OpenOffice: Writer for Beginners. Getting started in the editor

OpenOffice is one of the oldest packages developed by Apache. Today this office suite is distributed free of charge and is open source. Also, one of its versions turned into a standalone office suite known as LibreOffice.

OpenOffice has gained popularity in some government organizations as a free non-commercial product, which is not too inferior in its functionality to the famous MS Office. The package received special distribution in educational institutions and at some enterprises. However, it is popular among ordinary users as well.

Updates are still coming to OpenOffice packages, however, less often than to its free counterpart LibroOffice or paid MS Office. However, OpenOffice is more stable and requires less PC.

general information

OpenOffice takes its history back in the 90s, and the first full-fledged version of the package appeared in 2002. Initially, the software was developed for open source and free operating systems, such as Linux. But after a while, versions appeared for Windows users with Mac OS. OpenOffice can now be found installed by default on some Linux distributions.

Creation and processing of text documents

OpenOffice Writer is a program included in the OpenOffice and LibreOffice packages. She is responsible for the operation and design of text, as well as primitive tables. By default, all documents created in this program will be in the - ODT format. However, the editor can handle other popular text file formats like DOCX, TXT, etc. without any problems. True, sometimes "non-native" formats can open a little crookedly, that is, markup, fonts, etc. can move out there, but this is quickly restored.

A feature of this product, and indeed of all products of this office suite, is the presence of a button for converting a file to PDF format. Microsoft Office products do not have such a button by default, and in order for it to appear, you need to install special software.

The top toolbar contains all the main editing tools available. Sometimes this is not very convenient, as it can take a long time to search for the required tool. In Word, for example, all the tools are categorized and easier to find. With the help of additional plugins and add-ons, you can change the appearance of the top toolbar, add new elements, etc.

Despite this, OpenOffice Write has a definite advantage over Word because of its top bar. For example: from this panel you can quickly and easily change styles, while in many versions of Word you will have to go to special tabs and perform other manipulations.

The typing area is unremarkable. Also the user can customize the side toolbar. By default, some versions do not have it at all, or there are very few elements.

At the bottom there are elements for counting pages, words and symbols in the document, buttons for switching the language and scale. There is nothing special to change there.

The Write, which is part of the OpenOffice suite, has all the necessary functionality for the average user. The only exception can be some specific tools. Also, in Write, some users observe spelling problems, as the program either underlines all words, or does not underline anything at all. To fix this, you need to make some adjustments.

Create and edit presentations

The Impress program is responsible for working with presentations in this package, which is similar to Microsoft PowerPoint. However, the modern version of Impress is somewhat behind its commercial counterpart, and therefore its functionality and set of features is somewhere between the 2003 and 2007 versions of PowerPoint. The main working file format is ODP. There is support for other formats, but only older versions of PowerPoint formats work correctly.

There is not so much functionality and animation in this program, but it is quite enough for developing simple presentations. You can create animations, add music, various effects.

The main part of the interface is occupied by the work area with slides, and the other half is the area with slide settings. Basically, the side part of the interface is responsible for adding and processing effects and animations.

In the upper panel there are several elements for quick insertion into a slide, plus tools for processing the document itself (a button for saving, exporting, searching for a document, etc.).

The functionality can be expanded with plugins and add-ons, but their installation is much more complicated than in the same PowerPoint, and their number is extremely limited.

Graphics program

There are no programs in the standard Microsoft Office suite specifically designed for drawing and manipulating vector images. However, Libre and OpenOffice have a dedicated graphics program, Draw. It is sometimes compared to Paint, but the similarities lie only in a few basic functions, since Draw is more functional. The program works with ODG format.

Here you can work in multitasking mode, while in Paint it is very inconvenient to work with several files at the same time, and in some versions it is completely impossible.

The OpenOffice Draw interface is conditionally divided into two main panels with tools and a panel from where you can manage the document and add various elements to the workspace. On the right is a window with document properties and a small toolbar (in some versions it is not).

In this program, it is convenient to draw up block diagrams and work with 3D objects, while Paint is just being introduced.

Manipulating formulas

The OpenOffice package has a special program for performing accurate calculations using formulas - Math. This software works with files in the ODF format. In the program, you can use both prepared in advance formulas, and compose them using code. For the production of calculations, computer algebra based on the Mathematica system is used. This system is very often used in engineering, especially when it is necessary to perform accurate calculations.

The program interface includes windows for entering code, displaying formulas and selecting operations in the central part. All formulas are divided into sections, which makes it easier to work with them. Work in the code editor is done using the MathML language. At the top there is a panel with document controls (save, send to print, etc.).

MS Office does not have a separate program for working with formulas, but simplified formula editors are built into Word and Excel. A separate professional editor of mathematical formulas will primarily be useful for engineers and mathematicians. Ordinary users could easily get around the built-in editors in Writer and / or Calc.

The functionality of this program can be expanded due to additional plugins from the Internet.

Creating and editing tables

For working with tables in the OpenOffice package, the Excel analog from Microsft - Calc is responsible. By default, it works with ODS files, but at the same time it supports working with other common tabular formats, for example, XHTML, XML, etc. True, sometimes files of other formats may not open correctly in the program.

The main part of the interface is occupied by table cells, which you can edit and change at your discretion. In the upper part there is a toolbar similar to the one presented in Write, however, most of the tools are adapted for working with tables. Here you can create charts, perform various cell manipulations, etc. From here, you can immediately output the document to PDF format, send it to print, etc. Plus, there are functions for sorting table values ​​by many parameters, for example, alphabetically, descending order, etc.

By default, some OpenOffice products include a dedicated sidebar with additional tools and data. You can customize it as you like, or remove it altogether.

If you right-click on a cell, or on a selected group of cells, a context menu will appear. For the most part, it duplicates tools, which can be found in the top and side panels.

Any spreadsheet editor must be able to work with formulas. There are no special differences from Excel here. The input process and formulas are the same.

The only drawback of OpenOffice Calc is the complexity of formatting cells, since all the necessary tools need to be found in special submenus.

Creating and editing databases

This office suite provides its own analogue of MS Access - Open Office Base. The working format is ODB, but it is possible to support other formats, although some of them may be processed incorrectly.

The program has several modes for creating tables:

• Master mode;
• Designer mode;
• Presentation mode.

The program interface is divided into several main parts:

• Left panel. The structure of the database is schematically indicated here. From here you can switch between queries, tables, forms, reports;
• The central part is divided into two windows - "Tasks" and "Tables"... In the first case, you can select some task for one of the segment of the database structure, and in the second, you can see the result in the form of tables;
• In the upper part there is a panel with basic tools for working with a document (save button, print, document search, etc.).

The database manager also supports MySQL and SQL. The process of creating some elements in this program may differ from that in MS Access. However, the interface of this program is much simpler than that of its counterpart from Microsoft.

Conclusion

The article examined the main working tools and environments, based on this, some conclusions can be drawn.

Dignity

• The interface of all OpenOffice programs is very simple, and if you have any difficulties, you can always refer to the "Help", so this office suite is great for beginners;
• The product is completely free and open for distribution;
• Supports Russian;
• There are versions for UNIX-compatible systems. An example of such systems: MS Windows, Mac, Linux;
• Works without problems even on very "ancient" machines.

disadvantages

• Even though OpenOffice programs have all the functionality necessary for an ordinary user, it is still less than in MS Office;
• Some of the programs that are included in MS Office are not here;
• The interface of OpenOffice products looks a little old-fashioned even when compared to LibreOffice.

OpenOffice is good freeware and is great for most day-to-day tasks. Some of its shortcomings can be corrected by installing special extensions and plugins. However, if you need specific functionality, it is recommended to pay attention to the commercial counterparts of this package.

Recently, almost all self-respecting print and electronic publications have started talking about the OpenOffice.org project. We also considered it necessary to do our bit.

The package includes the following programs:

• OpenOffice.org Writer - a program for working with text documents and HTML, similar to Microsoft Word;
• OpenOffice.org Calc - a spreadsheet program similar to Microsoft Excel;
• OpenOffice.org Base - software for creating databases;
• OpenOffice.org Draw - a program for creating and editing images;
• OpenOffice.org Impress - a presentation creation program similar to Microsoft PowerPoint;
• OpenOffice.org Math is a program for working with mathematical formulas.

These components can not be installed all at once, but separately - however, this is only possible in Windows. The Linux and Mac OS X versions of OpenOffice.org do not have the option to selectively install components.

Each program is compatible with all common document, spreadsheet, presentation and image formats. Documents are displayed with high quality, practically without loss in structure. Unfortunately, the database program is not compatible with Microsoft Access. In general, you can easily download Microsoft Office documents (Word, Excel, Powerpoint), edit them and save them both in their original format and in the OpenOffice.org format. The main limitation is that OpenOffice.org does not run macros in these documents. Note that while OpenOffice.org does not support Visual Basic, it has OpenOffice.org Basic instead for macros.

OpenOffice.org is closely related to the relatively new, but promising storage format - OASIS OpenDocument Format (ODF). ODF is based on the old OpenOffice.org format, it is open, as the name implies, XML-based format, and in order to implement its support in their application, developers do not have to worry about licenses, patents and royalties for using the format. Despite the doubts of some analysts about its rapid and widespread implementation, various organizations are already showing interest in it. In particular, the European Commission recommended using this particular format for document circulation in the EU. By the way, another important innovation is associated with OASIS OpenDocument - such documents can be digitally signed, which is very important for organizing a secure document flow.

Rumor has it that support for this document format will appear even in Microsoft Office 2007. So far, Microsoft Office has no built-in tools for working with OpenDocument. There is an external plug-in that allows Microsoft Office to work with OpenDocument files. However, this plugin requires a network connection as the engine providing support runs on the server.

OpenOffice.org also has some advantages over Microsoft's suite. These include, for example, the ability to save a document as a PDF file. The button for saving to PDF has been moved directly to the main toolbar. Note that OpenOffice.org 2.0 has improved support for exporting to PDF - now images are saved correctly (and you can choose their compression ratio) and hyperlinks, and filters for Corel WordPerfect are also implemented.

Once you install OpenOffice.org and launch a text editor or spreadsheet program, you will see a familiar interface with the same menu options and toolbars. You can hardly get confused in the "Tools", "Format", "Edit" items - if you are used to working with the Microsoft Word menu, you will almost certainly find the corresponding commands in the corresponding Writer menu. Thanks to this, there are no problems with mastering the package.

Noteworthy is the stylish interface design that meets modern requirements. Dynamic panels in the style of Microsoft Office 2003, a taskbar that groups the most needed tools, modern and convenient menus and icons make the program clearer and more user-friendly. The most significant changes have affected the presentation program OpenOffice.org Impress, whose interface has undergone a thorough redesign - multi-panel mode provides convenient access to the slide, templates and tools, the preview function. GNU / Linux users will appreciate version 2.0 to improve visual compatibility with the KDE and GNOME desktop managers.

The main programs in the package are the text editor Writer, a Calc spreadsheet program, and Impress, a presentation program. Of these three applications, only Impress can be said to be significantly inferior to its counterpart from Microsoft. As for the first two programs, their differences from Word and Excel are insignificant.

The functionality of OpenOffice.org Base - programs for working with databases - are similar to those provided by other applications of a similar class: creating forms for data entry, reports, using a graphical interface to establish relationships between tables. However, it cannot yet be said that this is a full-fledged replacement for Microsoft Access.

The set includes a vector editor Draw, most of all reminiscent of Corel Draw, but with a very small set of functions. However, Draw copes with its task of creating simple vector drawings for use as illustrations in text documents. In addition, the editor of mathematical formulas called Math is present in OpenOffice.org, unfortunately, it is still inferior in convenience and functionality to its counterpart in the Microsoft Office package.

One of the interesting features of the package is the ability to use it without installation, which allows you to run the necessary applications, for example, from a flash drive. In addition, there is something to please system administrators who manage networks based on Active Directory: OpenOffice.org supports the installation of msi-packages, which makes it easier to deploy OpenOffice in Windows 2000 domains using Group Policy.

The latest version of OpenOffice.org to date is version 2.0.3 RC2. It can be downloaded without any problems using the product. If it is not possible to download, the product can be ordered at the price of the media through the softkey.ru catalog. The package is capable of running MS Windows, GNU / Linux, Sun Solaris, Mac OS X (X11) and a number of other platforms.

Naturally, OpenOffice.org 2.0 is not complete without its drawbacks. The product's gluttony for system resources has become the talk of the town. However, you can close your eyes even to this if you remember that you do not need to pay to use the product. The hundreds of dollars in budget savings can be a good selling point when choosing OpenOffice.org.

In a word, the project continues to develop, and the number of its supporters is constantly growing. At the moment, OpenOffice.org has reached the point of development where it can take thousands of users from Microsoft, and with them - a good chunk of the revenue. Organizations are increasingly paying attention to this free package, and licensing to corporate users is the main source of revenue from Microsoft Office.

Introduction

Undoubtedly, many users of modern computers know that Microsoft Office, like Windows, are paid products for which you need to pay a lot of money. Nevertheless, domestic users still rarely think about the fact that the software that comes immediately from their PC costs more than this PC itself. However, this does not apply to enterprises, because if the fact of using unlicensed software is discovered, they can be sued. So you have to either pay rather large sums for legal software, or use a free alternative.

Until relatively recently, in the case of choosing the latter option, one had to search for some application, the capabilities of which would be sufficient to perform certain tasks. However, it is not always convenient to use from one developer and spreadsheet from another. Sometimes, after all, it is required to integrate part of the functions of the latter into a text document (which, for example, in Microsoft Word is done by inserting an Excel table into the document). In addition, in comparison with all the same Microsoft Office, such alternatives often do not meet many requirements.

However, that all changed with the release of the OpenOffice suite. This suite of applications has its origins in the development known as StarOffice. StarOffice is an alternative Microsoft Office suite created by Sun Microsystems. It was free from the beginning, then a paid version was released with some additional features. After that, it was decided to split the free version into an independent project, which was named OpenOffice.

The first version of OpenOffice was a pretty good alternative to Microsoft Office. However, it had a fairly large number of flaws, as well as rather limited functionality relative to the solution from Microsoft. In this regard, he did not receive appropriate distribution opportunities. However, development continued further, and around the time of the 1.1 release, the alpha version of OpenOffice 2nd edition, or 2.0, became available.

OpenOffice 2.0 has hit a significantly larger number of users. He offered much broader functionality and high stability in work, as well as compatibility with other formats (in particular, Microsoft Office documents are very well supported). It is about him that will be discussed in this article. Next, we will walk you through the installation and initial configuration of OpenOffice 2.0, and in the next article we will take a closer look at the most popular applications for working with word documents and spreadsheets.

OpenOffice Composition

As you can see from the above text, OpenOffice, by analogy with Microsoft Office, consists of several programs that make up the package. However, while Microsoft's product comes in many modifications (Standard, Professional, Enterprise, and so on), OpenOffice is only available in one version. The first is a paid solution, and not all users need all the functions it offers. For this reason, such a division is made so that the user himself can choose for which functions he agrees to pay.

The most famous Microsoft Office applications are the following:

• Word (text editor);
• Excel (spreadsheets);
• Access (database);
• PowerPoint (electronic presentations);
• Outlook (mail client, organizer).

It is they who are duplicated in OpenOffice. Naturally, their names have been changed:

• Writer (text);
• Calc (spreadsheets);
• Base (database);
• Impress (electronic presentations).

As you can see, only Outlook has no counterpart in OpenOffice. Together with the considered package of programs are delivered applications called Draw and Math. By their names, it is not difficult to guess that the purpose of the first is to create images (very simple, by the way), and the second - various formulas. By and large, Draw contains all those functions that are evenly distributed in other components of OpenOffice. For example, here you can draw some simple objects using vector graphics tools, as well as make diagrams.

As for Math, a similar tool from Microsoft Office is called Microsoft Equation. We will briefly consider its functionality later in the second article along with an overview of Writer (Math will be most useful just as an application to a text editor). Now let's move on to describing the installation process for OpenOffice.

Installation

The main advantage of OpenOffice over Microsoft Office is its cross-platform nature. This package works on all popular platforms, in particular Windows, Linux and MacOS. Some may argue that Microsoft's product is also available for MacOS, to which we reply that Office development for PC and Mac is done separately. This proves at least that the latest version of Microsoft Office for Apple's OS is indexed in 2004, while the modification for Windows is one "one" less: 2003.

This flexibility of OpenOffice has been achieved through the use of the Qt cross-platform library. Nevertheless, this implies one rather serious drawback of such a solution: some "slowness" of its interface, as well as its rather solid "weight" in the computer's RAM during operation.

Before you start installing OpenOffice, you need to download it from the official website of the project: www.openoffice.org. There you can find not only the original English version, but also a large number of localized ones. In addition, it also contains special modules for testing in other languages ​​(the number of which, by the way, is several dozen) - we will return to them a little later. As for this article, the most recent modification of the Russian version was chosen for the description, which at the time of preparation of the material had reached the index 2.0.2.

It is worth noting that to use absolutely all the functions of OpenOffice, you need to install the Java Runtime Environment on the system. More recently, the software package in question comes with a Java framework. There is also a version without it, which takes about 15 MB less space.

The installation process itself is outrageously simple and even simpler than that of Microsoft Office.

When you click on the button, a window will appear asking you to read and accept the LGPL.

The next step will be to enter user data, as well as to select access rights: for all computer users or only for the one who is currently performing the installation.

Selecting an installation type

At the fourth step, you will need to specify the type of installation: complete or custom. We'll focus on the second to take a closer look at all the components that come with OpenOffice.

If we compare the variety of packages that come with OpenOffice and Microsoft Office, the comparison is in favor of the latter. This, however, is quite predictable. Nevertheless, looking ahead, we note that in most cases there will be no shortage of OpenOffice functionality.

In the penultimate step, you will be asked to select the Microsoft Office file formats that you would like to be opened in OpenOffice. None are selected by default. If you just want to “see” what a free “office” is, then we recommend leaving everything here without any changes. After that, click "Next" and go directly to the installation itself.

Before moving on to the settings, you need to mention the need to re-accept the license agreement. You will be asked to do this the first time you start any application that comes with OpenOffice.

OpenOffice First Launch Welcome

All settings are grouped in the now fashionable tree structure, which is located on the left. Let's dwell only on the settings that are most important from our point of view.

Memory usage settings can be adjusted in the item of the same name on the left. You can leave the cache settings unchanged, but the "Run OpenOffice.org at system boot" checkbox sometimes makes sense to disable it. As we mentioned above, the OpenOffice interface is written using the Qt library, which is rather slow due to its versatility. Therefore, changing this parameter can reduce the system's RAM consumption by several megabytes, or, conversely, speed up the initial launch of OpenOffice programs several times.

On the "View" tab, perhaps the most interesting is the group of checkboxes "3D image". Yes, OpenOffice uses OpenGL to render some objects. This graphics library can be used for drawing or charting.

Configuring AutoCorrect Fonts

A very interesting feature of OpenOffice is the automatic replacement of fonts that are not present on the system. It may be most relevant to users of Linux operating systems, where there can usually be some problems with fonts in terms of their availability.

Security Settings

All documents created in OpenOffice can be password protected. Naturally, a similar function is contained in Microsoft Office. However, it should be noted that there are many programs designed to crack MS Office documents. As for the software package under consideration, saving in one native format can serve as a good protection, since OpenOffice is not installed everywhere.

In the Load / Save group of most interest are the VBA and Microsoft Office Properties sections. They are responsible for compatibility with Microsoft Office documents. The first item is used to configure the parameters for converting macros written in Visual Basic (in total, OpenOffice supports four languages ​​for creating macros: OpenOffice Basic, Python, BeanShell and JavaScript), and the second is for setting parameters for automatic conversion, which is one of the workflow automation functions. In particular, for example, you can set to save all MS Word documents in the Writer format, or vice versa - convert from Writer to Word format.

Setting up spell checker

The "Linguistics" item from the "Language Settings" group is responsible for spellchecking. Here you can specify which languages ​​to check, as well as which ones to use. In addition, given the specifics of documents typed by Russian-speaking users, it will not be superfluous to check the "Check in all languages" box. In this case, if the text contains, for example, Russian (main text) and English (some insertions) words, then all of them will be checked separately in accordance with the language in which they are printed, and not recognized as monolingual text.

It should be noted that along with the Russian version of OpenOffice, a corresponding module for checking Russian spelling is supplied. However, if you need support for another language, or if you suddenly decide to install an English version for yourself, then you will have to add the verification language manually. This is not as easy as in Microsoft Office.

First, the language module must be downloaded from the corresponding page on the Internet.

Then you need to find the location of the dictionary.lst file. By default, it is located at / share / dict / ooo. It must be opened in any text editor like a standard notepad. Next, you need to enter at the end of the file two lines of the following content:

HYPH ru RU hyph_ru_RU
DICT ru RU ru_RU_ie

The first is for specifying a dictionary of synonyms, and the second is for spellchecking. It is worth noting that hyph_ru_RU and ru_RU_ie are real file names specified here without the extension and located in the folder together with the dictionary.lst file. So unpack the downloaded language module to / share / dict / ooo.

Setting up a proxy server

Before finishing the story about the basic settings of OpenOffice, it is worth mentioning the section responsible for connecting to the Internet. It can be useful when you need to access any program from the package to the World Wide Web. If you access it through a proxy server, you can set its parameters for OpenOffice in the "Internet" group.

We briefly described the main components of the OpenOffice suite, and also went over the most important global settings. It can only be noted that among the latter there are several interesting parameters that are not available in Microsoft Office, but because of them there is absolutely no need to change it to a free alternative.

OO Writer and MS Word

Now let's get down to business, and we'll start with what lies on the surface - the interface of the main Writer window.

If you load the programs OO Writer and MS Word, then several differences immediately catch the eye. Firstly, this is the absence of an additional panel (called in the Russian-language version of Word "Task Pane"), where you can get quick access to various functions.

Secondly, in Writer, the page layout is shown by conventional lines (you can remove it through the menu "View-> Text Borders"). And thirdly, there are differences between the toolbar and the status bar. It is noteworthy that the number of menu items is absolutely the same and even their order is almost identical.

The window for opening a document in OO Writer

Window for opening a document in MS Word

The functionality of the windows for opening a document in Writer and Word is almost completely the same, with the only exception that it is slightly expanded for the latter program. In particular, there is an additional "Service" menu that allows you to map a network drive, view the properties of a selected folder or file, and so on.

Much more significant differences can be found by expanding the drop-down list with the supported file types. If with MS Word everything is more or less clear (it is possible to open documents created in Word, WordPerfect, as well as HTML pages), then the OpenOffice developers have chosen a different path.

You can immediately notice that the number of supported formats is very large. This, however, is not surprising - to the already familiar many "docks" (.doc) are added their own formats, as well as support for StarOffice files, from which, we recall, OpenOffice grew. In addition, there is support for documents of more exotic programs, which in our area are not very often found on an ordinary office or home computer.

Scrolling down the huge list, text formats are followed by spreadsheets, presentations, and so on. This is one of the fundamental differences between MS Office and OpenOffice: the ability to create and open any documents from any application in the package.

Creating a new document in OpenOffice

Creating a new document in MS Word

Indeed, if you open the File-> New menu in OpenOffice, then the choice will not be limited to documents, for example, only one Writer. If you choose a spreadsheet, Calc will load, if the presentation is Impress, and so on.

Styles matter a lot when working with text. The corresponding item is located in the "Format" menu (as well as in MS Word). The window for editing styles looks extremely simple: at the top there is a small toolbar (you can select styles for a paragraph, for characters, for a page, frames and lists of various types), then a list of available styles follows, and at the very bottom there is a drop-down list that groups styles for some reason.

In the case of MS Word, in general, everything is identical, with the only exception that there is no such explicit division of styles for paragraphs, pages, and so on. In addition, the panel shows at a glance what text formatting will occur when you select a style, whereas in OpenOffice you have to apply it first.

The creation and editing of styles in OpenOffice and MS Office follows several different principles. If in the first case, all the settings are proposed to be performed in a window with a large number of tabs, then in the second, all parameters are accessed from one window.

By the way, it is worth noting that if you change the settings for the main styles in OO Writer, they will still not be written to the default template. So that when creating a new document you immediately have the necessary design available, you need to do the following: first, set the parameters that you want to apply when creating a new file, that is, you just need to specify the font, its size, indent from the edges, background color, text and so on. But at the same time, nothing should be printed in the document, since the typed text will be loaded along with the rest of the settings.

The next step is to set the created template by default for all documents. In the window from the menu "File-> Templates-> Management" in the list on the left, expand the folder "My templates", select your own and by clicking the right mouse button call the context menu, where the item you need is located, which will allow you to select the created template by default.

Now it remains to consider the implementation of basic functions, such as creating tables, inserting various objects, print windows, spell checking and others.

I must say that working with tables in OpenOffice is generally more convenient than in MS Word. There are four ways to insert a table into a page: through the "Insert" menu, through the "Table" menu, using a hot keyboard shortcut, and through the toolbar. The last point should be noted separately.

As you can see from the screenshots, for Word, when creating a table through the toolbar, there is a limit on the number of rows and columns. In Writer, this number is limited by your screen resolution - as you move the mouse cursor to the right and down, the area will grow larger.

Inserting a table through the menu calls up the corresponding window, where you can set the number of rows and columns, as well as display the header (check box "Header"). The last parameter means that a special style will be applied to the first row of the table, making it stand out from the rest. In addition, you can set the title to repeat on each page if the table does not fit one. You can also set a name for the table, so that later it will be possible to make a link to it.

There are also standard table templates:

Breaking a cell into parts in OO Writer

OO Writer's table editing capabilities are also wider than MS Word. In particular, in the first program, you can very simply insert a row or column, practically without breaking the formatting of everything else, as there is a more flexible system for dividing cells into parts. However, on the other hand, inserting tables from Calc (spreadsheets) into Writer, as you can in Word (pasting an Excel table), is a little different.

First, you need to select the desired range of cells in Calc, then copy to clipboard and paste in Writer.

After that, by double-clicking it, it will be possible to edit it as if you were in Calc.

Inserting a mathematical formula into an OO Writer document also requires less manipulation. You just need to go to the "Insert-> Object" menu and select the "Formula" item, while in Word you will have to insert the Microsoft Equation program object into the page, which can be somewhat confusing for a beginner.

As for the editor itself, it is more convenient in the product from Microsoft, as it is more visual. In OpenOffice, a separate field appears at the bottom, where one or another mathematical action is conventionally denoted.

OO Writer's Drawing Panel Until relatively recently, in the case of choosing the latter option, one had to search the Internet for some application, the capabilities of which would be sufficient to perform certain tasks. However, it is not always convenient to use a text editor from one developer and a spreadsheet from another. Sometimes, after all, it is required to integrate part of the functions of the latter into a text document (which, for example, in Microsoft Word is done by inserting an Excel table into the document). In addition, in comparison with all the same Microsoft Office, such alternatives often do not meet many requirements.

Drawing in Writer also follows a slightly different principle. If a special area is created in Word where any pictures are placed, then in the open editor the entire document is used as the "canvas". The drawn object can be attached to a paragraph, to a character, or even to make it "free".

Spell Checking in OO Writer

Spell Checker in MS Word

It is worth saying a few words about the grammar checker. If you configured it correctly, the program will only be able to check spelling. You will have to personally monitor the punctuation. In addition, if any word is underlined as incorrect, then if you need to add it to the dictionary, you will be prompted to choose one of three. Why this was done is not entirely clear. You can add to any - the word will not be underlined anymore.

The preview is also not much different from the "Word" version.

OO Writer's print window

Print window in MS Word

But the possibilities for setting up printing in MS Word are wider than in Writer. So, in the latter there is no function of scaling several pages on one, you cannot set two-sided printing.

Find and replace in MS Word

On the other hand, searching and replacing a string in a document is not as convenient as in Word. Although the possibilities are the same there, but in Writer they are all grouped in one window, and in the editor from Microsoft they are disbanded by tabs. In addition, it is more convenient in Word to set specific search parameters, such as “search only for bold text”.

Generally speaking, we've covered the main functions of the Writer program from the OpenOffice suite. We can only mention some unique features, such as support for exporting a document to PDF (which in some cases can be very useful), as well as comparing two documents:

Comparing two documents in OO Writer

In addition, I would like to point out that there is no review function in Writer. And although if you open a MS Word document with a review, the changes will be visible, but this is not displayed as conveniently as in the original editor:

Reviewed MS Word document opened in OO Writer

Review document opened in MS Word

Overall, however, Writer has excellent compatibility with MS Word documents. Of course, very complex formatting will be too tough for him, but the vast majority of files will be displayed correctly. In addition, it is very pleasant to note that this statement is also true for the opposite: Writer perfectly saves in MS Word format. The documents look almost the same in both editors.

And now we turn to the examination of the OpenOffice Calc spreadsheet program.

OO Calc and MS Exel

As in the case of Writer, we begin our description of Calc with the interface of the main window.

We don't think we're going to surprise anyone with the statement that Calc's and Excel's interfaces are very similar in many ways. At the top of the window there is a menu, below it are the toolbars, in the center are the tables themselves, and at the bottom is a similar status bar with sheet tabs. In Excel, only the "Task Pane" has been added, as in any other MS Office applications.

However, if you go deeper, the differences become more noticeable. Take the same styles for example. Editing and creating them in Calc is much the same as in Writer, while in Excel these operations are performed in a completely different way.

Cell properties in OO Calc

Cell properties in MS Excel

Inserting a Function into OO Calc

Inserting a function into MS Excel

One of the most important tasks of spreadsheets is calculating values ​​using formulas and functions. Inserting a function in Calc is much the same as in Excel. True, it is worth noting one very important point: the functions in the first program are named in English in any localized version, while in the product from Microsoft - in Russian in Russian and in English in English.

We tend to believe the Calc developer choice is preferable. Think for yourself, if for some reason you suddenly have to change the Russian version of Excel to English, you will need to re-learn some functions, or rather, search for their counterparts in another language. Agree, this is very inconvenient.

The implementation of the AutoFilter function in Calc is practically the same as in Excel, however, the latter has the ability to select all empty and filled cells. In addition, there are some differences in creating a filtering condition:

As you can see, in spreadsheets from OpenOffice, you can set three conditions for the filter, as well as specify such parameters as case sensitivity, input of a regular expression, search without repeating (grouping).

Working with diagrams is implemented in a very interesting way. First, despite excellent compatibility with many MS Office documents, Calc does not display charts and graphs created in Excel correctly. Here's a good example:

MS Excel charts opened in OO Calc

Charts opened in MS Excel

As for the native charting functions, they have both unique properties and do not offer some of the often needed capabilities. The process of creating a diagram begins with the selection of the appropriate item in the "Insert" menu or the button on the toolbar. Immediately you have to set the size of the chart yourself, while Excel sets the standard width and height by default.

The first step of building a chart in OO Calc (selecting a range of data cells)

The first step of building a chart in MS Excel (choosing a chart type)

The order of plotting the chart itself is quite different for Calc and Excel. In the first case, you are first asked to specify the exact range, as well as some other parameters, and in the second - to select the type of chart.

The second step of building a chart in OO Calc (choosing a chart type)

Choosing a chart variant

The second step of building a chart in MS Excel (selection of a range of cells with data)

At the second step, on the contrary - Calc offers to select the type of chart (and then immediately one of its available subspecies or options), and Excel - the range of cells from which the data will be taken.

Setting chart display options in OO Calc

MS Excel chart

As a result, the result is approximately the same, even the default colors are the same. However, some options are not available for editing. In particular, this concerns filling. For the graph strips themselves, you can set filling with a solid color, gradient, hatching and some kind of pattern. But what is surprising is that you can only choose a gradient from those provided by the developers, and for some reason it is not possible to set the colors yourself:

I must say that this is a rather serious flaw that can severely limit the use of Calc. And, the strangest thing, the OpenOffice developers are not even planning any improvements in this regard yet. At any rate, chart editing has remained the same since the first alpha versions of OpenOffice 2.0. But, on the other hand, you can enable transparency and shadows for graphs. In addition, you can create three-dimensional diagrams, where you can set any angle of inclination and even calculate the illumination for each bar of the graph:

3D Chart in OO Calc

Rotating a 3D chart

If Excel saves to CSV files as "as it can", Calc offers to specify the encoding in which the file will be written, the field separator and the text separator.

What is especially noteworthy is the ability to set special options for opening CSV files, which is done in case Calc does not correctly recognize the data. Again, you can select the field and text separator and encoding. A preview of the table will be shown below. Excel just opens it up without asking anything.

Perhaps, this is where we will end our story about OpenOffice Calc. Some of its functions were announced in the section on Writer (for example, preview, print window, spell check), and some do not deserve such close attention. Therefore, now we turn directly to the conclusions on the considered package.

conclusions

Although we've only covered two of the main OpenOffice programs, they are the most used of all. So Writer. This application, in our opinion, is a very good alternative to Microsoft Word. They are offered almost the same functionality (at least basic), and at the same time Writer, like all of OpenOffice, is completely free. And although some of them are not so convenient (and some are more convenient, on the contrary), in general, this program is more than enough to perform the overwhelming majority of tasks.

As for OpenOffice Calc, it is, in fact, a fairly unique product on the market. While there are many alternative text editors, there are far fewer spreadsheets. And Calc in this respect proved to be very worthy. In general, if you compare it with Excel, then in the latter it is more convenient and faster to work, but if you remember that Calc is free, then most of the claims should disappear. Although the described shortcomings in the design of the diagrams, we believe, would need to be corrected.

By the way, it would not be superfluous to note some "lag" of OpenOffice programs when saving large documents. Our attempts to figure this out led to the following conclusion: the file format of this package is to blame. All of them are saved as XML, packed into a ZIP archive (!). Conversion and packaging take quite a long time. Try to open any file from any OpenOffice application yourself with some file manager or archiver and make sure that these statements are true.

As a result, we can draw the following conclusion: it makes sense to try OpenOffice if you have time (even a little) and desire (even a little). You might like it, and you won't have to go back to Microsoft Office (or any other package) anymore.

Leave your comment!

To make a table in OpenOffice Writer or OpenOffice Calc, you need to decide on its structure. After that, you can start "drawing".

How to make a table in OpenOffice Calc

Open Office Calc is itself a spreadsheet document. It has no borders, the outlines of the cells are not drawn, but, in fact, it is a table. If you need to draw a table, its borders, then to print, then you should follow the steps described below.

Simple table - all cells are the same size

A simple table with cells of the same width and height is obtained in a couple of clicks. Let this be the table of income and expenses of the store for 2018. Hover your mouse over any empty cell. Press and hold the left mouse button (LMB). Now, by dragging the cursor down, you set the number of rows, and to the right, the number of columns. The selection will be highlighted in blue. It should look like the screenshot:

It remains to title the columns, rows and fill the cells with data.

Drawing a simple spreadsheet in OpenOffice Calc turned out to be easy. Let's try to complicate the task.

Table with design elements

What are the design elements of a table? Title, font, direction of text in a cell, etc.
We will use the same table as a sample. Let's head it first. To do this, we need to insert one more line above all the others. For this:

1. Press the right mouse button (RMB) on the number "1" denoting the first line of the document.
2. From the menu, select Insert Rows.

Next, you need to make sure that the title covers, is located above all the cells. If you write a test in any of the newly appeared cells, then it will be located above only one column. For the title text to be above all columns, the cells must be merged into one.

1. Select the 4 top cells (LMB on cell A1 and hold down and drag to the right)
2. Use the Merge Cells tool

Let's think up and write a name in the merged cell, and then align the text in the center. For this:

1. Enter the text in the "header" of the table.
2. Click the Align Center Horizontally tool or the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + E.

Now let's change the font of the title, make it bold. To do this, click on the cell with the table title and select the "Bold" font style. The result is the following:

I had to expand column D a little, to increase its width. The title text has ceased to fit.

Let's look at one more problem - how to change the direction of text in an Open Office table. Let's say we need the text of the title of the first column - "Month", to have a different direction. Let's rotate the text 90 degrees. To do this, right-click on this cell and then select the submenu "Format cells ..."

In the window that appears, in the "Alignment" - "Text Direction" section, set the value "Skew, degrees." equal to 90 and then confirm with "OK". The text will change its direction. You can also align text in a cell so that it is centered. This is done in the same place in the "Format cells ..." menu. I think there will be no difficulties with this.

Colored Column Table

Now let's add different colors to the table for clarity. To paint one cell, you need to select it and use the "Background Color" tool. Let's recolor the cell with the table title.

You can color the entire table in the same way. This way the information will be presented in a clear and orderly way. You can select several cells at once by dragging, and then change the color with one click.

Now cells with values, row and column headers have their own color. Such a table looks easier to read.

Table with a pinned top row

If the table goes beyond one sheet, then it is reasonable to make it with a fixed top row. So, when scrolling, you can always see the column names. This technique is often used when creating a price list with a large number of products.

We will not repeat how to fix the top row of the table. This is written in detail, but it looks like this:

Summary table

Let's head the pivot table "Total" and place it below the data table. We will add values ​​to each cell of the new table by summing the data of the corresponding column.

Editing a table in OpenOffice

Let's say an error has crept into the table structure. Or you entered a wrong value in a cell. Editing an Open Office spreadsheet won't be difficult.

To change the value or text in a cell, just select it with the cursor and enter new data.

What if you need to add cells (row or column)?

1. Select with the cursor the line where you want to add new cells and press RMB (right mouse button).
2. Select "Insert Rows" from the drop-down menu.

It should look like this:

How to print a table in OpenOffice

In order to print the table along with the rest of the data on the sheet, go to the "File" menu on the menu bar. Select the submenu "Print ..."

Having selected the necessary parameters, click on the "Print" button and the table will be printed.

If you only need to print a table or even a fragment of a table, then you need to do this.

Select the cells you want to print.

Go again "File" - "Print ..." and select the value "Selected cells".

It remains to click on the "Print" button.

This way you can print an OpenOffice spreadsheet either separately from the entire worksheet or along with other information on the worksheet.

How to make a table in OpenOffice Writer

You can also make a table in OpenOffice Writer without any problems. It will differ functionally from an OpenOffice Calc spreadsheet, but it will also allow you to present data in a structured way.

How to draw a table in an OpenOffice Writer document

In order to draw a table, use the "Insert" - "Table" tool in the "Table" menu on the main panel. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + F12.

In the pop-up window, write:

1. Table name - the name of the table template. Let it be "Table1".
2. Table size - you need to enter the number of rows and columns. For our table from the first part of the article, the following values ​​are valid: 4 columns and 15 rows, taking into account the title.
3. Options. Check the box here if the table has a title (in our case, it does). The "Repeat Title" option is used to duplicate the table title on all pages of the document if the table takes more than one sheet. Let's leave it on.
4. First "n" lines. The number of rows that should be considered the heading of the table. They will be repeated on each page of the document. In our case, the first two lines of the table can be read under the heading.
5. Don't split the table. If the box is checked, the table will not be transferred to the next page.
6. Framing. Table outlines - hide or show when printing. Check the box.
7. AutoFormat ... Some table templates are found here. You can choose an interesting design for your goals.
   The window settings, in our case, will look like this:

A table with identical cells appears. Let's merge the cells of the first row in order to enter the title. To do this, select the cells of the first row and press the "Merge Cells" button on the appeared toolbar of the table.

Let's fill in the title and fill in the rest of the cells.

There is also a tool for filling cells with color and you can set the direction of the text. It is not difficult to figure it out, so we will not dwell on this in detail.

There is another way to draw a table - use the "Table" tool on the toolbar.

Just move your cursor down and to the right to set the number of rows and columns. This is a quick solution for getting a simple table.

How to convert text to table

OpenOffice Writer has an interesting feature - converting text to a table. Sometimes the suppliers of the goods may transfer the price list in an unreadable form. For example, in Windows Notepad. It is difficult to read such information in the form of solid text, therefore it is better to display it in the form of a table.

To convert text to a table, it must be formatted correctly. Each line of such text is a new line in the table. Columns are created like this - from left to right, write the data of the first cell of the row, then there should be a separator character and, after it, the data of the second cell, and so on. It is better to use a separator character that is rarely found in the text. For example the tilde sign "~". See how it looks in our case.

When the text is prepared, you need to select it and follow the route: "Table" - "Convert" - "Text to Table ...".

In the pop-up window, select "Other" as the text separator and write the tilde "~" in the window. In the "Parameters" section we will repeat the settings as in the previous chapter.

After confirming the selection of transformation parameters, the text will become a table. All that remains is to combine the cells in the first row for the beauty of the title.

Editing a table

Use the toolbar to insert a column or row into a table. Place the cursor in a cell, click on "Insert Rows" or "Insert Columns". A new blank row or column appears in the table.

Sometimes you need to delete a table in OpenOffice Writer. This can be done by placing the cursor in any cell, and then following the "Table" - "Delete" route, select "Table". The table will disappear.

Video on "Creating Tables in OpenOfiice Writer"

For those who better perceive information visually, we recommend the video on creating tables in OpenOffice Writer.

Now there should be no problems with how to make a table in OpenOffice. The article describes in detail, to the subtleties, working with tables. I hope the material was helpful.

If you have any questions, write in the comments.