Anyone who has ever tried to find a Microsoft Word free download when they needed a word processing program has learned such a program does not exist. For some reason, the idea of a free Microsoft Word download seems to be outside the realm of Microsoft’s thinking, but that does not mean that someone needing a quality word processing program that is free is out of luck.
Full Compatablity with Microsoft Word Files
While Microsoft Word is the premier word processing program, the team behind Open Office worked hard to ensure that anyone familiar with Microsoft Word 2011 could sit down and go to work on the Open Office program. In addition, Open Office will open and save all files in the same proprietary file types as Microsoft Office. This is one reason that many people opt for using Open Office rather than going with an MS Word download . 
Always Being Updated
Open Office is open source program code. This means that, unlike Microsoft Word, there are always improvements being made to the program, based on different Open Office users who discover there is a need for a new feature. Another advantage that open source coding has over the locked-down elements of Microsoft Word is that there are far fewer security issues attached to the open source program, since there are literally millions of users around the world who work with the program to ensure smooth operation and maximum security. 
Older PC's Welcome
Open Office requires the same system requirements as Microsoft Office, or less. In fact, many older computers operate Open Office better than Microsoft Office, since Microsoft stopped offering technical support to some of the less current operating systems. This makes Open Office ideal for computers that are not state-of-the-art but which still function. 
Magically Open Old MS Word Files
Oddly enough, Open Office actually is able to open more word processing files written by older versions of Microsoft Word than Microsoft can. This is one reason that many IT departments often keep a copy of Open Office installed on their computers. If an old Microsoft Word file is corrupted, more often than not, Open Office can open it and Microsoft Word cannot. In many ways, there is no longer any reason to avoid going with a program such as Open Office, as opposed to Microsoft Word. In addition to having an unbeatable price point, it offers far more features than will be found with just Microsoft’s standalone word processing program.