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346 CHAPTER 23 IN DEPTH: WRITER Tip You might find that the spell-checker is set for US English. If you live outside the United States, or need to create documents for readers in other countries, you can choose a dictionary tailored to your locality or needs. To change the language, select Tools . Options. In the list on the left, select Language Settings, and then Languages. In the Default Languages for Documents list, select your local variation. This will then become the default for all new documents. If you find live spell-checking invasive or distracting, you can deactivate it by selecting Tools . Spellcheck, clicking the Options button, and removing the check next to Check Spelling As You Type. You can manually spell-check the document at any time by clicking Tools . Spellcheck. This will scan through the document and prompt you for corrections for words the program considers misspelled. Inserting Pictures Writer includes quite substantial desktop publishing-like functions, such as the ability to insert pictures into text documents and to have text flow around pictures. Inserting any kind of graphic a graph, digital camera photo, drawing, or any other type of image is easy. Simply choose Insert . Picture . From File. Tip If you have a scanner, you can also scan pictures directly into Writer documents. Simply click Insert . Picture . Scan . Select Source. After you ve inserted a picture, you can place it anywhere on the page. When you select the picture, a new toolbar appears. This toolbar contains various simple image-tweaking tools, such as those for altering the brightness, contrast, and color balance of the image. Additionally, by clicking and dragging the blue handles surrounding the image, you can resize it. Graphics that are imported into Writer must be anchored in some way. In other words, they must be linked to a page element so that they don t move unexpectedly. By default, they re anchored to the nearest paragraph, which means that if that paragraph moves, the graphic will move, too. Alternatively, by right-clicking the graphic, you can choose to anchor it to the page, paragraph, or character it is on or next to, as shown in Figure 23-4. Selecting to anchor it to the page will fix it firmly in place, regardless of what happens to the contents of the surrounding text. The As Character option is slightly different from the To Character option. When you choose As Character, the image will be anchored to the character it is next to, and it is actually inserted in the same line as that character, as if it were a character itself. If the image is bigger than the line it is anchored in, the line height will automatically change to accommodate it.

CHAPTER 23 IN DEPTH: WRITER The Style and Formatting Palette The Style and Formatting palette offers a variety of predefined formatting styles that you can apply to selected text or enable before you begin adding text. To make it appear, click Formatting . Styles and Formatting, or press F11. You can simply click the palette s close button to get rid of it. You can easily add your own text styles to the Style and Formatting palette. Simply select some text that has the formatting applied, click the top-right button (denoted by a paragraph symbol next to a block of text), and then select New Style from Selection in the list. You ll be invited to give the style a name, and when you click OK, it will appear in the list. Spell-Checking Writer is able to automatically spell-check as you type. Any words it considers misspelled will be underlined in red. You can choose from a list of possible corrections by right-clicking the word and selecting from the context menu. If you re sure the word is spelled correctly but it doesn t appear to be in the dictionary, you can select Add . Standard.dic from the context menu, as shown in Figure 23-3. This will add the word to your own personal dictionary extension (other users won t have access to your dictionary and will need to create their own list of approved words). Figure 23-3. Any words you re going to use frequently, but which Writer doesn t recognize, can be added to your personal dictionary.

344 CHAPTER 23 IN DEPTH: WRITER Context Menu Rather than use the Formatting toolbar, you can format text using the context menu. Right- click the text you want to format, and a context menu will present options for the font, size, style, alignment, and line spacing. The context menu also allows you to change the case of the highlighted characters from uppercase to lowercase, and vice versa. By selecting the Character option from the context menu, you get ultimate control over the font formatting. This will present a dialog box that includes every possible option, such as rotating the text and altering the individual character spacing. Tip The Character dialog box lets you create interesting typographical effects. The Paragraph dialog box has many options for formatting paragraphs. These tools open up the possibility of using Writer for simple desktop publishing work. Selecting Paragraph from the context menu displays the Paragraph dialog box, as shown in Figure 23-2. This gives you control over paragraph elements, such as line spacing, indentation, and automatic numbering. Here, you will also find an option to automatically create drop caps, so you can start a piece of writing in style! Figure 23-2. Writer includes many elements found in desktop publishing packages, such as the ability to create drop caps.

CHAPTER 23 In Depth: Writer The word processor is arguably the most popular element within any office suite. That said, you ll be happy to know that OpenOffice.org s Writer component doesn t skimp on features. It offers full text-editing and formatting functionality, along with powerful higher-level features such as mail merge. In this chapter, we ll take a look at some of Writer s most useful features. As with all of the components in the OpenOffice.org suite, describing the features within Writer could easily fill an entire book. You should do some exploring on your own by clicking around to discover new features, as well as make judicious use of the help system. Formatting Text You can format text within Writer using several methods. Here, we ll look at using the Formatting toolbar, the context menu, and the Style and Formatting palette. The Formatting Toolbar Formatting text is easy to do via the Formatting toolbar, which is just above the ruler and main document area. Using the toolbar buttons, you can select the type of font you wish to use, its point size, and its style (normal, bold, italics, and so on). The range of fonts is previewed in the Font drop-down list, making it easy to select the right typeface. In addition, the Formatting toolbar lets you justify text so that it s aligned to the left or right margin, centered, or fully justified. You can also indent text using the relevant icons. As with elsewhere in Ubuntu, a tooltip will appear over each icon when you hover the mouse cursor over it, as shown in Figure 23-1. To the right of the indentation buttons are tools to change the text background and foreground colors, and also a tool to create highlighter pen-style effects. Figure 23-1. When you hover your mouse over an icon, a tooltip appears to explain what it does.

342 CHAPTER 22 OPENOFFICE.ORG OVERVIEW Summary In this chapter, we looked at the configuration options provided with OpenOffice.org. You were introduced to the user interface, which is shared across all the programs within the suite, and learned how it can be customized. We also examined some common tools provided across the suite of programs, such as macro generation. Over the following chapters, we will look at each major component of the suite, starting with Writer.

CHAPTER 22 OPENOFFICE.ORG OVERVIEW 341 Saving Files As mentioned in Chapter 21, OpenOffice.org uses the OpenDocument range of file formats. The files end with an .ods, .odt, .odp, or .odb file extension, depending on whether they ve been saved by Calc, Writer, Impress, or Base, respectively. The OpenDocument format is the best choice when you re saving documents that you are likely to further edit within OpenOffice.org. However, if you wish to share files with colleagues who aren t running Ubuntu or OpenOffice.org, the solution is to save the files as Microsoft Office files. To save in this format, just choose it from the Save As drop-down list in the Save As dialog box. If your colleague is running an older version of OpenOffice.org or StarOffice, you can also save in those file formats. Alternatively, you might wish to save the file in one of the other file formats offered in the Save As drop-down list. However, saving files in an alternative format might result in the loss of some document components or formatting. For example, saving a Writer document as a simple text file (.txt) will lead to the loss of all of the formatting, as well as any of the original file s embedded objects, such as pictures. To avoid losing document components or formatting, you might choose to output your OpenOffice.org files as Portable Document Format (PDF) files, which can be read by the Adobe Acrobat viewer. The benefit of this approach is that a complete facsimile of your document will be made available, with all the necessary fonts and on-screen elements included within the PDF file. The drawback is that PDF files cannot be loaded into OpenOffice.org for further editing, so you should always save an additional copy of the file in the native OpenOffice.org format. To save any file as a PDF throughout the suite, select File . Export As PDF. Then choose PDF in the File Format drop-down box, as shown in Figure 22-5. Figure 22-5. All the programs in the suite can export files in Adobe PDF format.

340 CHAPTER 22 OPENOFFICE.ORG OVERVIEW Figure 22-4. Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) lets you incorporate one OpenOffice.org document into another. Creating Macros OpenOffice.org employs a powerful BASIC-like programming language, which you can use to create your own functions. Although this language is called BASIC, it is several generations beyond the BASIC you might have used in the past. OpenOffice.org s BASIC is a high-level, object-oriented environment designed to appeal to programmers who wish to quickly add their own functions to the suite. However, it s possible for any user to record a series of actions as a macro, which is then automatically turned into a simple BASIC program. This can be very useful if you wish to automate a simple, repetitive task, such as the insertion of a paragraph of text, or even something more complicated, such as searching and replacing text within a document. To record a macro, select Tools . Macro . Record Macro. After you ve selected this option, any subsequent actions will be recorded. All keyboard strokes and clicks of the mouse will be captured and turned automatically into BASIC commands. To stop the recording, simply click the button on the floating toolbar. After this, you ll be invited to give the macro a name (look to the top left of the dialog box). Once you ve done so, click Save. You can then run your macro in the future by choosing Tools . Macro . Run Macro. Simply expand the My Macros and Standard entries at the top left of the dialog box, select your macro in the list, and then click Run.

CHAPTER 22 OPENOFFICE.ORG OVERVIEW Using OpenOffice.org Core Functions Although the various programs within OpenOffice.org are designed for very specific tasks, they all share several core functions that work in broadly similar ways. In addition, each program is able to borrow components from other programs in the suite. Using Wizards One of the core functions you ll find most useful when you re creating new documents is the wizard system, which you can access from the File menu. A wizard guides you through creating a new document by answering questions and following a wizard-based interface. This replaces the template-based approach within Microsoft Office, although it s worth noting that OpenOffice.org is still able to use templates. A wizard will usually offer a variety of document styles. Some wizards will even prompt you to fill in salient details, which they will then insert into your document in the relevant areas. Getting Help OpenOffice.org employs a comprehensive help system, complete with automatic context- sensitive help, called the Help Agent, which will appear if the program detects you re performing a particular task. Usually, the Help Agent takes the form of a light bulb graphic, which will appear at the bottom-right corner of the screen. If you ignore the Help Agent, it will disappear within a few seconds. Clicking it causes a help window to open. Alternatively, you can access the main searchable help file by clicking the relevant menu entry. Inserting Objects with Object Linking and Embedding All the OpenOffice.org programs are able to make use of Object Linking and Embedding (OLE). This effectively means that one OpenOffice.org document can be inserted into another. For example, you might choose to insert a Calc spreadsheet into a Writer document. The main benefit of using OLE over simply copying and pasting the data is that the OLE item (referred to as an object) will be updated whenever the original document is revised. In this way, you can prepare a report featuring a spreadsheet full of figures, for example, and not need to worry about updating the report when the figures change. Figure 22-4 shows an example of a spreadsheet from Calc inserted into a Writer document. Whenever you click inside the OLE object, the user interface will change so that you can access functions specific to that object. For example, if you had inserted an Impress object into a Calc document, clicking within the object would cause the Calc interface to temporarily turn into that of Impress. Clicking outside the OLE object would restore the interface back to Calc. You can explore OLE objects by selecting Insert . Object . OLE Object. This option lets you create and insert a new OLE object, as well as add one based on an existing file.

338 CHAPTER 22 OPENOFFICE.ORG OVERVIEW Table 22-2. OpenOffice.org Configuration Options (Continued) Option Description OpenOffice.org Impress General This option refers to miscellaneous settings within the Impress program, such as whether the program should always start with a wizard and which units of measurement should be used. View This option relates to the look and feel of Impress, and, in particular, whether certain on-screen elements are displayed. Grid This controls whether an invisible grid is applied to the page and whether objects should snap to it. Print This option controls how printing is handled within Impress and, in particular, how items in the document will appear on the printed page. OpenOffice.org Draw General This option relates to miscellaneous settings within Draw (the vector graphics component of OpenOffice.org). View Here, you can set specific preferences with regard to which objects are visible on the screen while you re editing with Draw. Grid This option relates to the invisible grid that can be applied to the page. Print This option lets you define which on-screen elements are printed and which are not printed. OpenOffice.org Base Connections This option lets you control how any data sources you attach to are handled. Databases Here, you can configure which databases are registered for use within Base. Chart Default Colors Here, you can set the default color palette that should be used when creating charts, usually within the Calc program. Internet Proxy Here, you can configure network proxy settings specifically for OpenOffice.org, if necessary. Search Certain functions within various OpenOffice.org programs let you search the Internet. Here, you can configure how these search functions work. E-mail This option lets you specify which program you wish OpenOffice.org to use for e-mail. Mozilla Plug-in This function allows integration of OpenOffice.org into the Mozilla and/or Netscape browsers, to allow the viewing of OpenOffice.org documents within the browser window.

CHAPTER 22 OPENOFFICE.ORG OVERVIEW 337 Table 22-2. OpenOffice.org Configuration Options (Continued) Option Description Changes This option lets you define how changes are displayed when the track changes function is activated. Compatibility Here, you can set specifics of how Writer handles the import and export of Microsoft Word documents. AutoCaption This offers settings for the AutoCaption feature within Writer. Mail Merge E-Mail This option lets you control the sending of e-mail mail merge messages. OpenOffice.org Writer/Web View Here, you can control the HTML editor component of OpenOffice.org (effectively an extension of Writer). You can control the look and feel of the HTML editor, including which elements are displayed on the screen. Formatting Aids As with the similar entry for Writer under Text Document, this option lets you view symbols in place of usually hidden text elements. Grid This lets you define a grid that on-screen elements are able to snap to in order to aid accurate positioning. Print Here, you can define how HTML documents created within OpenOffice.org are printed. Table Similar to the Tables entry under Text Document, this controls how tables are created and handled within HTML documents. Background This lets you set the default background color for HTML documents. OpenOffice.org Calc General Here, you can modify miscellaneous options related to Calc, such as which measurement units are used within the program and how the formatting of cells is changed when new data is input. View This option relates to the look and feel of Calc, such as the color of the grid lines between cells and which elements are displayed on the screen. For example, you can configure whether zero values are displayed, and whether overflow text within cells is shown or simply truncated at the cell boundary. Calculate This option relates to how numbers are handled during certain types of formula calculations, such as those involving dates. Sort Lists This option lets you create lists that are applied to relevant cells when the user chooses to sort them. Several lists are predefined to correctly sort days of the week or months of the year. Changes This option relates to the on-screen formatting for changes when the track changes function is activated. Grid This option lets you configure an invisible grid that stretches across the sheet, and also which page objects can be set to snap to the grid for correct alignment. Print This option relates to printing specifically from Calc, such as whether Calc should avoid printing empty pages that might occur within documents.