Glossary

The Glossary lists the main terms that are used in this Guide and gives short explanations to their meaning.

Applications

StarOffice 8 consists of different modules or applications that share a common user interface. The main applications for editing documents are called Writer, Calc, Impress, and Draw. You choose an application by selecting a document type. For example, use the file open dialog to open a text document. Then you automatically see the menus and toolbars of StarOffice Writer.

Context menu

Right-click any object in your document to open the context menu. The context menu shows the menu commands that are most probably wanted in the current context.

Docking windows

Windows like the Navigator or the Styles and Formatting window can be docked to any of the edges of the document area. Drag-and-drop the window's title bar to the edge. To “undock” a docked window, double-click somewhere in the gray area of the window where no icon is present.

Drag-and-drop

In StarOffice you can use the mouse to copy or move selected text or objects to other places. For example, to move text you first select some text, then click into the selection, keep the mouse button pressed, and drag the selection to another place. Release the mouse button when the insert cursor is at the insert position you want. If you hold down the Ctrl button when you release the mouse, the text is copied. Generally drag-and-drop also works with other objects, and also across different documents.

Gallery

The StarOffice Gallery is a window in which you can manage the graphics and sounds that you want to use in StarOffice. The Gallery objects are presorted into thematic folders that are called themes. You can create your own themes and add objects to the themes. The Gallery can be used best by drag-and-drop between Gallery and document.

Java™ programming environment

The Java™ programming environment (“Java”) contains among others the Java programming language and Java based tools and applications. In StarOffice 8, you can add functionality to your work environment using your own Java code. See “Macros” in the online help to find more information.

Macro

In the context of StarOffice, a macro is a sequence of steps that are written in a programming language like StarOffice Basic, Java, or JavaScript. You can use the macro recorder or write your own program code to add macros to StarOffice. The online help has more information, also on designing your own dialogs, assigning macros to events or keystrokes, and more.

Selecting and editing objects

In StarOffice you first select an object, then choose the command that you want to perform with the selected object. For example, first select a word in your text document, then choose the Format - Character command to edit the word's properties.

Toolbar

A small window filled with icons that perform common tasks, like inserting a chart. Toolbars can be positioned anywhere on the StarOffice screen. Drag-and-drop the toolbar's handle on the left side. Click the small triangle at the right end for a menu with more commands.