97. About OpenOffice.org Writer

Writer provides all the features and tools that you would expect from a word processing application. You can add headers/footers to documents, insert tables, insert frames that hold a variety of objects, and merge addresses with form letters and labels.

You can start Writer from the Programs menu (select Programs, Office, Word Processor). You can also start Writer from the Word Processor icon on the top panel.

Writer's command set is easily accessed from the menu system in the Writer application window. Writer also provides both default and optional toolbars that allow you to quickly access a particular feature. The default toolbars are

• Function bar This toolbar resides below the menu system and provides access to commands such as New, Open File, and Print File Directly. It also provides access to specialized tools such as the Navigator (which allows you to quickly move to a specific place in a document such as a table or text frame) and the Stylist (which provides easy access to the styles in the current document).

• Object bar This toolbar resides below the Function bar and by default provides access to commands related to formatting such as font, font size, alignment, and numbered and bulleted lists. When you select a button on the Main toolbar such as Show Draw Functions, the formatting tools on the Object bar are replaced with a set of drawing tools.

• Main toolbar This toolbar is the vertical toolbar on the left of the Writer window. It provides quick access to a number of features including the Insert Table and Insert Object commands and the Spell Check feature.

You can customize any of the toolbars. Right-click to the right of the Function bar or Object bar and select Customize from the shortcut menu. The Customize dialog box allows you to add or remove buttons from a selected toolbar.

The Writer toolbars provide quick access to a number of commands and Writer features.

You can customize the Writer toolbars.

The best way to navigate a multipage document is with the Navigator. It allows you to quickly jump to a particular object in a document such as a heading, frame, table, or graphic. It also provides a page spinner box that allows you to move quickly to any page in the document. The Navigator is opened using the Navigator button on the Function bar.

Tip

You can also open the Navigator by selecting the Navigator button on the vertical scrollbar, which also provides Next Page and Previous Page buttons.

Use the Navigator to move to a particular page or object in your document.

Note

Because the OpenOffice.org applications share a common interface, you can also apply the things that you learn as you use Writer, such as customizing toolbars, to the other application windows.