OpenOffice

Adding More Awesome to Your Office

Shawn Powers — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 20:02:42 +0000

Whether you prefer OpenOffice.org or LibreOffice, which currently still are pretty similar, out of the box, they are missing some of the conveniences installed by their commercial counterparts. Granted, they are fully functional, but if you want a robust clip-art library and a decent selection of document templates, you'll want to add some extensions and templates.

Browse on over to extensions.services.openoffice.org and templates.services.openoffice.org to pick up some add-ons that will make your office suite shine. Whether you want to add a few graphics to your document or spice up your next presentation, the options are extensive.

Also, if your user has write access to the system files, you'll get the option to install extensions for all users or just the current user—an awesome boon for sysadmins like myself!

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Quick and Dirty with Open Office Base.

Mike Diehl — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:16:54 +0000

by Mike Diehl

Even with all of the high quality software available, sometimes you just have to break down and write a custom application, and usually you don't have a lot of time to devote to it. This is the situation I found myself in when my wife started a new business and needed a simple means of tracking sales leads. To her credit, she realized that she couldn't simply use a spreadsheet and needed a database application. So I decided that I'd see just how involved it would be to write an application with Open Office's database program, known as Base.

When I started, I'd never used Base before and even had to install the program on both my machine and my wife's before I could get started. I had used Microsoft Access many years ago and I do have a lot of experience with PostgreSQL and MySQL, so I figured I'd be able to pick up Base in short order and be able to build a customized application for my wife. Now there have been many articles written about Base. (See References, below) This article isn't a How-to, or a product review. Instead this article is more of a crash course that covers the point in time right after initial installation to the point where you have a working application. I came in with zero experience with Base and not a lot of time to climb a steep learning curve. Two evenings later, I had a basic application that my wife could at least get started with. As I learn more, I expect to improve the program, but in the mean time, she's able to get some use out of it.

So let's get started.

As with any database application, and even ones as simple as this one, it helps to draw a diagram of the objects that you intend to manage and the interrelationships between them. Then I like to simply list the fields, or attributes, that each object requires. Once this is done, you can start creating tables in Base.

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Creating business cards with OpenOffice.org Writer

Bruce Byfield — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 20:14:32 +0000

by Bruce Byfield

Exchanging business cards is a rudimentary form of networking (the people, not the server kind). However, to get the most out of the exchange, you need a card that attracts attention and reflects the image or values you want to project.

Unfortunately, OpenOffice.org Writer's tool for producing business cards does such a poor job of realizing both these goals that it is better avoided. However, if you know where to look, Writer also includes other tools that make designing business cards as easy as possible.

When you first click File -> New -> Business Cards, you may have a flash of hope that most of your work will be done for. However, click the Business Cards tab, and disappointment sets in. The five templates offered include only text and a few dingbats, and are as about exciting and distinguished as prime time television. Use any of them, and the image that you'll project will be unprofessional. Besides, unless you work for a company that's so big that you have no need to worry about image, like Macdonald's or IBM, you want your card to stand out -- and using a template from any off-the-net piece of software isn't going to help you do that. Even using the AutoText options isn't going to help.

Preparing to design

My suggestion is to avoid the Business Cards selection altogether, and click instead on File -> New -> Labels. You won't really miss the business cards' use of fields, or their format options, and can avoid the irritation of working around them.

In the Labels tab in the Labels window, make sure that the format is set to Sheet, then choose the Brand and Type for the sheet layout. This choice is usually hit or miss unless you have a particular brand on hand, but Avery Letter Size 5371 and Avery A4 L7413 are your best choices. Note that you are not necessarily going to use the designated sheet for printing your business cards -- it's just a template so that you can print multiple cards from the same page.

Then go to the Options tab, and make sure that Synchronize contents is selected. This option will allow you to add the design to only one card on the sheet, then populate the rest of the cards with the design.

When you are finished, click the New Document button. You'll see a Synchronize Labels button floating in the window, but ignore it for now.

Go to Tools -> Options -> OpenOffice.org Writer -> Grid, and select Visible Grid to give you guidelines for your design. You should also adjust the horizontal and vertical grid to 1-4 points, so that the grid is useful in the small space of a business card. Finally, select View -> Toolbars -> Drawing so that you can add graphical text, which will be easier to use than regular text in your design.

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