UNIT 2 OFFICE TOOLS
Structure 2.0 Learning Outcomes 2.1 Introduction 2.2 LibreOffice Basics 2.3 LibreOffice Writer 2.3.1 Getting Started with Writer 2.3.2 Working with Documents 2.3.3 Editing a Document 2.3.4 Styles and Formatting Documents 2.3.5 Working with Tables 2.3.6 Working with Mail Merge 2.4 Calc - Electronic Spreadsheets 2.4.1 Getting Started With Calc 2.4.2 Working with a Spreadsheet 2.4.3 Modifying a Spreadsheet 2.4.4 Creating Formulas using Functions 2.4.5 Creating a Chart 2.5 Impress : Basics of Presentations 2.5.1 Getting Started with Impress 2.5.2 Creating a Presentation 2.5.3 Formatting a Presentation 2.5.4 Selecting Slide Layout 2.5.5 Adding Pictures, Tables, Charts, Media and Animation 2.5.6 Creating an Animation 2.5.7 Slide Masters 2.5.8 Putting Together a Slide Show 2.5.9 Modifying the Slide Show 2.5.10 Running Slide Show 2.6 LibreOffice Applications in Libraries 2.7 Summary 2.8 Answers to Self Check Exercises 2.9 Keywords 2.10 References and Further Reading
2.0 LEARNING OUTCOMES After reading this Unit, you will be able to:
identify that LibreOffice is a freely available, open source, fully-featured office productivity suite supported on multiple platforms including Windows, Linux and Mac OS X.;
describe that productivity suite refers to office suite, office software suite, or application suite as a collection of application software of related functionality, often sharing a more-or-less common user interface; 3 6 highlight how to use LibreOffice applications such as Writer (word processor or Office Tools text editor), Calc (spreadsheet) and Impress (presentation);
describe how different applications wizards in the office tools help you in handling tasks for its various applications; and
discuss that how everyday office and library-related works are simplified using various applications of LibreOffice software.
2.1 INTRODUCTION While we all recognise that Microsoft Office is indeed an industry standard in office tools such as word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, database management and desktop publishing, however it is important to note that office tools are also available as free and open source software such as Apache OpenOffice, LibreOffice, NeoOffice, GoogleDocs and KOffice. Choosing free software over proprietary software doesn’t mean you will compromise on features and support. Today’s open source office tools are as feature-rich as Microsoft tools. They also provide ample online documentation and large communities of users and developers. These office tools are generally referred to as office suite, productivity suite, applications tools because they come as a collection of applications mainly consisting of word processor, spreadsheet and presentation bundled together and quite often sharing a common user interface. Free and open source office tools have become viable alternatives to Microsoft Office. In this Unit you will be introduced to the LibreOffice applications Writer, Calc and Impress. This Unit is developed as a summary of ‘Getting Started Guide 4.0’ - the official documentation issued by The Document Foundation, the body responsible for developing and launching LibreOffice suite of productivity tools and hence much of the content in this Unit is a copy of ‘Getting Started Guide 4.0’. (The work is under Creative Commons Attribution License).
2.2 LIBREOFFICE BASICS LibreOffice - formerly known as OpenOffice.org – is a freely available suite of office applications that you can download and install for free without any copyright infringement. OpenOffice.org has been taken over by Oracle and is no longer open source software. LibreOffice suite was developed in 2010 by The Document Foundation – a non-profit organisation that promotes open-source document handling software. LibreOffice suite is a fork of OpenOffice, meaning the underlying source code is the same, but the software has gone in a different development direction. LibreOffice is a comprehensive, professional-quality office tool available in more than 114 languages and for all major operating systems, including Microsoft Windows, FreeBSD, Mac OSX and Linux (Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Mandriva, Suse, ...). LibreOffice is user-friendly. It offers a simple-to-use yet powerful interface that is easy to personalise. Its native file format is Open Document Format (ODF), an open standard format. Since it stores data in an international open standard format, it is therefore compatible with all major file formats. You can easily import files from Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint and many other formats and can easily open and save documents to Microsoft Office and in many other formats when needed. LibreOffice Components LibreOffice suite components include word process, spreadsheet, presentation graphics and database, drawing and math tools.
3 7 Digital Literacy Writer: It is a word processor and a text editor, similar to Microsoft Word or WordPerfect. Usually a file created by Writer is saved as ODT (Open Document File Text Document) with an .ODT file format. Writer can also read and edit files from other word processors with .DOC, .DOCX, .RTF, etc. file formats.
Calc: It is a spreadsheet application, similar to Microsoft Excel or Lotus 1-2-3. It is a tool for creating and editing datasheets. Based on data series, it can also generate different charts. Usually a file created by Calc is saved as ODS (Open Document File Spreadsheet Document) with an .ODS file format. Calc can also read and edit files from other spreadsheet applications with .XLS, .XLSX, .XLT, etc. file formats.
Impress: It is a presentation application, similar to Microsoft PowerPoint or Apple Keynote. Usually a file created by Impress is saved as ODP (Open Document File Presentation Document) with an .ODP file format. Impress can also read and edit files from other presentation applications with .PPT, .PPTX, .PPS, etc. file formats.
Base: It is a database management application, similar to Microsoft Access or FoxPro.
Draw: It is a drawing editor, similar to Microsoft Paint or CorelDraw.
Math. It is a tool for creating and editing mathematical formulae. Starting LibreOffice You can launch LibreOffice by using the system menu. On Microsft Windows it is called the Start Menu. On Ubuntu Unity, it is called the Application Menu. On Mac OS X, it is the Application Menu. On clicking LibreOffice icon it will open up a screen as given in Figure 2.1. You need to select a program for your application. For example, if you want to create a text document, you click on Text Document on the screen. Similarly, if you want to create a spreadsheet, you click on Spreadsheet on the screen.
Fig. 2.1: Start Center in LibreOffice 4.0.1 Source: http://www.libreoffice.org/features/ LibreOffice Advantages – As per The Documentation Foundation LibreOffice suite 3 8 offers several advantages over other office suites. These are as follows: No licensing fees: LibreOffice is free for anyone to use and distribute at no cost. Office Tools Many add-in features that come at extra in other office suites (like PDF export) are free with LibreOffice. There are no hidden charges now or in the future.
Open source: You can distribute, copy and modify the software as much as you wish, in accordance with the LibreOffice Open Source licenses.
Cross-platform: LibreOffice runs on several hardware architectures and under multiple operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.
Extensive language support: The LibreOffice user interface is available in over 40 languages and the LibreOffice project provides spelling, hyphenation and thesaurus dictionaries in over 70 languages and dialects. LibreOffice also provides support for both Complex Text Layout (CTL) and Right to Left (RTL) layout languages (such as Urdu, Hebrew and Arabic).
Consistent user interface: All the components have a similar “look and feel,” making them easy to use and master.
Integration: All the components of LibreOffice are well integrated with one another. – All the components share a common spelling checker and other tools, used consistently across the suite. For example, the drawing tools available in Writer are also found in Calc, with similar but enhanced versions in Impress and Draw. – You do not need to know which application was used to create a particular file. For example, you can open a Draw file from Writer.
Granularity: Usually, if you change an option, it affects all components. However, LibreOffice options can be set at the component level or even at the document level.
File compatibility: In addition to its native OpenDocument formats, LibreOffice includes PDF and Flash export capabilities, as well as support for opening and saving files in many common formats including Microsoft Office, HTML, XML, WordPerfect and Lotus 1-2-3 formats. An extension (included) provides the ability to import and edit some PDF files.
No vendor lock-in: LibreOffice uses OpenDocument, an XML (eXtensible Markup Language) file format developed as an industry standard by OASIS (Organisation for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards). These files can easily be unzipped and read by any text editor and their framework is open and published.
You have a voice: Enhancements, software fixes and release dates are community driven. You can join the community and affect the course.
2.3 LIBREOFFICE WRITER Writer is a LibreOffice word processor similar to Microsoft Word that you can use to create letters, books, reports, newsletters, brochures and other documents. It offers the usual features of any word processor such as spelling check, thesaurus, hyphenation, autocorrect, find and replace, automatic generation of tables of contents and indexes, mail merge and others. LibreOffice Writer in addition provides few other important features: 3 9 Digital Literacy Templates and styles Page layout methods, including frames, columns and tables Embedding or linking of graphics, spreadsheets and other objects Built-in drawing tools Master documents—to group a collection of documents into a single document Change tracking during revisions Database integration, including a bibliography database Export to PDF, including bookmarks And many more Features wise, Writer is also powerful enough to tackle desktop publishing tasks such as creating multi-column newsletters and brochures. You can use Writer to display multiple pages while you edit - ideal for complex documents or if you have a large display (or multiple monitors). Its styles features can help you to easily make your document presentation look consistent. Writer offers several different format options to save your document such as doc, docx, rtf, txt, html. You can also save your documents in OpenDocument format, the new international standard for text documents. You can open this XML-based format file in any OpenDocument-compliant software such as MS Word. This means that you can export odt files to HTML, XHTML, XML, Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) and to any of the several versions of Microsoft Word files. 2.3.1 Getting Started with Writer Before you get started with Writer, there are a few concepts with which you need to be familiar like what are the parts of the main window of the Writer. The main Writer interface has several parts (Figure 2.2) – title bare, menu bar, standard bar, formatting bar and status bar and in addition it has work area.
Fig. 2.2: LibreOffice Writer Interface Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/3/35/WG40-writerGuideLO.pdf Title Bar: The Title bar is located at the top of the Writer window and shows the file name of the current document. When the document is newly created, the document name will appear as Untitled X, where X is a number. 4 0 Menu Bar: The Menu bar is located just below the Title bar. When you choose one Office Tools of the menus listed below, a submenu drops down to show commands. File contains commands that apply to the entire document such as Open, Save, Print and Export as PDF. Edit contains commands for editing the document such as Undo: xxx (where xxx is the command to undo) and Find & Replace. It also contains commands to Cut, Copy and Paste selected parts of your document. View contains commands for controlling the display of the document such as Zoom and Web Layout. Insert contains commands for inserting elements into your document such as headers, footers and pictures. Format contains commands, such as Styles and Formatting, Paragraph and Bullets and Numbering, for formatting the layout of your document. Table shows all commands to insert and edit a table in a text document. Tools contains functions such as Spelling and Grammar, Customise and Options. Window contains commands for the display window. Help contains links to the LibreOffice Help file, What’s This? and information about the program. Toolbars: Writer has several types of toolbars: docked (fixed in place), floating and tear-off. Docked toolbars can be moved to different locations or made to float and floating toolbars can be docked. The top toolbar, just under the Menu bar, is called the Standard toolbar. It is consistent across the LibreOffice applications (Writer, Calc, Draw and Impress). The second toolbar at the top is the Formatting bar. It is context-sensitive; that is, it shows the tools relevant to the cursor’s current position or selection. For example, when the cursor is on a graphic, the Formatting bar provides tools for formatting graphics; when the cursor is in text, the tools are for formatting text. To display or hide toolbars, choose View ’! Toolbars, then click on the name of a toolbar in the list. An active toolbar shows a check mark beside its name. Tear-off toolbars are not listed in the View menu. Status Bar: The Writer status bar is located at the bottom of the workspace. It provides information about the document and convenient ways to quickly change some document features.
Fig. 2.3: LibreOffice Status Bar
Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/3/35/WG40-WriterGuideLO.pdf
2.3.2 Working with Documents
Now you are ready to learn how to create a Writer document. This section will focus 4 1 Digital Literacy on how to start a new document, open existing documents, save a document, close a document or navigate through a document. This section mainly focuses on these basic concepts. Starting a New Document: You can start a new, blank document in Writer in several ways. From the Start Center: When LibreOffice is open but no document is open (for example, if you close all the open documents but leave the program running), the Start Center is shown. Click one of the icons to open a new document of that type, or click the Templates icon to start a new document using a template. If a document is already open in LibreOffice, the new document opens in a new window. When LibreOffice Writer is open, you can also start a new document in one of the following ways.
Press the Control+N keys.
Use File ’! New ’! Text Document.
Click the New button on the main toolbar.
Use File > Wizards on the main menu bar and select the type of document from the context menu.
If a document is already open in LibreOffice, click the New icon on the Standard toolbar and a new document of the same type opens in a new window. For example, if Calc is open, a new spreadsheet is opened. The New icon changes depending on which component of LibreOffice is open. Opening an Existing Document - You can also open an existing document in one of the following ways. If a document is already open in LibreOffice, the second document opens in a new window.
Choose File ’! Open.
Click the Open button on the main toolbar.
Press Control+O on the keyboard.
Use the Open Document or Recent Documents selections on the Quickstarter. In each case, the Open dialog box appears. Select the file you want and then click Open. If a document is already open in LibreOffice, the second document opens in a new window. In the Open dialog box, you can reduce the list of files by selecting the type of file you are looking for. For example, if you choose Text documents as the file type, you will only see documents Writer can open (including *.odt, *.doc, *.txt). This method opens Word (*.doc) files as well as LibreOffice files and other formats. You can also open an existing Writer document using the same methods you would use to open any document in your operating system. If you have associated Microsoft Office file formats with LibreOffice, you can also open these files by double-clicking on them. Saving a Document To save a new document in Writer, do one of the following:
Press Control+S.
Choose File Save. 4 2 → Click the Save button on the main toolbar. Office Tools When the Save As dialog box appears, enter the file name, verify the file type (if applicable) and click Save. To save an open document with the current file name, choose File ’! Save. This will overwrite the last saved state of the file. You can choose to have Writer save your document automatically at regular intervals. Automatic saving, like manual saving, overwrites the last saved state of the file. To set up automatic file saving:
Select Tools ’! Options ’! Load/Save ’! General.
Click on Save AutoRecovery information every and set the time interval. The default value is 15 minutes. Enter the value you want by typing it or by pressing the up or down arrow keys. To save a document as a Microsoft Word file do as follows:
First save your document in the file format used by LibreOffice Writer, *.odt. If you do not, any changes you made since the last time you saved will only appear in the Microsoft Word version of the document.
Then click File ’! Save As.
On the Save As dialog box, in the File type (or Save as type) drop-down menu, select the type of Word format you need.
Click Save. From this point on, all changes you make to the document will occur only in the Microsoft Word document. You have changed the name and file type of your document. If you want to go back to working with the *.odt version of your document, you must open it again. Closing a Document To close a document, choose File ’! Close or click the Close icon on the document window. The appearance and placement of this icon varies with your operating system, but it typically looks like the X in the red box shown in Figure 2.4. If more than one LibreOffice window is open, each window looks like the sample shown on the left in Figure 2.4. Closing this window leaves the other LibreOffice windows open.
Fig. 2.4: LibreOffice Close Icons
Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/3/35/WG40-WriterGuideLO.pdf If only one LibreOffice window is open, it looks like the sample shown on the right in Figure 2.4. Notice the small black X below the larger X in the red box. Clicking the small black X closes the document but leaves LibreOffice open. Clicking the larger X closes LibreOffice completely. If the document has not been saved since the last change, a message box is displayed. Choose whether to save or discard your changes.
Save: The document is saved and then closed. 4 3 Digital Literacy Discard: The document is closed and all modifications since the last save are lost.
Cancel: Nothing happens and you return to the document. Closing LibreOffice To close LibreOffice completely, click File ’! Exit, or close the last open document as described above. If all the documents have been saved, Writer closes immediately. If any documents have been modified but not saved, a warning message appears. Follow the procedure in “Closing a document” to save or discard your changes. Navigating Through a Document Writer provides many ways to move quickly through a document and find specific items by using the many features of the Navigator, the Navigation toolbar and related icons. The Navigator lists all of the headings, tables, text frames, graphics, bookmarks and other objects contained in a document. To open the Navigator, click its icon (Navigator On/Off) on the Standard toolbar, or press F5, or choose View ’! Navigator on the menu bar, or double-click on the Page number field on the status bar. You can also move through the document using the navigation features of the Status bar. You can click on the small Navigation icon near the lower right-hand corner of the window below the vertical scroll bar, as shown in Figure 2.5.
Fig. 2.5: LibreOffice Navigation Tool Bar Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/3/35/WG40-WriterGuideLO.pdf 2.3.3 Editing a Document Typing and Inserting Text You can copy or move text within a document, or between documents, by dragging or by using menu selections, icons, or keyboard shortcuts. To enter text, just start typing! The text will appear where the blinking cursor is located. Move the cursor by using the arrow buttons on the keyboard or positioning the mouse and clicking the left button. Select, Copy and Paste Text To change any attributes of text it must be highlighted first. Select the text by dragging the mouse over the desired text while keeping the left mouse button depressed, or hold down the SHIFT key on the keyboard while using the arrow buttons to highlight the text. Deselect the text by clicking anywhere outside of the selection on the page or press an arrow key on the keyboard. You can copy text from other sources such as Web pages and paste it into a Writer document. To move (drag and drop) selected text using the mouse, drag it to the new location and release it. To copy selected text, hold down the Ctrl key while dragging. The text retains the formatting it had before dragging. To move (cut and paste) selected text, use Ctrl+X to cut the text, insert the cursor at the paste-in point and use Ctrl+V to paste. Alternatively, use the icons on the Standard toolbar. When you paste text, the 4 4 result depends on the source of the text and how you paste it. If you click on the Paste icon, any formatting the text has (such as bold or italics) is retained. Text pasted from Office Tools Web sites and other sources may also be placed into frames or tables. If you do not like the results, click the Undo icon or press Ctrl+Z. To make the pasted text take on the formatting of the surrounding text where it is being pasted:
Choose Edit > Paste Special, or
Click the triangle to the right of the Paste icon, or
Click the Paste icon without releasing the left mouse button. Then select Unformatted text from the resulting menu. The range of choices on the Paste Special menu varies depending on the origin and formatting of the text (or other object) to be pasted. 2.3.4 Styles and Formatting Documents When you type information into Writer, each time you press the Enter key Writer creates a new paragraph. You can format paragraphs. For example, you can indent the first line of a paragraph, you can set the amount of space that separates paragraphs and you can align a paragraph left, right, center, or flush with both margins. Styles are a set of formats you can quickly apply to a paragraph. For example, by applying a style, you can set the font, set the font size and align a paragraph all at once. LibreOffice provides several ways to select formats and styles to apply. This section focuses on how can format a paragraph and apply styles.
Click the Styles and Formatting icon located at the left-hand end of the formatting toolbar, or click Format > Styles and Formatting, or press F11. The Styles and Formatting window shows the types of styles available for the LibreOffice component you are using. Figure 2.6 shows the window for Writer, with Page Styles visible. You can move this window to a convenient position on the screen or dock it to an edge (hold down the Ctrl key and drag it by the title bar to where you want it docked).
Click on one of the icons at the top left of the Styles and Formatting window to display a list of styles in a particular category.
To apply an existing style, position the insertion point in the paragraph, frame, page or word and then double-click on the name of the style in one of these lists. To apply a character style to more than one word, select the characters first.
Fig. 2.6: Styles and Formatting Tool Bar
Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/3/35/WG40-WriterGuideLO.pdf Formatting Paragraphs 4 5 Digital Literacy You can apply many formats to paragraphs using the buttons on the Formatting toolbar. Figure 2.7 shows the Formatting toolbar as a floating toolbar, customized to show only the icons for paragraph formatting. The appearance of the icons may vary with your operating system and the selection of icon size and style in Tools > Options > LibreOffice > View.
Fig. 2.7: Formatting Toolbar, Showing Icons for Paragraph Formatting Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/3/35/WG40-WriterGuideLO.pdf 1 Open Styles and 5 Align Right 10 Numbering On/Off 2 Apply Style 6 Justified ‘ 11 Bullets On/Off 3 Align Left 7 Line Spacing: 1 12 Decrease Indent 4 Centered 8 Line Spacing: 1.5 13 Increase Indent 9 Line Spacing: 2 14 Paragraph format dialog Formatting Text and Characters You can apply many formats to characters using the buttons on the Formatting toolbar. Figure 2.7 shows the Formatting toolbar, customised to include only the icon for character formatting. The appearance of the icons may vary with your operating system and the selection of icon size and style in Tools > Options > LibreOffice > View.
1 Open Styles and 6 Italic 12 Font Color 7 Underline 13 Highlighting 2 Apply Style 8 Superscript 14 Background Color 3 Font Name 9 Subscript 15 Open Character Format Dialog 4 Font Size 10 Increase Font 5 Bold 11 Reduce Font Fig. 2.8: Formatting Toolbar, Showing Characters for Text Formatting Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/3/35/WG40-WriterGuideLO.pdf To remove manual formatting, select the text and choose Format > Clear Direct Formatting from the menu bar, or right-click and choose Clear Direct Formatting from the context menu, or use Ctrl+M from the keyboard. Creating Numbered or Bulleted Lists There are several ways to create numbered or bulleted lists: Use autoformatting, as described above. Use the Numbering and Bullets icons on the paragraph formatting toolbar: Select the paragraphs in the list and then click the appropriate icon on the toolbar.
4 6 Note It is a matter of personal preference whether you type your information first, then apply Numbering/Bullets, or apply them as you type. Office Tools Using the Bullets and Numbering Toolbar You can create nested lists (where one or more list items have a sub-list under it, as in an outline) by using the buttons on the Bullets and Numbering toolbar. You can move items up or down the list, or create sub-points and even change the style of bullets. Use View > Toolbars >Bullets and Numbering to see the toolbar. 1 Bullets On/Off 6 Promote One Level with 10 Move Down Subpoints 2 Numbering On/Off 7 Demote One Level with 11 Move Up with Subpoints Subpoints 3 Numbering Off 8 Insert Unnumbered Entry 12 Move Down with Subpoints 4 Promote One Level 9 Move Up 13 Restart Numbering 5 Demote One Level 14 Bullets and Numbering Fig. 2.9: Bullets and Numbering Toolbar Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/3/35/WG40-WriterGuideLO.pdf 2.3.5 Working with Tables By using a table, you can organise your data into rows and columns. In this section you will learn how to work with tables. Insert a New Table To insert a new table, position the cursor where you want the table to appear, then use any of the following methods to open the Insert Table dialog box: From the main menu, choose Insert > Table. From the main menu, choose Table > Insert > Table. Press Ctrl+F12. On the Standard toolbar, click the Table icon
Fig. 2.10: Insert Table Dialog Box Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/3/35/WG40-WriterGuideLO.pdf Under Options, set up the initial table characteristics. Selecting the options in this section of the dialog box produces the following results: Heading — Defines the first row(s) in the table as headings. Repeat heading — Repeats the heading row(s) of the table at the top of subsequent pages if the table spans more than one page. 4 7 Digital Literacy Don’t split table — Prevents the table from spanning more than one page.
Border — Surrounds each cell of the table with a border. This border can be modified or deleted later. The AutoFormat button opens a dialog box from which you can select one of the many predefined table layouts. Covert Text to Table You can create a table from plain text by using the Table > Convert > Text to Table menu item. The text to be converted must contain characters to indicate column separators. Paragraph marks indicate an end of a table row. To convert text to a table, start by editing the text to ensure the column separator character is in place where you want it. Select the text you want to convert and choose Table > Convert > Text to Table to open the dialog box shown in Figure 2.11.
Fig. 2.11: Dialog Box to Configure the Text to Table Conversion Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/3/35/WG40-WriterGuideLO.pdf Example In this example we will convert the following text into a table. Row 1 Column 1; Row 1 Column 2; Row 1 Column 3 Row 2 Column 1; Row 2 Column 2; Row 2 Column 3 In this case, the separator between elements is a semicolon. By selecting the text and applying the conversion, we obtain the following result. Row 1 Column 1 Row 1 Column 2 Row 1 Column 3 Row 2 Column 1 Row 2 Column 2 Row 2 Column 3 Note that, unlike when creating a table with other mechanisms, the conversion from text to table preserves the paragraph style and character style applied to the original text. You can also use the Convert menu to perform the opposite operation; that is, to transform a table into plain text. This may be useful when you want to export the table contents into a different program. To transform a table into text, place the cursor anywhere in the table, choose Table > Convert > Table to Text in the main menu, pick the preferred row separator and click OK to finish. 4 8 2.3.6 Working with Mail Merge Office Tools Using mail merge, you can create:
A set of labels or envelopes : The return address is the same on all the labels or envelopes, but the destination address is unique on each one.
A set of form letters, e-mail messages, or faxes : The basic content is the same in all the letters, messages, or faxes, but each contains information that is specific to the individual recipient, such as name, address, or some other piece of personal data. Creating each letter, message, fax, label, or envelope individually would take hours. That’s where mail merge comes in. Using mail merge, all you have to do is to create one document that contains the information that is the same in each version. Then you just add some placeholders for the information that is unique to each document. Writer provides very useful features to create and print:
Multiple copies of a document to send to a list of different recipients (form letters)
Mailing labels
Envelopes All these facilities, though different in application, are based around the concept of a registered data source, from which is derived the variable address information necessary to their function. This chapter focuses on how to create and register a data source, how to create and print form letters, mailing labels and envelopes and how to save the output in an editable file instead of printing it directly. Creating and Registering the Data Source A data source is a database containing the name and address records (and optionally other information) from which a mailing list may be derived. Although you can create and print mailing labels and envelopes without using a data source, in most cases using one is the best approach. This section assumes that you are using a data source. LibreOffice can access a wide variety of sources of data, including spreadsheets, text files and databases such as MySQL, Adabas and ODBC. If the information to be used in the mail merge is currently in a format that LibreOffice cannot access directly, you need to convert it, for example by exporting it to a comma-separated values (CSV) file. For the following example we start with a spreadsheet with the following column (field) headers: Title, First name, Last name, Address, State/County, Country, Post Code, Sex and Points. A sample of data is shown in Figure 2.12.
Fig. 2.12: Spreadsheet Data Example
Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/3/35/WG40-WriterGuideLO.pdf 4 9 Digital Literacy After being created as described below, for a data source to be directly accessible from within a Writer document, it must be registered. You only need to do this once; after that, the data source is available to all components of LibreOffice. 1) From within any Writer document, or from the LibreOffice Start Center, choose File >Wizards > Address Data Source. 2) The choices on the first page of the wizard vary with your operating system. Select the appropriate type of external address book. In this example, it is other external data source. Click Next.
Fig. 2.13: Select Type of External Address Book
Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/3/35/WG40-WriterGuideLO.pdf 3) On the next page of the Wizard, click the Settings button.
Fig. 2.14: Starting the Settings part of the Wizard
Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/3/35/WG40-WriterGuideLO.pdf 4) In the Data Source Properties page, select the Database type. In our example, it is Spreadsheet. Click Next.
Fig. 2.15: Selecting the Database Type
Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/3/35/WG40-WriterGuideLO.pdf 5) In the next dialog box, click Browse and navigate to the spreadsheet that contains 5 0 the address information. Select the spreadsheet and click Open to return to this dialog box. At this time you may wish to test that the connection has been correctly Office Tools established by clicking on the Test Connection button (not shown in illustration).
Fig. 2.16: Selecting the Spreadsheet Document Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/3/35/WG40-WriterGuideLO.pdf 6) Click Finish. 7) On the following page, click Next. Because this is a spreadsheet, do not click Field Assignment.
Fig. 2.17: Because this is a Spreadsheet, do not click Field Assignment Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/3/35/WG40-WriterGuideLO.pdf 8) A database file will be created. Name the file in the path in the Location field. The default is Addresses.odb; but you may replace Addresses with another name if you wish. You may also change the name in the “Address book name” field. The name in this field is the registered name, which LibreOffice will display in data source listings. In our example, the name “Points” was used for both.
Fig. 2.18: Name the .odb file and the Address Book Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/3/35/WG40-WriterGuideLO.pdf 9) Click Finish. The data source is now registered. Creating a Form Letter Example: Sending a letter to your customer base A mail order company organised a campaign to assign credit points to their customers according to the quantity of goods they buy during one year. At the end of the year, they want to send a letter to each customer to show the total of credit points collected. 5 1 Digital Literacy You can create a form letter manually, which is the simplest and most comprehensive method and is described here. 1) Create a new text document: File > New > Text Document, or open a pre- existing form letter with File > Open. 2) Display the registered data sources: View > Data sources (or press F4). 3) Find the data source that you wish to use for the form letter, in this case Points. Expand the Points and Tables folders and select Sheet1. The address data file is displayed (Figure 2.19).
Fig. 2.19: Selecting the Data Source Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/3/35/WG40-WriterGuideLO.pdf 4) Now create or modify the form letter by typing in the text, punctuation, line breaks and so on that will be present in all of the letters. To add the mail-merge fields where needed (such as names and addresses), click in the field heading and drag it to the appropriate point in the letter. Note that address lines should be in individual paragraphs, not separated by line breaks as might seem preferable.
Fig. 2.20: Dragging Fields to the Body of the Form Letter Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/3/35/WG40-WriterGuideLO.pdf 5) Continue until you have composed the entire document. At this time you may wish to consider suppressing any blank lines that may appear in the resulting letters.
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Fig. 2.21: The Completed Form Letter Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/3/35/WG40-WriterGuideLO.pdf 6) To Suppress Blank Lines: a) Click at the end of the first paragraph to be suppressed and then choose Insert > Fields > Other to display the Fields dialog box. b) Select the Functions tab and then click on Hidden Paragraph in the Type column.
Fig. 2.22: Hidden Paragraph Insertion Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/3/35/WG40-WriterGuideLO.pdf tag">c) Now click in the Condition box and enter the details of the condition that defines a blank address field. It has the general form of:! [Database.Table.Database field] where the ‘!’ (NOT) character indicates the negative case and the square brackets indicate the condition. For example, in our Points database the condition to test if the Last Name field is empty would be: ![Points.Sheet1.Last Name] as illustrated in Figure 2.22. To test for multiple conditions use the operators AND and/or OR between the conditional statements, for example: ![Points.Sheet1.Title]AND![Points.
Sheet1.Last Name] 5 3 Digital Literacy d) Click Insert, but do not close the dialog box until you have amended all the lines that should be suppressed. 7) The document is now ready to be printed. a) Choose File > Print and respond with Yes in the message box.
Fig. 2.23: Mail Merge Confirmation Message Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/3/35/WG40-WriterGuideLO.pdf b) In the Mail Merge dialog box (Figure 2.24), you can choose to print all records or selected records. To select records to be printed, use Ctrl+click to select individual records. To select a block of records, select the first record in the block, scroll to the last record in the block and Shift+click on the last record. c) Click OK to send the letters directly to the printer. Or, you can save the letters to a file for further editing or formatting; see “Editing merged documents” below. d) If you have not saved the original, prototype form letter document (template) previously, then you should do so now. Having a form letter template could greatly simplify the creation of other form letters in the future and is highly recommended.
Fig. 2.24: The Mail Merge Dialog Box Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/3/35/WG40-WriterGuideLO.pdf Editing Merged Documents You may prefer to save the letters to a file, to allow for proofreading or some later formatting. To do this: 1) In the Mail Merge dialog box (Figure 2.24), select File in the output section, instead of using the default Printer selection.
5 4 2) This changes the dialog box to display the Save merged document section, where Save as single document is preselected. You can choose to save each letter as Office Tools an individual document instead. 3) Click OK. In the Save as dialog box, enter a file name for the saved letters and choose a folder in which to save them. The letters will be saved consecutively as separate pages in the single document, or numbered consecutively in individual files if saved as single documents. You can now open the letters and edit them individually as you would edit any other document. Self Check Exercise Note: i) Write your answers in the space given below. ii) Check your answers with the answers given at the end of this Unit. 1) Each statement below is either TRUE or FALSE. Identify and mark them accordingly. a) Writer is a Word Processor or Text Editor. b) Calc is a database software. c) In Writer when you press Tab key from the last cell of a table, a new column is inserted. d) In Writer when you press Tab key from the last cell of a table, a new row is inserted. e) In menu bar, drop-down program menus are available. f) In taskbar, program commands are available through different graphical icons. 2) Multiple Choice Questions (Please select the best suitable option) a) For moving highlighted text from one place to another place this shortcut key is used: i) Crtl+X ii) Crtl+C iii) Crtl+Z iv) Crtl+Y b) For copying highlighted text from one place to another place this shortcut key is used: i) Crtl+X ii) Crtl+C iii) Crtl+Z iv) Crtl+Y c) For undoing any action, this shortcut key is used: i) Crtl+X ii) Crtl+C 5 5 Digital Literacy iii) Crtl+Y iv) Crtl+Z d) For redoing last action, this shortcut key is used: i) Crtl+ ii) Crtl+C iii) Crtl+Y iv) Crtl+Z e) It is possible to add a column to a table that you have already created and entered information into. i) True ii) False f) You have created a table and you want to add 3 more rows to it. To add the new rows to the table, you would..... i) Delete the table and start over ii) Left click and choose insert rows iii) Right click and choose insert rows iv) Choose the Insert tab and click on ADD g) Which of the following features is used to arrange the records in a data source before merging? i) Filter ii) Sort iii) Auto Check for Errors iv) Match Fields h) How is the information in a data source organized? i) Chart ii) Matrix iii) Table iv) Paragraphs
2.4 CALC - ELECTRONIC SPREADSHEETS Calc is the spreadsheet component of LibreOffice. You can use it to organise your data into rows and columns. You can also use it to perform mathematical calculations quickly. You can enter data (usually numerical) in a spreadsheet and then manipulate this data to produce certain results. You can use data to create charts and graphs. Other features provided by Calc include:
Functions, which can be used to create formulas to perform complex calculations on data. 5 6 Database functions, to arrange, store and filter data. Office Tools
Macros, for recording and executing repetitive tasks.
Ability to open, edit and save Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.
Import and export of spreadsheets in multiple formats, including HTML, CSV, PDF and PostScript. 2.4.1 Getting Started With Calc When Calc is started, the main window opens (Figure 2.25). You use this window to interact with Calc. You need to know various parts of the Calc Window so that you know how to move around the window and how to enter data. The various parts of this dialog box are explained below:
Fig. 2.25: Calc Main Dialog Box
Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/4/41/GS4005-GettingStartedWithCalc.pdf The Spreadsheets The Calc works with elements called spreadsheets. Spreadsheets consist of a number of individual sheets, each sheet containing cells arranged in rows and columns. A particular cell is identified by its row number and column letter. The columns are lettered A to Z and then continuing with AA, AB, AC and so on; the rows are numbered 1 to 1,048,576. The number of columns and rows you can have in a worksheet is limited by your computer memory and your system resources. Cells hold the individual elements – text, numbers, formulas and so on – that make up the data to display and manipulate. Each spreadsheet can have several sheets and each sheet can have several individual cells. In Calc, each sheet can have a maximum of 1,048,576 rows and a maximum of 1024 columns. You enter your data into the cells on the worksheet. The combination of a column coordinate and a row coordinate make up a cell address. For example, the cell located in the upper-left corner of the worksheet is cell A1, meaning column A, row 1. Cell E10 is located under column E on row 10. The Formula Bar The Formula Bar is located at the top of the sheet in your Calc workspace. The Formula Bar is permanently docked in this position and cannot be used as a floating toolbar. 5 7 Digital Literacy
Fig. 2.26: The Formula Bar Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/4/41/GS4005-GettingStartedWithCalc.pdf Going from left to right and referring to Figure 2.26, the Formula Bar consists of the following: – Name Box – gives the cell address of the current cell by using a combination of a letter and number, for example A1. Usually a column is represented by alphabets and row is represented by integer number. In A1, the letter A indicates the column and the number 1 indicates the row of the selected cell. – Function Wizard – opens a dialog from which you can search through a list of available functions. This can be very useful because it also shows how the functions are formatted. – Sum – clicking on the Sum icon totals the numbers in the cells above the selected cell and then places the total in the selected cell. If there are no numbers above the selected cell, then the cells to the left are totaled. – Function = – clicking on the Function icon inserts an equals (=) sign into the selected cell and the Input line allowing a formula to be entered. – Input line – displays the contents of the selected cell (data, formula, or function) and allows you to edit the cell contents. – You can also edit the contents of a cell directly in the cell itself by double clicking on the cell. When you enter new data into a cell, the Sum and Function icons change to Cancel and Accept icons . The Status Bar The Status bar appears at the very bottom of the Calc window (Figure 2.27) provides information about the spreadsheet and convenient ways to quickly change some of its features.
Fig. 2.27: Calc Status Bar Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/4/41/GS4005-GettingStartedWithCalc.pdf Other Parts of the Calc Window The other parts of the Calc Window which include title bar, menu bar, standard tool bar and formatting bar are no different from the corresponding bars in the Writer software tool and hence require very little description. 2.4.2 Working with a Spreadsheet Entering Numeric Data Click in the cell and type in the number using the number keys on either the main keyboard or the numeric keypad. To enter a negative number, either type a minus (–) sign in front of it or enclose it in parentheses (brackets), like this: (1234). By default, 5 8 numbers are right-aligned and negative numbers have a leading minus symbol. Entering Text Office Tools Click in the cell and type the text. Text is left-aligned by default. If a number is entered in the format 01481, Calc will drop the leading 0. To preserve the leading zero, for example for telephone area codes, type an apostrophe before the number, like this: ‘01481. The data is now treated as text and displayed exactly as entered. Using the Fill Tool on cells At its simplest, the Fill tool is a way to duplicate existing content. Start by selecting the cell to copy, then drag the mouse in any direction (or hold down the Shift key and click in the last cell you want to fill) and then choose Edit > Fill and the direction in which you want to copy: Up, Down, Left or Right. A more complex use of the Fill tool is to add a fill series to a spreadsheet, select the cells to fill, choose Edit > Fill > Series. Formatting Numbers Several different number formats can be applied to cells by using icons on the Formatting toolbar. Select the cell and then click the relevant icon. Some icons may not be visible in a default setup; click the down-arrow at the end of the Formatting bar and select other icons to display. 2.4.3 Modifying a Spreadsheet Hiding and Showing Data When elements are hidden, they are neither visible nor printed, but can still be selected for copying if you select the elements around them. For example, if column B is hidden, it is copied when you select columns A and C. When you need a hidden element again, you can reverse the process and show the element. To hide or show sheets, rows and columns, use the options on the Format menu or the right-click (context) menu. For example, to hide a row, first select the row and then choose Format > Row > Hide (or right-click and choose Hide). To hide or show selected cells, choose Format > Cells from the menu bar (or right-click and choose Format Cells). On the Format Cells dialog, go to the Cell Protection tab. Sorting Records Sorting rearranges the visible cells on the sheet. In Calc, you can sort by up to three criteria, which are applied one after another. Highlight the cells to be sorted, then select Data > Sort to open the Sort dialog or click the Sort Ascending or Sort Descending toolbar buttons. Using the dialog, you can sort the selected cells using up to three columns, in either ascending (A-Z, 1-9) or descending (Z-A, 9-1) order. Finding and Replacing in Calc Calc has two ways to find text within a document. You can hide or show the Find toolbar using View >Toolbars > Find, or press Ctrl+F. Type a search term in the Find box and then click the Find Next (down-arrow) or Find Previous (up-arrow) button. To find other occurrences of the same term, continue clicking the button. To display the Find & Replace dialog, select Edit > Find & Replace from the menu bar, or select the Find & Replace icon from the Standard Toolbar. Finding and Replacing Formulas or Values You can use the Find & Replace dialog to search in formulas or in the displayed values that result from a calculation. To open the Find & Replace dialog, select Edit > Find & Replace, or use the correct shortcut key combination for the Calc release you are using 5 9 Digital Literacy Click More Options to expand the dialog. Select Formulas or Values in the Search in drop-down list. – Formulas find parts of the formulas. – Values find the results of the calculations. Type the text you want to find in the Search for box. To replace the text with different text, type the new text in the Replace with box. When you have set up your search, click Find. To replace text, click Replace instead. 2.4.4 Creating Formulas using Functions Spreadsheet application is more useful as it has collection of commonly used mathematical, statistical, logical and other commonly used functions. A function is an expression in combination of formulas. A function is prefixed by an equal (=) sign in the input line, then user writes a formula. Then s/he can include cell reference, in order to perform that function. For example: Sum is a mathematical function, which can be chosen using Function Wizard and will return in input line as =SUM (B2:B6). Alternatively, this formula can be written as =SUM (B2; B3; B4; B5; B6). This expression means a total of numbers stored at cells from B2 to B6. After entering the mentioned expression, you press Enter key. It will return a number 51,900 at cell B7, which is a summation of that range of numbers. Similarly, Average is frequently used statistical function, which can be chosen using Function Wizard and will return in input line as =AVERAGE (B2:B6). Alternatively, this formula can be written as = AVERAGE (B2; B3; B4; B5; B6). When you press Enter key, it will return a number 13,380 at cell B8, which is the average of that range of numbers. You can enter formulas in two ways, either directly into the cell itself, or at the input line. Either way, you need to start a formula with one of the following symbols: =, + or –. Starting with anything else causes the formula to be treated as if it were text. Operators in Formulas Each cell on the worksheet can be used as a data holder or a place for data calculations. With formulas, the equals sign indicates that the cell will be used for a calculation. You can enter in many different ways as shown in Table 2.1. Table 2.1: Common Ways to Enter Formulas
Formula Description =A1+10 Displays the contents of cell A1 plus 10. =A1*16% Displays 16% of the contents of A1. =A1*A2 Displays the result of the multiplication of A1 and 2. =ROUND(A1,1) Displays the contents of cell A1 rounded to one decimal place. =EFFECTIVE(5%,12) Calculates the effective interest for 5% annual nominal interest with 12 payments a year. =B8-SUM(B10:B14) Calculates B8 minus the sum of the cells B10 to B14. =SUM(B8,SUM(B10:B14)) Calculates the sum of cells B10 to B14 and adds the value to B8. =SUM(B1:B1048576 ) Sums all numbers in column B. =AVERAGE(Blood Sugar) Displays the average of a named range defined under the name Blood Sugar. =IF(C31>140, "HIGH", Displays the results of a conditional analysis of data from "OK") two sources. If the contents of C31 is greater than 140, then HIGH is displayed, otherwise OK is displayed. 6 0
Functions can be identified in Table 2.1 with a word, for example ROUND, followed Office Tools by parentheses enclosing references or numbers. It is also possible to establish ranges for inclusion by naming them using Insert > Names, for example Blood Sugar representing a range such as B3:B10. Logical functions can also be performed as represented by the IF statement which results in a conditional response based upon the data in the identified cell, for example =IF(A2>=0,”Positive”,”Negative”) A value of 3 in cell A2 would return the result Positive, a value of –9 the result Negative. 2.4.5 Creating a Chart Nowadays chart has become a useful tool for quantitative analysis and representation of a data series in a performance report or a presentation. It is also visually appealing to the laymen for understanding various data elements. To create a chart, you will first highlight (select) the data to be included in the chart. The selection does not need to be in a single block, as shown in Figure 2.28; you can also choose individual cells or groups of cells (columns or rows).
Fig. 2.28: Selecting Data for Plotting
Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/4/41/GS4005-GettingStartedWithCalc.pdf Next, open the Chart Wizard dialog using one of two methods.
Choose Insert > Chart from the menu bar.
Or, click the Chart icon on the main toolbar.
Fig. 2.29: Insert Chart from Main Toolbar
Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/4/41/GS4005-GettingStartedWithCalc.pdf Either method inserts a sample chart on the worksheet, opens the Formatting toolbar and opens the Chart Wizard, as shown in Figure 2.30.
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Fig. 2.30: Chart Wizard, Step 1—Choose a Chart Type Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/4/41/GS4005-GettingStartedWithCalc.pdf Self Check Exercise Note: i) Write your answers in the space given below. ii) Check your answers with the answers given at the end of this Unit. 3) Each statement below is either TRUE or FALSE. Identify and mark them accordingly. a) Calc helps in creating charts from numerical datasets. b) Bar chart appears horizontally. c) Calc function is preceded by = sign in the formula bar. d) Calc aligns texts in right. e) Calc aligns numbers in right. f) In Calc A1 cell address means column number A row number 1. 4) Multiple Choice Questions (Please select the best suitable option) a) $Sheet1.$A$1:$B$7 refers to: i) Cells range A1 to B7 in Worksheet 2 ii) Cells range A1 to B7 in Worksheet 1 iii) Cells range A7 to B1 in Worksheet 2 iv) Cells range A7 to B1 in Worksheet 1 b) =SUM(B2; B3; B4; B5; B6) is same as: i) =SUM (B2:B6) ii) =B2+B3+B4+B5+B6 iii) =SUM (B3:B6) iv) =B3+B4+B5+B6
6 2 c) Average is a: Office Tools i) Mathematical function ii) Statistical function iii) Financial function iv) Logical function d) Pie chart: i) Shows share of different items or percentage in a particular entity ii) Appears horizontally iii) Appears vertically iv) Takes more than one data series
2.5 IMPRESS: BASICS OF PRESENTATIONS People use slide presentation to deliver public lectures in classrooms or in meeting rooms. In addition to texts and audio-visuals objects, presentation slides embed sound and animation effects. Such presentation files are quite exciting and effective in delivering the message across the target audience with impact. Office tools such as LibreOffice Impress, Microsoft PowerPoint or similar other tools are used to create slide presentations. Impress is the presentation (slide show) software tool included in LibreOffice suite. Impress is used to create exciting slide show presentations. Styles are frequently used in Impress to determine and shape the appearance of the text, tables, pictures and media in the slides. 2.5.1 Getting Started with Impress The main Impress window (Figure 2.31) has three parts: the Slides pane, the Workspace and the Tasks pane. Additionally, several toolbars can be displayed or hidden during the creation of a presentation.
Fig. 2.31: Main Window of Impress; Ovals Indicate the Hide/Show Markers Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/e/e6/IG3400-ImpressGuideLO.pdf 6 3 Digital Literacy The Slides Pane The Slides pane contains thumbnail pictures of the slides in your presentation; in the order the slides will be shown. Clicking a slide in this pane selects it and places it in the Workspace. When a slide is in the Workspace, you can make any changes you like. You can also use it to: Add new slides to the presentation. Mark a slide as hidden so that it will not be shown as part of the presentation. Delete a slide from the presentation if it is no longer needed. Rename a slide. Duplicate a slide (copy and paste) or move it to a different position in the presentation (cut and paste). Change the slide transition following the selected slide or after each slide in a group of slides. Change the sequence of slides in the presentation. Change the slide design. Change slide layout for a group of slides simultaneously. The Tasks Pane The Tasks pane has five sections. To expand the section you wish to use, click on the title bar of each section. Only one section at a time can be expanded. Master Pages Here you define the page (slide) style for your presentation. Impress includes several designs of Master Pages (slide masters). One of them—Default—is blank and the rest have background and styled text. Layouts The layouts included in Impress are shown here. You can choose the one you want and use it as it is, or you can modify it to meet your own requirements. However, it is not possible to save custom layouts. The standard table styles are provided in this section. You can further modify the appearance of a table with the options to show or hide specific rows and columns, or to apply a banded appearance to the rows and columns. Custom Animation A variety of animations can be used to emphasise or enhance different elements of each slide. The Custom Animation section provides an easy way to add, change, or remove animations. Slide Transition The Slide Transition section provides access to a number of slide transition options. The default is set to No Transition, in which the following slide simply replaces the existing one. However, many additional transitions are available. You can also specify the transition speed (slow, medium, fast), choose between an automatic or manual transition and choose how long the selected slide should be shown (automatic transition only). 6 4 The Workspace Office Tools The Workspace (normally in the center) has five tabs: Normal, Outline, Notes, Handout and Slide Sorter. These five tabs are called View buttons. The Workspace below the View buttons changes depending on the chosen view. The Toolbars Many toolbars can be used during slide creation; they can be displayed or hidden by clicking View > Toolbars and selecting from the menu. You can also select the icons that you wish to appear on each toolbar. The Status Bar The status bar, located at the bottom of the Impress window, contains information that you may find useful when working on a presentation. You can hide the Status Bar by choosing View > Status Bar from the main menu. 2.5.2 Creating a Presentation When you start Impress, the Presentation Wizard appears (Figure 2.32).
Fig. 2.32 Choosing from the Type of Presentation Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/e/e6/IG3400-ImpressGuideLO.pdf 1) Under Type, you will find three types of presentations to work with. Choose one of the options:
Empty presentation – it creates a blank presentation.
From template – it uses a template design already created as the basis for a new presentation. The wizard changes to show a list of available templates. Choose the template you want.
Open existing presentation – it continues work on a previously created presentation. The wizard changes to show a list of existing presentations. Choose the one you want. 2) Click Next to conclude step 1 and move to step 2 3) If you selected ‘Empty presentation’ in step 1, the Presentation Wizard in step 2 will show up a window (Figure 2.33). 6 5 Digital Literacy 4) If you selected ‘From template’, an example slide shows up in the Preview box (Figure 2.33). Choose a design under Select a slide design.
Fig. 2.33: Selecting a Slide Design Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/e/e6/IG3400-ImpressGuideLO.pdf The slide design section gives you two main choices: Presentation Backgrounds and Presentations. Each one has a list of choices for slide designs. If you want to use one of these other than
The types of Presentation Backgrounds are shown in Figure 2.33. Click an item to show a preview of the slide design in the Preview window. Impress contains three choices under Presentations:
Fig. 2.34: Selecting a Slide Transition Effect Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/e/e6/IG3400-ImpressGuideLO.pdf 6 6 Choose the desired slide transition from the Effect drop-down menu. Office Tools
Select the desired speed for the transition between the different slides in the presentation from the Speed drop-down menu. Medium is a good choice for now. 7) Click Create. A new presentation is created.
2.5.3 Formatting a Presentation A new presentation contains only one empty slide. A new slide can be inserted into a presentation as follows:
Go to Insert on the main menu bar and select Slide.
Or right-click on a slide in the Workspace, Slides Pane or Slide Sorter view and select Slide > New Slide from the context menu.
Or click the Slide icon in the Presentation toolbar. If the Presentation Toolbar is not visible, go to View > Toolbars on the main menu bar and select Presentation from the list. A new slide is inserted after the selected slide in the presentation. To duplicate a slide:
Select the slide you want to duplicate from the Slides Pane.
Right-click on the slide in the Slides Pane or Workspace and select Duplicate Slide from the context menu. Or, go to Slide Sorter view, right-click on a slide and select Duplicate Slide from the context menu. Alternatively, go to Insert on the main menu bar and select Duplicate Slide.
A duplicate slide is inserted after the selected slide in the presentation.
2.5.4 Selecting Slide Layout LibreOffice has a range of Layouts, from a blank slide to a slide with six contents boxes and a title (Figure 2.35). The first slide in a presentation is normally a title slide. You can use either a blank layout or one of the title layouts as your title slide. To create a title, click on Click to add title and then type the title text. To add a subtitle or text content, click on Click to add text and type your subtitle or text.
Fig. 2.35: Available Slide Layouts Fig. 2.36: Selecting Contents Type
Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/e/e6/IG3400-ImpressGuideLO.pdf 6 7 Digital Literacy To select or change the layout of a slide, select the slide in the Slides Pane so that it appears in the Workspace and select the desired layout from Layouts in the Tasks Pane. Several layouts contain one or more content boxes. Each of these content boxes can be configured to contain text, movies, pictures, charts or tables. You can choose the type of contents by clicking on the corresponding icon that is displayed in the middle of the contents box as shown in Figure 2.36. If you intend to use the contents box for text, click on Click to add text. 2.5.5 Adding Pictures, Tables, Charts, Media and Animation You can add pictures, tables, charts or media (audio video pictures) to presentation slides. To insert a table, proceed as follows: i) Select the slide which will contain the table and, if necessary, modify the slide layout to create space for the table. ii) Select Table Design in the task pane. If the task pane is not visible, select View > Task pane. iii) Select one of the predefined table styles and also select a color scheme similar to the one you want. Selecting a style opens the Insert Table dialog (Figure 2.37) where you can specify the number of rows and columns.
Fig. 2.37: Insert Table Dialog
Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/e/e6/IG3400-ImpressGuideLO.pdf The table is placed initially at the center of the slide, but you can move it by selecting it and then dragging it to the new position. You can also create a table directly by selecting Insert > Table from the main menu or with the Insert Table icon in the Standard toolbar. This opens the Insert Table dialog where you can specify the number of columns and rows. Click on the small black triangle next to the Insert Table icon to open a graphic tool for inserting a table (Figure 2.38). To use this tool, move the mouse to the right and down in the grid until you have the required number of columns and rows and then click the left mouse button to insert your table.
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Fig. 2.38: Insert Table Graphic Tool
Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/e/e6/IG3400-ImpressGuideLO.pdf Inserting a Picture from a File Inserting a picture from a file is quick and easy. First choose a slide layout.
Go to Insert > Picture > From file on the menu bar or click on the Insert Picture icon if you have inserted a slide and the Insert picture dialog opens.
Navigate to the directory containing the desired picture and select the file. LibreOffice recognises a large number of image types. If the Preview option is selected, a thumbnail of the selected file will be displayed in the preview pane on the right.
Click Open to place the picture on the current (selected) slide. The picture is now displayed on the slide with colored resizing handles around it. 2.5.6 Creating an Animation You can create an animated object or objects using Custom Animation as follows:
To open the Custom Animation section (Figure 2.39), click on its name in the Tasks pane.
To add or change an animation effect to a selected object on the slide, open the Custom Animation dialog (Figure 2.40). The Custom Animation section can be opened by going to Slide Show > Custom Animation or by using the Custom Animation tool on the Drawing toolbar.
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Fig. 2.39: Custom Animation Fig. 2.40: Custom Animation Dialog Section on the Tasks Pane Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/e/e6/IG3400-ImpressGuideLO.pdf 2.5.7 Slide Masters Impress comes with a collection of slide masters. These slide masters are shown in the Master Pages section of the Tasks Pane and has three subsections: i) Used in This Presentation, ii) Recently Used and iii) Available for Use. Click the + sign next to the name of a subsection to expand it to show thumbnails of the slides, or click the – sign to collapse the subsection to hide the thumbnails. Each of the slide masters shown in the Available for Use list is from a template of the same name. If you have created your own templates, or added templates from other sources, slide masters from those templates will also appear in this list. 2.5.8 Putting Together a Slide Show LibreOffice Impress gives you the tools to organise and display a slide show, including: Which slides to show and in what sequence Whether to run the show automatically or manually Transitions between slides Animations on individual slides Interactions: what happens when you click a button or link Most tasks associated with putting together a slide show are best done in Slide Sorter view. Choose View > Slide Sorter from the main menu or click the Slide Sorter tab at the top of the Workspace pane. All of your slides appear in the workspace; you may 7 0 need to scroll to see them all. Set basic settings for a slide show which include slide to start from, the way you advance Office Tools the slides, the type of presentation and pointer options. Select Slide Show > Slide Show Settings from the main menu to open the Slide Show dialog (Figure 2.41) to change slide show settings.
Fig. 2.41: Selecting Slide Show Settings Source: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/e/e6/IG3400-ImpressGuideLO.pdf 2.5.9 Modifying the Slide Show By default the slide show will display all the slides in the same order as they appear in the slide sorter, using any transition between slides as specified in the Presentation Wizard step 3. If one or more slides seem to be unnecessary, hide the slide or slides. To hide a slide, right-click the slide in the Slides pane and select Hide Slide in the pop-up menu. Do not delete a slide until it is necessary; otherwise you may have to create that slide again. Use the Slide Show menu to change the order of the slides. To change the slide transition, animate slides and make other enhancements, use the various selections in the Task pane. Your first slide show will probably have the same slide transition for all slides. If you want each slide to be shown for a specific amount of time, click Automatically after and enter the number of seconds. Click Apply to all slides. Transition choices are found under Slide Transition on the Tasks pane.
2.5.10 Running Slide Show To run a slide show, do one of the following:
Click Slide Show > Slide Show on the menu bar.
Click the Slide Show icon on the Presentation toolbar..
Press F5 on the keyboard. Right-click anywhere on the screen to open a context menu where you can navigate through the slides and set other options. To exit the slide show at any time including when the slide show has ended, press the Esc key. Self Check Exercise Note: i) Write your answers in the space given below. ii) Check your answers with the answers given at the end of this Unit. 7 1 Digital Literacy 5) Each statement below is either TRUE or FALSE. Identify and mark them accordingly. a) Impress helps in embedding audio, picture and video files in the presentation. b) Presentation created in Impress can include custom animation and slide transition. c) A particular slide transition effect cannot be applied to all slides. d) A particular custom animation effect can be applied to a slide. e) A particular custom animation effect can be applied to an element of a slide. f) Slide sorter view helps in sorting of slides by drag-and-drop. 6) Multiple Choice Questions (Please select the best suitable option) a) Impress template is saved with: i) .ODP file extension ii) .POT file extension iii) .OTP file extension iv) .PPS file extension b) Shortcut key for Slide Show is: i) F7 ii) F6 iii) F5 iv) F4 c) Slide Transition speed can be: i) Slow ii) Medium iii) Fast iv) All of the above d) Custom Animation speed can be: i) Slow, Medium, Fast, or Very Fast ii) Medium, Fast or Very Fast iii) Slow, Medium or Fast iv) None of the above
2.6 LIBREOFFICE APPLICATIONS IN LIBRARIES LibreOffice applications are very useful in any office environment including a library. Some of the commonly used tasks that can be performed using LibreOffice applications are listed below:
Preparing library notices, letters to the stakeholders (e.g. users, book suppliers and institutions), library memos, subject bibliographies, etc. using Writer. 7 2 Preparing daily, weekly or monthly statistics of library usage such as number of Office Tools visitors, number of users who accessed library portal, number of books issued and returned, number of journal issued and returned, etc. using Calc.
Preparing list of journals, their frequency and other details using Calc.
Preparing a subject bibliography that contains bibliographic details of journal articles, books, book chapters and conference papers using Calc.
Preparing a presentation on library orientation for new members by using Impress.
Many of the library administrative works require maintaining computer files for future references and further processing of administrative documents. LibreOffice applications have become very useful for all these purposes.
2.7 SUMMARY The LibreOffice office application suite has become very popular worldwide for easy availability and convenience in use. Nowadays, the library personnel and library users also have become familiar with these excellent set of office tools. Writer is frequently used as a word processor and text editor, where you can type and save any textual document. Calc is frequently used as a spreadsheet application for easy calculations, bookkeeping and preparing charts. Impress is popularly used as a presentation application for preparing and presenting facts and figures in a presentation. In this Unit you were introduced to these tools and the features these tools offer for running and managing various library applications.
2.8 ANSWERS TO SELF CHECK EXERCISES 1) a) True b) False c) False d) True e) True f) True 2) a) i b) ii c) iv d) iii 3) a) True b) False c) True d) False e) True f) True 7 3 Digital Literacy 4) a) ii b) i and ii c) iii d) i e) i f) iii g) ii h) iii 5) a) True b) True c) False d) False e) True f) True
2.9 KEYWORDS Alignment : In page layout, the setting of text flow or image placement relative to a page, or a column or a table cell. In Writer, four types of alignments are available - Left, Right, Centred and Justified. Application : Computer software is designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Application is also known as application software, or a software tool, or an “app” containing a bundle of functions and program commands. Margin : The space that surrounds the content of a page. By default Writer maintains 0.79 inch (2 cm) all around margin. Menu Bar : A series of drop-down program menus of a software application for activating the different program commands or functions of that software application. Navigation : Means moving curser quickly through the document to a desired location. Presentation : A presentation is a collection of data and information that is to be delivered to a specific audience. Shortcut Key : A keyboard combination that activates a program command directly, as an alternative to 7 4 activating the command through the program menus. Office Tools Style : A set of formatting options for different types of elements such as characters, paragraphs, pages, frames and lists. Taskbar : A graphical user interface (GUI) that contains a series of program icons for activating the program commands of any particular software. Template : A document model that you can use to create other documents User Interface : It refers to the parts of the programme that you see and use, in contrast to the behind-the-scenes code that actually makes it work. Wizard : A user interface that presents a user with a sequence of dialog boxes that lead the user through a series of well-defined steps. Tasks that are complex, infrequently performed, or unfamiliar may be easier to perform using a wizard or setup assistant.
2.10 REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING Gupta, Vikas. Comdex Linux and Open Office Course Kit (with CD-Rom). New Delhi: Dreamtech Press, 2010. Print. Weber, Jean Hollis. LibreOffice Writer: The Free Alternative to Microsoft Word (with CD-Rom). New Delhi: Shroff/ O’Reilly, 2004. Print. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia (2012). OpenOffice.org. Web. 15 April 2013.
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