3.1 Understanding OpenOffice.org

This section contains information that applies to all of the application modules in OpenOffice.org. Module-specific information can be found in the sections relating to each module.

3.1.1 Advantages of the Novell Edition of OpenOffice.org

openSUSE® includes the Novell edition of OpenOffice.org. The Novell edition includes several enhancements that are not yet included in the standard edition.

Calc Enhancements

The Novell edition of OpenOffice.org Calc includes the following enhancements that are not found in the standard edition:

  • Improved Excel compatibility for certain functions (for example, ADDRESS/OFFSE)

  • Improved ergonomics, such as fixes for the standard editions missing keybindings and the “merge and center” problem

  • Support for R1C1-style addresses

  • Interoperation between OpenOffice.org Data Pilots and Microsoft* Pivot Tables*

  • The ability to edit Data Pilots after they are created

  • Addition of the GETPIVOTDATA function to help manipulate information from Pivot Tables

  • Inclusion of a subset of Excel VBA macros that can be loaded and run in OpenOffice.org as if they were native macros, allowing a number of small accounting and management tools to be migrated to OpenOffice.org without having to rewrite them to target StarBasic

  • A simple linear solver that allows simple numerical analysis

Writer Enhancements

The Novell edition of OpenOffice.org Writer includes the following enhancements that are not found in the standard edition:

  • The Navigator provides a tree view of the document structure, providing improved document navigation

  • Improved change-tracking interoperability

  • Better HTML export

  • Improved printing of fonts

Font Improvements

The Novell edition of OpenOffice.org includes several font enhancements, including:

  • Aliased (bitmap) fonts are not allowed, preventing poor display of fonts when a document is projected

  • Inclusion of a set of fonts licensed from AGFA, which are metrically compatible with some key, default Microsoft fonts and are transparently mapped to the corresponding Microsoft fonts when documents are exported or imported

  • An improved OpenSymbol font, which provides better support of bullets, displaying attractive bullets rather than “missing glyph” square boxes that sometimes appear

OpenClipart

The Linux version of the Novell edition of OpenOffice.org includes a large selection of free clipart from the OpenClipart http://openclipart.org project. To access this clipart, click Tools > Gallery.

Multimedia

The Novell edition includes native platform multimedia support with gstreamer on Linux.

Performance Improvements

The Novell edition of OpenOffice.org on Linux starts faster than the standard edition due to several enhancements. This is true even on lower-memory systems.

GroupWise Integration

The Novell edition of OpenOffice.org includes basic integration with GroupWise, allowing documents to be placed in and loaded from the GroupWise Document Management System.

3.1.2 Using the Standard Edition of OpenOffice.org

You can use the standard edition of OpenOffice.org rather than the Novell edition. If you install the latest version of OpenOffice.org, all of your Novell Edition files remain compatible. However, the standard edition does not contain the enhancements made in the Novell edition.

3.1.3 Compatibility with Other Office Applications

OpenOffice.org can work with documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and databases in many other formats, including Microsoft Office. They can be seamlessly opened like other files and saved back to the original format. Because the Microsoft formats are proprietary and the specifications are not available to other applications, there are occasionally formatting issues. If you have problems with your documents, consider opening them in the original application and resaving in an open format such as RTF for text documents or CSV for spreadsheets.

HINT:For good information about migrating from other office suites to OpenOffice.org, refer to the OpenOffice.org Migration Guide.

Converting Documents to the OpenOffice.org Format

OpenOffice.org can read, edit, and save documents in a number of formats. It is not necessary to convert files from those formats to the OpenOffice.org format to use those files. However, if you want to convert the files, you can do so. To convert a number of documents, such as when first switching to OpenOffice.org, do the following:

  1. Select File > Wizards > Document Converter.

  2. Choose the file format from which to convert.

    There are several StarOffice and Microsoft Office formats available.

  3. Click Next.

  4. Specify where OpenOffice.org should look for templates and documents to convert and in which directory the converted files should be placed.

    IMPORTANT: Documents retrieved from a Windows partition are usually in a subdirectory of /windows.

  5. Make sure that all other settings are appropriate, then click Next.

  6. Review the summary of the actions to perform, then start the conversion by clicking Convert.

    The amount of time needed for the conversion depends on the number of files and their complexity. For most documents, conversion does not take very long.

Sharing Files with Users of Other Office Suites

OpenOffice.org is available for a number of operating systems. This makes it an excellent tool when a group of users frequently need to share files and do not use the same system on their computers.

When sharing documents with others, you have several options.

If the recipient needs to be able to edit the file: Save the document in the format the other user needs. For example, to save as a Microsoft Word file, click File > Save As, then select the Microsoft Word file type for the version of Word the other user needs.

If the recipient only needs to read the document: Export the document to a PDF file with File > Export as PDF. PDF files can be read on any platform using a viewer like Adobe Acrobat Reader.

If you want to share a document for editing: Use one of the standard document formats. The default formats comply with the OASIS standard XML format, making them compatible with a number of applications. TXT and RTF formats, although limited in formatting, might be a good option for text documents. CSV is useful for spreadsheets. OpenOffice.org might also offer your recipient's preferred format, especially Microsoft formats.

If you want to e-mail a document as a PDF: Click File > Send > E-mail as PDF. Your default e-mail program opens with the file attached.

If you want to e-mail a document to a Microsoft Word user: Click File > Send > E-mail as Microsoft Word. Your default e-mail program opens with the file attached.

Send a document as the body of an e-mail: Click File > Send > Document as E-mail. Your default e-mail program opens with the contents of the document as the e-mail body.

3.1.4 Starting OpenOffice.org

Start the application in one of the following ways:

  • Click Computer > OpenOffice.org Writer.

    This opens Writer. To open a different module, click File > New from the newly opened Writer document, then choose the module you want to open.

  • Click Computer > More Applications > Office, then click the name of the OpenOffice.org module you want to start.

    Some OpenOffice.org modules can be found in other sections of the More Applications window. For example, the Writer/Web module is listed under Internet and the Draw module is under Graphics.

  • In a terminal window, enter ooffice. The OpenOffice.org window opens. Click File > New, then choose the module you want to open.

If any OpenOffice.org application is open, you can open any of the other applications by clicking File > New > Name of Application.

3.1.5 Improving OpenOffice.org Load Time

To speed up the load time of OpenOffice.org by preloading the application at system startup:

  1. Click Tools > Options > Memory.

  2. Select Enable systray Quickstarter.

The next time you restart your system, OpenOffice.org will preload. When you open an OpenOffice.org application module, it will open faster.

3.1.6 Customizing OpenOffice.org

You can customize OpenOffice.org to best suit your needs and working style. Toolbars, menus, and keyboard shortcuts can all be reconfigured to help you more quickly access the features you use the most. You can also assign macros to application events if you want specific actions to occur when those events take place. For example, if you always work with a specific spreadsheet, you can create a macro that opens the spreadsheet and assign the macro to the Start Application event.

This section contains simple, generic instructions for customizing your environment. The changes you make are effective immediately, so you can see if the changes are what you wanted and go back and modify them if they weren’t. See the OpenOffice.org help files for detailed instructions.

Customizing Toolbars

Use the Customize dialog to modify OpenOffice.org toolbars.

  1. Click the arrow icon at the end of any toolbar, then click Customize Toolbar.

    or

    Click Tools > Customize > Toolbars.

  2. Select the toolbar you want to customize.

    The toolbar you clicked should already be selected. You can change the toolbar you want to customize by selecting the desired toolbar from the Toolbar menu.

  3. Select the check boxes next to the commands you want to appear on the toolbar, and deselect the check boxes next to the commands you don’t want to appear.

  4. Select whether to save your customized toolbar in the OpenOffice.org module you are using or in the document.

    • OpenOffice.org module

      The customized toolbar is used whenever you open that module.

    • Document filename

      The customized toolbar is used whenever you open that document.

  5. Repeat to customize additional toolbars.

  6. Click OK.

You can quickly choose the buttons that appear on a particular toolbar.

  1. Click the arrow icon at the end of the toolbar you want to change.

  2. Click Visible Buttons to display a list of buttons.

  3. Select the buttons in the list to enable (check) or disable (uncheck) them.

Customizing Menus

You can add or delete items from current menus, reorganize menus, and even create new menus.

  1. Click Tools > Customize > Menus.

  2. Select the menu you want to change, or click New to create a new menu.

    Click Help for more information about the options in the Customize dialog.

  3. Modify, add, or delete menu items as desired.

  4. Click OK.

Customizing Keyboard Shortcuts

You can reassign currently assigned keyboard shortcuts and assign new shortcuts to frequently used functions.

  1. Click Tools > Customize > Keyboard.

  2. Select the keys you want to assign to a function, or select the function and assign the keys or key combinations.

    Click Help for more information about the options in the Customize dialog.

  3. Modify, add, or delete keyboard shortcuts as desired.

  4. Click OK.

Customizing Events

OpenOffice.org also provides ways to assign macros to events such as application startup or the saving of a document. The assigned macro runs automatically whenever the selected event occurs.

  1. Click Tools > Customize > Events.

  2. Select the event you want to change.

    Click Help for more information about the options in the Customize dialog box.

  3. Assign or remove macros for the selected event.

  4. Click OK.

Changing the Global Settings

Global settings can be changed in any OpenOffice.org application by clicking Tools > Options on the menu bar. This opens the window shown in the figure below. A tree structure is used to display categories of settings.

Figure 3-1 The Options Window

The following table lists the settings categories along with a brief description of each category:

NOTE:The settings categories that appear depend on the module you are working in. For example, if you are in Writer, the OpenOffice.org Writer category appears in the list, but the OpenOffice.org Calc category does not. The OpenOffice.org Base category appears in both Calc and Writer. The Application column in the table shows where each setting category is available.

Table 3-2 Global Setting Categories

Settings Category

Description

Application

OpenOffice.org

Various basic settings, including your user data (such as your address and e-mail), important paths, and settings for printers and external programs.

All

Load/Save

Includes the settings related to the opening and saving of several file types. There is a dialog for general settings and several special dialogs to define how external formats should be handled.

All

Language Settings

Covers the various settings related to languages and writing aids, such as your locale and spell checker settings. This is also the place to enable support for Asian languages.

All

OpenOffice.org Writer

Configures the global word processing options, such as the basic fonts and layout that Writer should use.

Writer

OpenOffice.org Writer/Web

Changes the settings related to the HTML authoring features of OpenOffice.org.

Writer

OpenOffice.org Calc

Changes the settings for Calc, such as those related to sort lists and grids.

Calc

OpenOffice.org Impress

Changes the settings that should apply to all presentations. For example, you can specify the measurement unit for the grid used to arrange elements.

Impress

OpenOffice.org Draw

Includes the settings related to the vector drawing module, such as the drawing scale, grid properties, and some print options.

Draw

OpenOffice.org Math

Provides a single dialog to set special print options for formulas.

Math

OpenOffice.org Base

Provides dialogs to set and edit connections and registered databases.

Base

Charts

Defines the default colors used for newly created charts.

All

Internet

Includes the dialogs to configure any proxies and to change settings related to search engines.

All

IMPORTANT:All settings listed in the table are applied globally for the specified applications. They are used as defaults for every new document you create.

3.1.7 Finding Templates

Templates greatly enhance the use of OpenOffice.org by simplifying formatting tasks for a variety of different types of documents. OpenOffice.org comes with a few templates, and you can find additional templates on the Internet. You can also create your own. Creating templates is beyond the scope of this guide, but detailed instructions are found in the OpenOffice.org help system and in other documents and tutorials available online.

In addition to templates, you can find other extras and add-ins online. The following table lists a few of the prominent places where you can find templates and other extras. (Because Web sites often close or their content changes, the information in the following table might not be current when you read it.)

Table 3-3 Where to Find OpenOffice.org Templates and Extras

Location

What You Can Find

OpenOffice.org documentation Web site

Templates for Calc spreadsheets, CD cases, seed packets, fax cover sheets, and more

Worldlabel.com

Templates for many types of labels

For more information about templates, see Section 3.2.4, Using Templates to Format Documents and Section 3.3.2, Using Templates in Calc.