StarOffice for LINUX for Dummies [Paperback]

Michael Meadhra (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0764505769 | ISBN-13: 978-0764505768 | Publication Date: September 6, 1999

Includes StarOffice for Linux Cheat Sheet Inside!

Harness the Power of the Leading Linux Office Suite! With this friendly guide, you'll quickly discover how to make the most of the StarOffice 5.1, the amazingly versatile Linux productivity suite. Expert author Michael Meadhra gets you up and running fast on each of the powerful StarOffice tools, shows you how they all work together — and explains how easy it is to transfer StarOffice data back and forth from a Windows environment. Packed with facts, tips, and techniques, StarOffice For Linux^® For Dummies^® is your complete guide to dynamic documents, sophisticated spreadsheets, powerful presentations, and more!

Inside, find helpful advice on how to:

• Easily import and export Microsoft Office documents — and get tips on the Windows version of StarOffice
• Leverage the cross-platform versatility of StarOffice, which can run on Windows, OS/2, Sun Solaris, and Java as well as Linux
• Maximize your productivity with basic StarOffice tools — StarWriter (word processing), StarCalc (spreadsheets), StarBase (databases), and StarImpress (presentations)
• Keep tasks and events under control with StarSchedule
• Produce eye-catching images with StarDraw and StarImage
• Read and post articles on Internet newsgroups with StarDiscussion
• Use StarMail's powerful features to get the most out of your e-mail

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

StarOffice for Linux for Dummies provides basic how-to information on one of the most popular productivity suites for the Linux operating system. If you need to know how to do pretty much anything with StarOffice at the user level (as opposed to the administrator level or the developer level), you'll appreciate the succinct explanations and numerous graphics this book provides.

The author focuses on StarOffice 5.1 for Linux (that's the version that appears in all of this book's illustrations), but he pays some attention to StarOffice for Windows and other operating systems--the procedures for all versions are generally identical. There's information on installing StarOffice under Linux and some advice on ways to share data files with people who use other kinds of productivity software.

StarOffice for Linux for Dummies takes a basic approach to its subject, documenting the StarOffice programs' features one at a time. Usually, the book employs a step-by-step approach, telling the reader to do something and then explaining what the software does in response. Where there are options, it uses bulleted lists to explain how they compare to each other. --David Wall

Topics covered: StarWriter, StarCalc, StarBase, StarImpress, StarImage, StarDraw, StarSchedule, and the suite's Internet tools.

About the Author

About the Author Michael Meadhra is an author and consultant who has written or contributed to more than 30 books and written innumerable magazine and newsletter articles about Windows, office suites, the Internet, financial management software, and other computer topics.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies (September 6, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764505769
• ISBN-13: 978-0764505768
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,347,964 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What You Need to Get Started, May 11, 2000

By 

Bruce Gregory (Deep River, Connecticut) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: StarOffice for LINUX for Dummies (Paperback)

StarOffice is a very powerful program that has received little attention. The program is a free download from Sun, but the online help isn't very helpful. StarLinux for Dummies (it works just a well for Windows--the version I am using) is very clear. It answered every question I had with a minimum of searching and fuss. Once you get familiar with StarOffice you might want a book that digs deeper, but this book is a great place to start and most users won't need to know any more than it covers to work comfortably and productively with StarOffice. I recommend that you take a look at StarOffice (particularly if you've had enough of Microsoft). Anyone who uses Microsoft Office will find StarOffice a worthy competitor. Michael Meadhra's book will make the transition painless.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Even for Dummies, June 21, 2000

By 

Christopher Cooper - See all my reviews

This review is from: StarOffice for LINUX for Dummies (Paperback)

The Dummies routine is becomimg a bit tiresome. This book offers very little to the user, besides simple processes that most people could figure out on their own.

I once advocated the benefits of the "Dummy" line of books - but more and more - it appears to me that the authors and editors are just Cntrl-X/Cntrl-V(cut and pasting) parts of other books into the newer ones.

If you want to get your feet wet and not expose yourself to a wonderful program - buy this book.

But if you want to see the power of Star Office - look elsewhere and be brave and pick up a non-dummy/idiot book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for end-users in a rush., November 21, 2000

By 

Hannah Robson (Liverpool, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: StarOffice for LINUX for Dummies (Paperback)

I'm Sys Admin in a Medium-sized firm where people have average IT skills, and this is perfect for people who just want to learn how to perform the basic day-to-day tasks on Star Office. It explains things quite clearly and simply and it's easy to find the answers to quick questions. However, it's not particularly detailed, so you will need something more substantial as an overall reference.