Sams Teach Yourself StarOffice® 5 for Linux in 24 Hours |
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Hour 7: Creating a New StarWriter Document |
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In this hour, you learn how to create a new StarOffice word processor document, and then save and print that document. Documents in StarOffice can be started in several ways; you'll learn the most useful ones.
In addition, this hour describes how to start entering text in your document and how to set default options for your text documents.
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StarOffice provides so many ways to open a new document that you'll hardly know which one to choose. The sections that follow walk you through the methods that you're most likely to use.
When you start a new StarWriter word processing document, you're really just opening another window in the StarOffice main window. Any other documents you have open, as well as the StarOffice Desktop, all stay active, though they might be hidden from view.
The sections that follow describe how to open a new StarWriter document. This can be done in several ways:
Using the Start button in the bottom left corner of the StarOffice window --Click Start and then choose Text Document from the pop-up menu.
Using the New menu --Choose New from the File menu and then Text Document from the New submenu.
Using the Desktop --Double-click on the New Text Document icon. Switch to the Desktop using the Desktop icon on the Status bar if necessary.
Using a Template --Choose New from the File menu; then choose From Template.
Using the AutoPilot --Choose AutoPilot from the File menu; then choose a Document type (agenda, fax, and so on) from the AutoPilot submenu.
The easiest way to start a new StarWriter document is to select Text Document from the Start menu. The Start menu is always visible in the lower left corner of the StarOffice window.
When you click on Start, a pop-up menu appears. The top part of the menu lists new file types that you can start. Choose Text Document to start a new StarWriter word processing document.
After you start StarOffice, the Desktop is displayed. You can open a new document by choosing New from the File menu, and then selecting Text Document from the New submenu. (See Figure 7.1.) You can see that StarOffice enables you to create many types of files. When this book refers to a document, it means a StarWriter word processing file.
Notice in the New submenu that an icon is shown next to each item. You'll soon learn to recognize these icons for the file types that they represent in StarOffice.
When you choose Text Document from the New submenu, a new word processing document appears in the main StarOffice window; the Desktop is no longer visible (see Figure 7.2).
Using the Start menu or the Desktop (see the next section) are both faster than using the File menu to open a new document.
Figure
7.1
The
New submenu enables you to select which document type you want to start working
with.
Figure
7.2
A
new document, ready for editing.
After you start StarOffice and you're looking at the Desktop, you can immediately start a new document by double-clicking on the New Text Document icon in the upper-left corner of the default Desktop. (See Figure 7.3.)
Figure
7.3
The
New Text Document icon on the Desktop opens a new document.
Caution - When you rearrange the StarOffice Desktop with your own files, be careful not to delete the New Text Document icon or you won't have the option to quickly start new documents. |
If you know what type of document you're creating, you can save time by starting with a document template. A template has all the formatting and standard information for a particular type of document--all you have to do is enter your text.
To open a template, choose New from the File menu; then choose From Template from the New submenu. The Templates dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 7.4.
From the Text Document Templates dialog box, select the category of document that you need from the Categories list. When you select a category, a list of templates appears in the Templates list. Click on a template and click the OK button to open a new document based on that template.
The categories include templates for presentations, spreadsheets, and different documents. When you select a template, a file of the corresponding type is opened.
Caution - If you used a minimum or custom install that didn't include the StarOffice templates, the Text Document Templates dialog box is empty. |
Figure
7.4
Documents
can be started from many different StarOffice templates.
Beyond templates, StarOffice provides a more customized way to create a new document: the AutoPilot.
A StarOffice AutoPilot is a series of dialog boxes that ask you questions about what you want to do. They then use the information that you entered to complete the task for you.
AutoPilots are provided in StarOffice for many tasks, including creating several types of new documents. Using the AutoPilot takes more time than opening a template but the results are customized to fit exactly what you want.
Tip - An AutoPilot is similar to a Wizard in some Microsoft Windows applications. |
As an example, you can use the AutoPilot to create a new memo. Choose AutoPilot from the File menu, and then select Memo. The first screen of the Memo AutoPilot dialog box appears (see Figure 7.5).
Figure
7.5
The
AutoPilot can be used to create a customized memo.
After you select the options in this dialog box that fit the memo that you want to create, click the Next>> button. The next part of the dialog box appears, and you can enter more details about the memo.
Tip - The information you provided in the User Data tab of the General Options (choose Options from the Tools menu, and then General Options) provides some of the information used by the AutoPilot. |
The memo AutoPilot dialog box contains a total of four screens in which you enter information, followed by one which displays a checkered flag and tells you that the AutoPilot is ready to create your memo. When you're done, press the Create button and the memo document is opened with everything in place except the words you enter. All the formatting, graphics, and so forth are taken care of.
AutoPilots are provided for the most commonly used document types. Many more templates are provided than AutoPilots, but the AutoPilots enable you to customize your document without learning all the commands you might need to use.
Also, AutoPilots can be used even if you didn't install the document templates.
Sams Teach Yourself StarOffice® 5 for Linux in 24 Hours |
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Hour 7: Creating a New StarWriter Document |
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