OpenOffice Word Processor

This page is a work-in-progress

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 They View Files
  • 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
4. Insert Into Documents
   • Breaks
   • Date, Time, Etc.
   • Special Characters
   • Headers, Footers, Footnotes:
   • Frames, Notes, Tables
   • Pictures
   • Tables
5. Format Files and Text
   • Change Font Style, Color, Size, Etc.
   • Indent, Double Space
   • Center, Right, Left Align Text
   • Create Borders
6. Use Tools
   • Spellcheck
   • Thesaurus
   • Word Count
   • AutoCorrect
   • Footnotes, Endnotes
   • Outline and Line Numbering
7. Open New Windows
   • View Open Windows
   • Close Windows
8. Get Help
   • OpenOffice.org.Help
9. 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