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Getting to Know OpenOffice
If you’re familiar with Microsoft Office, you should be able to find your way around OpenOffice. The look and feel are a little different, but the idea is the same. OpenOffice is also morally superior to Office because it’s free and a part of open source. This section briefly describes some of the most common functions of OpenOffice.WarningThe next few sections provide only a basic introduction to the things you can do with OpenOffice. No, we’re not lazy; it’s just that it would take too much space to describe it all in detail. Please experiment with your own test documents and consult the online help system for more information.
Firing up and using OpenOffice
Red Hat Linux provides OpenOffice and installs it by default. OpenOffice is easy to access. Click the GNOME Menu button and then choose OfficeOpenOffice
Writer. You can choose some of, but not all, the other OpenOffice functions from this menu too. (However, you can start the spreadsheet program, Calc, only from an OpenOffice window. From any window — Writer or Impress, for example — choose FileNewSpreadsheet to open Calc.) After thinking about life for a few seconds, the OpenOffice window appears.The first time you start OpenOffice, it asks whether you want to use the workstation or personal model. The former installs the OpenOffice programs in a central location accessible to all users; the latter option installs a copy of OpenOffice in your home directory. We use the workstation configuration in this section, but you can select the personal model.When you use OpenOffice for the first time, you’re also asked a few questions about importing an address book. We cancel the operation because we prefer to use the Ximian Evolution address book.You can access all OpenOffice functions by clicking the File button, in the upper-left corner of the window, and then the option you want.The following list introduces the functions. You’re probably familiar with the layout and operation of the menu if you have used Microsoft Office:
File: As you may expect, you can open, close, save, and otherwise manipulate OpenOffice documents by using the File menu. Writer files have the .sxw extension. Other file formats, such as Microsoft Word and HTML, must be imported and exported.
New: You can create a new document for any OpenOffice function. When you choose FileNew, you’re given the option to create a new text document, spreadsheet, presentation, or other function.
Edit: This menu provides all the functions you need to modify documents. Functions such as cut, copy, paste, and delete are all provided. The functions that are active at any time depend on whether you’re editing a document, spreadsheet, or presentation. For example, the cut, copy, and paste options aren’t active if you’re not editing a document (like just when you first start up OpenOffice and have not opened any files).You can also track changes, just as you can in Microsoft Word. Choose EditChanges and you can track changes on a character-by-character basis. You can display the changes or keep them hidden from view. When you’re satisfied with your edits, you can make the changes permanent and save only the finished document to disk. It’s pretty cool.OpenOffice also provides the Find and Replace function from the Edit menu. The Find and Replace feature enables you to find text strings and either replace them with another string or delete them. You can search forward or backward through a document. You can replace one instance or all instances.
Spell check: OpenOffice provides a spell checker, of course. You can tell the spell checker to check an entire document by choosing ToolsSpell CheckCheck. You’re prompted to act on each possible spelling error the checker detects.Alternatively, you can set the spell checker to operate continuously. Choose ToolsSpellcheckAutoSpellCheck to toggle on the real-time spell checker; when it’s activated, a check mark appears next to the menu option. The Continuous option tells OpenOffice Writer to check each word you enter and underlines possible misspellings with a squiggly red line. The red line disappears when you successfully correct the mistake.
View: This menu displays or hides the various menu bars. You can display a document’s formatting characters and also increase or decrease the size (zoom in or out) of the text displayed on the screen. The zoom function enables you to make smaller fonts more readable without changing the document.
Insert: This menu enables you to insert special characters, objects, files, and macros into your documents. Special characters include various symbols (accents and umlauts, for example) that aren’t part of the everyday character set (unless you happen to use words like caf frequently). Objects include graphics, symbols, and figures. (You can create your own figures with Draw.) You can also insert macros and hyperlinks into your documents.TipYou can insert tables into documents with any number of rows and columns. OpenOffice can automatically adjust the row height, or you can do it manually. Choose InsertTable and play around with this feature.
Tools: From this menu, you can access the spell checker, thesaurus, various OpenOffice configuration settings, and other functions. Tools such as the spell checker are self explanatory.
Window: This menu enables you to control the look of your desktop. In addition to enabling you to modify and move windows, the menu provides other manipulation capabilities.
Help: OpenOffice provides pretty good online help services. Many are context sensitive. If you’re editing a text document, click the Help menu to get access to information related to the Writer module.For example, choose HelpHelp Agent and the Help Agent window appears. The Help Agent provides assistance in several areas of interest to new users, including
Introduction to Writer: Provides an introduction to the word processor
Basic tips text documents: Tells you all you ever wanted to know (and then some) about reading, writing, and printing text documents
Advanced tips: Extends the preceding basic text document tip to more advanced subjects
Menus: Describes how all the OpenOffice menus work together
Toolbars: Describes the toolbars that provide information and shortcuts
Shortcuts: Describes which key combinations can be used to perform various word processing functions
New stuff: Describes what’s new since the last OpenOffice version
Support: Displays brief information about getting support from Sun Microsystems
Printing with OpenOffice
Printing from OpenOffice is a simple process after you have configured Red Hat Linux to use a printer. OpenOffice uses the default Linux printer, so all you have to do is configure it. This section first describes how to configure a Red Hat Linux printer and then shows you how to set up OpenOffice to use that printer.Configuring a printer attached to your Red Hat Linux computer is a simple process. All you have to do is run the printconf-gui printer configuration utility and enter the information about your printer. These steps describe how to do it:
Log in to your Red Hat Linux computer as root.
Attach a printer to your Linux computer’s parallel (printer) port.
Tip The parallel port is a 25-pin female connector on the back of your computer case. New computers usually label the parallel port with some kind of printer icon (although sometimes it’s hard to imagine how they came up with the symbol). If yours isn’t marked, there’s no harm in finding the appropriate port through trial and error.
Start the printer configuration tool by clicking the GNOME Menu button and choosing System SettingsPrinting.
Enter the root password if prompted. The Printer configuration window opens.
To add a printer, click the New button. When the introductory Add a New Print Queue window opens, click the Forward button.
The Add a new print queue dialog box opens.
Enter a descriptive queue name (for example, Epson777) and, optionally, a description of the queue. (You can, of course, use the default name — printer — but we prefer to use descriptive names.)
Click the Forward button to open the Queue Type dialog box.
Assuming that your printer is directly connected to your computer, you see the device name /dev/lp0 in the Queue Type dialog box.
Select the /dev/lp0 device and click the Forward button.
The Printer model dialog box opens. You can choose from various manufacturers or generic models.
Click the Generic (Click to Select Manufacturer) button.
Select your printer’s manufacturer from the drop-down menu.
Use the vertical slide bar to locate and select your particular model and then click the Forward button.
When you finish, the Add a new print queue dialog box opens.
Click the Finish button.
A Question window opens. You’re asked whether you want to print a test page. Click the OK button and a test page is printed.An Information window opens and you’re prompted to check whether the test page printed successfully.
Click the OK button to return to the Printer Configuration window.
You can create an additional print queue or modify existing ones.
The GNOME Print Manager window opens and shows an icon for the new print queue you just created. Double-click the new icon and a status window opens that shows current and past print jobs.Now that you have a printer connected to your Red Hat Linux computer, you can print from OpenOffice without any further configuration. OpenOffice uses the Red Hat Linux printer configuration by default. Open a file you want to print. From the OpenOffice desktop, choose FilePrint. You can choose to print the entire document, individual pages, or a range of pages.
