Base GuidePrefaceCopyrightThis document is Copyright © 2020 by the LibreOffice Documentation Team. Contributors are listed
below. You may distribute it and/or modify it under the terms of either the GNU General Public
License (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html), version 3 or later, or the Creative Commons
Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), version 4.0 or later.
All trademarks within this guide belong to their legitimate owners.

Contributors
To this edition
Pulkit Krishna

Dan Lewis

To previous editions
Pulkit Krishna
Peter Scholfield

Jean Hollis Weber

Dan Lewis

Feedback
Please direct any comments or suggestions about this document to the Documentation Team’s
mailing list: documentation@global.libreoffice.org

Note:
Everything you send to a mailing list, including your email address and any otherpersonal information that is written in the message, is publicly archived and cannot bedeleted.

Publication date and software version
Published May 2020. Based on LibreOffice 6.4.

Documentation for LibreOffice is available at http://documentation.libreoffice.org/en/ContentsCopyright..............................................................................................................................2Contributors................................................................................................................................. 2To this edition.......................................................................................................................... 2To previous editions................................................................................................................ 2Feedback..................................................................................................................................... 2
Publication date and software version.........................................................................................2

Who is this book for?..........................................................................................................4
What's in this book?............................................................................................................4
Sample databases................................................................................................................4
Where to get more help.......................................................................................................5Help system................................................................................................................................. 5
Free online support...................................................................................................................... 5
Paid support and training.............................................................................................................6

What you see may be different...........................................................................................6
Illustrations.................................................................................................................................. 6Icons............................................................................................................................................ 6

Using LibreOffice on macOS..............................................................................................6
What are all these things called?.......................................................................................6Frequently asked questions...............................................................................................8Preface | 3

Who is this book for?
Anyone who wants to get up to speed quickly with LibreOffice Base will find this book valuable.
Whether you have never worked with databases before, or have worked with them in a DBMS
(Database Management System), or you are used to another database system from an office suiteor a stand-alone database system such as MySQL, this book is for you. You may wish to first read
Chapter 8, Getting Started with Base, in the Getting Started Guide.

What's in this book?
This book introduces Base, the database component of LibreOffice. Base uses the HSQLDB
database engine to create database documents. It can access databases created by many
database programs, including Microsoft Access, MySQL, Oracle, and PostgreSQL. Base includes
additional functionality that allows you to create full data-driven applications.

Note
A firebird embedded engine is also available. It is available in v6.4.1, v6.4.2 and v6.4.3
even without experimental mode. In v6.4.4, it has been moved back to experimentalfeatures due to the large number of bugs it had. Its use is deprecated. This guide isbased on HSQLDB engine and gives a few example on Firebird. Please note that theFirebird engine is very good, it is its implementation in base which is full of bugs.
This book introduces the features and functions of Base, using a set of sample databases.
•

Creating a database•

Accessing external databases•

Creating and using tables in relational databases•

Creating and using forms for data entry•

Using queries to bring together data from different tables, calculate results wherenecessary, and quickly filter a specific record from a mass of data•

Creating reports using the Report Builder•

Linking databases to other documents and external forms, including use in mail merge•

Filtering and searching data•

Using macros to prevent input errors, simplify tasks, and improve usability of forms•

Maintaining databases

Sample databases
A set of sample databases has been created to accompany this book. You can find them here:
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/5/52/Sample-databases.zip•

Media_without_macros.odb•Media_with_macros.odb•

Example_Sport.odb (Chapter 1, "Introduction to Base")•

Example_CSV_included.odb (Chapter 2, "Creating a Database")•

Example_jump_Cursor_Subform_Mainform.odb (Chapter 4, "Forms")•

Example_Report_conditional_Overlay_Graphics.odb (Chapter 6, "Reports")•

Example_Report_Bill.odb (Chapter 6, "Reports")•

Example_Report_Rows_Color_change_Columns.odb (Chapter 6, "Reports")

4 | Preface•

Example_PDFForm_Import.odb (Chapter 7, "Linking to Databases")•

Example_Autotext_Searchmark_Spelling.odb (Chapter 8, "Database tasks")•

Example_Documents_Import_Export.odb (Chapter 8, "Database tasks")•

Example_Search_and_Filter.odb (Chapter 9, "Macros")•

Example_direct_Calculation_Form.odb (Chapter 9, "Macros")•

Example_Combobox_Listfield.odb (Chapter 9, "Macros")•

Example_serial_Number_Year.odb (Chapter 9, "Macros")•

Example_Database_Formletter_direct.odb (Chapter 9, "Macros")•

Example_Mail_File_activate.odb (Chapter 9, "Macros")•

Example_Dialogs.odb (Chapter 9, "Macros")

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

Help system
LibreOffice comes with an extensive Help system. This is your first line of support for using
LibreOffice. Windows and Linux users can choose to download and install the offline Help for use
when not connected to the Internet; the offline Help is installed with the program on macOS.
To display the Help system, press F1 or select LibreOffice Help from the Help menu. If you donot have the offline help installed on your computer and you are connected to the Internet, yourdefault browser will open the online Help pages on the LibreOffice website. The Help menu also
includes links to other LibreOffice information and support facilities.
You can place the mouse pointer over any of the toolbar icons to see a small box (“tooltip”) with abrief explanation of the icon’s function. For a more detailed explanation, select Help > What's
This? from the Menu bar and hold the pointer over the icon. In addition, you can choose whether
to activate Extended Tips (using Tools > Options > LibreOffice > General).

Free online support
The LibreOffice community not only develops software, but provides free, volunteer-based support.
In addition to the Help menu links above, there are other online community support options
available, see the table below.
Free LibreOffice support
FAQs

Answers to frequently asked questions
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Faq

Mailing lists

Free community support is provided by a network of experienced users
https://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/mailing-lists/

Questions & Answers
andKnowledge BaseFree community assistance is provided in a Question & Answer formatted web
service. Search similar topics or open a new one in
https://ask.libreoffice.org/en/questions
The service is available in several other languages; just replace /en/ with de,es, fr, ja, ko, nl, pt, tr, and many others in the web address above.

Where to get more help | 5

Free LibreOffice support

Native language support

The LibreOffice website in various languages
https://www.libreoffice.org/community/nlc/
Mailing lists for native languages
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Local_Mailing_Lists
Information about social networkinghttps://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Website/Web_Sites_services

Accessibility options

Information about available accessibility options
https://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/accessibility/

OpenOffice Forum

Another forum that provides support for LibreOffice, among other open source
office suites https://forum.openoffice.org/en/forum/

Paid support and training
You can also pay for support through service contracts from a vendor or consulting firm
specializing in LibreOffice. For information about certified professional support, see The Document
Foundation’s website: https://www.documentfoundation.org/gethelp/support/

What you see may be different
Illustrations
LibreOffice runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS operating systems, each of which has several
versions and can be customized by users (fonts, colors, themes, window managers). The
illustrations in this guide were taken from a variety of operating systems. Therefore, someillustrations will not look exactly like what you see on your computer display.
Also, some of the dialogs may be differ because of the settings selected in LibreOffice. On somesystems, you can either use dialogs from your computer’s operating system (default) or dialogsprovided by LibreOffice. To change which dialogs are used, go to Tools > Options > LibreOffice >General and select or deselect the option Use LibreOffice dialogs.

Icons
The icons used to illustrate some of the many tools available in LibreOffice may differ from theones used in this guide. The icons in this guide have been taken from a LibreOffice installation thathas been set to display the Colibre set of icons.
To change the icon set used, go to Tools > Options > LibreOffice > View. In the Icon stylesection, choose from the drop-down list.

Using LibreOffice on macOS
Some keystrokes and menu items are different on macOS from those used in Windows and Linux.
The table below gives some common substitutions for the instructions in this chapter. For a moredetailed list, see the application Help.

6 | Preface

Windows or LinuxmacOS equivalent

EffectTools > Options

LibreOffice > Preferences

Access setup options

Right-click

Control+click and/or right-click
depending on computer setup

Open a context menu

Ctrl (Control)⌘ (Command)

Used with other keys

F5Shift+ ⌘+F5Open the Navigator

F11⌘+TOpen the Styles deck in the sidebar

What are all these things called?
The terms used in LibreOffice for most parts of the user interface (the parts of the program you see
and use, in contrast to the behind-the-scenes code that actually makes it work) are the same as formost other programs.

Figure 1: Dialog (from Calc) 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 the number shown in the text box next toit, or type in the text box).

5)

Thumbnail or preview.

6)

Drop-down list from which to select an item.
What are all these things called? | 77)

Push buttons.

A dialog is a special type of window. Its purpose is to inform you of something, or request input
from you, or both. It provides controls for you to use to specify how to carry out an action. The
technical names for common controls are shown in Figure 1. In most cases we do not use thetechnical terms in this book, but it is useful to know them because the Help and other sources of
information often use them.
In most cases, you can interact only with the dialog (not the document itself) as long as the dialog
remains open. When you close the dialog after use (usually, clicking OK or another button saves
your changes and closes the dialog), then you can again work with the document.
Some dialogs can be left open as you work, so you can switch back and forth between the dialog
and the document. An example of this type is the Find & Replace dialog.

Frequently asked questions
How is LibreOffice licensed?
LibreOffice is distributed under the Open Source Initiative (OSI) approved Mozilla Public
License (MPL). See https://www.libreoffice.org/about-us/licenses/
It is based on code from Apache OpenOffice made available under the Apache License 2.0
but also includes software that differs from version to version under a variety of other Open
Source licenses. New code is available under LGPL 3.0 and MPL 2.0.
May I distribute LibreOffice to anyone? May I sell it? May I use it in my business?
Yes.
How many computers may I install it on?
As many as you like.
Is LibreOffice available in my language?
LibreOffice has been translated (localized) into over 40 languages, so your language
probably is supported. Additionally, there are over 70 spelling, hyphenation, and thesaurus
dictionaries available for languages, and dialects that do not have a localized programinterface. The dictionaries are available from the LibreOffice website at: www.libreoffice.org.
Why do I need Java to run LibreOffice? Is it written in Java?
LibreOffice is not written in Java; it is written in the C++ language. Java is one of several
languages that can be used to extend the software. The Java JDK/JRE is only required forsome features. The most notable one is the HSQLDB relational database engine.
How can I contribute to LibreOffice?
You can help with the development and user support of LibreOffice in many ways, and you
do not need to be a programmer. To start, check out this webpage:https://www.libreoffice.org/community/get-involved/
May I distribute the PDF of this book, or print and sell copies?
Yes, as long as you meet the requirements of one of the licenses in the copyright statement
at the beginning of this book. You do not have to request special permission. We request thatyou share with the project some of the profits you make from sales of books, in considerationof all the work we have put into producing them.
Donate to LibreOffice: https://www.libreoffice.org/donate/

8 | Preface