Office suite for Windows, Macintosh and Linux
IBM Lotus Symphony
is a discontinued
suite of applications
for creating, editing, and sharing text, spreadsheet, presentations, and other documents and
browsing
the
World Wide Web
. It was first distributed as commercial
proprietary software
, then as
freeware
, before IBM contributed the suite to the
Apache Software Foundation
in 2014 for inclusion in the
free and open-source
Apache OpenOffice
software suite.
[6]
[7]
First released in 2007,
[1]
the suite has a name similar to the 1980s
DOS
Lotus Symphony
suite, but the two software suites are otherwise unrelated. The previous Lotus application suite,
Lotus SmartSuite
, is also unrelated.
IBM discontinued development of Lotus Symphony in January 2012 with the final release of version 3.0.1, moving future development effort to
Apache OpenOffice
, and donating the
source code
to the Apache Software Foundation.
[8]
Features
[
edit
]
IBM Lotus Symphony consists of:
Each application is split into
tabs
.
[10]
Symphony supports the
OpenDocument
formats as well as the binary
Microsoft Office
formats.
[10]
[11]
It can also export
Portable Document Format
(PDF) files and import
Office Open XML
files. Previous support for
Lotus SmartSuite
formats was disabled in Symphony 3.
[11]
Symphony is based on
Eclipse
Rich Client Platform
from
IBM Lotus Expeditor
(the shell) and
OpenOffice.org
3 (the core office-suite code).
[12]
[13]
In 2009, IBM created development tools for
BlackBerry
smartphones to link to IBM's
business
software, which also allow opening
ODF
file-formats,
[14]
following a full Symphony later.
[15]
Lotus Symphony 3.0.1 added enhancements including support for one million spreadsheet rows, bubble charts, and a new design for the home page.
[16]
On 27 March 2012 a first fixpack update for Lotus Symphony 3.0.1 was released.
[17]
On 29 November 2012 a second fixpack update for Lotus Symphony 3.0.1 was released.
[18]
A
web based
version of Symphony, called
LotusLive Symphony
, was launched in 2011.
[19]
History
[
edit
]
Symphony has its roots in the IBM Workplace Managed Client component of
IBM Workplace
. In 2006, IBM introduced Workplace Managed Client version 2.6, which included "productivity tools"?a word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation program?that supported ODF.
[20]
[21]
Workplace used code from OpenOffice.org version 1.1.4,
[22]
the last version released under the
Sun Industry Standards Source License
, which allowed for release of binaries of modified versions without releasing changes.
Later in 2006, IBM announced that Lotus Notes 8, which already incorporated Workplace technology,
[23]
would also include the same productivity tools as the Workplace Managed Client.
[24]
[25]
In 2007, IBM released Notes 8, and then released Notes' productivity tools as a standalone application, Symphony, in a beta one month later. The code in Symphony is the same as that for Notes 8's productivity tools.
[26]
IBM released version 1.0 of Lotus Symphony in May 2008 as a free download, and introduced three minor upgrades through 2008 and 2009.
In 2010, IBM released version 3.0.
[27]
Symphony 3.0 was based on OpenOffice.org 3.0, though not under the LGPL but under a special arrangement between IBM and Sun (who required copyright assignment of all outside OpenOffice.org contributions).
[27]
[28]
[29]
[30]
[31]
and includes enhancements such as new
sidebars
in its user interface and support for
Visual Basic for Applications
macros,
[19]
OpenDocument Format 1.2, and
OLE
.
[32]
Symphony 3.0 was originally planned to include other existing OpenOffice.org modules, including an equation editor, database software, and a drawing program.
[33]
The software was developed by IBM China Development Laboratory, located in
Beijing
,
[34]
which later for a brief time developed
Apache OpenOffice
.
On 13 July 2011, IBM announced that it would donate Lotus Symphony to the
Apache Foundation
.
[16]
[35]
On 23 January 2012, IBM announced version 3.0.1 would be the last version of Lotus Symphony and their efforts would be going into the Apache OpenOffice project,
[36]
including the Symphony user interface.
[37]
IBM planned to release an "Apache OpenOffice IBM Edition" after the release of Apache OpenOffice 4,
[38]
but later decided that it would offer the stock Apache OpenOffice with IBM extensions.
[39]
There were complaints that
IBM
and the Apache Software Foundation did not really provide an open source release of the Lotus Symphony code, although IBM promised to donate the code to Apache. It was reported that some
LibreOffice
developers wanted to adopt some code parts and bug fixes which IBM already fixed in their OpenOffice fork.
[40]
Usage share
[
edit
]
During the
Lotusphere
event in 2009, IBM confirmed its cost-reduction effort using Lotus Symphony, with the company migrating its 400,000 users from Microsoft Office to Lotus Symphony.
[41]
In June 2008 IBM urged its 20,000 'strong-techies' employees to use Symphony instead of
Microsoft Office
[42]
and later in September 2009 IBM forced all 360,000 employees to use Symphony.
[43]
In March 2009, a study showed that Lotus Symphony had a 2%
market share
in the corporate market.
[44]
As of February 2010
[update]
, IBM stated that Lotus Symphony had 12 million users
[45]
with 50 million downloads in January 2011.
[19]
Version release dates
[
edit
]
- Beta 1
-
- Released on 18 September 2007
[46]
- Beta 2
-
- Released on 5 November 2007
[47]
- Beta 3
-
- Released on 17 December 2007
[48]
- Released in 23 languages on 7 January 2008
[49]
- Beta 4
-
- Released on 1 February 2008.
[50]
Introduced the Lotus Symphony Developer Toolkit.
- Revised edition released on 3 March 2008
[51]
- Version 1.0
-
- Version 1.1
-
- Released on 29 August 2008
[54]
- Version 1.2
-
- Released on 4 November 2008
[55]
- Revised edition released on 23 February 2009
[56]
- Version 1.3
-
- Released on 10 June 2009
[57]
- Revised edition released on 1 September 2009
[58]
- Version 3 Beta
-
- Released on 4 February 2010
[59]
- Version 3 Beta 2
-
- Released on 4 February 2010
[10]
[60]
- Features: Visual Basic macros, OLE Objects and embedded audio/video; support for nested tables, presentation masters and DataPilot tables for pivoting on large datasets.
[10]
- Version 3 Beta 3
-
- Version 3 Beta 4
-
- Released on 26 August 2010
[61]
- Version 3.0
-
- Released 21 October 2010
[62]
- Version 3.0 FixPack 1
-
- Released 13 January 2011
[63]
- Version 3.0 FixPack 2
-
- Released 20 April 2011
[64]
- Version 3.0 FixPack 3
-
- Released 20 July 2011
[65]
- Version 3.0.1
-
- Released 23 January 2012
[66]
- Version 3.0.1 FixPack 1
-
- Released 27 March 2012
[17]
- Version 3.0.1 FixPack 2
-
- Released 29 November 2012
[67]
A timeline of major derivatives of StarOffice and OpenOffice.org with IBM Lotus Symphony in yellow
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Fiveash, Kelly (19 September 2007).
"IBM hopes open office is Symphony to your key-tapping fingers"
.
The Register
. Retrieved
26 April
2012
.
- ^
"IBM Lotus Symphony - Buzz: Symphony 3.0.1 FIXPACK 2 is Now AVAILABLE"
. 29 November 2012. Archived from
the original
on 29 January 2013.
- ^
"IBM Lotus Symphony - Release Notes"
. Archived from
the original
on 26 April 2011.
- ^
"IBM Lotus Symphony - Buzz: IBM Lotus Symphony 3 Beta 4 is now available"
. 26 August 2010. Archived from
the original
on 10 September 2010.
- ^
Byfield, Bruce
(4 October 2007).
"OpenOffice vs. Lotus Symphony"
.
Datamation
. Archived from
the original
on 17 September 2009
. Retrieved
15 January
2010
.
For all purposes, it is a proprietary fork of the OpenOffice.org code
- ^
"IBM End of support and migration options for IBM Lotus Symphony - United States"
.
www-01.ibm.com
. 8 January 2014
. Retrieved
4 March
2016
.
- ^
"Merging Lotus Symphony: Allegro moderato: Apache OpenOffice"
.
blogs.apache.org
. Retrieved
4 March
2016
.
- ^
Clarke, Gavin (14 July 2011).
"IBM crams Lotus Symphony back into OpenOffice"
.
The Register
. Retrieved
18 April
2012
.
- ^
Mendelson, Edward
(22 June 2011).
"IBM Lotus Symphony 3.0"
.
PC Magazine
. Retrieved
16 May
2012
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Fiveash, Kelly (5 February 2010).
"Lotus Symphony 3 beta goes OOo"
.
The Register
. Retrieved
19 April
2012
.
- ^
a
b
"What's new in IBM Lotus Symphony 3"
. IBM. 21 October 2010. Archived from
the original
on 10 July 2009.
- ^
IBM Lotus Symphony: Buzz
Lotus Symphony Version 3 is NOW AVAILABLE
Archived
26 October 2010 at the
Wayback Machine
, 21 October 2010
- ^
Proffitt, Brian (30 January 2012).
"IBM to realign Symphony with Apache OpenOffice"
.
ITWorld
. Retrieved
13 May
2012
.
- ^
Morgan, Timothy Prickett (19 January 2009).
"IBM reaches out to SAP, RIM with Notes"
.
The Register
. Retrieved
19 April
2012
.
- ^
Modine, Austin (18 January 2010).
"BlackBerry gets Quickr with Lotus"
.
The Register
. Retrieved
26 April
2012
.
- ^
a
b
Noyes, Katherine (27 January 2012).
"Coming Soon: An 'IBM Edition' of Apache OpenOffice"
.
PCWorld
. Retrieved
11 April
2012
.
- ^
a
b
"IBM Lotus Symphony - Buzz: Symphony 3.0.1 FIXPACK 1 is Now AVAILABLE"
.
Archived
from the original on 2 June 2013
. Retrieved
3 June
2012
.
- ^
Symphony 3.0.1 FIXPACK 2 is Now AVAILABLE
Archived
29 January 2013 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
a
b
c
Clarke, Gavin (31 January 2011).
"IBM floats Microsoft Office web challenger"
.
The Register
. Retrieved
26 April
2012
.
- ^
Todd Weiss,
IBM Workplace client to support Open Document Format in '06
, Computerworld, 4 December 2005
- ^
IBM Press Release,
IBM Announces New Version of Workplace Products With Enhanced Support for Open Standards and Improved SOA Functionality
, 23 January 2006
- ^
Hillesley, Richard (6 July 2011).
"OpenOffice ? splits and pirouettes"
.
The H online
.
Heinz Heise
. Retrieved
9 May
2012
.
- ^
Ed Brill,
"Hannover" ? announcing the next (post 7.0) version of Lotus Notes
Archived
27 June 2009 at the
Wayback Machine
, 14 June 2005
- ^
IBM Press Release,
IBM Makes Collaborative Innovation Real With Preview of Next Generation IBM Lotus Notes Client
, 16 May 2006.
- ^
Candace Lombardi,
IBM backs OpenDocument in Lotus Notes
, CNET News, 16 May 2006.
- ^
Ed Brill,
Introducing IBM Lotus Symphony, desktop productivity software at no charge
Archived
17 November 2008 at the
Wayback Machine
, 18 September 2007 ? see comment 41
- ^
a
b
Brill, Ed (21 October 2010).
"Lotus Symphony 3.0 now available"
. Archived from
the original
on 28 October 2010
. Retrieved
29 October
2010
.
- ^
Vaughan-Nichols, Steven J. (31 May 2011).
"What the heck is happening with OpenOffice? (UPDATE)"
.
ZDNet
Linux and Open Source
. Retrieved
27 December
2012
.
- ^
"Network World ? Lotus to set road map for free productivity suite"
. Archived from
the original
on 19 January 2010
. Retrieved
19 January
2010
.
- ^
John Fontana (15 January 2010).
"Lotus to set road map for free productivity suite"
. Network World. Archived from
the original
on 21 January 2010
. Retrieved
19 January
2010
.
- ^
"IBM Commits to Future of ODF With Symphony Roadmap"
. 5 November 2008
. Retrieved
19 January
2010
.
- ^
"IBM Lotus Symphony 3 Release Notes"
. IBM. Archived from
the original
on 10 January 2011
. Retrieved
29 October
2010
.
- ^
Edward Mendelson
,
IBM Lotus Symphony Beta review, "...Now the Bad News" section
, 21 September 2007
- ^
IBM Translates Lotus Symphony for a Globally Integrated World
- ^
Weir, Rob (13 July 2011).
"Incubator OO.o development mailing list"
. Apache Foundation. Archived from
the original
on 3 December 2014
. Retrieved
14 July
2011
.
.
- ^
Brill, Ed (23 January 2012).
"IBM Lotus Symphony 3.0.1 is now available"
. Archived from
the original
on 4 June 2013
. Retrieved
31 March
2012
.
- ^
Lotus Symphony code for OpenOffice coming soon [LWN.net]
- ^
Clarke, Gavin (30 January 2012).
"IBM calls time on Symphony OpenOffice fork"
.
The Register
. Retrieved
18 April
2012
.
- ^
Weir, Rob (29 August 2013).
"IBM Connections Connector for Apache OpenOffice"
.
openoffice-dev mailing list
. Apache Software Foundation
. Retrieved
30 August
2013
.
- ^
Corbet, Jonathan (16 January 2013).
"A discordant symphony"
.
LWN.net
. Retrieved
9 February
2013
.
- ^
Postinett, Axel (11 September 2009).
"IBM wirft MS Office raus"
.
Handelsblatt
(in German)
. Retrieved
15 December
2010
.
- ^
Fiveash, Kelly (13 June 2008).
"IBM 'advises' staff to opt for a Microsoft Office-free world"
.
The Register
. Retrieved
26 April
2012
.
- ^
Ilagan, Richard Neil (14 September 2009).
"IBM sends Microsoft Office to the trash"
.
Daily Contributor
. Retrieved
18 April
2012
.
- ^
McLeish, Sheri (26 May 2009).
"Microsoft Office still owns the desktop, future of StarOffice unclear"
.
ZDNet
. Retrieved
7 May
2012
.
- ^
Symphony 3.0 beta signals IBM attack on Office
Archived
11 February 2010 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
IBM Press Release,
IBM Releases Office Desktop Software at No Charge to Foster Collaboration and Innovation
, 18 September 2007
- ^
Lotus Symphony Buzz,
Lotus Symphony Beta 2 Release Now Available
, 5 November 2007
- ^
Lotus Symphony Buzz,
Lotus Symphony Beta 3 Release Now Available
Archived
15 September 2008 at the
Wayback Machine
, 17 December 2007
- ^
Lotus Symphony Buzz,
Lotus Symphony Beta 3 Now Available in 23 Languages
Archived
14 September 2008 at the
Wayback Machine
, 7 January 2008
- ^
Lotus Symphony Buzz,
Lotus Symphony Beta 4 Has Arrived
Archived
14 September 2008 at the
Wayback Machine
, 1 February 2008
- ^
Lotus Symphony Buzz,
Symphony Beta 4 Code Update Now Available
Archived
15 September 2008 at the
Wayback Machine
, 3 March 2008
- ^
Lotus Symphony Buzz,
Announcing ? IBM Lotus Symphony Version 1.0 is Now Available
Archived
14 September 2008 at the
Wayback Machine
, 30 May 2008
- ^
Mielewczik, Michael. "IBM Lotus Symphony ? Und noch ein Office".
Linux Life
.
2008
(1): 86-87.
- ^
Ed Brill,
Lotus Symphony 1.1 is now available
Archived
15 November 2008 at the
Wayback Machine
, 29 August 2008
- ^
Lotus Symphony Buzz,
Lotus Symphony Release 1.2 with Mac OS X Support Available
Archived
18 December 2008 at the
Wayback Machine
, 4 November 2008
- ^
Lotus Symphony Buzz,
Symphony version 1.2 refresh available
, 23 February 2009
- ^
Lotus Symphony Buzz,
Lotus Symphony 1.3 is HERE
Archived
7 September 2009 at the
Wayback Machine
, 10 June 2009
- ^
Lotus Symphony Buzz,
What fixes are included in the IBM Lotus Symphony 1.3 refresh version?
, 1 September 2009
- ^
Lotus Symphony Buzz,
IBM launches Lotus Symphony 3 beta
Archived
11 February 2010 at the
Wayback Machine
, 4 February 2010
- ^
Lotus Symphony Buzz,
IBM Lotus Symphony 3 Beta 2 is now available
Archived
27 February 2010 at the
Wayback Machine
, 4 February 2010
- ^
Lotus Symphony Buzz,
IBM Lotus Symphony 3 Beta 4 is now available
Archived
10 September 2010 at the
Wayback Machine
, 26 August 2010
- ^
Lotus Symphony Buzz,
Lotus Symphony Version 3 is NOW AVAILABLE
Archived
26 October 2010 at the
Wayback Machine
, 21 October 2010
- ^
Lotus Symphony Buzz,
[1]
Archived
2 June 2013 at the
Wayback Machine
, 13 January 2011
- ^
Lotus Symphony Buzz,
"IBM Lotus Symphony - Buzz: Lotus Symphony 3 FIXPACK 2 is now AVAILABLE"
. Archived from
the original
on 2 November 2011
. Retrieved
6 October
2011
.
, 20 April 2011
- ^
Lotus Symphony Buzz,
"IBM Lotus Symphony - Buzz: Lotus Symphony 3 FIXPACK 3 is NOW AVAILABLE !!!!"
. Archived from
the original
on 24 September 2011
. Retrieved
6 October
2011
.
, 20 July 2011
- ^
IBM Lotus Symphony 3.0.1 is now available,
[2]
Archived
4 June 2013 at the
Wayback Machine
, 23 January 2012
- ^
IBM Lotus Symphony - Buzz: Symphony 3.0.1 FIXPACK 2 is Now AVAILABLE
Archived
29 January 2013 at the
Wayback Machine
External links
[
edit
]
- No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.
|
---|
|
Current products
| |
---|
Discontinued products
| |
---|
Acquisitions
| |
---|
|
---|
|
Active
derivatives
| | |
---|
Discontinued and
merged derivatives
| |
---|
Technologies
| |
---|
Companies
| |
---|
|
|
---|
- Features
- standards
- protocols
|
---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
---|
|
Open-source
| |
---|
Freeware
| |
---|
Commercial
| Cross-platform
| |
---|
Classic MacOS
| |
---|
MacOS
| |
---|
Windows
| |
---|
|
---|
Discontinued
| |
---|
Hardware
| |
---|
|