Sams Teach Yourself StarOffice® 5 for Linux in 24 Hours |
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Hour 2: Getting Started StarOffice |
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The Explorer window is shown in Figure 2.14. It can be viewed any time by choosing Explorer from the View menu. The Explorer gives you a treelike structure on which you can locate and store documents of different types, including templates, Web pages, and documents that you've created.
Figure
2.14
The
Explorer window in StarOffice.
The Explorer is also where resources such as email accounts, StarSchedule event calendars, and newsgroup accounts are accessed.
Using the Explorer might remind you of using things such as the file manager in Windows 3.1 or the file system Explorer in Windows 95. The difference is in the extras that StarOffice provides as preconfigured types of information that are listed in the Explorer window for easy access.
You'll see the Explorer used for examples throughout the rest of this book.
As you explore the icons in the Explorer window, you'll view many different types of information and system resources. One way to view these items is in the Beamer window. If the Beamer isn't onscreen, some items from the Explorer window appear in the main viewing window, but this makes it harder to use them in your documents.
The Beamer window is similar to a little catalog or listing where information is displayed. The Beamer window appears just below the toolbars.
To view the Beamer window, select Beamer from the View menu.
With the Beamer window onscreen, it is easier to see how useful the different parts of the Explorer can be. In general, the items displayed in the Beamer window can be dragged and dropped into the document that you're working on.
The sections that follow define some of the default items included in the Explorer and show you how to try them yourself :
The Address Book--The address book is a collection of mini-databases (each one called a Table) where you can store names, addresses, and other information for people you know. You can create custom queries and forms for these Tables, and add new information as needed.
Bookmarks--Bookmarks are pointers to documents that you might want to view or edit again in the future. The bookmarks folder is similar to using bookmarks in any Web browser, except that in StarOffice you can also use bookmarks for local documents that you're editing instead of just for documents on the Web.
If you want to add a file that you're viewing to the bookmark folder, just drag and drop the Link icon onto the Bookmark folder in the Explorer. (The Link icon is a folder with a triangle-flag on it, located just to the left of the URL window in the Function toolbar.)
If you click on the Bookmarks folder, a few predefined bookmarks appear in the Beamer window.
Gallery--StarOffice comes with a collection of hundreds of graphics that you can use for your own documents. These graphics are located in the Gallery folder of the Explorer. You can browse through the graphics in the Gallery and insert any of them into a document, spreadsheet, or presentation you're preparing.
The Help folder --Contains StarOffice help topics that you can browse and view.
The Recycle Bin--Most graphical operating systems have a recycle bin where you can place documents that you no longer need. The Recycle Bin in StarOffice provides this feature for your Linux system. By default, documents are not actually erased until you empty the Recycle Bin.
You can place any unwanted file on your StarOffice desktop in the Recycle Bin by dragging its icon to the Recycle Bin folder.
Caution - Dragging a Desktop icon to the Recycle bin places the actual file in the Recycle bin, not just a Desktop pointer to it. |
When you click on the Recycle Bin icon, the list of files stored in the Recycle Bin appears in the Beamer window.
To empty the Recycle Bin, use the right-click pop-up menu.
Tip - The Recycle bin is actually a directory located at ~/Office50/explorer/Trash. |
Samples--The Samples folder contains templates and sample documents that you can use to prepare your own documents in StarOffice. Later, some of these sample documents are used to show you some of the features of StarOffice.
Tip - If you did a custom StarOffice installation and de-selected the Sample documents, the Samples folder is empty. |
StarSchedule--Contains the icons used to access the task list and events calendar for StarSchedule features (see Hour 24.)
Work Folder--The Work Folder is like your personal storage area. When you save a file in StarOffice, the default location to save it in is the Work Folder. When you choose the Work Folder icon, all the files that you've stored in the Work Folder area appear on the Desktop area, where you can double-click on any document to open it.
Tip - When you view the Work Folder, you're actually viewing the contents of the directory ~/Office50/explorer/WorkFolder. |
Workplace--The Workplace is a way to graphically access the filesystem on your Linux computer. When you click on the plus sign next to the Workplace icon, the contents of the root directory of your Linux system appear. Subdirectories appear as folders in the Explorer window; files appear in the Beamer window where you can work with them directly.
Sams Teach Yourself StarOffice® 5 for Linux in 24 Hours |
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Hour 2: Getting Started StarOffice |
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