OpenOffice.

org Demystified Part 1

Is it Right For You?
Almosteverycomputeruserhasusedawordprocessor,spreadsheet,and/or presentationsoftware(AKAanOfficeSuite)atonepoint.Manyusethoseprograms quiteoften.Butwhichofficesuitedoyouuse?Aretherebetteralternatives? WhileMicrosoftOffice(MSOffice)isfarandawaythemostcommonofficesuite (andassuch,itiscomparedwithquiteoften),it'snottheonlyone.Dependingon yourneeds,itmaynotevenbethebestone.Anothersuchofficesuiteis OpenOffice.org(http://www.openoffice.org).

Figure 1: OpenOffice.org Writer OpenOffice.orgisanofficesuitethatincludesawordprocessor(calledWriter),a spreadsheet(calledCalc),presentationsoftware(calledImpress),apersonal

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databaseprogram(calledBase),adrawingprogram(calledDraw),andamath programusedforlayingoutformulas(calledMathorFormula).

Cost
TheentireOpenOffice.orgsuiteisavailableforfreefromtheirsite,evenfor commercialuse.Itisnotacrippledversionofthefullsuite.Itisthefullsuite! Therearenoadsorspywarethatcomewiththeprogram.Theregistrationis optionalandtherearenonagscreensaboutit.Updatestotheprogramarealso free. Compare$0(free)withMSOffice2003StandardEdition(whichdoesnotinclude adatabaseprogram)whichrunsupwardsof$250percopyfortheleastrestricted version.MSOffice2007issimilarlypricedpercopy.

Figure 2: OpenOffice.org Calc

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Notethephrasepercopy.MSwantsthosepricesforeachcopyyouuse.Have3 computers?ThenMSwantsaround$750.OpenOffice.org,ontheotherhand,allows youtoinstalltheprogramonasmanycomputersasyouwantatnoadditional charge.Youcanevengive,orsell,copiesofOpenOffice.orgtootherslegallywithout payinganyroyalties. Yes,somepeopleacquireMSOfficeforfree,butthepriceiseitherbuiltintothe priceoftheircomputer,andthereforehiddenfromthem,ortheyarecommittinga felony.WithMSsteppinguptheirantipiracyefforts,thisfelonyisgettingharderto do,andthereisalwaysachance,muchgreaterforbusinessesthanhomeusers,of gettingcaught.Penaltiescanincludestatutorydamagesrangingfrom$250to $150,000foreachinfringingcopyorhigherifthecourtfeelsthattheinfringement wascommitted"willfully."Therearealsocriminalpenaltiesincludingjailtime.

Figure 3: OpenOffice.org Impress CrackedversionofMSprograms,includingMSOffice,thatcanbefoundonthe Internetmayseemtempting,buttheyoftencontainvariouspiecesofmalware.Why

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riskthisifyoudon'thaveto?WithOpenOffice.org,everyoneinyourorganization, eventhosewhoworkathome,canhavethesameversionofthesoftwarewithout worryingaboutcost,legalissues,orlittlehiddenpresents.

File Format
Bydefault,OpenOffice.orgusesanISOstandard(ISO/IEC26300:2006), OpenDocumentformat,oftenabbreviatedODF.Thisisafullydocumented,royalty freestandardthatanyonecanuseatnocost,evenMicrosoft.Anysoftwareprogram canusetheformat.Already,thefollowingprogramsuseODF:

OpenOffice.org StarOffice KOffice TextMaker IBMWorkplace GoogleApps Scribus(importtextfilesonly)

TheOpenDocumentFellowshiphasamorecompletelistat http://opendocumentfellowship.org/applications.MS,Sun,andseveralotherparties arecreatingfreepluginsthatwillallowMSOfficetoreadandwriteODFfiles.The MSplugin(http://sourceforge.net/projects/odf-converter)isreportedtoworkbetter thantheSunplugin(http://www.sun.com/software/star/openoffice/),fornow. Whyisfileformatimportant?Byusinganopen,welldocumentedstandard,you preventvendorlockin.Vendorlockinoccurswhenthereissomeaspectofa program,usuallytheproprietaryfileformat,thatmakesthosewantingtomoveto anothervendor/programincursubstantialswitchingcosts,realand/orperceived.If youhavetorecreatealotorallofyourdatabyhand,switchingtoanotherprogram ishard.Vendors,e.g.Microsoft,likevendorlockinasmostcustomerswillfeelit's cheaper(atleastintheshortrun)toputupwiththem,andcontinuepaying,rather thanswitch.

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Figure 4: OpenOffice.org Math/Formula TheoldMSOfficeformats,suchasdoc,xls,andppt,arenottruestandards, despitetheirwidespreaduse.Forotherprogramstousethem,thedevelopershave toreverseengineertheformatsinordertoworkwiththosefiles,inadditionto dealingwithanypatentissuesthatloomoveranysuchimplementation,orpay heftylicensingfeestoMicrosoft.VariousvintagesofMSOfficefileformats,while lookingverysimilar,arenot100%compatiblewitheachother.AfilecreatedinMS Office97mayormaynotopencorrectlyinMSOffice2007,forexample. Yourauthorhaspersonallyencounteredasituationwhereacompanyhashadto installtwoversionsofMSOffice(97&2003)ononecomputerbecauseword documentspreparedinoneversionwouldnotdisplayproperlyintheotherversion. Thepointisthatit'sinourbestinteresttouseopenformats.MSgetsthejobdone *today*,butatthecostofplacingourtrustinanotablyuntrustworthycompany. Theycanchangetheformatandforceusalltoupgradetomaintaintheabilityto semifreelyaccessandexchangeourdatawitheachother.MScanchangetherules
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atanytime.Ortheycouldjustgetoutofthewordprocessingbusinessaltogether, leavingushighanddry.Itisaverybadideatostockpilelargevolumesof informationinformatsthatwedon'tcontrol. OpenOffice.orgcanreadandwriteMSOfficefilesuptoOffice2003(filefiltersfor theOffice2007formatareexpectedbereadyinAutumn2007).However,thefilters arenotperfect.Forallbutthemorecomplexdocuments,theyusuallyworkfine, althoughsomesmallformattingchangesareoccasionallynecessary.Sometimes theywillevenopenMSOfficefilesthatevenMSOfficecan't(duetoasmallamount offilecorruption).ThisalonecanmakehavingacopyofOpenOffice.orgworthit. IfMicrosoft,withfullaccesstoallthedocumentation,sourcecode,andbillionsof dollarscan'tmaketheMSOfficefileformatscompatiblewitheachother,even thoughtheyaresupposedtobe,canyoureallyholditagainstotherapplicationsfor havingnotquiteperfectfilefilters?Further,MSOffice972003compatibilitymode inMSOffice2007hasthreedifferentmeaningsinExcel,PowerPoint,andWord, andtheoneinExcelpreventsdocumentswith"newfeatures"frombeingsavedtoa filethatcanbeeditedbyapreviousversionofExcel(http://s3.amazonaws.com/pptdownload/office-2007-compatibility-mode-confusion4793.pdf).Youcanselectanearlier format,butthenitsavesasreadonly. MicrosofthascounteredtheODFstandardbyproposingtheirown,OOXML. However,evenafterbribingcompaniestovotefortheirstandard (http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136627-pg,1/article.html;makesonewonderhow goodtheproposedstandardmustbeifyouhavetobribepeopletovoteforit???), Microsoftwillnotcommittosupportingthestandard.AccordingtoBrianJones,a MicrosoftmanagerwhohasworkedonOOXMLforsixyears:ItshardforMicrosoft tocommittowhatcomesoutofEcma[theEuropeanstandardsgroupthathas alreadyOKdOOXML]inthecomingyears,becausewedontknowwhatdirection theywilltaketheformats.Wellofcoursestayactiveandproposechangesbasedon wherewewanttogowithOffice14.Attheendoftheday,though,theotherEcma memberscoulddecidetotakethespecinacompletelydifferentdirection....Since itsnotguaranteed,itwouldbehardforustomakeanysortofofficial statement.(http://www.techworld.com/storage/features/index.cfm? featureid=3685&pagtype=all).

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Features
SohowdoesMSOfficecomparewithOpenOffice.orgonfeatures?Accordingto LinuxInsider,OOo"...willperform98percentofcorporatetaskswithnoproblem, andbothsuitesareonlyimproving..."(http://www.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg? list=announce&msgNo=233;originalstorynolongeravailableonline).Acomparisonof OOo2.0Writer(beta)vs.MSWord2003 (http://software.newsforge.com/software/05/06/14/2137222.shtml?tid=152&tid=93)tested poweruserfeatures.OOowonin7outof12categoriesandtiedin2other categories.AccordingtoPCPro (http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/80012/openoffice-2.html),thetwo[OpenOffice.organd MSOffice]arenowallbutneckandneckonfeatures. Nearthebeginningof2007,theEuropeanUnion(EU)Commissionissueda report,StudyontheEconomicimpactofopensourcesoftwareoninnovationand thecompetitivenessoftheInformationandCommunicationTechnologies(ICT) sectorintheEU(http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/ict/policy/doc/2006-11-20flossimpact.pdfforthosewithinsomnia,http://www.groklaw.net/article.php? story=20070112025016466forthosewithoutinsomnia).Inpreparingthisreport,six publicandprivateorganizationsthathavetransitionedtoOpenSourceSoftware (OSS)werestudied.OpenOffice.orgisconsideredOSS,andthestudyreports,Our findingsreportnoparticulardelaysorlostoftimeinthedailyworkduetotheuse ofOpenOffice.org....OpenOffice.orghasallthefunctionalitiesthatpublicoffices needtocreatedocuments,spreadsheets,andpresentations." IfyouarewillingtospendalittletimelearninghowtouseOpenOffice.org,you willsufferverylittle,ifatall,fromlackoffeatures.Inreturn,youwillgainaccess tonewfeaturesandmorepowerfulfeaturesthatMSOfficelacks. ThereareveryfewfeaturesMSOfficehasthatOpenOffice.orgdoesnothave. Thesefeaturesdodifferhowever,andwillprobablyrequiresometrainingtogetthe mostoutoftheprogram,but,astheEUreportmentions,Coststomigratetoan opensolutionarerelevantandanorganizationneedstoconsideranextraeffortfor this.Howeverthesecostsaretemporaryandmainlyarebudgetedinlessthanone year.AstheinterfaceofMSOffice2007isverydifferentfrompreviousversions, thoselookingtoupgradetheiragingMSOfficesoftwarearegoingtoneedsome traininganyway,sothisisn'tthedisadvantageforOpenOffice.orgitmayseemat firstglance.
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OnefeaturethatOpenOffice.orgoffersthatMScannotofferistherangeof operatingsystemsitworkson.MSOfficeworksonWindowsandMac.OpenOffice worksonWindows(98toVista,althoughofficially98isunsupported),Linux,Mac, BSD,andSolaris.WithMSOffice,youmustbuyanoperatingsystem.With OpenOffice.org,youdon'thavetounlessyouwantto. AnotherfeatureOpenOffice.orgoffersthatMSOfficedoesnotinversionspriorto 2007istheabilitytoexportdirectlytoPDF(in2007thereisapluginyoumust add).Nowsomeofyoumightbethinking,Well,Icanaccomplishthesamethingby installingPDFCreatororoneofdozensofsimilarprograms.,andifyoudon'tcare aboutthequality,youarecorrect.Thewordqualityherereferstothelittleextras thatmakeitbetter,nothowgooditlooksonscreenorprints.WithOpenOffice.org, thePDFfileisn'tacollectionofpictures,butproperoutput.Thismeansyouextract thetextfromthePDFifneeded.Searchingfortext,hyperlinks,tableofcontents, andsecurityfeaturesareallavailablewithOpenOffice.orggeneratedPDFs,butyou don'thaveanyofthosethingswithPDFCreator(orsimilarprograms). Forthoselookingforamoreindepthcomparisonoffeatures,theOpenOffice.org communityhaswrittensomemigrationguidestohelpwiththeswitchfromMS Office.Theseareavailablefreeat http://documentation.openoffice.org/manuals/oooauthors2,atthebottomofthepage. TheOfficialmanualsarealsoonthispage,soyoucancertainlylookthroughthem tohelpyoudecideifOpenOffice.orgisrightforyou. OpenOffice.orgcanlivealongsideofMSOfficeonthesamecomputer,soyou don'thavetodeleteyourinstallationofMSOfficetotryOpenOffice.org.Thebiggest problempeoplerunningWindowshavewiththatsetupisduringtheinstall, OpenOffice.orgofferstobecomethedefaultapplicationfordoc,xls,andpptfiles.If youacceptitsoffer,doubleclickingonsuchafilewillthenopenthefilein OpenOffice.org,notMSOffice.UninstallingOpenOffice.orgwillnotfixthis,butthis canbefixedbygoingtoStart|Runandtypingwinword/r(withoutthequotes), thenrepeatingtheprocessforExcelandPowerpoint(excel/regserver,and powerpnt/regserver).

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Outlook
OpenOffice.orgdoesnotincludeanemailclientlikeMSOfficedoes,namely Outlook.Ofcourse,somefeelwithallthesecurityproblemsOutlookhas,itshould benamedLookOut,sothelackofsuchaprogramisn'treallyadrawback. Ifyoudon'tneedthecalendar,Thunderbirdworksverywell.Tointegrateyour ThunderbirdaddressbookwithOpenOffice.org(sinceatleastversion2.0.2),atthe topmenubarofOpenOffice.org,ClickFile/Wizards/AddressDataSource.Apopup willappearaskingdifferenttypesoffdatasources.SpecifyThunderbirdasadata sourceandfollowtheprompts.Youraddressbookisnowaccessiblefrom OpenOffice.org Ifyourequireacalendarfeature,orjustlikehowOutlookworks,tryEvolution (http://www.gnome.org/projects/evolution/;http://shellter.sourceforge.net/evolution/for aWindowsversion).WithoptionssuchasThunderbird,Opera,KMail,Evolution, andseveralothers,manyofthedevelopersofOpenOffice.orgfeelthereislittleneed tospendtheresourcesonreinventingthewheel.It'sbettertospendthetime improvingtheirownapplications.

People OpenOffice.org is Wrong For

Despiteallitsbenefits,OpenOffice.orgisn'trightforeveryone.Ifyoucan'tlive withouttheoutlineviewMSWordprovides,stickwithMSOffice.Similarly,ifyou havealotofwork,ormoney,investedinVBAmacros,stickwithMSOffice. OpenOffice.orgdoeshaveit'sownlanguage,StarBasic,butit'snotcompatiblewith VBA.ThereisaprojectunderwaybySunandNovelltoaddVBAsupportto OpenOffice.org,butaccordingtothewebsite,Itisexpectedthatmanymacroswon't runfornow. ForthosewithaconsiderableinvestmentinAccessdatabases,OpenOffice.org maynotbethebestchoice(seevendorlockinabove).Whilethetablescanbe migratedtoBase(oranotherdatabase,suchasMySQLorPostgres)relatively easily,nothingelsecan.Ofcourse,sinceMSOfficeandOpenOffice.orgcancoexist, youcanalwayskeepMSOfficearoundjustforAccessanduseOpenOffice.orgfor wordprocessing,spreadsheets,andpresentations. Ifyouarelookingforlotsoftemplatesandclipartthatcomewithyouroffice suite,OpenOffice.orgisn'tagoodchoice.However,OxygenOfficeProfessional
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(http://sourceforge.net/projects/ooop/)hasacollectionoftemplatesandclipartthat workswithOpenOffice.org.Infact,OxygenOfficeisOpenOffice.orgwiththeextras alreadyaddedin.TherearealsootherOpenOffice.orgdocumentspostedaroundthe webyoucanalwaysfindandusetemplatesatplacessuchas:

http://ooextras.sourceforge.net/downloads/english/ http://www.wordautomation.com/openoffice_templates.html http://documentation.openoffice.org/Samples_Templates/User/template/index.html

Ifyouworkforacompanythathas,andactuallyenforces,rulesforbiddingusers toinstallextrasoftware,OpenOffice.orgmightnotbeaviablechoiceforyou.At companieslackingsuchrules,therearepeoplethatuseOpenOffice.orgwhilethe restoftheofficeusesMSOfficewithoutanyrealproblems,otherthanremembering tosavefilesinMSOfficeformatbeforehandingthemofftoothers.Infact, OpenOffice.orgcanbesettodefaulttoMSOfficeformatting. Finally,OpenOffice.orgmaynotbethebestchoiceforthosewhocan'torrefuseto learn.Therearethoseouttherethat,ratherthenspendthetimeandefforttolearn andimprove,willinsteadlookforsomesmallthingthatMSOfficecandowhich OpenOffice.orgcan'tdoaswell.TheythendeclareOpenOffice.orginferioror unsuitablewhileoverlookingallthethingsOpenOffice.orgdoesbetter.Ifyouare oneofthosepeople,don'tbothertryingOpenOffice.org.

Conclusion
Formostusers,OpenOffice.orgismorethanaviablereplacementforMSOffice. Consideringit'sfree,youonlyhavealittletimeandharddrivespacetolosein tryingitout.Youmightevenlearnsomethingintheprocess. InPart2ofthisseries,IwillcovergettingandinstallingOpenOffice.org.

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OpenOffice.org Demystified Part 2

Getting and Installing OpenOffice.org
InPart1oftheOpenOffice.orgDemystifiedseries,Icoveredthebasicsofwhat OpenOffice.orgisandwhyyouwouldwantit.Inthisinstallment,Iwillcoverhowto getit,installit,andsolvesomeofthemorecommoninstallationproblems.

Getting OpenOffice.org
ThemostcommonwaytogetOpenOffice.orgistodownloadit.Themainpageofthe OpenOffice.orgsite,athttp://www.openoffice.org,hasalinktoDownloadCentral http://download.openoffice.org/2.3.0/index.html (asof10/03/07).Fromthereyoupick whethertodownloaditusingftp(clickonDownloadOpenOffice.org)orvia BitTorrent(clickonDownloadOpenOffice.orgviaP2P).Ifyouchoosethe BitTorrentmethod,younextpicktheversionyouwant,usuallythemostrecent stableversion(thosewithrcinthenamearereleasecandidates,andmightnotbe quitestableyet,buttheyareclose),theoperatingsystem(AKAplatform),andthe language.Forftp,youshouldalwaysbetakentothelateststable,Englishversion. Therearelinkstodownloadotherversions,andlanguages. Whenchoosingtheoperatingsystem,youhavethechoicetogettheJREincluded ornot.JREistheJavaruntimeenvironment,oftencalledJavaforshort.While strictlyoptional,manycomponents,justasthevariouswizardsandthedatabase program,dependonJavatoworkcorrectly.WithoutJava,OpenOffice.orgwillnot haveasmanyfeaturesavailable.AddingtheJREtoyourdownloaddoesincrease thesizeofthedownload. AstheincludedJREversionisalmostalwaysanoldversion,youmaywantto downloadandinstallthelatestversionofJavaseparately.Itcanbedownloadedat http://www.Java.com/en/download/manual.jsp.Thiswillgiveyouthelatestversion. Usually,theofflineversioniseasiertodownload.Inadditiontoprovidingyouwith JREforOpenOffice.org,theofflineversionalsogivesyoutheJavapluginfor Firefox,and,forWindowsusers,InternetExplorer.Opera,ontheotherhand,does notuseaJavaplugin,butratherthesameinstalledJRE(see http://www.opera.com/support/search/view/375/& http://www.opera.com/support/search/view/459/).
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Forthosewithoutbroadband,youcanalwaysfindafriendwithbroadbandora localPCusergroup(HALPCmemberscanusethehighspeedconnectionsat headquarters),possiblyevenyourwork(dependingonpolicies)anddownloadacopy toaflashdrivetotakehome.Failingthat, http://distribution.openoffice.org/cdrom/index.html#cdromlistsavarietyofvendorsyou canorderaCDfrom,andeBayhassomepeoplesellingCD'stoo.Keepinmindthat justbecauseyoupayforaCDfromoneofthesevendors,theOpenOffice.orgproject, includingthemailinglist,isnotobligatedtoprovideyouanysupport,nordoeither getinvolvedindisputeswiththevendors.Forthosewantingsupport,youmight considerlookingatStarOffice(http://www.sun.com/software/star/staroffice/index.jsp) whichisaSunsupportedversionofOpenOffice.org. Ifyoudon'twanttoinstallOpenOffice.orgonyourcomputer,orcan'tforsome reason,portable OpenOffice.org (http://portableapps.com/apps/ office/openoffice_portable) mightbeworthalook. PortableOpenOffice.orgis designedtobeinstalledona flashdrive(preferred)or evenburnedtoCDandrun fromthere.Oncesetup,you needonlyplugintheflash driveonalmostanycomputer andstarttheapplication.No Figure 1: Unzipping the files harddriveinstallation required.Thus,evenifyou havetouseanothercomputer,youstillhaveOpenOffice.orgwhereveryougo.

Installation for Windows

Themaininstallprogramisanexefile.Justdoubleclicktostarttheinstallation. Installationrequiresadministratoraccess.Theprogramstartswithasplashscreen. Clicknext.Nowitwillaskyouwheretounzipsomefiles(seeFig.1).Thesefilesare temporary,sojustpicksomeplaceconvenient.Thedefaultisyourdesktopfolder.
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Afterthefilesareunzipped,yougetanothersplashscreen.Clicknext.Nowcomes thelicensescreen(see Figure2).Youmust acceptittocontinue installingtheprogram. Ifyoureadthelicense, youwillfindit guaranteesyoucertain freedomsintheuseof theprogram,freedoms mostlicensestakeaway. Mostofthesefreedoms werementionedinpart 1ofthisseries. Nowyouareaskedto Figure 2: The license agreement giveausernameand organization.Theseareoptionalandcanbechangedlaterifdesired.Theusername isavailableasafieldshouldyouwanttouseit.Youarealsogiventhechoiceto eitherinstallforonlyoneuser,oreveryone.Usuallyyouwantthedefaultchoice, everyone. Instep4,youcanchosewhetheryouwanttoinstalleverything,orjustcertain components.SinceOpenOffice.orgissointegrated,thereverylittlespacesavedby notinstallingaparticularpiece.It'sbettertotakethedefaultchoiceandjustinstall everything.Onereasontotakethecustomchoiceisitgivesyouachoicewhereto installtheprogramifyoudon'twanttoinstallOpenOffice.orgtoC:\Program Files. Step5(seeFigure3)causespeoplethatdon'tpayattentionproblems,sopay attention!Donotblindlyclicknext!IfyouhaveacopyofMSOfficealready installed,andwishtocontinueusingthatasyourdefaultprogramfordoc,xls,and pptfiles,uncheckalltheboxes.Ifyoucheckthem,thenwheneveryoudoubleclick onanyfilewiththeaboveextensions,OpenOffice.orgwillbeusedopenthefile,not MSOffice.UninstallingOpenOffice.orgwillNOTresetthis.Ofcourse,youcan alwaysopeneitherprogramfirstandusetheFile>Opencommandtoopenthe fileswiththatprogram.
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Figure 3: Should OpenOffice.org take over doc, xls, and ppt files? Finally,youclickontheinstallbutton,waitalittlewhile,thenfinish. OpenOffice.orgisnowinstalled.Itisnotnecessarytorebootthecomputer,although theinitialstartupwillbemuchslowerifyoudon't.However,thisisaonetime thing.Youwillalsoencounteraregistrationscreenthefirsttimeyoustart OpenOffice.org.Thisregistrationiscompletelyoptional,andifskipped,shouldn't appearagain,unlessyouupgradeOpenOffice.org.

Common Windows Installation Problems

Probablythemostcommonproblemisabaddownloadorbadcopy.Ifyouare havingproblems,firstdoasanitycheck.Istheinstallationfileyouhavethesame sizeastheOpenOffice.orgwebsitesaysyourversionis?Ifnot,youhaveabadcopy andneedtoredownloadit. Youmightalsowanttocheckthemd5sum.Anmd5sumisaverycomplicated formulathattakesalargefileandreducesittoa32digithexadecimalnumber (digits09andcharactersaf).Ifthemd5summatches,youmaysafelyassumethe filesareidentical.Thesmallestchangeinafile,evenjustaddingordeletingaspace willchangethemd5sum.Ifthemd5sumisdifferent,youdonothaveagoodcopyof

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OpenOffice.org.Thepagehttp://download.openoffice.org/2.3.0/md5sums.htmlgivesthe md5sumsandinstructionsonhowtocheckthemforversion2.3.0. Ifyougetanerrornumber1935,thisismostlikelycausedbyyourantivirus softwarethinkingtheinstallationprogramisavirus.It'srare,butnotunheardof, andOpenOffice.orgisn'ttheonlyprogramthishappenswith.First,checkthe md5sumasoutlinedabove.Neverletyourguarddownwiththecraziesoutthere tryingtoinfectyoursystemwithbadversionsofgoodsoftware.If,andonlyif,the md5summatches,thendisconnectyourcomputerfromtheInternet,turnoffthe antivirussoftware,andruntheinstallation.BeforereconnectingtotheInternet, besuretoturntheantivirussoftwarebackon. Ifyougetanerrornumber2908,oryoustillgetnumber1935evenafterfollowing theaboveinstructions,somepeoplehavereportedthatremovingmscoree.dll (perhapsrenameratherthandelete)fromyoursystem32directoryfixesthe problem.ThiserrorhasbeenreportedwheninstallingtheMS.netframeworktoo.A rebootnotnecessary.Thisfixisunconfirmedthough,souseatyourownrisk. Forerrornumber1714,orifyougetamessagealongthelinesof...olderversion ofOpenOffice.orgcannotberemovedoranerrormessagementioningafilethat endswithmsi,youshouldusetheMicrosoftInstallerCleanupUtility.This programhelpscleanupaftersomeinstallproblems.Acompletedescriptionofthe utilityisathttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301/EN-US/whichincludesadownload link.InadditiontoalltheMicrosoftsoftwarelisted,thiscanbeusedtofixinstall problemwithOpenOffice.orgtoo.

Installation for Linux

ManyLinuxdistributionstodaycomewithOpenOffice.orgalreadyinstalled. However,itismostlikelynotthecurrentversion.Ifyouarehappywithanolder version,stickwithwhatyouhaveandofficialdistributionupgrades.Ifnot,readon. Yourdistribution(distro)probablyhashasoneofthetwomaininstallmethods RPM(.rpmfiles)orAPT(.debfiles).Afewolder/simplerdistrosstilluse tarballs(.tarfiles);ifyouareusingoneofthose,youprobablyalreadyknowhowto installnewsoftware. First,removetheoldversionbywhatevermethodyourdistroprovides.Forthe Ubuntufamilythecommand"sudo apt-get remove openoffice"willdoit.OtherAPT
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(.debfile)distros,suchasDebian,Mepis,etc.,shouldomitthesudoinall commandsintheseinstructions,butwillneedrootpriviledgeeitherbyloginor thesucommand. Next,downloadthethetar.gzversionandunpackitusingwhichevermethodyou prefer(GUIorCLI).Changetotheappropriatedirectory,whichwillbenamed similartoOOE680_m6_native_packed1_enUS.9095(thenamewillvarydepending ontheversionandlanguage).InthisdirectorythereisanRPMSdirectory.ForRPM users,theseareallyouneed.Thereisadesktopintegrationdirectorywithsome additionalRPM'sthatyoushouldinstalltoo,althoughtheyareoptional. Forthosewanting.deb's,suchasUbuntuusers,the.rpm'smustbeconverted to.deb's.Thisiseasytodo.Openaterminalclient&changedirectorytoyournew OpenOffice.orgdirectory,thentotheRPMSsubdirectory.Ifyoudonotalreadyhave alieninstalled,usethecommand"sudo apt-get install alien"toinstallit.Nowusethe alienprogramtoconverttheRPMStodebs,"sudo alien -k -c *.rpm".Afterashort time,allthe.rpm'swillbereplacedby.deb's. ToactuallyinstallOpenOffice.orgaftertheconversionisdone,usethecommand "sudo dpkg -i openoffice.org*.deb".Althoughit'soptional,youprobablyshouldchange directoryintothedesktopintegrationdirectory,andrunthecommand"sudo dpkg -i openoffice.org-debian-menus_2.1-5_all.deb"(thisfilenamemaychangeinfuture releases,butthenameshouldbesimilar).Yes,thisworksforUbuntueventhoughit saysDebian.Yourinstallationisnowcomplete. Ifallthiswentoveryourhead,rememberthattheHoustonLinuxUsersGroup hasaworkshopeveryWednesdayfrom69PMatHALPCheadquarters,with experiencedLinuxuserswhocanhelpyou. MacusersmaywanttolookatNeoOffice (http://www.neooffice.org/neojava/en/index.php)whichisaportofOpenOffice.orgto theMac.

Conclusion
HopefullyyounowhaveaworkingcopyofOpenOffice.orgonyourharddriveand arereadytostartusingit.GettingandinstallingOpenOffice.orgiseasy.Nowcomes theharder,butmorerewardingpart,learningtouseit.Whiletheinterfacemay looksimilartoMSOffice,ifyoutrytouseitthesameway,youarereallymissing
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outonalotofthepowerofOpenOffice.org.Inthenextinstallment,wewilltakea lookatWriter'sparagraphandcharacterstyles,howtousethem,andwhyyou reallywanttousethem.Seeyouthen!

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OpenOffice.org Demystified Part 3 Writer Paragraph and Character Styles

1. New Ways
AreyouthetypicalMSOfficeuser?Doyoucreateaheaderbytypingtheheader, selectingthetext,thenchangingthefontandsize?Doyouusethebold,italic,and underlinebuttonsoften?Doyoupressentertwicetoaddextraspacebetween paragraphs? WhilethosemethodsworkinOpenOffice.orgjustaswellasinMSOffice,ifyou usethemyou'rereallymissingalotofthepowerofOpenOffice.org.You'realso workingtoohard.Toreallyharnessthepower,andlaborsavingfeatures,of OpenOffice.org,youneedtolearnaboutstyles. OpenOffice.orgWriterhasfivetypesofstyles:paragraph,character,page,frame, andlist.Ofthese,paragraphisprobablythemostused.Thisinstallmentof "OpenOffice.orgDemystified"willcoverparagraphandcharacterstyles.Other styleswillbecoveredinfutureinstallments. Ifyoudon'talreadyhaveOpenOffice.orgyetoryoudon'tknowwhatitis,you shouldtakealookatpart1(http://www.hal pc.org/journal/2007/07_novDec/feature2.html)andpart2(http://www.spotswood computer.net/articles/OOo2_Getting_Installing2.php)ofthisseries.

2.

What are Styles?

Astyle,atleastinOpenOffice.org,isacollectionofattributesthatdescribean object.AnyonefamiliarwithHTMLandCSSshouldhavenoproblemunderstanding styles.StylesareroughlytheOpenOffice.orgequivalenttoCSS. Paragraphstylesdescribeparagraphsandcharacterstylesdescribeasetof characterssmallerthanaparagraph.InOpenOffice.org,aparagraphconsistsofall thecharactersuptoanenter.Itispossibleforaparagraphtoconsistsolelyofan enter,butthisisusuallyanindicationyouaren'tusingstylesproperly. Stylesdifferfrommanualformattingwhichinvolvesselectingthetext,thenusing theformattingtoolslikefontname,size,etc.Withstyles,youdescribewhatapiece

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oftextisratherthanformatit.Forexample,thefirstlineofthisarticleisatitle. It'snotapieceofArial,18pt,boldtext,forexample.Thenextlineisaheader,nota pieceofArial14pttext.Commonstylenamesinclude:title,textbody,heading1, heading2,footer,header,etc.Youdescribethetext,nottheformatting.Each descriptionhasformattingassociatedwithit,sobydescribingthetext,youalso formatit. Nowsomeofyoumightbethinkingthisisalotofextrawork.Isn'titeasiertojust manuallyformatthetext?Foralmostalldocuments,no.Firstandforemost, assigningstylestoallparagraphsisactuallyfewerkeystrokesandmouseclicks thanmostmanualformatting,especiallythemorecomplicatedformatting. Secondly,usingstylesinsuresthedocument'sformattingisconsistentthroughout theentiredocument.Youdon'thavetorememberwhethertheheadingwas14ptor 16pt.Justassignthestyleandthat'stakencareofautomatically.Consistency throughoutadocumentmakesiteasiertoreadandlookfarmoreprofessionaland thanadocumentwithformattingrandomlyassigned. Stylesmakeformattingchangesasnap.Supposeyouneedtochangeallthelevel 1headingsfromArial16ptboldtoPalatino16ptregularina50pagedocument, eitherbyyourchoice,oryourboss/teacherjustchangedtheirmind.Maybetheclient decidedtheywantthingsdoneaccordingtotheirstylepreferences,notyour company's,orperhapslegalgotaholdofthedocument. Regardlessofthereasonforthechange,ifyouusedstyles,justeditthestyleand reprint.Theentiredocumentisupdatedautomatically.Ifyouusedmanual formatting,youwouldhavetomanuallygothrougheverypageandadjustthe headings.Whichwouldyouprefer,afewsecondswithstylesoranhourormoreof tediousworkwithmanualformatting,hopingyoudidn'tmakeanymistakes?Which savestimeandeffort? Finally,thereareseveralothertoolsinOpenOffice.orgthatdependonstyles. Automatictableofcontentsgeneration,andupdating,onlyhappensifyouuse styles.TheOpenOffice.orgnavigatordoesn'tworkwithoutstylesandPDF bookmarksarebasedonstyles.Stylescanevenaffecthowthespellcheckerworks. Smartpeopleusestyles.

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3.

Using Styles

Togetyoustartedusingstyles,wewillworkthroughasampledocument, formattingitwithstyles.Startbydownloadingthesampledocumentat "http://www.spotswood-computer.net/samples/style_sample.odt".Loadthisdocument intoOpenOffice.org.Youwillrecognizeitasanearlyversionofthisarticle, unformatted,andwithoutanyfigures,andprobablyatypoortwo.Somethestyles thatcomewiththisdocumenthavebeentweakedfromtheirdefaultsettingsforthis tutorial. Shouldsomeofthetextappearonscreentohaveagraybackground,press"Ctrl F8"orgoto"View">"FieldShadings"toremoveitifitbothersyou.Thisisfield shadinganddoesnotaffecthowthedocumentprintsorexports."CtrlF8"isa toggle,soifyouwanttoseethefieldshadings,pressittoturnthemoniftheyare off. 3.1. Clear Manual Formatting Thereissomemanualformattinginthisdocument,likethetitle.Sincewewillbe usingstylestocontroltheformatting,weneedtogetridofallthemanual formatting.Sometimeswhenyoucopyandpastefromothersourcesyouget manuallyformattedtextandparagraphs,orperhapsyougotadocumentfrom someoneelsewhohasn'tlearnedaboutstyles.Eitherway,youwillhavetoclear manualformattingsoonerorlater. Thequickestwaytoclearthemanualformattingistopress"CtrlA"orgothrough themenus"Edit">"SelectAll".Thishighlightseverything.Nowgoupto"Format" >"DefaultFormatting"orusethekeyboardshortcut"Ctrl+Shift+Space".Thiswill clearallmanualformattingandcharacterstylesintheselectedtextbutdoesnot changetheparagraphstyle. 3.2. Apply the Text body style Nowthatourdocumentisablankslateformattingwise,let'sstartapplying styles.Sincemostofthedocumentisbodytext,wecansavetimeandmassapply thisfirst.Thisisquickerandlessworkthanapplyingittoeachparagraph individually.Thiswillassignthewrongstylestosomeparagraphs,butastheyare fewer,itisfastertogobackandfixthoselater.

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Ifallthetextisnotcurrentlyselected,press"CtrlA"again.Nowweneedtobring uptheStylist.TobringuptheStylist,alsoknownasthestylesandformatting dialogbox,eitherpressF11,orgothroughthemenus"Format">"Stylesand Formatting".Atthebottomofthestylistisadropdownfilterthatallowsyouto changewhichstylesaredisplayed.Beginnerstothestylistmaywanttosetthefilter to"AllStyles".Scrolldownuntilyouseethestylecalled"TextBody".Doubleclick thatstylenametoapplythestyletotheparagraph(s)coveredbythecurrent selection,ortheparagraphthecursorisinifthereisnoselection.

3.3. Modifying the Text body style Forthisdocument,thetextstyledoesn'thaveextraspaces betweentheparagraphs.Let'saddsome.Hereiswhere mostpeoplewouldjustpressentertoaddanextraspace. However,thisisnotonlybadform,itisalsounnecessary. Theextraspacecanbeaddedthroughmodifyingthestyle. Youdonotneedtohaveanyparagraph(s)selectedorthe cursorintheparticularparagraph(s)youwanttochangeif youaremodifyingthestyle.Everythingwiththatstyle Figure 1: The Stylist. Be instantlygetsupdatedthroughouttheentiredocument. sure you use the options Thisisonewaystylessaveyoutimeandeffort. circled in red. Tomodifyastyle,eitherrightclickonthestylenameintheStylistandselect modify,orrightclickonaparagraphwiththestyleyouwanttomodifyandselect "EditParagraphStyle"fromthemenuthatcomesup.Therightclickmethodwill notworkifyourightclickonawordtheautomaticspellcheckerthinksismis spelled. Inthestyleeditor,clickonthe"IndentsandSpacing"tab.Itisthesecondfrom theleft.Hereiswherethespacingaroundtheparagraphiscontrolled.Nearthe middleofthistabisthespacingsection.Thisaddswhitespaceaboveand/orbelow theparagraph.Thesenumbersareaddedwiththenumbersfortheparagraphstyles aboveandbelowanyparagraph.Ifyousetaboveandbelowto0.05"andhavetwo textbodyparagraphstogetherthenthespacingbetweenthetwowillbe0.10"(0.05 +0.05).Differentstylescanhavedifferentspacing,buttheystilladdtogether.
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Forthistutorial,setthespacingaboveto0andbelowto0.10",orwhatever numberlooksgoodtoyou.YoumustpressOKtoseethechanges,butdon'tdothat yet.Don'tworryaboutmakingmistakesasyoucangobackandchangeitwhenever youwantifthespacingistoomuchortoolittle.

Figure 2: The style editor. Beforeweleavethistab,let'sindentthefirstlineofthetextparagraphs.Above thespacingsectionistheindentsection."Beforetext"and"Aftertext"areusedfor changingthepagemarginsforjustthatstyle.Themostcommonuseisfor offsettingblockquotes.Thesenumberscanbenegative.Formoststyles,theyshould be0. Belowthoseisthe"Firstline"option.Thisistheonethatwillautomatically indentthefirstlineoftheparagraphswiththisstyle.Youdon'tneedtoplaywith tabs.Setthistoabout0.16",orwhateverlooksgoodtoyou.NowclickOKtoseethe changesmadethroughouttheentiredocument. 3.4. Creating the Title Nowthatthebaseformattingofthedocumentiscomplete,thenextthingthis documentneedsisatitlethatlookslikeatitleratherthanpartofthetext.Weneed toapplyatitlestyle.Noticehowthestylenamedescribesthetext?Usingstylesfora singlelineoftextmayseemlikeawasteoftime,butitgivesyouaconsistencythat manualformattingcan'tmatch,andyoudon'thaveplayanytextselectiongames. Plus,youneverknowwhenyouwillusethisstyleagain...
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Placethecursorsomewhereinthetextonthefirstline.OpentheStylistagain, doubleclickonthestyle"Title".Ifyoudon'tsee"Title"inthelist,besuretosetthe filteratthebottomoftheStylisttoAll.Nowthetitlelooksmoretitleish,butit's stillnotquiteright.That'sOK,wecanjusteditthestyle. Bringupthestyleeditorasdescribedintheabovesection,"ModifyingtheText bodystyle"onpage4.Let'scenterthetitle.Textalignmentiscontrolledbythetab "Alignment".Thisisnextto"IndentsandSpacing".Select"Centered". Nowlet'schangethefontandfontsize.Sincethetextisinaseriffont,wecanuse asansseriffontforthetitleandheaderstohelpsetitofffromthetext.Twotabsto therightof"Alignment"isthe"Font"tab.SelectArial,orasimilarfontifyoudon't haveArial,theselectboldundertypefaceandmakeit18pt. Ifyoudon'tseeptsizes,butpercentagesinstead,justtype"18pt"(noquotes)in theboxbelowthewordsize.OpenOffice.orgallowsyoutoeitheruseptsizesor percentagesinthefontsize.Bytypinginoneoftheunitsinthebox,youcanswitch betweenthetwo.Trytyping"140%"(again,noquotes)intheboxtoswitchto percentages. Wecansetoffthetitle,andlatertheheaders,evenmorebyapplyingaslightcolor change.Notethewordslight.Lotsofbright,vibranttextcolorsdon'tsay professionaldocument.Theysay"DayattheCircus".Bright,vibrantcolorscan workforads,greetingcards,posters,etc.,butnotfordocumentsliketutorials, articles,reports,books,etc. Tochangethecolorofthetext,clickonetabtotherightof"Font"called"Font Effects".Hereyoucanchangeandapplyagreatmanyfontdecorationstothestyle. Remembertousethemsparingly! The"Fontcolor"selectorissettoautomaticwhichisthesameasblackunless you'vetakenstepstochangeit.Selectthisandpickthefirstbluecolorwhichis labeled"Blue".Thisisadarkbluethatdoesn'tlookbadnexttotheblackofthetext. NowclickOKtoseethechanges. 3.5. Applying the Header Styles Nowweapplysomeheaderstylestothedocument.Forthistutorial,weareonly usingthestyles"Heading1"and"Heading2".Openthestylistandselectthestyle
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"Heading1".Nowputthecursoranywhereintheparagraph/lineNewWaysonpage 1anddoubleclickonthestylenamed"Heading1".Noticehowitchanges?Now repeattheprocessforWhatareStyles?andUsingStylesonpages1and3. Sincewehavealreadyusedthestyle"Heading1",itisnowavailablefromthe applystyletoolbar.Putthecursoranywhereintheparagraph/headingConclusion onpage11andfromtheapplystyletoolbarselect"Heading1".Youhavenowadded allthe"Heading1"styles. Anotherwayofaddingstylestomanyparagraphsquicklybutselectivelyistouse the"FillFormatMode",orstylepainter.IntheStylist,atthetop,secondfromthe rightisanoddlittlesymbolthatissupposedtolooklikeapaintcanspillingpaint. Whenyouclickthis,thecursorchangesshapeandyoucanpointandclickyourway toaddingparagraphstyles.Italsoworksfornonparagraphstyles,butnotaswell. OpentheStylistandclickonthe"FillFormatMode" button.Whileinthismode,whateverstyleisselectedinthe Stylistwillbeappliedwhereeveryouclick.Forparagraph styles,youonlyhavetohavethecursoranywhereinthe paragraphtoapplythestyle.Youcanchangestyleswhilein "FillFormatMode"byselectingadifferentoneinthe Stylist.Thiswillnotchangeanystylesalreadyapplied.Now singleclickonthestyle"Heading2".Nowscrollthroughthe documentandclickontherestoftheheadersinthe followinglist:ApplytheTextbodystyleonpage3,Modifying theTextbodystyleonpage4,CreatingtheTitleonpage5, ApplyingtheHeaderStylesonpage6,StyleDependencies Figure 3: Fill format mode button circled in onpage8,Changingthetextflowonpage8,andAdding red. CharacterStylesonpage9. Yes,weskippedClearManualFormattingonpage3onpurpose.Noticehowall theheadingsarenumberedautomatically.Thisisfromthestyle.Nowforsome magic.Supposeyou,orsomeoneelse,wantstoaddanewsection,withaheadingof course.Doesthismeanyouhavetobackthroughthedocumentandrenumber everything?Ifyouusestylesproperly,noyoudon't.HeretheskippedheadingClear ManualFormattingwillserveasthe"added"section.

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GototheClearManualFormattingonpage3,putthecursoronthatline anywhereinthetext,andfromthestylepulldownmenu,select"Heading2".Notice howitandalltheotherstylesarenumberedproperlywithnoeffortonyourpart? Thisisanotherreasontousestyles. 3.6. Style Dependencies Nowweneedtomakesomechangestotheheaderstyles.Forthistutorial,weare onlyusingtheheadingstyles"Heading1"and"Heading2".Forconsistency,we wantthembothtobethesamefontandcolorasthetitle.Sincethereareonlytwo stylestochangeforthistutorial,wecoulddothemindividually.However,bydefault, OpenOffice.orgWritercomeswithtenheaderstylesnumberedonethroughtenand youcanaddmoreifneeded.Changingtenindividuallyisalotmorework.Solet's taketheshortcut. Stylescandependon,orbelinkedto,otherstyles.Thismeanschangesmadeto onestyleareautomaticallyduplicatedinotherstyles.OpenuptheStylistagainand takenotethatthereisonestylecalled"Header"withnonumber.Thatisnota mistakeorabug.Rightclickonanyheaderstylewithanumberandselectmodify. Oneleftsideisatabcalled"Organizer".The"Linkedwith"optionchainsstyles together.Whateveroptionyouchangeinthe"Linkedwith"styleiscopiedtothis style.Forinstance,ifthestyleyouaremodifyingislinkedwiththestyle"Header" andyouchangethefontandfontcolorin"Header",thenthisstyletakesonthatfont andcolortoo.Onlytheoptionsyouchangearecopied.Everythingelseisleftalone. PressCanceltogetoutofthestyleeditor. Sinceallthenumberedheaderstylesarelinkedwiththestylesimplyname "Header"(nonumber),wecanjustchange"Header"tochangealltheotherheader styles.Therefore,intheStylist,rightclickon"Header"andmodifyit. Aswedidforthetitle,clickonthefonttab,andpickthesamefontyouusedfor "Title",probablyArial.Next,clickonthe"FontEffects"tabandchangethe"Font color"selectiontoblueasyoudidfor"Title",butdonotclickOKyet! 3.7. Changing the text flow Beforeweclosetheeditor,thereisonemorechangeweshouldmake. OpenOffice.orgWriter,likeprettymucheveryotherwordprocessor,automatically
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decideswherepagebreaksshouldoccur.Butsometimestheydon'thappenquite wheretheyshould.Aheaderatthebottomofthepage,allbyitself,withno accompanyingtextisdisruptivetothereader.Anythingdisruptivemakesreading thedocumentharder.Hardtoreaddocumentsarenotaswellreceivedaseasyto readdocumentswiththeexactsamecontent. Inordertobettercontrolthetextflow,clickonthetab"TextFlow"andcheck "Keepwithnextparagraph",thirdoptionupfromthebottom.Thistells OpenOffice.orgWritertoneveraddapagebreakbetweenanyparagraphwiththis styleandthenextparagraph.Ifnecessary,Writerwillmovebothparagraphs, together,tothenextpage,leavingextrawhitespaceatthebottomoftheprevious page. Thisextrawhitespacedoesnotdisruptreading,andusuallyonlytypesettersand really,really,boredpeoplewillevennoticeit.Thisoptionshouldbeusedsparingly andusuallyonlyforheaderparagraphstyles.ClickOKandnoticehowallthe headersarechanged,andperhapsevenwherethepagesbreak. Ifdesired,youcannowmakeindividualchangestotheheaderstyles"Header1" and"Header2"justasyouwouldforanyotherparagraphstyle.Youcaneven changetheoptionsyoujustsetviathe"Header"style.Nofurtherheaderchanges willbecoveredinthistutorial,butyoufreetoexperimentonyourown. 3.8. Adding Character Styles Onpage3,underUsingStyles,thereisaURL(web address)tothesampledocument.Ifwerunthisthroughthe spellchecker,itisgoingtoflagthisascontainingseveral misspelledwords,eventhoughtheyaren'treallymisspelled. However,byapplyingacharacterstyle,wecanchangethat. OpenuptheStylistoncemoreandselectthecharacter styles,secondbuttonfromtheleft.Besure"All"isselected atthebottom.Wearelookingforthecharacterstyle "InternetLink".Let'smodifythisstyle. Onceyou'verightclickedandselectedmodify,youwill noticethatthecharacterstyleeditorhasfarfewertabs,and Figure 4: Character Styles options,thantheparagraphstyleeditor.Thisisnormal.
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However,alltheoptionsthatarepresentworktheexactsamewayastheir counterpartsintheparagraphstyleeditor,excepttheyonlyapplytoasetof charactersandnotentireparagraphs. First,selectthefonttab.Inaboutthemiddleofthetabisthelanguageselection. Itprobablysays"English(USA)".Changethisto"None",whichatthetopofthelist. Writerallowsyoutomixmultiplelanguagesinonedocument.Settingthelanguage forthestyletellsWriterwhichdictionary,ifinstalled,tousewhenspellingchecking thatsectionofthedocument.Bysettingthelanguageto"None",thespellchecker willskipthatsectionaltogether,thuseliminatingthefalsemisspelledwords alert(s).Thisworksforparagraphstoo,shouldyouwanttoselectivelyskipspell checking.

Figure 5: The Style Editor for character styles. Nextweselectthe"FontEffects"tab.Sincetraditionallylinksonthewebarein blue,let'sfollowthatconventionhere.Thebluecolorweusedforthetitleand headingsistoodarkandwedon'twanttousethesamecolorastheheadings anyway.Itwillconfusethereader("Isthisamisformattedheading???").Instead, select"Lightblue".NowclickOK. Thefinalstepisapplyingthecharacterstyle.SelecttheentireURLbyclicking anddragging.Youcanclickanddraglefttorightorrighttoleft.Itmakesno difference.IftheURLisnexttoapagemarginoneitherside,it'seasiertoputthe cursoroutsidethemarginandstartyourclickanddragfromthere.Onceyouhave theURLselected,doubleclickonthecharacterstyle"InternetLink"intheStylist.
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4.

Conclusion

Usingparagraphandcharacterstylesmay,atfirstglance,seemlikemorework. Butforallexcepttheshortestofdocumentsyoudon'tevenbothertosave,itwill saveyoutimeandeffortinthelongrunwhilemakingyourdocumentslookmore professionalatthesametime.Atlittlepracticeandusingthemwillbesecond nature.Creatingtemplateswiththestylesalreadysetupcansaveyoufurthertime andeffort. Thereareagreatmanyoptionsforparagraphstylesthataren'tcoveredinthis tutorial.Youareencouragedtoexplorethemonyourown.Thehelpfilethatcomes withOpenOffice.orgcanassistyouinfiguringoutwhatthevariousoptionsdo. Inpartfourofthisseries,wewillcovernumberingandlistsinWriter.Theseare somethingagreatmanypeopleuse,butfewmaster.Seeyouthen!

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