| Chapter 1. Using the Application | ||
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| Chapter 1. Using the Application | ||
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For the most part, using Writer in either Windows or Linux is the same. The major difference occurs in open and closing the application. The other variation is in opening and saving files as the file system is quite different in Windows and Linux.
As there are many variations in the way Linux may be installed on computers, it is possible that there will be some variation. The above method is the default when OpenOffice.org 1.1.0 is installed as part of the Mandrake 9.2 distribution and KDE 3.1 is used as the desktop. Mandrake 9.2 is in turn based largely on the Red Hat distribution.
The Writer screen will now display. The components of the screen are shown below.
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Because we will be making extensive use of the Menu bar, we will make use of the following convention in using the functions of the menu bar.
Will mean exactly the same as
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Close Writer
->.
This will close all open documents and exit Writer. If you have made any modifications to open documents, Writer will ask you whether you wish to save or discard the changes you have made. It will also give you the option of canceling the Exit operation.
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One of the advantages that word processors such as Writer provides for us is the facility to save our work and recall it at a later time. We can then print our work or make further changes (edit). In addition, we are able to create many versions of the same document, each of which can be saved on our hard drive under an appropriate name.
To open a document
->.
At this stage there is a difference between what will happen in Linux and Windows.
The Open dialogue will appear. In general, this will point to your home directory.
In this case, the Open dialogue is pointing to the directory /home/david.
If necessary, navigate to the desired directory.
Highlight the file you wish to open.
Click Open.
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If you wish to open a file contained on your floppy, navigate to the directory /mnt/floppy.
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On the top right of the Open dialogue, there are three important icons:
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If you are running Writer under Windows, the Windows Open dialogue will be displayed.
If you click in the Look in window, a drop down box will display your current directory and available drives. You can switch to another drive by double clicking on it in this window. You can also use the navigation icons to move around your directory structure.
If necessary, navigate to the desired directory.
Highlight the file you wish to open.
Click Open.
If you wish to open a file on your floppy disk, first double click on Floppy A: in the Look in window.
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The first two icons in the Open dialogue are the same as under Linux.
The third icon allows you to display the contents of the Open dialogue in a number of ways as shown on the following screen.
The Details option displays important information such as file type, size, created or last edited and attributes.
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Terminology |
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We will use the terms document and file interchangeably. Document is the more commonly used term when working with Windows while file tends to be used more commonly when working with Linux. |
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You may open several documents at the same time. Simply repeat the process described above.
Although the files will all be open, only one will be displayed on your screen for editing. We will refer to this as the active document. In the section called “Switch between open documents”, you will learn how to switch between open documents.
To create a new document from scratch
->->
This will display a blank screen in which you can create a document. This document will be based on default settings. Default settings are ones which Writer sets up for you automatically.
Templates are predefined layouts for creating documents. Writer has a number of templates. It also allows you to create your own templates.
When you select ->, a number of Writer templates are displayed.
For example, to create business cards:
->->
This will then display a dialogue which will make the process of creating business cards much simpler than it would have been without the use of a template.
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To create a document based on a template you have created you would use:
->->
This will bring up a dialogue which will allow you to select either a predefined Writer template or one that you have created. This template will provide you with the basic format of your new document. There is more information on templates in the section called “Save a document in another file type such as: text file, Rich Text Format, HTML, template, software specific file extension, version number”.
When you work with a document on your computer, the working form resides in the computer's RAM. This is temporary memory used for your current activities. Since RAM is volatile, when the computer is switched off, everything that is in RAM is automatically lost. In order to keep your work you will need to transfer the contents of RAM to your hard disk. This process is called saving.
When you save a document, you give it a name and you specify where it is to be stored.
If you have opened a document and made some changes, the process of saving it is very simple:
->
This will change the contents of the stored version so that it is identical to the version that is displayed on your screen. In this case, the previous version on disk is overwritten.
If you use -> in a newly created document, Writer will automatically assume that you wish to use -> .
When you create a document from scratch, there is no version stored on disk. To save the file to disk:
->.
Now depending on whether you are using Linux or Windows, slightly different dialogue windows will be displayed.
The Save as dialogue will appear. In general, this will point to your home directory. It is very similar in appearance and functionality to the Open dialogue.
If necessary, navigate to the directory in which you wish to save the file.
Enter a name into the File name window.
Click Save.
For the moment we will not be concerned with all the options in the Save as dialogue.
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The Save as dialogue window has a very similar structure to the Open window.
If you click the Save in window, your position within your drive and directory structure will be displayed.
If necessary, navigate to the directory in which you wish to save the file.
Enter a name into the File name window.
Click Save.
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For the moment we will not be concerned with all the options in the Save as dialogue.
When you use the -> function, the contents on disk are overwritten by the contents on your screen. It often happens that we don not want to do so. In other words, we might wish to keep copies of different versions of the file under different names.
Another possibility is that we wish to keep copies of the same document, but in different places.
In both cases use the -> function.
Suppose, for example, you are writing a difficult letter to someone. Suppose you initially call the letter LetterToJo. After having made some changes you could use Save as, but this time call the document LetterToJo1. The following version could be LetterToJo2, and so on.
There are many different word processors and applications that can read text documents. One of the very important aspects of working with information technology is the ability to exchange documents between different systems.
Each application has its own way of storing information in electronic form. This is known as the format of the application. For example, Microsoft Word stores documents is a different electronic format to OpenOffice.org Writer.
Another issue we need to contend with is that as software develops in sophistication, the format of the documents will change to cater for the increased sophistication. We also need to be able to store a document in a format that could be read by an earlier version of an application package.
There are also a number of generic formats that can be used. These are formats that are not specific to a particular application but which have been designed by the information technology industry to form a common basis for all documents.
Each format has its own file extension. Sometimes we refer to the format by its extension. For example, Writer creates sxw files while Microsoft Word creates doc files. Rich text format, a generic format, uses the rtf extension.
Web browsers can only read documents created in Hypertext Markup Language or html.
Apart from its own format, Writer allows you store documents in a wide range of formats.
To save a file in a particular format (the method is the same in both Linux and Windows):
->.
Click on the Save as type drop down window.
Select the type.
Click Save.
Notice that the Save as type window lists both formats and versions of formats.
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The following table provides a reference to some common file types.
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sxw |
This is the natural format in which Writer saves its documents |
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MS Word |
doc |
Writer enables you to save documents in the formats of the different versions of MS Word |
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HTML |
htm html |
Documents that are meant to be read by web browsers such as Internet Explorer and Netscape must be saved in HTML format. This is an abbreviation for HyperText Markup Language. |
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Template |
stw |
A template is an outline of a document that can be used for future documents. Templates will be covered in more detail in a subsequent chapter. |
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Rich text format |
rtf |
This is a format designed for the exchange of formatted text files. The main disadvantage is that the format creates fairly large files. |
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Text |
txt |
Text files containing unformatted text |
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Versions |
As applications develop they include new features. Many of these relate to format. |
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Portable document format |
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This is a particularly important format. If you create a file in pdf format, you can send this to other users who can view it with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader. They are, however, unable to edit it. |
Since MS Word is very widely used, you may regularly need to save documents in doc format. This will allow MS Word users to read your documents.
Once you have worked with Writer for a while you will want to create your own templates on which to base your documents. Often these templates only contain formatting features such as margin settings, page orientation, fonts similar features. They can, however, also contain text.
You may for example have to create invoices on a regular basis. Invoices have certain formatting features, but they also contain a lot of text which is the same on each.
Create the document you wish to use as a template. This may consist only of formatting or formatting and text.
->.
Enter the name of the template into the File name window.
Click on the Save as type window and select Text Document Template as shown in the following window.
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Select the directory in which you wish to store the template.
Click Save.
This will save the contents of your workspace in template format with an stw extension.
Although the method of creating templates is the same, you need to take care of where you save them so that you can access the templates when you need them. The following are some suggestions.
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In Linux, save your templates in the subdirectory called Documents in your home directory.
You may open several documents using the -> function. You will, however, only be able to edit the active document, the one that is displayed on your screen. To make another document active, you need to switch to that document.
Click Window on the menu bar.
A list of open documents is displayed in the lower half of the window. The active document is marked with a dot.
Click on the document you wish to switch to.
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The help system of OpenOffice.org provides a complete reference to the system.
->.
This accesses the help system of OpenOffice.org, not just Writer.
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Click on the Contents tab.
Each book represents a major section.
Double click on any book icon, for example Text documents. This will display the contents which may be further subsections or actual entries.
Double click on a subsection, for example Creating text documents.
Double click on a entry, for example Selecting and navigating with the keyboard. The right hand pane will contain a detailed description of the topic.
The Contents tab is the same as the table of contents at the front of the book. This organises entries by function.
The Index tab functions in the same way as the index at the back of the book. This provides an alphabetic listing of topics.
Click on the Index tab.
Begin typing a term that you are interested in into the Search term window. Type for example the word template.
OpenOffice.org will attempt to anticipate what you are searching for. As you type in the Search term window, the alphabetic listing of topics will change. The entries are divided into headings and actual topics. The headings are flush against the left hand side of the pane while the actual topics are slightly indented.
Double click on an entry.
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The right hand pane contains the details of the topic you have selected.
Within the details of the entry you will also see a number of hyperlinks. These are underlined in blue. These are references to related topics. To jump to one of these entries, double click the hyperlink.
OpenOffice.org provides yet another method of searching for information. Whereas both Contents and Index are based on an alphabetic listing of topics, Find allows you to search within the text of the entries for topics using a keyword.
Suppose you did not find the previous description of the term hyperlink adequate and you wish to find all topics in OpenOffice.org that make reference to this term.
Click on the Find tab.
Type the work hyperlink into the Search term window.
Click Find.
A list of entries that contain the word hyperlink are displayed.
Double click on the entry that you wish to read.
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The occurrences of the search word are highlighted in the details window.
When you read a book you may sometimes turn the corner of a page to mark important pages for easy later reference. A bookmark is the electronic equivalent.
Click the create bookmark icon, 
, to mark an entry.
Enter a name for your entry in the Add to bookmarks dialogue.
Click OK.
Although you can have several documents open at a time, it is not a good idea to have unnecessary documents open as these use up system resources and can slow your machine down. Just as important is the fact that it is just simply very confusing to have to many documents open at once. This is similar to working with a cluttered desk and not putting things away when you have finished with them
To close a document:
->.
If the version in the work area corresponds to what is saved on disk, Writer will close the document immediately. If you have edited the document since it was last saved, Writer will check whether or not you wish to save or discard the changes before closing.
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| ICDL Module 3 |  |
Adjust Settings |
