How to Run OpenOffice as a Windows Service with AlwaysUp

OpenOffice is a world-class open-source office suite available from the Apache Software Foundation.

To configure OpenOffice 3 to run as a service with AlwaysUp:

1. Download and install AlwaysUp, if necessary.

2. Download and install OpenOffice, if necessary. Please make a note of where you installed it as we will need that location in a later step.

3. Start AlwaysUp.

4. Select Application > Add to open the Add Application window:

   

5. On the General tab:

   • In the Application field, enter the full path to the OpenOffice executable, soffice.exe. If you installed OpenOffice in the default location, this is:

     C:\Program Files\OpenOffice.org 3\program\soffice.exe

   • In the Arguments field, enter your command line flags for soffice.exe. For this tutorial, we want to run headless (to eliminate many of OpenOffice's windows, which we won't be able to see anyway) and accept connections on port 8100 so we specify:

     -headless -accept=socket,host=0,port=8100;urp;

   • In the Name field, enter the name that you will call your application in AlwaysUp. We have used OpenOffice Server but you can specify almost anything you like.

   

6. Click over to the Logon tab and enter the user name and password of the account in which you installed OpenOffice. OpenOffice will run in this account so that it can find its settings.

   

7. Click over to the Startup tab and check the Ensure that the Windows Networking components have started box. This informs AlwaysUp that OpenOffice needs the TCP/IP networking stack properly initialized before it can start its work.

   

8. Click the Save button. In a couple of seconds, an application called OpenOffice Server (or whatever you called it) will appear in the AlwaysUp window. It is not yet running though.

   

9. To start OpenOffice, choose Application > Start "OpenOffice Server". No windows will be shown (remember, we are running headless) but running netstat -anp tcp from a command prompt should reveal OpenOffice listening for connections on port 8100.

   

10. That's it! Next time your computer boots, OpenOffice will start immediately, before anyone logs on. We encourage you to edit the application in AlwaysUp and check out the many other settings that may be appropriate for your environment. For example, configure AlwaysUp to send you an email whenever OpenOffice starts (Email tab), or boost OpenOffice's priority to give it preferential treatment on your computer (General tab).

OpenOffice not working properly as a Windows Service?

• From AlwaysUp, select Application > Report Activity > Today... to bring up a HTML report detailing the interaction between AlwaysUp and your application. The AlwaysUp Event Log Messages page explains the more obscure messages.
• Review the AlwaysUp FAQ for answers to commonly asked questions and troubleshooting tips
• Contact us and we will be happy to help!