OpenOffice.org Writer: The Free Alternative to Microsoft Word (Paperback)

by Jean Weber (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"I would recommending this for anyone who uses the OpenOffice.org suite and I can only hope that the author considers adding the missing suite applications as future volumes." Linux Magazine, November 2004

Product Description
Thanks to OpenOffice.org, there is an alternative to Microsoft Word. If you've ever been frustrated by Word's quirks and limitations--including its price tag--and longed for a practical alternative, then it's time to break free. OpenOffice.org is the free, open source office suite and its word processor, Writer, has proven extremely popular with both Windows and Linux users.

How good can it be if it's free? you might ask. And how much trouble will it be to install and learn? A quick tour of the program will show you: the features you use regularly--from formatting and spell check to using templates and creating indexes --are all there. And Writer's intuitive, surprisingly familiar interface lets you navigate with ease. To quickly master the ins and outs of Writer, you'll want a copy of OpenOffice.org Writer: The Free Alternative to Microsoft Word. This handy reference is packed with essential information to help you learn the basics of Writer and become adept with its advanced features.

Written for intermediate and advanced users of word processing programs, OpenOffice.org Writer: The Free Alternative to Microsoft Word provides guidance for common and advanced word processing tasks. With this book, you'll learn how to:

Set up OOoWriter to work your way

Write, edit, and review documents

Control page layout

Use templates and styles effectively

Get the most from using fields

Work with Tables of contents, indexes, bibliographies

Manage large or complex documents

Insert, edit and create graphics

Make a smooth transition from Microsoft Word

OpenOffice.org Writer: The Free Alternative to Microsoft Word provides guidance for anyone who wants to break out of the Word rut. Its detailed Table of Contents make it a handy reference for even the most experienced word processing users who want to get up to speed quickly with this program, or make sure they're taking full advantage of OOo Writer's features. With the complete office suite included on a CD (which you can install on as many machines as you like), this book makes using Writer an easy decision.

OpenOffice.org Writer: The Free Alternative to Microsoft Word is part of the O'Reilly Community Press Series. Unlike classic O'Reilly animal books, O'Reilly's role in the series is limited to providing manufacturing and distribution services rather than editorial development, so that each Community Press title reflects the editorial voice and organization of the community that has created it.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 234 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc. (July 23, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596008260
• ISBN-13: 978-0596008260
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #280,324 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All you have to know about OpenOffice, September 25, 2004

By	Jack D. Herrington "engineer and author" (Silicon Valley, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is a well written and organized book that covers all of the essentials of Writer. You won't find information about how to write well, or organize your document effectively. This has a manual style, loaded (but not overwhelmed) with screenshots, which covers all of the functions of the application.

I've read (or looked over) a lot of books on Microsoft Word. I find the book a lot more pleasing. It doesn't treat you like an idiot. It understands that the common case is that you understand the basics of the application and you are just looking for how to do one particular thing.

I recommend this book for anyone using Writer.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No fluff, and plenty of content..., October 2, 2004

By	Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

If you're ready to make a serious attempt at moving your word processing needs off of Microsoft Word, check out OpenOffice.org Writer - The Free Alternative to Microsoft Word by Jean Hollis Weber (O'Reilly). This is a no-fluff how-to book that will help you figure out how to work with Writer.

Chapter list: Setting Up Writer to Work Your Way; Writing, Editing, and Reviewing Documents; Controlling Page Layout; Using Templates and Styles Effectively; Getting the Most from Fields; Tables of Contents, Indexes, and Bibliographies; Working with Large or Complex Documents; Working with Graphics in Writer; Miscellaneous Tips and Tricks; Moving from Microsoft Word; Index

This is one of those books that falls outside the normal expectations for tech books. It's published by O'Reilly Community Press, which is described this way:

Unlike classic O'Reilly animal books, O'Reilly's role in the series is limited to providing manufacturing and distribution services rather than editorial development, so that each Community Press title reflects the editorial voice and organization of the community that has created it.

As a result, it doesn't have the same polish and finish as what you'd expect from an O'Reilly title. But don't let that deter you from the excellent content contained within. There's a three page preface stating the target audience, conventions in font, and all the other standard preface stuff. After that, it's all practical content on how to do specific tasks in Writer. The target audience is for intermediate to advanced users, so if you're competent around Word, you'll quickly catch on to what steps are required to produce the same time of reports you normally create in Word. And if you're just getting exposed to Writer, you'll be amazed at how much power you'll have at your fingertips. And of course, free is a very good price.

The other thing I appreciate about the book is the section on converting to and from Word documents. That's obviously the biggest concern since Word is nearly a standard in the business place. The author doesn't try to gloss over and hype the conversion process. Some things (simple documents) will convert with no problems at all. Other more complex documents may not convert well at all. This could lead to some manual tweaking once the document has been moved to the other platform. But still, you get a good idea as to what you're up against.

No fluff, plenty of meat, and highly practical... A definite winner.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than a Word replacement - it plays well with others, September 30, 2004

By	Harold McFarland (Florida) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

OpenOffice.org is the Open Source competitor to the Microsoft Office suite. Part of the suite, OpenOffice.org Writer is the word processor component and the only one covered in this book. The book does include a CD-ROM with a copy of OpenOffice.org for various operating systems including Linux, Mac, Solaris, and Windows. This book is a thorough introduction to the Writer software and includes configuration, writing, editing, review, page layout, templates, styles, fields, table of contents, indexes, bibliographies, and working with graphics. Basically, just about everything that you are likely to use in a business environment is covered. Some things are easier done in OpenOffice than in Word, and some are easier in Word. I did find that after spending about an hour with the software I was able to do everything I normally do in Word plus create a much more efficient interface to merge data from a dbase file into a template for a mail merge. I was a pleasure working with a product that interfaced well with other programs, something Microsoft products are not generally known for doing well, if at all. My experience with the software was very positive and the book a tremendous help at greatly lowering the learning curve. OpenOffice.org Writer is a highly recommended book for anyone thinking about looking at this product as an alternative to Microsoft Office.