Creating a Document

When you start OpenOffice Writer, the window shown in Figure 11-1 opens.

Figure 11-1. OpenOffice Writer.

It opens with a blank document, ready for you to enter content.

All documents are based on a template. The document in the figure opens with a blank template, installed with OpenOffice Writer. The blank template is used because no default template has been defined. Templates are discussed later in this chapter.

You can create a new document by clicking File and selecting New->Text document. The file will open with the default template you have created, or with the blank template if you have not yet created a default template.

If you want to open the document with a template you have created, other than the default template, click File and select New->Documents and Templates.

The box on the right of the window is called the Stylist. It's used to apply character, paragraph, page, and other types of styles. Styles are discussed later in this chapter.