Review: Tesco Complete Office software suite

After installing Tesco Complete Office, you would be forgiven for thinking you had picked up the wrong CD and installed Ability Office. In fact, Tesco’s offering is a rebranded version of Office’s popular low-cost alternative, albeit at an even lower price and comprising programs not previously available in a single suite.

A price point of below £20, coupled with the support options, clearly marks this as a suite for the beginner and budget markets. In fact, the support options are the only real difference between Ability Office and Tesco Complete Office.

After registering the software, users can access free online assistance via the Help menu, which currently transports you to the Tesco support website. This currently includes an FAQ and Technical Support form, with a forum due to be added in the near future.

As for the programs that make up the suite, there’s everything you would expect to find. Each program is clearly named: Write, Database, Spreadsheet, Presentation, Photoalbum and Draw.

The Draw element is a simple graphics program that can be used to add diagrams and illustrations to documents created in any of the other programs, while Photoalbum makes it possible to view, organise and categorise images as well as providing a number of printing options.

The Tesco Launcher is a separate customisable shortcut toolbar which can be left floating or docked at a screen edge for quick access to the suite’s programs.

Feature wise, Complete Office is fairly impressive. The word processor includes the now-familiar automatic spell checker and there is also a grammar checker, but this needs to be run manually. Documents can be saved in a variety of formats including Office’s native formats, and there is also the option to create PDF files.

This may not be the most feature-rich office suite on the market, and it can't compete with the wealth of features offered by the vastly more expensive Microsoft Office, but at under £20 it is hard to complain and would suit the typical home user.

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