This is a powerful tool for creating professional documents, reports, newsletters and so on - it is a word processor that allows easy integration of charts and pictures, as well as other OpenOffice.org-compatible documents. It can create everything from a simple letter to books, with professional layouts, with the use of styles.
Start it from the Main Menu by,
Main Menu --> Office --> OpenOffice.org Writer
Click to view screen shot Fig 10.1 OpenOffice.org Writer.
You are now presented with the word processing portion of OpenOffice.org, and the interface is rather similar to other word processing tools available. Rather than providing guidance throughout the entire package, we will just concentrate on a few tasks at hand.
Common Functions
Functions of the word processor can be controlled via the toolbars located at the top of the screen. On the first row, file actions like opening and saving files can be performed, while on the second row, changing the font, size, and style (bold, underline, or italics) are located there.
They can also be controlled by the menus that are common through packages:
- File --> New --> Text Document - creates a new empty, untitled document for you to work on.
- File --> Open - opens the file.
- File --> Close - closes the document you are working on. If changes have been made since your last save, you will be prompted to save or discard those changes.
- File --> Save - saves the document you are currently working on.
- File --> Save As... - saves an updated version of a document in a different location, with a different name, from the previously saved version.
Common Operations
For operations while writing, it is common to want to select a lot of text, copy it, maybe cut it from its current location and paste it elsewhere, or even undo an action. All this is possible with the office suite, and such options are available at the Edit menu. A few common options are:
- To copy text: select the text with the mouse, then select Edit --> Copy. Now the selected text is kept in memory for use elsewhere.
- To paste text: find the spot where text needs to be placed, place the cursor there, and then select Edit --> Paste.
- To cut text: this means that the selected text will be removed from the current location and kept in memory, to be placed elsewhere. Doing this is exactly like how a copy should be performed, except selection Edit --> Cut instead.
- To undo an action: Select Edit --> Undo. It will display the command that it is undoing at the moment.
By browsing the menu, there are also keyboard shortcuts located next to it. Once more proficient use of the package occurs, it is much quicker to use keyboard shortcuts like Control+C for Copy, and so on.
Formatting
Formatting text is as important as writing the text, and Writer provides many formatting options, including the Stylist. Individually, you can also format the character (current selected item, or even a whole word), the paragraph, or even the page.
Click to view screen shot Fig 10.2 Part of the Object Toolbar in OpenOffice.org Writer .
Some of the quick format options include bold, italics and underline. These options are available at the toolbar at the top of the screen.
Text alignment plays a large role in controlling how portions of the document will look. For example, an address field at the top of your letter will have such details right-aligned, while the body and rest of the base text will be left-aligned. This is all controlled by the four-icons that are located next to the bold/italics/underline icons, providing such options as: right-align, center-align, left-align and justified. When text is justified, it looks exactly like what you're reading now! (a more professional end-to-end stretch of the text.)
