The program installs Presentation, Spreadsheets, and Writer—these can be used to replace Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel, and Word, respectively. You can download it for Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, and Android.
WPS Office File Formats
WPS Office fully supports the following file types, which means you can open and save back to these formats: As you can see, popular Microsoft Office file formats, such as DOCX, PPTX, and XLSX, can also be used in this program.
WPS Office vs Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office comes bundled with several programs: an email client, note-taking application, and spreadsheet, presentation, database, and word processor software, among others. While WPS Office doesn’t support the same variety of products, it is a close competitor to MS Office in that with those that it does have in common (word processor, etc.), it’s a rather close match as to which is better than the other. Personally, I prefer the tabbed interface of WPS Office vs the one offered by MS Office. Sometimes something as simple as that can sway you to prefer one suite over the other. However, because Office is so popular, you may be required to use file types or specific Office programs, like Access, which can leave you wanting something more than this free office suite. You can even use WPS Cloud to edit documents online, much like Microsoft Office Online. It’s just as easy to use as the desktop version. With all things considered, it’s important to realize that while you may need Microsoft Office to work in some projects or use particular file types, WPS Office is a nice alternative that has its own set of features and benefits. At the very least, if you’re in a pinch to open a new Microsoft Office document type, but your computer doesn’t run Office, this suite is a great way to get that file open so that you can edit and save it just like you would if Microsoft’s programs were installed.
More Information
There are loads of other features that will take some time to find. Here are a few of the more noteworthy functions and some other details:
You get 1 GB of free online storage space when you sign in to your user account. You can use your existing Google, Twitter, Dropbox, or Facebook account, or you can make a new user account with your email address. Download mini apps within this program to do things like convert PDFs to Word or Excel formats; record your screen; and enable OCR to read text from images and screenshots. Create a team to share files and collaborate on documents. Access free templates from their website or from the Templates area of WPS Office to quickly build posters, cards, and more. Build separate workspaces for your various projects to stay on task. Files can be opened from your computer or your Google Drive or Dropbox account. If you have files saved to WPS Cloud, those are accessible through the program, too. Share files with anyone, and optionally enable an expiration and disable downloads. Documents can also easily be transferred to your phone. Timed Backup is a feature that automatically saves backups of your documents so you can retrieve them up to 60 days later if necessary. Get the offline installer if the computer won’t have a solid internet connection, or opt for the online installer. WPS Search is an included file search tool that help you find documents and pictures throughout your computer. Edit the theme with custom color settings to customize the interface. There are paid versions of this program that turn on additional features like PDF editing, file format conversions, an ad-free experience, and more cloud storage.
Thoughts on WPS Office
If you’re comparing WPS Office to another paid or free office suite, you’ll easily find things that are missing, like a database program or live spell check. But it’s important to look at WPS Office on its own to recognize its own advantages. Ease of use is sometimes more indispensable than having hundreds of unique features. I think WPS Office is the easiest office suite to use, and to look at for that matter. I’ve had no troubles using it, and the tabbed interface creates a much less cluttered work area. Aside from aesthetics alone, this software suite is also flexible in that it works with many common file types that you may be required to use, which makes it just that much sweeter.
