|
 |
|
| |
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 What’s New in OpenOffice.org
2.0
OpenOffice.org 2.0 contains many improvements and features
that were not included in earlier versions. The biggest new feature
is the Base database module. There have been many other changes since
the previous version, such as enhanced PDF export and improved word
count capabilities. For a complete list of features, fixes, and
enhancements, go to the OpenOffice.org
Web site.
3.1.2 Enhancements in the Novell Edition
of OpenOffice.org 2.0
The Novell Edition of OpenOffice.org included with SLED contains
enhancements that are not available in the standard edition. These
include:
Integration with SUSE Linux Enterprise
Desktop
The Novell Edition of OpenOffice.org features redesigned tool
bar icons for maximum consistency with SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop,
including support for desktop appearance or theme changes. These
features provide a consistent interface across the Linux desktop,
which enhances overall usability and helps minimize enterprise training
and support requirements.
Native Desktop Dialogs
The Novell Edition of OpenOffice.org uses your desktop’s
native file dialogs rather than those in the standard edition. This
provides the same look and feel of other applications in your environment, giving
you a consistent, familiar experience.
Enhanced Support for Microsoft Office
File Formats
OpenOffice.org supports import and export of Microsoft Office
file formats, even taking advantage of compatible fonts to match
document length. Transparent document sharing makes OpenOffice.org
the best choice if you are deploying Linux desktops in a mixed Linux/Windows environment.
E-Mail as Microsoft Office Document
The standard edition of OpenOffice.org supports e-mailing
of files as PDF files from within the OpenOffice.org application.
With the Novell Edition of OpenOffice.org, you can also e-mail any document
as a Microsoft Office file. For example, you can e-mail a Writer
file as a Microsoft Word file. If that option is selected, the file
is automatically converted and attached to an e-mail in your default
e-mail application.
Excel VBA Macro Interoperability
The Novell Edition of OpenOffice.org eases the migration of
many macros from Microsoft Excel. Although not all macros can be
successfully migrated, this interoperability offers more than the standard
edition, which does not support migration of macros.
Enhanced Fonts
For the Novell Edition of OpenOffice.org, Novell licensed
fonts from AGFA that use the same or similar names as the fonts
available in Microsoft Office. The fonts also look similar to those
used by Microsoft. This allows OpenOffice.org to match fonts when
opening documents originally composed in Microsoft Office, and very
closely match pagination and page formatting.
Integration with Novell Evolution
The Novell Edition of OpenOffice.org is tightly integrated
with Novell Evolution™, allowing users to send documents as e-mail
and to perform mail merges using the Evolution address book as a datasource.
Improved File Access
Files are available from any source available to the computer.
Network files open and save seamlessly.
Anti-aliased Presentation Graphics
With hardware acceleration enabled (the default), the Novell
Edition of OpenOffice.org provides higher-quality graphics in Impress
slide shows.
Faster Start-up Times
The Novell Edition of OpenOffice.org includes an improved
built-in quickstarter that loads OpenOffice.org components at system
startup and thus improves the application’s start-up time. Subsequent
document load times have also been improved.
3.1.3 Using the Standard Edition of OpenOffice.org
The standard edition of OpenOffice.org also works with SLED.
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 Novell enhancements.
3.1.4 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.
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:
-
Select .
-
Choose the file format from which to
convert.
There are several StarOffice and Microsoft Office formats
available.
-
Click .
-
Specify where OpenOffice.org should look
for templates and documents to convert and in which directory the
converted files should be placed.
IMPORTANT: Documents from a Windows partition are usually in a subdirectory
of /windows.
-
Make sure that all other settings are
appropriate, then click .
-
Review the summary of the actions to
perform, then start the conversion by clicking .
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.
3.1.5 Starting OpenOffice.org
-
Start the application
in one of the following ways:
-
Select the module you want to open.
If any OpenOffice.org application is open, you can open any
of the other applications by clicking .
3.1.6 Improving OpenOffice.org Load Time
To speed up the load time of OpenOffice.org by preloading
the application at system startup:
The next time you restart your system, OpenOffice.org will
preload. When you open an OpenOffice.org application module, it
will open faster.
3.1.7 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 it 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 dialog to modify OpenOffice.org
toolbars.
-
Click the arrow
icon at the end of any toolbar.
-
Click .
-
Select the toolbar you want to customize.
-
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.
-
Select whether to save your customized
toolbar in the OpenOffice.org module you are using or in the document.
-
Repeat to customize additional toolbars.
-
Click .
You can quickly choose the buttons that appear on a particular
toolbar.
-
Click the arrow
icon at the end of the toolbar you want to change.
-
Click to
display a list of buttons.
-
Select the buttons in the list that appears
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.
-
Click > > .
-
Select the menu you want to change, or
click to create a new menu.
Click for more information about the
options in the dialog.
-
Modify, add, or delete menu items as
desired.
-
Click .
Customizing Keyboard Shortcuts
You can reassign currently assigned keyboard shortcuts and
assign new shortcuts to frequently used functions.
-
Click > > .
-
Select the keys you want to assign to
a function, or select the function and assign the keys or key combinations.
Click for more information about the
options in the dialog.
-
Modify, add, or delete keyboard shortcuts
as desired.
-
Click .
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.
-
Click > > .
-
Select the event you want to change.
Click for more information about the
options in the dialog box.
-
Assign or remove macros for the selected
event.
-
Click .
Changing the Global
Settings
Global settings can be changed in any OpenOffice.org application
by clicking on the menu bar.
This opens the window shown in the figure below. A tree structure
is used to display categories of settings.
The following table lists the settings categories along with
a brief description of each category:
Table 3-2 Global
Setting Categories
|
|
Various basic settings, including your
user data (such as your address and e-mail), important paths, and
settings for printers and external programs. |
|
|
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. |
|
|
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. |
|
|
Includes the dialogs to configure any
proxies and to change settings related to search engines. |
|
|
Configures the global word processing
options, such as the basic fonts and layout that Writer should use. |
|
|
Changes the settings related to the HTML
authoring features of OpenOffice.org. |
|
|
Changes the settings for Calc, such as
those related to sort lists and grids. |
|
|
Changes the settings that should apply
to all presentations. For example, you can specify the measurement
unit for the grid used to arrange elements. |
|
|
Includes the settings related to the
vector drawing module, such as the drawing scale, grid properties,
and some print options. |
|
|
Provides a single dialog to set special
print options for formulas. |
|
|
Defines the default colors used for newly
created charts. |
|
|
Defines how external data sources should
be accessed. |
IMPORTANT:All settings listed in the table are applied globally.
They are used as defaults for every new document you create.
3.1.8 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
For more information about templates, see Section 3.2.4, Using Templates to Format Documents and Section 3.3.2, Using Templates in Calc.
|
|
|
.
