Using OpenOffice.org

Editor's Note: Linux
in the Workplace, written by the Linux Journal Staff, was recently
released under the GNU Free Documentation License (FDL). It is
available at linuxpip.org,
courtesy of No Starch Press.This is my first article of a series that embraces and
extends the book, Linux in the Workplace,
which was written by several staff members of Linux
Journal and published by No Starch Press. The purpose of
that book, the same as this article, is to show new Linux users to
do those everyday, ordinary tasks for which people use computers in
the first place.This particular article focuses on OpenOffice.org (the office
suite formerly known as OpenOffice), in particular its word
processor component. Please note that this article is from a
KDE-centric viewpoint. Almost all of the items mentioned here,
however, apply equally well to GNOME and other desktop
environments.Introduction to OpenOfficeOpenOffice.org is a feature-rich office productivity suite
distributed and maintained by Sun Microsystems. Comparable to
Microsoft Office, OpenOffice.org includes a word processor, a
spreadsheet application, presentation software and graphic program
applications. OpenOffice.org is incredibly powerful; many believe
that it is not only as good as MS Office, but better in many ways.
OpenOffice.org is available for other platforms as well, including
Solaris and Microsoft Windows, and it runs equally well on all of
them. OpenOffice.org offers the ability to import many different
types of documents and templates from a variety of other programs,
including Microsoft Word. It can also export to a wide range of
formats, including HTML, PDF and MS Office XP.OpenOffice.org may be included on your distribution already.
If it is not, simply visit
www.openoffice.org,
where you can download the latest version for free. This site also
contains a list of distributors who sell CD-ROMs that install the
software. On-line help also is available.The default OpenOffice.org installation places an
OpenOffice.org submenu in the K menu, for users of KDE. From there,
you can launch any of the OpenOffice programs (Writer, Calc, Draw
or Impress). You also can click on any existing OpenOffice document
to open it within the appropriate OpenOffice application. Once the
application is open, another OpenOffice program can be started from
the open application's File menu. The menus and toolbars may look
familiar to you, as they are similar to those of other office
programs. The main menubar at the top and two tiers of toolbars are
displayed by default. As usual, many of the most used menu items
are available from the icons in the toolbars. You can discover the
function of an icon by holding the mouse pointer over it.Working with TextWriter is a word processor that allows you to compose
documents such as letters and articles, as well as import and
export documents from other systems in a wide range of file
formats, including HTML, ASCII, RTF and MS Word.Using the AutoPilotAutoPilot, often referred to as a wizard in other office
programs, guides you through a series of document customization
questions. To use this feature, select AutoPilot from the File
menu. Then choose the type of document you want to create. Options
include memos, faxes, letters and web pages. Once selected, the
AutoPilot Agenda dialog box appears. You are instructed to
customize your document by choosing a layout style, including a
logo or graphic, and naming your file. Click Next to select your
desired options, and continue clicking Next each time you are done
with a set of customization questions. When you are finished, click
Create, and your document loads.Formatting Your DocumentFormatting allows you to choose the font and page styles to
apply to your document, and many options are available in Writer.
Here we review standard formatting tools. Advanced users can feel
confident that other formatting features, such as those that let
you apply text styles, add tables and create indices, are all
available. They generally are located in the same places you would
find them in other word processing applications. All of these
formatting options can be set before beginning a new document or
applied to existing documents.Increasing and Decreasing IndentsTo increase or decrease the indentation of text, click one of
the two indent icons, featured just above the document to the right
of the numbers and bullets icons. The icon featuring text and an
arrow pointing left decreases an indent, whereas the icon featuring
text and an arrow pointing right increases an indent. Click the
appropriate icon more than once to add more or less
indentation.Applying ColorColor can be applied to text characters or added as a
highlight over a string of text. The color icons are found next to
the indentation icons. Select the text you want to color or
highlight by clicking and dragging your mouse pointer over the
desired text. Then click the icon featuring a yellow background
behind the A character, and your text is highlighted. Color also
can be applied to the background of a document. The icon that
features a complete palette of colors (positioned next to the
character color icons) performs this task for you. When you click
the background color icon, a dialog box appears and prompts you to
select a color. Once you have clicked on the desired color, your
background changes to the new color.Advanced Formatting ToolsAdvanced page formatting tools are available in a central
dialog box titled Page Style. To access it, select Page from the
Format menu, and the Page Style dialog box appears. Here you are
given the opportunity to select the background color, size and
margins of the document; apply headers, footers and borders; and
even set columns. Advanced paragraph and character formatting tools
also are available. Select Paragraph or Character from the Format
menu, and the Paragraph or Character dialog box appears. From here
you can apply drop caps, tabs and alignment, among other advanced
paragraph formatting tools. To add page numbers to your document,
choose the Footer tab from Format -> Page, check the Footer On
box and select OK. Next, from the Insert menu choose Fields and
then Page Numbers. A 1 appears in the footer. If you want the page
numbers to appear as 1 of 10 or 1 of 18, and so on, select Fields
and then Page Count. Next, under Footer, edit the text to add the
word "of".Inserting Graphics into Your DocumentFrom the Insert menu, select Graphics and then From File, and
the Insert Graphics dialog box appears. Select the graphics file
name just as you selected an existing document file. Once your
graphic appears in the document, you can double-click it at any
time to pull up the Graphics dialog box. Here you can crop, make
the image a hyperlink or add a border. Once you have selected the
options you want, click OK to proceed with the changes or Cancel to
cancel any changes. To delete the graphic, simply select it with
the mouse and select the cut icon, or right- click the image and
select Cut from the pull-down menu.Saving Your DocumentTo save your document, select the floppy disk (save) icon
from the top toolbar or select the Save or Save As options located
on the File menu. The Save dialog box appears, instructing you to
name your file (if it is not already named), designate the
directory to which you want to save the file, and choose the file
format you want your document to be saved as (click the arrow next
to File type to see a list of file format options). This is where
you can prepare your document for exporting, as mentioned
previously.Creating Document TemplatesAlthough the current version of OpenOffice.org does not come
with existing document templates, it is possible to create
templates. Start by opening a new document. Create a set of styles
and give it the desired structure, and then simply save the
document as a template from the Save As dialog box.Printing Your DocumentPrinting your document is easy. Simply select the print icon
from the toolbar immediately below the menubar or select Print from
the File menu. In either case, a Print dialog box opens, giving you
the option to print to your printer or to a file. Options are
presented to print a range of pages, if you don't need the whole
document, or to print multiple copies.For the next article, I will go into more depth for advanced
OpenOffice.org functionality, including fun with contact managers,
mail merge and printing pitfalls.John Mark Walker is the
Marketing Manager for No Starch Press.