NeoOffice
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Office software |
| Predecessor | LibreOffice |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Founder | Planamesa Inc. |
| Defunct | 2023 |
| Fate | Discontinued; users advised to switch to LibreOffice |
| Headquarters | United States |
Area served | macOS platform |
| Products | Office suite (word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics editing) |
| Owner | Planamesa Inc. |
| Website | www |
NeoOffice was an office suite designed for the macOS platform, created and maintained by Planamesa Inc., but it has since been discontinued. This suite originated as a commercial derivative of the open source LibreOffice package and included applications for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, and graphics editing. NeoOffice incorporated functionalities that were not available in the macOS editions of LibreOffice and Apache OpenOffice. Its latest releases were built upon LibreOffice 4.4, dating back to mid-2014.
The ultimate version issued was 2022.7, released on 2 September 2023. By December 2023, development had ceased, and users were advised to switch to LibreOffice, a project to which NeoOffice contributor Patrick Luby remains involved.
History
Initial Mac versions of OpenOffice.org lacked native Mac OS X interface support, necessitating reliance on X11 or XDarwin environments. NeoOffice distinguished itself as the first OpenOffice.org derivative to deliver a fully native Mac OS X experience, enhancing installation processes and integrating seamlessly with macOS features such as menus, fonts, printing services, clipboard functionality, and drag-and-drop capabilities. Subsequently, both LibreOffice and Apache OpenOffice incorporated similar native Mac interfaces.
Initially named "NeoOffice/J," the suite utilized Java integration within Mac OS X to develop a native application. A concurrent effort called "NeoOffice/C," which aimed to use Apple's Cocoa APIs, was discontinued due to stability challenges. The "/J" designation was removed starting with version 1.2 when it became the exclusive version distributed. Members with Early Access privileges often received prerelease builds approximately one month ahead of official launches.
Between versions 3.1.1 and 2015, NeoOffice releases were based on OpenOffice.org 3.1.1 but included additional stability improvements sourced from LibreOffice and Apache OpenOffice. From 2017 onward, the suite transitioned entirely to a LibreOffice foundation.
In 2013, NeoOffice adopted a commercial distribution strategy via the Mac App Store. Although its source code remained freely accessible as of 2016, users were required to purchase the software to use it. This approach was reversed in 2022 when the full source code and application were made freely available on GitHub. The NeoOffice website now describes it as "An old fork of LibreOffice," indicating that the project is no longer active and recommending LibreOffice as an alternative.
| OOo version | Version | Release date | Release Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0.3.1 | NeoOffice/C 0.0.1 | June 22, 2003 | Initial build |
| 1.1.2 | NeoOffice/J 1.1 Alpha 2 | September, 2004 | |
| 1.1.3 | NeoOffice/J 1.1 Beta | December, 2004 | |
| 1.1.4 | NeoOffice/J 1.1 RC | March, 2005 | |
| 1.1.4 | NeoOffice/J 1.1 | June 22, 2005 | |
| 2.0 | NeoOffice 1.2 Alpha | November, 2005 | |
| 2.0.1 | NeoOffice 1.2 Beta | January 2, 2006 | |
| 2.0.1 | NeoOffice 1.2 | February 1, 2006 | |
| 2.0.2 | NeoOffice 1.2.2 | March 30, 2006 | |
| 2.0.2 | NeoOffice 2.0 Alpha PowerPC | April 25, 2006 | |
| 2.0.2 | NeoOffice 2.0 Alpha Intel (various builds) | May–June, 2006 | |
| 2.0.3 | NeoOffice Aqua Beta versions | (August, 2006) | |
| 2.1.0 | NeoOffice 2.1 | March 26, 2007 | Introduced Mac-like icon set |
| 2.2.x | (Various releases) | (2007–2009) | Bug fixes; added QuickTime video support; media browser; touchpad gestures; Apple remote support; last version supporting Mac OS X 10.3. |
| 3.x | (Multiple releases) | (2009–2015) | Added native Mac OS X spellchecker/grammar checker integration; improved Microsoft Office compatibility; Retina display support; Cocoa replaces Java; support for OS X versions up to El Capitan; first Mac App Store release; transition to native text highlighting. |
| LibreOffice version | Version | Release date | Release Notes |
| 4.4 | NeoOffice 2017 | 17 August 2017 | First fully LibreOffice-based version |
| 2022.x | NeoOffice 2022.x | June–September 2022 onward | Universal installer with native Apple silicon support |
Supported file formats
NeoOffice 3.1.2 accommodates an extensive variety of file formats for document saving, guaranteeing seamless compatibility with Microsoft formats while preserving original formatting.
Word processor application
- OpenDocument Text (.odt) *
- OpenDocument Text Template (.ott)
- NeoOffice 1.0 Text Document (.sxw)
- NeoOffice 1.0 Text Document Template (.stw)
- Microsoft Word 6.0/95/97/2000/XP (.doc)
- Rich Text Format (.rtf)
- StarWriter versions 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 including Templates (.sdw, .vor)
- Plain Text (.txt), Encoded Text (.txt)
- HTML Document (via NeoOffice Writer) (.html)
- AportisDoc for Palm devices (.pdb)
- DocBook format (.xml)
- Microsoft Word 2007 XML format (.docx)
- Microsoft Word 2003 XML format (.xml)
- OpenDocument Text in Flat XML (.fodt)
- Pocket Word format (.psw)
- Unified Office Format text documents (.uot)
Spreadsheet application
- OpenDocument Spreadsheet (.ods) *
- OpenDocument Spreadsheet Template (.ots)
- NeoOffice 1.0 Spreadsheet and Template files (.sxc, .stc)
- Data Interchange Format files (.dif)
- dBase database files (.dbf)
- Microsoft Excel versions 5.0, 95, 97, 2000, XP and Templates (.xls, .xlt)
- StarCalc versions 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 plus Templates (.sdc, .vor)
- SYLK files (.slk)
- Comma-Separated Values text files (.csv)
- HTML Spreadsheet Documents (NeoOffice Calc) (.html)
- Microsoft Excel 2007 XML format (.xlsx)
- Microsoft Excel 2003 XML format (.xml)
- OpenDocument Spreadsheet in Flat XML format (.fods)
- Pocket Excel files (.pxl)
- Unified Office Format spreadsheets (.uos)
Presentation application
- OpenDocument Presentation files (.odp) *
- OpenDocument Presentation Templates (.otp)
- NeoOffice 1.0 Presentations and Templates (.sxi, .sti)
- Microsoft PowerPoint versions 97, 2000, XP and Templates (.ppt, .pot)
- NeoOffice 1.0 Drawing (Impress) and StarDraw/StarImpress versions 4.0 and 5.0 including Templates
- Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 XML format (.pptx)
- OpenDocument Presentation in Flat XML format (.fodp)
- Unified Office Format presentations (.uop)
- OpenDocument Drawing (Impress) files (.odg)
Graphics application
- OpenDocument Drawing and Template files (.odg, .otg) *
- NeoOffice 1.0 Drawing and Template documents (.sxd, .std)
- StarDraw versions 3.0 and 5.0 plus Templates (.sdd, .sda, .vor)
- OpenDocument Drawing in Flat XML format (.fodg)
Database application
- OpenDocument Database files (.odb) *
Formula application
- OpenDocument Formula files (.odf)
- NeoOffice 1.0 Formula documents (.sxm)
- StarMath version 5.0 files (.smf)
- MathML version 1.01 markup (mml)
By default, NeoOffice operates with loading and saving documents in the OpenDocument format—an OASIS XML standard—although users have the option to select alternative formats.
Licensing
OpenOffice.org was originally distributed by Sun Microsystems under both the LGPL and the SISSL, before Sun transitioned to solely LGPL licensing; contributors were required to assign copyright to Sun. This licensing structure enabled Sun to develop proprietary derivatives such as StarOffice. In contrast, NeoOffice retained its code ownership by declining to assign copyrights to Sun, which prevented its inclusion in official OpenOffice.org distributions.
Efforts aimed at resolving licensing incompatibilities and fostering code-sharing between NeoOffice and OpenOffice.org teams were undertaken but did not succeed; NeoOffice favored autonomous development due to the complexities involved in coordination. Developers from OpenOffice.org noted that NeoOffice rejected collaboration overtures. Subsequently, NeoOffice expressed endorsement for LibreOffice and The Document Foundation.