx, .pptx and .pdf.
Working on documents isn’t difficult at all, as long as you are comfortable with typing on a touch interface. When I attach my Bluetooth keyboard, it is even more simple, almost like using a laptop computer. All the options like save, edit, layout etc. are easily accessible from the toolbar at the top. Underneath it, you will find all the sub-options on a horizontal ribbon. When working on a document, a long press on any part of the text will open a pop-up window with options to cut, copy, select, share etc. Other options include the ability to add images, font size, header/footer, encrypt files, copy/paste, add comments etc.
Working on spreadsheets is also easy. Formulas are supported, as well as options like wrap text, freeze panes, sort, add charts, auto shapes etc. The touch interface is a little difficult to learn but is easy to use once you’ve done so. As with the writer module, connecting a keyboard will make it a breeze.
I have not used the presentation module enough to know how well it works. It is compatible with power point files. My only complaint about Kingsoft Office for Android is that it doesn’t support RTF (rich text format) and ODT (Libre Office) files. For my mobile files, I usually save as either text or word and then do my final edit on either my laptop or desktop.
There are many more features I did not mention in this short review. One is support for cloud services. You can learn more at the Kingsoft Store. The suite is available for download from the Google Play Store. Give it a try and post your thoughts on the club website.