{{short description|Discontinued office suite software}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox software | name = Go-oo | logo = Go-oo logo.png | screenshot = Go-oo linux screenshot.jpg | caption = Go-oo version of OpenOffice.org Writer on OpenSUSE 11 | developer = Novell | released = 2.3.0 / {{Start date and age|2007|10|8}} | discontinued = yes | latest release version = 3.2.1 | latest release date = {{Start date and age|2010|07|21}} | programming language = C++, Mono | operating system = Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows | genre = Office suite | license = GNU Lesser General Public License | website = go-oo.org (defunct) }}
'''Go-oo''' (short for '''Go-Open Office''') was a free and open-source office productivity software suite developed and sponsored by Novell. It originated as a set of patches to OpenOffice.org known as '''ooo-build''' developed in 2003 by the Linux software company Ximian and led by Michael Meeks. In October 2007 Go-oo was released as an independent fork with additional features. Go-oo incorporated enhancements not accepted by the upstream project, which was maintained by Sun Microsystems, and offered improved support for Microsoft Office formats, faster development cycles, and more permissive policies for accepting external contributions. The project was discontinued in 2010 following the creation of LibreOffice, which integrated most of its features and policies.
== History == Go-oo began in 2003 as a patch set for OpenOffice.org, developed by Ximian, which was later acquired by Novell. The patch set, called ooo-build, was created to make OpenOffice.org easier to build on Linux distributions and to include improvements submitted by the community that were not accepted by Sun Microsystems, the project's upstream maintainer.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ooo.ximian.com/ooo-build.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20031018013700/http://ooo.ximian.com/ooo-build.html|archive-date = October 18, 2003|title = About OOO-build}}</ref>
By 2005, the project had adopted the domain name go-oo.org,<ref>{{cite web |last=Meeks |first=Michael |date=January 28, 2005 |title=ooo-build 1.3.8 Announced |url=https://lwn.net/Articles/121441/ |access-date=October 1, 2013 |work=LWN.net}}</ref> and in October 2007 Novell released the first standalone version of Go-oo (version 2.3.0). From that point on, Linux distributions such as SUSE Linux, Debian, and Ubuntu began using Go-oo rather than the unmodified upstream source.<ref name="linux.com">{{Cite web |title=Linux.com :: Go-OO: The best office suite you never knew you used |url=http://www.linux.com/feature/154364 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210192845/http://www.linux.com/feature/154364 |archive-date=February 10, 2009 |access-date=December 20, 2008}}</ref><ref name="go-oo-download">[http://go-oo.org/download/ Go-oo derivates in Linux distributions] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081223152340/http://go-oo.org/download/|date=December 23, 2008}}</ref> Several Windows-based editions, including OxygenOffice and the OpenOffice.org Novell Edition, were also built on Go-oo.
Go-oo included a number of features not present in OpenOffice.org, such as better support for Microsoft's Office Open XML (OOXML) formats, including limited write capability,<ref>{{cite web |title=odf-converter-integrator |url=http://katana.oooninja.com/w/odf-converter-integrator |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101101174355/http://katana.oooninja.com/w/odf-converter-integrator |archive-date=November 1, 2010 |access-date=October 18, 2010}}</ref> "hybrid PDF" export (PDFs with embedded source files), and the Sun Presentation Minimizer. Go-oo's more permissive contribution policies encouraged wider community involvement, in contrast to the stricter practices of Sun Microsystems.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hillesley |first=Richard |date=January 29, 2009 |title=Healthcheck: OpenOffice: Calling a cat a dog |url=http://www.h-online.com/open/features/Calling-a-cat-a-dog-746843.html |access-date=June 26, 2013 |work=The H Open |page=4}}</ref>
However, Go-oo faced criticism from some members of the free and open-source software community, concerned about Go-oo's inclusion of Microsoft technologies (including support for Visual Basic for Applications, OOXML and Microsoft Works file formats), and the use of the Mono programming language, controlled by Novell. They argued that these features could introduce software patent risks and compromise interoperability.<ref>{{cite web |last=Byfield |first=Bruce |date=January 7, 2009 |title=OpenOffice.org vs. Go-OO: Cutting through the Gordian Knot |url=http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/osrc/article.php/12068_3794611_1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090323073107/http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/osrc/article.php/12068_3794611_1 |archive-date=March 23, 2009 |access-date=August 15, 2015 |work=Datamation}}</ref> Some also suggested that Go-oo's enhancements may have been shaped by Novell's 2006 partnership announcement with Microsoft, which was later found to have imposed limitations on interoperability features in Go-oo.<ref>{{cite web |date=December 20, 2010 |title=Microsoft, Standards, and Incompatibility: 1991–2010 — And a Novell Smoking Gun – Updated 2Xs |url=http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20101219121621828 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110106104321/http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20101219121621828 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=January 6, 2011 |access-date=August 30, 2018 |work=Groklaw}}</ref>
In September 2010, The Document Foundation announced the creation of LibreOffice as a full fork of OpenOffice.org, with many of Go-oo's developers and code contributions forming the foundation of the new project.<ref name="meeks der standard">{{Cite web |title=Reviewed July 7, 2008, Der Standard interview with Michael Meeks |url=http://derstandard.at/?url=%2F%3Fid%3D1216917892794 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080819024455/http://derstandard.at/?url=%2F%3Fid%3D1216917892794 |archive-date=August 19, 2008 |access-date=August 17, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://lwn.net/Articles/407339/ |author=Jake Edge |date=September 28, 2010 |title=Michael Meeks talks about LibreOffice and the Document Foundation |publisher=LWN.net}}</ref> Go-oo was deprecated in favor of LibreOffice, which adopted many of its patches, features, and governance policies. LibreOffice also abandoned the use of the Mono programming language.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://packages.debian.org/stretch/libreoffice|title=Package: libreoffice (1:5.2.7-1+deb9u4)|work=Debian|access-date=August 30, 2018}}</ref>
LibreOffice and its enterprise-focused derivative, Collabora Online, are considered the principal successors of the Go-oo codebase. {{Panorama|image=StarOffice major derivatives.svg|height=255px|caption=A timeline of major derivatives of: {{legend-line|#c92e97 solid 6px|StarOffice|inline=yes}} and {{legend-line|#003aac solid 6px|OpenOffice.org|inline=yes}} {{legend-line|#ff6600 solid 6px|Go-oo}}}}
=== Versions === Stable builds of Go-oo were usually available a couple of days after OpenOffice.org stable builds. Windows builds had a different last number in the version's number than Linux builds.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{Cite web |url=http://go-oo.mirrorbrain.org/stable/ |title=Go-oo download |access-date=December 20, 2008 |archive-date=August 26, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826073813/http://go-oo.mirrorbrain.org/stable/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> A stable version for Macintosh computers was available starting with version 3.1.0 released in May 2009.<ref name="mac">{{Cite web |url=http://go-oo.mirrorbrain.org/stable/mac/3.2.1/ |title=Go-oo Mac OS X-Intel version |access-date=October 17, 2010 |archive-date=October 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101017134001/http://go-oo.mirrorbrain.org/stable/mac/3.2.1/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |- ! Version ! Windows release ! Linux release ! MacOS X release |- | 2.3.0 | October 8, 2007 | November 14, 2007 | rowspan="5" {{n/a}} |- | 2.4.0 | April 30, 2008 | February 20, 2008 |- | 2.4.1 | June 10, 2008 | June 26, 2008 |- | 3.0.0 | October 22, 2008 | November 21, 2008 |- | 3.0.1 | colspan="2" | February 4, 2009 |- | 3.1.0 | colspan="2" | June 2, 2009 | May 28, 2009 |- | 3.1.1 | September 16, 2009 | September 5, 2009 | September 4, 2009 |- | 3.2.0 | colspan="3" | February 26, 2010 |- | 3.2.1 | colspan="2" | July 21, 2010 | June 4, 2010 |}
== Differences between OpenOffice.org and Go-oo ==
=== Advantages === * Go-oo works faster in some operations than OpenOffice.org.<ref name="fastest_edition">{{Cite web |url=http://www.oooninja.com/2008/09/fastest-openofficeorg-edition-benchmark.html |title=The fastest OpenOffice.org edition |access-date=December 16, 2008 |archive-date=December 18, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218220615/http://www.oooninja.com/2008/09/fastest-openofficeorg-edition-benchmark.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This makes it perform faster than OpenOffice.org.<ref name="derstandard" /> * The OpenOffice.org 3.0 installation no longer includes a large number of dictionaries for writing aids (spell checker, hyphenation and thesaurus), as this impacted application performance. Localised releases may include dictionaries for particular primary and secondary languages. Dictionaries are now available as downloadable extensions, separately for each language.<ref name="ooo-dictionaries">{{Cite web |url=http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Dictionaries |title=Dictionaries in OpenOffice.org 3 |access-date=December 20, 2008 |archive-date=May 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512051114/http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Dictionaries |url-status=live }}</ref> Go-oo installation from version 3 on includes dictionaries in many languages, as a single extension, being a part of installation files. Inclusion of a large number of dictionaries in a default installation may affect performance. * Better GTK+ integration.<ref name="derstandard" /> * Better Chinese font rendering.<ref name="derstandard" />
==== Features ==== * Go-oo includes 3-D transition effects in Presentations (Linux).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://what-is-what.com/what_is/go-oo.html |title=What is Go-oo? - What is Go-oo and how is it related to Open Office<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=January 7, 2009 |archive-date=January 20, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090120051757/http://what-is-what.com/what_is/go-oo.html |url-status=live }}</ref> * Use of the GStreamer multimedia framework in Linux for multimedia content;<ref name="derstandard">{{Cite web|url=http://derstandard.at/1216917892794/Sun-dropping-out-of-OpenOfficeorg-development-wouldnt-be-an-entirely-negative-thing?_artikelIndex=3|title=Sun dropping out of OpenOffice.org development wouldn't be an entirely negative thing|first=Andreas|last=Proschofsky|date=July 27, 2008|access-date=November 24, 2012|publisher=Der Standard}}</ref> * Use of Mono framework for UNO automation, allowing automation from other languages such as C#, Boo, and so on.<ref name="discover_go-oo" /> * Go-oo uses a combo box in place of the zoom button in stock OpenOffice.org. Newer OOo 2.x feature releases have a clickable status bar item for a zoom menu. A zoom slider was introduced to OOo 3.0 Writer and later added to OOo 3.1 Calc, Impress and Draw components. * Go-oo Calc can set color for sheet tab label.<ref name="discover_go-oo">{{Cite web |url=http://go-oo.org/discover/ |title=Discover Go-OO! |access-date=February 20, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124012215/http://go-oo.org/discover/ |archive-date=November 24, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> * Go-oo Calc 2.4.x has a built in function called "Solver". It is a little different from the Solver function of the same name, which is available from OpenOffice.org 3.0. OpenOffice.org 2.4.x has no Solver.{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}}
==== Filetype support ==== * Go-oo can write OOXML files, and not just read them. ;Import * Go-oo 2.4.x has built-in support for opening Office Open XML files and brings this function also for Windows 98/ME users. (Note: OpenOffice.org 3.x has built-in support for opening Office Open XML documents, but those versions of OOo cannot be installed under Windows 98/ME.) * VBA macro support; * Microsoft Works filetype import;<ref name="derstandard" /> * Lotus Word Pro import; * Go-oo Draw has built-in functionality to open SVG files. OpenOffice Draw requires an extension.<ref name="svg">[http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/SVG_Import_Filter SVG Import Filter] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101216083131/http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/SVG_Import_Filter |date=December 16, 2010 }} - OpenOffice.org wiki</ref><ref>[http://extensions.services.openoffice.org/project/svgimport SVG Import Extension] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100602193140/http://extensions.services.openoffice.org/project/svgimport |date=June 2, 2010 }} - OpenOffice.org repository for extensions</ref><ref>[http://extensions.services.openoffice.org/project/SVGTiny2OO SVG Tiny Import/Export] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090526073303/http://extensions.services.openoffice.org/project/SVGTiny2OO |date=May 26, 2009 }} (does not work with OOo 3.1) – OpenOffice.org repository for extensions</ref> * The PDF Import extension is included by default in Go-oo 3.0. * Improved EMF drawing; * WordPerfect Graphics import.
;Save/Export * From version 3.0 on, Go-oo can save password-protected XLS files. It uses only one basic encryption method compatible with many spreadsheet applications (for example Gnumeric). * Go-oo 3.x can save Office Open XML files such as docx, xlsx, pptx by using Novell OpenXML Converter.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://download.novell.com/Download?buildid=OabXVm-plcA~ |title=Download OpenOffice.org–OpenXML translator|publisher=Novell|access-date=January 12, 2009}}</ref> Because Go-oo for Windows and OpenOffice.org Novell Edition for Windows are similar, Novell OpenXML Converter can work with Go-oo 3.x.<ref name="novell">{{Cite web |url=http://www.novell.com/products/openofficewindows/ |title=OpenOffice.org Novell Edition for Windows |access-date=December 21, 2008 |archive-date=December 17, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217163854/http://www.novell.com/products/openofficewindows/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Disadvantages === * Go-oo localizations are available only as language packs to the English installation.<ref name="go-oo-download" /> Translations of the user interface and dictionaries for different languages in Go-oo are in some cases not the same as in OpenOffice.org.
=== Other differences === * Go-oo installation files were usually available for download a couple of days after OpenOffice.org builds were released. * Go-oo for Windows was similar to OpenOffice.org Novell Edition for Windows. For example, Go-oo has version 3.0-19 and Novell Edition 3.0-22.<ref name="novell" /> * The first time OpenOffice.org is started, a wizard opens to guide a user through the setting of user name and the registration process.<ref name="wizard">{{Cite web |url=http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation/Administration_Guide/Deactivating_Registration_Wizard |title=OpenOffice.org first start wizard |access-date=December 20, 2008 |archive-date=December 16, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216010916/http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation/Administration_Guide/Deactivating_Registration_Wizard |url-status=live }}</ref> This wizard is disabled in Go-oo.
== See also == {{Portal|Free and open-source software}} * List of word processors * Comparison of word processors * Office Open XML software * OpenDocument software
== References == {{Reflist|2}} {{Refbegin}} {{Refend}}
== External links == * Last version of go-oo.org {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024221439/http://go-oo.org/ |date=October 24, 2012 }}
{{OpenOffice}} {{Office suites}}
Category:Open-source office suites Category:Office suites for macOS Category:Unix software Category:Office suites for Windows Category:Formerly proprietary software Category:Free PDF software Category:Free software programmed in C++ Category:Portable software Category:OpenOffice Category:Office suites