The OpenOffice.org Applications

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The entire OpenOffice.org office suite consists of five applications: a word processor (Writer), a spreadsheet (Calc), a presentation creator and player (Impress), a vector drawing program (Draw), and a mathematical formula editor (Math). All of these applications can be accessed by going to the Main menu and selecting Office. In addition, Panel launchers for the main three applications (Writer, Impress, and Calc) are available in the default Fedora Core setup, though you probably removed the Impress launcher while following along with Chapter 3.

Let’s look briefly at each of the applications, though as I’m a bit of a mathematics dunce, I don’t think I will venture into the realm of what you can do with Math.

Writer

As I mentioned earlier, the word processor is the office application that the majority of users turn to most often. Fortunately, OpenOffice.org Writer is a good one (see Figure 15-5 on the previous page). It is chock-full of features and can even read and save Microsoft Word files. Like Word, it will even let you save your pages as HTML files so that you can easily change your documents into Web pages.

Figure 15-5: A letter created in OpenOffice.org’s word processor — Writer

As I said, Writer is a very straightforward word processor, so I won’t go on about it, but if you would like to see a little intro on using Writer, check out the first steps tutorial at the OpenOffice.org Web site (www.openoffice.org/writerfirststeps/writerfirststeps.html).

Calc

Calc is the OpenOffice.org spreadsheet application, and it is similar to Excel in terms of capabilities and general layout (see Figure 15-6). It can also, quite importantly, read and save Microsoft Excel files.

Figure 15-6: A spreadsheet created in OpenOffice.org Calc

As most people who use spreadsheets generally understand what they are all about and, after a bit of poking around, can figure out how to use them, I won’t go into any sort of primer about using Calc. However, as there are many others who don’t see any need to even try using spreadsheets, I will mention a few of the simpler things that can be done with Calc, in the hope of enticing some of you into trying it.

Most people who don’t use spreadsheets think of them as a sort of giant calculator used for computing uncomfortably large sets of numbers, like payrolls (which was the original purpose of such applications). That’s right, of course, but spreadsheets can be used for everyday tasks too, such as projecting house- hold budgets, calculating grade point averages (for teacher or student), figuring out how long it will take you to save up for your trip to Hungary, or even for something as weird as comparing the seat heights for the four or five motorcycles you are trying to choose among. And when doing any of these minor mathematical tasks, you can easily create graphs in order to make all the abstract numbers speak to you visibly.

If numbers are just not your thing, you can still use Calc for creating lists of information, such as birthday lists, class rosters, shopping lists, address lists . . . whatever. You can even have Calc put the lists into alphabetical order, or sort them by date of birth, and so on.

Impress

Impress (Figure 15-7) is OpenOffice.org’s answer to Microsoft’s PowerPoint, with which it is compatible. It allows you to create graphically attractive slides for use in presentations and also allows you to create notes or handouts to accompany them. While these features make Impress quite handy in business and education settings, you may not find it of as of much value as a home user.

Figure 15-7: Preparing a presentation in OpenOffice.org Impress

Draw

More useful to the home user is OpenOffice.org Draw. Although Draw isn’t all that great a program for creating true graphics in the art sense, it is very useful for creating flowcharts, organizational diagrams (like seating arrangements for wedding receptions or conferences), or any other document in which you want a bit more control over the placement of text and graphics (especially when the two are combined), such as for fliers, awards, diagrams, and newsletters. In this sense, OpenOffice.org Draw can be used quite effectively as a simple page layout program, as you can see in Figure 15-8.

Figure 15-8: A newsletter created (and displayed) in OpenOffice.org Draw

Math

Finally, we come to OpenOffice.org’s Math. As I am a bit out of it in terms of math, I can’t really tell you much more about Math other than it is a mathematics formula editor that allows you to produce complex mathematical formulae and then paste them as embedded objects into other OpenOffice.org programs. It is strictly an editor and does not calculate. I think I am safe in saying that most common folk have no need for it in their everyday lives, unless, of course, you write Math textbooks for a living.

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