OpenOffice.org Writer

Start Writer by clicking on the big K, scrolling up to the OpenOffice.org menu (in some distributions, check under the Office menu), and clicking on OpenOffice.org Writer. The first time you start Writer, the welcome wizard will appear, with a few questions as it sets up your work environment.

Move past the introductory screen by clicking Next, and you'll be presented with the OpenOffice.org license agreement. Scroll down as you read by pressing the Scroll down button. When you get to the end, the grayed-out Accept button will be available. Click Accept to move to the next screen. Here you will enter your name and initials (Figure 13-1). This information is used in the Properties dialog to identify documents you create. Fill this in and click Next.

Figure 13-1. The OpenOffice.org welcome wizard.

On the last screen, the wizard asks whether you wish to register as an OpenOffice.org user. This is entirely up to you, and there's no need to register if you don't want to. However, registration does add to the official OpenOffice.org numbers, and it provides a means by which the development team can inform you of interesting changes or updates with the package. Click Finish and you are done.

Shell Out

To run OpenOffice.org Writer from the command line (or via your <Alt+F2> shortcut), use the command oowriter (think OpenOffice.org Writer). Please note that some distributions may still use swriter (the StarOffice version of the command).

OpenOffice.org Writer starts up with a blank page, ready for you to release that inner creative genius (Figure 13-2). At the top of the screen, you'll find a menu bar where commands are organized based on their categories, including the friendly-sounding Help submenu (more on that shortly).

Figure 13-2. OpenOffice.org Writer on startup.