Microsoft Office to OpenOffice Migration Guide
Previous Page Home Next Page

Control page layout

This section covers such things as margins, headers, and footers.

Writer and Word have somewhat different notions of page layout.

Word’s notion of page layout

Page layout is a property of the document as a whole. If you change the page layout (for instance, set the document to landscape), it changes for the entire document. You can then arrange for specific sections to have a different layout.

Writer’s notion of page layout

Page layout is a property of the page style (for example, First Page, Index and Default). If you change the page layout for one page style (for instance, set Default to have a header with page numbers), only that style will be affected.

Using page styles gives Writer some very useful features. For instance, you can define the First Page page style so that, after you have typed the first page, the style switches to Index (or any other style you choose). You can then set Index so that it is followed by Default.

Comparison for page layout

Table 4: Control page layout

To do this

In Word

In Writer

Define margins

File > Page Setup > Margins

Format > Page > Page

Specify different headers and footers on first, odd, and even pages

File > Page Setup > Layout > Headers and Footers section

Format > Page, select required items
Define different page styles for First, Left (even), and Right (odd) pages, using Header and Footer tabs

Edit headers and footers

View > Headers and Footers, then you can type or insert fields; you can also double-click in existing header or footer regions

After you have specified Header and Footer areas for a page, they are always active. Single-click to type or insert fields

Change from roman to arabic page numbers in the footer of a page

Insert a section break, deselect “Same as Previous” in the second section, define a new footer with page numbers restarting at 1 in Arabic numerals

Insert a manual page break and apply a different page style

Use paragraph styles for page layout

Can define paragraph styles with offset from left margin, with heading styles aligned left or right

Can define paragraph styles with offset from left margin, with heading styles aligned left or right

Use columns for page layout

Insert continuous sections to switch from single to multiple columns on one page

Format > Page > Columns (or)
Insert > Section > Columns (or) Format > Columns

Use frames or text boxes for page layout

Frames are used in Word 97 but mostly replaced by text boxes in Word2000 and 2002; can be linked to flow text from one to next, as in a newsletter

Insert > Frame (can link frames to flow text from one to next, as in a newsletter); “text boxes” are fields, not positioning devices

Use tables for page layout

Table > Insert > Table (use dialog to format)

Insert > Table (use dialog to format)

Put portrait headers on landscape pages

Use rotated text box linked to header

Use rotated text in a frame

Set first page number to greater than 1

Insert > Page Numbers > Format

In first paragraph on first page, Format > Paragraph > Text Flow > Breaks, select Insert and With Page Style, choose the page style, specify the page number

View and edit facing pages

File > Print Preview; click Zoom button to enable editing

File > Page Preview; cannot edit when previewing,

Reduce page count by 1

File > PagePreview, click ShrinkToFit button.

See http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/hillview/OOo/ShrinkToFit.sxw.

Microsoft Office to OpenOffice Migration Guide
Previous Page Home Next Page