Previewing the OpenOffice.org Applications


OpenOffice.org is a suite of productivity applications for use with Linux. The OpenOffice.org suite is similar to Microsoft Office, Corel WordPerfect Office, or other "office" suites you might be familiar with. Because OpenOffice.org is open-source software (like Linux itself), it is a favorite among Linux users. OpenOffice.org is also available for use with the Windows OS. Because OpenOffice.org is capable of opening and saving in MS Office file formats, you can exchange files with users of Windows and MS Office using OpenOffice.org.

Like most suites of office productivity applications, OpenOffice.org contains a series of distinct applications, each of which performs a specific task:

  • OpenOffice.org Writer, a full-featured word processing and document layout application similar to Microsoft Word or Corel WordPerfect. OpenOffice.org Writer enables you to create memos, letters, articles, reports, and books.

  • OpenOffice.org Calc, a powerful spreadsheet and calculation application similar to Microsoft Excel or Corel Quattro Pro. OpenOffice.org Calc enables you to perform math-oriented tasks, such as budgeting, engineering calculations, physics calculations, and statistics.

  • OpenOffice.org Impress, a presentations manager similar to Microsoft PowerPoint or Corel Presentations. OpenOffice.org Impress allows you to create visual slide shows with illustrations, charts, and graphs to help you to present information to others.

  • OpenOffice.org Draw, a drawing and image-manipulation program that allows you to create clean, well-structured sketches and diagrams as well as edit photos and other types of raster graphics.

  • OpenOffice.org Math, an equation editor, for editing and inserting complex mathematical equations into your documents for output.

OpenOffice Versus OpenOffice.org

If you're thinking that OpenOffice.org sounds more like a website than a set of programs, you're partially correct: OpenOffice.org is the home page for the OpenOffice.org applications. Both the suite of applications and the website that houses them share the same name.


OpenOffice.org is available for Windows, free!

OpenOffice.org is also available as a free download for many different operating systems, including Windows. It's a viable alternative to Microsoft Office or similar products, and costs nothing for personal or for business use. Visit OpenOffice.org for details.


In this chapter, you explore the OpenOffice.org Writer, the most commonly used application in the OpenOffice suite.

Where Can You Learn More About OpenOffice.org?

For a full treatment of the OpenOffice.org suite, refer to the following books on StarOffice, which is based on OpenOffice technology and virtually identical in most respects:

  • StarOffice 6.0 Office Suite Companion, by Solveig Haugland and Floyd Jones

  • Special Editing Using StarOffice 6.0, by Michael Koch


You can find online documentation for OpenOffice.org and all its features at any time as you work through this chapter and the OpenOffice.org chapters that follow by choosing Help, Contents from any OpenOffice.org application. Every dialog box in OpenOffice.org also contains a Help button; clicking it displays documentation about that dialog in particular.

Launching OpenOffice Applications

The OpenOffice.org applications can be found by choosing Applications, Office, as shown in Figure 8.1. To launch OpenOffice.org Writer, select the Writer option from the menu.

Figure 8.1. Choose Applications, Office to access the list of OpenOffice.org applications.


The remainder of this chapter is concerned with the OpenOffice.org Writer application. The Calc and Impress applications are discussed in upcoming Chapters 9, "Creating Spreadsheets with OpenOffice.org Calc," and 10, "Creating Presentations with OpenOffice.org Impress," respectively.



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