OOo Off the Wall articles

Originally compiled by Magnus Adielsson. Maintained after mid-2006 by Jean Hollis Weber. (Last updated 2007-01-02)

OpenOffice.org Off the Wall is a series of articles written by Bruce Byfield and published about monthly at the Linux Journal web site. It began in March 2004. In mid-2006 the series lost the "off the wall" title and became part of Bruce's blog.

Personally I think these articles are very good introductions to the features and possibilities in OpenOffice.org (OOo). The early articles are based on OOo 1.x but but I think the main ideas are the same in OOo 2.x (possibly with more features and fewer bugs).

Previously there was a link to the articles from the OpenOffice.org web site (The Rookery), but that link was removed for some reason. Therefore I decided to compile my own list and share it to the OOo community. Bruce Byfield has a list on his own site.

The articles are listed in reverse order of publication, with the most recent article first. The introductionary text for each article is copied from the articles themselves, not my own words.

Formatting cells in OpenOffice.org Calc
By Bruce Byfield on Fri, 2006-12-29

Learning the basic formatting options for cells in OpenOffice.org Calc can be worth your time. Many of the options directly effect how you interact with spreadsheets, and even the purely visual ones can make your lists and calculations easier to read at a glance.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/node/1000154

Printing in OpenOffice.org Calc, Part 2: Print selection and printer options
By Bruce Byfield on Sun, 2006-11-26

How to setup pages for printing and the printer or export options, and mix and match them to get the results you want. The more you know about them, the less of a nightmare printing a spreadsheet becomes.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/node/1000132

Printing in OpenOffice.org Calc, Part I: Page styles
By Bruce Byfield on Sun, 2006-11-19

OpenOffice.org offers more help than most spreadsheets with printing, starting with the introduction of page styles.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/node/1000128

Manipulating lists in OpenOffice.org Calc
By Bruce Byfield on Sun, 2006-10-29

Probably the most common task in spreadsheets is manipulating lists.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/node/1000114

The changing face of charts in OpenOffice.org
By Bruce Byfield on Tue, 2006-09-05

The charting component is probably the least satisfactory part of OpenOffice.org.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/node/1000090

extendedPDF: Professional PDF controls for OpenOffice.org
By Bruce Byfield on Mon, 2006-08-21

PDF export is vastly improved since version 2.0, since it is built-in and offers some control over the degree of image compression, the initial view, and user interface. However, even these controls are basic... extendedPDF is an essential tool for those who need fine-control over their PDF output from OpenOffice.org in GNU/Linux."

http://www.linuxjournal.com/node/1000083

OpenOffice.org Extensions
By Bruce Byfield on Fri, 2006-07-14

OpenOffice.org extensions are a quick way to add functionality.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/node/1000060

Hide and Go Seek with Writer Content
By Bruce Byfield on Sat, 2006-05-20

By using Writer's hide functions, you no longer need to worry about multiple versions of a document remaining in sync.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/9053

OOo Off the Wall: Combining Documents with OOo
By Bruce Byfield on Thu, 2006-04-13

Before you ask for a Reveal Codes feature like the one in WordPerfect, try learning how to use the tools offered in Writer.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8989

OOo Off the Wall: That's Your Version--Document Control in OOo Writer
By Bruce Byfield on Tue, 2006-03-07

Learn how to use Writer's version control tools to keep track of who made which changes and when, without diving into big CMS applications.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8911

OOo Off the Wall: The Elephant in the Living Room -- OOo and MS Office
By Bruce Byfield on Mon, 2006-02-06

A look at how the OOo project balances being similar to MS Office with maintaining its unique, better features.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8856

OOo Off the Wall: Find and Replace
By Bruce Byfield on Wed, 2006-01-04

As with most tasks, OOo offers several options for searching and replacing text or strings in your documents. Doing a little research beforehand can save time and frustration later on.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8791

OOo Off the Wall: Master Documents
By Bruce Byfield on Wed, 2005-12-14

If the mere mention of master documents brings back memories of corrupted files and lost data, give Writer a chance to show you they're not all bad.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8735

OOo Off the Wall: Domesticating Autocorrect
By Bruce Byfield on Thu, 2005-11-24

Don't you hate it when the word completion feature wants to finish your words for you? Or do you love it? Learn how to customize (or kill) Autocorrect in OOo and live in word-processing peace.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8688

OOo Off the Wall: Adding AutoText to Your Work Flow
By Bruce Byfield on Tue, 2005-11-01

It's not flashy, but if you're re-using text often or need to streamline your template and macro lists, spend a little time with AutoText.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8646

OOo Off-the-Wall: Back to School with Bibliographies
By Bruce Byfield on Wed, 2005-09-21

Setting up a bibliography is hard enough, but misleading OOo examples don't help the process. Learn how to do it the right way.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8575

OOo Off the Wall: Recovering Hidden Treasures
By Bruce Byfield on Mon, 2005-08-15

Can't find your favorite functionality tools and shortcuts in 2.0? They still might be available, if you know where to look.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8492

OOo Off the Wall: What New Users Need to Know About OpenOffice.org
By Bruce Byfield on Thu, 2005-07-14

OOo does some things quite differently than other office applications, so what should you know going in for the first time?

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8443

OOo Off the Wall: Tabling the Notion, Part 2
By Bruce Byfield on Wed, 2005-06-01

Although not as versatile as a spreadsheet, table formulas in OOo Writer can help you automate more of your work.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8336

OOo Off the Wall: Tabling the Notion, Part 1
By Bruce Byfield on Mon, 2005-05-09

How to add, design and manipulate tables in OOo 2.0.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8298

OOo Off the Wall: Fielding Questions, Part 4 - Mail Merges
By Bruce Byfield on Tue, 2005-04-12

It takes a while to get the hang of mail merges, but OOo 2.0's new Mail Merge Wizard helps make them easier to use.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8238

OOo Off the Wall: Fielding Questions, Part 3
By Bruce Byfield on Fri, 2005-03-11

How to use fields for editing and content management.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8154

OOo Off the Wall: Fielding Questions, Part 2 - Cross References and User-Defined Fields
By Bruce Byfield on Wed, 2005-02-23

Tips and workarounds to get you through the sometimes frustrating process of creating cross-references in Writer documents.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8112

OOo Off the Wall: Fielding Questions, Part 1 - The Basics
By Bruce Byfield on Tue, 2005-02-01

Fields aren't supposed to mess up your documents and make you pull out your hair--learn when fields are useful and how to use them.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8071

OpenOffice.org Off-the-Wall: ToCs, Indexes and Bibliographies in OOo Writer
By Bruce Byfield on Tue, 2005-01-04

A new way of thinking about and tagging a document's table of contents and other supporting features makes sense and is more convenient.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8012

OOo Off the Wall: My Objects All Sublime
By Bruce Byfield on Fri, 2004-11-26

OOo Off the Wall: My Objects All Sublime

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7915

OOo Off the Wall: Floating Windows
By Bruce Byfield on Wed, 2004-10-20

OpenOffice.org's extensive use of floating windows puts some of the most-used editing tools at your fingertips.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7850

OOo Off the Wall: Macros and Add-ons
By Bruce Byfield on Tue, 2004-09-28

The OOo community has begun to release some macros and add-ons to extend the functionality of the office suite.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7802

OOo Off the Wall: The Outlining and the Ecstasy
By Bruce Byfield on Tue, 2004-09-07

With a bit of practice and some of these tips, you can become an outlining pro, even if you haven't done an outline since Freshmen Comp.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7759

(Note the comment from ftack at oooforum.org on this article regarding the possible confusion between Tools > Outline numbering and Format > Numbering/Bullets: http://www.oooforum.org/forum/viewtopic.phtml?t=12371).

OOo Off the Wall: Getting in the Frame
By Bruce Byfield on Mon, 2004-08-16

A discussion of how to use frame styles in OOo Writer.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7733

OOo Off the Wall: Setting Up Page Styles in OOo Writer
By Bruce Byfield on Sun, 2004-07-25

A little planning ahead will make your word processing tasks easier and keep your documents looking consistent as they grow.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7203

OOo Off the Wall: It's Numbering, but Not as We Know It
By Bruce Byfield on Wed, 2004-07-07

Numbered and bulleted lists that don't disappear, switch, realign themselves or otherwise make your life miserable.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7659

OOo Off the Wall: Paragraph Styles, Part II
By Bruce Byfield on Wed, 2004-06-16

Writer offers a bag of tricks for when you want to do a bit more than the normal with paragraph styles and formatting.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7634

OpenOffice.org Off the Wall: Shooting the Sun
By Bruce Byfield on Mon, 2004-05-31

Positioning options for paragraph styles in OOo.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7599

OOo Off the Wall: Building Characters
By Bruce Byfield on Mon, 2004-05-10

Learning about character styles in OOo Writer.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7576

OpenOffice.org Off the Wall: Fonts of Wisdom
By Bruce Byfield on Thu, 2004-04-15

Advice for installing and choosing fonts in OpenOffice.org.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7535

OpenOffice.org Off-the-Wall: Style Is Everything, Right?
By Bruce Byfield on Wed, 2004-03-31

A guide for when and how to use styles instead of manual overrides in OpenOffice.org documents.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7488

OpenOffice Off-the-Wall: Bullet Proof Templates
By Bruce Byfield on Mon, 2004-03-15

How templates function differently in OpenOffice.org than they do in Office, and why OpenOffice.org's are better.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7447

Eleven Tips for Moving to OpenOffice.org
By Bruce Byfield on Mon, 2004-03-01

Replacing a complicated piece of software like an office suite can be a major undertaking. But, if you apply a few simple rules to make sure your needs are met, you'll be ready to be productive on the new software right away.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7158