OpenOffice

OpenOffice is a fully integrated suite of office applications developed as an open source project and freely distributed to all. It is included as the primary office suite for Red Hat, accessible from the Office menu and in the Start Here Applications window's Office window. It includes word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, and drawing applications (see Table 11-2). Versions of OpenOffice exist for Linux, Windows, and Mac OS. You can obtain information such as online manuals and FAQs as well as current versions from the OpenOffice Web site at www.openoffice.org.

Table 11-2: GNOME Open Office

Application	Description
OpenCalc	OpenOffice spreadsheet
OpenDraw	OpenOffice drawing application
OpenWriter	OpenOffice word processor
OpenMath	OpenOffice mathematical formula composer
OpenImpress	OpenOffice presentation manager

Note

Development for OpenOffice is being carried out as an Open Source project called openoffice.org. The core code is based on the original StarOffice. The code developed in the openoffice.org project will then be incorporated into future releases of StarOffice.

OpenOffice is an integrated suite of applications. You can open the writer, spreadsheet, or presentation application directly. Also, in most OpenOffice applications, you can select New from the file menu and select a different application if you wish. The OpenWriter word processor supports standard word processing features, such as cut and paste, spell-checker, and text formatting, as well as paragraph styles (see Figure 11-1). You can embed objects within documents, such as using OpenDraw to create figures that you can then drag and drop to the OpenWriter document.

OpenCalc is a professional-level spreadsheet. With OpenMath, you can create formulas that you can then embed in a text document. With the presentation manager (OpenImpress), you can create images for presentations, such as circles, rectangles, and connecting elements like arrows, as well as vector-based illustrations. OpenImpress supports advanced features such as morphing objects, grouping objects, and defining gradients. OpenDraw is a sophisticated drawing tool that includes 3-D modeling tools. You can create simple or complex images, including animation text aligned on curves. OpenOffice also includes a printer setup tool with which you can select printers, fonts, paper sizes, and page formats.

Note

StarOffice is a fully integrated and Microsoft Office–compatible suite of office applications developed and supported by Sun Microsystems, www.sun.com/staroffice. Sun provides StarOffice as a commercial product, though educational use is free.