Make my own web site - CHAPTER 22 OPENOFFICE.ORG OVERVIEW Using OpenOffice.org Core
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.