StarOffice Writer is the word processing program in StarOffice

StarOffice 8 — Writer Help Sheet Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation 2006 - Created by Beth Raker Used by Permission Page 1 StarOffice Writer is the word processing program in StarOffice. These Help Sheets are designed to give you quick directions for some of the most used features of word processing. When you first open a StarOffice Writer document, you will see the Standard Toolbar across the top of the screen. It is very similar to Microsoft Office Word. Move your mouse across it without clicking to see popups naming each one. In the graphic below, the Formatting Toolbar is also open. Getting Started To Open Star Office 1. Use the Start All Menu in the bottom left corner of the screen. 2. Choose Start>Programs>StarOffice 8>StarOffice Writer. 3. Or click the shortcut on the Desktop if you have one.: To Start a New Document: 1. Choose File>New>Text Document. 2. OR Click the New Document Button. 1. 2. 3. 4. To Open a Document Written with Microsoft Office and others: Open StarOffice 8. Choose File>Open. Or click the Open button on the Standard Toolbar: Navigate to the Microsoft Office document and double-click it. To turn off Autoformat (This formats automatically.) 1. Under Format, choose Autoformat 2. Remove the checkmark in front of “While typing” To Turn off AutoComplete (This finishes words for you.) 1. Under Tools, choose Autocorrect, then the Word Completion Tab. 2. Remove the checkmark in front of "Enable Word Completion."  Note about Saving If your document will be given to someone who is not using StarOffice, change the file type to Rich Text Format (.rtf). This format can be opened by any word processing program. Spell Check, Thesaurus, and Special Characters To Spell Check: 1. Choose Tools>Spellcheck>Check. 2. Or Click the Spellcheck Button on the Main Toolbar: 1. 2. 3. 4. Or Turn on Automatic Spellcheck: Choose Tools>Spellcheck>AutoSpellcheck. Or Click the AutoSpellcheck Button on the Main Toolbar: Misspelled words will be underlined with a wavy red line. To “fix” them you can right-click on the word and choose the correct spelling from the list. If none is listed, the Spellcheck does not have a suggestion. You will have to fix it yourself! To Use the Thesaurus: 1. Highlight the word for which you wish to find a synonym. To Insert Special Characters in a Document, such as  1. Choose Insert>Special Character... StarOffice 8 — Writer Help Sheet Getting Started Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation 2006 - Created by Beth Raker Used by Permission Page 2 2. Choose Tools>Language>Thesaurus... 2. For graphic choices, choose a font such as Wingdings. 3. Choose the synonym you prefer by clicking on it in the list on the right, 3. Choose the desired character and click the OK button. then click OK. The selected word will replace the original word. Formatting To Change the Orientation of the Page to Either Landscape or Portrait View: 1. Choose Format>Page and click the Page Tab. 1. Choose File>Page Preview in the Menu Bar or 2. Under Orientation, click the button in front of Portrait or Landscape. click the Page Preview button. 2. Use the Previous and Next Page Buttons to move through the document. 3. To leave Preview Document mode, click the Close Preview button. To Preview the Document: To Add a Header or Footer 1. Choose Format>Page and click the Header tab (or the Footer tab). 2. Put a checkmark in the box titled "Header on" (or Footer on) The Header or Footer shows up as a part of the document within a box outlined with a gray line. This line does not print. To Add Automatic Page Numbering (Must be within a Header or Footer to show on every page.) 1. Click once in a Header or Footer, then choose Insert>Fields>Page Number. To Remove the Header or Footer 1. Choose Format>Page and click the Header tab (or the Footer tab). 2. Remove the checkmark in the box titled "Header on" (or Footer on) 3. When asked if you really want to do this, if you say “Yes” the Header (or Footer) will be gone including anything you’ve typed in it. To Change the Margins: 1. Choose Format>Page and click the Page tab. 2. Change the settings under Margins. 3. Click OK when done. To Use Templates: (Pre-made documents you can edit and revise for your own use) 1. Click the small down arrow next to the New Document Button. The menu will appear. 2. Choose Templates and Documents. 3. Click on either Templates or Samples on the left side of the Window. 4. You will see a list of folders named by categories. Open the desired folder and then a document within it. StarOffice 8 — Writer Help Sheet Getting Started Note: Clicking the New Document Button opens a document of the same type as the one that is currently open. If you are in Writer, it opens a new word processing document. If you have a spreadsheet open, it will open a new spreadsheet. Zoom To View a Document in a Larger or Smaller Form on Screen 1. In the Menu, choose View>Zoom... or click the Zoom Button. 2. Click in front of the size you want, or type a number into the Variable box. This view does not effect the way the page prints. Graphics To Add a Graphic from the Gallery that comes with StarOffice 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Click the Gallery icon on the Standard Toolbar. Choose a theme on the left, then a Graphic from that theme. Drag the Graphic onto the page. Click the Gallery icon again to close the Gallery. If the picture is too large, resize it by dragging the corner handle to make it smaller. (The corner handles can be made to show by clicking once on the graphic.) To keep the size of the graphic in proportion, keep the Shift key down while dragging the handle. Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation 2006 - Created by Beth Raker Used by Permission Page 3 Find or Find and Replace To Find Specific Words in Your Document 1. In the Menu, choose Edit>Find&Replace... 2. Type the word you are looking for in the Search for Box. It often works best to type in just the first few letters. 3. To Replace, type the replacement word(s) in the Replace with Box. 4. Click Find. Also click Replace if you wish to replace it. To Make Text Wrap Around the Graphic 1. Right-click on a Graphic. 2. Choose Wrap and then one of the choices. I use Page Wrap most often. 3. Drag the graphic to the position you want it in. OR - if you want more choices: 4. Double-click on the Graphic and a window will open. 5. Click on the Wrap tab. Choose the type of wrap you prefer. 6. Click OK. Drag the Graphic to the desired position. Tables To Create a Table 1. Choose Insert>Table. 2. Give the table a name, type the number of columns and rows you expect to need. Click OK. 3. You may wish to check Repeat Header. It causes the contents in the first row of the table to repeat on every page. 4. Use the Tab key to move from one cell to another easily. To Color (Highlight) a Row (or Cell or Column) 1. Choose the cell, row, or column you wish to highlight by dragging your mouse across it. 2. Right-click in it. 3. Choose Table... 4. Click on the Background Tab. 5. Click on the desired color, then OK. To Add Rows to the End of a Table To Change Column Width 1. From the last cell on the right in the Table, click the Tab key. A new row 1. Hold your mouse over the line you wish to move. When the cursor looks StarOffice 8 — Writer Help Sheet Getting Started will be added to the end of the table. 2. You can click the Tab key multiple times to continue adding rows. Each time you reach the end of a row another will be added. To Delete a Row or Column 1. Choose Table>Delete>Rows (or Columns) 2. OR Right-click within a cell in the row or column you wish to delete and choose Row or Column>Delete. To Merge Cells (or Split Cells) 1. Select 2 or more cells by dragging the mouse. 2. Choose Table>Merge Cells (or Split Cells). Make Top Row Repeat on Each Page 1. Click in anywhere in the top row of the table. 2. Under Table in the menu, choose Heading Rows Repeat. Revision Management To Record Changes Made to a Document 1. Choose Edit>Changes>Record. Additions will be red and underlined; deletions will be red and in strikethrough font. 2. Do the same to turn it off. 3. After turning it off, you can use these editorial marks to revise the document. Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation 2006 - Created by Beth Raker Used by Permission Page 4 like a plus sign with arrows to right and left, you can drag the line and resize the column. 2. Resizing a row works in a similar fashion. To Add Rows or Columns Within a Table 1. Choose Table>Insert>Rows... OR Table>Insert>Column 2. Or Right-click on a cell and choose Row Insert or Column Insert. 3. Choose the desired number to insert, then Before or After and click OK. To Make the Borders Show 1. Right-click in any cell in the table. Choose Table..., then the Borders Tab. Choose a Line arrangement and Style. Click OK. You can also choose a Color. To Turn Off Repeat Heading 1. Click in anywhere in the top row of the table. 2. Under Table in the menu, choose Heading Rows Repeat. To Compare 2 Copies of the Same Document 1. Open one copy of the document. 2. Choose Edit>Compare document. 3. A window will open similar to the one used to open documents. Find the second document and open it. 4. Use the Accept and Reject buttons to revise the document. Changes are being made to the one you opened first. Styles – this makes it easier to give different parts of a document the same style If all Headings (for example) have the same Style, modifying the Style makes the changes apply throughout the document at once. To Apply a Style from Stylist 1. Select text. Click inside a word or highlight a paragraph. 2. Choose Format>Styles and Formatting or click the Styles and Formatting Button. 3. Choose a category using the buttons across the top left of the window. Make Document Read-only 1. Click this button in the Menu Bar: 2. It will turn your document into a read-only file. 3. Click it on and off to move from editing mode and back to read-only. Turning on read-only means that the document can’t be changed while it StarOffice 8 — Writer Help Sheet Getting Started 4. Double-click a style in that category. Modify a Style in the Stylist 1. Choose Format>Styles and Formatting or click the Styles and Formatting Button. 2. Choose a category using the buttons across the top left of the window. 3. Click within the word or paragraph you wish to copy the style from. 4. Click New Style from Selection Button. 5. Choose Update Style. All text in that style in the current document will reflect the change. Undo and Redo Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation 2006 - Created by Beth Raker Used by Permission Page 5 is in that view. Add a Style to Stylist 1. Format some text as desired, then select it by highlighting it. Choose Format>Styles and Formatting or click the Styles and Formatting Button. 3. Click the New Style From Selection Button at the top of the Stylist window. Choose New Style from Selection. 4. Enter a name for your style and click OK. 2. To Undo To Redo 1. Click this button on the Standard Toolbar. 4. Click this button on the Standard Toolbar: 2. Click it repeatedly to re-do each recent action sequentially Each click 5. Click it repeatedly to re-do each recent action sequentially. undoes one Command. Styles cannot be changed with Undo. 6. Or hold down the left button of the mouse over this button for a list of 3. Or hold down the left button of the mouse over this button for a list of recent actions. You can jump directly to the action you desire, but you recent actions. You can jump directly to the action you want from the list. can not skip any actions in between. It will not skip any actions in between.