Abstract
MandrivaOne can be used to perform office work with the OpenOffice.org office suite. OpenOffice.org tools are Microsoft® Office-compatible, meaning you can easily exchange documents between them. We show you how to write documents with OpenOffice.org Writer, spreadsheets with OpenOffice.org Calc and presentations with OpenOffice.org Impress.
Choose → + from the main menu to launch
OpenOffice.org Writer.
This is the standard format bar used for all OpenOffice.org applications and is used to change fonts, colors, alignment, etc. of the application's data.
Rulers define the horizontal location of the text and format elements. They are extremely useful when you want to establish tabulation and paragraph indentation.
Where you enter the content of your document: words, numbers, images, tables, hyperlinks, etc.
All characters typed on your keyboard will be placed at the left of this point. Also called the cursor.
Page size, margins, text-orientation, etc. all define the style. Page style can be changed by choosing → from the menu. You may use any one of the predefined styles or define one of your own.
Word processor users often waste a lot of time formatting (changing paragraph alignment, font family, weight and size, etc.) their documents instead of using that time to concentrate on document structure and document content writing.
Styles provide a structure-centric approach to
writing documents with a word processor, while normalizing
document formatting and layout, and easily automating the
generation and maintenance of table of contents
(TOC), indexes, references, etc. In
OpenOffice.org Writer, styles are handled using the
Stylist, click on its icon in the
Format Bar to open/close it.
Use the styles listed in Table 1.4, “Suggested Styles”, as a guide. Select the region of the document to apply the style to, and in the Stylist window, double-click on the style you want to apply to that region.
Use lists to enumerate the properties of an object (“unordered” or “bullet” list), or the steps to be performed in order to accomplish some task (an “ordered” or “numbered” list).
Click on this button to format
the selected text into an unordered list. Select the list items
and choose →
from the menu to change the bullet type from a predefined
set.
Clicking on this button will
format the selected text into an ordered list. The same rules as
for unordered lists apply regarding to the numbering
format.
By default page headers and footers are common to all pages of a document. Use them to describe certain aspects about the document's content, for example: page number, total number of pages, chapter, section, document's title, etc.
Choose + → from the menu to add a page header to your document, and choose + → to add a page footer to your document. Just type the header/footer text you want to be shown or use one or more of the → menu items to compose the header/footer.
If you wish to learn more on the usage of OpenOffice.org Writer, you should consult the tutorial available on the Tutorials for OpenOffice Web site.
Also don't hesitate to refer to
the OpenOffice.org Writer's help which is accessible through the
→ menu, or by pressing the
F1 key. You are bound to find the answers to
your questions.
Choose → + from the main menu to launch
OpenOffice.org Calc.
This is the standard format bar for all OpenOffice.org applications used to change fonts, colors, alignment, etc. of the application's data.
Where you enter the data in the spreadsheet: numbers, dates, formulas, images, etc.
Clicking on this
little area at the top left corner of the work area will select
all cells at once. It's useful when you
need to make changes which are “global” to the
spreadsheet. For example, changing all font sizes in the cells
to 10pts
(points).
Spreadsheets usually contain more than one sheet. Use these buttons to easily navigate through each of the spreadsheet's sheets. From left to right they are: Go to the first sheet, Go to the previous sheet, Go to the next sheet and Go to the last sheet. You may also use the tabs to switch between sheets.
To enter data into a cell navigate to the cell and type the data in it, pressing the Enter key when you are finished.
Auto-completion simplifies data entry “guessing” the next cell's value using the current cell's value as a base. It works for any kind of data which can be associated to a series of integral numbers.
To use auto-completion put your mouse over the cell “handle” (the little black square located at the bottom right of the cell border), click on it and drag the cell. The cell values will be shown in a tool-tip. Release the mouse button to complete the cells once the desired final value is shown.
Cell data can also be sorted according to different criteria. Select the cells you want to sort and then open the sort options dialog choosing → from the menu. Specify the sort criteria, order and additional options and click on the button to sort the cells.
Formulas can be used to
“automate” the spreadsheet allowing you, for
example, to run complex simulations. Within cells, formulas are
defined by preceding all cell data with the =
sign. Anything else is treated as “static”
data.
Operations are
expressed using conventional algebraic notation. For example
=3*A25+4*(A20+C34/B34)
divides the value in
cell C34
by the value in cell
B34
, adds the value in A20
to the result, multiplies that by 4
and adds
it to 3
times the value of cell
A25
. Thus, rather complex expressions can be
made using simpler ones as a base.
OpenOffice.org Calc gives you many pre-defined functions which you can use in your formulas, explore them by choosing the → menu.
When a spreadsheet contains too much information it often becomes difficult to understand how pieces of data relate to one another: too many numbers and too little meaning. The best way to represent this kind of data is through a chart.
As in all data-analysis functions, you must select the region you intend to show in the chart. So, select a range of cells and then chose → from the menu to bring up the chart assistant.
Make your selections for the chart type, variant, title, axis titles, etc. and then click on to create and insert the chart in the spreadsheet.
If you wish to learn more on the use of OpenOffice.org Calc, you should consult the tutorial available at the Tutorials for OpenOffice Web site.
Also,
don't hesitate to refer to OpenOffice.org Calc's help accessible
through the →
menu, or by pressing the F1 key. There you are
bound to find answers to your questions.
Choose → + from the main menu to launch
OpenOffice.org Impress. A wizard offers you assistance for creating a
presentation, we will not detail it here, just click on its
button to create an empty
presentation.
There are options for changing the slide shading, background color, line thickness, etc.
It contains the main tools you use to create your slides: the text, shapes, curves, lines and arrow input; object rotate, alignment and arrangement; and others.
Contains a gallery of the available templates. Just click on the template you want, to switch the current slide to it.
Displays a list of all the slides composing the presentation. Slides are displayed miniaturized, so you can see at a glance what they look like. To open a slide, search for it in the list, then click on it.
Click on this button on the Toolbar or choose
→ from the menu to
add a new slide, after the current one, with the currently
selected slide template.
Choose → from the menu to
insert a chart diagram into the current slide. A
“default” bar chart will be inserted and
OpenOffice.org Impress will change to chart mode. Click
“outside” the chart area to return to the slide
design mode.
You can drag the border handles to adjust the chart's size. Double click on the drawn chart, then right-click on it and select to enter the data according to the chart you want to build (see Figure 1.15, “Entering Chart Data”).
Once you have entered the chart's data, close the data entry window and click on the button to update the chart in the slide.
Repeat the double-click / right-click sequence in order to change the chart's title, legends, axis, type (2D or 3D, bar, pie, points, lines, etc.) selecting the appropriate entries from the pop-up menu.
Use the → menu and click on the Background tab to define colors, gradients, patterns, or bitmapped backgrounds for the slide. Each background type has options of its own, feel free to explore them.
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Note |
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Using bitmaps for backgrounds increases the file's size considerably. This could lead to a performance hit, especially on older systems. |
Once the background is selected you are offered the option to make that background the default one for all slides. Make your choice and the slide(s) background(s) will be changed.
The menu has slide transitions, animations and effects options/wizards which let you add “dynamism” to your presentations. However, you should try not to overuse transitions, animations and effects because they can be distracting to your audience, turning their attention to the effects themselves instead of the presentation's content.
Choose → , or press the F5 key, to run your presentation. The presentation will take up the entire screen. Press the Esc key to stop the presentation.
If you wish to learn more on the use of OpenOffice.org Impress, you should consult the tutorial available at the Tutorials for OpenOffice web site.
Also don't hesitate to refer to
the OpenOffice.org Impress's help which is accessible through the
→ menu, or by pressing the
F1 key. You are bound to find the answers to
your questions.