AbiWord

{{Infobox software

| logo = AbiWord.svg

| screenshot = AbiWordScreenshot.png

| screenshot size = 250px

| caption = AbiWord running on Debian 11

| developer = AbiSource

| released = {{Start date and age|2002|04|19}}

| latest release version = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q136775|P348|P548=Q2804309}}

| latest release date = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q136775|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}

| latest preview version = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q136775|P348|P548=Q51930650}}

| latest preview date = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q136775|P348|P548=Q51930650|P577}}

| programming language = C++

| operating_system = Cross-platform

| language = Multilingual{{cite web

|url=http://www.nl.abisource.com/contribute/translate/

|title=List of AbiWord translations (both complete and incomplete)

|access-date=2019-11-25

|archive-date=2017-06-30

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630131641/https://www.abisource.com/contribute/translate/

|url-status=live}}

| genre = Word processor

| license = GPL-2.0-or-later

}}

AbiWord ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|b|i|w|ɜr|d}}) is a free and open-source word processor. It is written in C++ and since version 3 it is based on GTK+ 3. The name "AbiWord" is derived from the root of the Spanish word "abierto", meaning "open".{{cite web|url=http://www.abisource.com/~abi/|title=Project Mascot - Abi the Ant | Page explains "Abi" is pronounced just like "Abby"|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071223123444/http://www.abisource.com/~abi/|archive-date=2007-12-23}}

AbiWord was originally started by SourceGear Corporation as the first part of a proposed AbiSuite but was adopted by open source developers after SourceGear changed its business focus and ceased development. It now runs on Linux, ReactOS, Solaris, AmigaOS 4.0 (through its Cygwin X11 engine), MeeGo (on the Nokia N9 smartphone), Maemo (on the Nokia N810), QNX and other operating systems. Development of a version for Microsoft Windows has temporarily ended due to lack of maintainers (the latest released versions are 2.8.6 and 2.9.4 beta).{{cite web| url = https://www.abisource.com/downloads/abiword/2.9.4/Windows/| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121209025000/http://www.abisource.com/downloads/abiword/2.9.4/Windows| archive-date = 2012-12-09| title = Index of /downloads/abiword/2.9.4/Windows}}

The macOS port has remained on version 2.4 since 2005,{{Cite web

| last = Franklin

| first = Francis James

| title = fjf's (Cocoa) AbiWord for Mac (MacOSX)

| date = 2005-09-11

| url = http://www.abisource.com/~fjf/

| access-date = 2010-05-22

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100605114752/http://www.abisource.com/~fjf/

| archive-date = 5 June 2010}} although the current version does run non-natively on macOS through XQuartz.

AbiWord is part of the AbiSource project which develops a number of office-related technologies.{{cite web

|url = http://www.abisource.com/projects/

|title = AbiSource Projects

|date = 2011-09-22

|publisher = AbiSource

|access-date = 2011-09-22

|archive-date = 2013-10-24

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131024063217/http://www.abisource.com/projects/

|url-status = dead

}}

Features

AbiWord supports both basic word processing features such as lists, indents and character formats, and more sophisticated features including tables, styles, page headers and footers, footnotes, templates, multiple views, page columns, spell checking, and grammar checking.{{cite web

| url = http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/10/15/1312216

| title = AbiWord beats OpenOffice to a Grammar Checker

| date = 2005-10-15

| publisher = Slashdot

| quote = The recently released AbiWord-2.4...is the first Free Word Processor to offer an integrated Grammar Checker

| access-date = 2007-11-23}} The Presentation view of AbiWord, which permits easy display of presentations created in AbiWord on "screen-sized" pages, is another feature not often found in word processors.

=Interface=

AbiWord generally works similarly to classic versions (pre-Office 2007) of Microsoft Word, as direct ease of migration was a high priority early goal. While many interface similarities remain, cloning the Word interface is no longer a top priority. The interface is intended to follow user interface guidelines for each respective platform.

=Collaboration=

AbiWord allows users to share and collaborate on documents in a similar manner to Google Docs, using a system known as GOCollab.{{cite web

| url = https://www.gnomejournal.org/article/31/gocollab----peer-to-peer-document-collaboration

| title = GOCollab -- Peer to Peer Document Collaboration

| date = 15 September 2005

| website = The GNOME Journal

| access-date = 21 February 2024

| archive-date = 7 February 2006

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060207065538/https://www.gnomejournal.org/article/31/gocollab----peer-to-peer-document-collaboration

| url-status = bot: unknown

}} Users can collaborate using a varitety of different protocols including TCP and XMPP,{{Cite web|title=Linutop news : Collaborative Editing with AbiWord|url=https://www.linutop.com/news/2009/02/09/collaborative-editing-with-abiword/|access-date=2024-02-21|website=www.linutop.com}} and formerly over AbiCollab.net, a web based service that facilitated collaboration between users.{{cite web

| url = http://www.abisource.com/wiki/AbiCollab

| title = AbiCollab

| date = 14 February 2011

| website = Abisource Wiki

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230307210304/http://www.abisource.com/wiki/AbiCollab

| access-date = 21 February 2024

| archive-date = 2023-03-07

}}

=File formats=

AbiWord comes with several import and export filters providing partial support for such formats as HTML, Microsoft Word (.doc), Office Open XML (.docx),{{cite web

| url = http://abisource.com/release-notes/2.6.0.phtml

| title = AbiWord v2.6.0 Released

| publisher = www.abisource.com

| access-date = 2008-03-24

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080401162119/http://abisource.com/release-notes/2.6.0.phtml

| archive-date = 1 April 2008

| url-status = live}}{{cite web

| url = http://www.abisource.com/changelogs/2.6.5.phtml

| title = AbiWord v2.6.5 Changelog

| publisher = www.abisource.com

| access-date = 2008-12-19

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081217104337/http://www.abisource.com/changelogs/2.6.5.phtml

| archive-date = 17 December 2008

| url-status = live}} OpenDocument Text (.odt),{{cite web

|url =http://www.abisource.com/release-notes/2.4.2.phtml

|title =Abiword 2.4.2 Release Notes.

|work =abisource.com

|access-date =2009-03-03

|archive-date =15 June 2009

|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20090615201450/http://www.abisource.com/release-notes/2.4.2.phtml

|url-status=dead}} Rich Text Format (.rtf), and text documents (.txt). LaTeX is supported for export only. Plug-in filters are available to deal with many other formats, notably WordPerfect documents. The native file format, .abw, uses XML, so as to mitigate vendor lock-in concerns with respect to interoperability and digital archiving.

=Grammar checking=

The AbiWord project includes a US English-only grammar checking plugin using Link Grammar. AbiWord had grammar checking before any other open source word processor, although a grammar checker was later added to OpenOffice.org. Link Grammar is both a theory of syntax and an open source parser which is now developed by the AbiWord project.

Version history

Version 0.1.0 made public, source only – August 21st, 1998, demoed at Open Source Developer Day.{{Cite web |date=1998-08-21 |title=AbiWord Source Code Now Available |url=https://news.slashdot.org/story/98/08/21/1042234/abiword-source-code-now-available |access-date=2025-02-12 |website=News Slashdot |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=1999-11-28 |title=Versions |url=http://www.abisource.com/dev_tarball.phtml |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/19991128101220/http://www.abisource.com/dev_tarball.phtml |archive-date=1999-11-28 |access-date=2025-02-12 |website=AbiSource}}{{Cite web |date=1998-08-21 |title=Press Release: AbiSource announces development of fully-supported cross-platform word processor |url=http://www.abisource.com/pr_osdd.phtml |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/19990222062015/http://www.abisource.com/pr_osdd.phtml |archive-date=1999-02-22 |access-date=2025-02-12 |website=AbiSource}}

Version 0.7.0 – May 19th, 1999 – first binary release.{{Cite web |date=1999-05-20 |title=AbiWord 0.7 release |url=https://news.slashdot.org/story/99/05/20/0244237/abiword-07-release |access-date=2025-02-12 |website=News Slashdot |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=1999-05-19 |title=Press Release: AbiSource Ships AbiWord Preview Release 0.7 |url=http://abisource.com/pr_07.phtml |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/19990823205012/http://abisource.com/pr_07.phtml |archive-date=1999-08-23 |access-date=2025-02-12 |website=AbiSource}}

Version 1.0 – April 19th, 2002.{{Cite web |date=2002-05-26 |title=AbiWord |url=http://www2.abisource.com:80/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20020526070354/http://www2.abisource.com:80/ |archive-date=2002-05-26 |access-date=2025-02-12 |website=AbiSource}}{{Cite web |date=2002-04-18 |title=abiword-dev Mailing List Archive: ANNOUNCE: RELEASE 1.0!!! |url=http://www.abisource.com/mailinglists/abiword-dev/02/Apr/0552.html |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20050219180319/http://www.abisource.com/mailinglists/abiword-dev/02/Apr/0552.html |archive-date=2005-02-19 |access-date=2025-02-12 |website=AbiSource}}

References

External links

{{Official website}} not working, {{Cite web

| url=http://www.nl.abisource.com

| title=official mirror

}}

{{Cite web

| url=http://abiworditalia.altervista.org/

| title=Italian site of AbiWord

| language=it}}

{{cite web

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021116132342/http://www.salon.com/tech/col/leon/2002/11/15/abiword/index.html

| archive-date=2002-11-16

| url=http://www.salon.com/tech/col/leon/2002/11/15/abiword/index.html

| last=Leonard

| first=Andrew

| title=Abiword Up | History of the project and comparison with closed source development

| website=Salon.com

| date=November 15, 2002}}

{{cite web

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517004142/http://www.redhatmagazine.com/2008/05/08/abiword-team-interview

| archive-date=2008-05-17

| url=http://www.redhatmagazine.com/2008/05/08/abiword-team-interview

| title=Interview with Development team after 2.6 release}}

{{cite web

|archive-url=

https://web.archive.org/web/20081212064733/http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/enterpriseapps/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212201932&pgno=5&queryText=&isPrev=

| archive-date=2008-12-12

|url=http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/enterpriseapps/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212201932&pgno=5&queryText=&isPrev=

| title=Review: Open-Source Office Suites Compared - AbiWord: A Small, Swift Word Processor}}

Category:1998 software

Category:Cross-platform free software

Category:Free software programmed in C++

Category:Free word processors

Category:Linux word processors

Category:MacOS word processors

Category:Office software that uses GTK

Category:Portable software

Category:Software using the GNU General Public License