NeoOffice 2.2.4 Patch 2 is now available for Mac owners using the free suite of office applications from NeoOffice.org. The second patch for the latest version of NeoOffice fixes a few bugs. As usual, users are encouraged to report any issues they may encounter while using the software.

NeoOffice is based on the OpenOffice.org office suite, integrating native Mac features. It is a full-featured set of office applications developed especially for Mac OS X, which includes word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, drawing and database programs. It boasts the ability to import, edit and exchange files with other office programs. Most Microsoft Office 2007 Word, Excel and PowerPoint files are supported, as well as Excel VBA Macros.

NeoOffice 2.2.4 adds native floating tool windows and magnify & swipe trackpad gestures for MacBook users. Horizontal scroll wheel support has also been added in 2.2.4, while the first patch fixed an issue where clipping of background images failed when printing, a problem where Fontwork was missing or banded when printing, and possible crashes at startup or when editing a form in Base due to preferences corruption.

NeoOffice 2.2.4 Patch 2 fixes some issues, including: issues where pressing Command-' set the focus to the wrong window; an issue where the active cursor jumped to the floating toolbar when the cursor was moved to tables or lists; an issue where the default Arabic font rendered incorrectly in Calc.

Patch 2 requires a full installation of NeoOffice 2.2.4 or NeoOffice 2.2.3 with NeoOffice 2.2.4 Patch 0, and will not install on any version of NeoOffice 2.2.2. Patch 2 includes all fixes and additions of previous patches.

Because of the nature of open-source development, bugs are being reported and fixes are being made available to users continuously. Patches, or small updates to fix bugs and add new features, are released on a regular basis. Users are strongly encouraged to download and install patches as they become available. The latest patch always includes the fixes and features from the previous ones, so they can be several megabytes in size.

NeoOffice 2.2.4 Patch 2 is available HERE as a free download.