Word Processors

Abstract

This section will give you a brief introduction to OpenOffice.org Writer's word processing functions. There are lots of options out there for WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) word processors (KWord, StarOffice's Writer, AbiWord, to name just a few). However this section concentrates on OpenOffice.org Writer.

Note

In order to make the text a little easier to read, we will alternate between the popular OOo acronym and the very long, yet full and correct OpenOffice.org name.

What Is a Word Processor?

One of the tasks most performed with a computer nowadays is some form of word processing. Word processors are the replacement for your old typewriter machine. This software allows you to write text using many fonts, paragraph alignments, tables, images, lists, etc.

Even though word processors also offer some desktop publishing features, they are very limited ones: limited precision in measurements, limited text flow around images and tables, etc.

OpenOffice.org Writer

OpenOffice.org Writer is the part of the OpenOffice.org suite that provides the word processing functions. OpenOffice.org Writerunderstands” popular Office formats, easing the transition from, and ensuring compatibility with, other Office suites.

Opening OpenOffice.org Writer

To launch OpenOffice.org Writer, select Office->Word Processors -> OpenOffice.org Writer from the main menu.

You can also open it from any other OOo application screen, selecting File->New->Text Document, which will open an OOo Writer window with a blank document on it.

Note

The first time you launch OOo, a dialog will propose that you register your software. By filling out a short questionnaire, you will help OpenOffice.org developers know their users better and to get feedback to enhance OpenOffice.org. You are encouraged to fill the poll if you have a working Internet connection but you can skip this step without any consequence on your use of OpenOffice.org.

OpenOffice.org Writer Interface

Figure 11.1. OpenOffice.org Writer's Main Window

OpenOffice.org Writer's Main Window
Format Bar

This is the standard format bar for all OpenOffice.org applications used and is used to change fonts, colors, alignment, etc. of the application's data.

Rulers

Rulers define the “horizontal” location of the text and format elements. They are extremely useful when you want to establish tabulations and paragraphs indentation.

Work Area

Where you enter the content of your document: words, numbers, images, tables, hyperlinks, etc.

Insert Point

All characters typed on your keyboard, will be placed at the left of this point. Also called the “cursor”.

Stylist

Clicking on any of the styles shown on the list will change the current selected text's style or the whole page style if no text is currently selected.

Page Style

Page size, margins, text-orientation, etc. all define the style. Page style can be changed by choosing Format->Page from the menu. You can use one of the pre-defined styles or define your own.

Page Zoom

The current zoom level at which the page is being displayed, 100% by default. You can reduce it to, say 50% to have a “quick glance” at the page's layout. However the page preview feature (more on that later) is the preferred way to do this.

Insert Mode

When this shows OVER, the characters you type will overwrite the existing ones (if any) at the Insert Point. When this shows INSRT (the default mode), existing text at the Insert Point will not be overwritten but characters you type will be “inserted”.

Using the Word Processor

Styles

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 some kind of structure-centric-view approach to writing documents with a word processor, while “normalizing” document formatting and layout and easily “automating” Table Of Contents (TOC) generation and maintenance. Under OpenOffice.org Writer, styles are handled using the Stylist.

Clicking on this icon in the tool bar will open the Stylist. It can also be opened by choosing Format->Stylist from the Menu Bar, or by pressing the F11 key.

Note

If the Stylist is already open, then carrying out any of the above mentioned actions will close it.

Table 11.1. Suggested Styles

When You Have a...Then Apply The ... Style
Chapter TitleHeading 1
Section TitleHeading 2
Sub-Section TitleHeading 3
Sub-Subsection TitleHeading 4
ParagraphDefault, Text Body, First Line Indent
List itemDefault, Text Body, Text Body Indent

Use the styles listed in Table 11.1 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.

Tip

The styles you use from the Stylist automatically become available in the styles drop-down list (the first one in the format bar), so you have the most used styles handy.

Margins

You can always adjust margins by hand with the ruler, but if you want to format a long document, this might not be the best solution. This is where the Stylist comes in handy.

By clicking on this icon in the Stylist, you will access the page formatting section of the Stylist. First, make a copy of the Default style:

  1. Right click on the Default item in the stylist.

  2. Choose New... from the menu that pops-up.

  3. Assign a Name to your new style. The Next Style field will be updated accordingly when you select it. For the purposes of this example, Default Copy will be used as the style name.

  4. Click on the OK button to insert your new style into the list of available styles.

Then, right-click on your newly created style item and choose Modify... from the pop-up menu. The Page Styles: Default Copy window will appear. Open the Page tab and modify the margins to your liking.

Note

This is the same as choosing the Format->Page menu.

While looking at the Page Styles: Default Copy window, you probably noticed that you could modify many formatting elements such as the Background, Header, Footer, etc. For example, if 90% of your work with a word processor consists of writing business letters with a predefined format, you could set it up right now, thereby saving lots of time.

Warning

If you modify an existing style, you will overwrite the original settings for that style. If you feel you have made a mistake, simply click on the Reset button to go back to the last saved settings.

Lists

Sometimes paragraphs have lists of elements, for example to enumerate the properties of an object (“unordered” or “bullet” list), or the steps to perform in order to accomplish some task (“ordered” or “numbered” list).

Clicking on this button will “transform” the selected text into an unordered list. Selecting the list items and choosing Format->Numbering/Bullets... from the menu will let you change the type of the bullets from a predefined set, feel free to explore all the dialog's options.

Clicking on this button will “transform” the selected text into an ordered list. The same rules as for unordered lists apply regarding to the numbering format.

Laying Out Text in More Than One Column

Choosing Format->Columns in the menu will open the dialog shown in Figure 11.2 allowing you to accommodate the text in the page in more than one column (the default)

Figure 11.2. Text Columns Options Dialog

Text Columns Options Dialog

The options in the dialog explain themselves. Make your selections and click on the OK button to apply the column settings.

Table of Contents

In order to make your document look professional, you can create tables of contents, or TOC, and index parts of your document. OpenOffice.org lets you do this very easily.

Figure 11.3. Table of Contents

Table of Contents

The image in Figure 11.3 shows how the TOC for an example document looks like.

Note

Even if TOC items can be manually inserted and maintained, it is highly recommended that you use styles to make the TOC more consistent and easier to maintain.

Let's say you want to insert a TOC at the beginning of your document and you have followed the styles suggested in Table 11.1. So, make the 1st page an empty one by going to the very top of your document and pressing the Ctrl-Enter keys.

Then, choosing Insert+Indexes and Tables->Indexes and Tables... from the menu will bring up the table/index options dialog. Make sure the Type field is set to Table of Contents and the Protected against manual changes check-box is checked. Fill the title and the rest of the options, and once you are satisfied with your settings, click on the OK button to insert the TOC.

If you continue to add content to your document (whether “structural” or “essential”) you must update the table of contents for the additions and/or modifications to be taken into account. To do so, click on any part of the TOC to put the cursor “inside” of it, then right click on it and choose Update Index/Table from the menu that pops up.

Index

To index important terms in your document, proceed as follows:

  1. Select the word you wish to index.

  2. Access the Insert->Indexes and Tables->Entry... sub-menu.

  3. In the Index field, choose Alphabetical Index.

  4. When you have finished entering all the terms you wish to index, generate the index table by accessing the Insert->Indexes and Tables->Indexes and Tables... sub-menu.

    Tip

    Remember to choose the appropriate Title and to set the Type to Alphabetical Index and bear in mind that indexes go at the end of your document.

Page Headers and Footers

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.

Choosing Insert->Header->Default from the menu will add a page header to your document, and choosing Insert->Footer->Default will 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 Insert->Fields menu items to compose the header/footer.

Going Further

If you wish to learn more on the use of OpenOffice.org Writer, you should consult the tutorial available at OpenOffice Support Web site.

Also do not hesitate to refer to the OpenOffice.org Writer inline help accessible through the Help->Contents menu. You will find here answer to all your questions. Topics are accessible through a table of contents, there is an index available and even a contextual search tool.

Tip

OpenOffice.org Writer is able to export your documents in PDF format (File->Export as PDF ...). This allows you to publish your documents in the famous Adobe® Reader® format.

Conclusion

Word processing could be considered as one of the most performed actions with a personal computer. As you have read above, OpenOffice.org Writer is a tool which not only gives you everything you need for creating simple and complex documents, but also is compatible with existing Office file formats. Enjoy creating your documents with OpenOffice.org Writer!