Chapter 3 Getting to Know the StarOffice Suite

This chapter describes how to start the StarOffice 9 programs and how to work with the elements that are common to all applications.

Starting the StarOffice 9 Programs

The way you start the StarOffice 9 programs depends on the operating system that you use.

• To start the StarOffice programs on Windows, double-click the StarOffice 9 icon on your desktop.

• To start the StarOffice programs on the Linux or Solaris platforms, do one of the following:

  • Open a terminal window and type soffice.

  • Choose Launch->Applications->StarOffice 9, if available.

  • On the desktop, double-click the StarOffice 9 icon, if available.

• To start the StarOffice programs on Mac OS X, click the StarOffice icon in the application folder.

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  Note –

  To enable instant access to the icon on Mac OS X, copy the icon to the Application dock.

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The Welcome Wizard and the Start Center

When you start the StarOffice 9 software the first time, the Welcome Wizard displays a series of dialog boxes. You are asked to read and accept the license agreement, provide your name, and choose whether to register the software.

Registration of the software is recommended, although not required. You can also register at a later time from the Help menu. When you choose to register, your web browser opens the registration page at sun.com. Open https://reg.sun.com/whyregister to read about the benefits of joining the Sun user community.

Following the Welcome Wizard, the StarOffice 9 window appears, displaying the Start Center.

Click an icon to start the related StarOffice 9 program. For example, click the Text Document icon to open a new Writer document. The icons at the bottom of the Start Center display web pages in your web browser.

You also see the Start Center when no StarOffice 9 document windows are open.

Using Menus, Toolbars, and Shortcut Keys

You can use menu commands, toolbars, shortcut keys, or a combination of all three methods to accomplish tasks in the StarOffice 9 programs. Icons on a toolbar or shortcut keys can speed up frequently performed tasks, such as copying and pasting text in a document.

Common Menus

The menu bar at the top of the StarOffice 9 window lists the commands that you can use with the currently selected items. Select the name of a menu, and then choose the command that you want to use. Unavailable commands are displayed in gray.

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Tip –

You can also choose a command by pressing a combination of keys. For example, to open a document, press Control-O, that is, hold down the Control key and then press the O key. On Mac OS X, use the Command key instead of the Control key.

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Another way to access StarOffice commands is through a context menu. To open a context menu, select a text passage or an object in your document, and right-click.

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Note –

If you are using a Macintosh keyboard, replace the names of the keys in this guide with the equivalent keys on your keyboard. Use the appropriate replacement for a right-click if you have a single-button mouse.

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Common Toolbars

A toolbar is a set of icons that represent common commands. To access one of these commands, click the icon for the command on the toolbar.

The Standard toolbar is located below the menus at the top of each StarOffice program window. In the following figure, the Formatting toolbar, which contains tools to format text, is below the Standard toolbar. The Table toolbar represents a detached or floating toolbar that opens when your cursor is in a table.

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Tip –

If you rest your mouse pointer over a toolbar icon, the name of the command that the icon represents is displayed in a yellow box. To see an Extended Help Tip, press Shift-F1.

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Showing and Hiding Toolbars

Most toolbars open and close based on your actions. For example, when you click in a table in your text document, the Table toolbar opens. Click outside the table and the toolbar closes automatically.

The StarOffice programs keep track of the state, size, and position of toolbars . When you close a floating toolbar by clicking the toolbar's Close icon, the toolbar is temporarily closed. The toolbar remains permanently closed when you choose View->Toolbars and the name of the toolbar. Choose the same command to enable the toolbar again.

To show a hidden toolbar

1. Choose View->Toolbars and click the toolbar name.

Moving and Sizing Toolbars

To move a toolbar, drag the handle at the left edge of a docked toolbar or the title bar of a floating toolbar to another position on the screen. To attach the toolbar, drag the toolbar to the edge of the program window.

The image shows two toolbars that are docked next to each other.

To resize a floating toolbar, drag an edge of the toolbar. For example, you can drag the horizontal Table toolbar to a vertical shape.

To show or hide icons from a toolbar, click the arrow at the end of the toolbar, choose Visible Buttons, and select a button.

To add more commands to the toolbar, click the arrow at the end of the toolbar, then choose Customize Toolbar.

Shortcut Keys

You can use shortcut keys to quickly perform common tasks in the StarOffice programs. Shortcut keys are one or more keys that you press on the keyboard to complete a task. For example, press Control-S to save the current document. On Mac OS X, use the Command key instead of the Control key. See Appendix for a list of commonly used shortcut keys.

Using Wizards

A wizard presents as a series of dialog boxes that guide you through the process of creating a document, such as a letter. To start a wizard, choose File->Wizards in any StarOffice program.

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Note –

Some wizards start automatically, for example when you create a database form document, or when you export a spreadsheet to HTML format.

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Using Templates

The StarOffice programs use templates to store the layout and the formatting styles of documents. You can format a new document by using one of the many specialized templates that are included. See To Create a New Document From a Template for more information on using templates.

Using the Gallery

The Gallery contains graphics, animations, and sounds that you can add to your documents. See Adding Pictures to Your Slides to find out how to use the Gallery.

Working With Documents

The following sections describe how to create, open, print, and save documents.

To Create a New Document

1. In any StarOffice program, choose File->New, and then click the type of document that you want to create.

To Open an Existing Document

1. In any StarOffice program, choose File->Open.

2. Locate the document that you want to open, and then click Open.

   You can also open a document that is not in StarOffice format, for example, Microsoft Excel format (.xls).

   When you open or save a document, StarOffice can display the native file dialog box of your operating system or its own dialog box. You can change this setting by choosing Tools->Options->StarOffice->General.

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   Tip –

   The StarOffice programs display a list of recently saved files on the File menu. To open one of these files, choose File->Recent Documents and click the file name.

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To Print a Document

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Tip –

If you do not need to change the default printing options for the document, click the Print File Directly icon on the Standard toolbar.

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1. In any StarOffice program, choose File->Print.

2. In the Print dialog box, specify the printing options that you want.

3. (Optional) Click Options to specify additional printing options.

4. Click OK.

To Save a Document

You can save your StarOffice documents in many different formats including Microsoft Office formats (the Microsoft Office Open XML formats cannot be saved). You can freely choose where to save each document–on your computer, a network computer, or a file server on the web.

1. In any StarOffice program, choose File->Save or File->Save As.

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   Note –

   If you want to save the document with another name, choose File->Save As.

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2. In the File name field, type a name for the document.

3. (Optional) In the File type box, select the format that you want to save the document in, for example Microsoft Word format.

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   Note –

   To ensure that no information is lost, save the document in the OpenDocument file format.

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4. Click Save.

   The document is saved with the appropriate file name extension.

To Export a Document to a Different Format

When you export a document, the current document is not changed. The StarOffice software creates a new file with a different file format. For example, you can export an object from a Draw document to a JPEG image.

Other available export formats include Macromedia Flash SWF and HTML Document.

1. In any StarOffice program, choose File->Export.

2. In the File name field, type a name for the document.

3. In the File type field, select the format for the exported document, for example, HTML document.

4. Click Export.

To Export the Current Document as PDF

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Tip –

If you do not need to change the default PDF options, click the PDF icon on the Standard toolbar.

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1. Choose File->Export as PDF.

2. In the PDF Options dialog box, specify the options that you want, and then press Export.

3. In the File name field, type a name for the document.

4. Click Export.

To Send the Current Document as an Email Attachment

1. Click the Document as E-mail icon on the Standard toolbar.

   The default email program on your operating system opens and displays a blank message with the document as an attachment.

   Choose File->Send to send the current document in a format that is appropriate for Microsoft Office users.

   For example, you can choose to send the current text document in Microsoft Word format. This command creates a temporary copy of the current document in a format that Microsoft Word users can read, then opens a window where you can provide the recipient's email address. The temporary file is attached.

Migrating From Microsoft Office

If you have used other office suites before, you should find the StarOffice programs familiar enough to work with right away. The StarOffice suite simplifies the transition by enabling you to open and save documents that were saved in a different format, including Microsoft Office format.

About Microsoft Office Documents

The Microsoft Office .doc. .xls, and .ppt file formats save your data in a proprietary format. By contrast, the StarOffice 9 suite uses the OpenDocument file format (ODF), an open and standardized format, to save your data. However, the StarOffice suite can also open and save documents in Microsoft Office format (you can only read, not write, the Microsoft Office Open XML format).

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Note –

To preserve all formatting information in a document, always save a copy of the document in the OpenDocument file format (ODF).

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Documents That Contain Microsoft Visual Basic Macros

The StarOffice software by default does not run Microsoft Visual Basic macros. To use Visual Basic macros in the StarOffice programs, you must rewrite the macros in the StarOffice Basic, JavaScript^TM, or Java^TM programming languages. If you just want to edit a Microsoft Office document that contains a macro, you can open, edit, and save the document in Microsoft Office format, without affecting the macro.

You can enable execution of Microsoft Visual Basic code for .xls spreadsheets. Choose Tools->Options->Load/Save->VBA Properties and select the Executable Code checkbox.

Finding StarOffice Software Features by Microsoft Office Names

Although the StarOffice programs are similar to Microsoft Office, not all terms and concepts are the same. For example, the formatting and layout of a Microsoft Word document is determined by a .dot template file. In StarOffice Writer, the formatting and layout of a document is defined by styles. Styles provide greater flexibility and more control over the appearance of your documents than the template concept.

The following table matches Microsoft Office features with the equivalent StarOffice software features. You can find an extended list in the StarOffice application help.

Microsoft Office XP	StarOffice Suite
AutoShapes	Gallery objects and Shapes
Comments	Notes
Document map	Navigator
Formula auditing	Detective
Line and Page Breaks	Text flow
Markup	Edit->Changes->Show
Pivot table	DataPilot
Refresh data	File->Reload
Replace text as you type	AutoCorrect
Track changes	Edit->Changes->Record
Workbook	Spreadsheet
Worksheet	Sheet

Customizing Menu Commands, Toolbars, and Shortcut Keys

You can customize the menus, toolbars, and shortcut keys in the StarOffice programs to create a different working environment.

To customize these items, choose Tools->Customize, then select the relevant tab. Click the Help button to read about customizing the software.

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Tip –

To customize a toolbar, click the arrow at the end of the toolbar, then choose Customize Toolbar from the submenu. To show or hide an icon on the toolbar, click the arrow at the end of the toolbar, choose Visible Buttons, and then click a button name.

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Getting Help

The StarOffice 9 suite provides several help systems that you can use while you work:

• Application help

• Help Agent

• Help Tips

• Extended Help Tips

• Context-sensitive help

You can access the installed StarOffice Help in several ways:

• Choose Help->StarOffice Help, or press F1.

  This command opens the StarOffice Help Viewer where you can search for a help topic.

  

• Click the Help button in any dialog box to display help for that dialog box.

• Click the Help Agent icon that appears automatically when you perform a complex task.

• Rest the mouse pointer over a menu command or over any icon to display a Help Tip.

  To view a brief description of what the command or icon does, press Shift-F1 to display an Extended Tip .

• Choose Help->Support for more information about getting support.

Common Application Commands

Every StarOffice program shares a similar appearance and provides some common commands. You can open any document from any StarOffice program, as long as the file type is supported. For example, when you are in a Calc document, you can choose File->Open and select a Microsoft Word document. The StarOffice suite automatically opens the Word document in Writer. All open StarOffice documents are listed in the Windows menu in the menu bar.

Many File menu commands are common to every StarOffice program.

Open

Opens a document in the appropriate StarOffice program, if the file type of the document is supported

New

Creates a new StarOffice document of the type that you choose

Save

Saves the current document

Print

Prints the current document after you specify the printing options

Close

Closes the current document and prompts you to save the document if you made any changes

StarOffice Program Integration Examples

The StarOffice programs are tightly integrated so that you can easily use the contents of one application in another application. The following sections provide just a few examples of how you can take advantage of this integration. Many more interactions between the programs of StarOffice 9 are possible.

To Insert a Calc Cell Range Into a Text Document

You can insert a range of Calc cells into a Writer document so that the data automatically updates when you modify the spreadsheet.

1. Open a Writer text document and the Calc spreadsheet that contains the data.

2. In the spreadsheet, select the cell range that you want to display as a table in the text document.

3. Choose Edit->Copy.

4. In the text document, choose Insert->Paste Special.

5. In the Paste Special dialog box, select DDE link, and then click OK.

To Insert a Text Outline Into a Presentation

Before You Begin

Create an outline in a text document. An outline is text that uses one or more of the default heading paragraph styles, Heading 1, Heading 2, and so on.

1. In the text document that contains the outline, choose File-> Send->Outline to Presentation.

   A new presentation document is created which has the outline applied. Each Heading 1 paragraph style corresponds to a new slide. The heading styles that occur following Heading 1 in the heading hierarchy are displayed as bullets on the slide.

2. Add more text to the outline or switch to Normal view to add objects.

   For more information on outlines, consult the application help.

To Copy Data by Drag-and-Drop

You can use drag-and-drop to copy text and objects between StarOffice programs. This procedure describes how to copy a cell range from a Calc sheet inside a text document, as an example.

1. Open a text document and the Calc spreadsheet that contains the data that you want to copy.

2. In the spreadsheet, select the cell range that you want to copy.

3. Hold down the Control key and drag-and-drop the selected range into the text document.

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   Caution –

   If you are not holding down the Control key at the moment when you release the mouse button, the contents of the cells are moved to the text document.

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   The cell range is copied as a plug-in. If you want to edit the contents of a copied cell in the text document, double-click the cell. The Calc menus and toolbars are displayed when you are in this mode, even though you are in a Writer document. To exit the edit mode, click outside the plug-in.