In OpenOffice.org 3.2 you can apply borders to nonconsecutive cells using the toolbar.
Currently if you try to select multiple cells that aren't together and apply borders on the toolbar, you get an error. (You CAN apply border formatting from the Format > Cells, Borders tab currently.)
In 3.2, though, there's no problem using the toolbar icon.
I'm a big fan of the function list palette, as a list of functions. Choose Insert > Function List and the palette of all functions will appear. Much easier to use than the wizard just as a reference. In the dropdown list at the top of the function list palette, select the category of functions you want to view.
Then just double-click the function you want, or click the little F(X) button in the palette, and the function and syntax will appear.
But look what appears, for instance, for =AVERAGE.
That's just not that helpful period; the average of one number is itself, plus who wants to find the average of a number?
If you look at the function wizard (click the F button next to the function entry field on the toolbar) or look at the help or do something else I'll show you in a second, this is the syntax. You could do a range or just list the numbers.
Likewise the syntax for =CONCATENATE from the function list is this
(not helpful, though not strictly wrong)
and the actual syntax that would be helpful is this.
Sometimes the function list does give you the full accurate helpful syntax as with HLOOKUP.
Here's what I recommend.
* Use the function list as a reference to jog your memory. Is it AVERAGE or AVG, that kind of thing.
* Then use the function wizard to get the real synta
* Or the help
* OR (fastest) type in the function as shown.
* First you get a popup with the name and the basic syntax.
* Press Enter. Then you see the full syntax.
* Don't press Enter, it will disappear. But you can use it as a guide to the syntax, and drag, click, or type to enter the appropriate cells/ranges/values.
Another approach is to use the function list, click to add it and its maybe-not-complete syntax to the cell where you want the formula, then click between the parentheses. The same little popup that you get with the previous approach will show then too.
The key point here is, the function list doesn't always give you the whole story on the syntax. Get the full story another way.
In the upcoming (developer version available) version of OpenOffice.org 3.2, you can right-click on a graphic and save it to a file.
If you try to select several sheets in a spreadsheet, then right-click to copy, all but one come unselected. It's not possible to copy multiple sheets that way.
However, if you Ctrl Select or Shift Select the sheets by clicking on the sheet tabs, then choose Edit > Sheet > Move/Copy, then right-clicking doesn't disrupt the selection.
First, select the sheets you want to copy. Click on one, then hold down Shift and select the last one (select all sheet tabs between first and last) or hold down Ctrl and click on each specific sheet tab that you want. The sheet tabs will change color very very slightly, will be come slightly lighter, when they're selected.
Then choose Edit > Sheet > Move/Copy.
The option to Copy will already be marked and dimmed so you can't change it. Select the sheet after which you want the copies to appear.
Click OK and you'll see the copies.
You've been there. You have a document full of graphics and you'd like to be able to save them all as individual separate graphics files. Mountain.jpg, picnic.jpg, diagram.jpg, etc. But it's a pain, and there are a LOT of them.
Here's a way to use the web wizard to make it a lot easier. I think this should work also in Calc and Impress, I just haven't tried it.
I just got an excellent comment on this -- you can also change the file extension to .zip, unzip it, open it up, find the graphics directory, and there are all your graphics without this process. Copy them out. Then zip up the file again and change the file extension back to .odt. If you're comfortable with that, that's the faster process.
So here's a document.
Choose File > Wizards > Web Wizard.Click Add to add the document with the graphics. Choose to export to HTML.
It doesn't particularly matter what options you choose; just pick some layout and export it to HTML.If you might ever use the exported version then pick the appropriate layout for the pages.
Pick the output directory.
The exported files will have a graphics and a content directory. You want the content directory. Go to the directory you exported to, open contents, and you'll see all the graphics.
I've done a lot of mail merge postings, but it's A) a powerful tool that B) isn't that obvious and C) is particularly useful at this time of year. (Me, I don't actually do holiday letters, not yet anyway, but I enjoy the ones I receive from friends.) So this is another one for this year. I've tried to make it as complete as possible without actually rising up out of the browser and knocking you over the head with painful details.
Here's how to create physical, printed-on-paper, snailmailable letters and labels, soup to nuts.
If you want to try doing it via email, try this link instead.
Step 1: Get the data in order.
Take a look at the data. Make sure you have the fields you need. Are you planning to address the letter to the <Lastname> family? You're probably fine then but if you want to address it to two people who live at the same address with different first and last names, you won't be able to do that without some data juggling. Consider in that case just sending two letters. Also if you want to use Mr., Ms., Miss, etc. in the letter or labels, make sure that info is in alllllll the address records. Otherwise you'll have an empty space in your label or salutation. Not the worst thing but a little off. In general, simplest is best.
If you have to assemble the address data from various bits and drabs of info on your computer, I suggest putting it in a spreadsheet. You must create one column for each separate piece of information, and you must (should, but I'm saying must) have a heading for each column, as shown.
Step 2: What format is the data in?
If the data is in your mail client address book, you can use that. If it's in a CSV text file, you can use that. Spreadsheets work too. So do Access databases. mySQL, Oracle, pretty much anything. Just make sure you know that the data is in an acceptable format, and you know what format it is.
Step 3: Create the little database file that lets you suck the address data into a letter.
Follow the steps for the type of data you have.
YOU ONLY NEED TO DO THIS ONCE FOR EVERY SET OF DATA YOU HAVE. Once it's set up, it just sits there, ready for you to use in any mail merge document you want. (Letter, labels, another letter, invitations to a holiday party, birthday cards for everyone in your list with a January birthday, and so on.)
Text File Instructions
If your data is in text files, follow these steps.
1. Choose File > New > Database.
2. Make the selection shown, with Text as the format.
3. Click Next.
4. Specify the DIRECTORY where the text files are. Each text file in that directory will be a table in your database. Then select the item separating fields, i.e. a tab or comma or something else.
5. When all the settings look correct, click Next.
6. Umark the option to open the database for editing. You can open it; you just don't have to.
7. Click Next.
8. Save the data source (aka database) under a name that will help you remember what it is.
You're done.
Make the Data Source: Spreadsheet Instructions
If your data is in a spreadsheet, follow these steps.
1. Choose File > New > Database.
2. Make the selection shown, with Spreadsheet as the format.
3. Click Next.
4. Specify the spreadsheet file. Each SHEET in that spreadsheet will be a table in your database.
5. Click Next.
6. Umark the option to open the database for editing. You can open it; you just don't have to.
7. Click Next.
8. Save the data source (aka database) under a name that will help you remember what it is.
Address Book Instructions
Start off the same way as either of the other two, but specify the type of address book such as Thunderbird address book. Then click Next; the program will find it. All you have to do then is, as instructed in the other two approaches, save the database and name it as something you'll remember.
Step 4: Create the letter you want to write.
This has absolutely nothing to do with mail merge. Write the letter, put in graphics, go nuts with formatting. DON'T SAVE IT IN .DOC FORMAT; IT NEEDS TO BE IN NORMAL OPENOFFICE FORMAT. BE SURE THE FILE EXTENSION IS .ODT.
Write in the name and address of a real person to help you figure out what fields you want.
Step 5. Put in the fields from the data.
Choose View > Data Sources. Everything you've created will be displayed. Click the + sign by the data source you want to use, then click + by Tables til you see the data you want to use.
Find one of the pieces of data you wrote, like "Bob" which is a first name. You're going to delete that, then drag in the FirstName field to the place where it was.
Click on the NAME OF THE FIELD, not the piece of data, that you want in the mail merge.
Drag it into the document and release. The field name will appear. If it goes to the wrong place, just cut and paste it to where you want it.
Continue with any other fields that need to replace any other pieces of individual data.
Step 6. Print the letter
I suggest printing to a file ("Individual" file), opening the file, checking it, then printing that file.
The following steps show how to do that. If you want more control, here's how to filter, sort, restrict, etc.Choose File > Print. Click Yes when it asks if you want to do a form letter.
In the window, be sure that the correct database is selected, then select File and Individual.
Click OK. Name the file. This is the file that will contain a copy of the holiday letter, one for each person in your address book. It will say Dear Bob, Dear Tina, etc. It will be a normal Writer document, no fields in it or anything special.
Name it and click Save.
The mail merge process will run.
Now open that file, the merged output file, and check to be sure it's been created the way you want. If it isn't, go back to the mail merge letter (the one you dragged fields into) and make adjustments. Then print again, creating another output file.
Once the output file is how you want, just print it normally.
Step 7: Create the labels
Now that you've got the database set up, creating the labels is easy. Create the labels for whatever label type you're using, following these instructions.
Then print the same way you printed the letter; just be sure that when you're ready to really print on label paper, that you insert the label sheets in the way that works for your printer.
http://openoffice.blogs.com/openoffice/2006/07/mail_merge_labe.html
Step 8: Laboriously fold, stuff, label, and stamp the envelopes.
Step 9: Consider doing it with email next year.
http://openoffice.blogs.com/openoffice/2008/10/doing-an-email-mail-merge-without-the-overhead-of-the-openoffice-mail-merge-wizard.html
If you want to change how a drawing shape looks, you can easily use the border and fill shapes. However, if the object is a bitmap, like a digital camera photo or a JPG you got off the internet, you need to do something different.
You don't have the capabilities of GIMP or Photoshop but you do have quite a bit to work with. Here are some examples. You just click on any JPG or other shape, and you'll see the Pictures toolbar. Click on the rainbox icon on the Pictures toolbar and you'll get the other toolbar. Change the brightness/contrast (the sun), the contrast, and the Red Blue and Green values. The range of possible values is 100% to -100%, so higher for more intense and less for less.
Use the tooltips to determine what each icon does. Move your mouse over each icon and you'll see a description.
I wanted to post a quick example of some key formatting, and show that the converting works pretty well.
Here's a document in OpenOffice. The graphic on the first page is inserted three times: anchored to paragraph with wrapping, anchored to paragraph without wrapping, and anchored AS CHARACTER which means it just flows in the text flow like any other character. As you see, all come through fine. (For more information on anchoring, see http://openoffice.blogs.com/openoffice/2009/01/how-to-insert-graphics-in-openoffice-writer-that-are-reasonably-manageable.html. )
And the Word version.
Here's the second page of the OpenOffice document, with various lists.
Here's the second page now in Word. Note that the graphical bullets didn't come through. They don't come through when I close and reopen the .doc file in OpenOffice Writer either; Word file format can't handle this kind of bullet graphic.
However, due to the huge ASCII options available, you can have any character non-graphical bullet that you like. To do that, format as bullets, then choose Format > Bullets and Numbering, Options tab, and make the selections shown.
