Getting Started
with
OpenOffice.org
This PDF is designed to be read onscreen, two pages at atime. If you want to print a copy, your PDF viewer shouldhave an option for printing two pages on one sheet ofpaper, but you may need to start with page 2 to get it toprint facing pages correctly. (Print this cover page
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CopyrightThis document is Copyright © 2005–2010 by its contributors as listed
in the section titled Authors. You may distribute it and/or modify it
under the terms of either the GNU General Public License, version 3 orlater, or the Creative Commons Attribution License, version 3.0 or
later. All trademarks within this guide belong to their legitimate
owners.

Authors
Magnus Adielsson
Richard Barnes
Chris Bonde
JiHui Choi
Laurent Duperval
Regina HenschelJohn Kane
Michael Kotsarinis
Ian Laurenson
Alan Madden
Andrew Pitonyak
Iain Roberts
Robert Scott
Jim Taylor
Barbara M. Tobias
Linda Worthington

Thomas AstleitnerAgnes Belzunce
Daniel Carrera
Richard Detwiler
Spencer E. Harpe
Peter Hillier-Brook
Stefan A. KeelPeter Kupfer
Dan Lewis
Michel Pinquier
Carol Roberts
Gary Schnabl
Janet Swisher
Alex Thurgood
Jean Hollis Weber
Michele Zarri

Feedback
Please direct any comments or suggestions about this document to:authors@user-faq.openoffice.org

Publication date and software version
Published 2 February 2010. Based on OpenOffice.org 3.2.

Free eBook Edition

You can download
an editable version of this document fromhttp://oooauthors.org/english/userguide3/published/

Contents
Chapter 1
Introducing OpenOffice.org.....................................................10
What is OpenOffice.org?...................................................................11
The advantages of OpenOffice.org....................................................13
Minimum requirements....................................................................14
How to get the software.................................................................... 14
How to install the software...............................................................15
Extensions and add-ons....................................................................15
How to get help................................................................................. 15
Starting OpenOffice.org....................................................................17
Parts of the main window.................................................................. 21
What are all these things called?......................................................26
Starting a new document..................................................................27
Opening an existing document..........................................................28
Saving documents............................................................................. 28
Renaming and deleting files..............................................................30
Using the Open and Save As dialogs.................................................30
Using the Navigator.......................................................................... 31
Undoing and redoing changes..........................................................33
Closing a document..........................................................................34
Closing OpenOffice.org.....................................................................34
Chapter 2
Setting up OpenOffice.org........................................................35
Choosing options for all of OOo........................................................36
Choosing options for loading and saving documents........................52
Choosing language settings..............................................................57
Choosing Internet options.................................................................60
Controlling OOo’s AutoCorrect functions.........................................61
Chapter 3
Using Styles and Templates......................................................62
What is a template?..........................................................................63

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3What are styles?................................................................................ 63
Applying styles.................................................................................. 65
Modifying styles................................................................................ 67
Creating new (custom) styles............................................................69
Copying and moving styles...............................................................70
Deleting styles..................................................................................73
Using a template to create a document............................................73
Creating a template..........................................................................74
Editing a template............................................................................. 77
Adding templates using the Extension Manager...............................78
Setting a default template................................................................79
Associating a document with a different template............................80
Organizing templates........................................................................ 82
Examples of style use........................................................................ 84
Chapter 4
Getting Started with Writer......................................................87
What is Writer?................................................................................. 88
The Writer interface.......................................................................... 88
Changing document views................................................................91
Moving quickly through a document.................................................92
Working with documents..................................................................93
Working with text.............................................................................. 94
Formatting text...............................................................................104
Formatting pages............................................................................ 109
Adding comments to a document....................................................114
Creating a table of contents............................................................115
Creating indexes and bibliographies...............................................116
Working with graphics....................................................................116
Printing from Writer.......................................................................117
Sending a fax using Writer..............................................................125
Tracking changes to a document....................................................126
Using fields..................................................................................... 127
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Linking to another part of a document...........................................127
Using mail merge............................................................................ 130
Using master documents................................................................130
Creating fill-in forms....................................................................... 131
Chapter 5
Getting Started with Calc.......................................................132
What is Calc?..................................................................................133
Spreadsheets, sheets and cells.......................................................133
Parts of the main Calc window........................................................134
Starting new spreadsheets.............................................................137
Opening existing spreadsheets.......................................................138
Opening CSV files...........................................................................138
Saving spreadsheets.......................................................................139
Navigating within spreadsheets......................................................141
Selecting items in a sheet or spreadsheet......................................145
Working with columns and rows.....................................................148
Working with sheets........................................................................ 149
Viewing Calc................................................................................... 151
Entering data using the keyboard...................................................155
Speeding up data entry...................................................................156
Sharing content between sheets.....................................................160
Validating cell contents...................................................................160
Editing data....................................................................................160
Formatting data..............................................................................162
Autoformatting cells and sheets......................................................166
Formatting spreadsheets using themes..........................................168
Using conditional formatting..........................................................168
Hiding and showing data................................................................169
Sorting records............................................................................... 171
Printing........................................................................................... 172

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Chapter 6
Getting Started with Impress.................................................182
What is Impress?............................................................................. 183
Parts of the main Impress window..................................................183
Working with views.........................................................................188
Creating a new presentation...........................................................193
Formatting a presentation..............................................................197
Slide masters and styles.................................................................201
Working with slide masters.............................................................202
Adding and formatting text.............................................................206
Creating tables...............................................................................211
Adding graphics, spreadsheets, charts, and other objects..............212
Adding comments to a presentation...............................................213
Setting up the slide show................................................................214
Running the slide show...................................................................215
Chapter 7
Getting Started with Draw......................................................216
What is Draw?................................................................................. 217
The Draw workspace......................................................................217
Positioning objects with snap functions..........................................224
Positioning objects with helper lines...............................................226
The basic drawing shapes...............................................................227
Drawing geometric shapes.............................................................233
Selection modes.............................................................................. 235
Selecting objects............................................................................. 236
Moving and dynamically adjusting an object’s size.........................237
Editing objects................................................................................240
Using styles..................................................................................... 242
Special effects................................................................................. 243
Combining multiple objects............................................................245
Aids for positioning objects.............................................................247
Inserting and editing pictures.........................................................247
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Working with 3D objects.................................................................247
Exporting graphics.......................................................................... 248
Adding comments to a drawing......................................................248
Chapter 8
Getting Started with Base.......................................................250
Introduction....................................................................................251
Planning a database........................................................................252
Creating a new database................................................................253
Creating database tables................................................................255
Defining relationships.....................................................................264
Creating a database form...............................................................267
Accessing other data sources..........................................................284
Using data sources in OpenOffice.org............................................285
Entering data in a form...................................................................290
Creating queries.............................................................................293
Creating reports.............................................................................. 302
Chapter 9
Getting Started with Math.....................................................312
What is Math?................................................................................. 313
Entering a formula..........................................................................314
Customizations................................................................................ 319
Formula layout................................................................................ 321
Numbering equations.....................................................................325
Chapter 10
Printing, Exporting, and E-mailing........................................327
Introduction....................................................................................328
Quick printing................................................................................. 328
Controlling printing........................................................................328
Exporting to PDF............................................................................329
Exporting to other formats.............................................................336
E-mailing documents......................................................................336
Digital signing of documents..........................................................339

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Chapter 11
Graphics, the Gallery, and Fontwork......................................341
Introduction....................................................................................342
Adding images to a document.........................................................342
Modifying and positioning graphics................................................346
Using the OpenOffice.org Gallery...................................................346
Managing the Gallery.....................................................................348
Creating an image map...................................................................351
Using OOo’s drawing tools..............................................................352
Using Fontwork............................................................................... 355
Chapter 12
Creating Web Pages................................................................363
Introduction....................................................................................364
Inserting hyperlinks........................................................................364
Editing hyperlinks...........................................................................367
Saving Writer documents as web pages..........................................368
Saving Calc spreadsheets as web pages.........................................373
Saving Impress presentations as web pages...................................373
Saving Draw documents as web pages...........................................377
Chapter 13
Getting Started with Macros..................................................378
Your first macro..............................................................................379
Creating a macro............................................................................384
Sometimes the macro recorder fails...............................................388
Macro organization......................................................................... 390
How to run a macro........................................................................395
Extensions....................................................................................... 400
Writing macros without the recorder..............................................400
Finding more information...............................................................401
Chapter 14
Customizing OpenOffice.org..................................................403
Introduction....................................................................................404

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Customizing menu content.............................................................404
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Customizing toolbars......................................................................408
Assigning shortcut keys..................................................................412
Assigning macros to events.............................................................415
Adding functionality with extensions..............................................415
Using extensions.............................................................................416
Appendix A
Keyboard Shortcuts................................................................419
Introduction....................................................................................420
Function key shortcuts.................................................................... 421
General shortcut keys for OpenOffice.org......................................422
Appendix B
Background Information.......................................................424
Introduction....................................................................................425
A short history of OpenOffice.org...................................................425
The OpenOffice.org community......................................................425
How is OpenOffice.org licensed?....................................................426
What is “open source”?...................................................................426
What is OpenDocument?.................................................................427
File formats OOo can open.............................................................427
File formats OOo can save to..........................................................429
Exporting to other formats.............................................................432
Frequently asked questions............................................................432
Index.........................................................................................434

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1

ChapterIntroducing
OpenOffice.org

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What is OpenOffice.org?
OpenOffice.org (OOo) is both a software product and a community ofvolunteers who produce and support the software.
Note

Because someone else owns the trademark OpenOffice, thecorrect name for both the open-source project and its software is
OpenOffice.org.

The OpenOffice.org software is a freely available, full-featured officeproductivity suite.
OOo 3.0 was a major upgrade of an already feature-rich office suite,and later releases have added more features. If you have used previous
versions of OpenOffice.org, you might want to look over the newfeatures lists for OOo3.0, OOo3.1 and OOo3.2.
OOo’s native file format is OpenDocument, an open standard format
that is being adopted by governments worldwide as a required fileformat for publishing and accepting documents. OOo can also open
and save documents in many other formats, including those used byseveral versions of Microsoft Office.
OOo includes the following components.

Writer (word processor)
Writer is a feature-rich tool for creating letters, books, reports,
newsletters, brochures, and other documents. You can insert graphics
and objects from other components into Writer documents. Writer canexport files to HTML, XHTML, XML, Adobe’s Portable Document
Format (PDF), and several versions of Microsoft Word files. It also
connects to your email client.

Calc (spreadsheet)Calc has all of the advanced analysis, charting, and decision-making
features expected from a high-end spreadsheet. It includes over 300
functions for financial, statistical, and mathematical operations, among
others. The Scenario Manager provides “what if” analyses. Calc
generates 2-D and 3-D charts, which can be integrated into other OOo
documents. You can also open and work with Microsoft Excel
workbooks and save them in Excel format. Calc can export
spreadsheets to Adobe’s PDF and to HTML.

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Impress (presentations)Impress provides all the common multimedia presentation tools, suchas special effects, animation, and drawing tools. It is integrated withthe advanced graphics capabilities of OOo’s Draw and Mathcomponents. Slideshows can be further enhanced with Fontwork’s
special effects text, as well as sound and video clips. Impress iscompatible with Microsoft’s PowerPoint file format and can also saveyour work in numerous graphics formats, including Macromedia Flash(SWF).

Draw (vector graphics)
Draw is a vector drawing tool that can produce everything from simple
diagrams or flowcharts to 3-D artwork. Its Smart Connectors featureallows you to define your own connection points. You can use Draw tocreate drawings for use in any of OOo’s other components, and you cancreate your own clip art and add it to the Gallery. Draw can importgraphics from many common formats and save them in over 20
formats, including PNG, HTML, PDF, and Flash.

Base (database)Base provides tools for day-to-day database work within a simple
interface. It can create and edit forms, reports, queries, tables, views,
and relations, so that managing a connected database is much thesame as in other popular database applications. Base provides many
new features, such as the ability to analyze and edit relationships froma diagram view. Base incorporates HSQLDB as its default relational
database engine. It can also use dBASE, Microsoft Access, MySQL, or
Oracle, or any ODBC-compliant or JDBC-compliant database. Base also
provides support for a subset of ANSI-92 SQL.

Math (formula editor)
Math is OOo’s formula or equation editor. You can use it to create
complex equations that include symbols or characters not available instandard font sets. While it is most commonly used to create formulas
in other documents, such as Writer and Impress files, Math can also
work as a standalone tool. You can save formulas in the standard
Mathematical Markup Language (MathML) format for inclusion in web
pages and other documents not created by OOo.

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The advantages of OpenOffice.org
Here are some of the advantages of OpenOffice.org over other officesuites:• No licensing fees. OOo is free for anyone to use and distribute at
no cost. Many features that are available as extra cost add-ins inother office suites (like PDF export) are free with OOo . There are
•

•

•

•
•

no hidden charges now or in the future.
Open source. You can distribute, copy, and modify the software
as much as you wish, in accordance with either of OOo’s Open
Source licenses.
Cross-platform. OOo3 runs on several hardware architecturesand under multiple operating systems, such as Microsoft
Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Solaris.
Extensive language support. OOo’s user interface is available
in over 40 languages, and the OOo project provides spelling,
hyphenation, and thesaurus dictionaries in over 70 languages anddialects. OOo also provides support for both Complex Text Layout(CTL) and Right to Left (RTL) layout languages (such as Hindi,
Hebrew, and Arabic).
Consistent user interface. All the components have a similar“look and feel,” making them easy to use and master.
Integration. The components of OpenOffice.org are wellintegrated with one another.
–
All the components share a common spelling checker andother tools, which are used consistently across the suite. For
example, the drawing tools available in Writer are also foundin Calc, with similar but enhanced versions in Impress andDraw.
–
You do not need to know which application was used to createa particular file. For example, you can open a Draw file fromWriter.

• Granularity. Usually, if you change an option, it affects allcomponents. However, OOo options can be set at a component

level or even document level.
• File compatibility. In addition to its native OpenDocument
formats, OOo includes PDF and Flash export capabilities, as wellas support for opening and saving files in many common formats
including Microsoft Office, HTML, XML, WordPerfect, and Lotus
1-2-3 formats. New in OOo3 (using an extension): the ability toimport and edit some PDF files.

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13• No vendor lock-in. OOo3 uses OpenDocument, an XML(eXtensible Markup Language) file format developed as anindustry standard by OASIS (Organization for the Advancement ofStructured Information Standards). These files can easily be
unzipped and read by any text editor, and their framework is open
and published.
• You have a voice. Enhancements, software fixes, and release
dates are community-driven. You can join the community andaffect the course of the product you use.
You can read more about OpenOffice.org, its mission, history, licensing,and other organizational information on the OpenOffice.org website.

Minimum requirements
OpenOffice.org 3 requires one of the following operating systems:• Microsoft Windows 2000 (Service Pack 2 or higher), XP, or

newer• GNU/Linux Kernel version 2.4 and glibc 2.3.2 or newer• Mac OS X 10.4.x, X11 required; Mac OS X 10.5+ without X11• Solaris 10 OS or higher
Some OpenOffice.org features (wizards and the HSQLDB databaseengine) require that the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) be installed
on your computer. Although OOo will work without Java support, somefeatures will not be available. You can download OOo for some
operating systems with or without JRE included. If you have a slow
machine and do not often need the features requiring JRE, you can try
to disable it to speed up the loading of the program.
For a more detailed (and up-to-date) listing of requirements, see the
OpenOffice.org website.

How to get the software
Many new computers come with OpenOffice.org installed. In addition,
most Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu, include OpenOffice.org.
If you need to install it yourself, it’s very easy to do. You can download
the OpenOffice.org installation package from the project’s home pageor by using a Peer to Peer client such as BitTorrent. Instructions for
BitTorrent are here.
The installation package is approximately 150MB. People with slow
Internet connections may prefer to purchase a copy on a CD or DVD
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from a third-party distributor. The project maintains a list of
distributors, but the distributors are not connected with, nor endorsed
by, OpenOffice.org.

How to install the software
Information on installing and setting up OpenOffice.org on the various
supported operating systems is given here.
You can also download the more detailed Installation Guide.

Extensions and add-ons
Extensions and add-ons to enhance OpenOffice.org are collected in theofficial extensions repository at OOo. Most are free, but some are not.
See Chapter 14 (Customizing OpenOffice.org) for more information.

How to get help
This book, the other OOo user guides, the built-in Help system, anduser support systems assume that you are familiar with your computerand basic functions such as starting a program, opening and saving
files.

Help system
OOo comes with an extensive Help system. This is your first line of
support for using OOo.
To display the full Help system, press F1 or select OpenOffice.org
Help from the Help menu. In addition, you can choose whether toactivate Tips, Extended tips, and the Help Agent (using Tools >Options > OpenOffice.org > General).
If Tips are enabled, place the mouse pointer over any of the icons to
see a small box (“tooltip”) with a brief explanation of the icon’s
function. For a more detailed explanation, select Help > What's This?
and hold the pointer over the icon.

Free online support
The OpenOffice.org community not only develops software, but
provides free, volunteer-based support. Users of OOo can getcomprehensive online support from community venues such as

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15

newsgroups, forums, or mailing lists. There are also numerous
websites run by users that offer free tips and tutorials.
Free OpenOffice.org support

Users Mailing
List

Free community support provided by a network of
hundreds of experienced users. You must be subscribedto post messages. To subscribe, send a blank email tousers-subscribe@openoffice.org
List archives are here:
http://www.openoffice.org/servlets/ SummarizeList?
listName=users

Documentation
Project

Templates, user guides, how-tos, and otherdocumentation. http://documentation.openoffice.org/
See also the Documentation wiki,
http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/ wiki/Documentation

Native Language
Project

Information, resources, and mail lists in your language.
http://projects.openoffice.org/native-lang.html

Mac Support

Support for installing and using OOo on Mac OS X.
http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/index.html

OpenOffice.org
Community
Forum

Extensive discussion forum for OpenOffice.org issues
from setup to advanced programming features.
http://user.services.openoffice.org/en/forum/

OpenOffice.org
Macro
Information

Andrew Pitonyak, the author of OpenOffice.org Macros
Explained, maintains this site, which provides extensive
documentation on OOo’s macro capability. Many goodreferral links are also provided:
http://www.pitonyak.org/oo.php

Read more about the support options for OOo at
http://support.openoffice.org/index.html

Paid support and training
Alternatively, you can pay for support services. Service contracts canbe purchased from a vendor or consulting firm specializing in
OpenOffice.org.
OOo is supported by Oracle under the Sun Software Support program,which includes two levels of support that cover extended businesshours or around-the-clock service for mission-critical deployments.
A list of independent consultants and the services they offer, listed
alphabetically by region and then by country, is provided on the
OpenOffice.org website.
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Starting OpenOffice.org
The most common way to launch any component of OOo is by using thesystem menu, the standard menu from which most applications arestarted. On Windows, it is called the Start menu. On GNOME, it iscalled the Applications menu. On KDE it is identified by the KDE logo.
On Mac OS X, it is the Applications menu.
When OOo was installed on your computer, in most cases a menu entry
for each component was added to your system menu. (If you are usinga Mac, see note below.) The exact name and location of these menu
entries depend on the operating system and graphical user interface.

Note for Mac users
You should see the OpenOffice.org icon in the Applications folder.
When you double-click this icon, a text document opens in Writer. To
open the other components (Draw, Calc, Impress, Base), go to the Filemenu of the Writer window and select the component you want.
OOo does not automatically put a shortcut icon on the desktop, but you
can add one if you wish. If you do not know how to add shortcut icons
for launching programs, please consult the help for your operating
system.

Starting from an existing document
You can start OOo by double-clicking the filename of an OOo document
in a file manager such as Windows Explorer. The appropriatecomponent of OOo will start and the document will be loaded.

Note for Windows users
If you have associated Microsoft Office file types with OOo, then when
you double-click on a *.doc (Word) file, it opens in Writer; *.xls(Excel) files open in Calc, and *.ppt (PowerPoint) files open in
Impress.
If you did not associate the file types, then when you double-click on a
Microsoft Word document, it opens in Microsoft Word (if Word isinstalled on your computer), Excel files open in Excel, and PowerPoint
files open in PowerPoint.
You can use another method to open Microsoft Office files in OOo andsave in those formats from OOo. See “Opening an existing document”
on page 28 for more information.

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Using the Quickstarter under Windows
The Quickstarter is an icon that is placed in the Windows system tray
during system startup. It indicates that OpenOffice.org has been
loaded and is ready to use. (The Quickstarter loads library *.DLL files
required by OOo, thus shortening the startup time for OOo components
by about half.) If the Quickstarter is disabled, see “Reactivating the
Quickstarter” if you want to enable it.

Using the Quickstarter icon
Right-click the Quickstarter icon in the system tray to open a pop-up
menu from which you can open a new document, open the Templates
and Documents dialog, or choose an existing document to open. You
can also double-click the Quickstarter icon to display the Templates
and Documents dialog.

Figure 1: Quickstarter pop-up menu

Disabling the Quickstarter
To close the Quickstarter, right-click on the icon in the system tray, andthen click Exit Quickstarter on the pop-up menu. The next time thecomputer is restarted, the Quickstarter will be loaded again.
To prevent OpenOffice.org from loading during system startup,
deselect the Load OpenOffice.org during system start-up item on
the pop-up menu. You might want to do this if your computer has
insufficient memory, for example.

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Reactivating the Quickstarter
If the Quickstarter has been disabled, you can reactivate it by selecting
the Load OpenOffice.org during system start-up checkbox in Tools> Options > OpenOffice.org > Memory.

Using the Quickstarter in Linux
Some installations of OpenOffice.org under Linux have a Quickstarter
that looks and acts like the one described above for Windows (thecheckbox on the Memory page is labeled Enable systray
quickstarter).

Preloading OOo under Linux/KDE
In Linux/KDE, you can use KDocker to have OOo loaded and ready for
use at startup. KDocker is not part of OOo; it is a generic “systray app
docker” that is helpful if you open OOo often.

Starting from the command line
You may want to start OOo from the command line (using the keyboard
instead of the mouse). By using the command line, you have more
control over what happens when OOo is started. For example, using
the command line, you can tell Writer to load a document and print it
immediately, or to start without showing the splash screen.
Note

Most users will never need to do this.

There is more than one way to start OOo from the command line,
depending on whether you have installed a customized version or the
standard download from the OOo website.
If you installed using the download on the OOo website, you can start
Writer by typing at the command line:
soffice -writerorswriter
Writer will start and create a new document. Likewise, you can startother OOo components from the command line:

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19Type of document

Component

Command-line option

Text

Writer-writerSpreadsheet

Calc

-calc

Drawing

Draw

-draw

Presentation

Impress-impress

Formula

Math

-math

Database

Base

-base

Web page

Writer-web

To see a list of options you can use when starting Writer at thecommand line, type:soffice -?
Below is a list of some of the more popular options.
OptionDescription-help

Get a complete list of options.

-nologo

Do not show the startup screen.

-show <odp-file>Start presentation immediately.

-view <documents ...>

Open documents in viewer (read-only) mode.

-minimized

Start OOo minimized.

-norestore

Suppress restart/restore after fatal errors.

-invisible

No startup screen, no default document, andno UI. This is useful for third-party
applications that use functionality provided
by OOo.

If you have a customized version of OOo (such as the one provided by
Linux Mandrake or Gentoo), you can start Writer by typing at thecommand line: oowriter
Although the command syntax differs, the effect is identical: it starts
OOo with an empty Writer document.

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Parts of the main window
The main window is similar in each component of OOo, although somedetails vary. See the chapters in this book about Writer, Calc, Draw,
and Impress for descriptions of those details.
Common features include the menu bar, the standard toolbar, and theformatting toolbar at the top of the window and the status bar at thebottom.

Menu bar
The Menu bar is located across the top of the OOo window, just below
the Title bar. When you choose one of the menus listed below, asubmenu drops down to show commands.
• File contains commands that apply to the entire document such
•

•
•
•
•
•
•
•

as Open, Save, and Export as PDF.
Edit contains commands for editing the document such as Undo:xxx (where xxx is the command to undo) and Find & Replace. It
also contains commands to cut, copy, and paste selected parts ofyour document.
View contains commands for controlling the display of the
document such as Zoom and Web Layout.
Insert contains commands for inserting elements into yourdocument such as Header, Footer, and Picture.
Format contains commands, such as Styles and Formatting and
AutoCorrect, for formatting the layout of your document.
Table shows all commands to insert and edit a table in a text
document.
Tools contains functions such as Spelling and Grammar,
Customize, and Options.
Window contains commands for the display window.
Help contains links to the OpenOffice.org Help file, What’s This?,and information about the program. See “How to get help“ onpage 15.

Toolbars
OOo has several types of toolbars: docked, floating, and tear-off.
Docked toolbars can be moved to different locations or made to float,
and floating toolbars can be docked.

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The top docked toolbar (default position) is called the Standard
toolbar. The Standard toolbar is consistent across the OpenOffice.org
applications.
The second toolbar across the top (default location) is the Formatting
toolbar. It is a context-sensitive bar that shows the relevant tools in
response to the cursor’s current position or selection. For example,
when the cursor is on a graphic, the Formatting bar provides tools forformatting graphics; when the cursor is in text, the tools are forformatting text.

Displaying or hiding toolbars
To display or hide toolbars, choose View > Toolbars, then click on thename of a toolbar in the list. An active toolbar shows a checkmark
beside its name. Tear-off toolbars are not listed in the View menu.

Submenus and tear-off toolbars
Toolbar icons with a small triangle to the right will display submenus,
tear-off toolbars, and other ways of selecting things, depending on the
icon.
Figure 2 shows a tear-off toolbar from the Drawing toolbar.
The tear-off toolbars can be floating or docked along an edge of thescreen or in one of the existing toolbar areas. To move a floating tearoff toolbar, drag it by the title bar. See “Moving toolbars” below.
Click here and dragToolbar tears off andfloatsFigure 2: Example of a tear-off toolbar

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Moving toolbars
To move a docked toolbar, place the mouse pointer over the toolbar
handle, hold down the left mouse button, drag the toolbar to the newlocation, and then release the mouse button (Figure 3).
To move a floating toolbar, click on its title bar and drag it to a newlocation (Figure 4).

Figure 3: Moving a docked toolbar

Figure 4: Moving a floating toolbar

Floating toolbars
OOo includes several additional context-sensitive toolbars, whose
defaults appear as floating toolbars in response to the cursor’s current
position or selection. For example, when the cursor is in a table, afloating Table toolbar appears, and when the cursor is in a numberedor bullet list, the Bullets and Numbering toolbar appears. You can dockthese toolbars to the top, bottom, or side of the window, if you wish
(see “Moving toolbars” above).

Docking/floating windows and toolbars
Toolbars and some windows, such as the Navigator and the Styles andFormatting window, are dockable. You can move, resize, or dock themto an edge.

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To dock a window or toolbar, do oneof the following:• Click on the title bar of thefloating window and drag it to
the side until you see theoutline of a box appear in themain window, then release thewindow. This method depends
on your system’s window
manager settings, so it may notwork for you.
• Hold down the Control key anddouble-click on the frame of thefloating window (or in a vacantarea near the icons at the top)
to dock it in its last position. If
that does not work, try doubleclicking without using theControl key.

Figure 5: Docking a window

To undock a window, hold down the Control key and double-click on
the frame (or a vacant area near the icons at the top) of the docked
window.

Customizing toolbars
You can customize toolbars in several ways, including choosing whichicons are visible and locking the position of a docked toolbar. You canalso add icons and create new toolbars, as described in Chapter 14.
To access a toolbar’s customization options, use the down-arrow at theend of the toolbar or on its title bar (see Figure 6).

Figure 6: Customizing toolbars
To show or hide icons defined for the selected toolbar, choose Visible
Buttons from the drop-down menu. Visible icons have a checkmark
next to them. Click on icons to select or deselect them.

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Right-click (context) menus
You can quickly access many menu functions by right-clicking on aparagraph, graphics, or other object. A context menu will pop up.
Often the context menu is the fastest and an easier way to reach afunction. If you are not sure where in the menus or toolbars a function
is located, you can often find it by right-clicking.

Status bar
The status bar is located at the bottom of the workspace. It provides
information about the document and convenient ways to quickly
change some features. It is similar in Writer, Calc, Impress, and Draw,
although each component includes some component-specific items.

Figure 7: Left end of status bar in Writer

Figure 8: Right end of status bar in Writer
Common status bar items are described below.
Page, sheet, or slide number
Shows the current page, sheet, or slide number and the total
number of pages, sheets, or slides in the document. Double-click on
this field to open the Navigator. Other uses of this field depend on
the component.
Page style or slide design
Shows the current page style or slide design. To edit the current
page style or slide design, double-click on this field.
Unsaved changes
An asterisk (*) appears here if changes to the document have notbeen saved.

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Digital signatureshows here.
If the document has been digitally signed, an icon
You can double-click the icon to view the certificate.
Object information
Displays information relevant to the cursor’s position or the selected
element of the document. Double-clicking in this area usually opens
a relevant dialog.
Zoom slider and percent
To change the view magnification, drag the Zoom slider, or click on
the + and – signs, or right-click on the zoom level percent to pop up
a list of magnification values from which to choose.
Double-clicking on the zoom level percent opens the Zoom & View
Layout dialog.

What are all these things called?
The terms used in OpenOffice.org for most parts of the user interface(the parts of the program you see and use, in contrast to the behindthe-scenes code that actually makes it work) are the same as for mostother programs.
A dialog is a special type of window. Its purpose is to inform you ofsomething, or request input from you, or both. It provides controls foryou to use to specify how to carry out an action. The technical names
for common controls are shown in Figure 9; not shown is the list box(from which you select an item). In most cases we do not use thetechnical terms in this book, but it is useful to know them because theHelp and other sources of information often use them.
In most cases, as long as the dialog is open, your work is limited to the
dialog. After you make changes, if any, close the dialog (usually,
clicking OK or another button saves your changes and closes the
dialog). Then you can again work with your document.
Some dialogs can be left open as you work, so you can switch back andforth between the dialog and your document. An example of this type is
the Find & Replace dialog.

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Figure 9: Dialog showing common controls:
1=Tabbed page (not strictly speaking a control)
2=Radio buttons (only one can be selected at a time)
3=Checkbox (more than one can be selected at a time)
4=Spin box (click the up and down arrows to change thenumber shown in the text box next to it, or type in the text box)
5=Thumbnail or preview
6=Drop-down list from which to select an item
7=Push buttons

Starting a new document
You can create a new, blank document in OOo in several ways.
When OOo is open but no document is open (for example if you close
all the open documents but leave the program running), a Welcome
screen is shown. Click one of the icons to open a new document of thattype, or click the Templates icon to start a new document using atemplate.
You can also start a new document in one of the following ways. If a
document is already open in OOo, the new document opens in a new
window.
• Use File > New and choose the type of document.
• Use the arrow next to the New button on the main toolbar. FromFree eBook Edition

the drop-down menu, select the type of document to be created.
Chapter 1 Introducing OpenOffice.org

27• Press Control+N on the keyboard.
• Use File > Wizards for some special types of documents.

Opening an existing document
When no document is open, the Welcome screen provides an icon for
opening an existing document.
You can also open an existing document in one of the following ways.
• Click File > Open• Click the Open button on the main toolbar.
• Press Control+O on the keyboard.

In each case, the Open dialog appears. Select the file you want, andthen click Open. If a document is already open in OOo, the second
document opens in a new window.
In the Open dialog, you can reduce the list of files by selecting the typeof file you are looking for. For example, if you choose Text documents
as the file type, you will only see documents Writer can open (including.odt, .doc, .txt); if you choose Spreadsheets, you will see .ods,.xsl, and other files that Calc opens.
You can also open an existing document that is in an OpenDocument
format by double-clicking on the file’s icon on the desktop or in a file
manager such as Windows Explorer.
If you have associated Microsoft Office file formats with OOo, you canalso open these files by double-clicking on them.
Note

Under Microsoft Windows you can use either the OOo Open andSave As dialogs or the ones provided by Microsoft Windows.
See “Using the Open and Save As dialogs” on page 30.

Saving documents
To save a new document, do one of the following:• Press Control+S.
• Choose File > Save from the menu bar.
• Click the Save button on the main toolbar.

When the Save As dialog appears, enter the file name, verify the file
type (if applicable), and click Save.

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To save an open document with the current file name, choose File >Save. This will overwrite the last saved state of the file.

Password protection
To protect an entire document from being viewable without apassword, use the option on the Save As dialog to enter a password.
This option is only available for files saved in OpenDocument formats
or the older OpenOffice.org 1.x formats.
1) On the Save As dialog, select the Save with password option,and then click Save. You will receive a prompt (Figure 10).
2) Type the same password in both fields, and then click OK. If thepasswords match, the document is saved password protected. If
the passwords do not match, you receive the prompt to enter the
password again.

Figure 10: Entering a password for a document
OOo uses a very strong encryption mechanism that makes it almost
impossible to recover the contents of a document in case you lose thepassword.

Saving a document automatically
You can choose to have OpenOffice.org save files for you automatically.
Automatic saving, like manual saving, overwrites the last saved state of
the file. To set up automatic file saving:
1) Choose Tools > Options... > Load/Save > General.
2) Mark Save AutoRecovery information every, and set the timeinterval.

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Renaming and deleting files
You can rename or delete files within the OOo dialogs, just as you canin your usual file manager. However, you cannot copy or paste files
within the dialogs.

Using the Open and Save As dialogs
You can choose whether to use the OpenOffice.org Open and Save As
dialogs or the ones provided by your operating system.
To view or change which type of dialog OpenOffice.org uses:
1) Choose Tools > Options > OpenOffice.org > General.
2) Select the Use OpenOffice.org dialogs option.
This section discusses the OpenOffice.org Open and Save As dialogs.
Figure 11 shows the Save As dialog; the Open dialog is similar.

Figure 11: The OpenOffice.org Save As dialog
The three buttons in the top right of the OOo Open and Save As dialogs
are, from left to right:• Go Up One Level in the folder (directory) hierarchy. Click andhold this button for a second to drop down a list of higher level

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folders; to go to one of the folders on the list, move the mousepointer over its name and release the mouse button.
• Create New Folder.
• Default Directory.
For OOo documents that have been saved with more than one version,
use the Version drop-down to select which version you wish to open inread-only mode. For Microsoft Office documents, only the current
version can be opened.
Use the File type field to specify the type of file to be opened or theformat of the file to be saved.
The Read-only option on the Open dialog opens the file for readingand printing only. Consequently, most of the toolbars disappear, andmost menu options are disabled. An Edit File button is displayed on
the Standard toolbar to open the file for editing.
You can open files from the Web by typing a URL in the File namefield on the Open dialog.

Using the Navigator
The Navigator lists objects
contained in a document, collected
into categories. For example, in
Writer it shows Headings, Tables,
Text frames, Comments, Graphics,
Bookmarks, and other items, as
shown in Figure 12. In Calc it
shows Sheets, Range Names,
Database Ranges, Graphics,
Drawing Objects, and other items.
In Impress and Draw it shows
Slides, Pictures, and other items.
To open the Navigator, click its iconon the Standard toolbar, orpress F5, or choose View >Navigator on the menu bar.
You can dock the Navigator toeither side of the main OOo window Figure 12: The Navigatoror leave it floating (see“Docking/floating windows and toolbars“ on page 23).

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31Click the marker (+ or arrow) by any of the categories to display thelist of objects in that category.
To hide the list of categories and show only the toolbars at the top,
click the List Box On/Off icon
list box.

. Click this icon again to show the

The Navigator provides several convenient ways to move around a
document and find items in it:• When a category is showing the list of objects in it, double-clickon an object to jump directly to that object’s location in the
document.
Objects are much easier to find if you have given them names
when creating them, instead of keeping OOo’s default graphics1,
graphics2, Table1, Table2, and so on—which may not correspondto the position of the object in the document.
If you only want to see the content in a certain category, highlightthe category and click the Content View icon
. Until you click
the icon again, only the objects of that category will be displayed.
• Click the Navigation icon

(second icon from the left at the
top of the Navigator) to display the Navigation toolbar (Figure13). Here you can pick one of the categories and use thePrevious and Next icons to move from one item to the next. Thisis particularly helpful for finding items like bookmarks andindexes, which can be difficult to see.
The names of the icons (shown in the tooltips) change to matchthe selected category; for example, Next Graphic or Next
Bookmark.

Figure 13: Navigation toolbar• To jump to a specific page in the document, type its page numberin the box at the top of the Navigator.
A bit of experimentation with the other icons will demonstrate theirfunctions. Some component-specific uses are described in the chapterson Writer and the other components.
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Undoing and redoing changes
To undo the most recent change, press Control+Z, or click the Undoicon
on the Standard toolbar, or choose Edit > Undo from themenu bar.
The Edit menu shows the latest change that can be undone (see Figure
14 for an example from Writer).

Figure 14: Edit > Undo last action
Click the small triangle to the right of the Undo icon to get a list of all
the changes that can be undone (Figure 15). You can select multiplechanges and undo them at the same time.

Figure 15: List of actions that can be undone
After changes have been undone, Redo becomes active. To redo achange, select Edit > Redo, or press Control+Y or click on the Redo
icon
. As with Undo, click on the triangle to the right of the arrow to
get a list of the changes that can be reapplied.
To modify the number of changes OpenOffice.org remembers, choose
Tools > Options > OpenOffice.org > Memory and in the Undo
section change Number of steps. Be aware that asking OOo toremember more changes consumes more computer memory.

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Closing a document
To close a document, choose File > Close.
You can also close a document by clicking on the Close icon on the
document window. This button looks like the red X shown in Figure 16.

Figure 16. Close icons
If more than one OOo window is open, each window looks like thesample shown on the left in Figure 16. Closing this window leaves theother OOo windows open.
If only one OOo window is open, it looks like the sample shown on theright in Figure 16. Notice the small black X below the large red X.
Clicking the small X closes the document but leaves OOo open.
Clicking the large red X closes OOo completely.
If the document has not been saved since the last change, a message
box is displayed. Choose whether to save or discard your changes.
• Save: The document is saved and then closed.
• Discard: The document is closed, and all modifications since thelast save are lost.
• Cancel: Nothing happens, and you return to the document.
CautionNot saving your document could result in the loss of recently
made changes, or worse still, your entire file.

Closing OpenOffice.org
To close OOo completely, choose File > Exit, or close the last open
document as described in “Closing a document” above.
If all the documents have been saved, OOo closes immediately. If any
documents have been modified but not saved, a warning message
appears. Follow the procedure in “Closing a document” to save or
discard your changes.

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2

Chapter
Setting up OpenOffice.org
Choosing options to suit the way you work

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Choosing options for all of OOo
This section covers some of the settings that apply to all thecomponents of OpenOffice.org. For information on settings notdiscussed here, see the online help.
Click Tools > Options. The list in the left-hand box of the Options –OpenOffice.org dialog varies depending on which component of OOo is
open. The illustrations in this chapter show the list as it appears whena Writer document is open.
Click the + sign by OpenOffice.org on the left-hand side. A list of pages
drops down. Selecting an item in the list causes the right-hand side ofthe dialog to display the relevant page.

Figure 17: OpenOffice.org options

Note

The Back button has the same effect on all pages of the
Options dialog. It resets the options to the values that were inplace when you opened OpenOffice.org.

User Data options
Because OOo uses the name or initials stored in the OpenOffice.org –User Data page for several things, including document properties(created by and last edited by information) and the name of the authorof notes and changes, you will want to ensure that the correct
information appears here.
Fill in the form (shown in Figure 19), or amend or delete any existing
incorrect information.

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Figure 18: Filling in user data

General options
The options on the OpenOffice.org – General page are described below.

Figure 19: Setting general options for OpenOffice.org
Help - Tips
When Tips is active, one or two words will appear when you hold themouse pointer over an icon or field, without clicking.
Help - Extended tips
When Extended tips is active, a brief description of the function of aparticular icon or menu command or a field on a dialog appears
when you hold the mouse pointer over that item.

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Help Agent
To turn off the Help Agent (similar to Microsoft’s Office Assistant),deselect this option. To restore the default behavior, click Reset
Help Agent.
Help formattingHigh contrast is an operating system setting that changes thesystem color scheme to improve readability. To display Help in highcontrast (if your computer’s operating system supports this), choose
one of the high-contrast style sheets from the pull-down list.
High-contrast style

Visual effectDefault

Black text on white background

High Contrast #1

Yellow text on black background

High Contrast #2

Green text on black background

High Contrast BlackWhite text on black background

High Contrast WhiteBlack text on white background

Open/Save dialogs
To use the standard Open and Save dialogs for your operating
system, deselect the Use OpenOffice.org dialogs option. When
this option is selected, the Open and Save dialogs supplied with
OpenOffice.org will be used. See Chapter 1 (Introducing
OpenOffice.org) for more about the OOo Open and Save dialogs.
This book uses the OOo Open and Save dialogs in illustrations.
Document status
If this option is selected, then the next time you close the document
after printing, the print date is recorded in the document properties
as a change and you will be prompted to save the document again,even if you did not make any other changes.
Year (two digits)
Specifies how two-digit years are interpreted. For example, if thetwo-digit year is set to 1930, and you enter a date of 1/1/30 or later
into your document, the date is interpreted as 1/1/1930 or later. An“earlier” date is interpreted as being in the following century; thatis, 1/1/20 is interpreted as 1/1/2020.

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Memory options
In the Options dialog, click OpenOffice.org > Memory. Someconsiderations:• More memory can make OpenOffice.org faster and moreconvenient (for example, more undo steps require more memory);
but the trade-off is less memory available for other applications
and you could run out of memory altogether.
• If your documents contain a lot of objects such as images, or theobjects are large, OOo’s performance may improve if you increase
the memory for OOo or the memory per object. If you find that
objects seem to disappear from a document that contains a lot ofthem, increase the number of objects in the cache. (The objects
are still in the file even if you cannot see them on screen.)• To load the Quickstarter (an icon on the desktop or in the systemtray) when you start your computer, select the option near thebottom of the dialog. This makes OpenOffice.org start faster; thetrade-off is OOo uses some memory even when not being used.
This option (sometimes called Enable systray quickstarter) is
not available on all operating systems.

Figure 20: Choosing Memory options for the OpenOffice.org
applications

View options
The options on the OpenOffice.org – View page affect the way the
document window looks and behaves. Some of these options aredescribed below. Set them to suit your personal preferences.

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User Interface – Scaling
If the text in the help files or on the menus of the OOo user interface
is too small or too large, you can change it by specifying a scaling
factor. Sometimes a change here can have unexpected results,
depending on the screen fonts available on your system. However, it
does not affect the actual font size of the text in your documents.

Figure 21: Choosing View options for OOo applications
User Interface – Icon size and style
The first box specifies the display size of toolbar icons (Automatic,
Small, or Large). The Automatic icon size option uses the setting foryour operating system. The second box specifies the icon style(theme); here the Automatic option uses an icon set compatible withyour operating system and choice of desktop: for example, KDE or
Gnome on Linux.
User Interface – Use system font for user interface
If you prefer to use the system font (the default font for yourcomputer and operating system) instead of the font provided by OOo
for the user interface, select this option.
User interface – Screen font antialiasing(Not available in Windows; not shown in Figure 21.) Select thisoption to smooth the screen appearance of text. Enter the smallest
font size to apply antialiasing.
Menu – icons in menus
Causes icons as well as words to be visible in menus.

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Font Lists - Show preview of fonts
Causes the font list to look like Figure 22, Left, with the font names
shown as an example of the font; with the option deselected, the fontlist shows only the font names, not their formatting (Figure 22,
Right). The fonts you will see listed are those that are installed onyour system.

Figure 22. Font list (Left) With preview; (Right) Without preview
Font Lists - Show font history
Causes the last five fonts you have assigned to the current document
are displayed at the top of the font list.
Graphics output – Use hardware acceleration
Directly accesses hardware features of the graphical display adapter
to improve the screen display. Not supported on all operating
systems and OOo distributions.
Graphics output – Use anti-aliasing
Enables and disables anti-aliasing, which makes the display of mostgraphical objects look smoother and with fewer artifacts. Not
supported on all operating systems and OOo distributions.
Tip

Press Shift+Control+R to restore or refresh the view of thecurrent document.

Mouse positioning
Specifies if and how the mouse pointer will be positioned in newly
opened dialogs.
Middle mouse button
Defines the function of the middle mouse button.
• Automatic scrolling – dragging while pressing the middle
mouse button shifts the view.
• Paste clipboard – pressing the middle mouse button inserts thecontents of the “Selection clipboard” at the cursor position.
The “Selection clipboard” is independent of the normal clipboardthat you use by Edit > Copy/Cut/Paste or their respective

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keyboard shortcuts. Clipboard and “Selection clipboard” can containdifferent contents at the same time.
Function

Clipboard

Selection clipboard

Copy content

Edit > Copy
Control+C

Select text, table, or object.

Paste content

Edit > Paste
Control+V pastes atthe cursor position.

Clicking the middle mousebutton pastes at the mousepointer position.

Pasting intoanotherdocument

No effect on the
clipboard contents.

The last marked selection isthe content of the selection
clipboard.

Print options
On the OpenOffice.org – Print page, set the print options to suit yourdefault printer and your most common printing method.
In the Printer warnings section near the bottom of the page (Figure23), you can choose whether to be warned if the paper size ororientation specified in your document does not match the paper sizeor orientation available for your printer. Having these warnings turnedon can be quite helpful, particularly if you work with documents
produced by people in other countries where the standard paper size isdifferent from yours.

Figure 23: Choosing general printing options to apply
to all OOo components

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Tip

If your printouts are incorrectly placed on the page or chopped
off at the top, bottom, or sides, or the printer is refusing toprint, the most likely cause is page size incompatibility.

Path options
On the OpenOffice.org – Paths page, you can change the location offiles associated with, or used by, OpenOffice.org to suit your working
situation. In a Windows system, for example, you might want to store
documents by default somewhere other than My Documents.
To make changes, select an item in the list shown in Figure 24 andclick Edit. On the Select Paths dialog (not shown), add or delete
folders as required, and then click OK to return to the Options dialog.
Note that some items can have at least two paths listed: one to ashared folder (which might be on a network) and one to a user-specificfolder (normally on the user’s personal computer).
Tip

You can use the entries in the OpenOffice.org – Paths dialog tocompile a list of files, such as those containing AutoText, thatyou need to back up or copy to another computer.

Figure 24: Viewing the paths of files used by OpenOffice.org

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43Color options
On the OpenOffice.org – Colors page (Figure 25), you can specify
colors to use in OOo documents. You can select a color from a color
table, edit an existing color, and define new colors. These colors are
stored in your color palette and are then available in all components of
OOo.

Figure 25: Defining colors to use in color palettes in OOo
To modify a color:
1) Select the color to modify from the list or the color table.
2) Enter the new values that define the color. If necessary, change
the settings from RGB (Red, Green, Blue) to CMYK (Cyan,
Magenta, Yellow, Black) or vice versa. The changed color appears
in the lower of the two color preview boxes at the top.
3) Modify the Name as required.
4) Click the Modify button. The newly defined color is now listed in
the Color table.
Alternatively, click the Edit button to open the Color dialog, shown in
Figure 26. Here you can select a color from one of the color windows
in the upper area, or you can enter values in the lower area using yourchoice of RGB, CMYK, or HSB (Hue, Saturation and Brightness) values.
The upper right color window is linked directly with the color input
fields in the lower area; as you choose a color in the upper window, thenumbers change accordingly. The two color fields at the lower rightshow the value of the selected color on the left and the currently set
value from the color value fields on the right.

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Modify the color components as required and click OK to exit the
dialog. The newly defined color now appears in the lower of the color
preview boxes shown in Figure 17. Type a name for this color in theName box, then click the Add button. A small box showing the newcolor is added to the Color table.

Figure 26: Editing colors
Another way to define or alter colors is through the Colors page of the
Area dialog, where you can also save and load palettes, a feature thatis not possible here. In Calc, draw a temporary draw object and use thecontext menu of this object to open the Area dialog. If you load apalette in one component of OOo, it is only active in that component;
the other components keep their own palettes.

Font options
You can define replacements for any fonts that might appear in yourdocuments. If you receive from someone else a document containing
fonts that you do not have on your system, OpenOffice.org will
substitute fonts for those it does not find. You might prefer to specify adifferent font from the one the program chooses.
On the OpenOffice.org – Fonts page (Figure 27):
1) Select the Apply Replacement Table option.

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452) Select or type the name of the font to be replaced in the Font box.
(If you do not have this font on your system, it will not appear in
the drop-down list in this box, so you need to type it in.)3) In the Replace with box, select a suitable font from the dropdown list of fonts installed on your computer.
4) The checkmark to the right of the Replace with box turns green.
Click on this checkmark. A row of information now appears in thelarger box below the input boxes. Select the options under
Always and Screen.
5) In the bottom section of the page, you can change the typeface
and size of the font used to display source code such as HTMLand Basic (in macros).

Figure 27: Defining a font to be substituted for another fontSecurity options
Use the OpenOffice.org – Security page (Figure 28) to choose security
options for saving documents and for opening documents that containmacros.
Security options and warnings
If you record changes, save multiple versions, or include hidden
information or notes in your documents, and you do not want someof the recipients to see that information, you can set warnings toremind you to remove it, or you can have OOo remove some of it
automatically. Note that (unless removed) much of this informationis retained in a file whether the file is in OpenOffice.org’s default
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OpenDocument format, or has been saved to other formats,including PDF.
Click the Options button to open a separate dialog with specificchoices (Figure 29).

Figure 28: Choosing security options for opening andsaving documents
Macro security
Click the Macro Security button to open the Macro Security dialog(not shown here), where you can adjust the security level for
executing macros and specify trusted sources.
File sharing options for this document
Select the Open this document in read-only mode option to
restrict this document to be opened in read-only mode only. This
option protects the document against accidental changes. It is still
possible to edit a copy of the document and save that copy with thesame name as the original.
Select the Record changes option to enable recording changes.
This is the same as Edit > Changes > Record. To allow other usersof this document to apply changes, but prevent them from disablingchange recording, click the Protect buton and enter a password.

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Figure 29: Security options and warnings dialog
Remove personal information on saving
Select this option to always remove user data from the fileproperties when saving the file. To manually remove personal
information from specific documents, deselect this option and thenuse the Delete button under File > Properties > General.
Ctrl-click required to follow hyperlinks
In older versions of OOo, clicking on a hyperlink in a document
opened the linked document. Now you can choose whether to keep
this behavior (by unchecking this box). Many people find creationand editing of documents easier when accidental clicks on links do
not activate the links.
The other options on this dialog should be self-explanatory.

Appearance options
Writing, editing, and (especially) page layout are often easier when you
can see the page margins (text boundaries), the boundaries of tables
and sections (in Writer documents), page breaks in Calc, grid lines inDraw or Writer, and other features. In addition, you might prefer to use
colors that are different from OOo’s defaults for such items as note
indicators or field shadings.
On the OpenOffice.org – Appearance page (Figure 30), you can specify
which items are visible and the colors used to display various items.

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Figure 30: Showing or hiding text, object, and tableboundaries• To show or hide items such as text boundaries, select or deselectthe options next to the names of the items.
• To change the default colors for items, click the down-arrow in
the Color Setting column by the name of the item and select acolor from the pop-up box.
• To save your color changes as a color scheme, click Save, type aname in the Scheme box; then click OK.

Accessibility options
Accessibility options include whether to allow animated graphics ortext, how long help tips remain showing, some options for highcontrast display, and a way to change the font for the user interface of
the OpenOffice.org program (see Figure 31).
Accessibility support relies on Sun Microsystems Java technology forcommunications with assistive technology tools. See “Java options“
below. The Support assistive technology tools option is not shown on
all OOo installations. See Assistive Tools in OpenOffice.org in the Helpfor other requirements and information.
Select or deselect the options as required.

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Figure 31: Choosing accessibility options

Java options
If you install or update a Java Runtime Environment (JRE) after you
install OpenOffice.org, or if you have more than one JRE installed onyour computer, you can use the OpenOffice.org – Java options page
(Figure 32) to choose the JRE for OOo to use.

Figure 32: Choosing a Java runtime environment
If you are a system administrator, programmer, or other person who
customizes JRE installations, you can use the Parameters and Class
Path pages (reached from the Java page) to specify this information.
If you do not see anything listed in the middle of the page, wait a few
minutes while OOo searches for JREs on the hard disk.

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If OOo finds one or more JREs, it will display them there. You can thenselect the Use a Java runtime environment option and (if necessary)choose one of the JREs listed.

Online Update options
On the OpenOffice.org – Online Update page (Figure 18), you canchoose whether and how often to have OOo check the OOo website forprogram updates. If the Check for updates automatically option is
selected, an icon appears at the right-hand end of the menu bar when
an update is available. Click this icon to open a dialog where you canchoose to download the update.

Figure 33: Configuring Online Update
If the Download updates automatically option is selected, thedownload starts when you click the icon. To change the download
destination, click the Change button and select the required folder inthe file browser window.

Improvement program
On the OpenOffice.org – Improvement Program page, you can choose
whether or not to participate in the OpenOffice.org Improvement
Program, which collects anonymous statistics about how you use OOo.

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Choosing options for loading and saving
documents
You can set the Load/Save options to suit the way you work.
If the Options dialog is not already open, click Tools > Options. Clickthe + sign to the left of Load/Save.

Figure 34: Load/Save options

General Load/Save options
Most of the choices on the Load/Save – General page (Figure 35) are
familiar to users of other office suites. Some items of interest aredescribed below.

Figure 35. Choosing Load and Save options
Load user-specific settings with the document
When you save a document, certain settings are saved with it. Somesettings (printer name, data source linked to the document) arealways loaded with a document, whether or not this option is
selected. If you select this option, these document settings are
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overruled by the user-specific settings of the person who opens it. If
you deselect this option, the user’s personal settings do not overrule
the settings in the document. For example, your choice (in theoptions for OOo Writer) of how to update links is affected by the
Load user-specific settings option.
Load printer settings with the document
If this option is not selected, the printer settings that are storedwith the document are ignored when you print it using the Print
File Directly icon. The default printer in your system will be usedinstead.
Edit document properties before saving
If you select this option, the Document Properties dialog pops up to
prompt you to enter relevant information the first time you save a
new document (or whenever you use Save As).
Save AutoRecovery information every
Choose whether to enable AutoRecovery and how often to save theinformation used by the AutoRecovery process.
AutoRecovery in OpenOffice.org overwrites the original file. If you
also choose Always create backup copy, the original file thenoverwrites the backup copy. If you have this set, recovering yourdocument after a system crash will be easier; but recovering an
earlier version of the document may be harder.
Save URLs relative to file system / internet
Relative addressing to a file system is only possible if the source
document and the referenced document are both on the same drive.
A relative address always starts from the directory in which thecurrent document is located. It is recommended to save relatively if
you want to create a directory structure on an Internet server.
Default file format and ODF settings
ODF format version. OpenOffice.org by default saves documents in
OpenDocument Format (ODF) version 1.2. While this allows for
improved functionality, there may be backwards compatibility issues.
When a file saved in ODF 1.2 is opened in an earlier version of
OpenOffice.org (using ODF 1.0/1.1), some of the advanced features
may be lost. Two notable examples are cross-references to headings
and the formatting of numbered lists. If you plan to share documentswith people who are still using older versions of OpenOffice.org,
save the document using ODF version 1.0/1.1.

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53Size optimization for ODF format. OpenOffice.org documents are
XML files. When you select this option, OOo writes the XML data
without indents and line breaks. If you want to be able to read the
XML files in a text editor in a structured form, deselect this option.
Document type. If you routinely share documents with users ofMicrosoft Office, you might want to change the Always save as
attribute for documents to one of the Microsoft Office formats.
Note

Although OOo can open files in the .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx
formats produced by Microsoft Office 2007, it cannot save inthose formats. This capability is planned for a future release.

VBA Properties Load/Save options
On the Load/Save – VBA Properties page (Figure 36), you can choose
whether to keep any macros in Microsoft Office documents that are
opened in OpenOffice.org.

Figure 36: Choosing
Load/Save VBA Properties• If you choose Save original Basic code, the macros will notwork in OOo but are retained if you save the file into Microsoft
Office format.
• If you choose Load Basic code to edit, the changed code issaved in an OOo document but is not retained if you save into a
Microsoft Office format.
• If you are importing a Microsoft Excel file containing VBA code,
you can select the option Executable code. Whereas normallythe code is preserved but rendered inactive (if you inspect it with
the StarBasic IDE you will notice that it is all commented), withthis option the code is ready to be executed.
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Microsoft Office Load/Save options
On the Load/Save – Microsoft Office page (Figure 37), you can choose
what to do when importing and exporting Microsoft Office OLE objects(linked or embedded objects or documents such as spreadsheets orequations).
Select the [L] options to convert Microsoft OLE objects into thecorresponding OpenOffice.org OLE objects when a Microsoft document
is loaded into OOo (mnemonic: “L” for “load”).
Select the [S] options to convert OpenOffice.org OLE objects into thecorresponding Microsoft OLE objects when a document is saved in a
Microsoft format (mnemonic: “S” for “save”).

Figure 37: Choosing Load/Save Microsoft Office options

HTML compatibility Load/Save options
Choices made on the Load/Save – HTML Compatibility page
(Figure 38) affect HTML pages imported into OpenOffice.org and thoseexported from OOo. See HTML documents; importing/exporting in theHelp for more information.
Font sizes
Use these fields to define the respective font sizes for the HTML
<font size=1> to <font size=7> tags, if they are used in the HTMLpages. (Many pages no longer use these tags.)

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Figure 38. Choosing HTML compatibility options
Import - Use 'English (USA)' locale for numbers
When importing numbers from an HTML page, the decimal andthousands separator characters differ according to the locale of theHTML page. The clipboard, however, contains no information about
the locale. If this option is not selected, numbers will be interpreted
according to the Language - Locale setting in Tools > Options >Language Settings > Languages (see page 58). If this option is
selected, numbers will be interpreted as for the English (USA)locale.
Import - Import unknown HTML tags as fields
Select this option if you want tags that are not recognized by OOo to
be imported as fields. For an opening tag, an HTML_ON field will becreated with the value of the tag name. For a closing tag, an
HTML_OFF will be created. These fields will be converted to tags inthe HTML export.
Import - Ignore font settings
Select this option to have OOo ignore all font settings whenimporting. The fonts that were defined in the HTML Page Style will
be used.
ExportTo optimize the HTML export, select a browser or HTML standard
from the Export box. If OpenOffice.org Writer is selected, specific
OpenOffice.org Writer instructions are exported.
Export - OpenOffice.org Basic
Select this option to include OOo Basic macros (scripts) whenexporting to HTML format. You must activate this option before you
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create the OpenOffice.org Basic macro; otherwise the script will not
be inserted. OpenOffice.org Basic macros must be located in theheader of the HTML document. Once you have created the macro in
the OpenOffice.org Basic IDE, it appears in the source text of theHTML document in the header.
If you want the macro to run automatically when the HTML
document is opened, choose Tools > Customize > Events. See
Chapter 13 (Getting Started with Macros) for more information.
Export - Display warning
When the OpenOffice.org Basic option (see above) is not selected,
the Display warning option becomes available. If the Display
warning option is selected, then when exporting to HTML awarning is shown that OpenOffice.org Basic macros will be lost.
Export - Print layout
Select this option to export the print layout of the current document
as well. The HTML filter supports CSS2 (Cascading Style Sheets
Level 2) for printing documents. These capabilities are only effective
if print layout export is activated.
Export - Copy local graphics to Internet
Select this option to automatically upload the embedded pictures tothe Internet server when uploading using FTP.
Export - Character set
Select the appropriate character set for the export.

Choosing language settings
You may need to do several things to set the language settings to what
you want:• Install the required dictionaries• Change some locale and language settings• Choose spelling options

Install the required dictionaries
OOo3 automatically installs several dictionaries with the program. To
add other dictionaries, be sure you are connected to the Internet, andthen use Tools > Language > More Dictionaries Online. OOo will
open your default web browser to a page containing links to additional
dictionaries that you can install. Follow the prompts to select andinstall the ones you want.

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Change locale and language settings
You can change some details of the locale and language settings thatOOo uses for all documents, or for specific documents.
In the Options dialog, click Language Settings > Languages.

Figure 39: Language Setting Options
On the right-hand side of the Language Settings – Languages page
(Figure 40), change the User interface, Locale setting, Default
currency, and Default languages for documents as required. In theexample, English (UK) has been chosen for all the appropriate settings.
If you want the language (dictionary) setting to apply to the current
document only, instead of being the default for all new documents,
select the option labelled For the current document only.

Figure 40: Choosing language options
If necessary, select the options to enable support for Asian languages(Chinese, Japanese, Korean) and support for CTL (complex text layout)
languages such as Hindi, Thai, Hebrew, and Arabic. If you choose
either of these options, the next time you open this dialog, you will seesome extra choices under Language Settings, as shown in Figure 41.
These choices (Searching in Japanese, Asian Layout, and Complex Text
Layout) are not discussed here.
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Figure 41: Extra pages available when enhanced language
support options are selected

Choose spelling options
To choose the options for checking spelling, click Language Settings> Writing Aids. In the Options section of the page (Figure 42), choose
the settings that are useful for you. Some considerations:• If you do not want spelling checked while you type, deselectCheck spelling as you type and select Do not mark errors. (Tofind the second item, scroll down in the Options list.)• If you use a custom dictionary that includes words in all upper
case and words with numbers (for example, AS/400), selectCheck uppercase words and Check words with numbers.
• Check special regions includes headers, footers, frames, andtables when checking spelling.

Figure 42: Choosing languages, dictionaries, and options
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59Here you can also check which user-defined (custom) dictionaries areactive by default, and add or remove dictionaries, by clicking the New
or Delete buttons.

Note

OpenOffice.org does not have a grammar checker, but you can
install a grammar checker extension such as Language Tooland access that tool from Tools > Spelling and Grammar.
See Chapter 14 for more about installing extensions.

Choosing Internet options
Use the Internet Options pages to define search engines and saveproxy settings for use with OpenOffice.org.
If you are using a Netscape or Mozilla browser (such as Firefox), you
can enable the Mozilla Plug-in so you can open OOo files in yourbrowser, print them, save them, and work with them in other ways.
If you are using a Unix- or Linux-based operating system (including
Mac OS X), an additional page of E-mail options is available, where you
can specify the e-mail program to use when you send the current
document as e-mail (Figure 43). Under Windows the operating
system’s default e-mail program is always used.

Figure 43: Internet options, showing E-mail page available
to Linux users.

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Controlling OOo’s AutoCorrect functions
Some people find some or all of the items in OOo’s AutoCorrectfunction annoying because they change what you type when you do notwant it changed. Many people find some of the AutoCorrect functionsquite helpful; if you do, then select the relevant options. But if you findunexplained changes appearing in your document, this is a good place
to look to find the cause.
To open the AutoCorrect dialog, click Tools > AutoCorrect Options.
(You need to have a document open for this menu item to appear.)In Writer, this dialog has five tabs, as shown in Figure 44. In othercomponents of OOo, the dialog has only four tabs.

Figure 44: The AutoCorrect dialog in Writer, showing thefive tabs and some of the choices

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3

Chapter
Using Styles andTemplates

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What is a template?
A template is a model that you use to create other documents. For
example, you can create a template for business reports that has yourcompany’s logo on the first page. New documents created from thistemplate will all have your company’s logo on the first page.
Templates can contain anything that regular documents can contain,such as text, graphics, a set of styles, and user-specific setup
information such as measurement units, language, the default printer,and toolbar and menu customization.
All documents in OpenOffice.org (OOo) are based on templates. You
can create a specific template for any document type (text,
spreadsheet, drawing, presentation). If you do not specify a template
when you start a new document, then the document is based on thedefault template for that type of document. If you have not specified adefault template, OOo uses the blank template for that type of
document that is installed with OOo. See “Setting a default template”
on page 79 for more information.

What are styles?
A style is a set of formats that you can apply to selected pages, text,
frames, and other elements in your document to quickly change theirappearance. When you apply a style, you apply a whole group offormats at the same time.
Many people manually format paragraphs, words, tables, page layouts,
and other parts of their documents without paying any attention tostyles. They are used to writing documents according to physicalattributes. For example, you might specify the font family, font size,
and any formatting such as bold or italic.
Styles are logical attributes. Using styles means that you stop saying“font size 14pt, Times New Roman, bold, centered”, and you startsaying “Title” because you have defined the “Title” style to have thosecharacteristics. In other words, styles means that you shift theemphasis from what the text (or page, or other element) looks like, towhat the text is.
Styles help improve consistency in a document. They also make major
formatting changes easy. For example, you may decide to change theindentation of all paragraphs, or change the font of all titles. For a long
document, this simple task can be prohibitive. Styles make the taskeasy.

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63In addition, styles are used by OpenOffice.org for many processes,
even if you are not aware of them. For example, Writer relies onheading styles (or other styles you specify) when it compiles a table ofcontents. Some common examples of style use are given in “Examples
of style use” on page 84.
OpenOffice.org supports the following types of styles:• Page styles include margins, headers and footers, borders and

•

•
•
•
•

•

•

backgrounds. In Calc, page styles also include the sequence forprinting sheets.
Paragraph styles control all aspects of a paragraph’s appearance,such as text alignment, tab stops, line spacing, and borders, andcan include character formatting.
Character styles affect selected text within a paragraph, such as
the font and size of text, or bold and italic formats.
Frame styles are used to format graphic and text frames,
including wrapping type, borders, backgrounds, and columns.
Numbering styles apply similar alignment, numbering or bullet
characters, and fonts to numbered or bulleted lists.
Cell styles include fonts, alignment, borders, background, number
formats (for example, currency, date, number), and cell
protection.
Graphics styles in drawings and presentations include line, area,
shadowing, transparency, font, connectors, dimensioning, andother attributes.
Presentation styles include attributes for font, indents, spacing,alignment, and tabs.

Different styles are available in the various components of OOo, as
listed in Table 1.
OpenOffice.org comes with many predefined styles. You can use thestyles as provided, modify them, or create new styles, as described inthis chapter.

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Table 1. Styles available in OOo components
Style Type

Writer

Calc

Page

X

X

Paragraph

X

Character

X

Frame

X

NumberingX

Cell

Impress

X

X

X

X

X

Presentation
Graphics

Draw(included in
Frame styles)

Applying styles
OpenOffice.org provides several ways for you to select styles to apply.

Using the Styles and Formatting window
located at the left-hand
1) Click the Styles and Formatting icon
end of the object bar, or click Format > Styles and Formatting,or press F11. The Styles and Formatting window shows the typesof styles available for the OOo component you are using. Figure
45 shows the window for Writer, with Page Styles visible.
You can move this window to a convenient position on the screenor dock it to an edge (hold down the Ctrl key and drag it by thetitle bar to where you want it docked).
2) Click on one of the icons at the top left of the Styles andFormatting window to display a list of styles in a particular
category.
3) To apply an existing style (except for character styles), position
the insertion point in the paragraph, frame, or page, and thendouble-click on the name of the style in one of these lists. To apply
a character style, select the characters first.

Tip

At the bottom of the Styles and Formatting window is a
dropdown list. In Figure 45 the window shows Automatic,
meaning the list includes only styles applied automatically by
OOo. You can choose to show all styles or other groups ofstyles, for example only custom styles.

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Chapter 3 Using Styles and Templates65Figure 45: The Styles and Formatting window for
Writer, showing paragraph styles.

Using Fill Format mode
Use Fill Format to apply a style to many different areas quickly without
having to go back to the Styles and Formatting window and doubleclick every time. This method is quite useful when you need to format
many scattered paragraphs, cells, or other items with the same style.
1) Open the Styles and Formatting window and select the style youwant to apply.
.
2) Click the Fill Format mode icon
3) To apply a paragraph, page, or frame style, hover the mouse overthe paragraph, page, or frame and click. To apply a characterstyle, hold down the mouse button while selecting the characters,
Clicking on a word applies the character style for that word.
Repeat step 3 until you made all the changes for that style.
4) To quit Fill Format mode, click the Fill Format mode icon again
or press the Esc key.
CautionWhen this mode is active, a right-click anywhere in the
document undoes the last Fill Format action. Be careful not toaccidentally right-click and thus undo actions you want tokeep.

Using the Apply Style list
After you have used a style at least once in a document, the style nameappears on the Apply Style list at the left-hand end of the Formatting
toolbar, next to the Styles and Formatting icon.
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You can open this list and click once on the style you want, or you can
use the up and down arrow keys to move through the list and thenpress Enter to apply the highlighted style.
Tip

Select More... at the bottom of the list to open the Styles andFormatting window.

Figure 46: The Apply Style liston the Formatting toolbar.

Using keyboard shortcuts
Some keyboard shortcuts for applying styles are predefined. For
example, in Writer Control+0 applies the Text body style, Control+1
applies the Heading 1 style, and Control+2 applies the Heading 2style. You can modify these shortcuts and create your own; see Chapter
14 (Customizing OpenOffice.org) for instructions.

Modifying styles
OpenOffice.org provides several ways to modify styles (both thepredefined styles and custom styles that you create):• Changing a style using the Style dialog• Updating a style from a selection• Use AutoUpdate (paragraph and frame styles only)• Load or copy styles from another document or template

Tip

Any changes you make to a style are effective only in thecurrent document. To change styles in more than one document,
you need to change the template or copy the styles into theother documents as described on page 70.

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67Changing a style using the Style dialog
To change an existing style using the Style dialog, right-click on therequired style in the Styles and Formatting window and select Modify
from the pop-up menu.
The Style dialog displayed depends on the type of style selected. Eachstyle dialog has several tabs. See the chapters on styles in the user
guides for details.

Updating a style from a selection
To update a style from a selection:1) Open the Styles and Formatting window.
2) In the document, select an item that has the format you want toadopt as a style.
CautionMake sure that there are unique properties in this paragraph.
For example, if there are two different font sizes or font styles,
that particular property will remain the same as before.

3) In the Styles and Formatting window, select the style you want to
update (single-click, not double-click), then long-click on thearrow next to the New Style from Selection icon and click on
Update Style.

Figure 47: Updating a style from a selection.

Using AutoUpdate
AutoUpdate applies to paragraph and frame styles only. If the
AutoUpdate option is selected on the Organizer page of the Paragraph
Style or Frame Style dialog, applying direct formatting to a paragraphor frame using this style in your document automatically updates thestyle itself.
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Tip

If you are in the habit of manually overriding styles in yourdocument, be sure that AutoUpdate is not enabled.

Updating styles from a document or template
You can update styles by copying or loading them from a template oranother document. See “Copying and moving styles” on page 70.

Creating new (custom) styles
You may want to add some new styles. You can do this in two ways:• Creating a new style using the Style dialog• Creating a new style from a selection

Creating a new style using the Style dialog
To create a new style using the Style dialog, right-click in the Styles
and Formatting window and select New from the pop-up menu.
If you want your new style to be linked with an existing style, first
select that style and then right-click and select New.
If you link styles, then when you change the base style (for example, bychanging the font from Times to Helvetica), all the linked styles willchange as well. Sometimes this is exactly what you want; other times
you do not want the changes to apply to all the linked styles. It pays toplan ahead.
The dialogs and choices are the same for defining new styles and formodifying existing styles. See the chapters on styles in the user guides
for details.

Creating a new style from a selection
You can create a new style by copying an existing manual format. This
new style applies only to this document; it will not be saved in thetemplate.
1) Open the Styles and Formatting window and choose the type ofstyle you want to create.
2) In the document, select the item you want to save as a style.
3) In the Styles and Formatting window, click on the New Style
from Selection icon.

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Chapter 3 Using Styles and Templates694) In the Create Style dialog, type a name for the new style. The listshows the names of existing custom styles of the selected type.
Click OK to save the new style.

Figure 48: Naming a new style createdfrom a selection.

Dragging and dropping to create a style
You can drag and drop a text selection into the Styles and Formatting
window to create a new style.
Writer
Select some text and drag it to the Styles and Formatting window. If
Paragraph Styles are active, the paragraph style will be added to thelist. If Character Styles are active, the character style will be added
to the list.
Calc
Drag a cell selection to the Styles and Formatting window to create
cell styles.
Draw/Impress
Select and drag drawing objects to the Styles and Formatting
window to create graphics styles.

Copying and moving styles
You can copy or move styles from one template or document intoanother template or document, in two ways:• Using the Template Management dialog• Loading styles from a template or document

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Using the Template Management dialog
To copy or move styles using the Template Management dialog:
1) Click File > Templates > Organize.
2) In the Template Management dialog (Figure 49), set the lists atthe bottom to either Templates or Documents, as needed. The
default is Templates on the left and Documents on the right.
To copy styles from a file that is not open, click the File button.
When you return to this dialog, both lists show the selected file
as well as all the currently open documents.

Tip3) Open the folders and find the templates from and to which you
want to copy. Double-click on the name of the template or
document, and then double-click the Styles icon to show the list of
individual styles (Figure 50).
4) To copy a style, hold down the Ctrl key and drag the name of thestyle from one list to the other.
CautionIf you do not hold down the Control key when dragging, thestyle will be moved from one list to the other. The style will
be deleted from the list you are dragging it from.

5) Repeat for each style you want to copy. If the receiving templateor document hasmany styles, you may not see any change unless
you scroll down in the list. When you are finished, click Close.

Figure 49: Choosing to copy styles from a document,
not a template.

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Chapter 3 Using Styles and Templates71Figure 50: Copying a style from one document to another.

Loading styles from a template or document
You can copy styles by loading them from a template or anotherdocument:
1) Open the document you want to copy styles into.
2) In the Styles and Formatting window, long-click on the arrow next
to the New Style from Selection icon, and then click on Load
Styles (see Figure 47).
3) On the Load Styles dialog (Figure 51), find and select the
template you want to copy styles from.

Figure 51. Copying styles from a template into theopen document
4) Select the categories of styles to be copied. Select Overwrite if
you want the styles being copied to replace any styles of the samenames in the document you’re copying them into.
5) Click OK to copy the styles. You will not see any change on
screen.
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Note

CautionTo copy the styles from another document, click the From
File button to open a window from which you can select therequired document.
If your document has a table of contents, and if you have usedcustom styles for headings, the heading levels associated withoutline levels (in Tools > Outline Numbering) will revert tothe defaults of Heading 1, Heading 2, and so on when you loadstyles this . You will need to change these back to your custom
heading styles. This is a bug.

Deleting styles
You cannot remove (delete) any of OOo’s predefined styles from adocument or template, even if they are not in use.
You can remove any user-defined (custom) styles; but before you do,you should make sure the styles are not in use. If an unwanted style isin use, you will want to replace it with a substitute style.
To delete unwanted styles, right-click on them (one at a time) in the
Styles and Formatting window and click Delete on the pop-up menu.
If the style is in use, you receive a warning message.
CautionMake sure the style is not in use before deletion. Otherwise,
all objects with that style will return to the default style andretain their formatting as manual formatting. This can be a
problem in a long document.

If the style is not in use, you receive a confirmation message; click Yes.

Using a template to create a document
To use a template to create a document:
1) From the main menu, choose File > New > Templates andDocuments. The Templates and Documents dialog opens. (SeeFigure 52.)
2) In the box on the left, click the Templates icon if it is not alreadyselected. A list of template folders appears in the center box.
3) Double-click the folder that contains the template that you want
to use. A list of all the templates contained in that folder appears
in the center box.

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Chapter 3 Using Styles and Templates734) Select the template that you want to use. You can preview theselected template or view the template’s properties:•
To preview the template, click the Preview icon. A preview of
the template appears in the box on the right.
•
To view the template’s properties, click the Document
Properties icon. The template’s properties appear in the box
on the right.
5) Click Open. The Templates and Documents dialog closes and a
new document based on the selected template opens in OOo. You
can then edit and save the new document just as you would anyother document.

Figure 52: Templates and Documents window.

Creating a template
You can create your own templates in two ways: from a document, andusing a wizard.

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Creating a template from a document
To create a template from a document:
1) Open a new or existing document of the type you want to makeinto a template (text document, spreadsheet, drawing,presentation).
2) Add the content and styles that you want.
3) From the main menu, choose File > Templates > Save. The
Templates dialog opens (see Figure 53).
4) In the New template field, type a name for the new template.
5) In the Categories list, click the category to which you want toassign the template. The category you choose has no effect on thetemplate itself; it is simply the folder in which you save thetemplate. Choosing an appropriate category makes it easier tofind the template when you want to use it. For example, you mightsave Impress templates under the Presentations category.
To learn more about template folders, see “Organizing templates”
on page 82.
6) Click OK to save the new template.

Figure 53: Saving a new template.
Any settings that can be added to or modified in a document can besaved in a template. For example, below are some of the settings(although not a full list) that can be included in a Writer document andthen saved as a template for later use:
• Printer settings: which printer, single sided / double sided, andpaper size, and so on• Styles to be used, including character, page, frame, numberingand paragraph styles

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Chapter 3 Using Styles and Templates75• Format and settings regarding indexes, tables, bibliographies,

table of contents
Templates can also contain predefined text, saving you from having totype it every time you create a new document. For example, a letter
template may contain your name, address and salutation.
You can also save menu and toolbar customizations in templates; see
Chapter 14 (Customizing OpenOffice.org) for more information.

Creating a template using a wizard
You can use wizards to create templates for letters, faxes, agendas,
presentations, and Web pages.
For example, the Fax Wizard guides you through the following choices:• Type of fax (business or personal)• Document elements like the date, subject line (business fax),

salutation, and complementary close• Options for sender and recipient information (business fax)
• Text to include in the footer (business fax)
To create a template using a wizard:
1) From the main menu, choose File > Wizards > [type of template
required].

Figure 54. Creating a template using a wizard
2) Follow the instructions on the pages of the wizard. This process isslightly different for each type of template, but the format is very
similar.
3) In the last section of the wizard, you can specify the name andlocation for saving the template. The default location is your user

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templates directory, but you can choose a different location if you
prefer.
4) Finally, you have the option of creating a new document from yourtemplate immediately, or manually changing the template. For
future documents, you can re-use the template created by the
wizard, just as you would use any other template.

Editing a template
You can edit a template’s styles and content, and then, if you wish, you
can reapply the template’s styles to documents that were created fromthat template. (Note that you can only reapply styles. You cannot
reapply content.)
To edit a template:1) From the main menu, choose File > Templates > Organize. The
Template Management dialog opens (see Figure 49).
2) In the box on the left, double-click the folder that contains the
template that you want to edit. A list of all the templates
contained in that folder appears underneath the folder name.
3) Select the template that you want to edit.
4) Click the Commands button and choose Edit from the dropdown menu.
5) Edit the template just as you would any other document. To saveyour changes, choose File > Save from the main menu.

Updating a document from a changed template
The next time you open a document that was created from the changed
template, the following message appears.

Figure 55. Update styles message
Click Yes to apply the template’s changed styles to the document. Click
No if you do not want to apply the template’s changed styles to the
document (but see Caution notice below).

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77Caution

Note

If you choose No in the message box shown in Figure 54, thatmessage will not appear again the next time you open the
document after changing the template it is based on. You will not
get another chance to update the styles from the template,although you can use the macro given in the Note below to reenable this feature.
If you are using Writer, you can also use the Template Changer
extension (see page 81) to reactivate the template.
To re-enable updating from a template:1) Use Tools > Macros > Organize Macros >OpenOffice.org Basic. Select the document from the list,
click the +, and select Standard. If Standard has a + besideit, click that and select a module.
2) Name the macro. For example, you could call it
FixDocument. If the Edit button is active, click it. If the Edit
button is not active, click New, type a module name in the
pop-up dialog, and click OK.
3) In the Basic window, enter the following:
Sub FixDocV3' set UpdateFromTemplate
oDocSettings = ThisComponent.createInstance( _"com.sun.star.document.Settings" )oDocSettings.UpdateFromTemplate = True
End Sub 'FixDocV3
4) Click the Run BASIC icon, then close the Basic window.
5) Save the document.
Next time when you open this document you will have theupdate from template feature back.

Adding templates using the Extension
Manager
The Extension Manager provides an easy way to install collections oftemplates, graphics, macros, or other add-ins that have been“packaged” into files with a .OXT extension. See Chapter 14(Customizing OpenOffice.org) for more about the Extension Manager.
This Web page lists many of the available extensions:
http://extensions.services.openoffice.org/.

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To install an extension, follow these steps:
1) Download an extension package and save it anywhere on yourcomputer.
2) In OOo, select Tools > Extension Manager from the menu bar.
In the Extension Manager dialog, click Add.
3) A file browser window opens. Find and select the package oftemplates you want to install and click Open.The package begins
installing. You may be asked to accept a license agreement.
4) When the package installation is complete, the templates areavailable for use through File > New > Templates andDocuments and the extension is listed in the Extension Manager.

Figure 56: Newly-added package of templates.

Setting a default template
If you create a document by choosing File > New > Text Document(or Spreadsheet, Presentation, or Drawing) from the main menu,
OOo creates the document from the Default template for that type of
document. You can, however, set a custom template to be the default.
You can reset the default later if you choose.

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79Setting a custom template as the default
You can set any template to be the default, as long as it is in one of thefolders displayed in the Template Management dialog.
To set a custom template as the default:
1) From the main menu, choose File > Templates > Organize. The
Template Management dialog opens.
2) In the box on the left, select the folder containing the templatethat you want to set as the default, then select the template.
3) Click the Commands button and choose Set As Default
Template from the drop-down menu.
The next time that you create a document by choosing File > New, thedocument will be created from this template.
Although many important settings can be changed in the Options
dialog (see Chapter 2), for example default fonts and page size, moreadvanced settings (such as page margins) can only be changed byreplacing the default template with a new one.

Resetting the default template
To re-enable OOo’s Default template for a document type as thedefault:1) In the Template Management dialog, click any folder in the box on
the left.
2) Click the Commands button and choose Reset Default
Template from the drop-down menu.
The next time that you create a document by choosing File > New, thedocument will be created from OOo’s Default template for that
document type.

Associating a document with a different
template
At times you might want to associate a document with a different
template, or perhaps you’re working with a document that did not startfrom a template.
One of the major advantages of using templates is the ease of updatingstyles in more than one document, as described on page 77. If you
update styles by loading a new set of styles from a different template(as described on page 72), the document has no association with the
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template from which the styles were loaded—so you cannot use thismethod. What you need to do is associate the document with thedifferent template.
You can do this in two ways. In both cases, for best results the namesof styles should be the same in the existing document and the newtemplate. If they are not, you will need to use Search and Replace toreplace old styles with new ones. See Chapter 4 (Getting Started with
Writer) for more about replacing styles using Search and Replace.
Method 1
This method includes any graphics and wording (such as legal notices)that exists in the new template, as well as including styles. If you don’t
want this material, you need to delete it.
1) Use File > New > Templates and Documents. Choose thetemplate you want. If the template has unwanted text or graphics
in it, delete them.
2) Open the document you want to change. (It opens in a new
window.) Press Control+A to select everything in the document.
Paste into the blank document created in step 1.
3) Update the table of contents, if there is one. Save the file.
Method 2 (Writer only)This method does not include any graphics or text from the newtemplate; it simply includes styles from the new template andestablishes an association between the template and the document.
1) Download the Template Changer extension fromhttp://extensions.services.openoffice.org/ and install it as
described on page 78.
2) Close and reopen OpenOffice.org. Now the File > Templatesmenu has two new choices in Writer: Assign Template (current
document) and Assign Template (folder). In Calc, Impress, andDraw, only the Assign Template (folder) choice is available.
3) Open the document whose template you want to change. Choose
File > Templates > Assign Template (current document).
4) In the Select Template window, find and select the required
template and click Open.
5) Save the document. If you now look in File > Properties, you will
see the new template listed at the bottom of the General page.

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81Organizing templates
OOo can only use templates that are in OOo template folders. You cancreate new OOo template folders and use them to organize yourtemplates, and import templates into those folders. For example, you
might have one template folder for report templates and another forletter templates. You can also export templates.
To begin, choose File > Templates > Organize from the main menu.
The Template Management dialog opens.
Note

All the actions made by the Commands button in the Template
Management dialog can be made as well by right-clicking on
the templates or the folders.

Creating a template folder
To create a template folder:1) In the Template Management dialog, click any folder.
2) Click the Commands button and choose New from the dropdown menu. A new folder called Untitled appears.
3) Type a name for the new folder, and then press Enter. OOo saves
the folder with the name that you entered.

Deleting a template folder
You cannot delete template folders supplied with OOo or installedusing the Extension Manager; you can only delete template folders thatyou have created.
To delete a template folder:1) In the Template Management dialog, select the folder that you
want to delete.
2) Click the Commands button and choose Delete from the dropdown menu. A message box appears and asks you to confirm thedeletion. Click Yes.

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Moving a template
To move a template from one template folder to another template
folder:1) In the Template Management dialog, double-click the folder that
contains the template you want to move. A list of the templates
contained in that folder appears underneath the folder name.
2) Click the template that you want to move and drag it to thedesired folder. If you do not have the authority to delete templates
from the source folder, this action copies the template instead ofmoving it.

Deleting a template
You cannot delete templates supplied with OOo or installed using the
Extension Manager; you can only delete templates that you havecreated or imported.
To delete a template:1) In the Template Management dialog, double-click the folder that
contains the template you want to delete. A list of the templates
contained in that folder appears underneath the folder name.
2) Click the template that you want to delete.
3) Click the Commands button and choose Delete from the dropdown menu. A message box appears and asks you to confirm thedeletion. Click Yes.

Importing a template
If the template that you want to use is in a different location, you must
import it into an OOo template folder.
To import a template into a template folder:1) In the Template Management dialog, select the folder into which
you want to import the template.
2) Click the Commands button and choose Import Template fromthe drop-down menu. A standard file browser window opens.
3) Find and select the template that you want to import and click
Open. The file browser window closes and the template appears
in the selected folder.
4) If you want, type a new name for the template, and then press
Enter.

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83Exporting a template
To export a template from a template folder to another location:1) In the Template Management dialog, double-click the folder that
contains the template you want to export. A list of the templates
contained in that folder appears underneath the folder name.
2) Click the template that you want to export.
3) Click the Commands button and choose Export Template fromthe drop-down menu. The Save As window opens.
4) Find the folder into which you want to export the template andclick Save.

Examples of style use
The following examples of common use of page and paragraph styles
are taken from Writer. There are many other ways to use styles; see
the guides for the various components for details.

Defining a different first page for a document
Many documents, such as letters and reports, have a first page that isdifferent from the other pages in the document. For example, the firstpage of a letterhead typically has a different header, or the first pageof a report might have no header or footer, while the other pages do.
With OOo, you can define the page style for the first page and specify
the style for the following pages to be applied automatically.
As an example, we can use the First Page and Default page styles thatcome with OOo. Figure 57 shows what we want to happen: the firstpage is to be followed by the default page, and all the following pages
are to be in the Default page style. Details are in Chapter 4(Formatting Pages) in the Writer Guide.

Figure 57: Flow of page styles

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Dividing a document into chapters
In a similar way, you can divide a document into chapters. Eachchapter might start with the First Page style, with the following pages
using the Default page style, as above. At the end of the chapter, insert
a manual page break and specify the next page to have the First Page
style to start the next chapter, as shown below.

Figure 58: Dividing a document into chapters using page styles

Changing page orientation within a document
A Writer document can contain pages in more than one orientation. A
common scenario is to have a landscape page in the middle of adocument, whereas the other pages are in a portrait orientation. Thiscan also be done with page breaks and page styles.

Different headers on right and left pages
Page styles can be set up to have the facing left and right pages
mirrored or only right (first pages of chapters are often defined to beright-page only) or only left. When you insert a header on a page style
set up for mirrored pages or right-and-left pages, you can have thecontents of the header be the same on all pages or be different on theright and left pages. For example, you can put the page number on theleft-hand edge of the left pages and on the right-hand edge of the rightpages, put the document title on the right-hand page only, or makeother changes.

Controlling page breaks automatically
Writer automatically flows text from one page to the next. If you do not
like the default settings, you can change them. For example, you canrequire a paragraph to start on a new page or column and specify thestyle of the new page. A typical use is for chapter titles to always starton a new right-hand (odd-numbered) page.

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85Compiling an automatic table of contents
To compile an automatic table of contents, first apply styles to theheadings you want to appear in the contents list, then use Tools >Outline Numbering to tell Writer which styles go with which level inthe table of contents. See Chapter 4 for more information.

Defining a sequence of styles
You can set up one paragraph style so that when you press Enter at theend of that paragraph, the following paragraph automatically has thestyle you wish applied to it. For example, you could define a Heading 1
paragraph to be followed by a Text Body paragraph. A more complex
example would be: Title followed by Author followed by Abstract
followed by Heading 1 followed by Text Body. By setting up thesesequences, you can avoid manually applying styles in most cases.

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4

Chapter
Getting Started with
WriterWord Processing with OpenOffice.org

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What is Writer?
Writer is the word processor component of OpenOffice.org (OOo). In
addition to the usual features of a word processor (spelling check,thesaurus, hyphenation, autocorrect, find and replace, automatic
generation of tables of contents and indexes, mail merge and others),
Writer provides these important features:• Templates and styles (see Chapter 3)• Page layout methods, including frames, columns, and tables• Embedding or linking of graphics, spreadsheets, and other
•
•
•
•
•
•

objects
Built-in drawing tools
Master documents—to group a collection of documents into asingle document
Change tracking during revisions
Database integration, including a bibliography database
Export to PDF, including bookmarks (see Chapter 10)
And many more

These features are covered in detail in the Writer Guide.

The Writer interface
The main Writer workspace is shown in Figure 59. The menus andtoolbars are described in Chapter 1 (Introducing OpenOffice.org).
Some other features of the Writer interface are covered in this chapter.

Figure 59: The main Writer workspace in Print Layout view

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Status bar
The Writer status bar provides information about the document andconvenient ways to quickly change some document features.

Figure 60: Left end of status bar
Page number
Shows the current page number, the sequence number of thecurrent page (if different), and the total number of pages in the
document. For example, if you restarted page numbering at 1 on thethird page, its page number is 1 and its sequence number is 3.
If any bookmarks have been defined in the document, a right-clickon this field pops up a list of bookmarks; click on the required one.
To jump to a specific page in the document, double-click on thisfield. The Navigator opens. Click in the Page Number field and typethe sequence number of the required page. After a brief delay, thedisplay jumps to the selected page.
Page styleShows the style of the current page. To change the page style, rightclick on this field. A list of page styles pops up; choose a different
style by clicking on it.
To edit the current page style, double-click on this field. The Page
Style dialog opens.
LanguageShows the language for the selected text.
Click to open a menu where you can choose another language forthe selected text or for the paragraph where the cursor is located.
You can also choose None (Do not check spelling) to exclude thetext from a spelling check or choose More... to open the Character
dialog.
Insert mode
Click to toggle between Insert and Overwrite modes when typing.
Selection mode
Click to toggle between STD (Standard), EXT (Extend), ADD (Add)and BLK (Block) selection. EXT is an alternative to Shift+click when

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selecting text. See “Working with text” on page 94 for more
information about ADD and BLK.
Unsaved changes
An asterisk (*) appears here if changes to the document have notbeen saved.

Figure 61: Right end of status bar
Digital signature
If the document has been digitally signed, an icon
shows here.
You can double-click the icon to view the certificate.
Section or object information
When the cursor is on a section, heading, or list item, or when an
object (such as a picture or table) is selected, information about that
item appears in this field. Double-clicking in this area opens a
relevant dialog box. For details, consult the Help or the Writer Guide.
View layout
Click an icon to change between single page, side-by-side, and booklayout views (Figure 62). You can edit the document in any view.

Figure 62: View layouts: single, side-by-side, book.

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Zoom
To change the view magnification, drag the Zoom slider, or click on
the + and – signs, or right-click on the zoom level percent to pop up
a list of magnification values from which to choose. Zoom interacts
with the selected view layout to determine how many pages arevisible in the document window.

Changing document views
Writer has several ways to view a document: Print Layout, Web Layout,
and Full Screen. To access these and other choices, go to the View
menu and click on the required view. (When in Full Screen view, press
the Esc key to return to either Print or Web Layout view.)
When in Print Layout, you can use both the Zoom slider and the View
Layout icons on the Status bar. In Web Layout, you can use the Zoom
slider.
You can also choose View > Zoom from the menu bar to display theZoom & View Layout dialog (Figure 63), where you can set the same
options as on the Status bar. In Web Layout view, most of the choices
are not available.

Figure 63: Choosing Zoom and View Layout options.

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Moving quickly through a document
In addition to the navigation features of the Status bar (describedabove), you can use the main Navigator window and the Navigation
toolbar as described in Chapter 1 (Introducing OpenOffice.org).
In Writer, you can also display the Navigation toolbar by clicking on thesmall Navigation icon near the lower right-hand corner of the window
below the vertical scroll bar, as shown in Figure 64.

Figure 64: Navigation icons.
The Navigation toolbar (Figure 65) shows icons for all the object types
shown in the Navigator, plus some extras (for example, the results of a
Find command).

Figure 65: Navigation toolbar
Click an icon to select that object type. Now all the Previous and Next
icons (in the Navigator itself, in the Navigation Toolbar, and on thescroll bar) will jump to the next object of the selected type. This isparticularly helpful for finding items like index entries, which can bedifficult to see in the text. The names of the icons (shown in thetooltips) change to match the selected category; for example, Next
Graphic, Next Bookmark, or Continue search forward.
For more uses of the Navigator in Writer, see the Writer Guide.

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Working with documents
Chapter 1 (Introducing OpenOffice.org) includes instructions on
starting new documents, opening existing documents, and saving
documents. Chapter 3 (Using Styles and Templates) covers how tocreate a document from a template.

Saving as a Microsoft Word fileIf you need to exchange files with users of Microsoft Word, they may
not know how to open and save .odt files. Microsoft Word 2007 with
Service Pack 2 (SP2) can do this. Users of Word 2007, 2003, XP, and2000 can also download and install a free OpenDocument Format(ODF) plugin from Sun Microsystems.
Some users of Microsoft Word may be unwilling or unable to receive*.odt files. (Perhaps their employer won’t allow them to install theplug-in.) In this case, you can save a document as a Microsoft Word
file.
1) Important—First save your document in the file format used by
OOo Writer (.odt). If you do not, any changes you made since thelast time you saved will appear only in the Microsoft Word versionof the document.
2) Then choose File > Save As.
3) On the Save As dialog (Figure 66), in the File type (or Save astype) drop-down menu, select the type of Word format you need.
4) Choose Save.
From this point on, all changes you make to the document will occur
only in the Microsoft Word document. You have changed the name andfile type of your document. If you want to go back to working withthe .odt version of your document, you must open it again.

Tip

To have OOo save documents by default in the Microsoft Word
file format, go to Tools > Options > Load/Save. See“Choosing options for loading and saving documents” in
Chapter 2 (Setting up OpenOffice.org).

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Figure 66. Saving a file in Microsoft Word format

Working with text
Working with text (selecting, copying, pasting, moving) in Writer issimilar to working with text in any other program. OOo also has someconvenient ways to select items that are not next to each other, select a
vertical block of text, and paste unformatted text.

Selecting items that are not consecutive
To select nonconsecutive items (as shown in Figure 67) using themouse:
1) Select the first piece of text.
2) Hold down the Control key and use the mouse to select the next
piece of text.
3) Repeat as often as needed.
Now you can work with the selected text (copy it, delete it, change thestyle, or whatever).
Note

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Macintosh users: substitute the Command key when
instructions in this chapter say to use the Control key.

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Figure 67: Selecting items that are not next to each otherTo select nonconsecutive items using the keyboard:
1) Select the first piece of text. (For more information about
keyboard selection of text, see the topic “Navigating and selectingwith the keyboard” in the Help.)2) Press Shift+F8. This puts Writer in “Add” mode. The word ADD
appears on the status bar.
3) Use the arrow keys to move to the start of the next piece of text
to be selected. Hold down the Shift key and select the next pieceof text.
4) Repeat as often as needed.
Now you can work with the selected text.
Press Esc to exit from this mode.

Selecting a vertical block of text
You can select a vertical block or “column” of text that is separated by
spaces or tabs (as you might see in text pasted from e-mails, program
listings, or other sources), using OOo’s block selection mode. Tochange to block selection mode, use Edit > Selection Mode > BlockArea, or click several times in the status bar on STD until it changes to
BLK.

Now highlight the selection, using mouse or keyboard, as shown in
Figure 68.

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Figure 68: Selecting a vertical block of text

Cutting, copying, and pasting text
Cutting and copying text in Writer is similar to cutting and copying text
in other applications. You can use the mouse or the keyboard for these
operations. You can copy or move text within a document, or between
documents, by dragging or by using menu selections, icons, or
keyboard shortcuts. You can also copy text from other sources such as
Web pages and paste it into a Writer document.
To move (cut and paste) selected text using the mouse, drag it to the
new location and release it. To copy selected text, hold down theControl key while dragging. The text retains the formatting it had
before dragging.
When you paste text, the result depends on the source of the text andhow you paste it. If you click on the Paste icon, any formatting the texthas (such as bold or italics) is retained. Text pasted from Web sites andother sources may also be placed into frames or tables. If you do not
like the results, click the Undo icon or press Control+Z.
To make the pasted text take on the formatting of the surrounding text
where it is being pasted,choose either:• Edit > Paste Special, or• Click the triangle to the right of the Paste icon, or• Click the Paste icon without releasing the left mouse button.

Then select Unformatted text from the resulting menu.
The range of choices on the Paste Special menu varies depending on
the origin and formatting of the text (or other object) to be pasted. See(Figure 69) for an example with text on the clipboard.

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Figure 69: Paste Special menu

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Finding and replacing text and formatting
Writer has a Find and Replace feature that automates the process ofsearching for text inside a document. In addition to finding andreplacing words and phrases, you can:
• Use wildcards and regular expressions to fine-tune a search (seethe Help for details).
• Find and replace specific formatting (see the Writer Guide ).
• Find and replace paragraph styles (see the Writer Guide).
To display the Find & Replace dialog (Figure 70), use the keyboard
shortcut Control+F or choose Edit > Find & Replace from the menubar.
1) Type the text you want to find in the Search for box.
2) To replace the text with different text, type the new text in the
Replace with box.
3) You can select various options such as matching the case,matching whole words only, or doing a search for similar words.
4) When you have set up your search, click Find. To replace text,
click Replace instead.

Figure 70: Expanded Find & Replace dialog

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Tip

CautionIf you click Find All, OOo selects all instances of the searchtext in the document. Similarly, if you click Replace All, OOo
will replace all matches.
Use Replace All with caution; otherwise, you may end up withsome hilarious (and highly embarrassing) mistakes. A mistakewith Replace All might require a manual, word-by-word,
search to fix.

Inserting special characters
A special character is one not found on a standard English keyboard.
For example, © ¾ æ ç ñ ö ø ¢ are all special characters. To insert a
special character:
1) Place the cursor where you want the character to appear.
2) Choose Insert > Special Character to open the Special
Characters dialog (Figure 71).
3) Select the characters (from any font or mixture of fonts) you wish
to insert, in order, then click OK. The selected characters areshown in the lower left of the dialog. As you select a character, it
is shown on the lower right, along with its numerical code.
Note

Different fonts include different special characters. If you do
not find a particular special character, try changing the Font
selection.

Figure 71: The Special Characters window,
where you can insert special characters.
Tip

98

Notice that the characters selected appear in the bottom-leftcorner of the window.

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Inserting dashes and non-breaking spaces andhyphens
To prevent two words from being separated at the end of a line, press
Control+spacebar after the first word to insert a non-breaking space.
In cases where you do not want the hyphen to appear at the end of aline, for example in a number such as 123-4567, you can press
Shift+Control+minus sign to insert a non-breaking hyphen.
To enter en and em dashes, you can use the Replace dashes option
under Tools > AutoCorrect > Options (Figure 79). This option
replaces two hyphens, under certain conditions, with thecorresponding dash.
– is an en-dash; that is, a dash the width of the letter “n” in the font
you are using. Type at least one character, a space, one or two
hyphens, another space, and at least one more letter, then aspace. The one or two hyphens will be replaced by an en-dash.
— is an em-dash; that is, a dash the width of the letter “m” in the
font you are using. Type at least one character, two hyphens, andat least one more character, then a space. The two hyphens will
be replaced by an em-dash.
See the Help for more details. For other methods of inserting dashes,
see the Writer Guide.

Setting tab stops and indents
The horizontal ruler shows both the default tab stops and any tab stops
that you have defined. Tab settings affect indentation of fullparagraphs (using the Increase Indent and Decrease Indent icons on
the Formatting toolbar) as well as indentation of parts of a paragraph(by pressing the Tab key on the keyboard).
Using the default tab spacing can cause formatting problems if you
share documents with other people. If you use the default tab spacing
and then send the document to someone else who has chosen adifferent default tab spacing, tabbed material will change to use theother person’s settings. This may cause major formatting problems.
Instead of using the defaults, define your own tab settings, as
described in this section.
To define indents and tab settings for one or more selectedparagraphs, double-click on a part of the ruler that is not between theleft and right indent icons to open the Indents & Spacing page of theParagraph dialog. Double-click anywhere between the left and rightFree eBook Edition

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indent icons on the ruler to open the Tabs page of the Paragraph dialog(Figure 75).
A better strategy is to define tabs for the paragraph style. See
Chapters 6 and 7 in the Writer Guide for more information.
Tip

Using tabs to space out material on a page is not recommended.
Depending on what you are trying to accomplish, a table isusually a better choice.

Changing the default tab stop interval
Note

Any changes to the default tab setting will affect the existing
default tab stops in any document you open afterward, as well
as tab stops you insert after making the change.

To set the measurement unit and the spacing of default tab stop
intervals, go to Tools > Options > OpenOffice.org Writer >General.

Figure 72: Selecting a default tab stop interval
You can also set or change the measurement unit for rulers in thecurrent document by right-clicking on the ruler to open a list of units,
as shown in Figure 77. Click on one of them to change the ruler to that
unit. The selected setting applies only to that ruler.

Figure 73: Ruler showing default tab stops

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Checking spelling and grammar
Writer provides a spelling checker, which can be used in two ways.
AutoSpellcheck checks each word as it is typed and displays awavy red line under any misspelled words. When the word iscorrected, the line disappears.
To perform a separate spelling check on the document (or a text
selection) click the Spelling and Grammar button. This checks
the document or selection and opens the Spelling and Grammar
dialog if any misspelled words are found.
Here are some more features of the spelling checker:• You can right-click on a word with a wavy underline to open acontext menu. If you select from the suggested words on themenu, the selection will replace the misspelled word in your text.
Other menu options are discussed below.
• You can change the dictionary language (for example, Spanish,French or German) on the Spelling and Grammar dialog.
• You can add a word to the dictionary. Click Add in the Spellingand Grammar dialog and pick the dictionary to add it to.
• Click the Options button on the Spelling and Grammar dialog toopen a dialog similar to the one in Tools > Options > Language
Settings > Writing Aids described in Chapter 2. There you canchoose whether to check uppercase words and words withnumbers, and you can manage custom dictionaries, that is, add ordelete dictionaries and add or delete words in a dictionary.
• On the Font tab of the Paragraph Styles dialog, you can set
paragraphs to be checked in a specific language (different fromthe rest of the document). See Chapter 7 (Working with Styles) in
the Writer Guide for more information.
Writer does not include a grammar checker, but you can install an
extension such as Language Tool and access it from Tools > Spellingand Grammar. (See Chapter 14 for more about installing extensions.)
Language Tool adds a new menu item and submenu to the Tools menu,
from which you can configure the tool and check or recheck the
document.

Using built-in language tools
Writer provides some tools that make your work easier if you mix
multiple languages within the same document or if you write
documents in various languages.

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The main advantage of changing the language is that you can then use
the correct dictionaries to check spelling and apply the localizedversions of Autocorrect replacement tables, thesaurus, andhyphenation rules.
You can also set the language for a paragraph or a group of characters
as None. This option is especially useful when you insert text such as
web addresses or programming language snippets that you do notwant to check for spelling.
Specifying the language in character and paragraph styles is thepreferred method, because styles allow a greater level of control andmake changing the language much faster. On the Font tab of theParagraph Styles dialog, you can specify that certain paragraphs bechecked in a language that is different from the language of the rest of
the document. See Chapter 7 (Working with Styles) for information on
how to manage the language settings of a style.
However, starting with OpenOffice.org 3.0, you can set the language
for the whole document, for individual paragraphs, or even for
individual words and characters, all from Tools > Language on themenu bar.
Another way to change the language of a whole document is to use
Tools > Options > Language Settings > Languages. In the Default
languages for documents section of the Options dialog, you can choosea different language for all the text.
The spelling checker works only for those languages in the list thathave the symbol
next to them. If you do not see the symbol next toyour preferred language, you can install the additional dictionary using
Tools > Languages > More dictionaries online.
The language used for checking spelling is also shown in the statusbar, next to the page style in use.
You can also configure the language for a paragraph or a group ofcharacters as None. This option is particularly useful in the casewhere you insert in the document text that you do not want tospellcheck, such as web addresses or programming language snippets.

Using AutoCorrect
Writer’s AutoCorrect function has a long list of common misspellings
and typing errors, which it corrects automatically. For example, “hte”
will be changed to “the”.

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Choose Tools > AutoCorrect Options to open the AutoCorrect dialog.
There you can define which strings of text are corrected and how. In
most cases, the defaults are fine.
AutoCorrect is turned on when Writer is installed. To turn it off,
uncheck Format > AutoCorrect > While Typing.
To stop Writer replacing a specific spelling, go to the Replace tab,highlight the word pair, and click Delete.
To add a new spelling to the list, type it into the Replace and Withboxes on the Replace tab, and click New.
See the different tabs of the dialog for the wide variety of other options
available to fine-tune AutoCorrect.
Tip

AutoCorrect can be used as a quick way to insert special
characters. For example, (c) will be autocorrected to ©. You
can add your own special characters.

Using word completion
If Word Completion is enabled, Writer tries to guess which word you
are typing and offers to complete the word for you. To accept thesuggestion, press Enter. Otherwise continue typing.
To turn off Word Completion, select Tools > AutoCorrect Options >Word Completion and deselect Enable word completion.
You can customize word completion from the Word Completion pageof the AutoCorrect dialog:• Add (append) a space automatically after an accepted word.
• Show the suggested word as a tip (hovering over the word) rather
than completing the text as you type.
• Change the maximum number of words remembered for word
completion and the length of the smallest words to beremembered.
• Delete specific entries from the word completion list.
• Change the key that accepts a suggested entry—the options are
Right arrow, End key, Return (Enter), and Space bar.
Note

Automatic word completion only occurs after you type a word
for the second time in a document.

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Using AutoText
AutoText allows you to assign text, tables, graphics and other items toa key combination. For example, rather than typing “Senior
Management” every time you use that phrase, you can type “sm” andpress F3. You can also save graphics or tables (such as a formatted Tip
like the one on this page) as AutoText.
To assign some text to an AutoText shortcut:
1) Type the text into your document.
2) Select the text so it is highlighted.
3) Choose Edit > AutoText (or press Control+F3).
4) Enter a name for your shortcut. Writer will suggest a one-letter
shortcut, which you can change.
5) Click the AutoText button on the right and select New (text
only) from the menu.
6) Click Close to return to your document.
Tip

If the only option under the AutoText button is Import, either
you have not entered a name for your AutoText or there is notext selected in the document.

AutoText is especially powerful when assigned to fields. See Chapter
14 (Working with Fields) in the Writer Guide for more information.

Formatting text
Using styles is recommended
Styles are central to using Writer. Styles enable you to easily format
your document consistently, and to change the format with minimal
effort. A style is a named set of formatting options. Writer defines
several types of styles, for different types of elements: characters,
paragraphs, pages, frames, and lists. See Chapter 3 (Using Styles andTemplates) in this book and Chapters 6 and 7 in the Writer Guide.

Formatting paragraphs
You can apply many formats to paragraphs using the buttons on theFormatting toolbar. Figure 74 shows the Formatting toolbar as afloating toolbar, customized to show only the buttons for paragraphformatting. The appearance of the icons may vary with your operating

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system and the selection of icon size and style in Tools > Options >OpenOffice.org > View.

1 Open Styles andFormatting Window
2 Apply Style
3 Align Left
4 Centered

5 Align Right
6 Justified
7 Line Spacing: 1
8 Line Spacing: 1.5
9 Line Spacing: 2

10 Numbering On/Off
11 Bullets On/Off
12 Decrease Indent
13 Increase Indent
14 Paragraph format dialog

Figure 74: Formatting toolbar, showing icons for paragraphformatting.

Formatting characters
You can apply many formats to characters using the buttons on theFormatting toolbar. Figure 75 shows the Formatting toolbar as afloating toolbar, customized to show only the buttons for character
formatting.
The appearance of the icons may vary with your operating system andthe selection of icon size and style in Tools > Options >OpenOffice.org > View.

1 Open Styles and Formatting
Window
2 Apply Style
3 Font Name
4 Font Size
5 Bold6 Italic
7 Underline
8 Superscript
9 Subscript
10 Increase Font
11 Reduce Font

12 Font Color
13 Highlighting
14 Background Color
15 Open Character Format
DialogFigure 75: Formatting toolbar, showing icons for character formatting

Tip

To remove manual formatting, select the text and choose
Format > Default Formatting, or right-click and choose
Default Formatting.

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Autoformatting
You can set Writer to automatically format parts of a document
according to the choices made on the Options page of the AutoCorrect
dialog (Tools > AutoCorrect Options).
Tip

If you notice unexpected formatting changes occurring in yourdocument, this is the first place to look for the cause.

Some common unwanted or unexpected formatting changes include:• Horizontal lines. If you type three or more hyphens (---),

underscores (___) or equal signs (===) on a line and then press
Enter, the paragraph is replaced by a horizontal line as wide as
the page. The line is actually the lower border of the preceding
paragraph.
• Bulleted and numbered lists. A bulleted list is created when you
type a hyphen (-), star (*), or plus sign (+), followed by a space or
tab at the beginning of a paragraph. A numbered list is created
when you type a number followed by a period (.), followed by aspace or tab at the beginning of a paragraph. Automatic
numbering is only applied to paragraphs formatted with theDefault, Text body or Text body indent paragraph styles.
To turn autoformatting on or off, choose Format > AutoFormat andselect or deselect the items on the list.

Creating numbered or bulleted lists
There are several ways to create numbered or bulleted lists:• Use autoformatting, as described above.
• Use list (numbering) styles, as described in Chapters 6(Introduction to Styles) and 7 (Working with Styles) in the Writer
Guide.
• Use the Numbering and Bullets icons on the paragraphformatting toolbar (see Figure 74). This method is described here.
To produce a numbered or bulleted list, select the paragraphs in thelist, and then click the appropriate icon on the toolbar.
Note

It is a matter of personal preference whether you type yourinformation first, then apply Numbering/Bullets, or apply themas you type.

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Using the Bullets and Numbering toolbar
You can create nested lists (where one or more list items has a sublist
under it, as in an outline) by using the buttons on the Bullets andNumbering toolbar (Figure 76). You can move items up or down thelist, or create subpoints, and even change the style of bullets. Use
View > Toolbars > Bullets and Numbering to see the toolbar.
The appearance of the icons may vary with your operating system andthe selection of icon size and style in Tools > Options >OpenOffice.org > View.

1 Bullets On/Off
2 Numbering On/Off
3 Numbering Off
4 Up One Level
5 Down One Level

6 Move Up (One Level) with
Sub-points
7 Move Down (One Level) with
Sub-points
8 Insert Unnumbered Entry
9 Move Up

10 Move Down
11 Move Up in Sub-points
12 Move Down in Sub-points
13 Restart Numbering
14 Bullets and Numbering

Figure 76: Bullets and Numbering toolbar

Hyphenating words
You have several choices regarding hyphenation: let Writer do it
automatically (using its hyphenation dictionaries), insert conditional
hyphens manually where necessary, or don’t hyphenate at all.

Automatic hyphenation
To turn automatic hyphenation of words on or off:
1) Press F11 to open the Styles and Formatting window (Figure 77).

Figure 77: Modifying a style

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Chapter 4 Getting Started with Writer1072) On the Paragraph Styles page of the Styles and Formatting
window, right-click on Default in the list and select Modify.
3) On the Paragraph Style dialog, go to the Text Flow page (seeFigure 78).

Figure 78: Turning on automatic hyphenation
4) Under Hyphenation, select or deselect the Automatically option.
Click OK to save.

Note

Turning on hyphenation for the Default paragraph style affects
all other paragraph styles that are based on Default. You can
individually change other styles so that hyphenation is not
active; for example, you might not want headings to behyphenated. Any styles that are not based on Default are notaffected.

You can also set hyphenation choices through Tools > Options >Language Settings > Writing Aids. In Options, near the bottom of
the dialog, scroll down to the find the hyphenation settings (Figure 79).

Figure 79: Setting hyphenation options
To change the minimal number of characters for hyphenation, theminimum number of characters before a line break, or the minimum
number of characters after a line break, select the item, and then click
the Edit button in the Options section.
Hyphenation options set on the Writing Aids dialog are effective only if
hyphenation is turned on through paragraph styles.

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Manual hyphenation
To manually hyphenate words, do not use a normal hyphen, which willremain visible even if the word is no longer at the end of a line when
you add or delete text or change margins or font size. Instead, use aconditional hyphen, which is visible only when required.
To insert a conditional hyphen inside a word, click where you want thehyphen to appear and press Control+hyphen. The word will behyphenated at this position when it is at the end of the line, even if
automatic hyphenation for this paragraph is switched off.

Formatting pages
Writer provides several ways for you to control page layouts: pagestyles, columns, frames, tables, and sections. For more information, see
Chapter 4 (Formatting Pages) in the Writer Guide.

Tip

Page layout is usually easier if you show text, object, table, andsection boundaries in Tools > Options > OpenOffice.org >Appearance, and paragraph ends, tabs, breaks, and otheritems in Tools > Options > OpenOffice.org Writer >Formatting Aids.

Which layout method to choose?
The best layout method varies depending on what the final document
should look like and what sort of information will be in the document.
Here are some examples.
For a book similar to this user guide,with one column of text, some figures
without text beside them, and someother figures with descriptive text, usepage styles for basic layout, and tables
to place figures beside descriptive text
when necessary.

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For an index or other document withtwo columns of text, where the text
continues from the left-hand column to
the right-hand column and then to thenext page, all in sequence (also known
as “snaking columns” of text), use pagestyles (with two columns). If the title ofthe document (on the first page) is fullpage width, put it in a single-column
section.

For a newsletter with complex layout,
two or three columns on the page, andsome articles that continue from one
page to some place several pages later,
use page styles for basic layout. Place
articles in linked frames and anchor
graphics to fixed positions on the page
if necessary.

For a document with terms andtranslations to appear side-by-side inwhat appear to be columns, use a tableto keep items lined up, and so you cantype in both “columns”.

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Creating headers and footers
A header is an area that appears at the top of a page. A footer appears
at the bottom of the page. Information, such as page numbers inserted
into a header or footer, displays on every page of the document withthat page style.
To insert a header, choose Insert > Header > Default (or the pagestyle, if not Default).
Other information such as document titles and chapter titles is often
put into the header or footer. These items are best added as fields.
That way, if something changes, the headers and footers are updated
automatically. Here is one common example.
To insert the document title into the header:
1) Choose File > Properties > Description and type a title foryour document.
2) Add a header (Insert > Header > Default).
3) Place the cursor in the header part of the page.
4) Choose Insert > Fields > Title. The title should appear on agray background (which does not show when printed and can beturned off).
5) To change the title for the whole document, go back to File >Properties > Description.
Fields are covered in detail in Chapter 14 (Working with Fields) in the
Writer Guide.
For more about headers and footers, see Chapter 4 (Formatting Pages)
and Chapter 6 (Introduction to Styles) in the Writer Guide.

Numbering pages
To automatically number pages:
1) Insert a header or footer, as described in “Creating headers andfooters” on page 111.
2) Place the cursor in the header or footer where you want the page
number to appear and choose Insert > Fields > Page Number.

Including the total number of pages
To include the total number of pages (as in “page 1 of 12”):1) Type the word “page” and a space, then insert the page number
as above.

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2) Press the spacebar once, type the word “of” and a space, thenchoose Insert > Fields > Page Count.

Note

The Page Count field inserts the total number of pages in the
document, as shown on the Statistics tab of the document’s
Properties window (File > Properties). If you restart page
numbering anywhere in the document, then the total pagecount may not be what you want. See Chapter 4 (Formatting
Pages) in the Writer Guide for more information.

Restarting page numbering
Often you will want to restart the page numbering at 1, for example on
the page following a title page or a table of contents. In addition, many
documents have the “front matter” (such as the table of contents)
numbered with Roman numerals and the main body of the document
numbered in Arabic numerals, starting with 1.
You can restart page numbering in two ways.
Method 1:
1) Place the cursor in the first paragraph of the new page.
2) Choose Format > Paragraph.
3) On the Text Flow tab of the Paragraph dialog (Figure 78 on page108), select Breaks.
4) Select Insert and then With Page Style and specify the pagestyle to use.
5) Specify the page number to start from, and then click OK.

Tip

Method 1 is also useful for numbering the first page of adocument with a page number greater than 1. For example,
you may be writing a book, with each chapter in a separate
file. Chapter 1 may start with page 1, but Chapter 2 could
begin with page 25 and Chapter 3 with page 51.

Method 2:
1) Insert > Manual break.
2) By default, Page break is selected on the Insert Break dialog(Figure 80).
3) Choose the required page Style.
4) Select Change page number.
5) Specify the page number to start from, and then click OK.

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Figure 80: Restarting page numbering
after a manual page break

Changing page margins
You can change page margins in two ways:• Using the page rulers—quick and easy, but does not have finecontrol.
• Using the Page Style dialog—can specify margins to two decimal
places.

Note

If you change the margins using the rulers, the new margins
affect the page style and will be shown in the Page Style dialog
the next time you open it.
Because the page style is affected, the changed margins apply
to all pages using that style.

To change margins using the rulers:
1) The gray sections of the rulers are the margins (see Figure 81).
Put the mouse cursor over the line between the gray and white
sections. The pointer turns into a double-headed arrow.
2) Hold down the left mouse button and drag the mouse to move themargin.

Figure 81: Moving the margins

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Tip

The small arrows on the ruler are used for indenting
paragraphs. They are often in the same place as the pagemargins, so you need to be careful to move the margin marker,
not the arrows. Place the mouse pointer between the arrows
and, when the pointer turns into a double-headed arrow, you
can move the margin (the indent arrows will move with it).

To change margins using the Page Style dialog:
1) Right-click anywhere on the page and select Page from the popup menu.
2) On the Page tab of the dialog, type the required distances in the
Margins boxes.

Adding comments to a document
Authors and reviewers often use comments (formerly called “notes”) to
exchange ideas, ask for suggestions, or mark items needing attention.
To insert a comment in the text, place the cursor in the place thecomment refers to and choose Insert > comment or press
Ctrl+Alt+N. The anchor point of the comment is connected by a dottedline to a box on the right-hand side of the page where you can type thetext of the comment. Writer automatically adds at the bottom of thecomment the author’s name and a time stamp indicating when thecomment was created. Figure 82 shows an example of text with notesfrom two different authors.

Figure 82: Notes in OOo3

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Choose Tools > Options > User Data to configure the name you want
to appear in the Author field of the note, or to change it.
If more than one person edits the document, each author is
automatically allocated a different background color.
Right-clicking on a comment pops up a menu where you can delete thecurrent comment, all the comments from the same author, or all thecomments in the document. From this menu, you can also apply somebasic formatting to the text of the comment. You can also change thefont type, size, and alignment from the main menu.
To navigate from one comment to another, open the Navigator (F5),expand the Comments section, and click on the comment text to movethe cursor to the anchor point of the comment in the document. Rightclick on the comment to quickly edit or delete it.
You can also navigate the comments using the keyboard. Use
Ctrl+Alt+Page Down to move to the next comment andCtrl+Alt+Page Up to move to the previous comment.

Creating a table of contents
Writer’s table of contents feature lets you build an automated table ofcontents from the headings in your document. Before you start, makesure that the headings are styled consistently. For example, you can
use the Heading 1 style for chapter titles and the Heading 2 andHeading 3 styles for chapter subheadings.
Although tables of contents can be customized extensively in Writer,
often the default settings are all you need. Creating a quick table ofcontents is simple:
1) When you create your document, use the following paragraphstyles for different heading levels (such as chapter and section
headings): Heading 1, Heading 2, and Heading 3. These are what
will appear in your table of contents. You can use more levels ofheadings, but the default setting is to use only the first threelevels in the table of contents.
2) Place the cursor where you want the table of contents to beinserted.
3) Choose Insert > Indexes and Tables > Indexes and Tables.
4) Change nothing in the Insert Index/Table dialog. Click OK.
If you add or delete text (so that headings move to different pages) or
you add, delete, or change headings, you need to update the table ofcontents. To do this:Free eBook Edition

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1) Place the cursor within the table of contents.
2) Right-click and choose Update Index/Table from the pop-up
menu.

Note

If you cannot place your cursor in the table of contents, choose
Tools > Options > OpenOffice.org Writer > Formatting
Aids, and then select Enable in the Cursor in protectedareas section.

You can customize an existing table of contents at any time. Right-click
anywhere in it and choose Edit Index/Table from the pop-up menu.
Chapter 12 (Creating Tables of Contents, Indexes and Bibliographies)of the Writer Guide describes in detail all the customizations you canchoose.

Creating indexes and bibliographies
Indexes and bibliographies work in a similar way to tables of contents.
Chapter 12 (Creating Tables of Contents, Indexes and Bibliographies)
in the Writer Guide describes the process in detail.
In addition to alphabetical indexes, other types of indexes suppliedwith Writer include those for illustrations, tables, and objects, and you
can even create a user-defined index. For example, you might want an
index containing only the scientific names of species mentioned in thetext, and a separate index containing only the common names of
species. Before creating some types of indexes, you first need to create
index entries embedded in your Writer document.

Working with graphics
Graphics in Writer are of three basic types:• Image files, including photos, drawings, scanned images, andothers• Diagrams created using OOo’s drawing tools• Charts created using OOo’s Chart facility.
See Chapter 11 (Graphics, the Gallery, and Fontwork) in this book andChapter 8 (Working with Graphics) in the Writer Guide.

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Printing from Writer
Writer provides a range of choices when printing.

Quick printing
to send the entire document toClick the Print File Directly icon
the default printer defined for your computer.

Note

You can change the action of the Print File Directly icon tosend the document to the printer defined for the document
instead of the default printer for the computer. Go to Tools >Options > Load/Save > General and select the Loadprinter settings with the document option.

Controlling printing
For more control over printing, use File > Print to display the Print
dialog (Figure 83).

Figure 83. The Print dialog
On the Print dialog, you can choose:• Which printer to use (if more than one are installed on yoursystem) and the properties of the printer—for example, orientation (portrait or landscape), which paper tray to use, and what
paper size to print on. The properties available depend on theselected printer; consult the printer’s documentation for details.

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Chapter 4 Getting Started with Writer117• What pages to print, how many copies to print, and in what orderto print them. Use dashes to specify page ranges and commas or
semicolons to separate ranges; for example: 1, 5, 11–14, 34–40.
Selection is the highlighted part of a page or pages.
• What items to print. Click the Options button to display the
Printer Options dialog (Figure 84).

Figure 84. Printer Options dialog for Writer

Selecting print options for a document
Selections on the Printer Options dialog apply to this printing of thisdocument only.
To specify default printing options, you need to use two pages in Tools> Options > OpenOffice.org – Print and Tools > Options >OpenOffice.org Writer – Print (which looks very similar to thePrinter Options dialog). (See Chapter 2.)
Some items of interest on the Printer Options dialog include:• In the Contents section, you might choose not to print graphics or

page background in drafts, for example (to save toner or ink).
• In the Pages section, you can choose:–
Print only left (even-numbered) pages or only right (oddnumbered) pages. These settings are useful when you want toprint on both sides of the page, but do not have a printer that
handles this automatically.
–
Print in reversed page order.
–
Brochure—the results of this selection are discussed in“Printing a brochure” on page 120.

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• In the Comments section, you can choose whether to print any

comments that have been added to your document (using Insert> Comment), and where to print the comments.

Printing in black and white on a color printerYou may wish to print documents in black and white on a color printer,to save expensive color ink or toner. Common uses are for drafts or
documents to be photocopied in black and white. Several choices areavailable.
To print the current document in black and white or grayscale:1) Choose File > Print to open the Print dialog.
2) Click Properties to open the properties dialog for the printer.
The available choices vary from one printer to another, but you
should find an option for Color. See your printer’s help or user
manual for more information.
3) The choices for color may include black and white or grayscale.
Choose one of these. Grayscale is best if you have any graphics inthe document. Click OK to confirm your choice and return to thePrint dialog, then click OK again to print the document.
To set up OOo to print all color text and graphics as grayscale:1) Choose Tools > Options > OpenOffice.org > Print.
2) Select the Convert colors to grayscale option. Click OK to savethe change.
To set up OOo Writer to print all color text as black, and all graphics asgrayscale:1) Choose Tools > Options > OpenOffice.org Writer > Print.
2) Under Contents, select the Print black option. Click OK to savethe change.

Previewing pages before printing
The normal page view in Writer shows you what each page will look
like when printed, but it shows only one page at a time. If you aredesigning a document to be printed double-sided, you may want to see
what facing pages look like. OOo provides two ways to do this:• View Layout (editable view) —see “View layout” on page 90.
• Page Preview (read-only view) —from which you can print

multiple pages onto one sheet of paper.

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To use Page Preview:1) Choose File > Page Preview, or click the Page Preview button.
The Writer window changes to display the current page and thefollowing page, and shows the Page Preview toolbar in place of
the Formatting toolbar.

Figure 85. Page Preview toolbar
2) Click the Book Preview icon
to display left and right pages intheir correct orientation.
3) To print the document from this page view, click the Print pageview icon
to open the Print dialog. Choose your options andclick OK to print as usual.
4) To choose margins and other options for the printout, click thePrint options page view icon
dialog.

to display the Print Options

Figure 86. Print Options dialog

Printing a brochure
You can print a document with two pages on each side of a sheet ofpaper, arranged so that when the printed pages are folded in half, thepages are in the correct order to form a booklet or brochure.
To print a brochure on a single-sided printer:
1) Plan your document so it will look good when printed half size(choose appropriate margins, font sizes, and so on). Choose File

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> Print. In the Print dialog, click Properties and be sure theprinter is set to the same orientation (portrait or landscape) as
specified in the page setup for your document. (Usually theorientation does not matter, but it does for brochures.)2) Click Options. In the Pages section of the Printer Options dialog,choose Brochure and Right pages. Click OK twice to print thefirst side of each page.
3) Flip the pages and put them back into the printer, in the correctorientation to print on the blank side. You may need toexperiment a bit to find out what the correct arrangement is foryour printer.
4) Choose File > Print and check Properties to make sure theprinter setup is still correct.
5) Click Options again. In the Pages section of the Printer Options
dialog, choose Brochure and Left page. Click OK twice to print
the second sides.
6) If your printer can do double-sided, then click on the options for
Left pages, Right pages, and Brochure, and it should not only
do those but collate too.

Printing envelopes
Printing envelopes involves two steps: setup and printing.
To set up an envelope to be printed by itself or with your document:
1) Choose Insert > Envelope from the menu bar.
2) In the Envelope dialog, start with the Envelope tab (Figure 85).
Verify, add, or edit the information in the Addressee and Senderboxes (the “from” on the envelope).
You can type information directly into the Addressee and Senderboxes, or use the right-hand drop-down lists to select the
database or table from which you can draw the envelope
information, if desired. See Chapter 11 (Using Mail Merge) in the
Writer Guide for details on how to print envelopes from a
database.
3) On the Format page (Figure 73), verify or edit the positioning of
the addressee and the sender information. The preview area on
the lower right shows the effect of your positioning choices.
To format the text of these blocks, click the Edit buttons to theright. In the drop-down list you have two choices: Character andParagraph.

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•

•

In Character, you can choose Fonts (Sizes...), Fonts Effects(Underlining, Color...), Position (Rotating/scaling...),
Hyperlink, Background and more.
In Paragraph, you can choose Indents & Spacing, Alignment,
Text Flow, Tabs, Drop Caps, Borders and Backgrounds.

Figure 87. Choosing addressee and sender information

Figure 88. Choosing positioning and size of elements

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4) In the lower left of this page, choose the envelope format from thedrop-down list. The width and height of the selected envelope
then show in the boxes below the selected format. If you chose apre-existing format, just verify these sizes. If you chose User
defined in the Format list, then you can edit the sizes.
5) After formatting, go to the Printer page (Figure 89) to choose
printer options such as envelope orientation and shifting. You may
need to experiment a bit to see what works best for your printer.
You can also choose a different printer or alter printer setup (forexample, specify the tray that holds envelopes) for this print job.

Figure 89. Choosing printer options for an envelope
6) When you have finished formatting and are ready to print, click
either the New Doc or Insert button to finish. New Doc makes
only an envelope or starts a new document with the envelope.
Insert inserts the envelope into an existing document as page 1.
To not proceed with this envelope, click Cancel or press the Esc
key. You can also click Reset to remove your changes and returnto the original settings when the dialog opened.
7) When the Envelope dialog closes, you are returned to yourdocument, which now has the envelope in the same file as the
document. Save this file before you do anything else.
To print the envelope:1) Choose File > Print from the menu bar.
2) On the Print dialog, under Print range, choose Pages and type 1
in the box. Click OK to print.

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Printing labels
Labels are commonly used for printing address lists (where each labelshows a different address), but they can also be used for making
multiple copies of one label only, for example return-address stickers.
To print labels:
1) Choose File > New > Labels on the menu bar. The Labels dialog
opens.
2) On the Labels page, fill in your own label text in the Inscriptionbox, or use the Database and Table drop-down lists to choose therequired information, as described in Chapter 11 (Using Mail
Merge) in the Writer Guide.

Figure 90. Labels dialog, Labels page3) Select the label stock in the Brand drop-down list. The types forthat brand then appear in the Type drop-down list. Select the size
and type of labels required. You can also select User in the Typedrop-down list and then make specific selections on the Format
page.
4) On the Format page (Figure 91), choose the pitch, sizes, margins,
columns and rows for user-defined labels, or just verify with abrand of label stock you have loaded into the printer.

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Figure 91. Labels dialog, Format page5) Click Save to save your new format.
6) When you have finished formatting, click New Document tomake your sheet of labels or click Cancel (or press the Esc key).
You can also click Reset to remove your changes and return tothe original settings when the dialog opened. On the Options
page, choose to print the entire page of labels or one single label,then select which one by the column and row. You can alsochange printer setup.
7) You can print right away using the Print File Directly icon on
the toolbar or by choosing File > Print from the menu bar, or you
can save the file to print later.

Figure 92. Labels dialog, Options page

Sending a fax using Writer
To send a fax directly from OpenOffice.org, you need a fax modem anda fax driver that allows applications to communicate with the fax
modem.

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Sending a fax through the Print dialog
1) Open the Print dialog by choosing File > Print and select the fax
driver in the Name list.
2) Click OK to open the dialog for your fax driver, where you canselect the fax recipient.

Adding a Fax icon to the toolbar
You can configure OpenOffice.org so that a single click on an icon
automatically sends the current document as a fax. See Chapter 14(Customizing OpenOffice.org) for instructions.

Tracking changes to a document
You can use several methods to keep track of changes made to a
document.
1) Make your changes to a copy of the document (stored in adifferent folder, or under a different name, or both), then use
Writer to combine the two files and show the differences. Choose
Edit > Compare Document. This technique is particularly
useful if you are the only person working on the document, as it
avoids the increase in file size and complexity caused by the othermethods.
2) Save versions that are stored as part of the original file. However,this method can cause problems with documents of non-trivial
size or complexity, especially if you save a lot of versions. Avoid
this method if you can.
3) Use Writer’s change marks (often called “redlines” or “revisionmarks”) to show where you have added or deleted material, orchanged formatting. Choose Edit > Changes > Record. Later,
you or another person can review and accept or reject eachchange. Right-click on an individual change and choose Accept
Change or Reject Change from the pop-up menu, or choose
Edit > Changes > Accept or Reject to view the list of changes
and accept or reject them. Details are in the Writer Guide.
Tip

Not all changes are recorded. For example, changing a tabstop from align left to align right, and changes in formulas(equations) or linked graphics are not recorded.

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Using fields
Fields are extremely useful features of Writer. They are used for datathat changes in a document (such as the current date or the total
number of pages) and for inserting document properties such as name,author, and date of last update. Fields are the basis of crossreferencing (see below); automatic numbering of figures, tables,
headings, and other elements; and a wide range of other functions—far
too many to describe here. See Chapter 14 (Working with Fields) in the
Writer Guide for details.

Linking to another part of a document
If you type in cross-references to other parts of a document, thosereferences can easily get out of date if you reorganize the order of
topics, add or remove material, or reword a heading. Writer provides
two ways to ensure that your references are up to date, by inserting
links to other parts of the same document or to a different document:• Hyperlinks• Cross-references
The two methods have the same result if you Control+click the link
when the document is open in Writer: you are taken directly to thecross-referenced item. However, they also have major differences:• The text in a hyperlink does not automatically update if youchange the text of the linked item (although you can change it
manually), but changed text does automatically update in a crossreference.
• When using a hyperlink, you do not have a choice of the content
of the link (for example text or page number), but when using across-reference, you have several choices, including bookmarks.
• To hyperlink to an object such as a graphic, and have thehyperlink show useful text such as Figure 6, you need to either
give such an object a useful name instead of leaving it as thedefault name (“Graphics6”), or you need to use the Hyperlink
dialog to modify the visible text. In contrast, cross-references tofigures with captions automatically show useful text, and you
have a choice of several variations of the name.
• If you save a Writer document to HTML, hyperlinks remain active
but cross-references do not. (Both remain active when the
document is exported to PDF.)

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Using hyperlinks
The easiest way to insert a hyperlink to another part of the same
document is by using the Navigator:
1) Open the document containing the items you want to crossreference.
2) Open the Navigator (by clicking its icon, choosing View >Navigator, or pressing F5.
3) Click the arrow next to the Drag Mode icon, and choose Insert
as Hyperlink. (See Figure 93.)4) In the list at the bottom of the Navigator, select the document
containing the item that you want to cross-reference.
5) In the Navigator list, select the item that you want to insert as a
hyperlink.
6) Drag the item to where you want to insert the hyperlink in the
document. The name of the item is inserted in the document as anactive hyperlink.

Figure 93: Inserting a hyperlink using the Navigator
You can also use the Hyperlink dialog to insert and modify hyperlinks
within and between documents. See Chapter 12 (Creating Web Pages).

Using cross-references
If you type in references to other parts of the document, thosereferences can easily get out of date if you reword a heading, add or
remove figures, or reorganize topics. Replace any typed crossreferences with automatic ones and, when you update fields, all thereferences will update automatically to show the current wording or
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items, such as headings, bookmarks, figures, tables, and numbered
items such as steps in a procedure. You can also create your own
reference items; see “Setting References” in Chapter 14 (Working withFields) in the Writer Guide for instructions.
To insert a cross-reference to a heading, figure, bookmark, or otheritem:1) In your document, place the cursor where you want the crossreference to appear.
2) If the Fields dialog is not open, click Insert > Cross-reference.
On the Cross-references tab, in the Type list, select the type ofitem to be referenced (for example, Heading or Figure).

Figure 94: The Cross-references tab of the Fields dialog
You can leave this page open while you insert many crossreferences.
3) Click on the required item in the Selection list, which shows all
the items of the selected type. In the Format list, choose theformat required. Usually this will be Reference (to insert the fulltext of the heading or caption), Category and Number (to insert
the word “Figure” or “Table” and its number, but without thecaption text), Numbering (to insert only the figure or table
number, without the word “Figure” or “Table”), or Page (to insert
the number of the page the referenced text is on). Click Insert.

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Using bookmarks
Bookmarks are listed in the Navigator and can be accessed directlyfrom there with a single mouse click. You can cross-reference tobookmarks and create hyperlinks to bookmarks, as described above.
1) Select the text you want to bookmark. Click Insert > Bookmark.
2) On the Insert Bookmark dialog, the larger box lists any previously
defined bookmarks. Type a name for this bookmark in the top box,
and then click OK to save.

Figure 95: Inserting a bookmark

Using mail merge
Writer provides very useful features to create and print:• Multiple copies of a document to send to a list of different
recipients (form letters)• Mailing labels• Envelopes
All these facilities, though different in application, are based aroundthe concept of a registered data source (a spreadsheet or database
containing the name and address records and other information), fromwhich is derived the variable information necessary to their function.
Chapter 11 (Using Mail Merge) in the Writer Guide describes theprocess.

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Using master documents
Master documents are typically used for producing long documents
such as a book, a thesis, or a long report; or when different people are
writing different chapters or other parts of the full document, so you
don’t need to share files. A master document joins separate text
documents into one larger document, and unifies the formatting, tableof contents (TOC), bibliography, index, and other tables or lists.
Yes, master documents do work in Writer. However, until you become
familiar with them, you may think that master documents areunreliable or difficult to use. See Chapter 13 (Working with Master
Documents) in the Writer Guide.

Creating fill-in forms
A standard text document displays information: a letter, report, or
brochure, for example. Typically the reader may edit everything or
nothing in any way. A form has sections that are not to be edited, andother sections that are designed for the reader to make changes. For
example, a questionnaire has an introduction and questions (which do
not change) and spaces for the reader to enter answers.
Forms are used in three ways:• To create a simple document for the recipient to complete, suchas a questionnaire sent out to a group of people who fill it in andreturn it.
• To link into a database or data source and allow the user to enter
information. Someone taking orders might enter the informationfor each order into a database using a form.
• To view information held in a database or data source. A librarianmight call up information about books.
Writer offers several ways to fill information into a form, including
check boxes, option buttons, text boxes, pull-down lists and spinners.
See Chapter 15 (Using Forms in Writer) in the Writer Guide.

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5

Chapter
Getting Started with Calc
Using Spreadsheets in OpenOffice.org

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What is Calc?
Calc is the spreadsheet component of OpenOffice.org (OOo). You canenter data (usually numerical) in a spreadsheet and then manipulate
this data to produce certain results.
Alternatively you can enter data and then use Calc in a ‘What If...’manner by changing some of the data and observing the results
without having to retype the entire spreadsheet.
Other features provided by Calc include:• Functions, which can be used to create formulas to perform
•
•
•
•
•

complex calculations on data
Database functions, to arrange, store, and filter data
Dynamic charts: a wide range of 2D and 3D charts
Macros, for recording and executing repetitive tasks
Ability to open, edit, and save Microsoft Excel spreadsheets
Import and export of spreadsheets in multiple formats, including
HTML, CSV, PDF, and PostScript

Note

If you want to use macros written in Microsoft Excel using the
VBA macro code in OOo, you must first edit the code in the
OOo Basic IDE editor. See Chapter 13 (Getting Started with
Macros) in this book and Chapter 12 in the Calc Guide.

Spreadsheets, sheets and cells
Calc works with documents called spreadsheets. Spreadsheets consistof a number of individual sheets, each sheet containing cells arranged
in rows and columns. A particular cell is identified by its row number
and column letter.
Cells hold the individual elements—text, numbers, formulas, and so on—that make up the data to display and manipulate.
Each spreadsheet can have many sheets. and each sheet can have
many individual cells. In Calc 3.x, each sheet can have a maximum of
65,536 rows and a maximum of 1024 columns, for a total of over 67
million cells.

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Parts of the main Calc window
When Calc is started, the main window looks similar to Figure 96.

Figure 96. Parts of the Calc window

Title bar
The Title bar, located at the top, shows the name of the current
spreadsheet. When the spreadsheet is newly created, its name is
Untitled X, where X is a number. When you save a spreadsheet for the
first time, you are prompted to enter a name of your choice.

Menu bar
Under the Title bar is the Menu bar. When you choose one of themenus, a submenu appears with other options. You can modify the
Menu bar, as discussed in Chapter 14 (Customizing OpenOffice.org).

ToolbarsThree toolbars are located under the Menu bar by default: theStandard toolbar, the Formatting toolbar, and the Formula Bar.
The icons on these toolbars provide a wide range of common
commands and functions. You can also modify these toolbars, as
discussed in Chapter 14 (Customizing OpenOffice.org).

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In the Formatting toolbar, the three boxes on the left are the Apply
Style, Font Name, and Font Size lists (see Figure 97). They show thecurrent setting for the selected cell or area. (The Apply Style list may
not be visible by default.) Click the down-arrow to the right of each box
to open the list.

Figure 97. Apply Style, Font Name and Font Size boxes

Formula bar
On the left hand side of the Formula bar (see Figure 98) is a small text
box, called the Name Box, with a letter and number combination in it,such as D7. This combination, called the cell reference, is the column
letter and row number of the selected cell.

Figure 98. Formula Bar
To the right of the Name box are the the Function Wizard, Sum, andFunction buttons.
Clicking the Function Wizard button opens a dialog from which you
can search through a list of available functions This can be very useful
because it also shows how the functions are formatted.
In a spreadsheet the term function includes much more thanmathematical functions. See Chapter 7 in the Calc Guide.
The Sum button inserts a formula into the current cell that totals thenumbers in the cells above the current cell. If there are no numbers
above the current cell, then the cells to the left are placed in the Sum
formula.

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The Function button inserts an equals (=) sign into the selected celland the Input Line, thereby setting the cell ready to accept a formula.
When you enter new data into a cell, the Sum and Equals buttons
change to Cancel and Accept buttons.
The contents of the current cell (data, formula, or function) aredisplayed in the Input line, which forms the remainder of the FormulaBar. You can either edit the cell contents of the current cell here, or
you can do that in the current cell. To edit inside the Input line area,
click in the area, then type your changes. To edit within the current
cell, just double-click the cell.

Individual cells
The main section of the screen displays the individual cells in the formof a grid, with each cell being at the intersection of a column and arow.
At the top of the columns and at the left-hand end of the rows are aseries of gray boxes containing letters and numbers. These are thecolumn and row headers. The columns start at A and go on to the right,
and the rows start at 1 and go down.
These column and row headers form the cell references that appear in
the Sheet Area box on the Formula Bar (Figure 98). You can turn theseheaders off by selecting View > Column & Row Headers.

Sheet tabs
At the bottom of the grid of cells are the sheet tabs, which enable
access to each individual sheet. The visible (active) sheet has a whitetab.
Clicking on another sheet tab displays that sheet and its tab turns
white. You can also select multiple sheet tabs at once by holding down
the Control key while you click the names.

Status bar
At the very bottom of the Calc window is the status bar, which provides
information about the spreadsheet and convenient ways to quickly
change some of its features. Most of the fields are similar to those inother components of OOo; see Chapter 1 (Introducing OpenOffice.org)
in this book and Chapter 1 (Introducing Calc) in the Calc Guide.

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Figure 99: Left end of Calc status bar

Figure 100: Right end of Calc status bar

Starting new spreadsheets
A new spreadsheet can be opened from any component of OOo, forexample from Writer or Draw.
From the Start Center
Click the Spreadsheet icon.

From the Menu bar
Choose File > New > Spreadsheet.
From the toolbar
If a document is open in any component of OOo (for example,
Writer), you can use the New Document button
at the lefthand end of the Standard toolbar. If you already have a spreadsheet
open, clicking this button opens a new spreadsheet in a new window.
From any other component of OOo (for example, Writer), click the
down-arrow and choose spreadsheet.
From the keyboard
If you already have a spreadsheet open, you can press Control+N to
open a new spreadsheet in a new window.
From a template
Calc documents can also be created from templates. Follow theabove procedures, but instead of choosing Spreadsheet, choose
Templates and Documents. On the Templates and Documents
window, navigate to the appropriate folder and double-click on therequired template. A new spreadsheet, based on the selected
template, opens.

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Opening existing spreadsheets
You can open an existing spreadsheet from the Start Center or fromany component of OOo.
From the Start Center
Click the Open a document icon.

From the Menu bar
Choose File > Open.
From the toolbar
Click the Open buttonon the Standard toolbar.

From the keyboard
Press the key combination Control+O.
Each of these options displays the Open dialog, where you can locate
the spreadsheet that you want to open.

Tip

You can also use the Recent Documents list to open a
spreadsheet. This list is located on the File menu, directly
below Open. The list displays the last 10 files that were opened
in any of the OOo components.

Opening CSV files
Comma-separated-values (CSV) files are text files that contain the cell
contents of a single sheet. Each line in a CSV file represents a row in a
spreadsheet. Commas, semicolons, or other characters are used toseparate the cells. Text is put in quotation marks, numbers are written
without quotation marks.
To open a CSV file in Calc:
1) Choose File > Open.
2) Locate the CSV file that you want to open.
3) If the file has a *.csv extension, select the file and click Open.
4) If the file has another extension (for example, *.txt), select thefile, select Text CSV in the File type box (scroll down into the
spreadsheet section to find it) and then click Open.
5) On the Text Import dialog (Figure 101), select the Separator
options to divide the text in the file into columns.

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6) You can preview the layout of the imported data at the bottom of
the dialog. Right-click a column in the preview to set the format
or to hide the column.
7) If the CSV file uses a text delimiter character that is not in the
Text delimiter list, click in the box, and type the character.
8) Click OK to open the file.
CautionIf you do not select Text CSV as the file type when opening thefile, the document opens in Writer, not Calc.

Figure 101: Text Import dialog, with Comma (,) selected as theseparator and double quotation mark (“) as the text delimiter.

Saving spreadsheets
Spreadsheets can be saved in three ways.
From the menu bar
Choose File > Save (or Save All or Save As).

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From the toolbar
on the Function bar. If the file has been
Click the Save button
saved and no subsequent changes have been made, this button isgrayed-out and not clickable.
From the keyboard
Press the key combination Control+S.
If the spreadsheet has not been saved previously, then each of theseactions will open the Save As dialog. Here you can specify the
spreadsheet name and the location in which to save it.

Note

If the spreadsheet has been previously saved, then saving will
overwrite the existing copy without opening the Save As
dialog. If you want to save the spreadsheet in a different
location or with a different name, then select File > Save As.

Saving as a CSV file
To save a spreadsheet as a comma separate value (CSV) file:
1) Choose File > Save As.
2) In the File name box, type a name for the file.
3) In the File type list, select Text CSV and click Save.
You may see the message box shown below. Click Keep Current
Format.

4) In the Export of text files dialog (Figure 102), select the options
you want and then click OK.

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Figure 102: Choosing options when exporting to Text CSVNavigating within spreadsheets
Calc provides many ways to navigate within a spreadsheet from cell tocell and sheet to sheet. You can generally use whatever method you
prefer.

Going to a particular cell
Using the mouse
Place the mouse pointer over the cell and click.
Using a cell reference
Click on the little inverted black triangle just to the right of theName Box (Figure 98). The existing cell reference will behighlighted. Type the cell reference of the cell you want to go to andpress Enter. Or just click into the Name box, backspace over the
existing cell reference and type in the cell reference you want.
Using the Navigator
To open the Navigator, click its iconon the Standard toolbar, orpress F5, or choose View > Navigator on the Menu bar, or doubleclick on the Sheet Sequence Numberin the Status Bar.
Type the cell reference into the top two fields, labeled Column andRow, and press Enter. In Figure 103 the Navigator would select cell
A7.
You can dock the Navigator to either side of the main Calc windowor leave it floating. (To dock or float the Navigator, hold down theControl key and double-click in an empty area near the icons at thetop.)Free eBook Edition

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Figure 103: The Navigator in Calc
The Navigator displays lists of all the objects in a spreadsheet
document, grouped into categories. If an indicator (plus sign orarrow) appears next to a category, at least one object of this kindexists. To open a category and see the list of items, click on theindicator.
To hide the list of categories and show only the icons at the top, click
the Contents icon

. Click this icon again to show the list.

Moving from cell to cellIn the spreadsheet, one cell normally has a darker black border. This
black border indicates where the focus is (see Figure 104). If a groupof cells is selected, they have a highlight color (usually gray), with thefocus cell having a dark border.
Using the mouse
To move the focus using the mouse, simply move the mouse pointerto the cell where you want the focus to be and click the left mousebutton. This changes the focus to the new cell. This method is mostuseful when the two cells are a large distance apart.

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Figure 104. (Left) One selected cell and (right) a group of
selected cells
Using the Tab and Enter keys
• Pressing Enter or Shift+Enter moves the focus down or up,
respectively.
• Pressing Tab or Shift+Tab moves the focus right or left,
respectively.
Using the arrow keys
Pressing the arrow keys on the keyboard moves the focus in the
direction of the arrows.
Using Home, End, Page Up and Page Down
• Home moves the focus to the start of a row.
• End moves the focus to the column furthest to the right that
contains data.
• Page Down moves the display down one complete screen andPage Up moves the display up one complete screen.
• Combinations of Control and Alt with Home, End, Page Down,
Page Up, and the cursor keys move the focus of the current cell inother ways.
Tip

Holding down Alt+Cursor key resizes a cell.

Customizing the Enter key
You can customize the direction in which the Enter key moves thefocus, by selecting Tools > Options > OpenOffice.org Calc >General.
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left. Depending on the file being used or on the type of data being
entered, different directions can be useful.
The Enter key can also be used to switch into and out of editing mode.
Use the options under Input settings in Figure 105 to change the Enter
key settings.

Figure 105: Customizing the effect of the Enter key

Moving from sheet to sheet
Each sheet in a spreadsheet is independent of the others though they
can be linked with references from one sheet to another. There arethree ways to navigate between different sheets in a spreadsheet.
Using the keyboard
Pressing Control+PgDn moves one sheet to the right and pressing
Control+PgUp moves one sheet to the left.
Using the mouse
Clicking on one of the sheet tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet
selects that sheet.
If you have a lot of sheets, then some of the sheet tabs may be
hidden behind the horizontal scroll bar at the bottom of the screen.
If this is the case, then the four buttons at the left of the sheet tabs
can move the tabs into view. Figure 106 shows how to do this.
Notice that the sheets here are not numbered in order. Sheet
numbering is arbitrary—you can name a sheet as you wish.
Note

The sheet tab arrows that appear in Figure 106 only appear ifyou have some sheet tabs that can not be seen. Otherwise,
they will appear faded as in Figure 106.

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Move to the first sheet
Move left one sheet
Move right one sheet
Move to the last sheet
Sheet tabs

Figure 106. Sheet tab arrows

Selecting items in a sheet or spreadsheet
Selecting cells
Cells can be selected in a variety of combinations and quantities.
Single cell
Left-click in the cell. The result will look like the left side of Figure104. You can verify your selection by looking in the Name box.
Range of contiguous cells
A range of cells can be selected using the keyboard or the mouse.
To select a range of cells by dragging the mouse:
1) Click in a cell.
2) Press and hold down the left mouse button.
3) Move the mouse around the screen.
4) Once the desired block of cells is highlighted, release the left
mouse button.
To select a range of cells without dragging the mouse:
1) Click in the cell which is to be one corner of the range of cells.
2) Move the mouse to the opposite corner of the range of cells.
3) Hold down the Shift key and click.
To select a range of cells without using the mouse:
1) Select the cell that will be one of the corners in the range of cells.
2) While holding down the Shift key, use the cursor arrows to selectthe rest of the range.

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The result of any of these methods looks like the right side of Figure
104.

Tip

You can also directly select a range of cells using the Namebox. Click into the Name Box as described in “Using a cellreference” on page 141. To select a range of cells, enter thecell reference for the upper left hand cell, followed by a colon(:), and then the lower right hand cell reference. For example,
to select the range that would go from A3 to C6, you would
enter A3:C6.

Range of non-contiguous cells
1) Select the cell or range of cells using one of the methods above.
2) Move the mouse pointer to the start of the next range or singlecell.
3) Hold down the Control key and click or click-and-drag to select a
range.
4) Repeat as necessary.

Selecting columns and rows
Entire columns and rows can be selected very quickly in OOo.
Single column or row
To select a single column, click on the column identifier letter (seeFigure 96).
To select a single row, click on the row identifier number.
Multiple columns or rows
To select multiple columns or rows that are contiguous:
1) Click on the first column or row in the group.
2) Hold down the Shift key.
3) Click the last column or row in the group.
To select multiple columns or rows that are not contiguous:
1) Click on the first column or row in the group.
2) Hold down the Control key.
3) Click on all of the subsequent columns or rows while holding
down the Control key.
Entire sheet
To select the entire sheet, click on the small box between the A column
header and the 1 row header (see Figure 107).

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Select All

Figure 107. Select All box
You can also press Control+A to select the entire sheet.

Selecting sheets
You can select either one or multiple sheets. It can be advantageous toselect multiple sheets at times when you want to make changes tomany sheets at once.
Single sheet
Click on the sheet tab for the sheet you want to select. The active sheet
becomes white (see Figure 106).
Multiple contiguous sheets
To select multiple contiguous sheets:
1) Click on the sheet tab for the first sheet.
2) Move the mouse pointer over the last sheet tab.
3) Hold down the Shift key and click on the sheet tab.
All the tabs between these two sheets will turn white. Any actions thatyou perform will now affect all highlighted sheets.
Multiple non contiguous sheets
To select multiple non contiguous sheets:
1) Click on the sheet tab for the first sheet.
2) Move the mouse pointer over the second sheet tab.
3) Hold down the Control key and click on the sheet tab.
4) Repeat as necessary.
The selected tabs will turn white. Any actions that you perform will
now affect all highlighted sheets.
All sheets
Right-click any one of the sheet tabs and choose Select All Sheetsfrom the pop-up menu.

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Working with columns and rows
Inserting columns and rows
Columns and rows can be inserted individually or in groups,

Note

When you insert a single new column, it is inserted to the leftof the highlighted column. When you insert a single new row, it
is inserted above the highlighted row.
Cells in the new columns or rows are formatted like thecorresponding cells in the column or row before (or to the leftof) which the new column or row is inserted.

Single column or row
Using the Insert menu:
1) Select the column or rows where you want the new column or row
inserted.
2) Select either Insert > Columns or Insert > Rows.
Using the mouse:
1) Select the column or rows where you want the new column or row
inserted.
2) Right-click the header.
3) Select Insert Rows or Insert Columns.
Multiple columns or rows
Multiple columns or rows can be inserted at once rather than insertingthem one at a time.
1) Highlight the required number of columns or rows by holding
down the left mouse button on the first one and then dragging
across the required number of identifiers.
2) Proceed as for inserting a single column or row above.

Deleting columns and rows
Columns and rows can be deleted individually or in groups.
Single column or row
A single column or row can only be deleted by using the mouse:
1) Select the column or row to be deleted.
2) Right-click on the column or row header.
3) Select Delete Columns or Delete Rows from the pop-up menu.

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Multiple columns or rows
Multiple columns or rows can be deleted at once rather than deletingthem one at a time.
1) Highlight the required number of columns or rows by holding
down the left mouse button on the first one and then dragging
across the required number of identifiers.
2) Proceed as for deleting a single column or row above.

Working with sheets
Like any other Calc element, sheets can be inserted, deleted, andrenamed.

Inserting new sheets
There are several ways to insert a new sheet. The first step for all of
the methods is to select the sheets that the new sheet will be inserted
next to. Then any of the following options can be used.
• Chosse Insert > Sheet from the menu bar.
• Right-click on the sheet tab and select Insert Sheet.
• Click in an empty space at the end of the line of sheet tabs (seeFigure 108).
Click here to insert
a new sheet

Figure 108. Creating a new sheet
Each method will open the Insert Sheet dialog (Figure 109). Here you
can select whether the new sheet is to go before or after the selected
sheet and how many sheets you want to insert. If you are inserting only
one sheet, there is the opportunity to give the sheet a name.

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Figure 109. Insert Sheet dialog

Deleting sheets
Sheets can be deleted individually or in groups.
Single sheet
Right-click on the tab of the sheet you want to delete and selectDelete Sheet from the pop-up menu, or chose Edit > Sheet >Delete from the menu bar.
Multiple sheets
To delete multiple sheets, select them as described earlier, theneither right-click over one of the tabs and select Delete Sheet fromthe pop-up menu, or choose Edit > Sheet > Delete from the menubar.

Renaming sheets
The default name for the a new sheet is SheetX, where X is a number.
While this works for a small spreadsheet with only a few sheets, it
becomes awkward when there are many sheets.
To give a sheet a more meaningful name, you can:
• Enter the name in the Name box when you create the sheet, or• Right-click on a sheet tab and choose Rename Sheet from the
pop-up menu; replace the existing name with a better one.
• (New in OOo3.1) Double-click on a sheet tab to pop up the

Rename Sheet dialog.

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Note

Sheet names must start with either a letter or a number; othercharacters including spaces are not allowed. Apart from thefirst character of the sheet name, allowed characters areletters, numbers, spaces, and the underline character.
Attempting to rename a sheet with an invalid name willproduce an error message.

Viewing Calc
Using zoom
Use the zoom function to change the view to show more or fewer cells
in the window. For more about zoom, see Chapter 1 (Introducing
OpenOfice.org).

Freezing rows and columns
Freezing locks a number of rows at the top of a spreadsheet or anumber of columns on the left of a spreadsheet or both. Then whenscrolling around within the sheet, any frozen columns and rows remain
in view.
Figure 110 shows some frozen rows and columns. The heavier
horizontal line between rows 3 and 14 and the heavier vertical line
between columns C and H denote the frozen areas.. Rows 4 through 13
and columns D through G have been scrolled off the page. The first
three rows and columns remained because are frozen into place.

Figure 110. Frozen rows and columns

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You can set the freeze point at one row, one column, or both a row anda column as in Figure 110.
Freezing single rows or columns
1) Click on the header for the row below where you want the freezeor for the column to the right of where you want the freeze.
2) Choose Window > Freeze.
A dark line appears, indicating where the freeze is put.
Freezing a row and a column
1) Click into the cell that is immediately below the row you wantfrozen and immediately to the right of the column you wantfrozen.
2) Choose Window > Freeze.
Two lines appear on the screen, a horizontal line above this celland a vertical line to the left of this cell. Now as you scroll aroundthe screen, everything above and to the left of these lines willremain in view.
Unfreezing
To unfreeze rows or columns, choose Window > Freeze. The check
mark by Freeze will vanish.

Splitting the screen
Another way to change the view is by splitting the window, also known
as splitting the screen. The screen can be split either horizontally or
vertically or both. This allows you to have up to four portions of the
spreadsheet in view at any one time.
Why would you want to do this? Imagine you have a large spreadsheet
and one of the cells has a number in it which is used by three formulas
in other cells. Using the split screen technique, you can position thecell containing the number in one section and each of the cells withformulas in the other sections. Then you can change the number in thecell and watch how it affects each of the formulas.

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Figure 111. Split screen example

Splitting the screen horizontally
To split the screen horizontally:
1) Move the mouse pointer into the vertical scroll bar, on the righthand side of the screen, and place it over the small button at the
top with the black triangle.

Split screen bar

Figure 112. Split screen bar on vertical scroll bar2) Immediately above this button you will see a thick black line
(Figure 112). Move the mouse pointer over this line and it turns
into a line with two arrows (Figure 113).

Figure 113. Split screen bar onvertical scroll bar with cursor
3) Hold down the left mouse button. A gray line appears, running
across the page. Drag the mouse downwards and this line follows.
4) Release the mouse button and the screen splits into two views,
each with its own vertical scroll bar. You can scroll the upper andlower parts independently.

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Notice in Figure 111, the Beta and the A0 values are in the upper partof the window and other calculations are in the lower part. Thus you
can make changes to the Beta and A0 values and watch their affects on
the calculations in the lower half of the window.
Tip

You can also split the screen using a menu command. Click in acell immediately below and to the right of where you wish thescreen to be split, and choose Window > Split.

Splitting the screen vertically
To split the screen vertically:
1) Move the mouse pointer into the horizontal scroll bar at thebottom of the screen and place it over the small button on theright with the black triangle.

Split screen bar

Figure 114: Split bar on horizontal scroll bar2) Immediately to the right of this button is a thick black line (Figure114). Move the mouse pointer over this line and it turns into aline with two arrows.
3) Hold down the left mouse button and a gray line appears, runningup the page. Drag the mouse to the left and this line follows.
4) Release the mouse button and the screen is split into two views,
each with its own horizontal scroll bar. You can scroll the left andright parts of the window independently.

Removing split views
To remove a split view, do any of the following:• Double-click on each split line.
• Click on and drag the split lines back to their places at the ends ofthe scroll bars.
• Choose Window > Split to remove all split lines at the same time.

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Entering data using the keyboard
Most data entry in Calc can be accomplished using the keyboard.

Entering numbers
Click in the cell and type in the number using the number keys oneither the main keyboard or the numeric keypad.
To enter a negative number, either type a minus (–) sign in front of it or
enclose it in parentheses (brackets), like this: (1234).
By default, numbers are right-aligned and negative numbers have aleading minus symbol.

Entering text
Click in the cell and type the text. Text is left-aligned by default.

Entering numbers as text
If a number is entered in the format 01481, Calc will drop the leading
0. (Exception: see Tip below.) To preserve the leading zero, for example
for telephone area codes, type an apostrophe before the number, like
this: '01481.
The data is now regarded as text by Calc. Formulas and functions willtreat the entry like any other text entry, which typically results in it
being a zero in a formula, and being ignored in a function.

Tip

Numbers can have leading zeros and be regarded as numbers(as opposed to text) if the cell is formated appropriately. Rightclick on the cell and chose Format Cells > Numbers. Adjust
the leading zeros setting to add leading zeros to numbers.

Note

When using an apostrophe to allow a leading 0 to be displayed,
the apostrophe is not visible in the cell after the Enter key ispressed—if the apostrophe is a plain apostrophe (not a “smart
quote” apostrophe). If “smart quotes” are selected for
apostrophes, the apostrophe remains visible in the cell.
To choose the type of apostrophe, use Tools > AutoCorrect >Custom Quotes. The selection of the apostrophe type affects
both Calc and Writer.

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Caution

When a number is formatted as text, take care that the cell
containing the number is not used in a formula because Calc
will ignore the value.

Entering dates and times
Select the cell and type the date or time. You can separate the dateelements with a slant (/) or a hyphen (–) or use text such as 10 Oct 03.
Calc recognizes a variety of date formats. You can separate timeelements with colons such as 10:43:45.

Deactivating automatic changes
Calc automatically applies many changes during data input, unless you
deactivate those changes. You can also immediately undo any
automatic changes with Ctrl+Z.
AutoCorrect changes
Automatic correction of typing errors, replacement of straightquotation marks by curly (custom) quotes, and starting cell content
with an uppercase (capital letter) are controlled by Tools >AutoCorrect Options. Go to the Custom Quotes, Options, orReplace tabs to deactivate any of the features that you do not want.
On the Replace tab, you can also delete unwanted word pairs andadd new ones as required.
AutoInput
When you are typing in a cell, Calc automatically suggests matching
input found in the same column. To turn the AutoInput on and off,
set or remove the check mark in front of Tools > Cell Contents >AutoInput.
Automatic date conversion
Calc automatically converts certain entries to dates. To ensure thatan entry that looks like a date is interpreted as text, type anapostrophe at the beginning of the entry. The apostrophe is not
displayed in the cell.

Speeding up data entry
Entering data into a spreadsheet can be very labor-intensive, but Calcprovides several tools for removing some of the drudgery from input.

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The most basic ability is to drop and drag the contents of one cell toanother with a mouse. However, Calc also includes several other tools
for automating input, especially of repetitive material. They include theFill tool, selection lists, and the ability to input information into
multiple sheets of the same document.

Using the Fill tool on cells
At its simplest, the Fill tool is a way to duplicate existing content. Start
by selecting the cell to copy, then drag the mouse in any direction (orhold down the Shift key and click in the last cell you want to fill), andthen choose Edit > Fill and the direction in which you want to copy:
Up, Down, Left or Right.
CautionTip

Choices that are not available are grayed out, but you can stillchoose the opposite direction from what you intend, which
could cause you to overwrite cells accidentally.
A shortcut way to fill cells is to grab the “handle” in the lower
right-hand corner of the cell and drag it in the direction you
want to fill. If the cell contains a number, the number will fill inseries. If the cell contains text, the same text will fill in the
direction you chose.

Figure 115: Using the Fill tool

Using a fill series
A more complex use of the Fill tool is to use a fill series. The default
lists are for the full and abbreviated days of the week and the monthsof the year, but you can create your own lists as well.
To add a fill series to a spreadsheet, select the cells to fill, choose Edit
> Fill > Series. In the Fill Series dialog, select AutoFill as the Series

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type, and enter as the Start value an item from any defined series. The
selected cells then fill in the other items on the list sequentially,
repeating from the top of the list when they reach the end of the list.

Figure 116: Specifying the start of a fill series (result is in Figure 115)

Figure 117: Result of fill series
selection shown in Figure 116
You can also use Edit > Fill > Series to create a one-time fill series
for numbers by entering the start and end values and the increment.
For example, if you entered start and end values of 1 and 7 with anincrement of 2, you would get the sequence of 1, 3, 5, 7.
In all these cases, the Fill tool creates only a momentary connection
between the cells. Once they are filled, the cells have no further
connection with one another.

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Defining a fill series
To define a fill series, go to Tools > Options > OpenOffice.org Calc
> Sort Lists. This dialog shows the previously-defined series in the
Lists box on the left, and the contents of the highlighted list in the
Entries box.

Figure 118: Predefined fill series
Click New. The Entries box is cleared. Type the series for the new listin the Entries box (one entry per line), and then click Add.

Figure 119: Defining a new fill series

Using selection lists
Selection lists are available only for text, and arelimited to using only text that has already been enteredin the same column.
To use a selection list, select a blank cell and press
Ctrl+D. A drop-down list appears of any cell in the same
column that either has at least one text character orwhose format is defined as Text. Click on the entry you
require.

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Sharing content between sheets
You might want to enter the same information in the same cell on
multiple sheets, for example to set up standard listings for a group ofindividuals or organizations. Instead of entering the list on each sheet
individually, you can enter it in all the sheets at once. To do this, selectall the sheets (Edit > Sheet > Select), then enter the information in
the current one.
CautionThis technique overwrites any information that is already inthe cells on the other sheets—without any warning. For thisreason, when you are finished, be sure to deselect all the
sheets except the one you want to edit. (Ctrl+click on a sheet
tab to select or deselect the sheet.)

Validating cell contents
When creating spreadsheets for other people to use, you may want tomake sure they enter data that is valid or appropriate for the cell. You
can also use validity in your own work as a guide to entering data thatis either complex or rarely used.
Fill series and selection lists can handle some types of data, but they
are limited to predefined information. For a more general case, you canselect a cell and use Data > Validity to define the type of contents
that can be entered in that cell. For example, a cell might require adate or a whole number, with no alphabetic characters or decimal
points; or a cell may not be blank.
Depending on how validity is set up, the tool can also define the rangeof contents that can be entered and provide help messages that explain
the content rules you have set up for the cell and what users should dowhen they enter invalid content. You can also set the cell to refuse
invalid content, accept it with a warning, or start a macro when anerror is entered.
See Chapter 2 in the Calc Guide for more information.

Editing data
Editing data is done is in much the same way as it is entered. The firststep is selecting the cell containing the data to be edited.

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Removing data from a cell
Data can be removed (deleted) from a cell in several ways.
Removing data only
The data alone can be removed from a cell without removing any of
the formatting of the cell. Click in the cell to select it, and then press
the Backspace key.
Removing data and formatting
The data and the formatting can be removed from a cell at the sametime. Press the Delete key (or right-click and choose Delete
Contents, or use Edit > Delete Contents) to open the Delete
Contents dialog (Figure 120). From this dialog, the different
aspects of the cell can be deleted. To delete everything in a cell(contents and format), check Delete all.

Figure 120: Delete Contents dialog

Replacing all the data in a cell
To remove data and insert new data, simply type over the old data. The
new data will retain the original formatting.

Changing part of the data in a cell
Sometimes it is necessary to change the contents of cell without
removing all of the contents, for example if the phrase “See Dick run”
is in a cell and it needs to be changed to “See Dick run fast.” It is often
useful to do this without deleting the old cell contents first.

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The process is the similar to the one described above, but you need toplace the cursor inside the cell. You can do this in two ways.
Using the keyboard
After selecting the appropriate cell, press the F2 key and the cursor
is placed at the end of the cell. Then use the keyboard arrow keys tomove the cursor through the text in the cell.
Using the mouse
Using the mouse, either double-click on the appropriate cell (toselect it and place the cursor in it for editing), or single-click to
select the cell and then move the mouse pointer up to the input line
and click into it to place the cursor for editing.

Formatting data
The data in Calc can be formatting in several ways. It can either beedited as part of a cell style so that it is automatically applied, or it canbe applied manually to the cell. Some manual formatting can beapplied using toolbar icons. For more control and extra options, selectthe appropriate cell or cells, right-click on it, and select Format Cells.
All of the format options are discussed below.
Note

All the settings discussed in this section can also be set as apart of the cell style. See Chapter 4 (Using Styles andTemplates) in the Calc Guide for more information.

Formatting multiple lines of text
Multiple lines of text can be entered into a single cell using automatic
wrapping or manual line breaks. Each method is useful for different
situations.

Using automatic wrapping
To set text to wrap at the end of the cell, right-click on the cell andselect Format Cells (or choose Format > Cells from the menu bar, orpress Ctrl+1). On the Alignment tab (Figure 121), under Properties,
select Wrap text automatically. The results are shown in Figure 122.

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Figure 121: Format Cells > Alignment dialog

Figure 122: Automatic text wrap

Using manual line breaks
To insert a manual line break while typing in a cell, press Ctrl+Enter.
This method does not work with the cursor in the input line. Whenediting text, first double-click the cell, then single-click at the position
where you want the line break.
When a manual line break is entered, the cell width does not change.
Figure 123 shows the results of using two manual line breaks after the
first line of text.

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Figure 123: Cell with manual line breaks

Shrinking text to fit the cell
The font size of the data in a cell can automatically adjust to fit in acell. To do this, select the Shrink to fit cell size option in the Format
Cells dialog (Figure 121). Figure Figure 124 shows the results.

Figure 124: Shrinking font size to fit cells

Formatting numbers
Several number formats can be applied to cells by using icons on theFormatting toolbar. Select the cell, then click the relevant icon.

Figure 125: Number format icons. Left to right: currency, percentage,date, exponential, standard, add decimal place, delete decimal place.
For more control or to select other number formats, use the Numberstab (Figure 126) of the Format Cells dialog.
• Apply any of the data types in the Category list to the data.
• Control the number of decimal places and leading zeros.
• Enter a custom format code.

The Language setting controls the local settings for the different
formats such as the date order and the currency marker.

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Figure 126: Format Cells > Numbers

Formatting the font
To quickly choose the font used in a cell, select the cell, then click thearrow next to the Font Name box on the Formatting toolbar and choose
a font from the list.

Tip

To choose whether to show the font names in their font or inplain text, go to Tools > Options > OpenOffice.org > View
and select or deselect the Show preview of fonts option in the
Font Lists section. For more information, see Chapter 14(Setting Up and Customizing Calc) of the Calc Guide.

To choose the size of the font, click the arrow next
to the Font Size box on the Formatting toolbar. For
other formatting, you can use the Bold, Italic, orUnderline icons.
To choose a font color, click the arrow next to the
Font Color icon to display a color palette. Click on
the required color.
(To define custom colors, use Tools > Options >OpenOffice.org > Colors. See Chapter 2.)

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To specify the language of the cell (useful because it allows different
languages to exist in the same document and be spell checked
correctly), use the Font tab of the Format Cells dialog. Use the Font
Effects tab to set other font characteristics. See Chapter 4 of the Calc
Guide for more information.

Formatting the cell borders
To quickly choose a line style and color for the borders of a cell, click
the small arrows next to the Line Style and Line Color icons on theFormatting toolbar. In each case, a palette of choices is displayed.
For more control, including the spacing between the cell borders andthe text, use the Borders tab of the Format Cells dialog. There you canalso define a shadow. See Chapter 4 of the Calc Guide for details.

Note

The cell border properties apply to a cell, and can only bechanged if you are editing that cell. For example, if cell C3 has
a top border (which would be equivalent visually to a bottom
border on C2), that border can only be removed by selecting
C3. It cannot be removed in C2.

Formatting the cell backgroundTo quickly choose a background color for a cell, click the small arrownext to the Background Color icon on the Formatting toolbar. A paletteof color choices, similar to the Font Color palette, is displayed.
(To define custom colors, use Tools > Options > OpenOffice.org >Colors. See Chapter 2 for more information.)
You can also use the Background tab of the Format Cells dialog. See
Chapter 4 of the Calc Guide for details.

Autoformatting cells and sheets
You can use the AutoFormat feature to quickly apply a set of cell
formats to a sheet or a selected cell range.
1) Select the cells, including the column and row headers, that you
want to format.
2) Choose Format > AutoFormat.
Note

If the selected cell range does not have column and row
headers, AutoFormat is not available.

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Figure 127: Choosing an AutoFormat
3) To select which properties (number format, font, alignment,borders, pattern, autofit width and height) to include in an
AutoFormat, click More. Select or deselect the required options.
4) Click OK.
If you do not see any change in color of the cell contents, choose View
> Value Highlighting from the menu bar.

Defining a new AutoFormat
You can define a new AutoFormat that is available to all spreadsheets.
1) Format a sheet.
2) Choose Edit > Select All.
3) Choose Format > AutoFormat. The Add button is now active.
4) Click Add.
5) In the Name box of the Add AutoFormat dialog, type a meaningful
name for the new format.
6) Click OK to save. The new format is now available in the Format
list in the AutoFormat dialog.

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Formatting spreadsheets using themes
Calc comes with a predefined set of formatting themes that you canapply to your spreadsheets.
It is not possible to add themes to Calc, and they cannot be modified.
However, you can modify their styles after you apply them to a
spreadsheet.
To apply a theme to a spreadsheet:
1) Click the Choose Themes icon in the Tools toolbar. If this toolbar
is not visible, you can show it using View > Toolbars > Tools.
The Theme Selection dialog appears. This dialog lists theavailable themes for the whole spreadsheet.

2) In the Theme Selection dialog, select the theme that you want toapply to the spreadsheet.
As soon as you select a theme, some of the properties of thecustom styles are applied to the open spreadsheet and are
immediately visible.
3) Click OK. If you wish, you can now go to the Styles andFormatting window to modify specific styles. These modifications
do not change the theme; they only change the appearance of thisspreadsheet document.

Using conditional formatting
You can set up cell formats to change depending on conditions that you
specify. For example, in a table of numbers, you can show all the values
above the average in green and all those below the average in red.
Conditional formatting depends upon the use of styles, and the
AutoCalculate feature (Tools > Cell Contents > AutoCalculate)must be enabled. See Chapter 2 in the Calc Guide for details.

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Hiding and showing data
When elements are hidden, they are neither visible nor printed, but
can still be selected for copying if you select the elements aroundthem. For example, if column B is hidden, it is copied when you selectcolumns A and C. When you need a hidden element again, you canreverse the process, and show the element.
To hide or show sheets, rows, and columns, use the options on theFormat menu or the right-click (context) menu. For example, to hide arow, first select the row, and then choose Format > Row > Hide (orright-click and choose Hide).
To hide or show selected cells, choose Format > Cells from the menubar (or right-click and choose Format Cells). On the Format Cells
dialog, go to the Cell Protection tab.

Figure 128: Hiding or showing cells

Outline group controls
If you are continually hiding and showing the same cells, you cansimplify the process by creating outline groups, which add a set ofcontrols for hiding and showing the cells in the group that are quick to
use and always available.
If the contents of cells falls into a regular pattern, such as four cells
followed by a total, then you can use Data > Group and Outline >AutoOutline to have Calc add outline controls based on the pattern.
Otherwise, you can set outline groups manually by selecting the cells
for grouping, then choosing Data > Group and Outline > Group. On
the Group dialog, you can choose whether to group the selected cellsby rows or columns.

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When you close the dialog, the outline group controls are visible
between either the row or column headers and the edges of the editing
window. The controls resemble the tree-structure of a file-manager inappearance, and can be hidden by selecting Data > Outline > Hide
Details. They are strictly for on screen use, and do not print.
The basic outline controls have plus or minus signs at the start of thegroup to show or hide hidden cells. However, if one or more outline
group is nested in another, the controls have numbered buttons forhiding different levels of group.
If you no longer need a group, place the mouse cursor in any cell in it
and select Data > Group and Outline > Ungroup. To remove allgroups on a sheet, select Data > Group and Outline > Remove.

Figure 129: Outline group controls

Filtering which cells are visible
A filter is a list of conditions that each entry has to meet in order to be
displayed. You can set three types of filters from the Data > Filter
sub-menu.
Automatic filters add a drop-down list to the top row of a column that
contains commonly used filters. They are quick and convenient, and,because the condition includes every unique entry in the selected cells,
are almost as useful with text as with numbers.
In addition to each unique entry, automatic filters include the option todisplay all entries, the ten highest numerical values, and all cells thatare empty or not-empty, as well as a standard filter. Their drawback isthat they are somewhat limited. In particular, they do not allow regularexpressions, so you cannot display contents that are similar, but not
identical, by using automatic filters.
Standard filters are more complex than automatic filters. You can set
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operators AND and OR. Standard filters are mostly useful for numbers,
although a few of the conditional operators, such as = and < > canalso be useful for text.
Other conditional operators for standard filters include options todisplay the largest or smallest values, or a percentage of them. Usefulin themselves, standard filters take on added value when used tofurther refine automatic filters.
Advanced filters are structured similarly to standard filters. The
differences are that advanced filters are not limited to three
conditions, and their criteria are not entered in a dialog. Instead,advanced filters are entered in a blank area of a sheet, then referenced
by the advanced filter tool to apply them.

Sorting records
Sorting arranges the visible cells on the sheet. In Calc, you can sort by
up to three criteria, with each criterion applied one after the other.
Sorts are handy when you are searching for a particular item, andbecome even more powerful after you have filtered data.
In addition, sorting is often useful when you add new information.
When a list is long, it is usually easier to add new information at thebottom of the sheet, rather than adding rows in the proper places.
After you have added information, you can then sort it to update thesheet.
You can sort by highlighting the cells to be sorted, then selecting Data
> Sort. The selected cells can be sorted by the order of information in
up to three columns or rows, in either ascending (A-Z, 1-9) ordescending (Z-A, 9-1) order.
On the Options tab of the Sort dialog, you can choose the following
options:
Case sensitive
If two entries are otherwise identical, one with an upper case letteris placed before one with a lower case letter in the same position.
Range contains column labels
Does not include the column heading in the sort.
Include formats
A cell's formatting is moved with its contents. If formatting is used
to distinguish different types of cells, then use this option.

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Copy sort results to
Sets a spreadsheet address to which to copy the sort results. If a
range is specified that does not have the necessary number of cells,
then cells are added. If a range contains cells that already havecontent, then the sort fails.
Custom sort order
Select the box, then choose one of the sort orders defined in Tools >Options > Spreadsheet > Sort Lists from the drop-down list.
Direction
Sets whether rows or columns are sorted. The default is to sort bycolumns unless the selected cells are in a single column.

Printing
Printing from Calc is the same as printing from other OOo components(see Chapter 10), but some details are different, especially regarding
preparation for printing.
The Print dialog (Figure 125), reached from File > Print, has someCalc-specific options: which sheets to print.

Figure 130. Part of the Print dialog
The Printer Options dialog (reached by clicking the Options button on
the bottom left of the Print dialog) has only two choices, as shown in
Figure 119: Suppress output of empty pages and Print only
selected sheets.

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Figure 131. Top of the Printer Options dialog

Selecting sheets to print
You can select one or more sheets for printing. This can be useful if
you have a large spreadsheet with multiple sheets and only want toprint certain sheets. For example, an accountant might record costs
over time with one sheet for each month. To print the November andDecember sheets, follow this procedure:
1) Go to the November sheet. Hold down the Control key and clickon the tab of the December sheet.
2) To print all of the sheets, go to File > Print and select Options.
Note

The Options button is different from the Properties button.
Properties deals with the settings of the printer, whereas
Options deals with OOo’s settings.

3) Select Print only selected sheets. This choice affects the print
preview, export, and printing of your spreadsheet. Click OK.
CautionIf you keep the selected sheets selected, when you enter dataon one sheet, you enter data on all sheets at the same time.
This might not be what you want.

Selecting the page order, details, and scale
To select the page order, details, and scale to be printed:
1) Select Format > Page from the main menu.
2) Select the Sheet tab (Figure 118).
3) Make your selections, and then click OK.
Page Order
You can set the order in which pages print. This is especially useful in alarge document; for example, controlling the print order can save time
if you have to collate the document a certain way.

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Where a sheet prints on more than one page of paper, it can be printed
either by column, where the first column of pages prints, and then thesecond column and so on, or by row as shown in the graphic on the top
right of the dialog shown in Figure 132.

Figure 132. The Sheet tab of the Page Style dialog
Print
You can specify which details to print. Those details include:• Row and column headers• Sheet grid—prints the borders of the cells as a grid
• Notes—prints the notes defined in your spreadsheet on a separate
page, along with the corresponding cell reference• Objects and graphics• Charts• Drawing objects• Formulas—prints the formulas contained in the cells, instead of
the results• Zero Values—prints cells with a zero value

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Note

Remember that since the print detail options are a part of thepage’s properties, they are also a part of the page style’s
properties. Therefore, different page styles can be set up to
quickly change the print properties of the sheets in the
spreadsheet.

Scale
Use the scale features to control the number of pages the data will
print on. This can be useful if a large amount of data needs to beprinted more compactly or, if the reader has poor eyesight, text can beenlarged when it prints.
• Reduce/Enlarge printout—scales the data in the printout either
larger or smaller. For example if a sheet would normally print out
as four pages (two high and two wide), a scaling of 50% would
print as one page (both width and height are halved).
• Fit print range(s) on number of pages—defines exactly how many
pages the printout will take up. This option will only reduce a
printout, it will not enlarge it. To enlarge a printout, thereduce/enlarge option must be used.
• Fit print range(s) to width/height—defines how high and wide theprintout will be, in pages.

Using print ranges
Print ranges have several uses, including printing only a specific partof the data or printing selected rows or columns on every page. For
more about using print ranges, see Chapter 6 (Printing, Exporting, andE-mailing) in the Calc Guide.

Defining a print range
To define a new print range or modify an existing print range:
1) Highlight the range of cells that comprise the print range.
2) Choose Format > Print Ranges > Define.
The page break lines display on the screen.
Tip

You can check the print range by using File > Page Preview.
OOo will only display the cells in the print range.

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Adding to the print range
After defining a print range, you can add more cells to it. This allows
multiple, separate areas of the same sheet to be printed, while notprinting the whole sheet. After you have defined a print range:
1) Highlight the range of cells to be added to the print range.
2) Choose Format > Print Ranges > Add. This adds the extra cells
to the print range.
The page break lines no longer display on the screen.
Note

The additional print range will print as a separate page, even if
both ranges are on the same sheet.

Removing a print range
It may become necessary to remove a defined print range, for example
if the whole sheet needs to be printed later.
Choose Format > Print Ranges > Remove. This removes all defined
print ranges on the sheet. After the print range is removed, the default
page break lines will appear on the screen.

Editing a print range
At any time, you can directly edit the print range, for example toremove or resize part of the print range. Choose Format > Print
Ranges > Edit. See Chapter 2 of the Calc Guide for details.

Printing rows or columns on every pageIf a sheet is printed on multiple pages, you can set up certain rows orcolumns to repeat on each printed page.
For example, if the top two rows of the sheet as well as column A need
to be printed on all pages, do the following:
1) Choose Format > Print Ranges > Edit. On the Edit Print
Ranges dialog, type the rows in the text entry box under Rows to
repeat. For example, to repeat rows 1 and 2, type $1:$2. In the
Rows to repeat list, - none - changes to - user defined -.

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Figure 133: Specifying repeating rows2) Columns can also repeat; type the columns in the text entry box
under Columns to repeat. For example, to repeat column A, type
$A. In the Columns to repeat list, - none - changes to- user defined -.
3) Click OK.
Note

You do not need to select the entire range of the rows to berepeated; selecting one cell in each row works.

Page breaks
While defining a print range can be a powerful tool, it may sometimes
be necessary to manually tweak Calc’s printout. To do this, you can use
a manual break. A manual break helps to ensure that your data prints
properly. You can insert a horizontal page break above, or a verticalpage break to the left of, the active cell.

Inserting a page break
To insert a page break:1) Navigate to the cell where the page break will begin.
2) Select Insert > Manual Break.
3) Select Row Break or Column Break depending on your need.
The break is now set.
Row breakSelecting Row Break creates a page break above the selected cell.
For example, if the active cell is H15, then the break is createdbetween rows 14 and 15.

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Column break
Selecting Column Break creates a page break to the left of theselected cell. For example, if the active cell is H15, then the break iscreated between columns G and H.
Tip

To see page break lines more easily on screen, you can change
their color. Choose Tools > Options > OpenOffice.org >Appearance and scroll down to the Spreadsheet section.

Deleting a page breakTo remove a page break:1) Navigate to a cell that is next to the break you want to remove.
2) Select Edit > Delete Manual Break.
3) Select Row Break or Column Break depending on your need.
The break is now removed.

Note

Multiple manual row and column breaks can exist on the same
page. When you want to remove them, you have to remove
each one individually. This may be confusing at times, because
although there may be a column break set on the page, when
you go to Edit > Manual Break, Column break may begrayed out.
In order to remove the break, you have to be in the cell next tothe break. So, for example, if you set the column break while
you are in H15, you can not remove it if you are in cell D15.
However, you can remove it from any cell in column H.

Headers and footers
Headers and footers are predefined pieces of text that are printed at
the top or bottom of a sheet outside of the sheet area. They are set thesame way.
Headers and footers are assigned to a page style. You can define morethan one page style for a spreadsheet and assign different page styles
to different sheets. For more about page styles, see Chapter 4 (Using
Styles and Templates) in the Calc Guide.
To set a header or footer:1) Navigate to the sheet that you want to set the header or footer
for. Select Format > Page.
2) Select the Header (or Footer) tab. See Figure 134.
3) Select the Header on option.

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From here you can also set the margins, the spacing, and height for
the header or footer. You can check the AutoFit height box to havethe height of the header or footer automatically adjust.
MarginChanging the size of the left or right margin adjusts how far theheader or footer is from the side of the page.
Spacing
Spacing affects how far above or below the sheet the header orfooter will print. So, if spacing is set to 1.00", then there will be 1
inch between the header or footer and the sheet.
HeightHeight affects how big the header or footer will be.

Figure 134: Header dialog

Header or footer appearance
To change the appearance of the header or footer, click More.
From this dialog (Figure 135) you can set the background and borderof the header or footer.

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Figure 135: Header/Footer Border/BackgroundContents of the header or footer
The header or footer of a Calc spreadsheet has three columns for text.
Each column can have different contents.
To set the contents of the header or footer, click the Edit button in theheader or footer dialog shown in Figure 134 to display the dialog
shown in Figure 136.

Figure 136: Edit contents of header or footer

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AreasEach area is independent and can have different information in it.
HeaderYou can select from several preset choices in the Header drop-down
list, or specify a custom header using the buttons below. (If you areformatting a footer, the choices are the same.)
Custom header
Click in the area (Left, Center, Right) that you want to customize,then use the buttons to add elements or change text attributes.
Opens the Text Attributes dialog.
Inserts the total number of pages.
Inserts the File Name field.
Inserts the Date field.
Inserts the Sheet Name field.
Inserts the Time field.
Inserts the current page number.

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6

Chapter
Getting Started with
Impress
Presentations in OpenOffice.org

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What is Impress?
Impress is OpenOffice.org’s slide show (presentations) program. You
can create slides that contain many different elements, including text,
bulleted and numbered lists, tables, charts, clip art, and a wide rangeof graphic objects. Impress also includes a spelling checker, athesaurus, prepackaged text styles, and attractive background styles.
This chapter includes instructions, screenshots, and hints to guide you
through the Impress environment while designing the easierpresentations. Although more difficult designs are mentioned
throughout this chapter, explanations for creating them are in the
Impress Guide. If you have a working knowledge of how to create slide
shows, we recommend you use the Impress Guide for your source of
information.
To use Impress for more than very simple slide shows requires someknowledge of the elements which the slides contain. Slides containing
text use styles to determine the appearance of that text. Slides
containing objects are created the same way that drawings are createdin Draw. For this reason, we recommend that you also study Chapter 3(Working with Templates and Styles) and Chapter 7 (Getting Started
with Draw).

Parts of the main Impress window
The main Impress window (Figure 137) has three parts: the Slides
pane, Workspace, and Tasks pane. Additionally, several toolbars can bedisplayed or hidden during the creation of a presentation.

Tip

You can remove the Slides pane or Tasks pane from view byclicking the X in the upper right corner. You can also show or
hide these panes using View > Slide Pane or View > Tasks
Pane.

Slides pane
The Slides pane contains thumbnail pictures of the slides in yourpresentation, in the order they will be shown (unless you change theorder). Clicking a slide selects it and places it in the Workspace. While
it is there, you can apply any changes desired to that particular slide.

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Figure 137: Main window of Impress
Several additional operations can be performed on one or more slides
in the Slides pane:• Add new slides at any place within the presentation after the firstslide.
• Mark a slide as hidden so that it will not be shown as part of theslide show.
• Delete a slide from the presentation if it is no longer needed.
• Rename a slide.
• Copy or move the contents of one slide to another (copy andpaste, or cut and paste, respectively).
It is also possible to perform the following operations, although there
are more efficient methods than using the Slides pane:• Change the slide transition following the selected slide or after
each slide in a group of slides.
• Change the sequence of slides in the presentation.
• Change the slide design. (A window opens allowing you to load
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Tasks pane
The Tasks pane has five sections.
Master Pages
Here you define the page style for your presentation. Impress
contains 28 prepackaged Master Pages (slide masters). One of them—Default—is blank, and the rest have a background.
Tip

Press F11 to open the Styles and Formating window, where
you can modify the styles used in any slide master to suit yourpurpose. This can be done at any time.

LayoutTwenty prepackaged layouts are shown. You can choose the one youwant, use it as it is or modify it to your own requirements. At
present it is not possible to create custom layouts.
Table Design
Eleven standard table styles are provided in this pane. You canfurther modify the appearance of a table with the selections to showor hide specific rows and columns, or to apply a banded appearance
to the rows and columns.
Custom Animation
A variety of animations for selected elements of a slide are listed.
Animation can be added to a slide, and it can also be changed or
removed later.
Slide Transition
Fifty-six transitions are available, including No Transition. You canselect the transition speed (slow, medium, fast). You can also choose
between an automatic or manual transition, and how long you want
the selected slide to be shown (automatic transition only).

Workspace
The Workspace has five tabs: Normal, Outline, Notes, Handout, andSlide Sorter. These five tabs are called View buttons. There are also
many toolbars that can be used during slide creation; they are revealed
by selecting them with View > Toolbars. The Workspace is below the
View buttons. This is where you assemble the various parts of yourselected slide.

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Each view is designed to make completing certain tasks easier. In
summary:• Normal view is the main view for creating individual slides. Use
this view to format and design slides and to add text, graphics,
and animation effects.
• Outline view shows topic titles, bulleted lists, and numbered lists
for each slide in outline format. Use this view to rearrange theorder of slides, edit titles and headings, rearrange the order of
items in a list, and add new slides.
• Notes view lets you add notes to each slide that are not seen
when the presentation is shown.
• Slide Sorter view shows a thumbnail of each slide in order. Use
this view to rearrange the order of slides, produce a timed slide
show, or add transitions between selected slides.
• Handout view lets you print your slides for a handout. You canchoose one, two, three, four, or six slides per page from Tasks
pane > Layouts. Thumbnails can be re-arranged in this view bydragging and dropping them.

Toolbars
The various Impress toolbars can be displayed or hidden by clicking
View > Toolbars and selecting from the menu. You can also select theicons that you wish to appear on each toolbar. For more information,refer to Chapter 1 (Introducing OpenOffice.org).
Many of the toolbars in Impress are similar to the toolbars in OOo
Draw. Refer to the Draw Guide for details on the functions available
and how to use them.

Status bar
The Status bar (Figures 138 and 139) is located at the bottom of theworkspace. In addition to fields common to several OOo components, it
includes several Impress-specific fields. For details on the contents anduse of these fields, see Chapter 1 (Introducing OpenOffice.org) in thisbook and Chapter 1 (Introducing Impress) in the Impress Guide.

Note

The sizes are given in the current measurement unit (not to be
confused with the ruler units). This unit is defined in Tools >Options > OpenOffice.org Draw > General, where you canalso change the scale of the page. Another way to change thescale is to double-click on the number shown in the status bar.

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Figure 138: Left end of the Impress status bar

Figure 139: Right end of Impress status bar

Navigator
The Navigator (Figure 140) displays all objects contained in adocument. It provides another convenient way to move around ais located on the
document and find items in it. The Navigator icon
Standard toolbar. You can also display the Navigator by choosing Edit
> Navigator on the menu bar or pressing Ctrl+Shift+F5.
The Navigator is more useful if you give your slides and objects(pictures, spreadsheets, and so on) meaningful names, instead ofleaving them as the default “Slide n” and “Shape n” shown in
Figure 140.

Figure 140: Navigator

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Working with views
This section describes the use of the five views.

Normal view
Normal view is the main view for working with individual slides. Use
this view to format and design and to add text, graphics, and animation
effects.
To place a slide in the Slide Design area of the Normal view, click theslide thumbnail in the Slides pane or use the Navigator.
To select a slide in the Navigator, scroll down the list until you find it
and then double-click it.

Outline view
Outline view (Figure 141) contains all the slides of the presentation in
their numbered sequence. It shows topic titles, bulleted lists, andnumbered lists for each slide in outline format. Only the text containedin the default text boxes in each slide is shown, so if your slide includes
other text boxes or drawing objects, the text in these objects is not
displayed. Slide names are also not included.

Figure 141: Outline view

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Outline view serves at least two purposes.
4) Making changes in the text of a slide:•
You can add and delete the text in a slide just as you would in
the Normal view.
•
You can move the paragraphs of text in the selected slide up
or down by using the up and down arrow buttons (Move Up orMove Down) on the Text Formatting toolbar.
•
You can change the Outline Level for any of the paragraphs ina slide using the left and right arrow buttons (Promote or
Demote).
•
You can both move a paragraph and change its outline level
using a combination of these four arrow buttons.
5) Comparing the slides with your outline (if you have prepared one
in advance). If you notice from your outline that another slide isneeded, you can create it directly in the Outline view (pressing
Enter when the cursor is on the first line of the slide) or you canchange to the Normal view to create it, then return to Outline
view to continue reviewing the slides against your outline.
If a slide is not in the correct sequence, you can move it to its
proper place.
a) In the slide pane, click the slide icon of the slide you are
moving.
b) Drag and drop it where you want it.

Notes view
Use the Notes view to add notes to a slide.
1) Click the Notes tab in the Workspace (Figure 142).
2) Select the slide to which you want to add notes.
•
Click the slide in the Slide pane, or•
Use the Previous Slide and Next Slide buttons to move tothe desired slide in the Navigator.
3) In the text box below the slide, click on the words Click to add
notes and begin typing.
You can resize the Notes text box using the green resizing handles andmove it by placing the pointer on the border, then clicking anddragging. To make changes in the text style, press the F11 key to open
the Styles and Formatting window.

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Figure 142: Notes view

Slide Sorter view
Slide Sorter view contains all the slide thumbnails (Figure 143). Use
this view to work with a group of slides or with only one slide.

Figure 143: Slide Sorter view

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Change the number of slides per row if desired.
1) Check View > Toolbars > Slide View to make the Slide View
toolbar (Figure 144) visible.

Figure 144: Slide Sorter and Slide View toolbars
2) Adjust the number of slides (up to a maximum of 15).
3) When you have adjusted the number of slide per row, click View
> Toolbars > Slide View to remove this toolbar from view.
To move a slide in a presentation in the Slide Sorter:
1) Click the slide. A thick black border is drawn around it.
2) Drag and drop it to the location you want.
•
As you move the slide, a black vertical line appears to one sideof the slide.
•
Drag the slide until this black vertical line is located where
you want the slide to be moved.
To select a group of slides, use one of these methods:• Use the Control (Ctrl) key: Click on the first slide and, whilepressing Control, select the other desired slides.
• Use the Shift key: Click on the first slide, and while pressing theShift key, click on the final slide in the group. This selects all of
the other slides in between the first and the last.
• Use the mouse cursor: Click on the first slide to be selected. Holddown the left mouse button. Drag the cursor to the last slide
thumbnail. A dashed outline of a rectangle forms as you drag the
cursor through the slide thumbnails and a thick black border isdrawn around the selected slides. Make sure the rectangle
includes all the slides you want to select.
To move a group of slides:
1) Select the group.
2) Drag and drop the group to their new location. The same vertical
black line appears to show you where the group of slides will go.
Note

Selection of a group of slides works in a rectangular fashion.
Slides that do not fall within a rectangular area cannot begrouped.

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191You can work with slides in the Slide Sorter view just as you can in the
Slide pane. To make changes, right-click a slide and do any of thefollowing using the pop-up menu:• Add a new slide after the selected slide.
• Delete the selected slide.
• Change the slide layout.
• Change the slide transition.
•
For one slide, click the slide to select it. Then add the desiredtransition.
•
For more than one slide, select the group of slides and add thedesired transition.
• Mark a slide as hidden. Hidden slides are not shown in the slideshow.
• Copy or cut and paste a slide.

Handout view
Handout view is for setting up the layout of your slide for a printed
handout. Click the Handout tab in the workspace, then choose Layouts
in the Tasks pane. Layout contains five choices: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, or 9 slides
per page (Figure 145).

Figure 145: Handout
layouts
To print a handout:
1) Select the slides using the Slide Sorter. (Use the steps listed inselecting a group of slides on page 191.)
2) Select File > Print or press Control+P to open the Print dialog.
3) Select Options in the bottom left corner. of the Print dialog.
4) Check Handouts in the Contents section, and then click OK.
5) Click OK to close the Print dialog.

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Creating a new presentation
This section describes how to set up a new presentation. The settings
selected here are general: they apply to all the slides.

Planning a presentation
The first thing to do is to decide what you are going to do with thepresentation. For example, putting a group of digital photos together ina presentation requires very little planning. However, using apresentation to increase the knowledge of others about your topic
requires much more planning.
You need to ask and answer many questions before you begin creatinga presentation. If you are not acquainted with creating presentations,the answers will be more general. Those who have created a variety ofpresentations in the past will want to have more specific answers.
Who is to see the presentation? How will it be used? What is the
subject matter? What should be in its outline? How detailed should theoutline be? Will an audio file be played? Is animation desirable? Howshould the transition between slides be handled? These are some of themany questions that should be asked, answered, and written down
before creating the presentation. Sound and animation are moreadvanced topics and are explained in the Impress Guide.
Again, it is not always necessary at this point to have specific answers
to every question. Making an outline is extremely important. You may
already know exactly what some of the slides will contain. You may
only have a general idea of what you want on some of the slides. Thatis alright. You can make some changes as you go. Change your outline
to match the changes you make in your slides.
The important part is that you have a general idea of what you want
and how to get it. Put that information on paper. That makes it mucheasier to create the presentation.

Using the Presentation Wizard
You can start Impress in several ways:• From the OOo Welcome screen, if no component is open.
• From the system menu or the OOo Quickstarter. Details vary withyour operating system; see Chapter 1 for more information.
• From any open component of OOo. Click the triangle to the rightof the New icon on the main toolbar and select Presentation from

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the drop-down menu or choose File > New > Presentation fromthe menu bar.
When you start Impress, the Presentation Wizard appears (Figure
146).

Tip

If you do not want the wizard to start every time you launch
Impress, select the Do not show this wizard again checkbox.
You can enable it again later if you need under Tools >Options > OpenOffice.org Impress > General > Wizard,
and select the Start with wizard checkbox.
Leave the Preview checkbox selected, so templates, slide
designs, and slide transitions appear in the preview box as you
choose them.

Figure 146. Choosing the type of presentation
1) Select Empty Presentation under Type. It creates a presentationfrom scratch.

Note

From Template uses a template design already created as thebasis for a new presentation. The wizard changes to show a listof available templates. Choose the template you want.
Open Existing Presentation continues work on a previously
created presentation. The wizard changes to show a list of
existing presentations. Choose the presentation you want.
Both of these options are covered in the Impress Guide.

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2) Click Next. Figure 147 shows the Presentation Wizard step 2 as it
appears if you selected Empty Presentation at step 1. If you
selected From Template, an example slide is shown in the Preview
box.

Figure 147. Selecting a slide design
3) Choose a design under Select a slide design. The slide designsection gives you two main choices: Presentation Backgrounds
and Presentations. Each one has a list of choices for slide designs.
If you want to use one of these other than <Original>, click it toselect it.
•
The types of Presentation Backgrounds are shown in Figure147. By clicking an item, you will see a preview of the slide
design in the Preview window. Impress contains three choices
under Presentations: <Original>, Introducing a New Product,
and Recommendation of a Strategy.
•<Original> is for a blank presentation slide design.
•
Both Introducing a New Product and Recommendation of aStrategy have their own prepackaged slide designs. Eachdesign appears in the Preview window when its name isclicked.

Note

Introducing a New Product and Recommendation of a Strategy
are prepackaged presentation templates. They can be used tocreate a presentation by choosing From template in the firststep (Figure 146).

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1954) Select how the presentation will be used under Select an output
medium. Most often, presentations are created for computer
screen display. Select Screen.
5) Click Next. The Presentation Wizard step 3 appears.

Figure 148. Selecting a slide design
6) Choose the desired slide transition from the Effect drop-down
menu.
7) Select the desired speed for the transition between the different
slides in the presentation from the Speed drop-down menu.
Medium is a good choice for now.
8) Click Create. A new presentation is created.

Tip

You might want to accept the default values for both Effect andSpeed unless you are skilled at doing this. Both of these values
can be changed later while working with Slide transitions
and animations. These two are explained in more detail in
Chapter 9 of the Impress Guide.

Note

If you selected From template on step 1 of the Wizard, the Next
button will be active on step 3 and other pages will beavailable. These pages are not described here.

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Formatting a presentation
Now put your presentation together based on your outline.

Caution

Remember to save frequently while working on thepresentation, to prevent any loss of information should
something unexpected occur. You might also want to activate
the AutoRecovery function (Tools > Options > Load/Save >General). Make sure Save AutoRecovery information every
is selected and that you have entered a recovery frequency.

Creating the first slide
The first slide is normally a title slide. Decide which of the layouts will
best suit your purposes for this first slide: simplicity would beappropriate in this instance. You can use the prepackaged layouts
available in the Layout section of the Tasks pane. Suitable layouts are
Title Slide (which also contains a section for a subtitle) or Title Only,
however all but one layout (the blank one) contains a title section, so
you are not restricted to the two layouts described here.

Tip

If you do not know the names for the prepackaged layouts, you
can use the tooltip feature. Position the cursor on an icon in
the Layout section (or on any toolbar icon) and its name will be
displayed in a small rectangle.
If the tooltips are not enabled, you can enable them. From themain menu, select Tools > Options > OpenOffice.org >General > Help and mark the Tips checkbox. If the
Extended tips checkbox is also marked, you will get moredetailed tooltip information, but the tooltip names themselves
will not be provided.

Select a layout in the Layout section of the Tasks pane by clicking on it:
it appears in the Workspace. To create the title, click on “Click to add
title” (assuming the Blank Slide layout was not used) and then type thetitle text. Adjustments to the formatting of the title can be done bypressing the F11 key, right-clicking the Title presentation style entry,
and selecting Modify from the pop-up menu.
If you are using the Title Slide layout, click on Click to add text to add
a subtitle. Proceed as above to make adjustments to the formatting if
required.

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Inserting additional slides
The steps for inserting additional slides are basically the same as forselecting the title page. It is a process that has to be repeated for eachslide. Unless you are using more than one slide master, your only
concern is the Layouts section of the Tasks pane (Figure 149).

Figure 149: Choosing a slide layout
First insert all the slides your outline indicates you will need. Only
after this should you begin adding special effects such as custom
animation and slide transitions.
Step 1: Insert a new slide. This can be done in a variety of ways—takeyour pick.
• Insert > Slide.
• Right-click on the present slide, and select Slide > New Slidefrom the pop-up menu.
• Click the Slide icon in the Presentation toolbar (Figure 150).

Figure 150: Presentation toolbar
Step 2: Select the layout slide that bests fits your needs.
Step 3: Modify the elements of the slide. At this stage, the slideconsists of everything contained in the slide master, as well as thechosen layout slide, so this includes removing unneeded elements,
adding needed elements (such as pictures), and inserting text.

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Caution

Changes to any of the pre-packaged layouts can only be madeusing View > Normal, which is the default. Attempting to do
this by modifying a slide master may result in unpredictable
results and requires extra care as well as some trials anderrors.

1) Remove any element on the slide that is not required.
•
Click the element to highlight it. (The green squares show it ishighlighted.)•Press the Delete key to remove it.
Tip

Sometimes you will accidentally select the wrong layout slide
or decide to change it. This is safe and does not cause loss ofthe contents already on the slide.

2) Add any elements to the slide that you do need.
a) Adding pictures to the clipart frame, if your chosen layout
includes one:•
Double-click the picture within the frame. The Insert
picture dialog opens.
•
Browse to the location of the picture you want to include.
To see a preview of the picture, check Preview at thebottom of the Insert picture dialog.
•
Select the picture and click Open.
•Resize the picture as necessary. Follow the directions in
the Caution note below.
b) Adding pictures from graphic files to places other than the
clipart frame:•
Insert > Picture > From File. The Insert picture dialog
opens.
•
Browse to the graphic file. To see a preview of the picture,check Preview at the bottom of the Insert picture dialog.
Select a picture and click Open.
•Move the picture to its location.
•
Resize the picture, if necessary.
c) Adding OLE Objects is an advanced technique covered in
Chapter 7 of the Impress Guide.

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Caution

When resizing a graphic, right-click the picture. SelectPosition and Size from the context menu and make sure that
Keep ratio is selected. Then adjust the height or width to thesize you need. (As you adjust one dimension both dimensions
will change.) Failure to do so will cause the picture to become
distorted. Remember also that resizing a bitmap image will
reduce its quality; better by far to create an image of thedesired size outside of Impress.

3) Adding text to a slide: If the slide contains text, click on Click to
add an outline in the text frame and then type your text. The
Outline styles from 1 to 10 are automatically applied to the text as
you insert it. You can change the outline level of each paragraphas well as its position within the text using the arrow buttons on
the Text Formatting toolbar.
Step 4: To create additional slides, repeat steps 1–3.

Modifying the appearance of slides
To change the background and other characteristics of all slides in thepresentation, you need to modify the slide master or choose a different
slide master.
A Slide Master is a slide with a specified set of characteristics which isused as the beginning point for creating other slides. These
characteristics include the background, objects in the background,formatting of any text used, and any background graphics.

Note

OOo uses three interchangeable terms for this one concept.
Master slide, slide master, and master page all refer to a slidethat is used to create other slides. This book, however, will use
only the term slide master, except when describing the userinterface.

Impress has 28 prepackaged slide masters, found in the Master Pages
section of the Tasks pane. You can also create and save additional slide
masters.

Modifying the slide show
Now review the entire presentation and answer some questions. Run
the slide show at least once before answering them. You might want to
add some questions of your own.
1) Are the slides in the correct order? If not, some of them will need
to be moved.

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2) Would an additional slide make a particular point clearer? If so,another slide needs to be created.
3) Would some custom animations help some of the slides?
(Advanced technique.)4) Should some of the slides have a different slide transition thanothers? The transition of those slides should be changed.
5) Do some of the slides seem unnecessary? Delete the affected slideor slides after checking if they are indeed unnecessary.

Tip

If one or more slides seems to be unnecessary, hide the slideor slides, and view the slide show a few more times to makesure. To hide a slide, right-click the slide in the Slides paneand select Hide Slide in the pop-up menu. Do not delete aslide until you have done this, otherwise you may have tocreate that slide again.

Once you have answered these and your own questions, you shouldmake the necessary changes. This is done most easily in the Slide
Sorter view. If you need one or more new slides, create them using thesteps listed in “Inserting additional slides” on page 198.

Slide masters and styles
A slide master is a slide that is used as the starting point for otherslides. It is similar to a page style in Writer: it controls the basic
formatting of all slides based on it. A slide show can have more than
one slide master.

Note

OOo uses three terms for this one concept. Master slide, slide
master, and master page all refer to a slide which is used tocreate other slides. This book uses the term slide master,
except when describing the user interface.

A slide master has a defined set of characteristics, including thebackground color, graphic, or gradient; objects (such as logos,
decorative lines, and other graphics) in the background; headers andfooters; placement and size of text frames; and the formatting of text.
All of the characteristics of slide masters are controlled by styles. The
styles of any new slide you create are inherited from the slide masterfrom which it was created. In other words, the styles of the slide
master are available and applied to all slides created from that slide
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slides based on that slide master; it is, however, possible to modify
each individual slide without affecting the slide master.
Slide masters have two types of styles associated with them:presentation styles and graphic styles. The pre-packaged presentationstyles can be modified, but new presentation styles cannot be created.
However, not only can the prepackaged graphic styles be modified, but
new graphic styles can also be created. What styles to use and when to
use them is described later in this chapter.
Presentation styles affect three elements of a slide master: thebackground, background objects (such as icons, decorative lines, andtext frames), and the text placed on the slide. Text styles are further
divided into Notes, Outline 1 through Outline 9, Subtitle, and Title. The
outline styles are used for the different levels of the outline to which
they belong. For example, Outline 2 is used for the subpoints of Outline
1, and Outline 3 is used for the subpoints of Outline 2.
Graphic styles affect many of the elements of a slide. Notice that text
styles exist in both the presentation and graphic style selections.

Working with slide masters
Impress comes with 28 prepackaged slide
masters. They are shown in the Master Pages
section of the Tasks pane (Figure 153). Thissection has three subsections: Used in This
Presentation, Recently Used, and Available forUse. Click the + sign next to the name of asubsection to expand it to show thumbnails of
the slides, or click the – sign to collapse thesubsection to hide the thumbnails.
Each of the slide masters shown in the
Available for Use list is from a template of thesame name. If you have created your own
templates, or added templates from othersources, slide masters from those templates
will also appear in this list.

Figure 151: Available
master pages (slides)

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Creating slide masters
You can create a new slide master in a similar way to modifying thedefault slide master.
To start, enable editing of slide masters by View > Master > Slide
Master.
On the Master View toolbar, click the New Master icon.
A second slide master appears in the Slides pane. Modify this slide
master to suit your requirements. It is also recommended that you
rename this new slide master: right-click on the slide in the Slides
pane and select Rename master from the popup menu.
When you are done, close the Master View toolbar to return to normal
slide editing mode.

Applying a slide masterIn the Tasks Pane, be sure the Master Pages section is showing.
To apply one of the slide masters to all slides in your presentation,
click on it in the list.
To apply a different slide master to one or more selected slides:
1) In the Slide Pane, select the slides you want to change.
2) In the Tasks Pane, right-click on the slide master you want toapply to the selected slides, and click Apply to Selected Slides
on the pop-up menu.

Loading additional slide masters
Sometimes, in the same set of slides, you may need to mix multiple
slide masters that may belong to different templates. For example, you
may need a completely different layout for the first slide of thepresentation, or you may want to add to your presentation a slide froma different presentation (based on a template available on the harddisk).
The Slide Design dialog makes this possible. Access this dialog either
from the menu bar (Format > Slide design) or by right-clicking on aslide in the Slides pane.
The main window in the dialog shows the slide masters alreadyavailable for use. To add more:
1) Click the Load button.

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2032) Select in the new dialog the template from which to load the slide
master. Click OK.
3) Click OK again to close the slide design dialog.
The slide masters in the template you selected are now shown also in
the Master Pages section of the Tasks pane in the Available for use
subsection.

Note

The slide masters you have loaded will also be available thenext time you load the presentation. If you want to delete theunused slide masters, click the corresponding checkbox in the
Slide Design dialog. Due to a bug, if the slide master was not
used in the presentation, it is removed from the list ofavailable slide masters anyway.

Tip

To limit the size of the presentation file, you may want tominimize the number of slide masters used.

Modifying a slide master
The following items can be changed on a slide master:• Background (color, gradient, hatching, or bitmap)• Background objects (for example, add a logo or decorativegraphics)• Size, placement, and contents of header and footer elements toappear on every slide• Size and placement of default frames for slide titles and content
Before working on the slide master, make sure that the Styles andFormatting window is open.
To select the slide master for modification:
1) Select View > Master > Slide Master from the menu bar. This
unlocks the properties of the slide master so you can edit it.
2) Click Master Pages in the Tasks pane. This gives you access to thepre-packaged slide masters.
3) Click on the slide master you want to modify among the ones
available (Figure 153).
4) Make changes as required, then click the Close Master View
icon on the Master View toolbar. For details, see Chapter 2 of the
Impress Guide
5) Save the file before continuing.

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Caution

Any changes made to one slide when in Master View mode willappear on all slides using this slide master. Always make sure
you close Master View and return to Normal view before
working on any of the presentation slides. Select View >Normal from the menu bar, or click Close Master View in
the Master View toolbar to return to the normal slide view.

The changes made to one of the slides in Normal view (for example
changes to the bullet point style or the color of the title area and soon...) will not be overridden by subsequent changes to the slide master.
There are cases, however, where it is desirable to revert a manually
modified element of the slide to the style defined in the slide master: todo that, select that element and choose Format > Default
Formatting from the menu bar.
Sometimes you may want to try several of the available layouts to see
which one is more suitable for your contents. Applying a layout only
requires that you open the Layouts section of the Tasks pane anddouble-click on the new layout. Alternatively you can right-click on thedesired layout thumbnail and select Apply to selected slide from the
pop-up menu.

Adding text to all slides
Some of the supplied slide masters have text objects in the footer. You
can add other text objects to the master page for your slides to act as aheader or a footer.
1) Choose View > Master > Slide Master from the menu bar.
2) On the Drawing toolbar (see Figure 147), select the Text icon.
3) Click once and drag in the master page to draw a text object, andthen type or paste your text into the object or add fields as
described below.
4) Choose View > Normal when you are finished.
To add a field, such as the date or page number, to a text object in theheader or footer, choose Insert > Fields. and select the required fieldfrom the submenu. If you want to edit a field in your slide, select it andchoose Edit > Fields.
The fields you can use in Impress are:
• Date (fixed)• Date (variable)—updates automatically when you reload the file
• Time (fixed)

Free eBook Edition• Time (variable)—updates automatically when you reload the file
Chapter 6 Getting Started with Impress205• Author—First and last names listed in the OpenOffice.org userdata
• Page number (slide number)• File nameTip

To change the number format (1,2,3 or a,b,c or i,ii,iii, etc.) forthe page number field, choose Format > Page and then selecta format from the list in the Layout Settings area.
To change the author information, go to Tools > Options >OpenOffice.org > User Data.

Adding and formatting text
Text in slides is contained in text boxes.
There are two ways to add text boxes to a slide:• Choose a predefined layout from the Layouts section of the Taskspane. These text boxes are called AutoLayout text boxes.
• Create a text box using the text tool.

Using text boxes created from the Layout pane
In Normal view:1) Click in the text box that reads Click to add text, Click to add
an outline, or a similar notation.
2) Type or paste your text in the text box.

Using text boxes created from the text box tool
In Normal View:
1) Click on the Text iconon the Drawing toolbar. If the toolbar
with the text icon is not visible, choose View > Toolbars >Drawing.
2) Click and drag to draw a box for the text on the slide. Do notworry about the vertical size and position—the text box will
expand if needed as you type.
3) Release the mouse button when finished. The cursor appears in
the text box, which is now in edit mode (gray hashed border withgreen resizing handles shown in Figure 152).
4) Type or paste your text in the text box.
5) Click outside the text box to deselect it.

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Figure 152: Selected text box showing thegreen resizing handles and text toolbar
You can move, resize, and delete text boxes. For more information, see
Chapter 3 in the Impress Guide.

Note

In addition to the normal text boxes where text is horizontallyaligned, it is possible to insert text boxes where the text isaligned vertically. This choice is available only when Asian
languages are enabled in Tools > Options > Language
Settings > Languages.
Click on the
button in the drawing toolbar to create a verticaltext box. Note that when editing the contents, the text is
displayed horizontally.

Quick font resizing
Starting with OOo3.1, Impress has convenient buttons on theFormatting toolbar to increase or decrease font size of selected text.
The amount by which the font size changes depends on the standard
sizes available for the font in use.

Pasting text
You can insert text into a text box by copying it from another document
and pasting it into Impress. However, the pasted text will probably not
match the formatting of the surrounding text or that of the other slides
in the presentation. This may be what you want on some occasions,however in most cases you want to make sure that the presentation
does not become a patchwork of different paragraph styles, font types,

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207bullet points and so on. There are several ways to ensure consistency;
these methods are explained below.

Pasting unformatted text
It is normally good practice to paste text without formatting and apply
the formatting later. To paste without formatting, either press
Control+Shift+V and then select Unformatted text from the dialog
that appears, or click on the small black triangle next to the paste
symbol in the standard toolbar
and select Unformatted text.
The unformatted text will be formatted with the outline style at the
cursor position in an AutoLayout text box or with the default graphic
style in a normal text box.

Formatting pasted text
If pasting the text into an AutoLayout area, then to give the pasted
text the same look and feel of the rest of the presentation. you need toapply the appropriate outline style to the text.
1) Paste the text in the desired position. Do not worry if it does notlook right: it will in a minute.
2) Select the text you have just pasted.
3) Select Format > Default formatting from the menu bar.
4) Use the four arrow buttons in the Text Formatting toolbar
to move the text to the appropriate position andgive it the appropriate outline level. The button with the arrow
pointing left promotes the list entry by one level (for example
from Outline 3 to Outline 2), the right arrow button demotes thelist entry by one level, the up and down arrow buttons move thelist entry.
5) Apply manual formatting as required to sections of the text (tochange font attributes, tabs, and so on).
If you are pasting text in a text box, you can still use styles to quickly
format the text. Note that one and only one graphic style can beapplied to the copied text. To do that:
1) Paste the text in the desired position.
2) Select the text you have just pasted.
3) Select the desired graphic style.
4) Apply manual formatting as required to sections of the text.

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Tip

Presentation styles are very different from Writer styles andare applied in quite a different way.

Creating bulleted and numbered lists
The procedure to create a bulleted or numbered list is quite different
depending on the type of text box used, although the tools to manage
the list and customize the appearance are the same.
In text boxes created automatically by Impress (called AutoLayout), theoutline styles available are by default bulleted lists, while for normal
text boxes an additional step is required to create a bulleted list.

Creating lists in AutoLayout text boxes
Every text box included in the available layouts is already formatted asa bulleted list, therefore to create a bulleted list the only necessary
steps are:1) From the Layout pane, choose a slide design that contains a text
box. Those are easily recognizable from the thumbnail.
2) Click in the text box that reads Click to add an outline.
3) Type the text, then press Enter to start a new bulleted line.
4) The default list type is a bulleted list. The mechanisms to change
the list from bulleted to numbered and vice versa are explained in“Changing the appearance of the list” on page 210.

Tip

Press Shift + Enter to start a new line without creating a newbullet or number. The new line will have the same indentationof the previous line. Press instead the button bullets on/off on
the text formatting toolbar for a line without bullet. If the text
formatting toolbar is not showing, enable it selecting View >Toolbar > Formatting in the menu bar.

Creating lists in other text boxes
To create a list in a text box, follow these steps:
1) Place the cursor in the text box.
2) Click the Bullets On/Off buttonon the text formatting
toolbar. If the text formatting toolbar is not showing, enable it byselecting View > Toolbar > Formatting from the menu bar.
3) Type the text and press Enter to start a new bulleted line.

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2094) The default list type is a bulleted list. The mechanisms to change
the appearance of the list are explained on page 210.

Creating a new outline level1) If necessary, press Enter to begin a new line.
2) Press Tab. Each time you press Tab the line indents to the next
outline level. Pressing Enter creates a new line at the same level
as the previous one. To return to the previous level, press
Shift+Tab.
In the AutoLayout text boxes, promoting or demoting an item in the list
corresponds to applying a different outline style, so the second outline
level corresponds to Outline 2 style, the third to Outline 3 style, and so
on.

Note

Unlike styles in Writer, do not try to change the outline levelby selecting the text and then clicking the desired outline
style. Due to the way the presentation styles work, it is notpossible to apply them in this way.

Changing the appearance of the list
You can fully customize the appearance of a list, changing the bullet
type or numbering for the entire list or for single entry. All of thechanges can be made using the Bullets and Numbering dialog, which isaccessed by selecting Format > Bullets and Numbering or byclicking on the Bullets and Numbering icon on the text formatting
toolbar.
For the entire list:
1) Select the entire list or click on the gray border of the text box sothat just the green resizing handles are displayed.
2) Select Format > Bullets and Numbering or click on the.
Bullets and Numbering icon
3) The Bullets and Numbering dialog contains five tabs: Bullets,
Numbering type, Graphics, Position, and Customize.
•••

If a bullet list is needed, select the desired bullet style fromthe six default styles available on the Bullets page.
If a graphics style is needed, select one from those available
on the Graphics page.
If a numbered list is needed, select one of the 6 default
numbering styles on the Numbering type page.

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For a single line in the list:
1) Click anywhere in the line to place the cursor in it.
2) Follow steps 2–4 of the previous instruction set.
If the list was created in an AutoLayout text box, then an alternative
way to change the entire list is to modify the Outline styles. Changes
made to the outline style will apply to all the slides using them.
Sometimes this is what you want; sometimes it is not, so some caremust be taken.

Creating tables
For displaying tabular data, you can insert basic tables directly into
your slides in a number of ways:• Use the Insert > Table menu option.
• With the Table button on the main toolbar.
• With the Table Design button on the table toolbar.
• By selecting a Style option from the Table Design section of theTasks pane.
Each method opens the Insert Table dialog, shown in Figure 153.
Alternatively, clicking on the black arrow next to the Table button
displays a graphic that you can drag and select the number of rows
and columns for your table.

Figure 153. Creating a table with the Insert
Table dialog.

Note

Selecting from any of the styles in the Table Design section of
the Tasks pane creates a table based on that style. If you
create a table by another method, you can still apply a style ofyour choice later.

With the table selected, the Table toolbar should appear. If it does not,you can access it by selecting View > Toolbars > Table. The Table

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toolbar offers many of the same buttons as the table toolbar in Writer,with the exception of functions like Sort and Sum for performing
calculations. For those functions, you need to use a spreadsheet
inserted from Calc (discussed below).
After the table is created, you can modify it in much the same ways as
you would modify a table in Writer: adding and deleting rows andcolumns, adjusting width and spacing, adding borders, backgroundcolors and so on. Detailed information on working with tables and theTable Properties dialog can be found in Chapter 9 of the Writer Guide.
By modifying the style of the table from the Table Design section of theTasks pane, you can quickly change the appearance of the table or any
newly created tables based on the Style options you select. You canchoose to add emphasis to a header and total row as well as the firstand last columns of the table, and apply a banded appearance to therows and columns.
Having completed the table design, entering data into the cells issimilar to working with text box objects. Click in the cell you wish to
add data to, and begin typing. To move around cells quickly, use thefollowing key options:• The arrow keys move the cursor to the next table cell if the cell is

empty, otherwise they move the cursor to the next character inthe cell.
• The Tab key moves to the next cell, skipping over the contents ofthe cell; Shift+Tab move backwards in this manner.

Adding graphics, spreadsheets, charts,and other objects
Graphics in Impress are handled much the same as graphics in Draw.
For more information, see Chapter 7 (Getting Started with Draw), theDraw Guide, or Chapters 4, 5, and 6 in the Impress Guide.
Spreadsheets embedded in Impress include most of the functionality of
spreadsheets in Calc and are therefore capable of performing
extremely complex calculations and data analysis. If you need toanalyze your data or apply formulas, these operations are best
performed in a Calc spreadsheet and the results displayed in an
embedded Impress spreadsheet.
To add a spreadsheet to a slide, select the corresponding layout in thelist of predefined layouts in the Tasks pane. This inserts a placeholder
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formatting of the spreadsheet, it is necessary to activate it and enter
the edit mode. To do so, double-click inside the frame with the green
handles.
Alternatively, select Insert > Spreadsheet from the main menu bar.
This opens a small spreadsheet in the middle of the slide. When aspreadsheet is inserted using this method, it is already in edit mode. It
is also possible to insert a spreadsheet as an OLE object.
To add a chart to a slide, select the corresponding layout in the list of
predefined layouts in the task pane or use the Insert Chart feature.
Impress offers the capability of inserting in a slide various other typesof objects such as music or video clips, Writer documents, Mathformulas, generic OLE objects and so on. A typical presentation may
contain movie clips, sound clips, OLE objects and formulas; otherobjects are less frequently used since they do not appear during a slideshow.
For details on using spreadsheets, charts, and other objects in Impress,
refer to Chapter 7 of the Impress Guide.

Adding comments to a presentation
Starting with OOo 3.2, Impress supports comments (formerly calledsticky notes) similar to those in Writer and Calc.
In Normal View, choose Insert > Comment from the menu bar. A
small box containing your initials appears in the upper left-hand cornerof the slide, with a larger text box beside it. Impress has automatically
added your name and the date at the bottom of this text box.

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Type or paste your comment into the text box. You can optionally apply
some basic formatting to parts of the text by selecting it, right-clicking,and choosing from the pop-up menu. (From this menu, you can alsodelete the current comment, all the comments from the same author,or all the comments in the document.)
You can move the small comment markers to anywhere you wish on the
page. Typically you might place it on or near an object you refer to in
the comment.
To show or hide the comment markers, choose View > Comments.
Select Tools > Options > User Data to configure the name you want
to appear in the Author field of the comment, or to change it.
If more than one person edits the document, each author is
automatically allocated a different background color.

Setting up the slide show
Impress gives you the tools to organize and display a slide show,
including:• Which slides to show and in what order• Whether to run the show automatically or manually• Transitions between slides• Animations on individual slides• Interactions: what happens when you click a button or link
Chapter 9 of the Impress Guide describes these tools.
Most tasks associated with putting together a show from your slides
are best done in Slide Sorter view. Choose View > Slide Sorter fromthe menu bar or click the Slide Sorter tab at the top of the workspace.
All of your slides appear in the workspace; you may need to scroll to
see them all.
Custom animations are found on the Tasks pane. This is an advanced
technique and is explained in Chapter 9 (Slide Shows) in the Impress
Guide.
Your first slide show should probably have the same slide transition for
all slides. Setting Advance slide to On mouse click is the default anda simple setting. If you want each slide to be shown for a specificamount of time, click Automatically after and enter the number of
seconds. Click Apply to all slides.

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Slide transition choices are also found on the Tasks pane. For more
information about slide transitions, see Chapter 9 in the Impress
Guide.

Tip

The Slide transition section has a very useful choice:
Automatic preview. Select its checkbox. Then when you makeany changes in a slide transition, the new slide is previewed in
the Slide Design area, including its transition effect.

Running the slide show
To run the slide show, do one of the following:• Click Slide Show > Slide Show.
• Click the Slide Show button on the Presentation toolbar.

Figure 154: Presentation Toolbar• Press F5 or F9.

If the slide transition is Automatic after x seconds, let the slide show
run by itself.
If the slide transition is On mouse click, do one of the following tomove from one slide to the next:• Use the arrow keys on the keyboard to go to the next slide or togo back to the previous one.
• Click the mouse to move to the next slide.
• Press the spacebar on the keyboard to advance to the next slide.
Right-click anywhere on the screen to open a menu from which you cannavigate the slides and set other options.
To exit the slide show at any time including at the end, press the Esc
key.

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7

Chapter
Getting Started with Draw
Vector Drawing in OpenOffice.org

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What is Draw?
Draw is a vector graphics drawing program. It offers a series ofpowerful tools that enable you to quickly create all sorts of graphics.
Vector graphics store and display an image as vectors (two points anda line) rather than a collections of pixels (dots on the screen). Vector
graphics allow for easier storage and scaling of the image.
Draw is perfectly integrated into the OpenOffice.org suite, and thismakes exchanging graphics with all components of the suite very easy.
For example, if you create an image in Draw, reusing it in a Writer
document is as simple as copying and pasting. You can also work withdrawings directly from within Writer and Impress, using a subset of thefunctions and tools from Draw.
Draw’s functionalities are very extensive and complete. Although it
was not designed to rival high-end graphics applications, Draw
possesses more functions than the majority of drawing tools that are
integrated into office productivity suites.
A few examples of drawing functions might whet your appetite: layer
management, magnetic grid point system, dimensions andmeasurement display, connectors for making organization charts, 3D
functions enabling small three-dimensional drawings to be created(with texture and lighting effects), drawing and page style integration,
and Bézier curves, to name a few.
This chapter introduces some of Draw’s features, but it does not
attempt to cover all of them. See the Draw Guide and the application
Help for more information.

The Draw workspace
The main components of the Draw workspace are shown in Figure 155.
You can surround the drawing area with toolbars and information
areas. The number and position of the visible tools vary with the task
at hand or user preferences. Therefore, your setup may appear a little
different. For example, many people put the main Drawing toolbar on
the left-hand side of the workspace, not at the bottom as shown here.
You can split drawings in Draw over several pages. Multipage drawings
are used mainly for presentations. The Pages pane, on the left side of
the Draw window in Figure 155 gives an overview of the pages thatyou create. If the Pages pane is not visible on your setup,you canenable it from the View menu (View > Page Pane).

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Figure 155. Initial Draw window

Rulers
You should see rulers (bars withnumbers) on the upper and left-handside of the workspace. These show
the size of a selected object on thepage (see the gray double lines,
highlighted in Figure 156). When no
object is selected, they show thelocation of the mouse pointer, whichhelps to accurately position drawing Figure 156: Rulers show thesize of the selected object
objects. You can also use the rulers
to manage object handles and guide lines, making it easier to position
objects. The page margins in the drawing area are also represented on
the rulers. You can change the margins directly on the rulers by
dragging them with the mouse.

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To modify the units of measurement of
the rulers, right-click on one of therulers (Figure 3). The two rulers canhave different units.

Figure 157. Ruler units

Status bar
The Status bar (Figures 158 and 159) is located at the bottom of theworkspace. In addition to fields common to several OOo components, it
includes several Draw-specific fields. For details on the contents anduse of these fields, see Chapter 1 (Introducing OpenOffice.org) in thisbook and Chapter 1 (Introducing Draw) in the Draw Guide.
The sizes are given in the current measurement unit (not to be
confused with the ruler units). This unit is defined in Tools >Options > OpenOffice.org Draw > General, where you canalso change the scale of the page. Another way to change thescale is to double-click on the number shown in the status bar.

Note

Figure 158: Left end of the Draw status bar

Figure 159: Right end of Draw status bar

Toolbars
You can display or hide the various Draw toolbars according to yourneeds.
To display or hide a toolbar, click View > Toolbars. On the menu thatappears, choose which toolbars you want to display.

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You can also select the icons that you wish to appear on thecorresponding toolbar. On the View > Toolbars menu, choose
Customize, click on the Toolbars tab, select the toolbar you want tochange, and then select the desired icons for that toolbar.
Many toolbar icons are marked with a small arrow. The arrow indicatesthat this icon has additional functions. Click this arrow and a submenu
or a toolbar appears, showing its additional functions (see Figure 160).
Most icons marked with a small arrow can become floating toolbars. To
make a submenu into a floating toolbar, click the area at the top of thesubmenu, drag it across the screen, and then release the mousebutton. Floating toolbars can be docked on an edge of the screen orwithin one of the existing toolbar areas at the top of the screen, as
described in Chapter 1.

Figure 160. An arrow next to a button
indicates additional functions
Click the arrow on the title bar of a floating toolbar to display
additional functions (see Figure 161).

Figure 161. An arrow on a floating toolbar indicates
additional functions

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The tools available in the various toolbars are explained in thefollowing sections. The appearance of the toolbar icons may vary withyour operating system and the selection of icon size and style in Tools> Options > OpenOffice.org > View.
Standard toolbar
The Standard toolbar looks like this:

It is the same for all parts of OpenOffice.org.
Line and Filling toolbar
The Line and Filling toolbar lets you modify the main properties of adrawing object. See page 240 for details.

If the selected object is text, the toolbar changes to the one shown
below, which is similar to the Formatting toolbar in Writer.

Drawing toolbar
The Drawing toolbar is the most important toolbar in Draw. It contains
all the necessary functions for drawing various geometric and freehand
shapes and organizing them on the page.

Color BarTo display the Color Bar, use View > Toolbars > Color Bar. The
toolbar then appears at the bottom of the workspace.

This toolbar lets you rapidly choose the color of the objects in yourdrawing. The first box in the panel corresponds to transparency (nocolor).
You can access several specialized color palettes in Draw, as well aschange individual colors to your own taste. This is done using the Area
dialog, reached by choosing Format > Area or the pouring can icon on
the Line and Filling toolbar.
On the Area dialog, choose the tab marked Colors (Figure 8).

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Figure 162. Changing the color palette
To load another palette, click on the Load Color List button (circled).
The file selector dialog asks you to choose one of the standard OOopalettes (files bearing the file extension *.soc). For example, web.soc
is a color palette that is adapted to creating drawings that are going toappear in Web pages. The colors will correctly display on workstations
with screens displaying at least 256 colors.
The color selection box also lets you individually change any color bymodifying the numerical values in the fields provided to the right of thecolor palette. You can use the color schemes known as CMYK (Cyan,
Magenta, Yellow, Black), and RGB (Red, Green, Blue).
Clicking on the Edit button opens a special dialog to allow setting
individual colors (see Figure 163). Many more input possibilities areavailable in this dialog.
In the lower area you can enter values in the RGB and CMYK models
as well as in the HSB (Hue, Saturation and Brightness) model.
The two color fields at lower right show the value of the color as
selected (left) and the new value from the chosen color value fields(right).
For a more detailed description of color palettes and their options, see
Chapter 8 (Tips and Tricks) in the Draw Guide.

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ColorschemesFigure 163. Defining color schemes
Options toolbar
The Options toolbar lets you activate or deactivate various drawing
aids. The Options toolbar is not displayed by default. To display it,
select View > Toolbars > Options. The functions of the various icons
are described in Table 2.

Figure 164: Options toolbar
Table 2: Functions on the Options toolbar
Icon

Function
Rotation mode after clicking object
Display (or hide) the grid
Display (or hide) the guides
Display (or hide) guides when moving
Snap to grid
Snap to guides
Snap to page margins
Snap to object borders
Snap to object points

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Icon

Function
Allow quick editing
Select text area only
Double-click to edit text
Simple handles
Large handles

Positioning objects with snap functions
In Draw, objects can be positioned to grid points, to special snap points
and lines, to object frames, to single object points, or to page edges.
This function is known as Snap. In this manner objects can be very
accurately positioned in a drawing.
If you want to use the snap function, it is much easier to work with thehighest practical zoom value. It is possible to use two different snap
functions at the same time, for example snap to a guide line and to thepage edge. It is best, however, to activate only those functions that you
really need.
This section describes the snap-to-grid function. For more information
about this and the other snap functions, see Chapter 8 (Tips andTricks) and Chapter 10 (Advanced Draw Techniques) in the Draw
Guide.

Snap to gridUse this function to move an object exactly to a grid point (see Figure165). This function can be switched on and off with View > Grid >Snap to Grid and on the Options toolbar with the icon.

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Showing the grid
Make the grid visible under View > Grid > Display Grid.
Alternatively turn the grid on and off with the icon on the Options
toolbar.

Configuring the grid
The color, spacing, and resolution of the grid points can be individuallychosen for each axis. The spacing between the lines is defined in the
Grid options dialog under the Drawing area of the OOo options (Tools> Options > OpenOffice.org Draw > Grid).

Figure 166. Setting grid options
In the dialog shown in Figure 166, you can set the following
parameters:• Vertical and horizontal spacing of the dots in the grid. You canalso change the unit of measurement used in the general Draw
options (Tools > Options > OpenOffice.org Draw > General).
• The resolution is the size of the squares or rectangles in the grid.
If the resolution is Horizontal 1 cm, Vertical 2 cm, the gridconsists of rectangles 2 cm high and 1 cm wide.
• Subdivisions are additional points that appear along the sides ofeach rectangle or square in the grid. Objects snap to subdivisions
as well as to the corners of the grid.

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• The pixel (pix element) size of the snap area defines how close

you need to bring an object to a snap point or line before it will
snap to it.

Changing the color of the grid points
The default grid dots are light gray, which can be hard to see. To
improve visibility, go to Tools > Options, then OpenOffice.org >Appearance (Figure 167).

Figure 167: Changing the grid color
In the Drawing / Presentation section, you can change the color of thegrid points. On the Color Settings pulldown menu, select a moresuitable/visible color, for example black.

Positioning objects with helper lines
To simplify the positioning of objects it is possible to make visible
guiding lines—extensions of the edges of the object—while it is being
moved. These guiding lines have no snap function.
The guiding lines can be activated or deactivated under Tools >Options > OpenOffice.org Draw > View > Guides when moving,or by clicking on theicon on the Options toolbar.

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The basic drawing shapes
Draw provides a wide range of shapes, located in palettes accessedfrom the Drawing Toolbar. This chapter describes only a few of thebasic shapes; see the Draw Guide for a complete description of the
shapes available. These shapes include rectangles and squares; circles,
ellipses, and arcs; 3D objects; curves; lines and arrows; text; andconnectors.
When you draw a basic shape or select one for editing, the Info field at
the left side in the status bar changes to reflect the present action:Line created, Text frame xxyy selected, and so on.
Figure 168 shows part of the Drawing toolbar with the icons needed in
the following sections. The Text icon is also included.

Figure 168: Part of the Drawing toolbar

Drawing a straight line
Let’s start by drawing the simplest of shapes: a straight line. Click on
the Line iconon the Drawing Toolbar and place the mouse pointerwhere you want to start the line. Drag the mouse while keeping the
button pressed. Release the mouse button when you want to end theline.
A blue or green selection handle appears at each end of the line,
showing that this is the currently selected object. The colors depend on
the selection mode (green for simple selection and blue when in point
edit mode). This effect is easily apparent if on the Options toolbar both
Simple Handles and Large Handles are switched on.

Figure 169: Drawing a straight line

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Hold down the Shift key while drawing the line to restrict the angle ofthe line to a multiple of 45 degrees (0, 45, 90, 135, and so on).
Hold down the Control key (Ctrl in PCs) to snap the end of the line to
the nearest grid point.

Note

The effect of the Ctrl key depends on the settings of the Snap to
Grid option on the View > Grid menu:
Snap to Grid on: Ctrl deactivates the snap option for thisactivity.
Snap to Grid off: Ctrl activates the snap option for this activity.

The spacing (resolution) of the grid points can be adjusted under Tools> Options > OpenOffice.org Draw > Grid. See also Chapter 8 (Tips
and Tricks) in the Draw Guide.
Hold down the Alt key to extend the line symmetrically outward fromthe start point (the line extends to each side of the start point equally).
This lets you draw straight lines by starting from the middle of the line.
The line just drawn has all the default attributes, such as color and line
type. To change the line attributes, click on the line to select it andthen use the tools in the Line and Filling toolbar; or for more control,
right-click on the line and choose Line to open the Line dialog.

Drawing an arrow
Arrows are drawn like lines. Draw classifies arrows as a subgroup oflines: Lines with arrowheads. They are shown in the information fieldon the status bar only as lines. Click on the Line Ends with Arrowicon
to draw an arrow.

Drawing lines and arrows
Click on the small black triangle on the Lines and Arrows
icon toopen a floating toolbar with ten tools for drawing lines and arrows(Figure 170). Alternatively, you can click directly on the symbol torepeat the last-used command chosen from this toolbar. In both cases,
the last-used command will be stored on the toolbar to make it quicker
to call it up again.

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Figure 170: Lines and Arrows toolbar

Drawing a rectangle or square
Drawing rectangles is similar to drawing straight lines, except that you
use the Rectangle iconfrom the Drawing Toolbar. The (imaginary)line drawn with the mouse corresponds to the diagonal of therectangle. In addition, the outline of the future rectangle changes
shape as you drag the mouse around. The outline is shown as a dashedline until you release the mouse button, when the rectangle is drawn.
Starting point

Figure 171: Drawing a rectangle
Hold down the Shift key to draw a square. Hold down the Alt key todraw a rectangle starting from its center. To combine the effects, holddown both the Shift and Alt keys simultaneously.

Drawing a circle or ellipse
To draw an ellipse (also called an oval) or a circle, use the Ellipse iconfrom the Drawing Toolbar. (A circle is simply an ellipse where thetwo axes are the same length.) The ellipse drawn is the largest ellipsethat would fit inside the (imaginary) rectangle drawn with the mouse.

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Starting point

Figure 172: Drawing an ellipse
There are three other ways to draw an ellipse or circle:• Hold down the Shift key while drawing to force the ellipse to be acircle.
• Hold down the Alt key to draw a symmetrical ellipse or circle
from the center instead of dragging corner to corner.
• Hold down the Control key while drawing to snap the ellipse orcircle to grid lines.

Note

If you first press and hold the Control key and then click on oneof the icons (Line, Rectangle, Ellipse, or Text), an object isdrawn automatically in the work area; the size, shape, and color
are all standard values. These attributes can be changed later,
if desired.

Drawing curves
The tools for drawing curves or polygons are on the toolbar thatappears when you click the Curve iconon the Drawing toolbar.
This toolbar contains eight tools (Figure 173).
Note

Hovering the mouse over this icon gives a tooltip of Curve. If
you convert the icon to a floating toolbar, however, the title isLines, as shown in Figure 173.
Polygon, Filled

Polygon (45°), Filled
Freeform Line, Filled

Curve, Filled

Freeform Line

Curve
PolygonPolygon (45°)

Figure 173: Floating Curves toolbar (incorrectly titled “Lines”)

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If you move the mouse cursor over one of the icons, a tooltip pops up
with a description of the function. For a more detailed description of
the handling of Bézier curves (curves and filled curves), see Chapter
10 (Advanced Draw Techniques) in the Draw Guide.
Polygons
Draw the first line from the start point with the left mouse button
held down. As soon as you release the mouse button, a first corner
point is drawn, and you can move the mouse to see how the secondline will look. Every mouse click sets another corner point. A doubleclick ends the drawing. A filled polygon automatically joins the lastpoint to the first point to close off the figure and fills it with thecurrent standard fill color. A polygon without filling will not be
closed at the end of the drawing.
Polygon 45°
Just as with ordinary polygons, these will be formed from lines butwith angles of 45 or 90 degrees between them.
Freeform Line
With this tool you can draw just like with a pencil. Press and holdthe left mouse button and move the mouse. It is not necessary to end
the drawing with a double-click. Just release the mouse button andthe drawing is completed. If you have selected Freeform Line, Filled,
the end point is joined automatically to the start point and the object
is filled with the appropriate color.

Writing text
Use the Text tool
to write text and select the font, color, size, andother attributes. Click on an empty space in the workspace to write thetext at that spot or drag an area to write inside the dragged frame.
Press Enter to drop to the next line.
When you have finished typing text, click outside the text frame.
Double-click on the text at any time to edit it.
When you type text, the upper toolbar includes the usual paragraphattributes: indents, first line, and tab stops.
You can change the style of all or part of the text. The Styles andFormatting window also works here (select Format > Styles andFormatting or press F11 to launch), so you can create Graphics styles
that you can reuse for other text frames. Graphics styles affect all of
the text within a text frame. To style parts of the text, use direct
formating with the toolbar.

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Text frames can also have fill colors, shadows, and other attributes,
just like any other Draw object. You can rotate the frame and write thetext at any angle. These options are available by right-clicking on theobject.
Use the Callout tool, located on the Drawing toolbar, to create callouts(also known as captions or figure labels).
If you double-click on an object or press F2 (or the Text icon in the
Drawing toolbar) when an object is selected, text is written in thecenter of the object and remains within the object. Nearly any kind of
object contains such an additional text element. These texts have slightdifferences to those in text frames concerning position andhyphenation.
For more about text, see Chapter 2 (Drawing Basic Shapes) and
Chapter 10 (Advanced Draw Techniques) in the Draw Guide.

Gluepoints and connectors
All Draw objects have associated invisible gluepoints, which become
visible when you choose any of the connectors under the Connectors
iconon the Drawing toolbar and then move the mouse pointer over
the object.
Most objects have four gluepoints, as shown in Figure 174. You can
add more gluepoints, and customize gluepoints, using the toolbar
under the Gluepoint iconon the Drawing toolbar.

Figure 174: Four gluepoints
Gluepoints are different from handles (the small blue or green squares
around an object). Use the handles to move or resize an object; use thegluepoints to attach connectors to an object.
Connectors are a type of line or arrow whose ends dock to glue points
on other objects. When you move the other object, the connector
moves with it. Connectors are particularly useful for making
organizational charts. You can reorganize the blocks of your chart andall the connected objects stay connected.

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Figure 175 shows two Draw objects and a connector.

Figure 175: A connector between two objects
Draw has a range of advanced connector functions. You can change
connector types by opening the floating Connectors toolbar (click on
the Connector icon
) and modify various attributes of a selectedconnector by right-clicking and choosing Connector from the pop-up
menu. For more about connectors and gluepoints, see Chapter 9(Organization Charts, Flow Diagrams, and More) in the Draw Guide.

Drawing geometric shapes
Geometric shapes include basic shapes, symbol shapes, block arrows,
flowcharts, callouts, and stars.
Figure 176 shows part of the Drawing toolbar with the icons referred
to in the following sections. Clicking on the arrow next to the icon
opens a floating toolbar with the relevant work tools. The use of allthese tools is similar to that of the Rectangle tool, even though they
produce different geometric shapes.

Figure 176: Part of the main Drawing toolbar
Basic shapes
The Basic Shapes icon
makes available therange of tools for drawing basic shapes.
If you choose the rectangle tool from thistoolbar, it looks the same as a rectangle drawn
using the Rectangle tool on the Drawing
toolbar. The only differences you will see are in
the information field in the status bar (forexample: shape selected).

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Symbol shapesbrings you to an
The Symbol Shapes icon
array of tools for drawing the various symbol
shapes.

Block arrows
The Block Arrows icon
toolbar.

opens the Block Arrows

Flowcharts
The tools for drawing flowcharts are accessed by.
clicking on the Flowcharts icon
The creation of flowcharts, organization charts, andsimilar planning tools are described in Chapter 9(Organization Charts, Flow Diagrams, and More) in
the Draw Guide.

Callouts
Use the Callouts icon
toolbar.

to open the Callouts

Stars and banners
These tools are associated with the Stars icon.

You can add text to all these shapes. See Chapter 2 (Drawing Basic
Shapes) and Chapter 10 (Advanced Draw Techniques) in the Draw
Guide for details.

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Selection modes
There are three selection modes: moving and changing size, rotating,and editing points.
The default mode for selecting objects depends on whether the Points
button on the Drawing toolbar is active (appears lit)
(appears dark or dimmed) .

or not inactive

In standard mode (when you begin a new drawing),
the Points button is not active, and the default modeis for selections to be moved or changed in size; theseselections are indicated by small green squares.
When the Points button is active, the default mode isfor selections to be edited; these selections areindicated by blue squares. Some objects will have one
or more extra handles, which are larger or coloreddifferently. This is explained in more detail in the
Draw Guide.
Selections for rotating objects are indicated by small
red circles and a symbol representing the center ofrotation. To choose these selections, click on thefrom the Drawing
Effects drop-down button
toolbar.

Changing the selection mode
To go from one mode to another, you can do one of the following:• Toggle the Points button on the Drawing toolbar to switch fromthe simple selection mode to the Points mode
. You can also use
the keyboard shortcut F8 (Points).
• Choose the Effects drop-down button from the Drawing toolbar
to activate the Rotation mode for a selected object.
• If you often work in Rotation mode, you can choose the Rotation
Mode after Clicking Object button
from the Options bar, you
can cycle through normal and rotation modes just by clicking on
the object. This can be more convenient than clicking the object,then clicking the Rotate button from the Drawing Toolbar.
• To stop working in Rotation mode, click the Rotation Mode after
Clicking Object button
again.

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Selecting objects
Direct selection
To select an object, the easiest way is to click directly on it. For objects
that are not filled, click directly on the object's outline to select it.

Selection by framing
You can select several objects by using the mouse to
drag a large rectangle around the objects, as shown.
For this to work, the Selecticon on the Drawing
toolbar must be active. Only objects that lie entirely
within the rectangle are selected.

Selecting hidden objects
Even if objects are located behind others and not visible, they can still
be selected. To select an object that is covered by another object, holddown the Alt key and click the object. To select an object that iscovered by several objects, hold down the Alt key and click through theobjects until you reach the required underlying object. To cycle
through the objects in reverse order, hold down the Alt+Shift keys
when you click. To help in making accurate selections, you can checkthe number and type of the selected objects, shown at the left of thestatus bar.

Note

There may be some variation in the use of the Alt key on
different operating systems. If the Alt key on your system does
not operate as described above, use the Tab key method
described below.

To select an object that is covered by another object using the
keyboard, press Tab to cycle through the objects, stopping at theobject you wish to select. To cycle through the objects in reverse order,press Shift+Tab. This may not be practical if you have a large numberof objects in your drawing.

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When you click on the selected object, its outline
appears briefly through the objects on top of theselected object.
In the illustration to the right, the square locatedbeneath the circle was selected in this way (the circle
was made transparent in order to see the square).

Arranging objects
In a complex drawing, you may have objects stacked up, one on top of
the other, with the result that a particular object is hidden by one ormore other objects above it. You can rearrange the stacking order ofobjects (move an object to the front or to the back of the stack) byselecting the object, clicking Modify > Arrange and selecting theappropriate Bring Forward or Send Backward option, or by rightclicking the object and selecting Arrange from the context menu, thenselecting from the list of Bring Forward or Send Backward options.
On the Drawing toolbar, the Arrange tear-off menu on the
buttoncontains the above options. A keyboard shortcut is Shift+Ctrl++ tobring an object to the top, and Shift+Ctrl+− to send an object to thebottom.
Draw also provides tools for aligning multiple objects; details are givenin the Draw Guide.

Selecting several objects
To select or deselect several objects one by one, press the Shift key
and click on the various objects to be selected or deselected. One clickon an object selects it; a second click deselects it.

Moving and dynamically adjusting an
object’s size
There are several ways of moving or changing the size of an object.
The method described here will be called dynamic in the sense that it
is carried out using the mouse.
When you dynamically change an object, remember to check thecentral area of the status bar at the bottom of your screen. This areashows detailed information about the ongoing manipulation. This
information changes when the mouse is moved.

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Dynamic movement of objects
To move an object, select it and then click within
the object’s border and hold down the left mousebutton while moving the mouse. To drop theobject at its new location, release the mousebutton.
During movement, the shape of the object
appears as dotted lines to help withrepositioning.
If you have selected Guides when moving in
Tools > Options > OpenOffice.org Draw >View, then during movement, dotted lines
appear, to help with repositioning.

Dynamic size modification of objects
To change the size of an object (or group of
selected objects) with the mouse, you need to move
one of the handles located around the selection. As
shown in the following illustration, the outline of
the resulting new object appears as a dotted line.
The results differ depending on which handle you use. If you choose acorner handle, you will resize the object along two axes at the sametime. If you use a side handle, the objects will only be resized along
one axis.

Note

If you press the Shift key at the same time as you carry out the
resizing operation, the size change will be carried out
symmetrically with respect to the two axes; this enables you tokeep the aspect (height/length) ratio of the object.

Rotation
Rotating an object lets you move the object around an axis. To do thisdynamically, use the red handles, as you do when changing the size ofthe object.

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Note

Rotation works in a slightly different way for 3D objects
because the rotation occurs in 3D space and not in one plane.
See Chapter 7 (Working with 3D Objects) in the Draw Guide
regarding rotation when Edit Points mode is active.

To rotate an object (or a group of objects), drag the red corner handle
points of the selection with the mouse. The mouse cursor takes theshape of an arc of a circle with an arrow at each end. A dotted outlineof the object being rotated appears and the current angle of rotation is
dynamically shown in the status bar.
Rotations are made about an axis which is displayed as a small symbol.
You can move the axis of rotation with the mouse, as shown in
Figure 177.
If you hold down the Shift key during the rotation, the operation will be
carried out in increments of 15°.

Figure 177: Rotating an object

Inclination and perspective
To slant or shear objects, use the red handles located at the midpointof an edge of the selected objects. The mouse pointer changes to awhen the pointer hovers over one of these midpoint handles. Not every
object can be slanted. Basic shapes can be rotated but not slanted.
The slant axis is the point directly opposite the midpoint handle to be
used for shearing the object. This point stays fixed in location; theother sides and edges move in relation to it as the mouse is dragged
handle icon is showing before dragging).
(make sure that the
As with rotation, you can set the inclination to occur as steps of 15° bypressing the Shift key while moving the handle.

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Editing objects
To change an object’s attributes (such as color, border width, among
others) you can use the Line and Filling toolbar or the context menu.
If the Line and Filling toolbar (Figure 178) is not visible, you candisplay it using View > Toolbars > Line and Filling. From here youcan edit the most common object attributes. You can also open the Linedialog by clicking on the Lineicon and the Area dialog by clicking
on the Area
icon to see more options.

1 Styles and Formatting
2 Line3 Arrow Style

4 Line Style
5 Line Width
6 Line Color

7Area
8–9 Area Style / Filling
10 Shadow

Figure 178: Line and Filling toolbar
When you select text, this toolbar changes to show text formatting
options.

The context menu
When an object is selected, you can right-click on the object to bringup a context menu, which provides additional access to the options
shown above and another way to change an object’s attributes. The
entries with a small arrow on the right-hand side contain a submenu.

Editing lines and borders
Lines (like arrows) and the borders of an
object are managed through the same dialog.
An object’s border is just another type of line.

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You can change some properties from the Line and Filling toolbar. To
see more options, select the object and click on the Lineicon orright-click on the object and choose Line from the context menu. This
opens the Line dialog.

Common line properties
In most cases the property you want to change is the line’s style (solid,
dashed, invisible, and so on), its color, or its width. These options are
all available from the Line and Filling toolbar (Figure 178).
You can also edit these properties from the Line dialog, where you canalso change the line’s transparency. Figure 179 illustrates different
degrees of transparency.

Figure 179: The vertical lines have different
levels of transparency (0%, 25%, and 50%).

Drawing arrows
Arrowheads (and other line endings, usually referred tocollectively as arrows) are a line property. Select a line andclick on the Arrow Style
icon from the Line and Filling
toolbar. This opens the Arrowheads menu.
Several types of arrowheads are available. Each end of theline can have a different arrowhead (or no arrowhead).
Arrowheads are only applicable to lines. They have noeffect on an object’s border.

Customizing line and arrow styles
You can modify the line and arrow styles and create your own. See
Chapter 4 (Changing Object Attributes) in the Draw Guide for details.

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Editing the inside (fill) of an object
The OpenOffice.org term for the inside of an object is Area fill. The
area fill of an object can be a uniform color, a gradient, a hatching, or apattern from an image. It can be made partly or fully transparent andcan throw a shadow.

In most cases, you will choose one of the standard fill options, which
are all available from the Line and Filling toolbar. You can also define
your own area fills; see Chapter 4 of the Draw Guide for details.

Adding a shadow
In Draw, shadows are considered as an area
property. Click on the Shadow
icon on the Lineand Filling toolbar.
You can customize the position, distance, color,
and transparency of shadows using Format >Area > Shadow or by right-clicking on theselected object and choosing Area > Shadow.

Adding transparency
You can make objects partly or fully transparent, or even with avarying degree of transparency (as a gradient).

Using styles
Suppose that you want to apply the same area fill, line thickness, andborder to a set of objects. This repetitive process can be greatly
simplified by the use of styles. Styles allow you to define a formatting
template (a style) and then to apply that style to multiple objects. For
more information about styles, see Chapter 3 (Using Styles andTemplates).

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Special effects
With Draw, you can apply many special effects to objects and groups ofobjects. This section describes a few of these effects. Others include
distorting, shadows, and transparency. See the Draw Guide forexamples of the many effects available.

Flip an object
Select an object and click on the Flip icon . You will
see a dashed line through the middle of the object.
This dashed line is the axis of symmetry. The object
will be reflected about this line. Move one or bothends of the line with your mouse to set the axis.
Then, grab any one of the eight green handles andmove it across to the other side of the dashed line.
The new position of the figure is shown dashed until
the mouse is released.

Note

If you hold down the Shift key while moving the line, the line will
rotate in 45-degree increments.

Mirror copies
Officially, this useful command does not (yet) exist in Draw. It can,however, be easily emulated.
Move the axis of symmetry to the desired location of the mirror axis.
Copy the object to the clipboard. Flip the object, then click on an
empty area of the Draw screen in order to deselect the object. Pastefrom the clipboard to put a copy of the object in its original locationand now you have a mirror copy.

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Distorting an image
There are three tools on the Effects menu that let you drag thecorners and edges of an object to distort the image.
The Distort tool distorts an object in perspective, the Set to Circle(slant) and Set in Circle (perspective) tools both create a pseudo
three-dimensional effect. See Chapter 4 of the Draw Guide for details.

Dynamic gradients
You can control transparency gradients in the same manner as color
gradients. Both types of gradient can be used together. With atransparency gradient, the direction and degree of an object’s fill color
changes from opaque to transparent (in a regular gradient, the fillchanges from one color to another, but the degree of transparency
remains the same). See Chapter 4 of the Draw Guide for details.

Duplication
Duplication makes copies of an object while applying a set of changes(such as color or rotation) to the duplicates. The result of a duplication
is a new group.
To start duplication, click on an object or group and choose Edit >Duplicate. The dialog shown in Figure 180 appears.
The options chosen in
Figure 180 applied to a
blue rectangle produce
the following result.

Figure 180: Duplicating an object

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Cross-fading
Cross-fading transforms a shape from one form to another, with
OpenOffice.org handling all of the intermediate transitions. The result
is a new group of objects including the two end points and theintermediate steps.
To carry out a cross-fade, select both objects (hold the Shift key while
selecting each object in turn) and then choose Edit > Cross-fading
On the Cross-fading dialog, choose the number of increments(transition steps). You probably want to have Cross-fade attributes andSame orientation both checked. The end result is shown in Figure 182.

Figure 181: Choosing cross-fading settings

Figure 182: Cross-fading example

Combining multiple objects
Using Draw, you can combine drawing objects together in two distinct
ways: grouping and combining. These two methods allow you to treat
multiple objects as one unit, or to merge objects to form a new shape.
Grouping is like putting objects in a container. You can move them as agroup and apply global changes to them. A group can always be
undone and the objects that make up the group can always be
manipulated separately.
A combination is a permanent fusion of objects leading to a new object.
The original objects are no longer available as individual entities andthe operation is not reversible.

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Grouping by common selection
When several objects are selected, any operations you carry out are
applied to all of the objects. For example, you can rotate a group of
objects in its entirety. Groups obtained through common selection ofseveral objects are undone as soon as you click outside the group.
However, you can group objects and keep those selected objects
grouped together.

Maintaining groups and undoing groups
To group selected objects, right-click and choose Group from the popup menu. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Control+Shift+G or
choose Modify > Group from the menu bar.
When objects are grouped, any editing operations carried out on thatgroup are applied to all members of the group. If you click on one
member of the group, the whole group is selected.
The objects of a group retain their own individual properties. To undo agroup, right-click and choose Ungroup from the pop-up menu, use the
keyboard shortcut Control+Alt+Shift+G or choose Modify >Ungroup from the menu bar.
You can edit a member of a group individually without breaking thegroup. To do this, right-click and choose Enter group or double-clickon the group.

Combining objects
In contrast to grouping functions, combinations create a new object;subsequent “un-combining” in the same manner as ungrouping is notpossible. Select a collection of objects, then right-click and choose
Combine from the pop-up menu.
After you have selected more than one object, the Merge, Subtract,and Intersect functions can be reached in the Modify > Shapes menu
or though the group’s right-click menu under the heading Shapes.

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Aids for positioning objects
Draw has various tools to help you arrange the objects with respect toeach other:• Moving an object to the front or to the back• Aligning objects with respect to each other• Distributing the distance and space between objects
See Chapter 5 (Combining Multiple Objects) in the Draw Guide formore information.

Inserting and editing pictures
Draw contains a number of functions for editing raster graphics(bitmaps)—for example, photos and scanned images—including import
and and export as well as conversion from one format to another. Draw
can read in all the usual range of graphic file formats.
You can add pictures from several sources:• The Gallery—see Chapter 11 (Graphics, the Gallery, andFontwork)• Directly from a scanner (Insert > Picture > Scan)• Images created by another program, including photographs froma digitial camera (Insert > Picture > From File)
Draw provides tools for working with bitmap images: the Picture
toolbar and the bitmap image management palette. However, it does
not have the same capabilities as the specialized raster graphics
programs like Adobe Photoshop or The Gimp. See Chapter 6 (Editing
Pictures) in the Draw Guide for details and examples.

Working with 3D objects
Although Draw does not match the functionality of the leading drawing
programs, it does offer a wide array of tools and methods to produce
and edit very good 3D drawings.
Draw offers two types of 3D objects: the ones carried forward from
OOo version 1, 3D bodies, and the ones introduced in version 2, 3D
shapes. Depending on which type you choose, there are different
possibilities for further editing of the object (rotation, illumination,
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shapes than with 3D bodies, but 3D bodies currently allow for morecustomizing than 3D shapes.
See Chapter 7 (Working with 3D Objects) in the Draw Guide for details.

Exporting graphics
To save a Draw image in a foreign format, use File > Export. Draw
can save to many graphic file formats, as listed in Appendix B(Background Information). You can export the entire file or selected
objects.
You can also export Draw files to HTML, PDF, or Flash. PDF export isthe same as for any part of OpenOffice.org, as described in Chapter 10(Printing, E-mailing, and Exporting). Flash export creates a .swf file.
HTML export uses a conversion wizard that creates as many web
pages as there are pages in your Draw document. You can optionallychoose to display the pages in frames with a navigator and can set anindex page. For more information, see Chapter 12 (Creating Web
Pages: Saving Documents as HTML Files).

Adding comments to a drawing
Starting with OOo 3.2, Draw supports comments (formerly called
notes) similar to those in Writer and Calc.
Choose Insert > Comment from the menu bar. A small box containing
your initials appears in the upper left-hand corner of the Draw page,
with a larger text box beside it. Draw has automatically added yourname and the date at the bottom of this text box.

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Type or paste your comment into the text box. You can optionally apply
some basic formatting to parts of the text by selecting it, right-clicking,and choosing from the pop-up menu. (From this menu, you can alsodelete the current comment, all the comments from the same author,or all the comments in the document.)
You can move the small comment markers to anywhere you wish on the
page. Typically you might place it on or near an object you refer to in
the comment.
To show or hide the comment markers, choose View > Comments.
Select Tools > Options > User Data to configure the name you want
to appear in the Author field of the comment, or to change it.
If more than one person edits the document, each author is
automatically allocated a different background color.

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8

Chapter
Getting Started with Base
OpenOffice.org’s Database Component

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Introduction
A data source, or database, is a collection of pieces of information thatcan be accessed or managed by OpenOffice.org (OOo) . For example, alist of names and addresses is a data source that could be used for
producing a mail merge letter. A shop stock list could be a data source
managed through OOo.
Note

OpenOffice.org uses the terms “Data Source” and “Database” torefer to the same thing, which could be a database such as
MySQL or dBase or a spreadsheet or text document holding data.

This chapter covers creating a database, showing what is contained ina database and how the different parts are used by OOo. It also covers
using the Base component of OOo to register other data sources. A
data source can be a database, spreadsheet, or text document.
Note

OOo Base uses the HSQL database engine. All of the files
created by this engine are kept in one zipped file. The database
forms are included in this zipped file.

A database consists of a number of fields that contain the individual
pieces of data. Each table of the database is a group of fields. Whencreating a table, you also determine the characteristics of each field in
the table. Forms are for data entry into the fields of one or more tables
associated with the form. They can also be used for viewing fields fromone or more tables associated with the form. A query creates a newtable from the existing tables based upon how you create the query. A
report organizes the information of the fields of a query in a document
according to your requirements.

CautionThe database in OOo requires Java Runtime Environment (JRE).
If you do not have it on your computer, you can download itfrom www.java.com and install it following the instructions on
the site. It should be Java 5.0 or higher. In OOo, use Tools >Options > OpenOffice.org > Java to register Java.
Windows' version of JRE can not be used, while there are otherversions that can.

Base creates relational databases. This makes it fairly easy to create a
database in which the fields of the database have relationships witheach other.
For example: Consider a database for a library. It will contain a field
for the names of the authors and another field for the names of theFree eBook Edition

Chapter 8 Getting Started with Base251books. There is an obvious relationship between the authors and thebooks they have written. The library may contain more than one bookby the same author. This is what is known as a one-to-many
relationship: one author and more than one book. Most if not all the
relationships in such a database are one-to-many relationships.
Consider an employment database for the same library. One of the
fields contains the names of the employees while others contain thesocial security numbers, and other personal data. The relationshipbetween the names and social security numbers is one-to-one: only one
social security number for each name.
If you are acquainted with mathematical sets, a relational database caneasily be explained in terms of sets: elements, subsets, unions, andintersections. The fields of a database are the elements. The tables aresubsets. Relationships are defined in terms of unions and intersectionsof the subsets (tables).
To explain how to use a database, we will create one for automobile
expenses. In the process, we will be explaining how a database works.

Planning a database
The first step in creating a database is to ask yourself many questions.
Write them down, and leave some space between the questions to later
write the answers. At least some of the answers should seem obvious
after you take some time to think.
You may have to go through this process a few times before everything
becomes clear in your mind and on paper. Using a text document forthese questions and answers makes it easier to move the questions
around, add additional questions, or change the answers.
Here are some of the questions and answers I developed before I
created a database for automobile expenses. I had an idea of what I
wanted before I started, but as I began asking questions and listing theanswers, I discovered that I needed additional tables and fields.
What are the fields going to be? My expenses divided into three broad
areas: fuel purchases, maintenance, and vacations. The annual cost forthe car’s license plate and driver’s license every four years did not fit
into any of these. It will be a table of its own: license fees.
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What fields fit the maintenance area? Date of service, odometerreading, type of service, cost of service, and next scheduled service of
this type (for example, for oil changes list when the next oil change
should be). But it would be nice if there was a way to write notes. So, afield for notes was added to the list.
What fields fit the vacations area? Date, odometer reading, fuel(including all the fields of the fuel table), food (including meals andsnacks), motel, total tolls, and miscellaneous. Since these purchases
are made by one of two bank cards or with cash, I want a field to state
which payment type was used for each item.
What fields fit into the food category? Breakfast, lunch, supper, andsnacks seem to fit. Do I list all the snacks individually or list the total
cost for snacks for the day? I chose to divide snacks into two fields:
number of snacks and total cost of snacks. I also need a payment typefor each of these: breakfast, lunch, supper, and total cost of snacks.
What are the fields that are common to more than one area? Dateappears in all of the areas as does odometer reading and payment
type.
How will I use this information about these three fields? While onvacation, I want the expenses for each day to be listed together. The
date fields suggest a relationship between the vacation table and thedates in each of these tables: fuel and food, This means that the datefields in these tables will be linked as we create the database.
The type of payment includes two bank cards and cash. So, we will
create a table with a field for the type of payment and use it in list
boxes in the forms.

Tip

While we have listed fields we will create in the tables of thedatabase, there is one more field that may be needed in a table:
the field for the primary key. In some tables, the field for the
primary key has already been listed. In other tables such as thepayment type, an additional field for the primary key must be
created.

Creating a new database
To create a new database, choose File > New > Database from themenu bar, or click the arrow next to the New icon on the Standard
toolbar and select Database from the dropdown menu. Both methods
open the Database Wizard.

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On the first page of the Database Wizard, select Create a new
database and then click Next.
The second page has two questions. Make sure the choice for the firstquestion is Yes, register the database for me and the choice for thesecond question is Open the database for editing. Click Finish.
If the database is not registered, it will not be accessible to theother OOo components such as Writer and Calc. If the database isregistered, other components can access it.

Note

Save the new database with the name Automobile. This opens theAutomobile – OpenOffice.org Base window. Figure 183 shows part ofthis window.

Figure 183: Creating database tables

Tip

CautionEvery time the Automobile database is opened, the Automobile –OpenOffice.org Base window opens. Changes can then be madeto the database. The title for this window is always <databasename> – OpenOffice.org Base.
As you create a database, you should save your work regularly.
This means more than just saving what you have just created. You
must save the whole database as well.
For example, when you create your first table, you must save it
before you can close it. When the table is first saved, it is also
made part of the database.

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Creating database tables
In a database, a table stores information for a group of things we callfields. For example, a table might hold an address book, a stock list, aphone book or a price list. A database can have from one to several
tables.
To work with tables, click the Tables icon in the Database list, or press
Alt+a. The three tasks that you can perform on a table are in the Tasks
list (see Figure 183).

Using the Wizard to create a table
Wizards are designed to do the basic work. Sometimes this is not
sufficient for what we want; in those cases we can use a wizard as astarting point and then build upon what it produces.
The Table Wizard in Base contains two categories of suggested tables:
business and personal. Each category contains sample tables fromwhich to choose. Each table has a list of available fields. We can delete
some of these fields and add other fields.
A field in a table is one bit of information. For example, a price list
table might have one field for item name, one for the description, and athird for the price.
Since none of the fields we need for our Automobile database arecontained in any of the sample wizard tables, we will create a simple
table using the wizard that has nothing to do with our database. Thissection is an exercise in explaining how the Wizard works.
The Wizard permits the fields of the table to come from more than one
suggested table. We will create a table with fields from three different
suggested tables in the Wizard.
CautionEvery table requires a Primary key field. (What this field does
will be explained later.) We will use this field to number our
entries and want that number to automatically increase as we
add each entry.

Click Use Wizard to Create Table. This opens the Table Wizard(Figure 184).

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Step 1: Select fields.
We will use the CD-Collection Sample table in the Personal category to
select the fields we need.
1) Category: Select Personal. The Sample Tables dropdown list
changes to a list of personal sample tables.
2) Sample tables: Select CD-Collection. The Available fields box
changes to a list of available fields for this table.
3) Selected fields: Using the > button, move the following fields
from the Available fields window to the Selected fields window inthis order: CollectionID, AlbumTitle, Artist, DatePurchased,
Format, Notes, and NumberofTracks.
4) Selected Fields from another sample table. Click Business as theCategory. Select Employees from the dropdown list of sample
tables. Use the > button to move the Photo field from the
Available fields window to the Selected fields window. It will be at
the bottom of the list directly below the NumberofTracks field.
5) If you make a mistake in selecting fields, click on the field namein the Selected fields list and use the < button to move it from theSelected fields list back to the Available fields list.
6) If you make a mistake in the order of the selected fields, click on
the field name that is in the wrong order and use the Up or Down
arrow on the right side of the Selected fields list to move the fieldname to the correct position.
7) Click Next.

Figure 184: Selecting fields for the table

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Step 2: Set field types and formats.
In this step you give the fields their properties. When you click a field,
the information on the right changes. (See Figure 185.) You can thenmake changes to meet your needs. Click each field, one at a time, andmake the changes listed below.

Figure 185: Changing field types

Note

If any of these fields requires an entry, set Entry required to Yes.
An entry with that field blank will then not be allowed . In
general, only set Entry required to Yes if something must always
be put in that field. By default, Entry required is set to No.

• CollectionID: Change AutoValue from No to Yes.
• AlbumTitle:
–
–

Note

Entry required: Leave Entry required as No, unless all of yourmusic is in albums.
Length: Unless you have an album title that exceeds 100
characters counting the spaces, do not change the length.
In Base the maximum length of each field must be specified on
creation. It is not easy to change this later, so if in doubt specify
a greater length. Base uses VCHAR as the field format for text
fields. This format only uses the actual number of characters in afield up to the limit set. So, a field containing 20 characters will
only use space for 20 characters even if the limit is set at 100.
Two album titles containing 25 and 32 characters respectively
will use space for 25 and 32 characters and not 100 characters.

• Artist: Use the Default setting. And since music has artists, set

Entry Required to Yes.
• Date Purchased: Field type: default date setting. Entry required
should be No. (You may not know the date.)• Format: Only change the Entry Required setting: from No to Yes.
• Notes: No changes are required.

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• NumberofTracks: Change the Field Type to Tiny Integer[TINYINT]. Your allowable number of tracks will be 999. Small
Integer [SMALLINT] would allow 99999 tracks if you needed
more than 999 tracks.
• Photo: Use the default settings.
When you have finished, click Next.

Note

Each field has a Field Type, which must be specified. Types
include text, integer, date, and decimal. If the field is going to havegeneral information in it (for example, a name or a description),
use text. If the field will always contain a number (for example, aprice), the type should be decimal or another numerical field . The
wizard picks the right field type, so to get an idea of how thisworks, see what the wizard has chosen for different fields.

Step 3: Set primary key.
1) Create a primary key should be checked.
2) Select option Use an existing field as a primary key.
3) In the Fieldname dropdown list, select CollectionID.
4) Check Auto value if it is not already checked.
5) Click Next.

Note

A primary key uniquely identifies an item (or record) in the table .
For example, you might know two people called “Randy Herring”
or three people living at the same address and the databaseneeds to distinguish between them.
The simplest method is to assign a unique number to each one:
number the first person 1, the second 2, and so on. Each entry has
one number and every number is different, so it is easy to say“record ID 172”. This is the option chosen here: CollectionID isjust a number assigned automatically by Base to each record ofthis table.

Step 4: Create the table.
1) If desired, rename the table at this point. If you rename it, makethe name meaningful to you. For this example, make no changes.
2) Leave the option Insert data immediately checked.
3) Click Finish to complete the table wizard. Close the window
created by the table wizard. You are now back to the main
window of the database with the listing of the tables, queries,
forms, and reports. Notice that a table named “CD-Collection” is
now listed in the Tables portion of the window.

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Creating a table by copying an existing table
If you have a large collection of music, you might want to create atable for each type of music you have. Rather than creating each tablefrom the wizard, you can make copies of the original table, naming
each according to the type of music contained in it.
1) Click on the Tables icon in the Database pane to see the existingtables.
2) Right-click on the CD-Collection table icon. Choose Copy from the
pop-up menu.
3) Move the mouse pointer below this table, right-click, and selectPaste. The Copy table dialog opens.
4) Change the table name to Pop and click Next.
5) Click the >> button to move all the fields from the left box to theright box and click Next.
6) Since all the fields already have the proper Field type, no changes
should be needed. However, this is the time and place to make anychanges if they are needed. (See Caution below for the reasonwhy.) Click Create. The new table is created.

CautionOnce tables have been created using the wizard and data has
been entered, editing them should be very limited. Fields canbe added or deleted, but adding a field requires taking the timeto enter the data for that one field for every record having anentry for that field.
Deleting a field deletes all the data once contained in thatfield. Changing the field type of a field can lead to data being
lost either partially or completely. When creating a new table, it
pays to create the fields with the correct names, length, andformat before you add any data.
Deleting a table removes all of the data contained in every fieldof the table. Unless you are sure, do not delete a table.

Creating tables in Design View
Design View is a more advanced method for creating a new table, inwhich you directly enter information about each field in the table. We
will use this method for the tables of our database.
Note

While the Field type and formatting are different in Design View,
the concepts are the same as in the Wizard.

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The first table to be created is Fuel. Its fields are FuelID, Date,
FuelCost, FuelQuantity, Odometer, and PaymentType.
1) Click Create Table in Design View.
2) FuelID field:a) Type FuelID as the first Field Name. Press the Tab key tomove to the Field Type column.
b) Select Integer [INTEGER] as the Field Type from thedropdown list. (The default setting is Text [VARCHAR].)Tip

A shortcut for selecting from the Field Type dropdown list: press
the key for the first letter of the choice. You can cycle throughthe choices for a given letter by repeatedly pressing that key.

c) Change the Field Properties in the bottom section.
Change AutoValue from No to Yes.
d) Set FuelID as the Primary key.
Right-click on the green triangle to the left of FuelID(Figure 186) and choose Primary Key from the menu. This
places a key icon in front of FuelID.

Figure 186: Defining the primary key fieldNote

The primary key serves only one purpose: to uniquely identify
the record. Any name can be used for this field. We have used
FuelID for convenience, so we know to which table it belongs.

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3) All other fields (Date, FuelCost, FuelQuantity, Odometer, andPaymentType):•
Type the next field name in the Field Name column.
•
Select the Field Type for each field.
–
For Date use Date[DATE]. (Press the D key to select it.)–
PaymentType uses Text [VARCHAR], the default setting.
–
All other fields use Number [NUMERIC]. (Press the N key
once to select it.)•

FuelCost, FuelQuantity, and Odometer need changes in the
Field Properties section (Figure 187).
–
FuelQuantity: Change Length to 6 and Decimal places to 3.
(Many fuel pumps measure fuel to thousands of a gallon in
the USA where I live.)–
Odometer: Change the Length to 10 and the Decimal
places to 1.
–
FuelCost: Change the Length to 5 and Decimal places to 2.
Click the Format example button (Figure ). This opens the
Field Format window (Figure 188). Use Currency as theCategory and your currency as the Format. My currency
has two decimal places. Use what is appropriate for yours.

Figure 187: Changing field properties

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Figure 188: Field Format options
4) To access additional formatting options, click the button to theright of the Format example field.
5) Description can be anything, or can be left blank.
6) To save and close the table, choose File > Save. Name the table
Fuel. Close the Fuel table.
Follow the same steps to create the Vacations table. The fields andtheir field types are listed in Figure 189. Make sure you make the Date
field the primary key before closing. (Right-click the gray box to theleft of Date and select Primary key from the menu.) Save the table
and name it Vacations. Close the Vacations table.

Figure 189: Fields in Vacations table

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Creating tables for the list box
When the same information can be used in several fields, design atable for each type of information. Each table will contain two fields:
the information field and ID, in that order.

Caution

You must create these tables with the information field listed
first and the ID field listed last. Failure to do so will produce
the wrong results. For my Payment table, I use Name and ID as
my fields, with Dan, Kevin, and Cash being the Name entries.
The corresponding ID entries are 0, 1, 2. When the Name fieldis listed first in the table, one of the three names will appear in
the payment field of the Fuel table. If the ID field is listed first,
0, 1, or 2 appear in the payment field instead.

1) Follow the directions in “Creating tables in Design View” on page259. In the table, the two fields can be Type and PaymentID. In
the Field Properties, set AutoValue to Yes for the PaymentID field.
Set the PaymentID field as the primary key. (See Figure 190.)
2) Save the table using the name Payment Type.

Figure 190: Table in Design View

Note:

If you have several tables to create with the same fields, design
one table and produce the other tables by cutting and pasting.
(See “Creating a table by copying an existing table” on page259.)

Adding data to the list table
List tables do not require a form. Instead, add their data directly to thetable. In this example, use the names of the two people with a bankcard and Cash for cash purchases.
1) In the main database window, click on the Tables icon (Figure183). In the list of tables, right-click on Payment Type and selectOpen from the pop-up menu.
a) Enter Dan in the Type column in the first row. Press the Tab
key to move to the second row. Notice that the PaymentIDvalue for this row changes from <AutoField> to 0.
b) Enter Kevin in the second row. The PaymentID changes to 1.

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Chapter 8 Getting Started with Base263c) Enter Cash in the third row. The PaymentID changes to 2.
2) Save and close the table window.
Tip

You can also use the Enter key to move from entry field to entry
field, or use the down arrow key to move from row to row.

Defining relationships
Now that the tables have been created, what are the relationships
between our tables? This is the time to define them based upon thequestions we asked and answered in the beginning.
When on vacation, we want to enter all of our expenses all at one timeeach day. Most of these expenses are in the Vacations table, but thefuel we buy is not. So, we will relate these two tables using the Date
fields. Since the Fuel table may have more than one entry per date,
this relationship between the Vacations and Fuel tables is one to many.
(It is designated 1:n.)
The Vacations table also contains several fields for the type of payment
used. For each field listing the payment type, there is only one entry
from the Payment Type table. This is a one to one relationship: one
field in one table to one entry from the other table. (It is designated1:1.) Other tables also contain fields for the type of payment. The
relationship between the fields of those tables and the Payment Typetable are also 1:1.
Since the Payment Type table only provides a static list, we will not be
defining a relationship between the Payment Type table and the fieldsof the other tables which use the entries of the Payment Type table.
That will be done when the forms are created.
The Fuel and Maintenance tables do not really have a relationship eventhough they share similar fields: Date and Odometer.
Tip

As you create your own databases, you need to also determine
where tables are related and how.

1) To begin defining relationships, choose Tools > Relationships.
The Automobile – OpenOffice.org Base: Relation Design window
opens and the Add Tables dialog pops up. (You can also open it byclicking the Add Tables icon on the Relation Design window.)2) On the Add Tables dialog, use either of these ways to add a table
to the Relation Design window:

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••Double-click the name of the table. In our case, do this forboth Vacations and Fuel.
Or, click the name of the table and then click Add for eachtable.

3) Click Close to close the Add Tables dialog when you have added
the tables you want.
4) You can define the relationship between the Vacations and Fueltables in two ways:•
Click and drag the Date field in the Fuel table to the Date fieldin the Vacations table. When you release the mouse button, aconnecting line forms between the two date fields (Figure 191).

Figure 191: Designation for a 1:n relationship•Or, click the New Relation icon. This opens the Relations
window (Figure Error: Reference source not found). Our two
tables are listed in the Tables involved section.
–
–
–
–
–

In the Fields involved section, click the dropdown list
under the Fuel label.
Select Date from the Fuel table list.
Click in the cell to the right of this dropdown list. This
opens a dropdown list for the Vacations table.
Select Date from the Vacations table list. It should now
look like Figure 192.
Click OK.

Figure 192: Selected fields in a relationshipFree eBook Edition

Chapter 8 Getting Started with Base2655) Modifying the Update options and Delete options section of theRelation window.
a) Right-click the line connecting the Date fields in the two tablelists to open a menu.
b) Select Edit to open the Relations dialog (Figure 193).
c) Select Update cascade.
d) Select Delete cascade.
e) Click OK to close the Relations dialog and choose File > Saveto save the Relation Design window.
While these options are not strictly necessary, they do help.
Having them selected permits you to update a table that has arelationship defined with another table. It also permits you todelete a field from the table.

Figure 193: Update options and Delete options section

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Creating a database form
Databases are used to store data. But, how is the data put into the
database? Forms are used to do this. In the language of databases, aform is a front end for data entry and editing.

Figure 194: Fields of a simple
form

Figure 195: Simple form withadditions

A simple form consists of the fields from a table (Figure 194). Morecomplex forms can contain much more, including additional text,
graphics, selection boxes, and many other elements. Figure 195 ismade from the same table with a text label (Fuel Purchases), a list box
placed in PaymentType, and a graphic background.

Using the Wizard to create a form
We will use the Form Wizard to create a Vacations form, which willcontain a form and a subform.
In the main database window (Figure 183), click the Forms icon in theleft column. In the Tasks list, double-click Use Wizard to Create
Form to open the Form Wizard (Figure 196). Simple forms require only
some of these steps, while more complex forms may use all of them.
Step 1: Select fields.
1) Under Tables or queries, select Table: Vacations. Available fields
lists the fields for the Vacations table.
2) Click the right double arrow to move all of these fields to theFields in the form list. Click Next.

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Figure 196: Form Wizard steps
Step 2: Set up a subform.
Since we have already created a relationship between the Fuel and
Vacations tables, we will use that relationship. If no relationship had
been defined, this would be done in step 4.
1) Click the box labeled Add Subform.
2) Click Subform based upon existing relation.
3) Fuel is listed as a relation we want to add. So, click Fuel tohighlight it, as in Figure 197. Click Next.

Figure 197: Adding a subform
Step 3: Add subform fields.
This step is exactly the same as step 1. The only difference is that not
all of the fields will be used in the subform.
1) Fuel is preselected under Tables or queries.
2) Use the >> button to move all the fields to the right.
3) Click the FuelID field to highlight it.
4) Use the < button to move the FuelID to the left (Figure 198).

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5) Click Next.

Figure 198: Selecting fields of a subform
Step 4: Get joined fields.
This step is for tables or queries for which no relationship has been
defined. Because we have already defined the relationship, the wizard
skips this step.
Note

Caution

It is possible to create a relationship between two tables that isbased upon more than one pair of fields. How to do that andwhy is discussed in the Base Guide.
When selecting a pair of fields from two tables to use as arelationship, they have to have the same field type. That is why
we used the Date field from both tables: both their field types
are Date[DATE].
Whether a single pair of fields from two tables are chosen as
the relationship or two or more pairs are chosen, certain
requirements must be met for the form to work.
• No field from the subform can be the Primary key for its table.
(FuelID cannot be used.)• Each pair of joined fields must have the same file type.
• One of the fields from the main form must be the Primary key
for its table. (Date would have to be used.)

Step 5: Arrange controls.
Each control in a form consists of two parts: label and field. This stepin creating the form determines where a control’s label and field areplaced in relationship with each other. The four choices from left toFree eBook Edition

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right are Columnar left, Columnar - Labels on top, As Data Sheet, andIn Blocks - Labels Above.
1) Arrangement of the main form:
Click the second icon
(Columnar - Labels on top). The
labels will be placed above
their field.
2) Arrangement of the subform:
Click the third icon (As Data
Sheet). (The labels are column
headings and the field entries
are in spreadsheet format.)
Click Next.

Step 6: Set data entry.
Unless you have a need for any of these entries to be checked, accept
the default settings. Click Next.
Step 7: Apply styles.
1) Select the color you want in the Apply Styles list. (I chose thebeige which is Orange 4 in the Color table.)2) Select the Field border you want. (I prefer the 3-D look. You mightwant to experiment with the different possible settings.)3) Click Next.
Step 8: Set name.
1) Enter the name for the form. In this case, it is Fuel.
2) Click Modify the form.
3) Click Finish. The form opens in Edit mode.

Modifying a form
We will be moving the controls to different places in the form andchanging the background to a picture. We will also modify the label for
the PaymentType field as well as change the field to a list box.
First, we must decide what we want to change. The discussion will
follow this ten step outline of our planned changes.

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1) Provide a dropdown capability for the Date field in the main form,
and lengthen the field to show the day of the week, month, day,and year.
2) Shorten the length of the payment fields (all fields containing theword Payment).
3) Move the controls into groups: food, fuel subform, andmiscellaneous.
4) Change the wording of some of the labels. Some single words
should be two words. Some abbreviations should be used if
possible (Misc. for miscellaneous).
5) Change the lengths of several fields and labels. Only Lunch,
Supper, Motel, and Tolls have acceptable lengths. But for a better
appearance, changes will be made to these as well.
6) Replace all the fields whose label ends in Payment with a list box
containing the entries from the Payment Type table.
7) Lengthen the Note field vertically, add a scroll bar, and move it.
8) Make changes in the Date and PaymentType columns of the
subform that are similar to the changes in the main form.
9) Add headings for each group in the main form.
10) Change the background to a picture, then modify some of thelabels so that they can be read clearly. Change the font color of
the headings.
Here are some methods that we will be using in these steps. The
controls in the main form consists of a label and its field. Sometimes
we want to work with the entire control, other times we want to workwith only the label or the field, and there are times when we want towork with a group of controls.
• Clicking a label or field selects the entire control. A borderappears around the control with eight green handles (Figure199). You can then drag and drop it where you want.

Figure 199: A selected control• Control+click a label or field selects only the label or the field(Figure 200). You can press the Tab key to change the selection
from the field to the label or the label to the field.

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Figure 200: Selecting a field of a control• Moving a group of controls is almost as easy as moving one ofthem.
1) Click the field of the top left control to be moved, to select it.
2) Move the cursor to just above and to the left of the selected
control.
3) Drag the cursor to the bottom right of the group of controls
and release the mouse button.
As you drag the cursor, a dashed box appears showing what iscontained in your selection. Make sure it is big enough toinclude the entire length of all the controls.
When you release the mouse button, a border with its green
handles appears around the controls you selected (Figure 201).

Figure 201: Selecting multiple controls
Move the cursor over one of the fields. It changes to a dragicon. Drag the group of controls to where you want them.

Tip

When either changing size or moving a control, two properties of
the Form Design toolbar should be selected: Snap to Grid, andGuides when Moving. Your controls will line up better, and an
outline of what you are moving moves as the cursor moves.
You should also have both rulers active (View > Ruler).

Step 1: Change the Date field.
1) Control+click the Date field to select it.
2) Move the cursor over the middle green handle on the right side. It
should change to a double-headed arrow.
3) Hold the left mouse button down as you drag the cursor to theright until the length is 6 cm. The vertical dashed line is lined up
with the 6. Release the mouse button.
4) Click the Control icon in the Form Controls toolbar (Figure 202).
The Properties: Date Field window opens. Each line contains aproperty of the field.

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Figure 202: Form Controls toolbar
•

•

Tip

Scroll down to the Date format property. This is a dropdown
list with Standard (short) as the default setting. Click it toopen the list. Select the Standard (long) entry.
Scroll down to the Dropdown property. Its default setting is
No. It is also a dropdown list. Click to open the list. Select Yes.
To see what the Date field will look like, click the Form Mode
On/Off icon (the second icon from the left in Figure 202). You
can do this any time you want to see the form with the changes
you have made.

Step 2: Shorten the width of some fields.
All of the fields with a label containing the word payment are too wide.
They need shortening before the controls are moved.
1) Control+click the BPayment field (Figure 203).

Figure 203: Selecting a field
2) Move the cursor over the middle green handle on the right. The
cursor becomes a double-headed arrow.
3) Drag the cursor to the left until the field is 2.5 cm wide (1 inch).
Tip

If you have the Snap to Grid and Guides when moving icons
selected in the Design Format toolbar, you will see how wide thefield is as you shorten it.

4) Repeat these steps to shorten these fields: Lpayment, SPayment,
SnPayment, Mpayment, and MiscPayment.
Step 3: Move the controls to group them by category.
We want to move the controls so that they look like Figure 204.

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Figure 204: Positioning of controls
1) Click the first control you want to move. A border appears aroundthe control with eight green handles.
2) Move the cursor over the label or field of the control. It change
shape to a drag icon.
3) Drag and drop the control to where you want it.
Caution

Do not use Control+click when moving a field. It moves either
the field or the label but not both. To move both, use a mouseclick and drag to the desired spot.

4) Use the same steps to move the rest of the controls to where they
belong.
Step 4: Change the label wording.
Field names have been single words for some time. However, thelabels for the fields in a form can be more than one word. So, we willchange them by editing the text in the label.

Note

The table wizard in Base contains suggested fields which aresingle words, often consisting of two separate words. Table
names in the wizard have been that way also. However, you can
use multiple words as the name of a field, label, or table. We will
do so when we create a list box for each of the payment typecontrols.

1) Control+click the SnackNo label. Do one of the following:•
Right-click the SnackNo label and select Control from the
pop-up menu.
•
Or, click the Control icon in the Form Control toolbar (Figure
202).

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2) The dialog that opens is labeled Properties: Label Field. It
contains all of the properties of the selected label.
• In the Label selection, edit the label to Snack No.
• Close the Properties dialog.
3) Use the same procedure to change these labels as well: BPayment
to Payment, LPayment to Payment, SPayment to Payment,
Miscellaneous to Misc., SnackCost to Snack Cost, MPayment toPayment, MiscPayment to Misc. Payment, and MiscNotes to Misc.
Notes.

Tip

You can modify all of the listings in the Properties window. For
example, if you change the Alignment from Left to Center, theword or words in the label are centered within the label. Whenyou have some time, you might want to experiment withdifferent settings just to see the results you get.

Step 5: Change the widths of the labels and fields.
We want the following controls to be 2 cm wide (0.8 inches): Breakfast,
Lunch, Supper, Odometer, Snack No., Tolls, Snack Cost, Motel, andMisc. All of the payment fields were changed in step 2, but Misc.
Payment needs to be changed to 3 cm (1.2 inches).
1) Right-click Breakfast and choose Position and Size. On the
Position and Size dialog, change Width to 2 cm.
2) Repeat for the other listed controls, using 3 cm for Misc.Payment.
Caution

Note

When changing the position or size of an entire control, use thePosition and Size dialog or the drag and drop method.
When working with either the label or the field (but not both at
the same time), you can use the Properties dialog to make thesechanges when you want to be exact. However, you need to becareful not to accidentally select the entire control for use with
the Properties dialog or you will apply the exact same values toboth the label and field. For example, if you enter the values fora new position, both the field and the label moves to the same
position and the field is positioned on top of the label. Then you
have to move each of them to where you want them.
To open the Properties window, right-click a control and selectControl from the pop-up menu. Or, you can click the Control
icon in the Form Controls toolbar. Just be careful, and use
Control+Z to undo any mistakes you may make. Detailed
instructions on how to use the Properties window will be in theBase Guide.

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Step 6: Replace fields with other fields.
We want to replace the PaymentType field with a List Box. Then we canchoose the type of payment from the Payment Type table rather thanhaving to manually enter the type. In my case, each of my payment
types begins with a different letter. If I enter the first letter of thepayment type, the rest of the word automatically appears. I can then
go to the next field.
1) Control+click the Payment field for Breakfast. The green handles
appear around the field but not around the Label (Figure 205).

Figure 205: Selecting a field of a control
2) Right-click within the green handles and select Replace with >List Box.
3) Click the Control icon in the Form Controls toolbar to open theProperties: List Box dialog.
4) On the General tab, scroll down to the Dropdown selection.
Change the No to Yes (Figure 206).

Figure 206: Dropdown list open toreveal choices5) Click the Data tab.
•Type of list contents is a dropdown list. Change it to Sql.

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Figure 207: Type of list contents dropdown
list•Type the following exactly as it is in the List contents box:
SELECT "Type", "Type" FROM "Payment Type"

Figure 208: List content for payment type fields

Note

•

•

What you wrote is called an SQL command. The words SELECTand FROM are written in capital letters because they arecommands. When the command SELECT is used, it requires afield name within quotation marks and then the field’s alias, also
within quotation marks. In this case, the field and its alias are thesame. The FROM command requires the name of the table whichcontains the field. Single-word table names do not require
quotation marks, but multiple-word table names do.

Repeat these steps for the payment fields for Lunch, Supper,
Motel, Snacks, and Misc. The main form should look like
Figure 209 as far as where the controls are located. It also
shows what the Note control should look like. Those changes
are explained in the next step.
Close the Properties window.

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Figure 209: Position of controls in main form
Step 7: Change the Misc. Notes field.
We want the Misc. Notes control, which has a field type of Memo, tohave a vertical scrollbar for additional text space if desired.
1) Control+click the Misc. Notes field. The green handles should
surround the field but not its label.
2) Click the Control icon to open the Properties window (Figure210).
3) Scroll down to the Scrollbars setting. Change the selection from
None to Vertical in this dropdown list.

Figure 210: Scrollbar selections in the Properties window
4) Close the Properties window.
5) Lengthen the Misc. Notes field by moving the cursor over the
middle green handle at the bottom of the field and dragging down
until the length is 6 cm (2.4 inches).

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Step 8: Change labels and fields in the subform.
The subform is located at the bottom of the form. We want to widen the
Date column, change the field in the PaymentType column to a list box,
and change the label for the PaymentType column to two words.
To widen the Date column, move the mouse pointer over the dividing
line between the Date and FuelCost columns. When the pointerchanges shape, click and drag to move the divider to the right.
To change the PaymentType column:
1) Right-click the label PaymentType and choose Replace with >List box from the menu.
2) Again right-click the label PaymentType to open the menu. SelectColumn to open the Properties dialog (Figure 211).
3) In the Label box, change PaymentType to Payment Type.
4) Click the Data tab.
5) From the Type of list contents dropdown list, select Sql.
6) Type the following exactly as it is written:
SELECT "Type", "Type" FROM "Payment Type"
7) Close the Properties dialog.

Figure 211: Properties window forcontrol in a subform

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Step 9: Add headings to groups.
This step is easier to do if you have end-of-paragraph markers visible.
Choose View > Nonprinting Characters to turn them on.
1) Make sure the cursor in in the upper left corner. If it is not, clickin that corner to move it there.
2) Press the Enter key to move the cursor down to the space
between the Date field and the Breakfast field.
3) Change the Apply Styles dropdown list from Default to Heading 2.
Figure 212: Apply Styles list
4) Use the spacebar to move the cursor to where you want theheading to start.
5) Type the heading Meals.
6) Use the spacebar to move the cursor to the center of snack area.
7) Type the heading Snacks.
8) Use the Enter key to move the cursor between the Supper control
and the subform.
9) Use the spacebar to move the cursor to the center of the subform.
10) Type the heading Fuel Data.

Note

If you know how to use styles, you can open the Styles andFormatting window using F11. Right-clicking the Heading 2
paragraph style allows you to modify the appearance of all threeheadings. See Chapter 6 of the Writer Guide for details.

Step 10: Change the background of a form.
The background for a form can be a color, or a graphic (picture). You
can use any of the colors in the Color Table at Tools > Options >OpenOffice.org > Colors. If you know how to create custom colors,
you can use them. You can also use a picture (graphic file) as the
background.
If you choose a dark background, you many need to change many ofthe labels and headings so they can be seen.
1) Select the labels of the top row of controls.
a) Control+click the Date label.

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b) Control+shift+click the rest of the labels of the top row. The
border will gradually grow to the right as you do this until all
the labels are enclosed in it.

Figure 213: Selecting multiple labels at one timec) Click the Control icon in the Design Form toolbar to open theProperties dialog.
d) Change the Background color selection from Default to Light
cyan. (This is a dropdown list.) Close the Properties dialog.
2) Select the other labels in the same way and then change theirbackground color.
3) To change the font color for the headings:a) Open Styles and Formating using the F11 key. Make sure theParagraph icon is selected at the left end of the icons inFigure 214.

Figure 214: Styles and Formating windowb) Right-click the Heading 2 style to open a pop-up window andselect Modify from this menu.
c) In the Paragraph Style Heading 2 dialog, click the Font
Effects tab. Change Font color from Automatic to Light Cyan.
d) Click OK to close the dialog.

Tip

Learning how to use styles can be very helpful at times. By using
styles, we changed the font color for all three headings at one
time. There are other methods of changing the font color, butthey require repeating the same steps for each heading.

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menu.
b) On the Page Style dialog, click the Background tab, change theAs dropdown list from Color to Graphic.
c) Click Browse to find and select the graphic file you want to use,and click Open.
d) In the Type section of the Background tab, select Area.
e) Click OK to close the dialog.
The form should look like Figure 215.

Figure 215: Finished form
Step 11: Change the tab order.
The Tab key moves the cursor from field to field. This is much easier todo than to click each field to enter data into it. It also permits us togroup our expenses into areas before we begin entering data. For
example, all of our meal receipts can be grouped together as can oursnacks and also our fuel purchases.
1) Control+click the Date field.
2) Click the Form Design icon in the Form Controls toolbar to open
the Form Design toolbar (Figure 216), or choose View >Toolbars > Form Design to open this toolbar.
3) Click the Activation Order icon (circled).

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Figure 216: Form Design toolbar with Activation Order icon circled
4) Rearrange the order of the fields in the Tab Order window.
a) Find the txtMPayment listing near the bottom of the list andclick it.
b) Click the Move Up button until txtPayment is just below
fmtMotel.
c) Use the same two steps to put the fields in the same order as
in Figure 217. Click OK.

Figure 217: Tab order for the main form
5) Save and close the form.
6) Save the database.

Creating forms and subforms in Design View
This method requires using the Form Controls and Form Design
toolbars extensively. These techniques are beyond the scope of thisdocument. Instructions for creating forms using Design view will be
described in the Database Guide.

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Accessing other data sources
OpenOffice.org allows data sources to be accessed and then linked into
OOo documents. For example, a mail merge links an external document
containing a list of names and addresses into a letter, with one copy ofthe letter being generated for each entry.
To access a data source that is not a *.odb file:1) File > New > Database opens the Database Wizard window.
2) Select Connect to an existing database. Click the arrow next to
the Database type field and select the database type from thedropdown list. Click Next.
3) Click Browse and select the database. Click Next.
4) Accept the default settings: Register the database for me, andOpen the database for editing. Click Finish. Name and save thedatabase in the location of your choice.

Accessing a spreadsheet as a data source
Accessing a spreadsheet is similar to accessing other databases:
1) Choose File > New > Database.
2) Select Connect to an existing database. Select Spreadsheet as the
Database type.
3) Click Browse to locate the spreadsheet you want to access. If the
spreadsheet is password protected, check the Password required
box. Click Next.
4) If the spreadsheet requires a user’s name, enter it. If a password
is also required, check its box. Click Next.

Note

Using this method of accessing a spreadsheet, you cannotchange anything in the spreadsheet. You can only view thecontents of the spreadsheet, run queries, and create reports
based upon the data already entered into the spreadsheet.
All changes in a spreadsheet must be made in the spreadsheet
itself, using Calc. After modifying the spreadsheet and saving it,
you will see the changes in the database. If you create and savean additional sheet in your spreadsheet, the database will havea new table the next time you access it.

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Registering *.odb databases
Databases created by OOo2.x or later are in the *.odb (OpenDocument
Base) format. Other programs can also produce databases in thisformat. Registered a *.odb database is simple:
1) Choose Tools > Options > OpenOffice.org Base > Databases.
2) Under Registered databases, click New.
3) Browse to where the database is located.
4) Make sure the registered name is correct.
5) Click OK.

Note

Sometimes when updating OOo to a newer version, your list ofregistered database files disappears. When that happens, youneed to use these steps to register your database files with yourlatest version of OOo.

Using data sources in OpenOffice.org
Having registered the data source, whether a spreadsheet, text
document, external database or other accepted data source, you canuse it in other OpenOffice.org components including Writer and Calc.

Viewing data sources
Open a document in Writer or Calc. To view the data sources available,press F4 or select View > Data Sources from the pull-down menu.
This brings up a list of registered databases, which will include
Bibliography and any other database registered, such as theAutomobile database created earlier in this chapter.
To view each database, click on the + to the left of the database’s
name (see Figure 218). This brings up Tables and Queries. Click on the+ next to Tables to view the individual tables created . Now click on atable to see all the records held in it.

Figure 218: Databases

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Editing data sources
Some data sources can be edited in the View Data Sources dialog. A
spreadsheet can not. A record can be edited, added, or deleted.
The data is displayed on the right side of the screen. Click in a field toedit the value.
Beneath the records are five tiny buttons. The first four movebackwards or forwards through the records, or to the beginning or end .
The fifth button, with a small star, inserts a new record (Figure 219).
Insert newrecordFigure 219: View Data Sources navigation buttons
To delete a record, right-click on the gray box to the left of a row tohighlight the entire row, and select Delete Rows to remove theselected row.

Figure 220: Deleting a row in the Data View window

Launching Base to work on data sources
You can launch OOo Base at any time from the View Data Source pane .
Just right-click on a database or the Tables or Queries icons and select
Edit Database File. Once in Base, you can edit, add, and delete tables,
queries, forms, and reports.

Using data sources in Writer and Calc
Data can be placed into Writer and Calc documents from the tables inthe data source window. In Writer, values from individual fields can beinserted. Or, a complete table can be created in the Writer document.
One common way to use a data source is to perform a mail merge.

Tip

Choosing Tools > Mail Merge Wizard or clicking on the Mail
Merge icon on the View Data Source pane launches the Mail
Merge wizard which steps you through creating a mail merge
document. See Chapter 11 in the Writer Guide.

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Writer documents
To insert a field from a table opened in the data source window into a
Writer document, click on the field name (the gray square at the top of
the field list) and, with the left mouse button held down, drag the field
onto the document. In a Writer document, it will appear as <FIELD>(where FIELD is the name of the field you dragged).
For example, to enter the cost of meals and who paid for them on acertain date of a vacation:1) Open the list of data sources (F4) and select the Vacations table in
the Automobile database.
2) Use this sentence: “On (date), our breakfast cost (amount) paid by(name), our lunch cost (amount) paid by (name), and our supper
cost (amount) paid by (name).” But only type “On , our breakfast
cost paid by , our lunch cost paid by , and our supper cost paidby .”3) To replace (date), click the field name Date in the data source
window and drag it to the right of the word On. The result: On<Date>. If you have Field shadings turned on (View > Field
shading), <Date> has a gray background. Otherwise it does not.
4) To replace first (amount), click the Breakfast field name and dragit to the right of our breakfast cost. Make sure you have theproper spacing between the field names and the words before andafter them. Result: breakfast cost <Breakfast>.
5) To replace the first (name), click the Bpayment field name anddrag it to the right of paid by. Result: paid by <Bpayment>.
6) In the same way, fill in the rest of the fields in the sentence.
••

Use <Lunch> and <LPayment> for the second set of (amount)and (name) in the sentence.
Use <Supper> and <SPayment> for the third set of (amount)and (name) in the sentence.

7) Final result: On <Date>, our breakfast cost <Breakfast> paid by<BPayment>, our lunch cost <Lunch> paid by <LPayment>, andour supper cost <Supper> paid by <SPayment>.
8) Add data to the fields of the sentence:•
Click the gray box to the left of the row of data you want toadd. That row should be highlighted like the second row of
Figure 221.
•
Click the Data to Fields icon (circled). This should fill thefields with the data from the row you chose.

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•
•

Click another row and then click this icon again. The data inthe sentence changes to this selected row of data.
Save the document if you want to use it as an example later.

Figure 221: Selected row in data source window
Adding data in table format is a little easier and takes perhaps fewer
steps. Some of the steps will be quite similar.
1) Navigate to the place you want to place the table and click thelocation.
2) Control+Click the gray box to the left of each row of the data
source that you want to be a row in your table when the rows are
not consecutive. To select consecutive rows, click the gray box tothe left of the top desired row and Shift+click the bottom desiredrow.
3) Click the Data to text icon to open the Insert Database Columns
dialog (Figure 222). (The Data to text icon is to the left of theData to Fields icon in Figure 221.)

Figure 222: Insert Database Columns dialog
4) Move the fields you want in your table from the Database
Columns list to the Table column(s) list.
•
To place the fields in the order you select, click the field anduse the single arrow to move the fields in the order you desire.

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You can also limit the fields you use to less than all of the
fields available.
If you want to use all of the fields, use the double arrow
pointing to the right to move all of them at one time. The
order of the fields in the table you create will be the same asin the data source table.
•
To remove a single field from the Table Column(s) list, click
the field and use the single arrow pointing to the left.
•
To start over, click the double arrow pointing to the left.
5) Select the settings for your table. Use the default settings as in
Figure 222.
6) Click OK. Save the document.
•

Calc spreadsheets
There are two ways to enter data in a Calc spreadsheet. One enters thedata into the spreadsheet cells. The other creates records in the
spreadsheet just like they are done in creating a form in a database.
While you can directly access the data in the spreadsheet cells, you can
only see the data in the records created in the spreadsheet.
Entering data directly to the spreadsheet cells uses the Data to Text
icon as we did to make a table in a Writer document. But differences
exist in these two situations.
The steps are straightforward.
1) Click the cell of the spreadsheet which you want to be the top leftof your data including the column names.
2) Use F4 to open the database source window and select the table
whose data you want to use.
3) Select the rows of data you want to add to the spreadsheet:•
Click the gray box to the left of the row you want to select if
only selecting one row. That row is highlighted.
•
To select multiple rows, hold down the Control key while
clicking the gray box of the rows you need. Those rows arehighlighted.
•
To select all the rows, click the gray box in the upper left
corner. All rows are highlighted.
4) Click the Data to text icon to insert the data into the spreadsheet
cells.
5) Save the spreadsheet.

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Adding records to a spreadsheet is fairly easy. You need to have theData Source window open, your spreadsheet open, and the table youwant to use selected.
1) Click the gray box above the field name for the table's ID field.
2) Drop and drag the gray box for the table's ID field to where youwant the record to appear in the spreadsheet.
3) Repeat until you have moved all of the fields you need to where
you want them.
4) Name and save the spreadsheet.
5) Click a row of the table in the Data Source window.
6) Drag the data in the ID field in the selected row onto the ID fieldin the spreadsheet. The Save icon should activate.
7) Click the Edit File button to make the spreadsheet read only.
Click Save when asked if you want to save the file.
8) The Data Source window goes blank, the fields in the spreadsheet
are populated with data from the row you selected, and the Form
Navigation toolbar appears at the bottom of the spreadsheet.
(Figure 223)
Figure 223: Navigation arrows of a form
9) Click the arrows on the Form Navigation toolbar to view thedifferent records of the table. (The arrows are circled in red.) The
number in the box changes when you change the record number
by clicking an arrow. The data in the fields changes
correspondingly to the data for that particular record number.

Entering data in a form
Records are used to organize the data we enter into a form. They alsoorganize the data we enter into a subform.
Each type of field allows a different method to enter the data. In many
if not all cases, more than one method can be used.
The first step to entering data in a form is to open it from the main
database window (Figure 183).
1) Click the Forms icon in the Database list.
2) Find the form’s name in the Forms list (Vacations).
3) Double-click the form’s name.

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The quickest way to enter a date in the Date field is to click the arrowthat opens the dropdown calendar. Then click the day the you want(Figure 224). Then press the Tab key to go to the Odometer field.

Figure 224: Calendar dropdown
The Odometer, Tolls, and Motel fields are numerical fields. Entervalues directly into them, or use the up and down arrows. When thevalue is entered, use the Tab key to go to the next field.
• Clicking the up arrow increases the value, and the down arrow

decreases the value one unit.
• These two arrows only change the numerals to the left of thedecimal place.
• Numerals to the right of the decimal place must be changed bydeleting them and typing the desired ones.
The Motel’s Payment field is a dropdown list. If as in my case, all of theelements of the list start with different letters, typing the first letterselects the desired entry.
• If two or more elements of the list have the same first letter,

repeated typing of the first letter will cycle through the elementswith this same first letter.
• When the selection is correct, use the Tab key to go to the Misc.
field.
The rest of the fields of the main form are either numerical fields or
dropdown lists until we reach the Misc. Notes field. It is a text field.
Type anything you desire in this field just as you would any simple text
editor.

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Note

Since the Tab key is used to move between fields, it can not be
used in a text field. All spacing must be done by the spacebar.
Finally, the Enter key only acts as a line break to move thecursor to the next line. While the Enter key will move from nontext fields to non-text fields, it will not do so from a text field.
Use the Tab key instead.
If we did not have a subform for fuel data, pressing the Tab key
in the last field would save all of the fields, clear them, andmake the form ready to accept data on the second record.

Since we have a subform form, using the Tab key places the cursor in
the first Date field of the subform with the date automatically entered
to match the Date field of the main form.
The FuelCost, FuelQuantity, and Odometer fields are numerical fields.
The Payment field is a dropdown list. Enter the data just as you did in
the main form, and use the Tab key to go to the next field.
When you use the Tab key to leave the Payment field, it goes to theDate field of the next line and automatically enters the date. Now you
can enter your second set of fuel data for this day.
To move to another record when the form has a subform, click any of
the fields of the main form. In this case, click the Date field of the mainform. Then use the directional arrows at the bottom. There are four ofthem from left to right: First Record, Previous Record, Next Record,and Last Record (Figure 223). To the right of these arrows is the New
Record icon.
To create a new record while in another record in the main form, click
either the Next Record icon or the New Record icon.

Tip

The number in the Record box is the number of the record whose
data is shown in the form.
If you know the number of the record you want, you can enter it
into the record box and then press Enter to take you to thatrecord.

Figure 225 is a record with data inserted in its fields.

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Figure 225: Sample record of the Vacation form and subform

Creating queries
Queries are used to get specific information from a database. Query
results are special tables within the database.
To demonstrate the use of queries, we will use two different methods:• Using our CD-Collection table, we will create a list of albums by aparticular artist. We will do this using the Wizard.
• The information we might want from the Fuel table includes what
our fuel economy is. We will do this using the Design View.
(Queries that require calculations are best created with the
Design view.)

Using the Wizard to create a query
Queries created by the wizard provide a list or lists of information
based upon what one wants to know. It is possible to obtain a single
answer or multiple answers, depending upon the circumstances.
In the main database window (Figure 183), click the Queries icon in
the Databases section, then in the Tasks section, click Use Wizard to
Create Query. The Query Wizard window opens (Figure 226). The
information we want is what albums are by a certain musical group orindividual (the album’s author). We can include when each album wasbought.

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Note

When working with a query, more than one table can be used.
Since different tables may contain the same field names, theformat for naming fields in a query is Table name.field name,with a period (.) between the table name and the field name. For
example, The Lunch field of the Vacation table used in a query
has the name Vacation.Lunch.

Step 1: Select the fields.
1) Select the CD-Collection table from the dropdown list of tables.
2) Select fields from the CD-Collection table in the Available fields
list.
a) Click Artist, and use the > button to move it to the Fields inthe Query list.
b) Move the AlbumTitle and DatePurchased fields in the samemanner.
c) Click Next.
Tip

To change the order of the fields, select the field you want tomove and click the up or down arrow.

Figure 226: First page of the Query Wizard

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Step 2: Select the sorting order.
Up to four fields can be used to sort the information of our query. A
little simple logic helps at this point. Which field is most important?
In our query, the artist is most important. The album title is lessimportant, and the date purchased is of least importance. Of course, if
we were interested in what music we bought on a given day, the datepurchased would be the most important.

Figure 227: Sorting order page1) Click the first Sort by dropdown list.
•
Click CD-Collection.Artist to select it.
•
To list the artists in alphabetical order (a-z), select Ascendingon the right.
2) Click the second Sort by dropdown list.
•
Click CD-Collection.ArtistTitle. and select Ascending.
3) Repeat this process for CD-Collection.DatePurchased.
4) Click Next.
Step 3: Select the search conditions.
The search conditions allow us to compare the name we entered with
the names of the artist in our database and decide whether to include aparticular artist in our query or not.
• is equal to: the same as• is not equal to: not the same as• is smaller than: comes before• is greater than: comes after• is equal or less than: the same as or comes before• is equal or greater than: the same as or comes after• like: similar to in some way

Note

These conditions apply to numbers, letters (using thealphabetical order), and dates.

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Chapter 8 Getting Started with Base2951) Since we are only searching for one thing, we will use the default
setting of Match all of the following.
2) We are looking for a particular artist, so select CD-Collection.
Artist in the Fields list and is equal to as the Condition.
3) Type the name of the artist in the Value box. Click Next.
Step 4: Select type of query.
We want simple information, so the default setting: Detailed query iswhat we want. Click Next at the bottom of the window.
Note

Since we have a simple query, the Grouping and Grouping
conditions are not needed. Steps 5 and 6 of the wizard areskipped in our query.

Step 7: Assign aliases if desired.
We want the default settings. Click Next.
Step 8: Overview.
Name the query (suggestion: Query_Artists). To the right of this are
two choices. Select Display Query. Click Finish.

Using the Design View to create a query
Creating a query using Design View is not as difficult as it may first
seem. It may take multiple steps, but each step is fairly simple.
What fuel economy is our vehicle getting (miles per gallon in the USA)?
This question requires creating two queries, with the first query being
used as part of the second query.
Step 1: Open the first query in Design View.
Click Create Query in Design View.
Step 2: Add tables.

Figure 228: Add Tables or Query window

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1) Click Fuel to highlight it.
2) Click Add. Click Close.
Tip

Move the cursor over the bottom edge of the fuel table (Figure229) and drag the to make it longer and easier to see all of the
fields in the table.

Figure 229: Fuel table in query
Step 3: Add fields to the table at the bottom.
1) Double-click the FuelID field in the Fuel table.
2) Double-click the Odometer field.
3) Double-click the FuelQuantity field.
The table at the bottom of the query window should now have threecolumns (Figure 230).

Figure 230: Query table
Step 4: Set the criterion for the query.
We want the query’s FuelID to begin with the numeral 1.
1) Type >0 in the Criterion cell under FuelID in the query table.
2) Click the Run Query icon in the Query Design toolbar (Figure
231).

Figure 231: Query Design toolbar

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Figure 232 contains the Fuel table with my entries and the query
results based upon the Fuel table: the query results are in the righttable.

Figure 232: Fuel table and query of the fuel table
Step 5: Save and close the query.
Since this query contains the ending odometer reading for our
calculations, name it End-Reading when saving it. Then close thequery.
Step 6: Create the query to calculate the fuel economy.
1) Click Create Query in Design View to open a new query.
2) Add the Fuel table to the query just as you did in step 2: Add
tables But, do not close the Add Tables window.
3) Add the End-Reading query to this query.
a) Click Queries to get the list of queries in the database.

Figure 233: Selecting queries to add to another queryb) Click End-Reading.
c) Click Add, and then click Close.
Step 7: Add fields to the table at the bottom of the query.
We are going to calculate the fuel economy. To do this we need the
FuelQuantity and distance traveled. Since the FuelQuantity we want to
use is at the ending odometer reading, we will use the End-Reading
query to get it. We will also use the Odometer field from the Fuel table
and End-Reading query.

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Figure 234: Tables in this query
1) Double-click FuelQuantity in the End-Reading query.
2) Double-click Odometer in the End-Reading query.
3) Double-click Odometer in the Fuel table.

Figure 235: Added fields to the query
Step 8: Enter the FuelID difference field.
We want the difference between the FuelID value of the Fuel table and
FuelID value of the End-Reading query to equal one (1).
1) Type "End-Reading".FuelID - Fuel.FuelID in the field to theright of the Odometer field of the Fuel Table (Figure 236).
Type the numeral 1 (one) in the Criterion cell of this column.

Figure 236: Typing in calculation of fields
2) Calculate the distance traveled (Figure 237):•
Type "End-Reading".Odometer – Fuel.Odometer in the Field
cell.
•Type >0 in the Criterion cell.

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Figure 237: Field for distance traveled
calculations
3) Calculate fuel economy (Figure 238):
Type ("End-Reading".Odometer – Fuel.Odometer)/"EndReading".FuelQuantity in the next column to the right of theword Field.

Figure 238: Fuel economy calculation field

Note

When entering fields for these calculations, you must follow
this format: table or query name followed by a period follow by
the field name. For hyphenated or multiple-word names (tableor query), use double quotes around the table or query name.
The query will then add the rest of the double quotes as in
Figure 236.
Use the arithmetical symbol between the two. More than one
calculation can be done by using parentheses to group thearithmetical operations.

Step 9: Run the query and make some modification.
After we run the query to make sure it works correctly, we will hide allof the fields that we do not need.
1) Click the Run Query icon in the Design Query toolbar (Figure231). The results are in Figure 239.

Figure 239: Result of running the fuel economy query

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Notice that not all of the last column label is visible because someof the labels are long. We can fix this problem by using an alias
for many of the fields. The labels are replaced by their aliases.
2) Add Aliases:
Type in the aliases as they are listed in Figure 240.

Figure 240: Query table with aliases added
3) Run the query again. The results are in Figure 235.

Figure 241: Query run with aliases
We really do not need the column showing the difference between
the FuelID fields from the table and query, so we will hide it.
While it will not be visible, it will still be used in the calculations.
4) Hide a field that does not need to be seen.
Remove the check in the box of the Visible cell as in Figure 242.

Figure 242: Making a field invisible in a query run5) Rerun the query (Figure 243).

Figure 243: Query run with aliases
Step 10: Close, save, and name the query.
My suggestion for a name is Fuel Economy.
There are obviously other calculations that can be made in this query
such as cost per distance traveled and how much of the cost belongs toeach of the payments types.

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Note

To fully use queries requires a knowledge of set operations(unions, intersections, and, or, complements, and any
combinations of these). Having a copy of the Hsqldb User Guide,available from http://hsqldb.org/, is also extremely useful.

Creating reports
Reports provide information found in the database in a useful way. In
this they are similar to queries. Reports are generated from thedatabase’s tables or queries. They can contain all of the fields of thetable or query or just a selected group of fields. Reports can be staticor dynamic. Static reports contain the data in the selected fields at thetime the report was created. Dynamic reports can be updated to show
the latest data.
For example, a report on expenses for a vacation in the past should
probably be a static report because it is based upon specific data that
does not change. However, a report on the fuel data should probably
be a dynamic report, because this report depends upon data that doeschange.

CautionDynamic reports update only the data that is changed or added
to a table or query. They do not show any modifications made to
the table or query itself. For example, after creating the report
below, open the fuel economy query created in the previous
section. For the "End-Reading".”Odometer – Fuel.”Odometer”
column, change the number 1 to the number 3. The report willbe identical before and after you make the change.

All reports are based upon a single table or query. So you need first to
decide what fields you want to use in the report. If you want to use
fields from different tables, you must first combine these fields in asingle query. Then you can create a report on this query.
For example, a report on vacation expenses includes both fuel costs
and meal costs. These values are contained in fields of two different
tables: Vacations and Fuel. So this report requires creating a query.

Creating a static report
We will create a report on vacation expenses. Certain questions need
to be asked before creating the report.
• What information do we want in the report?

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• How do we want the information arranged?
• What fields are required to provide this information?
• Will a query have to be created because these fields are indifferent tables?
• Are there any calculations required in the data before being
added to the report?
The expenses for our vacation are motel, tolls, miscellaneous,breakfast, lunch, supper, snacks, and fuel. One possible report would
simply list the totals of each of these expense groups. Another possible
report would list the expense totals for each day of the vacation. A
third possible report would list the totals for each expense group foreach type of payment. (This would let us know where the money camefrom to pay the expenses.) The best way to create reports like these isto create the queries needed to gather the needed data, insert thequery data into a spreadsheet, and use the necessary Calc functions on
this data.
We will create two reports, one listing the expenses each day otherthan fuel and the second listing the fuel costs each day.
The fields we need for the first report from the Vacations table are:Date, Motel, Toll, Breakfast, Lunch, Supper, SnackCost, andMiscellaneous. This report will not require an additional query.
The second report involves the Fuel table. Since this table includes fuelpurchases at times other than during the vacation, we need to create aquery that contains only the fuel purchased during the vacation.

Vacations table report
To create a new report.
1) Click the Reports icon in the Database list in the Automobile –OpenOffice.org Base window (Figure 183).
2) In the Tasks list, click Use Wizard to Create Report. The Report
Wizard opens.
Step 1: Field selection
1) Select Table: Vacations in the Tables or Queries dropdown list.
2) Use the > to move these fields from the Available fields list to theFields in report list: Date, Motel, Tolls, Miscellaneous, Breakfast,
Lunch, Supper, and SnackCost (Figure 244). Click Next.

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Figure 244: Adding fields to a report
Step 2: Labeling fields
Change any field labels you wish. We will shorten Miscellaneous to
Misc. Click Next.
Step 3: Grouping
Since we are grouping by the date, use the > button to move the Date
field to the Grouping list. Click Next.

Figure 245: Selecting fields for grouping data
Step 4: Sort options
We do not want to do any additional sorting. Click Next.
Step 5: Choose layout
Use default settings for the layout. Click Next.
Step 6: Create report•••Label the report: Vacation Expenses.
Select Static report.
Click Finish.

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Note

If you feel adventurous, try selecting some of the other layout
choices. After selecting a choice, drag the Report Wizard
window out of the way so that you can see what you haveselected. (Move the cursor over the Title Bar of the window, andthen drag and drop.)

Vacation fuel report
1) Create a query containing only fuel bought on the days of thevacation.
a) Open a query in Design View.
b) Follow the steps for adding tables in “Add tables” on page 296
to add the Fuel table.
c) In the Fuel table, double-click Date and FuelCost to enter
them in the table at the bottom of the query.
d) In the Criterion cell of the Date field, type the following:
BETWEEN #5/25/2007# AND #5/26/2007#

Figure 246: Setting the criterion for a query
2) Save, name, and close the query. (Suggestion: Vacation Fuel
Purchases.)

Tip

When using dates in a query, enter them in numerical form
MM/DD/YYYY or DD/MM/YYYY depending upon your language's
default setting for dates (my default setting is MM/DD/YYYY).
Each date must have a # before and after it. Hence, May 25,
2007 is written #05/25/2007# or #25/5/2007# depending upon
your language’s default setting for dates.

3) Open a new report.
•
Right-click the Vacation Fuel Purchases query.
•
Select Report Wizard from the pop-up menu.

Note

When a new report is opened in this way, the query used toopen it is automatically selected in the Tables or queries
dropdown list in the Report Wizard.

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4) Create the report.
Use >> to move both fields from the Available fields list to theFields in report list. Click Next.
5) Label fields.
Add a space to FuelCost to make it Fuel Cost (two words). Click
Next.
6) Group fields.
Click Date to highlight it. Use > to move the Date field to theGroupings list. Click Next.
7) Choose layout.
We will be making no changes in the layout. Click Next.
8) Create report (final settings).
•
Use the suggested name, which is the same as the query.
•
Select Static report. Click Finish.

Creating a dynamic report
Now we will create a report with some statistics on our fuelconsumption. To do this, we have to modify two queries: End-Reading
and Fuel Economy. We will be adding the FuelCost field to the EndReading query. Then we will add the FuelCost field from the EndReading query to the Fuel Economy query.
Tip

When opening a query to edit it, it might appear as in Figure247. If you move your cursor over the black line (circled), it
becomes a double headed arrow. Drag it to a lower position.

Figure 247: Appearance of query when opened for editing

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1) Add the FuelCost field to the End-Reading query:a) Right-click the End-Reading query and select Edit from the
pop-up menu.
b) In the Fuel table list, double-click to add FuelCost to thebottom table (Figure 248).
c) Save and close the query.

Figure 248: Adding an additional field to the query
2) Add the FuelCost field from the End-Reading query to the Fuel
Economy query:•
Right-click the Fuel Economy query and select Edit from the
pop-up menu.
•
Double-click the FuelCost field in the End-Reading query list
to add it to the query table at the bottom.
3) Add a calculation field to the right of the FuelCost field.
•
Type the following in a Field cell in the table at the bottom:"End-Reading".FuelCost/("End-Reading".Odometer –Fuel.Odometer)•
Type the following in its Alias cell: cost per mile.
Note

If you use the metric system, cost per km is the appropriate
alias.

4) Save and close the query.
5) Open a new report.
Right-click the Fuel Economy query and select Report Wizard.
6) Select fields.
Move all the fields from the Available fields to the Fields in reportlist. Use the >> to do so. Click Next.
7) Label fields.
Change FuelCost to Fuel Cost by placing a space between thewords. Click Next.

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Use > to move the Date field to the Groupings list. Click Next.
9) Sort options: the wizard skipped this one.
10) Choose layout: accept the default. Click Next.
11) Create the report.
•
Change the report name to Fuel Statistics.
•
The default setting is Dynamic report, so no change isnecessary.
•
Select Modify report layout.
•
Click Finish.

Modifying a report
At the end of the last section, we left the Fuel Statistics report open in
the edit mode (Figure 249). We will be working on that report. Thesesame steps can be used with any report that you open for editing.

Figure 249: A report in edit mode
The Author is the name you listed in Tools > Options >OpenOffice.org > User Data. The date is not correct. The columns
need to be moved to the left to give a better appearance. None of thenumbers are correct, but their only purpose is to show the number ofdecimal places.
Step 1: Change the date.
1) Click to the right of the date (4/26/20) so that the cursor is next to
the field. Use the Backspace key to erase the date.
2) Insert > Fields > Date. This places today’s date where theoriginal date was.
3) Change the date formatting:a) Double-click the date field you just inserted. The Edit Fields:
Document window opens (Figure 250).

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Figure 250: Modifying a date fieldb) Since this is a dynamic report, change the Select field from
Date (fixed) to Date.
c) Change the Format to what you desire. (I use the Friday,
December 31, 1999 choice.) Click OK.
Step 2: Change the column widths.
The column widths can be changed by moving the cursor over the rightborder of each column so that it becomes a double-headed arrow. Thendrag and drop it to where you want it. This has to be done for eachcolumn in each table in the report. This can also be done with the lastcolumn on the right even though there is no black border. It should
now look something like Figure 251.

Figure 251: Realigned columns in a report
Step 3: Change the number formatting in the cells.
The fuel quantity should have three decimal places. The Begin, End,and Distance should have one decimal place. Fuel Cost should becurrency and have two decimal places, and Cost per mile should havethree decimal places.
1) Right-click the cell below Quantity and select Number format.
(The cell is circled in Figure 251.)
2) In the Options section (Figure 252),a) Change the number of Decimal places to 3.
b) Click the green checkmark. Click OK.

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Figure 252: Option section of the Number Formating window
3) Change the Cost per mile field.
a) Right-click in the cell below Fuel Cost.
b) Select Number Format.
c) In the Category list, select Currency. Click OK.
4) Change the Fuel Cost field.
a) Right-click in the cell below Cost per mile.
b) Select Number Format.
c) In the Category list, select Currency.
d) In the Option section:•
Set the number of decimal places to 3.
•
Click the green checkmark.
e) Click OK.
Step 4: Save and close the report.
Double-click the report. It should now look like Figure 253.

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More ways to create reports
An extension is available to assist in report creation. Sun Report
Builder creates stylish, complex database reports. You can definegroup and page headers, group and page footers, and calculation
fields. It is available from http://extensions.services.openoffice.org/.
To install this extension, follow these steps:
1) Choose Tools > Extension Manager from the menu bar. In the
Extension Manager dialog, click Get more extensions online....
2) The OOo extensions page opens in your browser. Find and selectthe extension you want and follow the prompts to install it. During
installation, you will be asked to accept a license agreement.
3) When the installation is complete, the extension is listed in the
Extension Manager dialog.
For more about extensions, see Chapter 14 (Customizing
OpenOffice.org).

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9

Chapter
Getting Started with Math
OpenOffice.org’s Equation Editor

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What is Math?
Math is OpenOffice.org (OOo)’s component for writing mathematicalequations. It is most commonly used as an equation editor for text
documents, but it can also be used with other types of documents or
stand-alone. When used inside Writer, the equation is treated as an
object inside the text document.
Note

The equation editor is for writing equations in symbolic form, asin equation 1. If you want to evaluate a numeric value, see theCalc Guide.

df  x−12=ln  x  tan  x dx(1)

Getting started
To insert an equation, choose Insert > Object > Formula. The
equation editor opens at the bottom of the screen, and the floating
Formula Elements window (called “Selection” before Math 3.2) may
appear. A small box with a gray border also appears in your document,
where the formula will be displayed, as shown in Figure 254.

Figure 254. Equation Editor, Formula Elements window, andlocation of resulting equation.

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Entering a formula
The equation editor uses a markup language to represent formulas. For
example, %beta creates the Greek character beta (  ). This markup isdesigned to read similar to English whenever possible. For example, aaover b produces a fraction: b .
You can enter a formula in three ways:• Select a symbol from the Formula Elements window.
• Right-click on the equation editor and select the symbol from thecontext menu.
• Type markup in the equation editor.
The context menu and the Formula Elements window insert themarkup corresponding to a symbol. This provides a convenient way tolearn the OOo Math markup.
Note

Click on the document body to exit the formula editor.
Double-click on a formula to enter the formula editor again.

The Formula Elements window
The simplest method for entering a formula is to use the Formula
Elements window, shown in Figure 254.

Figure 255. Symbols are divided into categories
Note

In OOo Math before V3.2.0, the Formula Elements window wascalled the Selection window.

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The Formula Elements window is divided into two main parts.
• The top shows the symbol categories. Click on these to change
the list of symbols.
• The bottom shows the symbols available in the current category.
Tip

You can hide or show the Formula Elements window with View
> Formula Elements.

Example 1: 5×4
For this example we will enter a simple formula: 5×4 . On the Formula
Elements window (Figure 256):
1) Select the top-left button of the categories (top) section.
2) Click on the multiplication symbol.

Figure 256. Selecting the multiplication symbol
When you select the multiplication symbol on the Formula Elements
window, two things happen:• The equation editor shows the markup: <?> times <?>• The body of the document shows a gray box like this: ×Free eBook Edition

Figure 257. Result of selecting the multiplication symbol
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315

The <?> symbols shown in Figure 257 are placeholders that you canreplace by other text, for example 5 and 4. The equation will update
automatically, and the result should resemble Figure 258.

Figure 258. Result of entering 5 and 4 next to the times operator

Tip

To keep the equation from updating automatically, choose View
>AutoUpdate display from the menu bar. To update a formulamanually, press F9 or choose View > Update.

Right-click menu
Another way to access mathematical symbols is to right-click on theequation editor. This pops up the menu shown in Figure 259. The itemsin this menu correspond exactly to those in the Formula Elements
window.

Figure 259. Right-click menu

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Markup
You can type the markup directly in the equation editor. For example,
you can type 5 times 4 to obtain 5×4 . If you know the markup, thiscan be the fastest way to enter a formula.
Tip

The formula markup resembles the way the formula reads in
English.

Below is a short list of common equations and their corresponding
markup.
Display

Command

Display

Command

a=b

a=b

a

sqrt {a}

a2

a^2

an

a_n

∫ f  x dx

int f(x) dx∑ ansum a_na≤ba <= b∞infinity

a×b

a times bx⋅yx cdot y

Greek characters
Greek characters (  ,  ,  ,  , etc) are common in mathematicalformulas. These characters are not available in the Formula Elements
window or on the right-click menu. Fortunately, the markup for Greek
characters is simple: Type a % sign followed the name of the character,in English.
• To write a lowercase character, type the name of the character inlowercase.
• To write an uppercase character, type the name of the characterin uppercase.
See the table below for some examples.
Lowercase

Uppercase%alpha %ALPHA 

A

%beta





%BETA



B

%gamma %GAMMA 



%psi

 

%PSI

 

%phi

 

%PHI

 

%theta 

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Note

A complete table of Greek characters is provided in the Math
Objects chapter in the Writer Guide.

Another way to enter Greek characters is by using the Symbols catalog
window. Choose Tools > Catalog. This window is shown in Figure260. Under Symbol set, select Greek and double-click on a Greek
letter from the list.

Figure 260. Symbols catalog, used for entering Greek characters

Example 2:  ≃ 3.14159
For this example we will suppose that:• We want to enter the above formula (the value of pi rounded to 5
decimal places).
• We know the name of the Greek character (pi).
• But we do not know the markup associated with the ≃ symbol.
Step 1: Type % followed by the text pi. This displays the Greek
character  .
Step 2: Open the Formula Elements window (View > Formula
Elements).
Step 3: The ≃ symbol is a relation, so we click on the Relations
button. If you hover the mouse over this button you see the tooltip
Relations (Figure 261).
Figure 262 shows the Formula Elements window after clicking theRelations button. The symbol we want is circled.

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Figure 261. Tooltip indicates
the Relations button.

Figure 262. After selecting
Relations.
Step 4: Click on the a ≃ b symbol. The equation editor now shows themarkup %pi<?> simeq <?>.
Step 5: Delete the <?> text and add 3.14159 at the end of theequation. We end up with the markup %pi simeq 3.14159. The resultis shown in Figure 263.

Figure 263. Final result

Customizations
Formula editor as a floating window
The formula editor can cover a large part of the Writer window. To turnthe formula editor into a floating window, do this:1) Hover the mouse over the editor frame, as shown in Figure 264.

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2) Hold down the Control key and double-click.

Figure 264. Hold down the Control key anddouble-click on the border of the formula
editor to turn it into a floating window.
Figure 265 shows the result. You can dock the floating window again
by using the same steps. Hold down the Control key and double-click
the window frame.

Figure 265. Formula editor as a floating window.

How can I make a formula bigger?
This is one of the most common questions people ask about OOo Math.
The answer is simple, but not intuitive:1) Start the formula editor and choose Format > Font size.

Figure 266. Changing the font size for a formula.

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2) Select a larger font size under Base size (top-most entry).

Figure 267. Edit Base size (top) to make a formula bigger.
The result of this change is illustrated in Figure 268.

Figure 268. Result of changing the base font size.

Formula layout
The most difficult part of using OOo Math comes when writing
complicated formulas. This section provides some advice.

Brackets are your friends
OOo Math knows nothing about order of operation. You must use
brackets to state the order of operations explicitly. Consider thefollowing example.
MarkupResult
x + 1

2
1
x

2 over {x + 1}2x1

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Equations over more than one line
Suppose you want to type an equation covering more than one line. For
x=3
example:y=1
Your first reaction would be to simply press the Enter key. However, if
you press the Enter key, though the markup goes to a new line, theresulting equation does not. You must type the newline command
explicitly. This is illustrated in the table below.
Markupx = 3
y = 1

Resultx=3 y=1

x = 3 newline
y = 1

How do I add limits to my sum/integral?
The sum and int commands can (optionally) take the parameters fromand to. These are used for lower and upper limits respectively. These
parameters can be used singly or together. Limits for integrals areusually treated as subscripts and superscripts.
MarkupResultnsum from k = 1 to n a_k

∑ ak
k =1

int from 0 to x f(t) dtor
int_0^x f(t) dt∫ f t  dt or ∫0 f t dt

int from Re f∫f

sum to infinity 2^{-n}

Note

x

x

0

ℜ

∞

∑ 2−n

For more details on integrals and sums, see the Math Objects
chapter in the Writer Guide.

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Brackets with matrices look ugly!
For background, we start with an overview of the matrix command.
MarkupResultmatrix { a # b ## c # d }

a b
c d

Note

Rows are separated by two #’s and entries within each row are
separated by one #.

The first problem people have with matrices is that brackets do notscale with the matrix.
Markup(matrix { a # b ## c # d }Result)OOo Math provides scalable brackets. That is, the brackets grow insize to match the size of their contents. Use the commands left( andright) to make scalable brackets.
MarkupResultright)

 
a b
c d

left(

matrix { a # b ## c # d }TipUse left[ and right] to obtain square brackets.

How do I make a derivative?
Making derivatives essentially comes down to one trick: Tell OOo it’s afraction.
In other words, you have to use the over command. Combine this witheither the letter d (for a total derivative) or the partial command (for apartial derivative) to achieve the effect of a derivative.
Note

Notice that we have to use braces (squiggly brackets) to makethe derivative.

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MarkupResult{df} over {dx}{partial f} over {partial y}{partial^2 f} over {partial t^2}

How do I align my equations at the equals sign?
OOo Math does not have a command for aligning equations on aparticular character, but you can use a matrix to do this, as shown
below.
MarkupResultmatrix{alignr x+y # {}={} # alignl 2 ##alignr x# {}={} # alignl 2-y}x y = 2
x = 2− yThe empty braces around = are necessary because = is a binary
operator and thus needs an expression on each side.
You can reduce the spacing around = if you change the inter-column
spacing of the matrix:
1) With the equation editor open, choose Format > Spacing fromthe menu bar.

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2) In the Spacing dialog (Figure 269), click the Category button andselect Matrices in the drop-down menu.
3) Enter 0% for Column spacing and click OK.

Numbering equations
Equation numbering is one of OOo Math’s best hidden features. The
steps are simple, but obscure:1) Start a new line.
2) Type fn and then press F3.
The fn is replaced by a numbered formula:

E=mc

2

(2)

Now you can double-click on the formula to edit it. For example, hereis the Riemann Zeta function:
∞

1
z
n=1 n

 z = ∑(3)

You can reference an equation (“as shown in Equation (2)”) with thesesteps:
1) Choose Insert > Cross-reference from the menu bar.
2) On the Cross-references tab (Figure 270), under Type, select Text.
3) Under Selection, select the equation number.
4) Under Format, select Reference.
5) Click Insert.
Done! If you later add more equations to the paper before thereferenced equation, all the equations will automatically renumber andthe cross-references will update.
Tip

To insert the equation number without parenthesis around it,choose Numbering instead of Reference under Format.

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Figure 270. Inserting a cross-reference to an equation number

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10Chapter
Printing, Exporting,and E-mailingFree eBook Edition

Introduction
This chapter provides general information about printing, exporting,and e-mailing documents from OOo.

Quick printing
Click the Print File Directly icon
to send the entire document to
the default printer defined for your computer.

Note

You can change the action of the Print File Directly icon tosend the document to the printer defined for the document
instead of the default printer for the computer. Go to Tools >Options > Load/Save > General and select the Loadprinter settings with the document option.

Controlling printing
For more control over printing, use File > Print to display the Print
dialog.
On the Print dialog, you can choose:• Which printer to use (if more than one are installed on yoursystem) and the properties of the printer—for example,
orientation (portrait or landscape), which paper tray to use, andwhat paper size to print on. The properties available depend on
the selected printer; consult the printer’s documentation for
details.
• What pages to print, how many copies to print, and in what orderto print them. Use dashes to specify page ranges and commas or
semicolons to separate ranges; for example: 1, 5, 11–14, 34–40.
Selection is the highlighted part of a page or pages.
• What items to print. Click the Options button to display the
Printer Options dialog.
Selections on the Printer Options dialog are different in Writer, Calc,
Impress, and Draw, but in all cases they apply to this printing of thisdocument only. For details, see the chapters on the various OOo
components.
To specify default printing options, see Chapter 2 (Setting up
OpenOffice.org) and the chapters on the various OOo components.

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Figure 271. The Print dialog

Exporting to PDF
OpenOffice.org can export documents to PDF (Portable Document
Format). This industry-standard file format is ideal for sending the file
to someone else to view using Adobe Reader or other PDF viewers.
The process and dialogs are the same for Writer, Calc, Impress, andDraw, with a few minor differences mentioned in this section.

Quick export to PDF
Click the Export Directly as PDF icon
to export the entire
document using your default PDF settings. You are asked to enter the
file name and location for the PDF file, but you do not get a chance tochoose a page range, the image compression, or other options.

Controlling PDF content and quality
For more control over the content and quality of the resulting PDF, use
File > Export as PDF. The PDF Options dialog opens. This dialog has
five pages (General, Initial View, User Interface, Links, and Security).
Make your selections, and then click Export. Then you are asked toenter the location and file name of the PDF to be created, and click
Save to export the file.

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General page of PDF Options dialog
On the General page, you can choose which pages to include in the
PDF, the type of compression to use for images (which affects thequality of images in the PDF), and other options.

Figure 272: General page of PDF Options dialog
Range section• All: Exports the entire document.
• Pages: To export a range of pages, use the format 3-6 (pages 3 to6). To export single pages, use the format 7;9;11 (pages 7, 9, and11). You can also export a combination of page ranges and single
pages, by using a format like 3-6;8;10;12.
• Selection: Exports whatever material is selected.
Images section• Lossless compression: Images are stored without any loss ofquality. Tends to make large files when used with photographs.
Recommended for other kinds of images or graphics.

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• JPEG compression: Allows for varying degrees of quality. A

setting of 90% works well with photographs (small file size, little
perceptible loss of quality).
• Reduce image resolution: Lower-DPI (dots per inch) images
have lower quality. For viewing on a computer screen generally aresolution of 72dpi (for Windows) or 96dpi (GNU/Linux) is
sufficient, while for printing it is generally preferable to use atleast 300 or 600 dpi, depending on the capability of the printer.
Higher dpi settings greatly increase the size of the exported file.
Note

EPS images with embedded previews are exported only as
previews. EPS images without embedded previews areexported as empty placeholders.

General section• PDF/A-1: PDF/A is an ISO standard established in 2005 for longterm preservation of documents, by embedding all the pieces
necessary for faithful reproduction (such as fonts) whileforbidding other elements (including forms, security, encryption,and tagged PDF). If you select PDF/A-1, the forbidden elements
are greyed-out (not available).
• Tagged PDF: Exports special tags into the corresponding PDF
tags. Some tags that are exported are table of contents,
hyperlinks, and controls. This option can increase file sizes
significantly.
• Create PDF form - Submit format: Choose the format ofsubmitting forms from within the PDF file. This setting overrides
the control’s URL property that you set in the document. There is
only one common setting valid for the whole PDF document: PDF(sends the whole document), FDF (sends the control contents),
HTML, and XML. Most often you will choose the PDF format.
• Export bookmarks: Exports headings in Writer documents, andpage names in Impress and Draw documents, as “bookmarks” (atable of contents list displayed by some PDF readers, including
Adobe Reader).
• Export comments: Exports comments in Writer and Calc
documents as PDF notes. You may not want this! In Impress,
exports a set of Comments pages following the set of slides.
• Export automatically inserted blank pages: If selected,
automatically inserted blank pages are exported to the PDF. Thisis best if you are printing the PDF double-sided. For example,
books usually have chapters set to always start on an odd-

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numbered (right-hand) page. When the previous chapter ends onan odd page, OOo inserts a blank page between the two odd
pages. This option controls whether to export that blank page.

Initial View page of PDF Options dialog
On the Initial View page, you can choose how the PDF opens by default
in a PDF viewer. The selections should be self-explanatory.

Figure 273: Initial View page of PDF Options dialog

User Interface page of PDF Options dialog
On the User Interface page (Figure 274), you can choose more settings
to control how a PDF viewer displays the file. Some of these choices
are particularly useful when you are creating a PDF to be used as apresentation or a kiosk-type display.
Window options section• Resize window to initial page. Causes the PDF viewer window
to resize to fit the first page of the PDF.
• Center window on screen. Causes the PDF viewer window to becentered on the computer screen.
• Open in full screen mode. Causes the PDF viewer to open fullscreen instead of in a smaller window.

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• Display document title. Causes the PDF viewer to display the

document’s title in the title bar.

Figure 274: User Interface page of PDF Options dialog
User interface options section• Hide menubar. Causes the PDF viewer to hide the menu bar.
• Hide toolbar. Causes the PDF viewer to hide the toolbar.
• Hide window controls. Causes the PDF viewer to hide otherwindow controls.
Transitions
In Impress, displays slide transition effects as their respective PDF
effects.
Bookmarks
Select how many heading levels are displayed as bookmarks, if
Export bookmarks is selected on the General page.

Links page of PDF Options dialog
On this page you can choose how links are exported to PDF.
Export bookmarks as named destinations
If you have defined Writer bookmarks, Impress or Draw slide names,or Calc sheet names, this option exports them as “named
destinations” to which Web pages and PDF documents can link.

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Convert document references to PDF targets
If you have defined links to other documents with OpenDocument
extensions (such as .ODT, .ODS, and .ODP), this option converts thefiles names to .PDF in the exported PDF document.

Figure 275: Links page of PDF Options dialog
Export URLs relative to file system
If you have defined relative links in a document, this option exports
those links to the PDF.
Cross-document links
Defines the behavior of links clicked in PDF files.

Security page of PDF Options dialog
PDF export includes options to encrypt the PDF (so it cannot be
opened without a password) and apply some digital rights management(DRM) features.
• With an open password set, the PDF can only be opened with the

password. Once opened, there are no restrictions on what theuser can do with the document (for example, print, copy, orchange it).
• With a permissions password set, the PDF can be opened byanyone, but its permissions can be restricted. See Figure 276.
After you set a password for permissions, the other choices on the
Security page become available.
• With both the open password and permission password set, thePDF can only be opened with the correct password, and its
permissions can be restricted.
Figure 277 shows the pop-up dialog displayed when you click the Set
open password button on the Security page of the PDF Options
dialog.

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Figure 276: Security page of PDF Options dialog

Figure 277: Setting a password to encrypt a PDF

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Note

Permissions settings are effective only if the user’s PDF viewer
respects the settings.

Exporting to other formats
OOo uses the term “export” for some file operations involving a changeof file type. If you cannot find what you want under Save As, lookunder Export as well.
OpenOffice.org can export files to XHTML. In addition, OOo Draw andOOo Impress can export to Adobe Flash (.swf) and a range of image
formats.
To export to one of these formats, choose File > Export. On the Export
dialog, specify a file name for the exported document, then select therequired format in the File format list and click the Export button.

E-mailing documents
OOo provides several ways to quickly and easily send documents as ane-mail attachment in one of three formats: OpenDocument (OOo’s
default format), Microsoft Office formats, or PDF.
To send the current document in OpenDocument format:
1) Choose File > Send > Document as E-mail. OpenOffice.org
opens the e-mail program specified in Tools > Options >Internet > E-mail. The document is attached.
2) In your e-mail program, enter the recipient, subject and any text
you want to add, then send the e-mail.
File > Send > E-mail as OpenDocument Text (or Spreadsheet or
Presentation) has the same effect.
If you choose E-mail as Microsoft [Word, Excel, or Powerpoint],
OOo first creates a file in one of those formats and then opens your email program with the file attached.
Similarly, if you choose E-mail as PDF, OOo first creates a PDF using
your default PDF settings (as when using the Export Directly as PDF
toolbar button) and then opens your email program with the .PDF fileattached.

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E-mailing a document to several recipients
To e-mail a document to several recipients, you can use the features inyour e-mail program or you can use OOo’s mail merge facilities toextract email addresses from an address book.
You can use OOo’s mail merge to send e-mail in two ways:• Use the Mail Merge Wizard to create the document and send it.
See Chapter 11 (Using Mail Merge) of the Writer Guide for details.
• Create the document in Writer without using the Wizard, then use
the Wizard to send it. This method is described here.
To use the Mail Merge Wizard to send a previously-created Writer
document:
1) Click Tools > Mail Merge Wizard. On the first page of the
wizard, select Use the current document and click Next.

Figure 278: Select starting document
2) On the second page, select E-mail message and click Next.

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3) On the third page, click the Select Address List button. Selectthe required address list (even if only one is shown) and then click
OK. (If the address list you need is not shown here, you can click
Add to find it and add it to the list.)

Figure 280: Selecting an address list4) Back on the Select address list page, click Next. On the Create
salutation page, deselect This document should contain asalutation.

Figure 281: Deselecting a salutation

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5) In the left-hand list, click 8. Save, print or send. OOo displays a“Creating documents” message and then displays the Save, print
or send page of the Wizard.
6) Select Send merged document as E-Mail. The lower part of thepage changes to show e-mail settings choices.

Figure 282: Sending a document as an email message7) Type a subject for your email and click Send documents. OOosends the e-mails.

Digital signing of documents
To sign a document digitally, you need a personal key, the certificate. A
personal key is stored on your computer as a combination of a private
key, which must be kept secret, and a public key, which you add to yourdocuments when you sign them. You can get a certificate from acertification authority, which may be a private company or agovernmental institution.
When you apply a digital signature to a document, a kind of checksum
is computed from the document’s content plus your personal key. The
checksum and your public key are stored together with the document.

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When someone later opens the document on any computer with arecent version of OpenOffice.org, the program will compute thechecksum again and compare it with the stored checksum. If both are
the same, the program will signal that you see the original, unchanged
document. In addition, the program can show you the public key
information from the certificate. You can compare the public key withthe public key that is published on the web site of the certificate
authority.
Whenever someone changes something in the document, this change
breaks the digital signature.
On Windows operating systems, the Windows features of validating asignature are used. On Solaris and Linux systems, files that aresupplied by Thunderbird, Mozilla or Firefox are used. For a moredetailed description of how to get and manage a certificate, andsignature validation, see “Using Digital Signatures” in the OOo Help.
To sign a document:
1) Choose File > Digital Signatures.
2) If you have not saved the document since the last change, amessage box appears. Click Yes to save the file.
3) After saving, you see the Digital Signatures dialog. Click Add to
add a public key to the document.
4) In the Select Certificate dialog, select your certificate and clickOK.
5) You see again the Digital Signatures dialog, where you can add
more certificates if you want. Click OK to add the public key tothe saved file.
A signed document shows an iconin the status bar. You can doubleclick the icon to view the certificate.

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11

ChapterGraphics, the Gallery, andFontwork

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Introduction
You can add graphic and image files, including photos, drawings,
scanned images, and others, to OpenOffice.org documents. OOo canimport various vector (line drawing) and raster (bitmap) file formats.
The most commonly used graphic formats are GIF, JPG, PNG, and BMP.
See Appendix B for a full list of the graphic formats OOo can import.
Graphics in OOo are of three basic types:• Image files, such as photos, drawings, and scanned images• Diagrams created using OOo’s drawing tools• Charts created using OOo’s Chart facility
This chapter covers images and diagrams.
More detailed descriptions on working with drawing tools can be foundin the Draw Guide and Impress Guide. Instructions on how to create
charts are given in the Calc Guide.

Adding images to a document
Images can be added to a document in several ways: by inserting animage file, directly from a graphics program or a scanner, or from theOOo Gallery.

Inserting an image file
When the image is in a file stored on the computer, you can insert it
into an OOo document using either of the following methods.

Drag and drop1) Open a file browser window and locate the image you want toinsert.
2) Drag the image into the Writer document and drop it where youwant it to appear. A faint vertical line marks where the image will
be dropped.
This method embeds (saves a copy of) the image file in the Writer
document. To link the file instead of embedding it, hold down theControl+Shift keys while dragging the image.

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Insert Picture dialog
1) Click in the OOo document where you want the image to appear.
2) Choose Insert > Picture > From File from the menu bar.
3) On the Insert Picture dialog, navigate to the file to be inserted,
select it, and click Open.

Figure 283. Insert picture dialog
At the bottom of the dialog are two options, Preview and Link. SelectPreview to view a thumbnail of the selected image on the right, so you
can verify that you have the correct file. See below for the use of Link.

Linking an image file
If the Link option in the Insert picture dialog is selected, OOo createsa link to the file containing the image instead of saving a copy of theimage in the document. The result is that the image is displayed in the
document, but when the document is saved, it contains only areference to the image file—not the image itself. The document and theimage remain as two separate files, and they are merged together only
when you open the document again.
Linking an image has two advantages and one disadvantage:• Advantage – Linking can reduce the size of the document when it
is saved, because the image file itself is not included. File size isusually not a problem on a modern computer with a reasonableamount of memory, unless the document includes many large
graphics files; OOo can handle quite large files.

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• Advantage – You can modify the image file separately withoutchanging the document because the link to the file remains valid,
and the modified image will appear when you next open the
document. This can be a big advantage if you (or someone else,
perhaps a graphic artist) is updating images.
• Disadvantage – If you send the document to someone else, ormove it to a different computer, you must also send the image
files, or the receiver will not be able to see the linked images. You
need to keep track of the location of the images and make sure
the recipient knows where to put them on another machine, so
the document can find them. For example, you might keep images
in a subfolder named Images (under the folder containing the
document); the recipient of the file needs to put the images in a
subfolder with the same name (under the folder containing the
document).

Note

When inserting the same image several times in the document
it would appear beneficial to create links; however, this is notnecessary as OOo embeds in the document only one copy of
the image file.

Embedding linked images
If you originally linked the images, you can easily embed one or moreof them later if you wish. To do so:1) Open the document in OpenOffice.org and choose Edit > Links.
2) The Edit Links dialog (Figure 283) shows all the linked files. In
the Source file list, select the files you want to change from linked
to embedded.
3) Click the Break Link button.
4) Save the document.
Note

Going the other way, from embedded to linked, is not so easy—
you must delete and reinsert each image, one at a time,
selecting the Link option when you do so.

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Figure 284: The Edit Links dialog

Inserting an image from the clipboard
Using the clipboard, you can copy images into an OOo document fromanother OOo document and from other programs. To do this:1) Open both the source document and the target document.
2) In the source document, select the image the image to be copied.
3) Move the mouse pointer over the selected image and press
Control+C to copy the image to the clipboard.
4) Switch to the target document.
5) Click to place the cursor where the graphic is to be inserted.
6) Press Control+V to insert the image.
CautionIf the application from which the graphic was copied is closed
before the graphic is pasted into the target, the image stored on
the clipboard could be lost.

Inserting an image using a scanner
If a scanner is connected to your computer, OOo can call the scanningapplication and inserted the scanned item into the OOo document as
an image. To start this procedure, place the cursor where the graphic
is to be inserted and select Insert > Picture > Scan > SelectSource.
Although this practice is quick and easy, it is unlikely to result in ahigh-quality image of the correct size. You may get better results byscanned material into a graphics program and cleaning it up there
before inserting the resulting image into OOo.

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Modifying and positioning graphics
OpenOffice.org provides many tools for resizing, modifying, filtering,and positioning graphics; wrapping text around graphics; and usinggraphics as backgrounds and watermarks. These tools are described in
relevant chapters of the other guides. Some sophisticated adjustmentsof the graphics are best done in an image manipulation program andthe results brought into OOo, rather than using OOo’s inbuilt tools.

Using the OpenOffice.org Gallery
The Gallery contains objects (graphics and sounds) that you can insert
into your documents. The Gallery is available in all components of
OpenOffice.org.
To open the Gallery, choose Tools > Gallery, or click the Gallery icon
. If the Gallery is open, these choices close it.
Graphics in the Gallery are grouped by themes, such as Bullets, Rulers,and Backgrounds. You can create other groups or themes.
The box on the left of the gallery window lists the available themes.
Click on a theme to see its contents displayed in the Gallery window.
You can display the Gallery in Icon View (Figure 285) or Detailed View,
and you can hide or show the Gallery by clicking on the Hide button(similar to the Hide button for the Navigator and the Styles andFormatting window when they are docked).
By default, the Gallery is docked above the workspace. To expand theGallery, position the pointer over the line that divides it from the top of
the workspace. When the pointer changes to parallel lines with arrows,
click and drag downward. The workspace resizes in response.
As for other docked windows, you can “float” the Gallery by moving themouse pointer over an edge of the Gallery window, holding down theControl key, and double-clicking. Repeat this procedure to dock theGallery again.

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Figure 285. Icon view of one theme in the Gallery

Inserting images into a document
You can copy or link an object from the Gallery into a document.
To insert an object:
1) Choose Tools > Gallery or click the Gallery icon on the Standard
toolbar.
2) Select a theme.
3) Select an object with a single click.
4) Drag and drop the image into the document. (See Figure 286.)
You can also right-click on the object and choose Insert > Copy.
To insert an object as a link:
1) Choose Tools > Gallery and select a theme.
2) Select an object with a single click, then while pressing the Shiftand Control keys, drag and drop the object into the document.

Inserting an object as a backgroundTo insert an object as the background to a page or paragraph:
1) Choose Tools > Gallery and select a theme.
2) Select an object with a single click, right-click on the object, andchoose Insert > Background > Page or > Paragraph.

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Figure 286. Copying a graphic object from the Gallery into a document

Managing the Gallery
The default themes are locked; no items can be added to or deleted
from these themes. The locked themes are easily recognizable by rightclicking on them; the only available option in the pop-up menu is
Properties.
In a default installation, only the My themes theme is customizable,
although new themes can be added as explained in “Adding a newtheme to the Gallery” on page 350.

Adding objects to the Gallery
You may wish to add to the Gallery any images that you use frequently,
for example, a company logo. You can then very easily insert thesegraphics into a document later. You can add images only to “My
Theme” or to any other theme that you have created; these areindicated by a green icon in the list of themes. You cannot add images
to the built-in themes, indicated by an icon of another color.

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Method 1 (selecting a file):
1) In the theme’s Properties, on the Files page, click the Find Files
button. The Select path dialog opens.
2) You can enter the path for the file’s directory in the Path text box,
or you can navigate to locate the file’s directory. Use the File typedrop-down list to help limit the search.
3) Click the Select button to start the search.
4) A list of graphic files is then displayed in the window. You can use
the File type filter again to further limit the search.
5) Select the files to add. To select more than one file, hold theControl key down while you click on each file.
6) Finally, click Add.
Method 2 (drag and drop):
1) Open the document containing an image you want to add to theGallery, and display the Gallery theme to which you want to add
it.
2) Position the mouse pointer above the image, without clicking.
3) If the mouse pointer changes to a hand symbol, the image refers
to a hyperlink. In this case, press the Alt key while you click theimage, to select it without activating the link. If the mouse pointerdoes not change to a hand symbol, you can simply click the image
to select it.
4) Once the image is selected, evident from the green selection
handles around it, release the mouse button. Click again on theimage, keeping the mouse button pressed for more than two
seconds. Without releasing the mouse button, drag the image into
the document.
5) Release the mouse button.

Deleting images from the Gallery
To delete an image from a theme that you created:
1) Right-click on the name of the image file or its thumbnail in theGallery.
2) Click Delete on the pop-up menu. A message appears, asking if
you want to delete this object. Click Yes.
Note

Deleting the name of a file from the list in the Gallery does notdelete the file from the hard disk or other location.

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Adding a new theme to the Gallery
To add a new theme to the Gallery:
1) Click the New Theme button above the list of themes (Figure285).
2) In the Properties of New Theme dialog, click the General tab andtype a name for the new theme.
3) Click the Files tab and add images to the theme, as describedearlier.

Deleting a theme from the Gallery
You can delete only theme that you have added to the Gallery; youcannot delete any of the inbuilt themes. To delete a theme from theGallery:1) Go to Tools > Gallery.
2) In the left part of the Gallery, select in the list the theme you wish
to delete.
3) Right-click on the theme, then click Delete on the pop-up menu.

Location of the Gallery and the objects in it
Graphics and other objects shown in the Gallery can be locatedanywhere on your computer’s hard disk, on a network drive, or on a
CD-ROM. Listings in the Gallery refer to the location of each object.
When you add graphics to the Gallery, the files are not moved or
copied; only the location of each new object is added as a reference.
In a workgroup situation, you may have access to a shared Gallery(where you cannot change the contents unless authorized to do so) anda user Gallery, where you can add, change, or delete objects.
The location of the user Gallery is specified in Tools > Options >OpenOffice.org > Paths. You can change this location, and you cancopy your gallery files (*.sdv) to other computers.
Gallery contents provided with OOo are stored in a different location.
You cannot change this location.

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Creating an image map
An image map defines areas of an image (called hotspots) withhyperlinks to web addresses, other files on the computer, or parts ofthe same document. Hotspots are the graphic equivalent of text
hyperlinks (described in Chapter 12). Clicking on a hotspot causes OOo
to open the linked page in the appropriate program (for example, thedefault browser for an HTML page; OOo Calc for a .ODS file; a PDF
viewer for a PDF file). You can create hotspots of various shapes andinclude several hotspots in the same image.
To use the image map editor:
1) In your OOo document, select the picture where you want todefine the hotspots.
2) Choose Edit > ImageMap from the menu bar. The ImageMap
Editor (Figure 287) opens.
3) Use the tools and fields in the dialog (described on the next page)
to define the hotspots and links necessary.
4) Click the Apply icon

to apply the settings.

5) When done, click the Save icon
to save the imagemap to a file,then click the X in the upper right corner to close the dialog.

Figure 287: The dialog to create or edit an image map

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The main part of the dialog shows the image on which the hotspots aredefined. A hotspot is identified by a line indicating its shape.
The toolbar at the top of the dialog contains the following tools:• Apply button: click this button to apply the changes.
• Load, Save, and Select icons.
• Tools for drawing a hotspot shape: these tools work in exactly thesame way as the corresponding tools in the Drawing toolbar.
• Edit, Move, Insert, Delete Points: advanced editing tools tomanipulate the shape of a polygon hotspot. Select the Edit Points
tool to activate the other tools.
• Active icon: toggles the status of a selected hotspot between
active and inactive.
• Macro: associates a macro with the hotspot instead of justassociating an hyperlink.
• Properties: sets the hyperlink properties and adds the Nameattribute to the hyperlink.
Below the toolbar, specify for the selected hotspot:• Address: the address pointed by the hyperlink. You can also point
to an anchor in a document; to do this, write the address in thisformat: file:///<path>/document_name#anchor_name• Text: type the text that you want to be displayed when the mousepointer is moved over the hotspot.
• Frame: where the target of the hyperlink will open: pick among_blank (opens in a new browser window), _self (opens in theactive browser window), _top or _parent.
Tip

The value _self for the target frame will work just fine in the vast
majority of occasions. It is therefore not recommended to use
the other choices unless absolutely necessary.

Using OOo’s drawing tools
You can use Ooo’s drawing tools to create graphics such as simple
diagrams using rectangles, circles, lines, text, and other predefined
shapes. You can also group several drawing objects to make sure they
maintain their relative position and proportion.
You can place the drawing objects directly on a page in your document,or you can insert them into a frame.

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You can also use the drawing tools to annotate photographs, screen
captures, or other illustrations produced by other programs, but this is
not recommended because:• You cannot include images in a group with drawing objects, sothey may get out of alignment in your document.
• If you convert a document to another format, such as HTML, thedrawing objects and the graphics will not remain associated; they
are saved separately.
In general, if you need to create complex drawings, it is recommended
to use OpenOffice.org Draw, which includes many more features suchas layers, styles, and so on.

Creating drawing objects
To begin using the drawing tools, display the Drawing toolbar (Figure288) by clicking View > Toolbars > Drawing.
If you are planning to use the drawing tools repeatedly, you can tear off
this toolbar and move it to a convenient place on the window.

1 Select
2 Line3 Rectangle
4 Ellipse

5 Freeform Line
6 Text7 Callouts
8 Basic Shapes

9 Symbol Shapes
10 Block arrows
11 Flowcharts
12 Callouts

13 Stars
14 Points
15 Fontwork Gallery
16 From File
17 Extrusion On/Off

Figure 288. The Drawing toolbar
To use a drawing tool:
1) Click in the document where you want the drawing to beanchored. You can change the anchor later, if necessary.
2) Select the tool from the Drawing toolbar (Figure 288). The mousepointer changes to a drawing-functions pointer.
3) Move the cross-hair pointer to the place in the document where
you want the graphic to appear and then click-and-drag to create
the drawing object. Release the mouse button. The selecteddrawing function remains active, so you can draw another objectof the same type.
4) To cancel the selected drawing function, press the Esc key orclick on the Select icon (the arrow) on the Drawing toolbar.

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5) You can now change the properties (fill color, line type andweight, anchoring, and others) of the drawing object using either
the Drawing Object Properties toolbar (Figure 289) or the choices
and dialogs reached by right-clicking on the drawing object.

Set or change properties for drawing objects
To set the properties for a drawing object before you draw it:1) On the Drawing toolbar (Figure 288), click the Select tool.
2) On the Drawing Object Properties toolbar (Figure 289), click on
the icon for each property and select the value you want for thatproperty.
3) For more control, or to define new attributes, you can click on the
Area or Line icons on the toolbar to display detailed dialogs.
The default you set applies to the current document and session. It is
not retained when you close the document or close Writer, and it does
not apply to any other document you open. The defaults apply to all thedrawing objects except text objects.

1 Line5 Line Color

9 To Foreground

13 Alignment

2 Arrow Style

6 Area10 To Background

14 Change Anchor

3 Line Style

7 Area Style / Filling 11 Bring to Front

15 Ungroup

4 Line Width

8 Rotate

16 Group

12 Send to Back

Figure 289. Drawing Object Properties toolbar
To change the properties for an existing drawing object:
1) Select the object.
2) Continue as described above.
You can also specify the position and size, rotation, and slant andcorner radius properties of the drawing object:
1) Right-click on the drawing object and then click Position and Sizefrom the pop-up menu. The Position and Size dialog is displayed.
2) Choose any properties, as required.

Resizing a drawing object
The same considerations for resizing an image apply also to resizing an
object. Select the object, click on one of the eight handles around it

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and drag it to its new position. For a scaled resizing, select one of thecorner handles and keep the Shift key pressed while dragging thehandle to its new position.
For more sophisticated control of the size of the object, select Format> Object > Position and Size from the menu bar. Use the Position
and Size dialog to set the width and height independently. If the Keepratio option is selected, then the two dimensions change so that the
proportion is maintained, allowing for a scaled resizing.

Grouping drawing objects
To group drawing objects:
1) Select one object, then hold down the Shift key and select theothers you want to include in the group. The bounding box
expands to include all the selected objects.
2) With the objects selected, hover the mouse pointer over one ofthe objects and choose Format > Group > Group from the menu
bar or right-click and choose Group > Group from the pop-up
menu.
Note

You cannot include an embedded or linked graphic in a groupwith drawing objects.

Using Fontwork
With Fontwork you can create graphical text art objects for making
your work more attractive. There are many different settings for text
art objects (line, area, position, size, and more), so you have a large
choice. You will surely find one that fits your document.
Fontwork is available with each component of OOo, but you will noticesmall differences in the way that each component displays it.

The Fontwork toolbars
You can use two different toolbars for creating and editing a Fontwork
object.
• Go to View > Toolbars > Fontwork.

Figure 290. The floating Fontwork toolbar

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• If you click on an existing Fontwork object, the Formatting toolbar

changes to display the Fontwork options as shown in Figure 284.
The contents of this toolbar vary depending on the OOo
component with which it is being used.

Creating a Fontwork object
1) On the Drawing or Fontwork toolbar, click the Fontwork Gallery
icon. If the Drawing toolbar is not visible, go to View >Toolbars > Drawing to display it.
2) In the Fontwork Gallery (Figure 291), select a Fontwork style,then click OK. The Fontwork object will appear in your document.
Notice the blue squares around the edge (indicating that theobject is selected) and the yellow dot; these are discussed in“Moving and resizing Fontwork objects” on page 361.

Figure 291. The Fontwork Gallery3) Double-click the object to edit the Fontwork text. Type your own
text in place of the black Fontwork text that appears over theobject (Figure 292).

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Figure 292. Editing Fontwork text4) Click anywhere in a free space or press Esc to apply yourchanges.

Editing a Fontwork object
Now that the Fontwork object is created, you can edit some of its
attributes. To do this, you can use the Fontwork toolbar, the Formatting
toolbar, or menu options as described in this section. If the selected
Fontwork object is a 3D object, you can also use the 3D-Settings
toolbar.
Using the Fontwork toolbar
Make sure that the Fontwork toolbar, shown in Figure 290, is visible. If
you do not see it, go to View > Toolbars > Fontwork.
Click on the different icons to edit Fontwork objects.
Fontwork Shape: Edits the shapeof the selected object. You canchoose from a palette of shapes.

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Fontwork Same Letter Heights: Changes the height ofcharacters in the object. Toggles between normal height (somecharacters taller than others, for example capital letters, d, h, land others) and all letters the same height.

Figure 294. Left: normal letters; right:
same letter heights
Fontwork Alignment: Changes the alignmentof characters. Choices are left align, center,right align, word justify, and stretch justify. The
effects of the text alignment can only be seen if
the text spans over two or more lines. In thestretch justify mode, all the lines are filled
completely.
Fontwork Character Spacing: Changes thecharacter spacing and kerning in the object.
For custom spacing, input a percentage value:
100% is normal spacing; less than 100% istight spacing; more than 100% is expanded
spacing.

Using the Formatting toolbar
Now let us go further and customize the Fontwork object with several
more attributes.
Click on the Fontwork object. The Formatting toolbar changes to show
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Figure 295. Formatting toolbar for a Fontwork object in WriterThis figure shows the toolbar floating. In its default, docked position itis one of the toolbars located below the menu bar. The example toolbar
has also been customized to show all of the available options; bydefault only a subset of these options is shown.
On the Formatting toolbar you have a large choice of options forcustomizing your object. These choices are the same as the ones forother drawing objects. For more information, see the Draw Guide.
Line options
Line icon: Opens a dialog with three tabs: Line, Line Styles, Arrow
Styles. Use the Line tab to edit the most common properties of theline around the selected Fontwork object, by choosing from previouslydefined attributes including line style, line color, and arrow styles. Use
the Lines Styles and Arrow Styles tabs to edit the properties of line
and arrow styles, and define new styles.
Arrow Style icon: Choose from the different arrow styles.
Line Style box: Choose from the available line styles.
Line Width box: Set the width of the line.
Line Color box: Select the color of the line.
Area options
Area icon: Opens a dialog with seven tabs: Area, Shadow,
Transparency, Colors, Gradients, Hatching, Bitmaps.
• Area tab: Choose from the predefined list a color, bitmap,
gradient or hatching pattern to fill the selected object.
• Shadow tab: Set the shadow properties of the selected object.

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• Transparency tab: Set the transparency properties of the••••selected object.
Colors tab: Modify the available colors or add new ones to appear
on the Area tab.
Gradients tab: Modify the available gradients or add new ones toappear on the Area tab.
Hatching tab: Modify the available hatching patterns or add newones to appear on the Area tab.
Bitmaps tab: Create simple bitmap patterns and import bitmaps,
to make them available on the Area tab.

Area Style / Filling boxes: Select the type of the fill of the selected
object. For more detailed settings, use the Area icon.
Positioning options
Rotate icon: Rotate the selected object manually using the mouse to
drag the object.
To Foreground icon: Move the selected object in front of the text.
To Background icon: Move the selected object behind the text.
Alignment icon: Modify the alignment of the selected objects.
Bring to front icon: Move the selected object in front of the others.
Send to back icon: Move the selected object behind the others.
Change Anchor icon: Choose between anchoring options:• To Page - The object keeps the same position in relation to thepage margins. It does not move as you add or delete text.
• To Paragraph - The object is associated with a paragraph andmoves with the paragraph. It may be placed in the margin or
another location.
• To Character - The object is associated with a character but is notin the text sequence. It moves with the paragraph but may beplaced in the margin or another location. This method is similar toanchoring to a paragraph.
• As Character - The object is placed in the document like any
character and moves with the paragraph as you add or delete text
before the object.
Ungroup icon: Ungroup the selected objects, so you can manage them
individually.
Group icon: Group the selected objects, so you can manage them as asingle object.

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Using menu options
You can use some the choices on the Format menu to anchor, align,arrange and group selected Fontwork objects, wrap text around them,and flip them horizontally and vertically.
You can also right-click on a Fontwork object and choose many of thesame options from the pop-up menu. The pop-up menu also provides
quick access to the Line, Area, Text, and Position and Size dialogs. The
Text dialog offers only a few options for Fontwork objects and is notdiscussed here. On the Position and Size dialog, you can enter precise
values concerning size and position. For more information on all ofthese menu options, see the Draw Guide.
Using the 3D-Settings toolbar
If the selected Fontwork object is a 3D object, you can also use theoptions on the 3D-Settings toolbar. You can also change a 2D Fontwork
object into a 3D object (or change a 3D object into a 2D object) byclicking the Extrusion On/Off icon on the 3D-Settings toolbar. For more
information, see the Draw Guide.

Figure 296: 3D-Settings toolbar

Moving and resizing Fontwork objects
When you select a Fontwork object, eight blue squares (known as
handles) appear around the edge of the object, as shown below. You
can drag these handles to resize the object.
A yellow dot also appears on the object. Thisdot may be along an edge of the object, or it
may be somewhere else; see figure to rightfor an example. If you hover the pointer overthis yellow dot, the pointer turns into a handsymbol. You can drag the dot in different
directions to distort the object.

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Hovering the pointer over other parts of the object turns the pointerinto the usual symbol for dragging the object to another part of thepage.
For precise control of the location and size of the object, use thePosition and Size dialog.

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12Chapter
Creating Web Pages
Saving Documents as HTML Files

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Introduction
This chapter describes how to do the following in Writer, Calc, Draw
and Impress:• Create hyperlinks within a document and to other documents

such as web pages, PDFs, and other files.
• Save documents as web pages (HTML documents).
When creating a document that you plan to deliver as a web page, youneed to consider the following:• In an HTML document, hyperlinks are active (clickable) but othercross-references inserted by OOo are not active links.
• An object such as a image is saved as a separate file. However, if
that object has been placed in a frame (for example, with anassociated caption), it is not saved and does not appear in theHTML document; instead, the name of the frame appears.

Inserting hyperlinks
When you type text (such as a website addresses or URL) that can beused as a hyperlink, and then press the spacebar or the Enter key, OOoautomatically creates the hyperlink and applying formatting to the text
(usually a color and underlining). If this does not happen, you canenable this feature using Tools > AutoCorrect Options > Options
and selectingthe URL Recognition option.
If you do not want OOo to convert a specific URL to a hyperlink,choose Edit > Undo Insert from the menu bar or press Control+Z
immediately after the formatting has been applied.

Note

Hyperlinks between documents can be set as relative or
absolute, using the Save URLs relative to option in Tools >Options > Load/Save > General.
Relative linking is only possible when the document you areworking on and the link destination are on the same drive, andyou need to create the same directory structure on your harddisk as will apply on the destination website.
OOo uses absolute path names internally, so when you moveyour mouse cursor over a hyperlink, the tooltip displays theabsolute reference even when it is set to be a relative link.

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You can also insert hyperlinks using the Navigator and the Hyperlink
dialog, and you can modify all hyperlinks using the Hyperlink dialog, as
described in this section.

Using the Navigator
The easiest way to insert a hyperlink to another part of the same
document is by using the Navigator:
1) Open the documents containing the items you want to crossreference.
2) Open the Navigator (by clicking its icon, choosing View >Navigator, or pressing F5.
3) Click the arrow next to the Drag Mode icon, and choose Insert
as Hyperlink. (See Figure 297.)
4) In the list at the bottom of the Navigator, select the document
containing the item that you want to cross-reference.
5) In the Navigator list, select the item that you want to insert as a
hyperlink.
6) Drag the item to where you want to insert the hyperlink in the
document. The name of the item is inserted in the document as anactive hyperlink.

Figure 297: Inserting a hyperlink using the Navigator
When using the Navigator to hyperlink to an object such as a graphic,
to have the hyperlink show useful text such as Figure 6, you need togive such objects useful names instead of leaving them as the default
names (“Graphics6”), or you need to edit the resulting link text using
the Hyperlink dialog, as described below.

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You can also use the Navigator to insert a hyperlink from one
document (the source) to a specific place in another document (thetarget). Open the Navigator in the target document and drag the item
to the spot in the source document where you want the hyperlink toappear.

Using the Hyperlink dialog
To display the dialog, click the Hyperlink iconon the Standard
toolbar or choose Insert > Hyperlink from the menu bar. To turn
existing text into a link, highlight it before opening the dialog.
On the left hand side, select one of the four types of hyperlink:• Internet: a web address, normally starting with http://• Mail & News: for example an email address.
• Document: the hyperlink points to another document or toanother place in the document.
• New document: the hyperlink creates a new document.

Figure 298. Hyperlink dialog showing details for Internet links
The top right part of the dialog changes according to the choice madefor the hyperlink type. A full description of all the choices, and theirinteractions, is beyond the scope of this chapter. Here is a summary of
the most common choices.
For an Internet type hyperlink, choose the type of hyperlink (choose
between Web, FTP or Telnet), and enter the required web address(URL).

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For a Mail and News type hyperlink, specify whether it is a mail ornews link, the receiver address and for email, also the subject.
For a Document type hyperlink, specify the document path (the Open
File button opens a file browser); leave this blank if you want to link toa target in the same document. Optionally specify the target in the
document (for example a specific slide). Click on the Target icon to
open the Navigator where you can select the target, or if you know thename of the target, you can type it into the box.
For a New Document type hyperlink, specify whether to edit the newly
created document immediately (Edit now) or just create it (Edit later)
and the type of document to create (text, spreadsheet, etc.). The
Select path button opens a directory picker.
The Further settings section in the bottom right part of the dialog is
common to all the hyperlink types, although some choices are more
relevant to some types of links.
• Set the value of Frame to determine how the hyperlink will open.
•
•
•

•

This applies to documents that open in a Web browser.
Form specifies if the link is to be presented as text or as a button.
Text specifies the text that will be visible to the user.
Name is applicable to HTML documents. It specifies text that will
be added as a NAME attribute in the HTML code behind thehyperlink.
Event button: this button will be activated to allow OOo to react
to events for which the user has written some code (macro). Thisfunction is not covered in this book.

Editing hyperlinks
To edit a hyperlink, click anywhere in the link test and then open theHyperlink dialog by clicking the Hyperlink icon on the Standard
toolbar or choosing Edit > Hyperlink from the menu bar. Make yourchanges and click Apply. If you need to edit several hyperlinks, you
can leave the Hyperlink dialog open until you have edited all of them.
Be sure to click Apply after each one. When you are finished, click
Close.
The standard (default) behavior for activating hyperlinks within OOo is
to use Ctrl+click. This behavior can be changed in Tools > Options >OpenOffice.org > Security > Options, by deselecting the option
Ctrl-click required to follow hyperlinks. If clicking in your links

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activates them, check that page to see if the option has beendeselected.
To change the color of hyperlinks, go to Tools > Options >OpenOffice.org > Appearance, scroll to Unvisited links and/orVisited links, pick the new colors and click OK. This will change thecolor for all hyperlinks in all components of OOo.
In Writer and Calc (but not Draw or Impress), you can also change theInternet link character style or define and apply new styles to selected
links.

Saving Writer documents as web pages
Writer’s HTML capabilities include saving existing documents in HTML
format, creating new documents as HTML (not described here), andcreating several different types of web pages using a wizard.
The easiest way to create HTML documents is to start with an existing
Writer document. You can get a good idea of how it will appear as a
web page by using View > Web Layout. However, web layout view
will not show you which features will or won’t save correctly to HTML.
Some considerations are described in the introduction to this chapter.

Saving a document as a single web page
To save a document as a single web page (HTML format), select Save
As from the File menu and specify HTML Document as the file type.

Note

Writer does not replace multiple spaces in the original
document with the HTML code for non-breaking spaces. If you
want to have extra spaces in your HTML file or web page, youneed to insert non-breaking spaces in OOo. To do this, press
Control+Spacebar instead of just Spacebar.

Saving a document as a series of web pages
Writer can save a large document as a series of web pages (HTMLfiles) with a table of contents page. To do this:1) Decide which headings in the document should start on a newpage and make sure all those headings have the same style (forexample, Heading 1).
2) Select File > Send and click on Create HTML Document.

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3) In the dialog (Figure 298), type the file name to save the pages
under. Also specify which style indicates a new page (as decided
in step 1).
4) Click Save to create the multi-page HTML document. (For those
who may be interested, the resulting HTML files conform to theHTML 4 Transitional.)

Figure 299. Creating a series of web pages from one document

Creating web pages using a Wizard
OOo’s Web wizard allows you to create several types of standard web
pages. To use it:1) Select File > Wizards > Web Page. On the first page of the
Wizard, choose settings and click Next. If this is your first web
page, the only choice is <default>.

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2) Choose or browse to the document you would like to format. The
Title, Summary and Author information is picked up from the
document’s properties; if necessary, edit it. Click Next.

3) Chose a layout for the web site by clicking on the layout boxes.
Click Next.

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4) Choose the information to be listed and the screen resolution.
Click Next.

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3715) Select a style for the page. Use the drop-down list to choose
different styles and color combinations. You can browse to a
background image and icon set from the Gallery. Click Next.

6) Enter general information such as Title and HTML Metadata
information. Click Next.

7) Choose where to save the file and preview the page if you wish.
Click Finish.

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To edit or view the document’s underlying HTML code, click View >HTML Source or click the HTML Source iconon the Main
toolbar.

Saving Calc spreadsheets as web pages
Calc can save files as HTML documents. As for Writer, use File > Save
As and select HTML Document, or File > Wizards > Web Page.
If the file contains more than one sheet, the additional sheets will
follow one another in the HTML file. Links to each sheet will be placedat the top of the document. Calc also allows the insertion of links
directly into the spreadsheet using the Hyperlink dialog.

Saving Impress presentations as web
pages
You can export presentations as Macromedia Flash files: select File >Export and choose Macromedia Flash for the file type.
You can also convert presentations into a series of web pages, as
described below.
Note

Saving as web pages (HTML format) does not retain animationand slide transitions.

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3731) To begin, select File > Export and choose HTML Document as
the file type.
2) Create a folder for the files, supply a name for the resulting
HTML file, and click Save. The HTML Export Wizard opens.

Note

Depending on the size of your presentation and the number ofgraphics it contains, the HTML export function creates many
HTML, JPG, and GIF files. If you simply save to your desktop(not in a specific folder), these separate HTML and graphics
files will be all over your desktop. So be sure to create a folder
to hold all the files.

3) Choose the design for all of the pages, either from an existing
design or by creating a new one. If you have not previously saved
a design, the Existing Design choice is not available.

4) Click Next to select the type of web pages to create.
•
Standard HTML: one page for each slide, with navigation links
to move from slide to slide.
•
Standard HTML with frames: one page with a navigation baron the left-hand side; uses slide title as navigation links. Clickon links to display pages in right-hand side.
•
Automatic: one page for each slide, with each page set with
the Refresh meta tag so a browser automatically cycles fromone page to the next.
•
WebCast: generates an ASP or Perl application to display theslides. Unfortunately OOo has no direct support for PHP yet.

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5) Decide how the images will be saved (PNG, GIF, or JPG) and what
resolution to use.
When choosing a resolution, consider what the majority of yourviewers might have. If you use a high resolution, then a viewer
with a medium-resolution monitor will have to scroll sideways to
see the entire slide—probably not desirable.

6) If Create title page was chosen in step 4, supply the information
for it on the next page. The title contains an author name, e-mailaddress and home page, along with any additional information
you want to include.
This page of the Wizard does not display if Create title page was
not chosen.

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3757) Choose the navigation button style to use to move from one page
to another. If you do not choose any, OOo will create a text
navigator.

8) Select the color scheme for the web pages. Available schemes
include the document’s existing scheme, one based upon browser
colors, and a completely user-defined scheme. You can save a newscheme so that it will appear on the first page of the HTML export
wizard.

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9) Click Create to generate the HTML files. If this is a new design, asmall dialog pops up. If you might want to reuse this design, you
can give it a name and save it. Otherwise, click Do Not Save.

Saving Draw documents as web pages
Exporting drawings from OpenOffice.org’s Draw application is similar
to exporting a presentation from Impress. Use File > Export andselect HTML Document as the file type.
When using the wizard, you can choose to create the web page at any
time by clicking the Create button.

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13

Chapter
Getting Started with
MacrosUsing the Macro RecorderFree eBook Edition

Your first macro
A macro is a saved sequence of commands or keystrokes that are
stored for later use. An example of a simple macro is one that “types”
your address. The OpenOffice.org macro language is very flexible,
allowing automation of both simple and complex tasks. Macros areespecially useful to repeat a task the same way over and over again.
OpenOffice.org macros are usually written in a language called
StarBasic, or just abbreviated Basic. Although you can learn Basic andwrite macros, there is a steep learning curve to writing macros fromscratch. The usual method for a beginner is to use the built-in macro
recorder, which records your keystrokes and saves them for use.
Most tasks in OpenOffice.org are accomplished by “dispatching acommand” (sending a command), which is intercepted and used. The
macro recorder works by recording the commands that are dispatched(see “The dispatch framework” on page 388).

Creating a simple macro
Imagine repeatedly entering simple information. Although you canstore the information in the clipboard, if you use the clipboard forsomething else, the contents are changed. Storing the contents as a
macro is a simple solution. (In some simple cases, including theexample used here, a better solution is to use AutoText.)
1) Use Tools > Macros > Record Macro to start recording amacro.
A small window is displayed so you know that
OpenOffice.org is recording.
2) Type the desired information or perform an appropriate series ofoperations. In this case, I typed my name, Andrew Pitonyak.
3) Click the Stop Recording button to stop recording, save themacro, and display the OpenOffice.org Basic Macros dialog (seeFigure 300).
4) Be certain to open the library container named My Macros. Find
the library named Standard under My Macros. Be warned, every
library container has a library named Standard. Select theStandard library and click New Module to create a new module
to contain the macro.

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Figure 300: OOo Macro Organizer dialog, DBInspection library selected
5) The default module name is Module1; choose a better name.
Although it is still not descriptive, I used Recorded. Type adescriptive name and click OK to create the module. The
OpenOffice.org Basic Macros dialog is displayed again, showing
the new module.

Figure 301: Give your module a meaningful name
6) Highlight the newly created module. In the upper left corner, typethe macro name to use, such as “EnterMyname”, and then click
Save to save the macro.
If you followed all of the steps, the Standard library now contains amodule named Recorded, which contains the EnterMyName macro, asshown in Figure 302. When OOo creates a new module, it
automatically adds the macro named Main; as seen in Figure 302.

Running the macro
Use Tools > Macros > Run Macro to open the Macro Selector dialog(see Figure 302). Select the newly created macro and click Run.

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Figure 302: Select your macro and click Run
There are other methods to run a macro. For example, use Tools >Macros > Organize Macros > OpenOffice.org Basic to open themacro organizer, which contains a Run button as well. The author, anavid macro writer, prefers the macro organizer because the dialog
usually opens faster, but the selection process may be slightly slower.

Viewing and editing the macro
You can view and edit the macro that was just created. Use Tools >Macros > Organize Macros > OpenOffice.org Basic to open the
OpenOffice.org Basic Macros dialog (see Figure 302). Select the newmacro and click Edit to open the macro in the Basic IDE (Integrated
Development Environment).
Listing 1: Generated “EnterMyname” macro.
REM *****Sub Main

BASIC

*****

End Sub
sub EnterMyName
rem ------------------------------------------------------------rem define variables
dim document
as object
dim dispatcher as object
rem ------------------------------------------------------------rem get access to the document
document= ThisComponent.CurrentController.Frame

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dispatcher = createUnoService("com.sun.star.frame.DispatchHelper")rem ------------------------------------------------------------dim args1(0) as new com.sun.star.beans.PropertyValueargs1(0).Name = "Text"
args1(0).Value = "Andrew Pitonyak"
dispatcher.executeDispatch(document, ".uno:InsertText", "", 0, args1())
end sub

The macro in Listing 1 is not as complicated as it first appears.
Learning a few things helps significantly in understanding thegenerated macros. The discussion starts with features near the top of
the macro listing and describes them. If you like to avoid details, thensimply change the text “Andrew Pitonyak” to what you want to insert at
the current cursor position.

Comments start with REM
The keyword REM, short for remark, starts a macro comment. All text
after REM (on the same line) is ignored. As a short cut, the single
quote character can also be used to start a comment.

Tip

StarBasic is not case-sensitive for keywords, so REM, Rem,and rem all start a comment. If you use symbolic constants
defined by the API, it is safer to assume that the names arecase-sensitive—symbolic constants are an advanced topic not
usually needed by people that use the macro recorder.

Defining subroutines with SUB
Individual macros are stored in subroutines defined with the keyword
SUB. The end of a subroutine is indicated by the words END SUB. The
code starts by defining the subroutine named Main, which is empty
and does nothing. The next subroutine, EnterMyName, contains thegenerated code.
Tip

OpenOffice.org creates an empty subroutine named Main
when it creates a module.

There are advanced topics that are beyond the scope of this document,
but knowing about them might be of interest:• You can write a macro so that values can be passed to thesubroutine. The values are called arguments. Recorded macros do
not accept arguments.

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• Another kind of subroutine is called a function. A function is asubroutine that returns a value. The keyword FUNCTION is usedrather than SUB to define a function. Generated macros arealways of type SUB.

Defining variables using DIM
You can write information on a piece of paper so that you can look at itlater. A variable, like a piece of paper, contains information that can bechanged and read. The DIM statement is similar to setting aside apiece of paper to be used to store a message or note.
The EnterMyName macro defines the variables document anddispatcher as type object. Other common variable types include string,
integer, and date. A third variable, named args1, is an array ofproperty values. A variable of type array allows a single variable tocontain multiple values, similar to storing multiple pages in a single
book. Values in an array are usually numbered starting from zero. The
number in the parentheses indicates the highest usable number toaccess a storage location. In this example, there is only one value, and
it is numbered zero.

Pulling the macro together
The following details are very complete; it is not important tounderstand all of the details. The first line defines the start of themacro.
sub EnterMyName

Declare two variables:
dim document
as object
dim dispatcher as object

ThisComponent refers to the current document.
The CurrentController property of a document refers to a service that“controls” the document. For example, when you type, it is the current
controller that notices. The current controller then dispatches thechanges to the document’s frame.
The Frame property of a controller returns a main frame for a
document. Therefore, the variable named document refers to a
document’s frame, which receives dispatched commands.
document = ThisComponent.CurrentController.Frame

Most tasks in OpenOffice.org are accomplished by dispatching acommand. OOo version 2.0 introduced the dispatch helper service,
which does most of the work to use dispatches in macros. The method

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CreateUnoService accepts the name of a service and it tries to create
an instance of that service. On completion, the dispatcher variable
contains a reference to a DispatchHelper.
dispatcher = createUnoService("com.sun.star.frame.DispatchHelper")Declare an array of properties. Each property has a name and a value.
In other words, it is a name/value pair. The created array has one
property at index zero.
dim args1(0) as new com.sun.star.beans.PropertyValue

Give the property the name “Text” and the value “Andrew Pitonyak”,
which is the text that is inserted when the macro is run.
args1(0).Name = "Text"
args1(0).Value = "Andrew Pitonyak"

This is where the magic happens. The dispatch helper sends a dispatch
to the document’s frame (stored in the variable named document) withthe command .uno:InsertText. The next two arguments, frame nameand search flags, are beyond the scope of this document. The lastargument is the array of property values to be used while executing
the command InsertText.
dispatcher.executeDispatch(document, ".uno:InsertText", "", 0, args1())

Finally, the end of the subroutine.
end sub

Creating a macro
I usually ask two questions before recording a macro:
1) Can the task be written as a simple set of commands?
2) Can the steps be arranged such that the last command leaves the
cursor ready for the next command?

A complicated example
I frequently copy rows and columns of data from a web site and format
them as a table in a text document. First, I copy the table from the website to the clipboard. To avoid strange formatting and fonts, I paste thetext into a Writer document as unformatted text. I reformat the text
with tabs between columns so that I can use Table > Convert > Text
to Table to convert to a table.
I inspect the text to see if I can record a macro to format the text
(remember the two questions that I ask). As an example, I copied the
FontWeight constants group from the OpenOffice.org web site. The

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first column indicates the constant name. Each name is followed by aspace and a tab.
DONTKNOW

The font weight is not specified/known.

THIN

specifies a 50% font weight.

ULTRALIGHT specifies a 60% font weight.
LIGHT

specifies a 75% font weight.

SEMILIGHT

specifies a 90% font weight.

NORMAL

specifies a normal font weight.

SEMIBOLD

specifies a 110% font weight.

BOLD

specifies a 150% font weight.

ULTRABOLD

specifies a 175% font weight.

BLACK

specifies a 200% font weight.

I want the first column to contain the numeric value, the second
column the name, and the third column the description. The desired
work is easily accomplished for every row except for DONTKNOW andNORMAL, which do not contain a numeric value—but I know that thevalues are 0 and 100, so I will enter those manually.
The data can be cleaned in multiple ways—all of them easy. The firstexample uses keystrokes that assume the cursor is at the start of theline with the text THIN.
1) Use Tools > Macros > Record Macro to start recording.
2) Press Ctrl+Right Arrow to move the cursor to the start of“specifies”.
3) Press Backspace twice to remove the tab and the space.
4) Press Tab to add the tab without the space after the constantname.
5) Press Delete to delete the lower case s and then press S to add anupper case S.
6) Press Ctrl+Right Arrow twice to move the cursor to the start of
the number.
7) Press Ctrl+Shift+Right Arrow to select and move the cursor
before the % sign.
8) Press Ctrl+C to copy the selected text to the clipboard.
9) Press End to move the cursor to the end of the line.

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38510) Press Backspace twice to remove the two trailing spaces.
11) Press Home to move the cursor to the start of the line.
12) Press Ctrl+V to paste the selected number to the start of the line.
13) Pasting the value also pasted an extra space, so press Backspace
to remove the extra space.
14) Press Tab to insert a tab between the number and the name.
15) Press Home to move to the start of the line.
16) Press down arrow to move to the next line.
17) Stop recording the macro and save the macro.
It takes much longer to read and write the steps than to record themacro. Work slowly and think about the steps as you do them. With
practice this becomes second nature.
The generated macro has been modified to contain the step number inthe comments to match the code to the step above.
Listing 2: Copy the numeric value to the start of the column.
sub CopyNumToCol1
rem ------------------------------------------------------------rem define variables
dim document
as object
dim dispatcher as object
rem ------------------------------------------------------------rem get access to the document
document= ThisComponent.CurrentController.Frame
dispatcher = createUnoService("com.sun.star.frame.DispatchHelper")rem (2) Press Ctrl+Right Arrow to move the cursor to the start of “specifies”.
dispatcher.executeDispatch(document, ".uno:GoToNextWord", "", 0, Array())
rem (3) Press Backspace twice to remove the tab and the space.
dispatcher.executeDispatch(document, ".uno:SwBackspace", "", 0, Array())
rem ------------------------------------------------------------dispatcher.executeDispatch(document, ".uno:SwBackspace", "", 0, Array())
rem (4) Press Tab to add the tab without the space after the constant name.
dim args4(0) as new com.sun.star.beans.PropertyValueargs4(0).Name = "Text"
args4(0).Value = CHR$(9)dispatcher.executeDispatch(document, ".uno:InsertText", "", 0, args4())
rem (5) Press Delete to delete the lower case s ....
dispatcher.executeDispatch(document, ".uno:Delete", "", 0, Array())
rem (5) ... and then press S to add an upper case S.
dim args6(0) as new com.sun.star.beans.PropertyValueargs6(0).Name = "Text"
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dispatcher.executeDispatch(document, ".uno:InsertText", "", 0, args6())
rem (6) Press Ctrl+Right Arrow twice to move the cursor to the number.
dispatcher.executeDispatch(document, ".uno:GoToNextWord", "", 0, Array())
rem ------------------------------------------------------------dispatcher.executeDispatch(document, ".uno:GoToNextWord", "", 0, Array())
rem (7) Press Ctrl+Shift+Right Arrow to select the number.
dispatcher.executeDispatch(document, ".uno:WordRightSel", "", 0, Array())
rem (8) Press Ctrl+C to copy the selected text to the clipboard.
dispatcher.executeDispatch(document, ".uno:Copy", "", 0, Array())
rem (9) Press End to move the cursor to the end of the line.
dispatcher.executeDispatch(document, ".uno:GoToEndOfLine", "", 0, Array())
rem (10) Press Backspace twice to remove the two trailing spaces.
dispatcher.executeDispatch(document, ".uno:SwBackspace", "", 0, Array())
rem ------------------------------------------------------------dispatcher.executeDispatch(document, ".uno:SwBackspace", "", 0, Array())
rem (11) Press Home to move the cursor to the start of the line.
dispatcher.executeDispatch(document, ".uno:GoToStartOfLine", "", 0, Array())
rem (12) Press Ctrl+V to paste the selected number to the start of the line.
dispatcher.executeDispatch(document, ".uno:Paste", "", 0, Array())
rem (13) Press Backspace to remove the extra space.
dispatcher.executeDispatch(document, ".uno:SwBackspace", "", 0, Array())
rem (14) Press Tab to insert a tab between the number and the name.
dim args17(0) as new com.sun.star.beans.PropertyValueargs17(0).Name = "Text"
args17(0).Value = CHR$(9)dispatcher.executeDispatch(document, ".uno:InsertText", "", 0, args17())
rem (15) Press Home to move to the start of the line.
dispatcher.executeDispatch(document, ".uno:GoToStartOfLine", "", 0, Array())
rem (16) Press down arrow to move to the next line.
dim args19(1) as new com.sun.star.beans.PropertyValueargs19(0).Name = "Count"args19(0).Value = 1
args19(1).Name = "Select"args19(1).Value = false
dispatcher.executeDispatch(document, ".uno:GoDown", "", 0, args19())
end sub

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Cursor movements are used for all operations (as opposed tosearching). If run on the DONTKNOW line, the word weight is moved
to the front of the line, and the first “The” is changed to “She”. This is
not perfect, but I should not have run the macro on the lines that did
not have the proper format; I need to do these manually.

Running the macro quickly
It is tedious to repeatedly run the macro using Tools > Macros > Run
Macro (see Figure 302). The macro can be run from the IDE. Use
Tools > Macros > Organize Macros > OpenOffice.org Basic toopen the Basic Macro dialog. Select your macro and click Edit to open
the macro in the IDE.
The IDE has a Run Basic icon in the toolbar that runs the first macroin the IDE. Unless you change the first macro, it is the empty macro
named Main. Modify Main so that it reads as shown in Listing 3.
Listing 3: Modify Main to call CopyNumToCol1.
Sub Main
CopyNumToCol1
End Sub

Now, you can run CopyNumToCol1 by repeatedly clicking the Run
Basic icon in the toolbar of the IDE. This is very fast and easy,
especially for temporary macros that will be used a few times and thendiscarded.

Sometimes the macro recorder fails
Understanding the OpenOffice.org internals helps to understand how
and why the macro recorder frequently fails. The primary offender isrelated to the dispatch framework and its relationship to the macro
recorder.

The dispatch framework
The purpose of the dispatch framework is to provide a uniform accessto components (documents) for commands that usually correspond tomenu items. I can use File > Save from the menu, the shortcut keys
Ctrl+S, or click on the Save toolbar icon. All of these commands aretranslated into the same “dispatch command”, which is sent to thecurrent document.

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The dispatch framework can also be used to send “commands” back to
the UI (User Interface). For example, after saving the document, theFile Save command is disabled. As soon as the document has beenchanged, the File Save command is enabled.
If we see a dispatch command, it is text such as .uno:InsertObject or.uno:GoToStartOfLine. The command is sent to the document’s frame,
and the frame passes on the command until an object is found that canhandle the command.

How the macro recorder uses the dispatch
framework
The macro recorder records the generated dispatches. The recorder isrelatively simple to implement and the same commands that are issued
are recorded for later use. The problem is that not all dispatchedcommands are complete. For example, inserting an object generates
the following code:
dispatcher.executeDispatch(document, ".uno:InsertObject", "", 0, Array())

It is not possible to specify what kind of object to create or insert. If an
object is inserted from a file, you cannot specify which file to insert.
I recorded a macro and used Tools > Options to open and modify
configuration items. The generated macro does not record any
configuration changes; in fact, the generated code is commented so it
will not even be run.
rem dispatcher.executeDispatch(document,".uno:OptionsTreeDialog", "", 0, Array())

If a dialog is opened, the command to open the dialog is likely to begenerated. Any work done inside the dialog is not usually recorded.
Examples include macro organization dialogs, inserting special
characters, and similar types of dialogs. Other possible problems using
the macro recorder include things such as inserting a formula, settinguser data, setting filters in Calc, actions in database forms, andexporting a document to an encrypted PDF file. You never know for
certain what will work unless you try it, however. The actions from thesearch dialog are properly captured, for example.

Other options
When the macro recorder is not able to solve a specific problem, theusual solution is to write code using the OpenOffice.org objects.
Unfortunately, there is a steep learning curve for the OOo objects. It is
usually best to start with simple examples and then branch out slowly

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as you learn more. Learning to read generated macros is a good place
to start.
If you record Calc macros, and the recorder can correctly generate amacro, there is an add-in created by Paolo Mantovani, which converts
Calc macros when they are recorded. The final code manipulates
OpenOffice.org objects rather than generating dispatches. This can bevery useful for learning the object model.
You can download the macro recorder from Paolo’s web site directly orfrom the OOo Macros web site. You should check both places to see
which contains the latest version.
http://www.paolo-mantovani.org/downloads/ DispatchToApiRecorder/
http://www.ooomacros.org/user.php

Macro organization
In OpenOffice.org, macros are grouped in modules, modules aregrouped in libraries, and libraries are grouped in library containers. A
library is usually used as a major grouping for either an entire
category of macros, or for an entire application. Modules usually split
functionality, such as user interaction and calculations. Individual
macros are subroutines and functions.

Figure 303: Macro Library hierarchy
A computer scientist would use Figure 304 to precisely describe thesituation. The text “1..*” means one or more, and “0..*” means zero or
more. The black triangle means composed of or contains.

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• A library container contains one or more libraries, and eachlibrary is contained in one library container.
• A library contains zero or more modules, and each module iscontained in one library.
• A module contains zero or more macros, and each macro iscontained in one module.

Figure 304: Macro Library hierarchy
Use Tools > Macros > Organize Macros > OpenOffice.org Basic
to open the OpenOffice.org Basic Macros dialog (see Figure 305). Allavailable library containers are shown in the Macro from list. Every
document is a library container, capable of containing multiple
libraries. The application itself acts as two library containers, one
container for macros distributed with OpenOffice.org called
OpenOffice.org Macros, and one container for personal macros called
My Macros. As shown in Figure 305, only two documents are currently
open.

Figure 305: Library containers are shown on the left
The OpenOffice.org Macros are stored with the application runtime
code, which may not be editable to you unless you are an
administrator. This is just as well since these macros should not bechanged and you should not store your own macros in the OOocontainer.
Unless your macros are applicable to a single document, and only to asingle document, your macros will probably be stored in the My

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Macros container. The My Macros container is stored in your user areaor home directory.
If a macro is contained in a document, then a recorded macro willattempt to work on that document; primarily because it uses
“ThisComponent” for its actions.
Every library container contains a library named Standard. It is betterto create your own libraries with meaningful names than to use theStandard library. Not only are meaningful names easier to manage, butthey can also be imported into other library containers whereas theStandard library cannot.
CautionOpenOffice.org allows you to import libraries into a library
container, but it will not allow you to overwrite the library
named Standard. Therefore, if you store your macros in theStandard library, you cannot import them into anotherlibrary container.

Just as it makes good sense to give your libraries meaningful names, it
is prudent to use meaningful names for your modules. By default,
OpenOffice.org uses names such as Module1. Feel free to use your own
meaningful name.
As you create your macros, you must decide where to store them.
Storing a macro in a document is useful if the document will be shared
and you want the macro to be included with the document. Macrosstored in the application library container named My Macros, however,are globally available to all documents.
Macros are not available until the library that contains them is loaded.
The Standard library and Template library, however, are automaticallyloaded. A loaded library is displayed differently from a library that is
not loaded. To load the library and the modules it contains, doubleclick on the library.

Where are macros stored?
OpenOffice.org stores user-specific data in a directory under the user’s
home directory. For example, on Windows, this is C:\Documents andSettings\<name>\Application Data. User macros are stored in
OpenOffice.org2\user\basic. Each library is stored in its own directory
off the basic directory.
It is not important to understand where macros are stored for casualuse. If you know where they are stored, however, you can create abackup, share your macros, or inspect them if there is an error. For

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example, on one or more of my OpenOffice.org upgrades, all of mymacros disappeared. Although the macros were still on disk, themacros were not copied to the new directories. The solution was toimport the macros into the new installation.
Use Tools > Macros > Organize Dialogs to open the OpenOffice.org
Macros organizer dialog. Another common way to open this dialog is touse Tools > Macros > Organize Macros > OpenOffice.org Basic
to open the OpenOffice.org Macros dialog and then click theOrganizer button (see Figure 306).

Figure 306: The macro organizer dialog

Importing macros
The OpenOffice.org Macro Organizer dialog provides functionality tocreate, delete, and rename libraries, modules, and dialogs. Select thelibrary container to use and then click the Import button to importmacro libraries (see Figure 307).
Tip

You cannot import the library named Standard.

Tip

On Linux, the OpenOffice.org-specific files are stored in a
directory whose name begins with a period. Directories andfiles with names beginning with a period are not shown in anormal selection dialog. To open the directory, I navigated tothe parent directory, entered the name .openoffice.org2.0, andthen clicked Open. This opened the directory, which was notinitially shown.

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Figure 307: Select a macro library to import
Navigate to the directory containing the library to import. There areusually two files from which to choose, dialog.xlb and script.xlb. It does
not matter which of these two files you select; both will be imported.
Select a file and click Open to continue (see Figure 308).

Figure 308: Choose library import options
If the library already exists, it will not be replaced unless Replace
existing libraries is checked. If Insert as reference is checked, thelibrary is referenced in its current location, but you cannot edit thelibrary. If Insert as reference is not checked, however, the library is
copied to the user’s macro directory.
Macros can be stored in libraries inside OpenOffice.org documents.
Select a document rather than a directory on disk (as shown in Figure307) to import libraries contained in a document.

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Downloading macros to import
Macros are available for download. Some macros are contained in
documents, some as regular files that you must select and import, andsome as macro text that should be copied and pasted into the Basic
IDE; use Tools > Macros > Organize Macros > OpenOffice.org
Basic to open the OpenOffice.org Macros dialog, choose the macro toedit, and then click Edit to open the macro in the Basic IDE.
Some macros are available as free downloads on the Internet (seeTable 3).
Table 3. Places to find macro examples
Location

Description

http://www.ooomacros.org/

Excellent collection of packaged
macros.

http://www.pitonyak.org/oo.php

Reference materials regarding macros.

http://www.pitonyak.org/database/

Reference materials regarding
database macros.

http://development.openoffice.org/

Lots of links to everything.

http://www.oooforum.org/

Many examples and help.

How to run a macro
A typical method to run a macro is as follows:
1) Use Tools > Macros > Run Macro to open the Macro Selector
dialog (see Figure 309).
2) Select the library and module in the Library list (left hand side).
3) Select the macro in the Macro name list (right hand side).
4) Click Run to run the macro.
Although you can use Tools > Macros > Run Macro to run all
macros, this is not efficient for frequently run macros. A more common
technique is to assign a macro to a toolbar button, menu item,
keyboard shortcut, or a button embedded in a document. Whilechoosing a method, it is also good to ask questions such as:• Should the macro be available for only one document, or globallyfor all documents?
• Does the macro pertain to a specific document type, such as a
Calc document?
• How frequently will the macro be used?

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Figure 309: Use the Macro Selector dialog to run macros
The answers will determine where to store the macro and how to makeit available. For example, you will probably not add a rarely used
macro to a toolbar. To help determine your choices, see Table 4.
Table 4. Methods for starting a macro
Type

OpenOffice.org

Document Type

Document

Toolbar

No

Yes

Yes

Menu

No

Yes

Yes

Shortcut

Yes

Yes

No

Event

Yes

No

Yes

To add a menu item, keyboard shortcut, or toolbar icon that calls amacro, use the Customize dialog (see Figure 310). Open this dialog ineither of these ways:• Choose Tools > Customize from the main menu bar.
• Each toolbar has an iconthat opens a menu; choose theCustomize Toolbar option.

Tip

Complete coverage of the Customize dialog is beyond thescope of this document. Click the Help button to access thehelp pages included with OpenOffice.org.

The Customize dialog contains tabs to configure menus, keyboard
bindings, toolbars, and events.

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Figure 310: OpenOffice.org Customize dialog

ToolbarMacros can be added to toolbars. For more about modifying toolbars,
see Chapter 14 (Customizing OpenOffice.org).

Menu item
Use Tools > Customize to open the Customize dialog, and select the
Menus tab. You can modify an existing menu, or create new menus thatcall macros. For more about modifying menus, see Chapter 14.

Keyboard shortcuts
Use Tools > Customize to open the Customize dialog, and select the
Keyboard tab. Assigning keyboard shortcuts is discussed in Chapter 14.

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EventIn OpenOffice.org, when something happens, we say that an event
occurred. For example, a document was opened, a key was pressed, or
the mouse moved. OpenOffice.org allows events to cause a macro to becalled; the macro is then called an event handler. Full coverage of
event handlers is well beyond the scope of this document, but a little
knowledge can accomplish much.

CautionBe careful when you configure an event handler. For
example, assume that you write an event handler that iscalled every time that a key is pressed, but you make a
mistake so the event is not properly handled. One possible
result is that your event handler will consume all key
presses, forcing you to forcibly terminate OpenOffice.org.

Use Tools > Customize to open the Customize dialog, and select the
Events tab (see Figure 311). The events in the Customize dialog are
related to the entire application and specific documents. Use the Save
In box to choose OpenOffice.org or a specific document.

Figure 311: Assign macro to an application level event

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A common use is to assign the Open Document event to call a specificmacro. The macro then performs certain setup tasks for the document.
Select the desired event and click the Macro button to open the Macro
Selector dialog (see Figure 312).
Select the desired macro and click OK to assign the macro to theevent. The Events tab shows that the event has been assigned to a
macro (see Figure 313). When the document opens, the PrintHellomacro is run.
Many objects in a document can be set to call macros when eventsoccur. The most common usage is to add a control, such as a button,
into a document. Even double-clicking on a graphic opens a dialog witha Macros tab that allows you to assign a macro to an event.

Figure 312: Assign macro to the document open event

Figure 313: PrintHello is assigned to the Open Document event

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Extensions
An extension is a package that can be installed into OpenOffice.org to
add new functionality. Extensions can be written in almost any
programming language and may be simple or sophisticated. Extensions
can be grouped into types:• Calc Add-Ins, which provide new functionality for Calc, including
•
•
•
•
•

new functions that act like normal built-in functions
New components and functionality, which normally include somelevel of UI integration such as new menus or toolbars
Data pilots that are used directly in Calc
Chart Add-Ins with new chart types
Linguistic components such as spell checkers
Document templates and images

Although individual extensions can be found in different places, there
is an extension repository at: http://extensions.services.openoffice.org/.
For more about obtaining and installing extensions, see Chapter 14(Customizing OpenOffice.org).

Writing macros without the recorder
The examples covered in this chapter are created using the macro
recorder and the dispatcher. You can also write macros that directly
access the objects that comprise OpenOffice.org. In other words, you
can directly manipulate a document.
Directly manipulating OOo’s internal objects is an advanced topic thatis beyond the scope of this chapter. A simple example, however,demonstrates how this works.
Listing 4: Append the text “Hello” to the current document.
Sub AppendHelloDim oDocDim sTextService$
Dim oCurs
REM ThisComponent refers to the currently active document.
oDoc = ThisComponent
REM Verify that this is a text document
sTextService = "com.sun.star.text.TextDocument"
If NOT oDoc.supportsService(sTextService) Then

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MsgBox "This macro only works with a text document"
Exit SubEnd If
REM Get the view cursor from the current controller.
oCurs = oDoc.currentController.getViewCursor()
REM Move the cursor to the end of the document
oCurs.gotoEnd(False)
REM Insert text "Hello" at the end of the document
oCurs.Text.insertString(oCurs, "Hello", False)
End Sub

Finding more information
Numerous resources are available that provide help with writing
macros. Use Help > OpenOffice.org Help to open the OOo help
pages. The upper left corner of the OOo help system contains a dropdown list that determines which help set is displayed. To view the help
for Basic, choose OpenOffice.org Basic from this list.

Included material
Many excellent macros are included with OOo. Use Tools > Macros >Organize Macros > OpenOffice.org Basic to open the Macro dialog.
Expand the Tools library in the OpenOffice.org library container.
Inspect the Debug module—some good examples include
WritedbgInfo(document) and printdbgInfo(sheet).

Online resources
The following links and references contain information regarding
macro programming:
http://user.services.openoffice.org/ (OOo forums, well supported)
http://api.openoffice.org/docs/common/ref/com/sun/star/module-ix.html(official IDL reference; here you'll find almost every command with adescription)
http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation/BASIC_Guide(official OpenOffice.org BASIC Programming Guide)
http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation/DevGuide/Open
Office.org_Developers_Guide (official OpenOffice.org Developers
Guide; contains a detailed explanation)

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Chapter 13 Getting Started with Macros401http://www.pitonyak.org/oo.php (Andrew Pitonyak’s macro page)
http://www.pitonyak.org/AndrewMacro.odt (numerous examples ofworking macros)
http://www.pitonyak.org/book/ (Andrew Pitonyak’s book on macros)
http://www.pitonyak.org/database/ (numerous macro examples using
Base)
http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/819-0439 (Sun’s book on macro
programming—very well written and laid out; the OOo BASIC
Programming Guide and the OOo Developers Guide are derived fromthis book)

Printed and eBook materials
The following books are available for purchase in both printed andeBook form from their publishers.
Andrew Pitonyak’s OpenOffice.org Macros Explained. See
http://www.hentzenwerke.com/catalog/oome.htm.
Dr. Mark Alexander Bain’s Learn OpenOffice.org Spreadsheet Macro
Programming. See http://www.packtpub.com/openoffice-ooobasic-calcautomation/book.

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14

Chapter
Customizing
OpenOffice.org

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Introduction
This Appendix describes some common customizations that you may
wish to do.
You can customize menus, toolbars, and keyboard shortcuts in
OpenOffice.org, add new menus and toolbars, and assign macros toevents. However, you cannot customize context (right-click) menus.
Other customizations are made easy by extensions that you can installfrom the OpenOffice.org website or from other providers.
Note

Customizations to menus and toolbars can be saved in a template.
To do so, first save them in a document and then save the document
as a template as described in Chapter 3 (Styles and Templates).

Customizing menu content
In addition to changing the menu font (described in Chapter 2), you
can add and rearrange items on the menu bar, add items to menus, andmake other changes.
To customize menus:
1) Choose Tools > Customize.
2) On the Customize dialog, pick the Menus page (Figure 314).
3) In the Save In drop-down list, choose whether to save thischanged menu for the application (for example, Writer) or for aselected document.
4) In the section OpenOffice.org <name of the program(example: Writer)> Menus, select from the Menu drop-down
list the menu that you want to customize. The list includes all themain menus as well as sub-menus, that is menus that arecontained under another menu. For example, in addition to File,
Edit, View, and so on, there is File | Send and File |Templates. The
commands available for the selected menu are shown in thecentral part of the dialog.
5) To customize the selected menu, click on the Menu or Modify
buttons. You can also add commands to a menu by clicking on the
Add button. These actions are described in the following sections.
Use the up and down arrows next to the Entries list to move theselected menu item to a different position.
6) When you have finished making all your changes, click OK to savethem.

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Figure 314: The Menus page of the Customize dialog

Creating a new menu
In the Customize dialog, click New to display the dialog shown in
Figure 315.
1) Type a name for your new menu in the Menu name box.
2) Use the up and down arrow buttons to move the new menu into
the required position on the menu bar.
3) Click OK to save.
The new menu now appears on the list of menus in the Customize
dialog. (It will appear on the menu bar itself after you save yourcustomizations.)
After creating a new menu, you need to add some commands to it, as
described in “Adding a command to a menu” on page 407.

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Figure 315: Adding a new menu

Modifying existing menus
To modify an existing menu, select it in the Menu list and click the
Menu button to drop down a list of modifications: Move, Rename,
Delete. Not all of these modifications can be applied to all the entries
in the Menu list. For example, Rename and Delete are not available
for the supplied menus.
To move a menu (such as File), choose Menu > Move. A dialog similar
to the one shown in Figure 315 (but without the Menu name box)
opens. Use the up and down arrow buttons to move the menu into therequired position.
To move submenus (such as File | Send), select the main menu (File) in
the Menu list and then, in the Menu Content section of the dialog,
select the submenu (Send) in the Entries list and use the arrow keys tomove it up or down in the sequence. Submenus are easily identified in
the Entries list by a small black triangle on the right hand side of thename.
In addition to renaming, you can specify a keyboard shortcut thatallows you to select a menu command when you press Alt+ an
underlined letter in a menu command.
1) Select a menu or menu entry.
2) Click the Menu button and select Rename.

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3) Add a tilde (~) in front of the letter that you want to use as anaccelerator. For example, to select the Save All command bypressing Alt+V, enter Sa~ve All.

Adding a command to a menu
You can add commands to the supplied menus and to menus you havecreated. On the Customize dialog, select the menu in the Menu list andclick the Add button in the Menu Content section of the dialog.
On the Add Commands dialog, select a category and then thecommand, and click Add. The dialog remains open, so you can selectseveral commands. When you have finished adding commands, click
Close. Back on the Customize dialog, you can use the up and downarrow buttons to arrange the commands in your preferred sequence.

Figure 316: Adding a command to a menu

Modifying menu entries
In addition to changing the sequence of entries on a menu or submenu,
you can add submenus, rename or delete the entries, and add groupseparators.
To begin, select the menu or submenu in the Menu list near the top of
the Customize page, then select the entry in the Entries list under

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Menu Content. Click the Modify button and choose the required action
from the drop-down list of actions.
Most of the actions should be self-explanatory. Begin a group adds a
separator line after the highlighted entry.

Customizing toolbars
You can customize toolbars in several ways, including choosing whichicons are visible and locking the position of a docked toolbar, as
described in Chapter 1 (Introducing OpenOffice.org). This section
describes how to create new toolbars and add other icons (commands)
to the list of those available on a toolbar.
To get to the toolbar customization dialog, do any of the following:• On the toolbar, click the arrow at the end of the toolbar andchoose Customize Toolbar.
• Choose View > Toolbars > Customize from the menu bar.
• Choose Tools > Customize from the menu bar and pick the
Toolbars page (Figure 317).

Figure 317. The Toolbars page of the Customize dialog

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To customize toolbars:
1) In the Save In drop-down list, choose whether to save thischanged toolbar for the application (for example, Writer) or for aselected document.
2) In the section OpenOffice.org <name of the program(example: Writer)> Toolbars, select from the Toolbar dropdown list the toolbar that you want to customize.
3) You can create a new toolbar by clicking on the New button, or
customize existing toolbars by clicking on the Toolbar or Modify
buttons, and add commands to a toolbar by clicking on the Add
button. These actions are described below.
4) When you have finished making all your changes, click OK to savethem.

Creating a new toolbar
To create a new toolbar:
1) Choose Tools > Customize > Toolbars from the menu bar.
2) Click New. On the Name dialog, type the new toolbar's name andchoose from the Save In drop-down list where to save thischanged menu: for the application (for example, Writer) or for aselected document.

The new toolbar now appears on the list of toolbars in the Customize
dialog. After creating a new toolbar, you need to add some commands
to it, as described below.

Adding a command to a toolbar
If the list of available buttons for a toolbar does not include all thecommands you want on that toolbar, you can add commands. When you
create a new toolbar, you need to add commands to it.
1) On the Toolbars page of the Customize dialog, select the toolbar
in the Toolbar list and click the Add button in the Toolbar Content
section of the dialog.

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2) The Add Commands dialog is the same as for adding commands tomenus (Figure 316). Select a category and then the command,and click Add. The dialog remains open, so you can select several
commands. When you have finished adding commands, click
Close. If you insert an item which does not have an associatedicon, the toolbar will display the full name of the item: the next
section describes how to choose an icon for a toolbar command.
3) Back on the Customize dialog, you can use the up and downarrow buttons to arrange the commands in your preferred
sequence.
4) When you are done making changes, click OK to save.

Choosing icons for toolbar commands
Toolbar buttons usually have icons, not words, on them, but not all of
the commands have associated icons.
To choose an icon for a command, select the command and click
Modify > Change icon. On the Change Icon dialog, you can scroll
through the available icons, select one, and click OK to assign it to thecommand.

Figure 318: Change Icon dialog
To use a custom icon, create it in a graphics program and import it into
OOo by clicking the Import button on the Change Icon dialog. Custom
icons must be 16 x 16 or 26 x 26 pixels in size and cannot contain morethan 256 colors.

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Example: Adding a Fax icon to a toolbar
You can customize OpenOffice.org so that a single click on an icon
automatically sends the current document as a fax.
1) Be sure the fax driver is installed. Consult the documentation foryour fax modem for more information.
2) Choose Tools > Options > OpenOffice.org Writer > Print. The
dialog shown in Figure 319 opens.
3) Select the fax driver from the Fax list and click OK.

Figure 319: Setting up OOo for sending faxes4) Click the arrow icon at the end of the Standard toolbar. In thedrop-down menu, choose Customize Toolbar. The Toolbars pageof the Customize dialog appears (Figure 317). Click Add.
5) On the Add Commands dialog (Figure 320), select Documents in
the Category list, then select Send Default Fax in the Commands
list. Click Add. Now you can see the new icon in the Commandslist.
6) In the Commands list, click the up or down arrow button toposition the new icon where you want it. Click OK and then click
Close.
Your toolbar now has a new icon to send the current document as a
fax.

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Figure 320: Adding a Send Fax command to a toolbar

Assigning shortcut keys
In addition to using the built-in keyboard shortcuts (listed in Appendix
A), you can define your own. You can assign shortcuts to standard OOofunctions or your own macros and save them for use with the entire
OpenOffice.org suite.

CautionBe careful when reassigning your operating system’s or OOo’s
predefined shortcut keys. Many key assignments are universally
understood shortcuts, such as F1 for Help, and are always
expected to provide certain results. Although you can easily
reset the shortcut key assignments to the OOo defaults,changing some common shortcut keys can cause confusion,
frustration and possible data loss or corruption, especially ifother users share your computer.

To adapt shortcut keys to your needs, use the Customize dialog, as
described below.
1) Select Tools > Customize > Keyboard. The Customize dialog
opens.
2) To have the shortcut key assignment available in all componentsof OpenOffice.org select the OpenOffice.org button.
3) Next select the required function from the Category and Function
lists.
4) Now select the desired shortcut keys in the Shortcut keys list andclick the Modify button at the upper right.
5) Click OK to accept the change. Now the chosen shortcut keys will
execute the function chosen in step 3 above whenever they arepressed.

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Note

All existing shortcut keys for the currently selected Function arelisted in the Keys selection box. If the Keys list is empty, it
indicates that the chosen key combination is free for use. If it
were not, and you wanted to reassign a shortcut key
combination that is already in use, you must first delete theexisting key.
Shortcut keys that are greyed-out in the listing on the Customize
dialog, such as F1 and F10, are not available for reassignment.

Example: Assigning styles to shortcut keys
You can configure shortcut keys to quickly assign styles in yourdocument. Some shortcuts are predefined, such as Ctrl+0 for the Text
body paragraph style, Ctrl+1 for the Heading 1 style, and Ctrl+2 for
Heading 2. You can modify these shortcuts and create your own.
1) Click Tools > Customize > Keyboard. The Keyboard page of the
Customize dialog (Figure 321) opens.

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Figure 321. Defining keyboard shortcuts for applying styles
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4132) To have the shortcut key assignment available only with one
component (for example, Writer), select that component’s name inthe upper right corner of the page; otherwise selectOpenOffice.org button to make it available to every component.
3) Choose the shortcut keys you want to assign a style to. In thisexample, we have chosen Ctrl+9.
4) In the Functions section at the bottom of the dialog, scroll downin the Category list to Styles. Click the + sign to expand the list of
styles.
5) Choose the category of style. (This example uses a paragraphstyle, but you can also choose character styles and others.) The
Function list will display the names of the available styles for theselected category. The example shows some of OOo’s predefinedstyles.
6) To assign Ctrl+9 to be the shortcut key combination for the List 1
style, select List 1 in the Function list, and then click Modify.
Ctrl+9 now appears in the Keys list on the right, and List 1
appears next to Ctrl+9 in the Shortcut keys box at the top.
7) Make any other required changes, and then click OK to savethese settings and close the dialog.

Saving changes to a file
Changes to the shortcut key assignments can be saved in a keyboard
configuration file for use at a later time, thus permitting you to create
and apply different configurations as the need arises. To save keyboard
shortcuts to a file:1) After making your keyboard shortcut assignments, click the Save
button on the Customize dialog (Figure 321).
2) In the Save Keyboard Configuration dialog, select All files fromthe Save as Type list.
3) Next enter a name for the keyboard configuration file in theFile name box, or select an existing file from the list. If you needto, browse to find a file from another location.
4) Click Save. A confirmation dialog appears if you are about tooverwrite an existing file, otherwise there will be no feedback andthe file will be saved.

Loading a saved keyboard configuration
To load a saved keyboard configuration file and replace your existing
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select the configuration file from the Load Keyboard Configuration
dialog.

Resetting the shortcut keys
To reset all of the keyboard shortcuts to their default values, click the
Reset button near the bottom right of the Customize dialog. Use thisfeature with care as no confirmation dialog will be displayed; thedefaults will be set without any further notice or user input.

Assigning macros to eventsIn OOo, when something happens, we say that an event occured. For
example, a document was opened, a key was pressed, or the mouse
moved. You can associate a macro with an event, so the macro is run
when the event occurs. For example, a common use is to assign the“open document” event to run a macro that performs certain setup
tasks for the document.
To associate a macro with an event, use the Events page of the
Customize dialog. For more information, see Chapter 13 (Getting
Started with Macros).

Adding functionality with extensions
An extension is a package that can be installed into OpenOffice.org to
add new functionality.
Although individual extensions can be found in different places, theofficial OpenOffice.org extension repository is at
http://extensions.services.openoffice.org/. Some extensions are free ofcharge; others are available for a fee. Check the descriptions to see
what licenses and fees apply to the ones that interest you.

Installing extensions
To install an extension, follow these steps:
1) Download an extension and save it anywhere on your computer.
2) In OOo, select Tools > Extension Manager from the menu bar.
In the Extension Manager dialog (Figure 322), click Add.
3) A file browser window opens. Find and select the extension you
want to install and click Open. The extension begins installing.
You may be asked to accept a license agreement.

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4154) When the installation is complete, the extension is listed in the
Extension Manager dialog.

Tip

To get extensions that are listed in the repository, you can open
the Extension Manager and click the Get more extensions
here link. You do not need to download them separately as instep 1 above.

Figure 322: Using the Extension Manager
Note

To install a shared extension, you need write access to the
OpenOffice.org installation directory.

Using extensions
This section describes a few of the more important and popularextensions to OpenOffice.org. In each case, you need to first install theextension as described in the previous section.

PDF Import
Enables you to make minor modifications to the text of existing PDF
files when the original source files do not exist or you are unable toopen the source files. (Whenever possible, modify the source andregenerate the PDF to obtain the best results.)

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When the extension is installed, PDF is listed as a choice in the File
Type drop-down list in the File > Open dialog.
Best results can be achieved with the PDF/ODF hybrid file format,
which this extension also enables. A hybrid PDF/ODF file is a PDF filethat contains an embedded ODF source file. Hybrid PDF/ODF files will
be opened in OpenOffice.org as an ODF file without any layoutchanges.
Non-hybrid PDF documents open in Draw. Depending on thecomplexity of the layout, changes may be easy or difficult to make, andthe saved result may or may not preserve the original layout. Font
substitution may occur.
Documents with more sophisticated layouts, such as those created withprofessional desktop publishing applications that use special fonts andcomplex vector graphics, are not suitable for the PDF Import
Extension. Similarly, longer documents (> 20 pages) may cause some
performance and stability problems.
From Sun Microsystems. Open source.

Presenter Console
Provides extra control over slide shows (presentations); for example,
the presenter has ability to see the upcoming slide, the slide notes, anda presentation timer—while the audience sees only the current slide.
The Presenter Console displays the elements in three easilychangeable views:• The first view displays the current slide, including the effects, andthe upcoming slide.
• The second view shows the speaker's notes in large, clear, andscalable type, plus the current and upcoming slide.
• The third view is a slide sorter view with the slide thumbnails.
From Sun Microsystems. Open source.
Note

The Presenter Console works only on an operating system that
supports multiple displays.

Report Builder
Creates stylish, complex database reports from Base. You can definegroup and page headers, group and page footers, and calculation
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send them as email attachments. From Sun Microsystems. Open
source.

Professional Template Pack II
Provides more than 120 templates for Writer, Calc, and Impress.
Available in several languages. After you have installed this extension,
you will find the templates under File > New > Templates andDocuments. From Sun Microsystems. Freeware.

Template Changer
Adds two new items to the File > Templates menu in Writer thatallow you to assign a new template to the current document or to afolder of documents. All styles and formatting will be loaded from that
template and the document will behave as it was created using that
template. Open source.

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AAppendix
Keyboard Shortcuts

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Introduction
You can use OpenOffice.org (OOo) without requiring a pointing device,
such as a mouse or trackball, by using its built-in keyboard shortcuts.
Tasks as varied and complex as docking and un-docking toolbars andwindows, or changing the size or position of objects, can all beaccomplished with only a keyboard.
OOo has a general set of keyboard shortcuts, available in allcomponents, and a component-specific set directly related to the workof that component (Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, and Base). Thisappendix lists some of the most common general shortcuts. For
component-specific shortcuts, see the relevant component guide or
the OOo Help.
For help with OOo’s keyboard shortcuts, or using OOo with a keyboard
only, search the OOo Help using the “shortcut” or “accessibility”
keywords.
In addition to using the built-in keyboard shortcuts listed in thisAppendix, you can define your own. See Chapter 14 (Customizing
OpenOffice.org) for instructions.

Note

Some of the shortcut keys may be assigned to your desktop
system. Keys that are assigned to the desktop system are notavailable to OOo. Try to assign different keys either for OOo(described in Chapter 14), or for your desktop system (see yoursystem’s documentation).

Choosing menu items using the keyboard
Some of the characters shown on the menu bar are underlined. You
can open the menus by pressing the underlined character together
with the Alt key. Once the menu is opened, you can access menu items
by pressing the underlined character key.

Using shortcut keys in dialogs
When you open any dialog, one element (such as a button, an option
field, an entry in a list box, or a checkbox) is highlighted or indicatedby a dotted box around the field or button name. This element is said
to have the focus on it.
If the focal point is a button, pressing Enter runs it as if you had
clicked it with the mouse. A checkbox is toggled on or off by pressing
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change the activated option field in that area. Press the Tab key to gofrom one element or area to the next one, or press Shift+Tab to go in
the reverse direction.
Press Esc to close the dialog without saving changes or activating any
commands.

Interrupting macros
To terminate a macro that is currently running, press Shift+Ctrl+Q.

Function key shortcuts
Shortcut Keys
F1

ResultStarts the OpenOffice.org Help.
In the OpenOffice.org Help: jumps to main help page.

Shift+F1

Activates What’s This? (extended tip) help for themouse pointer, which turns into a question mark.
Move the pointer over an item (command, icon orcontrol) to view the extended tip.

Shift+F2

Displays an extended tip for the item (command, icon
or control) currently selected by using the keyboard.

Ctrl+F4 or Alt+F4

Closes the current document. Closes OpenOffice.org
when the last open document is closed.

F5

Opens the Navigator window.

F6

Sets focus in next subwindow.

Shift+F6

Sets focus in previous subwindow.

F10

Activates the first menu (File menu).

Shift+F10

Opens the context (pop-up) menu.

F11

Opens the Styles and Formatting window.

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General shortcut keys for OpenOffice.org
Shortcut Keys

ResultEnter

Activates the focused button in a dialog.

Esc

Terminates the action or dialog. If in OpenOffice.org
Help: goes up one level.

Spacebar

Toggles the focused checkbox in a dialog.

Arrow keys

Changes the active control field in an option sectionof a dialog.

Tab

Advances focus to the next section or element in a
dialog.

Shift+Tab

Moves the focus to the previous section or element
in a dialog.

Alt+Down Arrow

Opens the list of the control field currently selected
in a dialog. This shortcut applies to combo boxes
and to icon buttons with pop-up menus. Close an
opened list by pressing the Esc key.

Del

Deletes the selected items into the recycle bin.

Shift+Del

Deletes the selected items without putting them in
the recycle bin.

Backspace

When a folder is shown: goes up one level (goesback).

Ctrl+M

Removes direct formatting from selected text orobjects (as in Format > Default Formatting).

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+V

Pastes unformatted text from the clipboard. The
text takes on the format that exists at the insertion
point.

Enter (if an OLE
object is selected)

Activates the selected OLE object.

Enter (if a drawing
object or text object isselected)

Activates text input mode.

Ctrl+O

Opens a document.

Ctrl+S

Saves the current document.

Ctrl+N

Creates a new document.

Shift+Ctrl+N

Opens the Templates and Documents dialog.

Ctrl+P

Prints the document.

Ctrl+Q

Exits the application.

Ctrl+X

Cuts the selected items.

Ctrl+C

Copies the selected items.

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Shortcut Keys

ResultCtrl+V

Pastes from the clipboard.

Ctrl+Shift+V

Opens the Paste Special dialog.

Ctrl+A

Selects all.

Ctrl+Z

Undoes last action.

Ctrl+Y

Redoes last action.

Ctrl+Shift+Y

Repeats last command.

Ctrl+F

Calls the Find & Replace dialog.

Ctrl+Shift+F

Searches for the last entered search term.

Ctrl+Shift+J

Toggles the view between fullscreen mode andnormal mode in Writer or Calc.

Ctrl+Shift+R

Refreshes (redraws) the document view.

Ctrl+Shift+I

Enables or disables the selection cursor in read-only
text.

Ctrl+I

Applies the Italic attribute to the selected area or
the word in which the cursor is positioned.

Ctrl+B

Applies the Bold attribute.

Ctrl+U

Applies the Underlined attribute.

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B

Appendix
Background Information
History, licensing, and file formats

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Introduction
OpenOffice.org is both a product and an open-source project. If you are
new to OOo, its open source development, and the community that
produces and supports it, you should read this appendix.

A short history of OpenOffice.org
The OpenOffice.org project began when Sun Microsystems released
the source code (“blueprints”) for its StarOffice® software to the open
source community on October 13, 2000. This allowed Sun to use thetechnical expertise and rapid development times of an open-source
project in the development of its own software products. All recent
versions of Sun’s StarOffice use source code developed by the
OpenOffice.org community. However, the products do not provide
exactly the same features due to the copyrights of third parties thatare not compatible with open-source licensing.
OpenOffice.org 1.0, the product, was released on April 30, 2002.
Read more about OpenOffice.org’s history and organization at:
http://about.openoffice.org/
Information about StarOffice can be found at:
http://www.sun.com/software/star/staroffice/

The OpenOffice.org community
OpenOffice.org's Mission Statement is:“To create, as a community, the leading international office suitethat will run on all major platforms and provide access to allfunctionality and data through open-component based APIs and an
XML-based file format.”
The OpenOffice.org project is primarily sponsored by Sun
Microsystems, which is the primary contributor of code to the Project.
Our other major corporate contributors include Novell, RedHat,
RedFlag CH2000, IBM, and Google. Additonally over 450,000 people
from nearly every curve of the globe have joined this Project with theidea of creating the best possible office suite that all can use. This is
the essence of an “open source” community!
With its free software licence and active Native Language
Confederation, OpenOffice.org is a key player in the drive to eradicate
digital exclusion and preserve minority languages threatened by being

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on the wrong side of the digital divide. For tens of thousands ofcommunity members, this makes the OpenOffice.org community theirvolunteering opportunity of choice.
The OpenOffice.org community invites contributors. Whatever you do
best, you can do it for OpenOffice.org. As well as software developers,
the Community welcomes translators, artists, technical writers andeditors, testers, people offering user support, sales and marketingpeople, lobbyists, donors... the list is long. The Community operates
internationally in all time zones, linked by the internet.

How is OpenOffice.org licensed?
OpenOffice.org is distributed under the Open Source Initiative (OSI)
approved Lesser General Public License (LGPL).
The LGPL can be viewed on the OOo website at:
http://www.openoffice.org/licenses/lgpl_license.html
For more general information on OOo’s licensing, please refer to:
http://www.openoffice.org/license.html

What is “open source”?
The ideals of open-source software can be explained by the four
essential rights, which are embodied within the Free Software
Foundation’s General Public License (GPL):• The right to use the software for any purpose.
• Freedom to redistribute the software for free or for a fee.
• Access to the complete source code of the program (that is, the“blueprints”).
• The right to modify any part of the source, or use portions of it inother programs.
Another view of this philosophy comes from the Open Source
Definiton:“The basic idea behind open source is very simple: When
programmers can read, redistribute, and modify the source code fora piece of software, the software evolves. People improve it, people
adapt it, people fix bugs. And this can happen at a speed that, if one
is used to the slow pace of conventional software development,
seems astonishing.”

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For more information on Free and Open Source software, visit thesewebsites:
Open Source Initiative (OSI): http://www.opensource.org
Free Software Foundation (FSF): http://www.gnu.org

What is OpenDocument?
Starting with Version 2.0, OpenOffice.org by default saves documents
in Open Document Format (ODF). OpenOffice.org 3 has adopted
version 1.2 of the OpenDocument standard.
OpenDocument is an XML-based file format for office documents (textdocuments, spreadsheets, drawings, presentations and more),developed at OASIS, an independent, international standards group.
Unlike other file formats, ODF is an open standard. It is publicly
available, royalty-free, and without legal or other restrictions;
therefore ODF files are not tied to a specific office suite and anybody
can build a program that interprets these files. For this reason ODF isquickly becoming the preferred file format for government agencies,
schools and other companies who prefer not to be too dependent on aparticular software supplier.
Because OOo 3.2 currently requires a superset of the ODF 1.2
specification, it now warns users when ODF 1.2 Extended features
have been used.
The document integrity check now proves whether an ODF document
conforms to the ODF specification (this mainly affects ODF 1.2
documents). If an inconsistency is found, the document is treated as a
broken one, and OpenOffice.org offers to repair the document.

File formats OOo can open
OpenOffice.org can open a wide variety of file formats in addition to
the OpenDocument formats.

Opening text documents
In addition to OpenDocument formats (.odt, .ott, .oth, and .odm),
Writer 3 can open the formats used by OOo 1.x (.sxw, .stw, and .sxg)
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Microsoft Word 6.0/95/97/2000/XP) (.doc and .dot)
Microsoft Word 2003 XML (.xml)
Microsoft Word 2007 XML (.docx, .docm, .dotx, .dotm)
Microsoft WinWord 5 (.doc)
WordPerfect Document (.wpd)
WPS 2000/Office 1.0 (.wps).rtf, .txt, and .csv
StarWriter formats (.sdw, .sgl, .vor)
DocBook (.xml)
Unified Office Format text (.uot, .uof)
Ichitaro 8/9/10/11 (.jtd and .jtt)
Hangul WP 97 (.hwp)
T602 Document (.602, .txt)
AportisDoc (Palm) (.pdb)
Pocket Word (.psw)
Most of these file types are automatically detected by OOo, so they canbe opened without explicitly selecting the document type in the filepicker.
When opening .htm or .html files (used for web pages), OOo
customizes Writer for working with these files.

Opening spreadsheets
In addition to OpenDocument formats (.ods and .ots), Calc 3 can open
the formats used by OOo 1.x (.sxc and .stc) and the following
spreadsheet formats:
Microsoft Excel 97/2000/XP (.xls, .xlw, and .xlt)
Microsoft Excel 4.x–5.0/95 (.xls, .xlw, and .xlt)
Microsoft Excel 2003 XML (.xml)
Microsoft Excel 2007 XML (.xlsx, .xlsm, .xlts, .xltm)
Microsoft Excel 2007 binary (.xlsb)
Lotus 1-2-3 (.wk1, .wks, and .123)
Data Interchange Format (.dif)
Rich Text Format (.rtf)
Text CSV (.csv and .txt)
StarCalc formats (.sdc and .vor)
dBASE (.dbf)
SYLK (.slk)
Unified Office Format spreadsheet (.uos, .uof).htm and .html files, including Web page queries
Pocket Excel (pxl)
Quattro Pro 6.0 (.wb2)

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Opening presentations
In addition to OpenDocument formats (.odp, .odg, and .otp), Impress 3
can open the formats used by OOo 1.x (.sxi and .sti) and the following
presentation formats:
Microsoft PowerPoint 97/2000/XP (.ppt, .pps, and .pot)
Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx, .pptm, .potx, .potm)
StarDraw and StarImpress (.sda, .sdd, .sdp, and .vor)
Unified Office Format presentation (.uop, .uof)
CGM – Computer Graphics Metafile (.cgm)
Portable Document Format (.pdf)

Opening graphic files
In addition to OpenDocument formats (.odg and .otg), Draw 3 can open
the formats used by OOo 1.x (.sxd and .std) and the following graphic
formats:
BMP
DXF
EMF
EPS
GIF

JPEG, JPG
MET
PBM
PCD
PCT

PCX
PGM
PLT
PNG
PPM

PSD
RAS
SDA
SDD
SGF

SGV
SVM
TGA
TIF, TIFF
VOR

WMF
XBM
XPM

Opening formula files
In addition to OpenDocument Formula (.odf) files, Math 3 can open theformat used by OOo 1.x (.sxm), StarMath, (.smf), and MathML (.mml)
files.
When opening a Word document that contains an embedded equation
editor object, if the option for it is checked in Tools > Options >Load/Save > Microsoft Office, the object will be automaticallyconverted to an OpenOffice.org Math object.

File formats OOo can save to
Saving in an OpenDocument format guarantees the correct renderingof the file when it is transferred to another person or when the file is
re-opened with a later version of OpenOffice.org. It is strongly
recommended that you use ODF as default file format. However, you
can save files in other formats, if you wish.

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Tip

When sharing a document that you do not expect or want therecipient to modify, the safest option is to convert the document
to PDF. OOo provides a very straightforward way to convert
documents to PDF.

Saving text documents
In addition to OpenDocument formats (.odt and .ott), Writer 3 can savein these formats:
OpenOffice.org 1.x Text Document (.sxw)
OpenOffice.org 1.x Text Document Template (.stw)
Microsoft Word 6.0, 95, and 97/2000/XP (.doc)
Microsoft Word 2003 XML (.xml)
Rich Text Format (.rtf)
StarWriter 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 (.sdw)
StarWriter 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 Template (.vor)
Text (.txt)
Text Encoded (.txt)
Unified Office Format text (.uot, .uof)
HTML Document (OpenOffice.org Writer) (.html and .htm)
DocBook (.xml)
AportisDoc (Palm) (.pdb)
Pocket Word (.psw)
Encryption support within the Microsoft Word 97/2000/XP filter allows
password protected Microsoft Word documents to be saved.

Note

The .rtf format is a common format for transferring text files
between applications, but you are likely to experience loss offormatting and images. For this reason, other formats should be
used.

Saving spreadsheet files
In addition to OpenDocument formats (.ods and .ots), Calc 3 can savein these formats:
OpenOffice.org 1.x Spreadsheet (.sxc)
OpenOffice.org 1.x Spreadsheet Template (.stc)
Microsoft Excel 97/2000/XP (.xls and .xlw)
Microsoft Excel 97/2000/XP Template (.xlt)
Microsoft Excel 5.0 and 95 (.xls and .xlw)
Microsoft Excel 2003 XML (.xml)
Data Interchange Format (.dif)

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dBase (.dbf)
SYLK (.slk)
Text CSV (.csv and .txt)
StarCalc 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 formats (.sdc and .vor)
Unified Office Format spreadsheet (.uos)
HTML Document (OpenOffice.org Calc) (.html and .htm)
Pocket Excel (.pxl)

Note

The Java Runtime Environment is required to use the mobile
device filters for AportisDoc (Palm), Pocket Word, and Pocket
Excel.

Saving presentations
In addition to OpenDocument formats (.odp, .otp, and .odg), Impress 3
can save in these formats:
OpenOffice.org 1.x Presentation (.sxi)
OpenOffice.org 1.x Presentation Template (.sti)
Microsoft PowerPoint 97/2000/XP (.ppt and .pps)
Microsoft PowerPoint 97/2000/XP Template (.pot)
StarDraw, StarImpress (.sda, .sdd, and .vor)
Unified Office Format presentation (.uop)
Impress can also export to MacroMedia Flash (.swf) and any of thegraphics formats listed for Draw.

Saving drawings
Draw 3 can only save in the OpenDocument Drawing formats (.odg and.otg), the OpenOffice.org 1.x formats (.sxd and .std) and StarDraw
format (.sda, .sdd, and .vor).
However, Draw can also export to BMP, EMF, EPS, GIF, JPEG, MET,
PBM, PCT, PGM, PNG, PPM, RAS, SVG, SVM, TIFF, WMF, and XPM.

Writer/Web can save in these formats
HTML document (.html and .htm), as HTML 4.0 Transitional
OpenOffice.org 1.0 HTML Template (.stw)
OpenOffice.org 2.x HTML Template (.oth)
StarWriter/Web 4.0 and 5.0 (.vor)
Text (OpenOffice.org Writer/Web) (.txt)
Text Encoded (OpenOffice.org Writer/Web) (.txt)

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Exporting to other formats
OOo uses the term “export” for some file operations involving a changeof file type. If you cannot find what you want under Save As, lookunder Export as well.
OpenOffice.org can export files to XHTML. In addition, Draw and
Impress can export to Adobe Flash (.swf) and a range of image
formats.
To export to one of these formats, choose File > Export. On the Export
dialog, specify a file name for the exported document, then select therequired format in the File format list and click the Export button.

Frequently asked questions
Is this software a “demo”
version?

No, this is a fully functioning software suite.

May I distribute OOo toanyone?

Yes.

How many computers may I
install it on?

As many as you like.

May I sell it?

Yes.

May I use OpenOffice.org ina business?

Yes.

Is OpenOffice available in
my language?

OpenOffice.org has been translated(localized) into over 40 languages, so yourlanguage probably is supported. Additionally,
there are over 70 spelling, hyphenation, andthesaurus dictionaries available for
languages, and dialects that do not have a
localized program interface. The dictionaries
are available from the OpenOffice.org
website at:
http://lingucomponent.openoffice.org/downlo
ad_dictionary.html

How can you make it forfree?

A large share of the development, and muchof the support for the project, is currently
supplied or sponsored by Sun Microsystems.
There are also many other people who workon OOo as volunteers.

What if I need technicalsupport?

Read the section titled “How to get help” in
Chapter 1 (Introducting OpenOffice.org).

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Who owns the software?

The copyright is shared by Sun Microsystems
and all the volunteers who have contributed.

Does that mean that they
can take away the software?

No. The licenses under which OOo isdeveloped and distributed can never be
revoked, so it cannot be taken away.

I am writing a software
application. May I use
programming code from
OpenOffice.org in myprogram?

You may, within the parameters set in the
LGPL. Read the license:
http://www.openoffice.org/license.html

Why is my favorite featurefrom StarOffice not available
in OOo?

That feature is probably a third-party add-on
that Sun cannot distribute with
OpenOffice.org.

Why do I need Java to run
OOo? Is it written in Java?

OpenOffice.org is not written in Java; it is
written in the C++ language. Java is one ofseveral languages that can be used to extend
OOo. The Java JDK/JRE is only required forsome features. The most notable one is the
HSQLDB relational database engine.
Note: Java is available at no cost. If you don't
want to use Java, you can still use nearly allof the features of OOo.

How can I contribute to
OpenOffice.org?

You can help with the development of OOo in
many ways, and you do not need to be a
programmer. To start, check out thiswebpage:
http://www.openoffice.org/contributing.html

What’s the catch?

There really is none; you can read thelicenses here:
http://www.openoffice.org/license.html

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IndexA
accepting or rejecting changes 127
accessibility features 420
accessibility options 49
advantages of OpenOffice.org 13
antialiasing screen font 40
appearance options 48
Apply Style list 66
area fill, editing 242
arranging objects 237
arrow styles, customizing 241
arrows 241
Asian language support 58
Asian languages enabled 207
AutoCorrect 61, 102
AutoInput 156
AutoLayout 206
automatic changes 156
automatic saving 29
AutoRecovery 29, 53
AutoUpdate styles 68

Bbackground images from Gallery 347
Basic 379
bitmaps 247
BitTorrent 14
book preview 120
booklet printing 120
bookmarks 129
borders, editing 240
brackets (Math) 321
bring forward 237
brochure printing 120
bulleted list 209
Bullets and Numbering dialog 210

C
Calc macros 390
CD or DVD of OpenOffice.org 14
check for updates automatically 51
circle, drawing 229
clipboard 41
closing a document 34
closing OpenOffice.org 34
CMYK 222
Color Bar 221

color options 44
color palette 222
color scheme 49
combining objects 246
comma separated values (CSV) 138, 140
command line, starting from 19
Community Forum (user support) 16
complex text layout (CTL) 13, 58
components of OpenOffice.org 11
conditional formatting 168
connectors 232
consultants 16
context menu 240
context menus 25
conversion 247
copying object from Gallery 347
create document from template 73
creating a document 27
cross-fading 245
cross-references
inserting references 129
overview 128
CSV files 138, 140
Ctrl-click required to follow hyperlinks
48
custom dictionary 59
Customize dialog 396
customizing
keyboard shortcuts 412
menus 404
toolbars 408

Ddata source
description 251
editing 286
linking 284
registering 284
using in OOo documents 286
viewing 285
data validity 160
database
AutoValue 260
creating 253
creating tables 255
field types and formats 257
list table 263
planning 252

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primary key 255, 258, 260
registering 285
Report Wizard 303
Table Wizard 255
tables 255
database form
activation order 282
background 280
creating in Design View 283
creating using a Wizard 267
entering data 290
modifying 270
subform 268
tab order 282
database reports
creating 302
modifying 308
static 302
database tablecreate using wizard 255
dynamic 306
joined fields 269
relationships 264
date conversion, automatic 156
default file format 53
default formatting 205, 208
default template 79
deleting files 30
derivative markup (Math) 323
Design View (Base)creating a new table 259
creating forms 283
creating queries 296
dictionaries, installing 57
dictionary 101
different first page 84
digital rights management (DRM) 334
digital signature 339
DIM 383
dispatch framework 388
dispatch helper 383
distorting an image 244
dockable window 23
document
closing 34
create from template 73
creating 27
opening 28
starting new 27
document status option 38
Index

Documentation Project 16
download updates automatically 51
downloading OpenOffice.org 14
drag and drop 342
Draw 217, 248
drawing
circle or ellipse 229
duplication 244
Flash export 248
HTML export 248
inserting pictures 247
line 227
rectangle 229
save in a foreign format 248
Drawing Object Properties toolbar 354
drawing objects
grouping 355
properties 354
Drawing toolbar 221, 353
drawing tools 352
duplication 244
dynamic gradients 244

E
e-mailing
Mail Merge Wizard 337
several recipients 337
Writer document as attachment 336
edit document properties before saving
53
ellipse, drawing 229
en and em dashes 99
en-dash and em-dash 99
envelope
formatting address blocks 122
mail merge from database 122
printing 121
envelope printing 121
EPS images in PDF 331
equation
inserting 313
numbering 325
equation editor 313
brackets 321
derivative markup 323
equations over more than one line 322
floating window 319
font size 321
Formula Elements window 314
formula layout 321
limits to sum/integral 322

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markup 317
matrix markup 323
right-click menu 316
event handling 398
export directly as PDF 329
export HTML 56
exporting to PDF 329
extended tips 37
extension
Sun Report Builder 311
Extension Manager 78, 311
extensions 400, 415
extensions and addons
sources of 15

F

Gallery 356
grouping 360
line options 359
moving and resizing objects 361
positioning options 360
same letter heights 357
toolbar 355, 357
Form Wizard 267
formatting
conditional 168
Formatting toolbar 22
formula editor
See: equation editor 319
formula files, opening 429
formula layout 321
Free Software Foundation (FSF) 427
function key shortcuts 421

fax icon, adding to toolbar 126, 411
fax sending 125
G
FDF 331
fields 205
Gallery
fieldsadding objects 348
bookmarks 129
copying object into document 347
cross-reference 128
creating a new theme 350
Fields dialog box
deleting images 349
References tab 129
deleting objects 349
file locations 43
hide/show 346
file sharing options 46, 47
inserting object as background 347
Fill Format 66
location 350
fill, editing 242
open/close 346
Flash export 373
themes 346
flip an object 243
views (icon/detailed) 346
floating toolbars 22, 23
general options 37
floating window 23
glue points 232
font
GNU/Linux
history 41
system requirements 14
ignore settings when importing HTML gradients 244
56
grammar checker 101
options 45
graphic files
preview 41
opening 429
replacement table 45
saving 431
replacements 45
graphic styles 202
sizes for HTML 55
graphics
Fontwork
adding from file 342alignment 358
linking 343
anchoring 360
vector 217
area options 359
graphics styles
attributes 358
formatting text 208
character spacing 358
grid options 225
creating an object 356
grid points 224
editing an object 357
guiding lines 226
Formatting toolbar 358

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H
handouts (Impress) 192
headerdifferent on right and left pages 85
Help Agent 38
Help system 15
Help Tips 37
hidden objects 236
high contrast 38
history of OpenOffice.org 425
HTML compatibility 55
HTML export 56
HTML Export Wizard 374
hyperlinks
editing 367
inserting 364
hyphenation
manual 108

OpenOffice.org general 422
resetting to default values 415
saving to a file 414
keyboard shortcuts (macros) 396

Llabel printing 124
labelsprinting 124
landscape pages 85
language settings 57
language support 13
Layout pane 206
LGPL 433
libraries of macros 390
library containers 390
licensing of OpenOffice.org 426
limits to sum/integral 322
Line and Filling toolbar 221
line properties 241
Iline, customizing 241
icon size and style (user interface) 40
line, drawing 227
icons in menus 40lines, editing 240
IDE 381linking object from gallery 347
ignore font settings when importing
Linux
HTML 56
Quickstarter 19
image map 351
system requirements 14
imageslist
table (database) 263
adding from file 342
load Basic code to edit 54
linking 343
load/save options 52
scanned 345
loading styles 72
importing files 427
importing numbers from an HTML page locale settings 58
56
M
inclination 239
Mac OS X
Insert Bookmark dialog 130
support 16
Insert Picture dialog 343
system requirements 14
installing and setting up 15
macro information 16
Internet options 60
Macro Organizer dialog 393
macro security options 47
Macro Selector dialog 396
Java options 50
Macromedia Flash 373
Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 251
JRE (Java Runtime Environment) 14, 51 macros 379
assigning to events 415
K
Calc 390
comments 382
KDocker 19
creating 384
keyboard shortcuts
DIM 383
assigning 412, 420
dispatch framework 388
customizing 412
dispatch helper 383
function keys 421
downloading 395
loading from a file 414

J

Index

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editing 381
event handling 398
example 384
functions 390
IDE 381, 388
library container 379
library containers 390
menu items 396
module 379
modules 390
organization 390
recording 379
REM 382
resources 401
running 380, 395
storage 392
subroutines 382, 390
variables 383
viewing 381
writing 400
Mail Merge Wizard
e-mailing Writer document 337
Mantovani, Paolo 390
margins 218
margins (Writer) 113
Master Pages 202
master slides 200
Math formulas, inserting 213
mathematical equations 313
mathematical markup 317
mathematical symbols 314
matrix markup (Math) 323
measurement unit 100, 219
memory options 39
menu bar 21
menus
adding commands 407
creating 405
customizing 404
modifying 406
modifying entries 407
Microsoft Office file conversion 55
Microsoft Windows
file associations 17
Quickstarter 18
system requirements 14
Microsoft Word 93
middle mouse button function 41
mirror copies 243
mouse positioning 41

Mozilla plug-in 60
music objects, inserting 213
MySQL 251

N
Native Language Project 16
Navigation toolbar 32
Navigator 31, 187
new document 27
non-breaking hyphen 99
non-breaking spaces 99
Normal view (Impress) 188
Notes view (Impress) 189
numbered list 209
numbering equations 325O
OASIS 14
objects
adjusting size 237
arranging 237
dynamic movement 238
dynamic size modification 238
framing 236
hidden 236
moving 237
rotating 238
selecting several 237
ODF format version, saving 53
ODF plugin (Sun) 93
Office Assistant (Microsoft) 38
OLE objects, inserting 213
online update options 51
OOo Macro Organizer dialog 380
Open and Save As dialogs 30
Open Source Initiative (OSI) 426, 427
Open/Save dialogs 38
OpenDocument Format 14, 53
opening a document 28
OpenOffice.org Basic Macros dialog 379
Options Bar (Draw) 223
orientation of page 85
outline level 210
Outline view (Impress) 188
OXT extension 78

Ppage layout
different first page 84
landscape page 85
orientation 85

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page margins 113, 218
print file directly 117, 328
parts of the main window 21
print options
password protection 29
general 42
password-protect PDF 334
Printer Options dialog 118
pasting unformatted text 208
printer settings 53
path options 43
printing
PDF
black and white on color printer 119
blank page export 331
book preview 120
digital rights management (DRM) 334
booklet 120
encrypt 334
brochure 120
EPS images 331
choosing what to print 117, 328
export documents to 329
envelopes 121
form 331
grayscale on color printer 119
image compression and resolution 330 labels 124
initial view selection 332
previewing 119
pages to export 330
print options 118
password-protect 334
printer selection 117, 328
security settings 334
Professional Template Pack extension
tagged 331
418
user interface settings 332
Q
PDF import 416
queries (database)
PDF Options dialog 330
aliases 301
PDF/A-1 331
creating using a Wizard 293
picturescreating using Design View 296
adding from file 342
joined fields 269
linking 343
search conditions 295
Pitonyak, Andrew 16
Query
Wizard (database) 293
pixels 217
Quickstarter 18, 193
positioning objects 247
Quickstarter
Powerpoint
enabling 39
See: Impress 183
quotation
marks 156
preloading OOo under Linux/KDE 19
presentationR
first slide 197
raster graphics 247
formatting 197
rectangle, drawing 229
modifying 200
regular expressions 97
output medium 196
relationships (database) 264
planning 193
REM 382
running 215
remove manual formatting 205
slide design 195
remove personal information on saving
title slide 197
48transition effect 196
renaming files 30
transitions 196
replacement table (font) 45
presentation styles 202
Report Builder extension 417
Presentation Wizard 194
Report Wizard (database) 303
presentations
RGB 222saving 431
right to left (RTL) layout 13
primary key 258
right-click (context) menus 25
primary key (database) 258
rotating an object 238
Print dialog 117, 328
rulers (Draw) 218
Index

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S
save asweb page 368
save AutoRecovery information 53
save original Basic code 54
save relative URLs 53
saving files 28
scaling factor (user interface) 40
scanner 345
screen font antialiasing 40
security 29
security options 46
selecting objects 236
selection clipboard 41
selection modes 235
send backward 237
send document as e-mail 336
setup options 36
shadows 242
shared extension 416
shortcut keys 420, 422
size optimization 54
slanting an object 239
Slide Design dialog 203
slide master 200
adding text 205
apply 203
author information 206
create 203
description 201
fields 205
loading additional 203
modifying 204
slide show
organizing 214
See: presentation 183
Slide Sorter view (Impress) 190
slidesadding text 200
hide 201
inserting 198
layouts 198
master 200, 201
modifying 200
Slides pane (Impress) 183
snap functions 224
Snap to grid 224
Solarissystem requirements 14
sort order (database fields) 295

special characters 103
spelling checker 101
spelling options 59
spreadsheet
using as data source 284
spreadsheets
opening 428
saving 430
saving as CSV 140
Standard toolbar 22
StarBasic 379
starting a new document 27
starting OpenOffice.org 17
Status Bar (Draw) 186, 219
Style dialog 68, 69
styles 242
Apply Style list 66
assigning to shortcut keys 413
AutoUpdate 68
changing using Style dialog 68
creating by dragging and dropping 70
creating from selection 69
creating new 69
creating using Style dialog 69
custom 69
deleting 73
description 63, 201
Fill Format 66
formatting text 208
graphic styles 202
linking 69
loading from template or document 72
modifying 67
presentation styles 202
types supported 63
updating from a selection 68
Styles and Formatting window 65
SUB 382subroutines 390
subroutines in macros 382
Sun Microsystems 425
Sun Report Builder 311
support 15
system font (user interface) 40

T
Table Wizard (database) 255
Tasks pane (Impress) 185
tear-off toolbars 22
template
create document from 73

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create from document 75
create using wizard 76
deleting 83
description 63
editing 77
exporting 84
Extension Manager 78
folders 82
update document styles from 77
Template Changer extension 418
Template Management dialog 71
templates
importing 83
textbulleted or numbered list 209
default formatting 208
formatting pasted text 208
outline level 210
pasting 207
text boundaries (show/hide) 49
text box
AutoLayout 206, 209
creating 206
moving 215
vertical alignment of text 207
text box tool 206
text documents
opening 427
Text Formatting toolbar 208
text in Draw 231
theme
deleting 350
themes 346
themes (Gallery) 350
title slide 197
toolbar icons (macros) 396
toolbars 186
adding commands 409
choosing icons for commands 410
Color Bar 221
creating 409
customizing 24
displaying or hiding 22
Draw 219
Drawing 221
Fontwork 355
Line and Filling toolbar 221
moving 23
Options Bar (Draw) 223
overview 21
Index

tooltips 37, 197
transparency 242, 244
two-digit years 38
typing errors, autocorrect 156

Uundoing groups 246
unformatted text, pasting 208
ungrouping 246
unit of measurement 219
unsaved changes flag 90
URL Recognition 364
user data options 36
user guides 16
user interface options 40
user-specific settings 52

Vvalidity 160
variables in macros 383
VBA properties load/save options 54
vector graphics 217
vertical alignment of text 207
video objects, inserting 213
view options 39

W
Web Layout 368
web page export
Calc spreadsheets 373
Impress presentations 373
Web wizard (Writer) 369
Writer documents 368, 369
wildcards 97
windows, dockable/floating 23
wizardform (database) 267
presentation 194
query (database) 293
report (database) 303
table (database) 255
web 369
workspace
Draw 217
workspace views (Impress) 188

X
XML 54Y
year (two digits) 38

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