[discuss] Question/Suggested addition
Paula Cline
This question is in regards to text boxes in OpenOffice Writer. I was looking for a way to insert a text box, without going to the Drawing toolbar. The drawing toolbar is not visible on our student's computer in the library lab. Therefore, they search for it under "Insert", which would be a logical place to find this option. However, I do not see it listed there. Possible feature to be added in the future?
Also, most documents assigned at the high school level (and possibly college) require 1" margins. Why are the defaults all set at .79? Another possible future change?
Looking forward to any new editions!
Sincerely yours,
Paula Cline
Library Media Specialist
Genoa Area High School
2980 N. Genoa-Clay Center Rd.
Genoa, Ohio 43430
email: psc...@genoaschools.com
phone: 419-855-7735 ext.13
fax: 419-855-7739
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Tony Pursell
Hi Paula
On 3 Feb 2010 at 11:08, Paula Cline wrote:
>
> Dear OpenOffice,
>
> This question is in regards to text boxes in OpenOffice Writer. I was looking for a way to insert a text box, without going to the Drawing toolbar. The drawing toolbar is not visible on our student's computer in the library lab. Therefore, they search for it under "Insert", which would be a logical place to find this option. However, I do not see it listed there. Possible feature to be added in the future?
>
> Also, most documents assigned at the high school level (and possibly college) require 1" margins. Why are the defaults all set at .79? Another possible future change?
>
> Looking forward to any new editions!
>
> Sincerely yours,
>
>
Isn't Insert > Frame what you are looking for?
And the way to get the margins you want is to set up a Page Style.
Maybe even modify the default Page Style.
Tony
Bruce Martin
This question has more than one answer, as follows:
1) All of you need to understand that what you think of (in Microsoft office
parlance)as a "Text box" has 2 different counterparts in Oo.
1.1 There is a frame. This is closest to a "text box" but
sometimes it is not the best approach for the user's true needs.
1.2 There are rectangles, that will also accept text, but the
behaviour of each of these two is different, hence one needs to know the
differences to choose appropriately for a given situation. Each has their
place.
A Frame is launched positionally in relation to the default anchor's
position at the time of creation. This is normally close to the current
position of the text cursor. Frames have certain qualities, but not the same
as rectangles, even though they may appear to be identical to the naked eye.
A rectangle is more of a vectorial drawing object, and exists in Writer, Oo
draw, and Impress. It behaviour is slightly different in each of these
applications, but can be moved or copied between them using the clipboard in
the Windows version. Notably, in Draw a rectangle can be grouped in a
multilevel hierarchy of groups that scale, move and copy as a unit.
If such a group is then pasted into Writer, it retains its group properties.
However, while groups of drawing objects cannot be created in Writer, they
can be entered or ungrouped in Writer. So these objects need to be started
in draw, then added to the writer project for purposes of vectorial graphics
type illustration. Other possibilities in this area are far, far more
extensive, but Rome wasn't built in a day, same for learning mastery.
To insert a frame, you need to do so from the insert menu. This ides not
apply to the drawing menu.
To insert a rectangle and more, you need to open the drawing toolbar. If it
is not then docked, I suggest you do that first, so it doesn't get in your
way. To do this, open the view menu, then open the "Toolbars" sub-menu and
mouse check each toolbar you need. To close a toolbar, repeat the same
procedure, and uncheck it with a mouse click.
These options are similar in the versions of Oo that work on other platforms
(operating systems), such as some Linux distributions ("versions"), and
somewhat the same on the Mac version (Tiger and up). One of the bigger
differences on the Mac is that the mouse has only one button, often pressed
by pushing down the whole mouse. This gives a menu similar to what you would
get in Windows by using the secondary (Right) button.
If Linux (example, Fedora 12) is running on a PC machine, that setup of Oo
will behave closer to a Windows platform than to a Mac, although some of the
icons in Fedora look a bit different than in Win, and there is usually no
drag and drop in Fedora (certain applications excepted, as shown when the
app is launched.)
Finally, I realise this is somewhat more extensive than you were expecting,
band demands somewhat more of a learning curve, with the associated added
margin of patience, but "The Benefits are in the Details."
As we would say here in Quebec: "Qu'on se le dise!" or "That we say it to
ourselves (everyone)".
Since I work in three languages (and have had clients that use others as
well,) you can see why I like the idea that Oo supports 92 languages! In
Montreal, expect 50 or more in a day, there is no majority - the majority is
minorities from every corner of the globe! It's all on my doorstep!
Keep it up for those kids! They need to learn a lot very fast!
Bruce Martin
-----Original Message-----
From: Paula Cline [mailto:psc...@genoaschools.com]
Sent: February 3, 2010 11:09 AM
To: dis...@openoffice.org
Subject: [discuss] Question/Suggested addition
Dear Open Office,
This question is in regards to text boxes in Open Office Writer. I was
looking for a way to insert a text box, without going to the Drawing
toolbar. The drawing toolbar is not visible on our student's computer in the
library lab. Therefore, they search for it under "Insert", which would be a
logical place to find this option. However, I do not see it listed there.
Possible feature to be added in the future?
Also, most documents assigned at the high school level (and possibly
college) require 1" margins. Why are the defaults all set at .79? Another
possible future change?
Looking forward to any new editions!
Sincerely yours,
Paula Cline
Library Media Specialist
Genoa Area High School
2980 N. Genoa-Clay Center Rd.
Genoa, Ohio 43430
email: psc...@genoaschools.com
phone: 419-855-7735 ext.13
fax: 419-855-7739
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No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 9.0.733 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2666 - Release Date: 02/03/10
14:35:00
Mike Scott
> Dear Paula:
>
> This question has more than one answer, as follows:
>
> 1) All of you need to understand that what you think of (in Microsoft office
> parlance)as a "Text box" has 2 different counterparts in Oo.
>
> 1.1 There is a frame. This is closest to a "text box" but
> sometimes it is not the best approach for the user's true needs.
>
> 1.2 There are rectangles, that will also accept text, but the
> behaviour of each of these two is different, hence one needs to know the
> differences to choose appropriately for a given situation. Each has their
> place.
You forgot to include the OOo 'text box' proper, so there are three (at
least :-) ) ways of setting this up, all different. Confusing for the
novice, especially as they don't all appear or work the same in all OOo
app's.
Oh, and the OP is unsubscribed, so probably isn't seeing any of this.
Carl Shewmaker
Haven't thought about text boxes, Is it something different from "frames?"
good luck,
Carl
--- On Wed, 2/3/10, Paula Cline <psc...@genoaschools.com> wrote:
From: Paula Cline <psc...@genoaschools.com>
Subject: [discuss] Question/Suggested addition
To: dis...@openoffice.org
Date: Wednesday, February 3, 2010, 10:08 AM
Dear OpenOffice,
This question is in regards to text boxes in OpenOffice Writer. I was looking for a way to insert a text box, without going to the Drawing toolbar. The drawing toolbar is not visible on our student's computer in the library lab. Therefore, they search for it under "Insert", which would be a logical place to find this option. However, I do not see it listed there. Possible feature to be added in the future?
Also, most documents assigned at the high school level (and possibly college) require 1" margins. Why are the defaults all set at .79? Another possible future change?
Looking forward to any new editions!
Sincerely yours,
Paula Cline
Library Media Specialist
Genoa Area High School
2980 N. Genoa-Clay Center Rd.
Genoa, Ohio 43430
email: psc...@genoaschools.com
phone: 419-855-7735 ext.13
fax: 419-855-7739
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Bruce Martin
Yes, they are different. It looks like you saw my email to Paula.
Long before I saw Oo around, in DOS, I was a user of generic CADD 5 and 6.
In its time it came on 6 1.44 Mb. Floppies.
By the time I left it, I was filling a 100 Mb. Zip disk with the results of
my work.
I used it in connection with an industrial electronics service business I
had at the time. On one occasion I was able to semi-automatically duplicate
a schematic while renumbering all the component numbers in the process to
end up with a schematic of a dual architecture machine schematic for
packaging frozen vegetables.
I think this would also be feasible in Oo Draw, but visually, the operation
would look very different from my old DOS counterpart.
If one was doing this from a text script of the vectors, they could do a lot
of selective auto-creation by dumping the vector text into a spreadsheet and
doing transformations, then re-dumping the contents back (through a DOS text
file to get rid of the spreadsheet formatting stuff), then back to the CAD
import.
In the case of Draw, the spreadsheet would be of some help, but you would
need to use it as a step by step guide while the actual work was done by
copying the block as a group, then ungrouping and doing a find/replace on
the drawing elements. This would need to be done in an extra page as a means
of preventing the find/replace from tampering with the half that was not to
be modified. Then group the changed objects, copy, paste and position in the
original page, ungroup both halves (optional), then regroup the whole thing
and size and center as a big group.
BTW, Draw can also support hierarchal groups within groups, as well (I
think) as parallel groups (This would depend on how Draw reads its grouping
codes.) This could also be tested ad hoc. That is the kind of tinkering I
always have an extra directory/folder called "experiments" for!
Over the years, I have done a lot of reinventing the wheel because I was not
satisfied with the wheels I found - definitely an out of the box thinker!
I have also worked since with AutoCAD and seen a number of other Cad
programs. Presently I prefer to use Oo Draw for that stuff as long as it can
be 2D (but actually, having come from the drafting board days originally, I
think one could nicely do double auxiliary projections in Oo Draw if they
really wanted to represent 3D to scale in there, but I wonder how many today
would know how to read them any more.)
It is very possible to control object sizes numerically in Draw. It's just
that the way it is done is somewhat different from a true Cad program.
Recently I saw an article from someone in an American University that was
using Draw somewhat this way, but I must admit that I though I felt more
comfortable with Draw than the article suggested he might have.
Cheers,
Bruce M.
============================================================================
good luck,
Carl
Dear OpenOffice,
Sincerely yours,
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 9.0.733 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2668 - Release Date: 02/04/10
14:35:00
Mark C. Miller
> Dear OpenOffice,
>
> This question is in regards to text boxes in OpenOffice Writer. I was
> looking for a way to insert a text box, without going to the Drawing
> toolbar. The drawing toolbar is not visible on our student's computer in
> the library lab. Therefore, they search for it under "Insert", which
> would be a logical place to find this option. However, I do not see it
> listed there. Possible feature to be added in the future?
>
> Also, most documents assigned at the high school level (and possibly
> college) require 1" margins. Why are the defaults all set at .79?
> Another possible future change?
>
> Looking forward to any new editions!
>
> Sincerely yours,
>
>
> Paula Cline
> Library Media Specialist
> Genoa Area High School
> 2980 N. Genoa-Clay Center Rd.
> Genoa, Ohio 43430
> email: psc...@genoaschools.com
> phone: 419-855-7735 ext.13
> fax: 419-855-7739
Like you, I wondered why default margins aren't set to MLA standards, but
I only wondered for a s long as it took me to setup a default template
with the margins I wanted. And the font. And the visible toolbar icons.
And the spacing. I've implemented OOo in a 30 station computer lab for my
[English] department. I setup the defaults before the tech folks locked
down the disk image. Then, they setup the computers and everyone gets
the same defaults. It's really easy to do. The other four computer labs
in the building all have OOo, but so far not the same default template.
I'm working on that. We're trying to wean ourselves off MS Office just
for the savings in license costs if nothing else. We cut $2.3M from our
operating budget last year and need to cut over $3M this year and next.
We just can't afford MS Office anymore. Making the change has bee much
closer that I thought it would be, but my department is light years ahead
of everyone else. We'll be well positioned when the time comes. FYI,
our students hardly notice the difference. I got a number of OOo disks
and placed them in the media center for check out. We're staring to see
some migration of OOo from school to home.
mcm
NoOp
> On Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:08:31 -0500, Paula Cline wrote:
Mark, you'll need to forward a copy of your reponse to Paula - she's not
subscribed to the list:
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