openoffice writer 2 in pictures

Writer 2.0 In Pictures

by Jill & Kevin Jordan

www.inpics.net

Writer 2.0 In Pictures

Copyright

This book is provided under a Creative Commons license at: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ You are free to download, copy, and share this electronic book with others. However, it is illegal to sell this book, or change it in any way. If you’d like to sell or change it, just contact us at [email protected].

Trademarks and Disclaimer

Visibooks™ is a trademark of Visibooks, LLC. All brand and product names in this book are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Visibooks™ makes every effort to ensure that the information in this book is accurate. However, Visibooks™ makes no warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the accuracy, quality, reliability, or freedom from error of this document or the products described in it. Visibooks™ makes no representation or warranty with respect to this book’s contents, and specifically disclaims any implied warranties or fitness for any particular purpose. Visibooks™ disclaims all liability for any direct, indirect, consequential, incidental, exemplary, or special damages resulting from the use of the information in this document or from the use of any products described in it. Mention of any product does not constitute an endorsement of that product by Visibooks™. Data used in examples are intended to be fictional. Any resemblance to real companies, people, or organizations is entirely coincidental. ISBN 1597061220

TABLE OF CONTENTS i

Table of Contents Writer Basics................................................... 1

Create a new document.........................................................................2

Cut, copy and paste .............................................................................13

Format words .......................................................................................22

Format paragraphs ..............................................................................38

Use bullets and numbering .................................................................49

Adjust page settings............................................................................56

Check spelling......................................................................................62

View pages ...........................................................................................65

Long Documents ........................................... 77

Format text with styles ........................................................................78

Find and replace.................................................................................101

Set tabs ...............................................................................................108

Insert breaks.......................................................................................113

Employ headers and footers.............................................................118

TABLE OF CONTENTS ii

Special Features .........................................133

Format pages in columns ................................................................. 134

Employ drop caps.............................................................................. 138

Insert pictures.................................................................................... 143

Draw and paint................................................................................... 151

Employ tables .................................................................................... 160

Advanced Writer ..........................................179

Employ templates.............................................................................. 180

Use the thesaurus.............................................................................. 190

Count words....................................................................................... 193

Insert table of contents ..................................................................... 196

WRITER BASICS 1

Writer Basics

In this section, you’ll learn how to:

• Create a new document

• Cut, copy and paste

• Format words

• Format paragraphs

• Use bullets and numbering

• Adjust page settings

• Check spelling

• View pages

WRITER BASICS 2

Create a new document

Type text

1. Start Writer.

WRITER BASICS 3

You should see a screen that looks like this:

2. In the blank document, type: Fax Cover Sheet at the top of the page.

WRITER BASICS 4

3. Press the ENTER key on your keyboard twice. The document should look like this:

Tip: Pressing the ENTER key twice should add two blank lines between the words Fax Cover Sheet and the blinking cursor.

WRITER BASICS 5

4. Type: To: David Richmond

5. Press the ENTER key on your keyboard.

6. Type: From: then press ENTER.

7. Type: Fax number: 260-555-1874 then press ENTER.

8. Type: Date: September 22, 2005 then press ENTER.

WRITER BASICS 6

9. Type: Total number of pages: 5 The document should now look like this:

WRITER BASICS 7

Create a folder for your document

1. In the Menu Bar, click File, then Save.

WRITER BASICS 8

2. When the Save as window appears, create a new folder in the My Documents folder called Writer Documents. Tip: Start in the My Documents folder.

If the My Documents folder is not listed as the Save in folder, navigate to it and select it.

WRITER BASICS 9

Then click the icon.

When the Create new folder window appears, type: Writer Documents

Then press ENTER.

WRITER BASICS 10

You should now see the new Writer Documents folder in the My Documents folder.

WRITER BASICS 11

3. Double-click the Writer Documents folder. The Writer Documents folder should be listed as the Save in folder.

WRITER BASICS 12

Save the document

1. In the File name box, type: Fax Cover Sheet

2. Click the button.

WRITER BASICS 13

Cut, copy and paste

Move text

1. Click at the beginning of the words Fax number: 260-555-1874

2. Holding your mouse button down, drag down one line so the Fax number line is highlighted.

3. Click the icon.

WRITER BASICS 14

Tip: The Standard and Formatting toolbars may share one row at the top of the window. Some buttons may be hidden:

To see all the buttons, click the Formatting toolbar’s handle (the light gray dotted vertical line)…

…and drag the Formatting toolbar down so it occupies a second row. Now the toolbars should be stacked one above the other:

To see what an icon does, rest your mouse on it for a full second. A yellow label will appear that tells you what it does:

WRITER BASICS 15

4. Click at the beginning of the last line on the page to place the cursor there.

5. Click the icon.

WRITER BASICS 16

The document should now look like this:

WRITER BASICS 17

Copy text

1. In the Menu Bar, click Edit, then Select All.

2. Click the icon.

WRITER BASICS 18

3. Click the icon.

This should create a new document. You should now have two Writer windows open, and a new blank document:

WRITER BASICS 19

Paste text

1. Click the icon.

All the text from the document Fax Cover Sheet should appear in the new document:

WRITER BASICS 20

2. Click the icon to save the new document.

3. Save the document as Fax Cover Sheet Copy in the Writer Documents folder.

WRITER BASICS 21

4. In the Menu Bar, click Window, then Fax Cover Sheet.doc.

This should return you to the original document:

WRITER BASICS 22

Format words

Change font

1. Make sure all the text is still selected. If it isn’t, click Edit, then Select All in the Menu Bar.

2. Click the drop-down arrow next to the Font list.

WRITER BASICS 23

3. When the Font list appears, click Free Times.

The text should look like this.

WRITER BASICS 24

4. Click the white space on the page to un-highlight the text.

5. Highlight the words Fax Cover Sheet.

WRITER BASICS 25

6. In the Font list, click Nimbus Sans L.

The text should look like this:

WRITER BASICS 26

7. Click in white space to un-highlight the text.

Using Fonts Fonts, or letter shapes, fall into two main categories: Serif and Sans Serif. Serif fonts have little “feet” at the bottom of letters, like Times New Roman:

Sans Serif fonts, like Arial, don’t have “feet” at the bottom of letters:

For the main text of a document, you may want to use a serif font. Their “feet” lead your eye across the page, and make long passages easier to read. You may want to use a sans serif font for headings. This makes a nice contrast: Sans Serif Heading The heading of this descriptive paragraph is in a sans serif font. See how it draws attention to this paragraph below it?

WRITER BASICS 27

Change font size

1. Highlight the words Fax Cover Sheet again. Then click the drop-down arrow next to the Font Size list.

2. When the Font Size list appears, click 16.

WRITER BASICS 28

3. Click in white space on the page to deselect the text. The words Fax Cover Sheet should now be larger:

4. Save the document.

WRITER BASICS 29

Change font style

1. Highlight the words Fax Cover Sheet, then click the icon.

The text should look like this:

WRITER BASICS 30

2. Click the icon again to un-bold the text. The text should look like this:

3. Click the icon.

WRITER BASICS 31

The text should now look like this:

4. Click the icon again to un-italicize the text.

5. Click the icon one more time.

6. Click in white space on the page to de-select the text. The text should look like this:

WRITER BASICS 32

Change font color


2. Click the drop-down arrow next to the icon.

3. When the Font Color grid appears, click Turquoise.

WRITER BASICS 33

4. Deselect the text. The text should now be turquoise-colored.


WRITER BASICS 34

Apply text effects


2. In the Menu Bar, click Format, then Character.

WRITER BASICS 35

3. When the Character window appears, click the Font Effects tab.

WRITER BASICS 36

4. In Font Effects, click the Effects drop-down arrow.

5. When the Effects list appears, click Capitals.


WRITER BASICS 37

7. Save the document. It should now look like this:

WRITER BASICS 38

Format paragraphs

Change paragraph alignment

1. Make sure the words FAX COVER SHEET are still highlighted,

then click the icon.

The document should look like this:

WRITER BASICS 39

2. Click the icon.

The text FAX COVER SHEET should shift to the center of the page.

WRITER BASICS 40

Indent paragraphs

1. Click at the end of the last line to place your cursor there.

2. Press ENTER twice to start a new line and create a little space below the last line of text.

3. Type the phrase: I’m planning a surprise party for Jeremy. His birthday is coming up this month. Do you have any ideas?

4. Click the icon.

WRITER BASICS 41


5. Click the icon again. The text should indent further:

WRITER BASICS 42

6. Click the icon.

The text should go back to its previous indent:


WRITER BASICS 43

Change line spacing

1. Make sure the cursor is still in the paragraph that begins I’m planning a … Then in the Menu Bar, click Format.

2. When the menu appears, click Paragraph.

WRITER BASICS 44

3. When the Paragraph window appears, click Double in the Line spacing drop-down list.

WRITER BASICS 45

4. Click the button. The paragraph should now be double-spaced:

WRITER BASICS 46

Apply borders

1. Click the first line, FAX COVER SHEET, to place your cursor in it.

2. In the Menu Bar, click Format.

3. When the menu appears, click Page.

WRITER BASICS 47

4. When the Page window appears, make sure the Borders tab is on top.

Then under Line Arrangement, click the icon.

WRITER BASICS 48

5. In the Style list, click double line 1.10pt.

6. Click the button. The page should now have a double-line border around it:


WRITER BASICS 49

Use bullets and numbering

Apply bullets

1. Highlight the lines from To: David Richmond through Total Number of Pages: 5

2. Click the icon.

WRITER BASICS 50

The lines should now look like this:

Tip: If you want to just start a new line under the same bullet, use a soft return. Soft returns start a new line instead of a new paragraph. To do a soft return, place your cursor at the end of a line, hold down the SHIFT key on your keyboard, then press ENTER. Example:

• Paragraph. • New Paragraph.

It gets its own bullet.

• Paragraph. Soft-returned line beneath paragraph.

Since it’s in the same paragraph, it doesn’t get its own bullet.

WRITER BASICS 51

Apply numbering

1. Click the icon.

The lines should now look like this:

2. Click the icon again to remove the numbers.

WRITER BASICS 52

Tip: Sometimes Writer carries over numbering from a previous numbered list into a new list.

To restart numbering, place the cursor in the first line of the numbered list.

On the Bullets and Numbering toolbar, click the icon.

WRITER BASICS 53

Change bullet character

1. Click the icon to make the lines bulleted again.

2. In the Menu Bar, click Format, then Bullets and Numbering.

WRITER BASICS 54

3. When the Bullets and Numbering window appears, make sure the Bullets tab is on top. Then click the Diamonds bullet.

WRITER BASICS 55

4. Click the button. Click the white space to un-highlight the text. The lines should now look like this:


WRITER BASICS 56

Adjust page settings

Set margins

1. In the Menu Bar, click Format, then Page.

WRITER BASICS 57

2. When the Page Style window appears, make sure the Page tab is on top. Then under Margins, enter 0.75” for the Top, Bottom, Left and Right margins.

WRITER BASICS 58

Change orientation

1. Under the Page Format section, click the Landscape radio button.

This changes the page orientation to horizontal.

WRITER BASICS 59

2. Click Portrait.

This will change the page orientation back to vertical.

WRITER BASICS 60

Set paper size

1. Click the drop-down arrow next to Format, then click Legal.

WRITER BASICS 61

2. Change paper size back to Letter.

3. Click the button. The new .75” page margins should take effect.


WRITER BASICS 62

Check spelling

1. Change the words FAX COVER SHEET at the top of the page to read: FAXE COVER SHEET

2. Click in blank white space on the page. A red squiggly line should appear under the word FAXE:

3. Click the icon.

WRITER BASICS 63

The Spellcheck window should appear, with the word FaxE in the top half of the window.

4. Choose the correct spelling of Fax from the list of suggestions.

WRITER BASICS 64


6. When the Spellcheck is Complete window appears, click the

button.

7. Change the words Fax Cover Sheet back to All Caps.

8. Save the document. Tip: You can also right click on a word with a red squiggly line. A list of alternate spellings will appear in the pop up menu.

AutoCorrect You might notice that Writer automatically corrects common spelling errors. If you type teh, it will automatically change it to the. This feature is called AutoCorrect. You can see all of the entries for AutoCorrect by clicking Tools, then AutoCorrect. You can even add AutoCorrect entries for common typos you make.

WRITER BASICS 65

View pages

Show/Hide invisible symbols

1. Click the icon.

Symbols representing hard returns, spaces, tab characters and soft returns should appear.

WRITER BASICS 66

2. Click the icon again. The symbols should disappear.

Nonprinting Characters The Nonprinting Characters icon displays invisible formatting symbols. It can be very helpful for troubleshooting. Paragraph symbols represent hard returns.

The dots between words represent spaces.

Right arrows represent tab characters.

Bent arrows represent soft returns.

WRITER BASICS 67

Change the Zoom level

1. Click the drop-down arrow in the Zoom list.

2. When the list appears, click 200%.

WRITER BASICS 68

The screen should look like this:

3. Click the drop-down arrow in the Zoom list again, then click 75%.

WRITER BASICS 69


4. Click the drop-down arrow in the Zoom list again, then click Page Width.

WRITER BASICS 70


WRITER BASICS 71

Preview a document

1. Click the icon.


WRITER BASICS 72

2. Click the icon near the top of the document.

The view should zoom in so the text is legible:

WRITER BASICS 73

3. Click the icon. The view should zoom out:

4. Click the icon.


WRITER BASICS 74

Print a document

1. In the Menu Bar, click File, then Print.

WRITER BASICS 75

The Print window should appear. Notice the options available:


3. Close the Fax Cover Sheet Copy document.

WRITER BASICS 76

LONG DOCUMENTS 77

Long Documents


• Format text with styles

• Find and replace

• Set tabs

• Insert breaks

• Employ headers and footers

LONG DOCUMENTS 78

Format text with styles

Download a document

1. Open a Web browser and go to: www.inpics.net/books/writ2

2. Place the cursor over the PartyPlanning.doc link, then click your right mouse button.

LONG DOCUMENTS 79

3. When the menu appears, click Save Link Target As.

4. When the Save As window appears, navigate to the Writer Documents folder, so it appears in the Look in box.

LONG DOCUMENTS 80

5. Click the button. This will save PartyPlanning.doc in the Writer Documents folder.

6. Close the browser.

LONG DOCUMENTS 81

Open an existing document

1. On the Standard toolbar, click the icon.

2. In the list of folders and files, double-click Writer Documents.

It should now appear as the Save in folder.

LONG DOCUMENTS 82

3. Click PartyPlanning.doc once to select it.

Then click the button.

LONG DOCUMENTS 83

Apply styles

1. Click in front of the first word, Party, to place your cursor there:

2. Click the Style drop-down arrow.

3. When the Style list appears, click Heading 1.

LONG DOCUMENTS 84

4. Click in front of the word Overview in the second line:

5. Click the Style drop-down arrow.

6. In the Style list, click Heading 2.

LONG DOCUMENTS 85

7. Save the document in the Writer Documents folder as My Party Planning. It should look like this:

LONG DOCUMENTS 86

Create new styles

1. Scroll down about 1/2 of the way down the document.

2. Highlight the words Haunted maze/house ++

3. Make this text bold and italic.

LONG DOCUMENTS 87

4. Change the font size to 14 points.

5. Click inside the Style box and highlight its contents.

Then type: Activities

6. Press the ENTER key on your keyboard.

LONG DOCUMENTS 88

7. Click the drop-down arrow beside the Style box. Activities should be listed among the styles.

8. In the document, highlight: Charades ++

LONG DOCUMENTS 89

9. Click the drop-down arrow next to the Style box. When the list of styles appears, click the Activities style.

This should apply the Activities style to the text.

LONG DOCUMENTS 90

The text Charades ++ should now look like this:

LONG DOCUMENTS 91

Modify a style

1. Click in front of the word Overview to place the cursor there.

The Heading 2 style should appear in the Style box:

LONG DOCUMENTS 92

2. In the Menu Bar, click Format, then Styles and Formatting.

LONG DOCUMENTS 93

3. When the Styles and Formatting pane appears, place the cursor on the Heading 2 style.

LONG DOCUMENTS 94

4. Right-click the Heading 2 style.

5. In the list that appears, click Modify.

LONG DOCUMENTS 95

6. When the Paragraph Style window appears, click the Font tab.

LONG DOCUMENTS 96

7. In the Typeface box, click Italic.

LONG DOCUMENTS 97

8. Click the button. The text should now look like this:

9. Close the Styles and Formatting pane by clicking its icon.

LONG DOCUMENTS 98

10. In the My Party Planning document, apply the Heading 2 style to the text Party Themes What to do and How to decorate

11. Apply the Activities style to the text Scavenger Hunt +++ and Limbo +

12. Format the text Western Party so it’s bold and italic.

LONG DOCUMENTS 99

13. Save the formatting for Western Party as a style named Themes:

14. Apply the Themes style to the text Retro/Flashback Party Luau Casino Spa Party Mystery/Who Done It and Super Bowl

LONG DOCUMENTS 100

15. Change the Themes style so it’s not italic.

16. Save the My Party Planning document. When you’re done, it should look like this:

LONG DOCUMENTS 101

Find and replace

Find words

1. Place the cursor at the beginning of the My Party Planning document.

2. In the Menu Bar, click Edit, then Find & Replace.

LONG DOCUMENTS 102

3. When the Find & Replace window appears, type: birthday in the Search for box.


5. Click the button. The word birthday should be highlighted:

LONG DOCUMENTS 103

Replace words

1. Place the cursor at the top of the document.

2. Click Edit, then Find & Replace.

LONG DOCUMENTS 104

3. When the Find & Replace window appears, type: Super Bowl in the Search for textbox.

LONG DOCUMENTS 105

4. In the Replace with textbox, type: Championship Game

5. Click the button. The first instance of Super Bowl is highlighted.

LONG DOCUMENTS 106

6. Click the button again. Appropriate occasion(s): The Super Bowl… is the next text found.

7. Click the button. The words Super Bowl should be replaced by Championship Game.

LONG DOCUMENTS 107


9. Save the My Party Planning document.

LONG DOCUMENTS 108

Set tabs

1. Scroll down to the text What to do

2. Highlight the three lines under Enjoyment rating.

Notice the tab symbol in the ruler:

LONG DOCUMENTS 109

3. Click the icon to the left of the ruler.

It should change to a tab.

Tip: If the ruler is not visible, click View In the Menu Bar, then Ruler.

LONG DOCUMENTS 110

4. Click the icon again.

It should change to a tab.

5. Click the icon again.

It should change to the tab.

6. Place the cursor at 2 inches on the ruler, then click.

A tab should be set, with the activity ratings centered vertically on the tab marker.

LONG DOCUMENTS 111

7. Place the cursor on the tab marker, then drag it to the left 0.5 inches so it rests on 1.5.

The activity ratings should move closer to the + symbols:

8. Save the My Party Planning document.

9. Highlight the three lines under Expense Rating.

LONG DOCUMENTS 112

10. Set a right-aligned tab at 1.5". The page should look like this:

11. Save the My Party Planning document, then close it.

LONG DOCUMENTS 113

Insert breaks

Insert a page break

1. Open My Party Planning.

2. On the first page of the document, click in front of the word Overview to place your cursor there.

3. In the Menu Bar, click Insert, then Manual Break.

LONG DOCUMENTS 114

4. When the Insert Break window appears, make sure Page Break is selected.

5. Click the button. The word Overview should move to the next page.

LONG DOCUMENTS 115

Insert a section break

1. Scroll to the text Party Themes then click in front of the P.

2. In the Menu Bar, click Insert, then Section.

Section breaks Section breaks allow you to format different parts of a document differently. By breaking up a document into different sections, you can apply different page numbers or margins to different parts of the same document.

LONG DOCUMENTS 116

3. When the Insert Section window appears, click the button. Party Themes should move to the next section.


5. Insert a Section Break before each of the following headings: What to do How to decorate

LONG DOCUMENTS 117

6. Save the document. It should look like this:

LONG DOCUMENTS 118

Employ headers and footers

Insert page numbers

1. Return to the first page of the My Party Planning document.

2. In the Menu Bar, click Insert, then Header.

LONG DOCUMENTS 119

3. Click Default.

The header area should now be displayed at the top of the page.

4. In the Menu Bar, click Insert, then Footer.

LONG DOCUMENTS 120

5. Click Default.

The footer area should now be displayed at the bottom of the page.

LONG DOCUMENTS 121

6. With the cursor in the footer area, In the Menu Bar, click Insert, then Fields, then Page Number.


LONG DOCUMENTS 122

Insert headers

1. Scroll to the top of the document, then click in the header area.

2. In the Header area, type: Party Planning

LONG DOCUMENTS 123

3. Party Planning should now be at the top of every page.

LONG DOCUMENTS 124

Remove headers/footers from first page

1. Click the header Party Planning to edit the Header area on the first page.

2. On the Toolbar, click the icon.

LONG DOCUMENTS 125

3. In the Styles and Formatting palette, click the icon.

LONG DOCUMENTS 126

4. Click and drag to highlight Party Planning in the first page header.

5. Click the icon.

6. In the Styles and Formatting palette, double-click First Page.

LONG DOCUMENTS 127

The header should disappear from page one:

7. Scroll down until you see the header area on page 2.

LONG DOCUMENTS 128

8. Click in the header area on page 2, then click the icon.

Tip: The style of this header should be Default in the Style and Formatting palette.

LONG DOCUMENTS 129

Set different headers and footers

1. Highlight the words Party Planning in the header.

Using different headers/footers For long documents like manuals and proposals, you might want to give each new section (or chapter) of the document a different header and/or footer. If a section break has been inserted at the beginning of each new chapter, you can create different headers and footers for each chapter.

LONG DOCUMENTS 130

2. Type the word Overview to replace Party Planning.

3. Scroll to the next page.

This is the Party Themes section of the document, but its header still says Overview.

LONG DOCUMENTS 131

4. Change Overview to Party Themes.

5. Save the Party Planning document.

6. Go to the next section.

7. Change the Header for that section to read: What to do

LONG DOCUMENTS 132

8. Change the Header for the next section to read: How to decorate Go to Page Preview and observe the headers and footers. Each section should have the correct header.

9. Save and close the document.

SPECIAL FEATURES 133

Special Features


• Format pages in columns

• Employ drop caps

• Insert pictures

• Draw and paint

• Employ tables


Format pages in columns

1. Using the browser, go to: www.inpics.net/books/writ2

2. Download FreshIdeas.doc and save it in the Writer Documents folder.

3. Open FreshIdeas.doc in Writer.

4. Highlight the text from the first headline Plan the best birthday party to the end of the document.


5. In the Menu Bar, click Format, then Columns.


6. When the Columns window appears, click the icon.

Make sure Current Section appears in the Apply To box.

Then click the button. Tip: If you don’t highlight text first, columns will be applied to the entire document.



7. Save it in the Writer Documents folder.


Employ drop caps

1. Click in the first paragraph: Planning the best birthday party does not mean…

2. In the Menu Bar, click Format, then Paragraph.


3. When the Paragraph window appears, make sure the Drop Caps tab is selected and check Display drop caps.

4. In the Character Style drop-down list, click Drop Caps.



6. In the Styles and Formatting pane, click the icon.


7. Right-click Drop Caps, then click Modify.

8. Select the Lucida Sans font and 16pt size.



The paragraph should now begin with a dropped capital letter:


Insert pictures

1. Click at the beginning of the text Your Guide to Party Planning

2. In the Menu Bar, click Insert, Picture, then From File.


3. When the Insert Picture window appears, click apples.gif, then

click the button.



Move and resize pictures

1. Click and drag the picture to the top of the second column.

2. While holding down the SHIFT key on your keyboard, click and drag the picture’s resize handle down and to the right about an inch.


This should make the picture larger:

Tip: Holding down the SHIFT key ensures the picture will resize proportionally. If you don’t hold down the SHIFT key, the picture will be stretched horizontally or vertically, and will be out of proportion:


If you accidentally distort the picture, just click the picture, then

click the icon on the Picture toolbar.

Next, click the button and button. This returns the picture back to its original size.


Wrap text around pictures

1. On the Picture toolbar, click the icon.

Tip: If you don’t see the Picture toolbar, click View In the Menu Bar, then Toolbars, then Picture.

2. When the Picture window appears, make sure the Wrap tab is

selected, then click the button.


Tip: If the picture disappears…

…scroll down to the bottom of the first column. The picture should be there. Then just click and drag the picture back to the top of the second column.



Draw and paint

Draw shapes

1. In the Menu Bar, click View, then Toolbars, then Drawing.


The Drawing toolbar should appear at the bottom of the window.

2. Click the icon.


3. In the upper left corner of the page, click and drag diagonally to draw a rectangle about 1 inch wide by ½ inch tall.

4. On your keyboard, press the DELETE key to delete the rectangle.

5. Click the icon on the Drawing toolbar again.


6. On your keyboard, hold down the SHIFT key. Then click and drag to draw a square in the upper left corner of the page.

Tip: Holding the SHIFT key down when drawing creates a square, a circle or other proportional shape.

7. Delete the square.


8. On the Drawing toolbar, click the down arrow beside the icon.

9. When the menu appears, click the third star.

10. Click and drag in the upper left corner of the page (outside the margin) to draw a 1.5 inch star.


Change shape color

1. In the Drawing Object Properties toolbar, click the Color Selection arrow.

2. When the color list appears, click Yellow.



Add text to a shape

1. Double-click in the middle of the star.

2. Type: Party!

3. Click and drag the right resize handle about a ¼ inch to the right.


This should make the star wider so all the text is visible.

4. Double-click the star, then highlight the text Party!

5. Change the font to Lucida Sans.

If necessary, click the star and drag it to the top of the page so it’s not blocking any of the text.


6. Save the document. It should now look like this:


Employ tables

Insert a table

1. Click in the blank line above the text Easy party idea: Citrus Punch


2. In the Menu Bar, click Table, Insert, then Table.


3. When the Insert Table window appears, enter 3 for the columns and 3 for the rows.

4. Click the button. The document should now look like this:


5. Press the TAB key on your keyboard to move the cursor to the second cell of the table.

6. Type: 10-24

7. Type this information in the table cells:

10-24 25-49 Birthdays $35 $75 Anniversaries $50 $100



Tables vs. tabs If you just want to line up a couple of items, tabs work well. For large sets of information, tables work better. Tables also provide more formatting options for borders and shading.


Add rows and columns

1. Make sure the cursor is in the last cell of the table, then press the TAB key on your keyboard. This should insert a new row in the table.

2. In the new row, type:

3. Place your cursor above 25-49. When the cursor turns into an arrow, click.

Baby Showers $75 $150


This should highlight the last column of the table:

4. In the Menu Bar, click Table, Insert, then Columns.


5. When the Insert Columns window appears, click the button.

6. When the new column appears, type:

10-24 24-49 50+ Birthdays $35 $75 $100 Anniversaries $50 $100 $150 Baby Showers $75 $150 $250

7. Click to the left of the first cell in the table, with the cursor an arrow:


This should highlight the entire first row.

8. In the Menu Bar, click Table, Insert, then Rows.


9. When the Insert Rows window appears, click the Before radio

button, then click the button.

10. In the first cell of the table, type: Guests

11. Save the document. The table should look like this:


Merge cells

1. Click in the first cell of the first row, then drag across to the last cell. This should highlight the first row.


2. In the Menu Bar, click Table, then Merge Cells.

3. Bold and center the text in the first row.


Change column width

1. Place the cursor between the first and second columns.

Click and drag the column divider to the right.

The first column should get wider, while the second column gets narrower.


2. Place the cursor to the left of the second row, until it turns into an arrow.

Click and drag the cursor down to highlight the bottom four rows of the table.


3. In the Menu Bar, click Table, AutoFit, then Distribute Columns Evenly.

The table should now look like this:


Apply borders and shading

1. Highlight the entire first row of the table.

2. In the Table toolbar, click the icon.

Tip: If you don’t see the Table toolbar, click View, then Toolbars, then Table.

3. When the Background window appears, click Sun 4 in the last row of the color grid.


4. Place the cursor just above and to the left of the table. When the cursor turns into an arrow, click.

5. On the Table toolbar, click the icon.


6. When the Border Style window appears, click None in the first row.

The table’s border lines should disappear.

7. Save and close the document. It should look like this:

ADVANCED WRITER 179

Advanced Writer


• Employ templates

• Use the thesaurus

• Count words

• Insert a Table of Contents

ADVANCED WRITER 180

Employ templates

1. In the Menu Bar, click File, then Wizards, then Letter.

Templates Templates are documents in which all the formatting and layout has already been done. When you create a new document using a template, all you do is plug in your information. For instance, when writing a letter, you can start with the Letter template. Just plug in the name and address of the recipient, the body text, and your letter is ready.

ADVANCED WRITER 181

2. In the Letter Wizard window, click the button.

ADVANCED WRITER 182

3. In Step 3, uncheck Logo, then click the button.

ADVANCED WRITER 183

4. In Step 4, click the New sender address radio button and enter your information. The screen should look like this, but with your information.


ADVANCED WRITER 184

6. When a new document opens, click the text <First Name>

7. Type: David

ADVANCED WRITER 185

8. Click the text <Last Name>

9. Type: Story

ADVANCED WRITER 186

10. Fill in the rest of the recipient’s address as follows: Party Palace 1095 North Court Columbia City, IN 46725

11. Highlight the text [Subject]

12. Type: Supplies

ADVANCED WRITER 187

13. Highlight the paragraph that begins <Enter your text here>

14. Type: Thank you for your interest in party streamers and supplies. I have enclosed a pamphlet that details our products.

15. Save the document in the Writer Documents folder as David Letter.

16. Close the document.

ADVANCED WRITER 188

Practice

1. Create a new document using the Professional Fax wizard.

2. For the Company Name, type:

Party Palace

3. For the return address, type: 1095 North Court

4. Enter the following information for sending the fax: To: Kent Longenbaugh Fax: 260-555-1345 Phone: 260-555-1344 Subject: Shipping Confirmation From: David Story No. of Pages: 1

5. Replace the Text section with the following: We have shipped your package and its tracking number is 1234445. You should receive it on 10/1/05 Thanks for shopping at Party Palace!

6. Save the document in the Writer Documents folder as Kent Fax Sheet.

ADVANCED WRITER 189

7. Close the document.

ADVANCED WRITER 190

Use the thesaurus

1. Open the document David Letter.

2. Click the word pamphlet.

3. In the Menu Bar, click Tools, Language, then Thesaurus.

ADVANCED WRITER 191

4. When the Thesaurus window appears, click brochure.


ADVANCED WRITER 192


6. Save and close David Letter.

ADVANCED WRITER 193

Count words

1. Open your browser and go to: www.inpics.net/books/writ2

2. Download PartyPlanningFinished.doc and save it in the Writer Documents folder.

3. Open PartyPlanningFinished.doc.

4. Save it as Party Planning Advanced in the Writer Documents folder.

ADVANCED WRITER 194

5. In the Menu Bar, click Tools, then Word Count.

ADVANCED WRITER 195

When the Word Count window appears, it should show 942 words.

6. Close the Word Count window.

ADVANCED WRITER 196

Insert table of contents

1. Go to page 2 of the document Party Planning Advanced.

2. Insert a page break in front of the word Overview.

3. Go back one page to the blank page.

4. Click at the top of the blank page to put your cursor there.

Table of contents Writer will generate a table of contents based on text that is formatted using the Heading styles. You must use Styles to generate a table of contents.

ADVANCED WRITER 197

5. In the Menu Bar, click Insert, Indexes and Tables, then Indexes and Tables.

ADVANCED WRITER 198

6. Click the button to accept the default settings. The page should look like this:

7. Save and close Party Planning Advanced.

GLOSSARY 199

Glossary Bullet A symbol used at the beginning of each line in a list of items. Bulleted lists can be used to outline points in a document. Column A vertical set of cells in a table. Copy A command that duplicates selected text or graphics. It sends the information to the Clipboard so you can put it somewhere else. Cut A command that removes selected text or graphics. It sends the information to the Clipboard so you can put it somewhere else. Drop Cap A large initial letter at the beginning of a paragraph. The top of the letter is aligned with the top of the text in the line, and the rest of the text in the paragraph flows around the large initial letter. Footer An area in the bottom margin of each page of a document where you can insert text, numbers, or graphics that print on each page, such as page numbers. Formatting toolbar A row of icons that contains commands for formatting text. Hard Return A command that ends the current line of text and starts a new paragraph.

GLOSSARY 200

Header An area in the top margin of each page of a document where you can insert text, numbers, or graphics that print at the top each page, such as a chapter heading. Indent Moves the text of a paragraph either further away, or closer to either the left or right margin. Line Spacing The amount of space between the lines of text in a paragraph. Double spacing creates a blank line of space between each line of text in the paragraph. Menu Bar A horizontal bar across the top of a window that contains written commands. Page Break A break that ends the current page and starts a new page. Page Margins The blank space between the edge of the page and where the text begins. You can set different amounts of space for the top, bottom, left and right sides of the page. Page Orientation The horizontal or vertical layout of text on a page. Paste A command that places text or graphics from the Clipboard into a document. Row A horizontal set of cells in a table.

GLOSSARY 201

Section Break A break that ends the current section and begins a new section. Sections allow you to vary the layout of a document. Section A portion of the document bounded by section breaks. You can vary the layout of each portion, i.e. with different page numbering, different columns, or different headers or footers. Soft Return A break that ends the current line of text and starts a new line. You can use a soft return to start a new line in a bulleted or numbered list without creating a new bullet or number. Standard Toolbar A row of icons that contains frequently-used commands, such as saving, copying, and pasting text. Style A set of formatting characteristics applied to text. Styles help format long documents without repetitive formatting. Styles also help keep formatting consistent throughout the document. Table A display of columns and rows that can contain text and/or graphics in the cells. Tab A marker that allows you to line up text at the left, right, center, or against a decimal character. Templates A document in which all formatting and layout has already been done. You can just add the necessary text to the document. There are templates for letters, faxes, and even reports.

GLOSSARY 202

Where To Get In Pictures Books

If you liked this book, and would like to buy more like it, visit:

www.inpics.net

In Pictures offers more than 20 titles on subjects such as:

• Computer Basics

• Microsoft Office

• Desktop Linux

• OpenOffice.org

• Web Site Layout

• Web Graphics

• Web Programming

In Pictures: computer books based on pictures, not text.

www.inpics.net

openoffice writer 2 in pictures

Documents

trademark of visibooks

disclaimer visibooks

electronic book

format pages

books contents

format text

format words

format paragraphs