Sams Teach Yourself StarOffice® 5 for Linux in 24 Hours

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Hour 2: Getting Started StarOffice

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Hour 2
Getting Started StarOffice

In this hour, you will learn how to start StarOffice, as well as some hints for using StarOffice within several popular Linux graphical systems.

After you learn how to start StarOffice, you will learn some basics about the layout of the StarOffice window and how to start navigating around it as you create your documents.

Starting StarOffice


Starting the StarOffice program is like starting any other program in Linux. You just enter the name of the program on a command line. There are two rules:

1. You must be running the X Window System--the graphical interface to Linux. If you're in character mode, StarOffice can't run. It's strictly a graphical program.

2. You need to be logged in with the same username that you used to install StarOffice. StarOffice is normally installed in your home directory.

Note - If you created a network installation for StarOffice while logged in as root, you must still create a per-user installation from the /bin directory of the network StarOffice installation. See Hour 1, "Installing StarOffice," for details.


Tip - If you are using KDE and chose the KDE Integration option while installing StarOffice, proceed to the section "Using StarOffice in KDE."

Setting Your PATH Variable

First, try an experiment. Open a terminal emulator window in X (an xterm window) and enter the following command:


$ soffice 
bash: soffice: command not found 

Your system probably can't start StarOffice. The program for StarOffice can't be located automatically unless you include the subdirectory that contains the StarOffice binary in the PATH environment variable.

To add the StarOffice path to your PATH environment variable, enter the following command:


$ export PATH=$PATH;~/Office50/bin

By adding the StarOffice binary directory to the PATH environment variable, your Linux environment can locate your StarOffice program binaries.

If you want to add this information to your shell startup so that you don't have to enter it each time you start Linux, add the command just given to your .profile script in your home directory. (The .profile script is executed each time you log in to Linux.)

Tip - Hidden files in your Linux filesystem begin with a period--for example, .profile or .bashrc. You can see them by using the ls command with the -a option:

$ ls -a


If you use bash, you can add the updated PATH command to your start-up script by executing the following command:


$ echo 'export PATH=$PATH:~/Office40/bin´ >>.bashrc

Caution - The commands used in this hour assume you're running the bash shell, which is the default shell for almost all Linux systems. Some users prefer using other shells, such as sh, csh, or tcsh. Some commands that have been demonstrated (such as export) don't work the same way in other shells.

Starting StarOffice from a Command Line

With the PATH variable set correctly, you can start StarOffice from any graphical xterm window with the following command:


$ soffice

However, it's better to add a space and an ampersand afterward:


$ soffice & 
$ 

This starts StarOffice as a background application to the xterm in which you are typing. Put simply, that means that the xterm command line is still usable. In the first example, without the &, the xterm is busy running StarOffice and isn't of any further use to you.

If you don't want to worry about setting the PATH variable described in the previous section, you can always start the StarOffice program directly from the StarOffice binary directory. From any directory, the command is as follows:


$ ~/Office50/bin/soffice &

Now here's how to make it more convenient to start StarOffice from your Linux Desktop.

Note - It's normal for StarOffice to take a full minute or more to start, even on a 400MHz Pentium system.


The first time you start StarOffice, you'll see a message indicating that some initial organization is being done. This only happens the first time you start StarOffice.

You'll also see a dialog box asking if you want to register your copy of StarOffice immediately. (See Figure 2.1.) If you have an Internet connection established on your computer (via modem or other connection) and want register immediately, choose Yes. Otherwise, choose No. You can see in the dialog box the date on which your evaluation copy of StarOffice will stop working.

Figure 2.1
When you start StarOffice, a dialog box asks if you want to immediately register your copy of StarOffice with StarDivision.

Using StarOffice in KDE

If you're running one of the latest versions of Linux, the chances are fair that you're using the KDE desktop environment. You can recognize KDE in most cases by the large K on the panel at the bottom of the screen.

If you are using KDE, you need to have included the KDE integration component as you installed StarOffice. That option (part of the Custom Installation choice) adds the StarOffice program, the setup program (for maintenance of StarOffice), and the Printer Setup program psetup to your main KDE menu under the applink (local applications) menu entry. (See Figure 2.2.)

Figure 2.2
StarOffice can be automatically added to your KDE menus during installation.

If you used this installation option, you can start StarOffice by selecting it from the applink submenu on your KDE menu.

You can also make StarOffice start automatically when you start KDE. To make StarOffice start automatically, go to the Autostart folder on your KDE desktop and add a link to the StarOffice binary, which is normally located at


/home/username/Office50/bin/soffice

Every program with a link in the Autostart folder is started each time KDE starts running.

You can make a link from the Autostart folder to the StarOffice program with the following command:


$ ln -s ~/Office50/bin/soffice ~/Desktop/Autostart

Making an Icon for Looking Glass

If you're using Caldera OpenLinux 1.3 or a previous version, you have the Looking Glass Desktop installed by default, or available as an option. (See Figure 2.3.) You can add a StarOffice icon to the Desktop so that you can always start StarOffice by just double-clicking on the StarOffice icon. To add the icon, follow these steps:

Figure 2.3
The Looking Glass desktop is common among OpenLinux users.

1. Choose File, Open from the Desktop main menu. The dialog box in Figure 2.4 appears.

Figure 2.4
The Open Directory Window dialog box in the Looking Glass Desktop.

2. In the Open Directory Window dialog box, enter the directory in which the StarOffice program files are located, which is normally


~/Office50/bin

3. After a Directory Window opens for the StarOffice program directory, look for the file within the Window. (See Figure 2.5.)

Figure 2.5
The Directory Window containing the StarOffice program files.

4. Click on the icon for the file soffice and drag it to the main Desktop area; release the mouse button. The icon remains on your Desktop.

5. Any time you want to start StarOffice, just double-click on the StarOffice icon on the Looking Glass Desktop. (See Figure 2.6.)

Figure 2.6
The Looking Glass Desktop with a StarOffice icon added.

Sams Teach Yourself StarOffice® 5 for Linux in 24 Hours

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Hour 2: Getting Started StarOffice

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