DOCUMENTATION

WRITER - BASICS
● A variety of word processors such as Microsoft Word, Open Office , and Star Office have been developed to
make text input and editing on the computer easy. An online word-processing or Web-based word processer
such as:
Google Docs, Office 365 Word, Microsoft OneDrive Word

● Apache OpenOffice:
Apache OpenOffice is a free and open-source software that has been developed by the Apache Software
Foundation. OpenOffice can be downloaded for free from:
http://www.openoffice.org/

● OpenOffice is a free and open source software (FOSS): It can be freely downloaded and one can
make change in its code and creates their own software.

The Apache OpenOffice package contains the following:

•OpenOffice Writer (.odt)- Word processor(.doc/.docx)
•OpenOffice Calc (.ods)- Spreadsheet (.xls/.xlsx)
•OpenOffice Impress (.odp)- Presentation (.ppt/.pptx)
•OpenOffice Base (Database Management System)
•OpenOffice Draw (Graphics)
•OpenOffice Math (Equation Editor)
 INTRODUCTION To Open Office Writer

● Oo writer Packages are the set of programs written specifically for text manipulation.
● This mainly involves operations like creating, editing, viewing, searching and replacing,
formatting, saving and printing text.

Getting Started

Method (1):

Start/windows button—> All Programs —> openoffice —> Click on Oo Writer

Method (2):
To start OpenOffice Writer in Windows, double click OpenOffice Writer shortcut, which is usually
found on the computer desktop.
Window
1. Title Bar:
The various components of title bar are:
(i) Control Menu Button: On the extreme left upper corner of the window, there is a small icon same as that for MS Word. Just
near this, quick access bar present which is used to access some tools directly like save, redo, undo etc.
ii) Name of Application/file: Control menu button is immediately followed by the name of the application and the file name
iii) Control Buttons: On the extreme right upper corner of the window, there are three buttons — Minimize, Restore and Close
Buttons.
(a) Minimize button reduces the window to an icon on task bar but Word still remains active.
(b) Restore button again brings Word window to the maximum original size.
(c) Close button brings us out of Word.

2. Menu Bar: It displays the Word Menu — File, Home, View, Insert etc.
(i) You can select any of the options by either clicking the mouse on it or by using shortcut which you get when you
press Alt + Ctrl key.
(ii) Select any option and you will see a submenu/groups. This menu tells you about the additional functions provided under
the selected option.
3. Rulers: There are two rulers for each application window — horizontal ruler and vertical ruler. The horizontal and vertical rulers
align text, graphics, tables and other elements in the documents. The length of tab can also be adjusted.
4. Standard toolbar: It contains commands in the form of icons.
5. Formatting toolbar: It contains the various options for formatting a document. A graphical
representation of commands is shown in the form of icons.
6.Vertical Scroll Bar: It is used to move backwards or forwards in the document.
7. Previous Page Button: It displays the previous page of the document.
8. Next Page Button: It displays the next page of the document.

 Creating a New Document

To create a new text document in Open Office Writer:
 
1. Select File New Text Document
Or
2. Click New button on the Standard toolbar and select the desired option the menu to create a
new text document.
Or
3. You can also press Ctrl + N on the keyboard to create a new document.
Saving a Document
Keyboard Shortcut
To save a document
Save Ctrl +S
1. Click the File menu Save As Shift + Ctrl + S
2. Select Save As option
Or
Click the Save button(in case already saved) on the Standard bar.
3. The Save As dialog box appears.
4. Select the location where you want to save the document.
5. Type the file name, and click on the Save button. Documents created and saved in Writer have the extension
.odt (in open office) and .docx(in MS word) by default.

Saving a file in different format

If you want to save a file in a different format other than the default format .odt of OpenOffice Writer. The Steps
are:
1. Select Save As option of File menu.
2. The Save As dialog box appears.
a.Select the File type from the Save as type drop-down
list. b.Type the filename.
c.Click Save button.
Opening a Document
To open an already saved document in OpenOffice Writer:

File Open
Or
Click the Open button on the Standard bar.
Or
Press Ctrl + O.
2. The Open dialog box appears
3. Select the Drive and the folder.
4. Select the file and click Open button.

Closing a Document :

File Close

Exit Writer:

File Exit

Note: Text Cursor: The Text Cursor is a flashing vertical line are called as cursor control keys.

Home and End. Pressing the Home key jump to the beginning of the line and pressing End key jump to the end of a line. To
jump to the beginning of a document, press the Ctrl key, hold it down, then press the End key (Ctrl+Home). • To ju end of a
document, press the Ctrl key, hold it down, then press the End key (Ctrl+End).
 EDITING A DOCUMENT
● Editing means making changes into existing text.
● Before editing, you may need to select the text.
● Selection of text can be done with the keyboard or the mouse.

a.) Selecting Text Using a Mouse :


Selecting Text Using Keyboard:
b.) Inserting a Blank Line

You can also insert a blank line between two existing lines. The steps are:
1. Place the cursor at the end of the line after which you want to insert a blank line.
2. Press Enter. You will notice that the next line gets shifted down and a blank line is inserted.
c.) Deleting Text
1. Position the cursor to the left of the character to be deleted.
2. Press DELETE.
Or
1. Position the cursor to the right of the character to be deleted.
2. Press BACKSPACE.
● To delete a block of text, the steps
are: 1. Select the text to be deleted.
2. ress DELETE or BACKSPACE.
● To delete a word, the steps are:
1. Place the cursor to the left of the word to be deleted.
2. Press Ctrl + Delete.
Or
1. Place the cursor to the right of the word to be deleted.
2. Press Ctrl + Backspace.
d.) Undo and Redo Commands

1. If, by mistake, you have made some changes and now you want to erase the last change done, then use the
Undo option. After undo command, again if you want to go back then use the Redo option
Or
Click the Undo button on the Standard bar / Click the Redo button on the Standard bar.

Keyboard Shortcut
Undo Ctrl + Z
e.) Copying/Moving Text Redo Ctrl + Y
1. Select the text and click on Edit
2. Place the cursor where the text has to be moved. Click o

f.) Copy and Paste

It is used to make a duplicate copy of selected text.
1. Select the text and click on Edit→ Copy option.
2. Place the cursor where the text has to be duplicated. Click on Edit→Pasteoption.

Keyboard Shortcut
Cut Ctrl + X
Copy Ctrl + C
Paste Ctrl + V
h.) Highlighting Text
Highlighting means making the text look different colored background. The steps to highlight text are:

1. Select the text.

2. 2. Click the drop-down arrow of the Highlighting button on the Formatting bar.
OR
You can click the drop-down arrow of Highlighting button on the Properties side bar.
3. Select the desired color for highlighting from the color palette.

i.) Line and Paragraph Spacing

Line spacing is the amount of white space between lines of text in a paragraph.
The steps to set the line spacing are :
1. Place the cursor within the paragraph whose line spacing you want to change or select the paragraph.
2. Select Paragraph option from the Format menu.
3. The Paragraph dialog box appears.
4. Click the Indents & Spacing tab .
5. Specify the spacing before and after the paragraph.
6. You can also specify the Line spacing -> Click OK.
j.) Setting Alignment
Alignment is the manner in which text is placed within the margins of a page. The steps to change the alignment of text are :
1. Select the text.
2. Select Paragraph option from the Format menu .
3. The Paragraph dialog box appears. Keyboard Shortcut

4. Select the desired alignment option Click ok. Left alignment Ctrl + L
Or Right alignment Ctrl + R
You can click a desired alignment button on the Formatting bar. Centre alignment Ctrl + E
Justified Ctrl+J
k.) Setting Tabs
1. Each time you press the TAB key, the cursor moves ½ inch to the right. The TAB selector is located to the left of the horizontal
ruler, you can set four types of tab stops: Left, Right, Cantered.
2. Tab stops can be set in any one of the following ways:
i. By clicking TAB selector to the left of the horizontal ruler
ii. By selecting Paragraph option of the Format menu.

Setting Tab stop using horizontal ruler

You can set tab stops using the horizontal ruler:
1. Repeatedly click the tab selector at the left of the horizontal ruler to get the desired type of tab you want.
2. Click on the horizontal ruler at the position where you want the tab stop.
 l.) Jumping to the page number: Sometimes we may require to jump to a particular
page number. It becomes difficult to scroll down if it is a large document with several
pages. In such a situation, ‘G this,

● Select the Edit Menu→ Go to Page.

● Specify the page number in the dialog box. The cursor will move to the first
character of the specified page number directly.

m.) Non- Printing Characters: To display the non-printing character, press the toggle
formatting mark (¶) or use keyboard sho sign and spacebar is shown by dot (.)

Keyboard Shortcut
Goto page Ctrl + G
toggle formatting mark Ctrl + F10
n.) SPELLING & GRAMMAR: While typing in an OpenOffice Writer document, a red or
blue wavy lines under the text appears. A red wavy line indicates a misspelled word
and a wavy line indicates a grammatical mistake.
To check the spelling and grammar of the document (or selected text),
1. Select Tools → Spelling and Grammar,
or
click the Spelling and Grammar button on the Standard toolbar,
or
press the keyboard key F7.
2. The Spelling and Grammar dialog box opens.

Automatic Spell Checker: checks each word as it is typed and displays a wavy red line
under any unrecognised words. Right-click on an unrecognised word to open a
context menu. Certain suggestions will be displayed for the selected word. Click on
the most appropriate word out of the suggested words to replace the underlined
word.
o.) Synonyms and the Thesaurus: A word processor helps to look up synonyms
(different words with the same meaning) and antonyms (words with the opposite
meaning) in the thesaurus. The list of synonyms can be accessed from a context
menu. Right-click on a word and point to Synonyms on the context menu. A
submenu of alternative words and phrases are displayed. Click on a word or phrase
in the submenu to replace it with the highlighted word or phrase in the document.

Formatting a document
a.) Page setup: It allows to select paper size and format (A4, A5, B4, Letter). User can
adjust ‘Orientation’ as Portrait or La
Right, Top, Down). To setup a page:
select and click on the FormatPageSetup→ and the Page option.
b.) Changing margins using rulers
1.Margin is the amount of white space between the text and the edge of the page on all four sides.
2.This can change page settings such as page size, margins, and orientation of a document.
3.To set the margin using the rulers. On the horizontal ruler, the shaded part depicts the left and
right margins. On the vertical ruler, the shaded part depicts the top and bottom margins.

c.) Orientation setting

Orientation refers to the direction in which the page is printed. The default paper orientation is
Portrait in which document is printed along the width of the paper.
The steps to set the paper size, margins, and paper orientation are:
● 1. Select Page option from Format menu. 2. The Page Style: Default dialog box appears.
a. Click the Page tab.
b. Select the page format.
c. Set custom page size by specifying the width and height.
d. Specify left, right, top, and bottom margins.
e. You can select page orientation as Portrait or landscape.
 Formatting text

There are various methods of formatting text. These methods are

● use the menu options from menu bar.
● use the readily available buttons on the formatting toolbar.
● use the context menu. The context menu appears by right clicking on the selected text.
● use the keyboard shortcut.

a.) Removing manual formatting:

To see the effect of formatting the text, first remove manual formatting. For this, select the text and choose
Format → Clear Direct

b.) Character/text Formatting

Character formatting can be done either by using the Format menu or by using the Formatting toolbar.
Character Formatting Using the Format Menu
1 Select the text.
. Click the Format menu bar and then select
2 Character option.
.
3. The Character dialog box appears.
You can change the font, font size, and
typeface using the Font tab in the dialog
box.
Click on the Font Effects tab to change
the font color, font effect, and apply other
styles such as underlining. 3. Click OK after
choosing the desired options.
Keyboard
Shortcut
Bold Ctrl + B
Italic Ctrl + I
Underline Ctrl + U
c.) Changing text case: It is possible
to change the case of the text. There are 6
Change Case options
1. UPPER CASE
2. lower case
3. Sentence Case
4. Capitalize each word
5. Cycle case
6. tOGGLE cASE
(d) Superscript and Subscript: For example, in the’ characdate5terh Julap is in the superscript case.
In some situations, such as while writing scientific/chemical formula, such O2, the character 2 is in the
subscript case. Now, in our example, change the 5th July to 5th July.
• To apply superscript: Select the text and select
• To apply subscript: Select the text and select

Paragraph style
a.) Indenting Paragraphs: Click on the ‘Increase Indent’ too Indent tool, the current paragraph’s indent
wil the indent.

b.) Using the bullets and numbering: The bullets or numbering to the list items can be assigned in
the document by using the options on the Bullets and Numbering toolbar. You can also create a nested list
by using the buttons on the Bullets and Numbering toolbar.
c.) Assigning colour, border and background :
1. To assign background colour to the paragraph, first select the paragraph.
2. Select Format → Paragraph → Area→ Colour, th
3. To assign border to the paragraph, select the
Select Line –Style, Width, Colour.
4. After selecting, click 'Ok'.
 Page Formatting

(a) Setting up basic page layout using styles: Same as setting page
setup (discussed before)
(b) Inserting a Page Break:To indicate the end of a page, you can insert a page
break. The steps to insert a page break are:
1. Click at the position where you want to insert a page break.
2. Select Manual Break option from the Insert menu. The Insert Break dialog box
appears. Select the Page break option.
3. Click OK.

Keyboard Shortcut
Page break Ctrl + return
(c) Creating header/footer and page numbers: Headers appear at the top of every
page; footers appear at the bottom of a page.
1. To insert header in the document, s
Header
2. To insert footer in the document, s
Footer.
3. To enter page numbers in the footer section, place the cursor in the footer
section and select Insert → Page Numbe

d.) Defining borders and backgrounds:


i. To add background color to the paragraph, select the paragraph right-click anywhere
  
in the paragraph choose Paragraph from the context menu select the Area tab
choose Color --> click OK.

ii. To add border to the paragraph, select the paragraph right-click anywhere in the
  
paragraph choose Paragraph from the context menu select the border tab
click OK.
e.) Inserting elements in writer:
i. Inserting Images:
● Select Insert → Image. or

● Just click on the insert image icon, located below the Formatting Toolbar
● Select the image file.
● Click on Open button or just double click on the image file. The image will get inserted in the
file.
ii. Inserting special character: Some characters are there, which cannot be typed by using the
keyboard. OpenOffice Writer provides a feature to enter the number of special. To do this
select Insert → Special Character.
iii. Inserting shapes: The variety of shapes consists of Lines, Arrows, Symbols, Stars, Callouts,
Flowcharts. For this, keep the cursor in t
Shape.
iv. Dividing the document page into column: To divide the page into columns, select Format
 
→ Column AColumn dialogue box appears Enter the number of columns in the
 
Column entry box Give the value for spacing between the columns and click OK.
v. Formatting the shape or image: To format the shape or image inserted in the
document. For instance, user can change its size, colour, add borders, change its
position, etc. First, select the shape or image by clicking on it. Then make use of
the Tool Bar to perform the required changes.
vi. Inserting Table: three ways ti insert a table:
1. click the Table icon on the Standard toolbar. On the drop-down graphic,
choose the size of the table.
2. Select Table → Insert Table from the Menu bar
3. Press Ctrl+F12.
vii. To explore more features: For this, select Table → Properties.
 ix. Inserting rows and columns: To insert one row or column in the table:
•Place the cursor in the row or column before or after which you want to add new
rows or columns.
•Click on the Rows Above or Rows Below icons in the Table toolbar to insert one
row above or below the selected one.
•Click on the Columns Left or Columns Right icons in the Table toolbar to insert a
column to the left or right of the selected one.

To add more than one row/column.

•Choose Insert → Rows Above/Below or Insert → Columns Above/Below. Set number
to define the number of rows or columns to be inserted, and select the Position as
Before or After.
•Click OK to close the dialog box.
x. Deleting rows and columns: To delete one or more rows or columns, place the
cursor in the row or column you want to delete, then
• Click on the Rows or Columns icons o or

• Right-click and choose Delete → Rows or or

• PressAlt+Delete on the keyboard and use the arrow keys to delete rows or
column.
xi. To Split a table: Place the cursor in a cell that will be in the top row of the second
table after the split
• Choose Table → Split Table from the
• A Split Table dialog opens. You can for the heading—the top row(s) of the new
table.
• Click OK.
xii. To merge two tables: Select Table menu → Merge T xii. Deleting a table: Click

anywhere in the table Choose Table → D xiv. Copying a table:

1. Table → Select → Table.

2. Press Ctrl+C to copy
3. Move the cursor to the target position
4. Press Ctrl+V or click the Paste icon.
xiv. Moving a table:
1. Table → Select → Table.
2. Press Ctrl+X to cut
3. Move the cursor to the target position
4. Press Ctrl+V or click the Paste icon.
 Printing a document
Print preview: Print Preview is useful to check the document before printing. A user can check
whether the document is prepared as needed, such as indentation, borders, etc.

To print the document:Ctrl+P(TheFileselected →optionsPrintwillwork forthe current

document only)

Printing all pages, single and multiple pages:

One can select the printing option as per their choice. There are three options to print the number
of pages in a document.
• To print all the pages in sequence, choose
• To print a single page, or number of non c the page numbers separated by comma. If you want
to print the pages that are consecutive give the range of pages first and last page (for example 3-
8).
• To print only the selected text, choose th
 Mail Merge
●In mail merge two documents are created. One with the common contents is the main
document or form letter and other holding the address list is called the data source.
●Form letter consists of the main document and the data source. Data source contains
values of the corresponding variables of the main document.

Creating the data source:

1. Create a new document and type the letter to be sent to the multiple recipients.
2. Select Tool → Mail Merge Wizard
3. Select Starting document → Use the current document → Next.
4. In Step 2, select the Document type → Letter → Next
5. Select Address List”.The“SelectAddress List.
6. Click on the Create button. After clicking on the Create button a New Address List
window will appear In this window under the Address Information section, enter the
information of the recipient
6. If you wish to customise the fields of recipient information, click on Customise button.
A 'Customise Address List' window will appear Now you can add, delete or rename
any field name,
(a) Add (for a new field)
(b) Delete (to delete an unnecessary field)
(c) Rename (to change the name of the field)
7. After entering the data of first recipient, click on the New button to enter the
information of the next recipient. After entering the information of the entire recipient,
click on the OK button to close the list.
8. After clicking OK button, the Save As dialog box opens, which will allow to save the
list of recipient in .CSV format.
9. After saving the list a window will appear, which will display the various recipient list
created till now. You can select any of the created list till now. Select the required list
and click on OK button.
10. After clicking on OK button, you will move to Step 3 of Mail Merge Wizard, a window
Insert Address Block will appear, which will show you the address block
11. Click on Next button, you will move to Step 4 of Mail Merge Wizard. A Create
Salutation window appear to set the salutations for male and female recipients.
12.Click on Next button, you will move to last Step 5 of Mail Merge Wizard. An Adjust
layout window will appear, to set the layout of the recipient address on the page.
13.In the next step, the Writer will display the document with the Mail Merge Toolbar
below the standard toolbar.
14.Now click on Edit Individual Documents button to merge the letter with the address
of the recipients.
use the other options on the Mail Merge toolbar, such as
(a) To exclude some of the recipient check on the checkbox of Exclude recipient.
(b) To save the merged document, click on the Save Merged Documents button.
(c) To print the merged document, click on the Print Merged Documents button.
(d) To send the letters by email, click on the Send Email Messages button.