OpenOffice Word Processor

Introduction

• Who has used a word processor before? Who has used OpenOffice before?
• What do you plan to do with OpenOffice Word Processor?

Objectives

• Students will be able to:
  • Manage files
  • Edit files
  • Change the way a document is viewed
  • Insert into documents
  • Format files and text
  • Use tools
  • Open new windows
  • Get help
  • Use shortcuts

Class Outline

1. Manage Files
   • Create a Document
     • To create a document, open up Word Processor. Go to: Applications (the top-left option on your panel), scroll down to Office, click on OpenOffice Word Processor.
     • To create a new document when OpenOffice Word Processor is already open, you have several choices:
       • You may use a shortcut (Ctrl + n).
       • you may go to file, New, Text Document
       • you may click the top-left icon on the panel that looks like a piece of paper.
   • Save a Document
     • To save a document, go to file, "save as". This will open a window for you.
     • You will then have several choices to make. The first choice is what to name the document. Once you have named your document, click "save." Your document will be saved to your home folder, which is the default folder.
   • Find your document
     • A great way to quickly find your document is to go to: Places: Home Folder: Documents. You should find your document there if you saved to your home folder.
   • Create a Folder on Your Desktop
     • Creating a folder on your desktop will allow you to easily access files from the desktop. To create the folder:
       • Go to the desktop (An easy way to get right to the Desktop is to click the far left icon on the bottom panel.)
       • Once you're at the Desktop, left-mouse click on the Desktop.
       • Of the Options, choose "Create Folder."
       • A New folder will appear. To name, click on "untitled folder" and type in a name. You may always change the name of your folder.
   • Save to the Folder
     • To save to the folder on your Desktop, Click File: Save As.
     • Next to your home folder (which will have the name of your username), you should see "Desktop."
     • Clicking on "Desktop" will give you the option of choosing your new folder.
     • Click on your new folder, and then choose "save."
   • Password-Protect Files
     • You may choose to Password-Protect a document. Why would you choose this? Because you don't want anyone but you to be able to access the document.
     • To do this: Go to File: Save As: and click Save with Password.
     • You will then need to generate a password, and enter it twice. Your file is now password-protected!
   • Save as Microsoft Word Document
     • If you want to share a file with someone who operated Windows, you will need to save your file as a Microsoft Word Document.
     • Go to File: Save As: and click on the bar where it says "OpenDocument Text (odt)." Scroll down until you find: Microsoft Word 97/2000/XP (.doc). Then click on "Save" and your document will be saved as a Microsoft Word Document.
2. Edit Files
   • Undo, Redo
     • At this point, type a few sentences into a document.
     • Highlight all that you just typed and delete it. OH NO! All is not lost, though! Go to: Edit: Undo, and your work should reappear. Yes! Wait! You really did mean to delete it all. Go to Edit: Redo, and it should disappear again!
   • Cut, Copy, Paste
     • Cut, Copy, and Paste are extremely helpful when editing documents. If there is something you want to move you may "cut" and then "paste" to a different part of the document by highlighting the section to be moved. If there is a certain section you would like to have in more than one spot, you may copy it and paste it to a different part.
       • Detailed Instructions: Cut: Highlight section to be cut. Once you have the section highlighted, please Go to Edit: Cut. You may also right-mouse-click on the highlighted area and click "Cut." You may follow the same pattern for Copy. The only difference will be: With Cut, the highlighted text will disappear, and with "Copy" it will remain there.
       • Whether you choose to Cut or Copy, you will Paste in the same way. Move your cursor to the spot you want the text to appear, and either go to Edit: Paste, or right-mouse-click and select "Paste."
   • Find and Replace
     • Find and Replace can be a very useful tool to use if you have accidentally typed the wrong word throughout a document, or if you accidentally referred to someone by the wrong name, or if you have an awesome love letter but change the object of your affection often. You can make the computer find all of one word and replace it with another word. The way it works is:
       • Go to Edit: Find and Replace. Type the word to find and the word to replace it with, and then select "find all" and "replace all."
3. Change the Way you View Your Document
   • Customize the Toolbar (Drawing, etc.)
     • You may customize your toolbar by clicking on View and then Toolbar.
   • Zoom
     • To zoom in or out on a document, click on "View" and scroll down to "Zoom." Choose the size you would like to view.
4. Insert Into Documents
   • Breaks
     • Inserting a Manual Break can allow you to move to a new page, a new line, or a new column automatically.
   • Inserting Fields
     • By clicking Fields, you have a variety of items to choose from. Play around with it, and see how you could use it.
   • Special Characters
     • If you want to insert a special character like © or §, you can do so by clicking on "Special Characters" and then double-clicking the character of your choice.
   • Headers, Footers, Footnotes:
     • These are especially useful if you are writing a book or an academic paper. To add a footnote, simply click on "Footnote" and one will appear.
   • Pictures
     • A picture says a thousand words. So why not just insert a picture into your document? To do so, click on "Insert" and scroll down to "Picture" and choose "From File." Then, your pictures will open up, and you may choose one by double-clicking it.
   • Tables
     • To insert a table, click on "Insert" and scroll down to "Table." You will then have several choices to make: How many rows and columns? What do you want to title your table? Do you want a heading? Once you have made your choices, click "OK" and your table will appear. Cool!
5. Format Files and Text
   • Change Font Style, Color, Size, Etc.
     • To change your font, click "Format" and Scroll down to "Character." You may choose from a variety of fonts, effects, and background colors.
   • Indent, Double Space
     • To indent or double space, click on "Format" and then scroll down to "Paragraph." You will have many options within "paragraph," including the spacing of your lines.
   • Center, Right, Left Align Text
     • You may choose your alignment within "Paragraph" under "Format" as well. Simply highlight desired text, and choose "right", "left", or "middle."
   • Create Borders
     • To create a border, go to "Format" and then scroll down to "Paragraph." The far-right tab is "Borders." If you click on this tab, you will be able to add a border.
6. Use Tools
   • Spellcheck
     • Spellcheck is an awesome tool. You may choose to spellcheck your document when you have finished creating it, or you may spellcheck as you go. If you make spelling errors, a squiggly red line with appear under the misspelled word. You may right-click on the work to get some suggested spellings, or you may choose to go to "Tools" and then scroll down the "Spellcheck."
   • Word Count
     • Sometimes you will have a limit on how many words you can use in a document. Or, maybe you are simply curious to know how many words you are using. To count the words in an entire document, go to "Tools" and Scroll down to "Word Count." All words in the document will be counted.
     • To count the number of words used in a selected section of a document, highlight the section in question and then go to "Tools" and Scroll down to "Word Count."
   • AutoCorrect
     • We all have words we consistently spell incorrectly. You may use the Autocorrect function to automatically correct your commonly misspelled words.
7. Get Help
   • OpenOffice.org.Help
     • This is an extremely helpful function! Use it to type in questions and find answers! Good LUCK!
8. Use Shortcuts
   • Underscore: Ctrl + u
   • Bold: Ctrl + b
   • Italics: Ctrl + I
   • New Document: Ctrl + n
   • Select All: Ctrl + a
   • Copy: Ctrl + c
   • Cut: Ctrl + x
   • Paste: Ctrl + v
   • Save: Ctrl + s
   • Print: Ctrl + p
   • Exit: Ctrl + q
   • Find and Replace: Ctrl + f
   • Center: Ctrl + e

Instructions for the Instructor

• This class is an introduction to using a word processsor. You do not need to address every single part of this outline. The most important part of this process is for the students to learn something they will use. Tailor the class to the students' needs.