OpenOffice.org for Dummies (Paperback)

by Gurdy Leete (Author), Ellen Finkelstein (Author), Mary Leete (Author) "OpenOffice.org is an exciting new Office suite program that is extremely powerful and completely free to everyone..." (more)
Key Phrases: active cell pointer, sheet name tabs, other office suites, Microsoft Office, Formula Bar, Microsoft Word (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
* Uses the straightforward For Dummies style to show Linux and Windows users how to use the OpenOffice.org desktop productivity suite
* OpenOffice.org has a user interface and feature set similar to that of other office suites and works transparently with a variety of file formats, including those of Microsoft Office
* Explains how to download, install, and set up both the Linux and Windows versions of OpenOffice.org
* Organized by the four key desktop applications provided in the OpenOffice.org suite: Writer (word processing), Calc (spreadsheets), Impress (presentations), and Draw (graphics)
* Other topics covered include creating and formatting documents with Writer, using templates and styles, creating spreadsheets with Calc, manipulating spreadsheet data, creating a presentation with Impress, and creating and editing images with Draw

From the Back Cover
Start using this free and easy productivity suite today

Draft and print documents, design cool presentations, create detailed spreadsheets, and more

Ready to leave your other Office? Open this friendly guide and find out how OpenOffice.org opens up your options! You can collect your thoughts in Writer documents, crunch numbers with Calc spreadsheets, draw great graphics, and create presentations that will really impress ‘em.

All this on the bonus CD-ROM

• Full versions for Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X of the OpenOffice.org desktop productivity suite

Discover how to:

• Use OpenOffice.org with other office suites
• Format and edit documents
• Manage data in spreadsheets
• Design and create Web pages
• Put together picture-perfect presentations
• Create and edit graphics

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies (December 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764542222
• ISBN-13: 978-0764542220
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #103,720 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

89 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I tried it and liked it., January 20, 2004

By	Christian Einfeldt "Digital Tipping Point guy" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm an attorney who uses OpenOffice.org (OOo) every day in his law practice. I don't usually read a user manual like one would read a novel, but I actually read OOo for Dummies cover to cover because 1) the book is readable, 2) I learned how to use features that I didn't even know existed in OOo. For example, I'm going to travel to Oregon for business, and learned that I could put a map in a background for a spreadsheet to coordinate my travels there, after reading in OOo for Dummies that such was possible. I never would have thought of that. :-) This Dummies book also gives simple, easy step by step instructions for doing stuff. There are several books on OpenOffice.org, and I have bought them all. Each of them has a different use, so you really are not wasting your money if you buy all of them. However, if you don't want to buy them all, OOo for Dummies is good for any user who wants ideas as to how they could use OOo, and it's good for users who really need a clear step-by-step explanation of how to do stuff. Even though it is a "Dummies" book, this book is also good for intermediate users who knew how to do stuff and forgot. This book is also a good way for users (like me) who can't figure out how to download the program from http://www.openoffice.org and who need to get software on CDs, as a CD is included with the book. If you haven't used open source software before, OOo and this Dummies book is a good way to try it. Also, I think that you will be really surprised how powerful this free software program is. You can do some very sophisticated stuff with it, such as graphics, web pages, drawings, etc. I was using another major office suite before I began using OOo, and I found that I could do everthing I wanted with OOo.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good, but not as in depth as I would like., September 2, 2005

By	B. Laue (Minnesota, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book covers the major aspects of the software suite, but it really doesn't get into the details of the programs. For that, I recommend a Dummies book on the Microsoft version, since they don't have an in-depth book on the OpenOffice.org version of the software applications. For what it is, an overview of the suite, it is very good. I highly recommend it as a fantastic starting point. I paid a paltry $7 for the book, delivered. How can you go wrong with a price like that? Truth be told, I believe it would have been worth the cover price of $24.99. It is an excellent book to start with, but you'll want to dig deeper after you make it through this book. I hope the authors will consider making full-blown Dummies books for Impress/Presentation, and Calc/Spreadsheet, and the Writer/Text Document applications, too.

I highly recommend OpenOffice.org to all non-profit organizations, as well as for-profit companies: save yourselves $200-$500, per computer, along with the upgrade/compatibility issues, and dump Microsoft. You will be glad you did. Cheers!

37 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great book and a terrific resource for our organization, April 27, 2004

By	draden (SLC, UT USA) - See all my reviews

We are a company that pride our selves on being cutting edge, if not bleeding edge with open source software solutions. We had used MS office for years but as OOo has gotten more advanced we
started migrating over to it as a great alternative.One of my main job duties here is actually the OOo expert. I field any questions, do training, and I am basically the PR front for our now 800 users. I just ordered 20 copies of your book so I can lend them out to users with concerns and questions. It is a great book and a terrific resource for our organization.