Apache OpenOffice Community Forum

Jean Hollis Weber (see also http://oooauthors.org/) just announced the release of the OOo 3 Writer guide:

The OOo3 Writer Guide is available on the wiki, in free PDF (suitable for onscreen viewing) and for sale as a printed book.
http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wik ... iter_Guide
http://documentation.openoffice.org/manuals/userguide3/
http://stores.lulu.com/opendocument

And for the record, here is the Getting Started with OOo3 book:
http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wik ... ng_Started
(PDF and printed copies at same address as WG)

The link at top of the Writer forum has been added, easy to remember that you can access directly from here.

It's worth stating too that we are always looking for help with the docs... help can be anything from proof-reading the newly created material, to contributing examples, to even writing your own doc. Any contribution at all is appreciated and really needed. There are not enough eyes validating the docs right now... we need more.

ccornell wrote:It's worth stating too that we are always looking for help with the docs... help can be anything from proof-reading the newly created material, to contributing examples, to even writing your own doc. Any contribution at all is appreciated and really needed. There are not enough eyes validating the docs right now... we need more.

I would like to do that , if I come across things that I cannot figure out by the manual alone. How can I actually post the information? How is a contribution going to be added? I have tried to ask around, but sometimes the responses are quite minimal (no complain of offense).

mvdberg112 wrote:I would like to do that , if I come across things that I cannot figure out by the manual alone. How can I actually post the information? How is a contribution going to be added? I have tried to ask around, but sometimes the responses are quite minimal (no complain of offense).

Well, the majority of the documentation is up on the OOo Wiki now. You can find it starting here:
http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation
The first level of contribution that anyone can do is to create a Wiki login, and jump in. Simple edits like catching spelling and grammatical errors are very much appreciated. You can also rewrite entire sections of the Wiki documentation, or even contribute new material if you have in-depth knowledge in a particular area.

The Application Help (what you get when you press F1 in OOo) is part of the main code base, so any contributions there need to be submitted via an OOo Issue: http://documentation.openoffice.org/ser ... jectIssues

You can join the Documentation Project and/or the OOoAuthors team.
http://documentation.openoffice.org/ser ... MemberList
http://www.oooauthors.org/en
(the OOoAuthors team works primarily on the User Guides which can be found on the OOoWiki as well as on the OOoAuthors site)

As well, you can subscribe to the dev@documentation.openoffice.org mailing list and discuss any ideas you have with the rest of us.
http://documentation.openoffice.org/ser ... ngListList

Beyond that, people are translating the documents on the Wiki, so if you speak another language, any help there will be welcomed too.

There are many points of entry... you only need to pick the one that fits for you. Most people start on the Wiki docs with edits there, and move up to discussions on the mailing list and full contributions as their skill and knowledge grows.

Just a comment.

Earlier this year when I found OOo 3.01, I downloaded the program --- Installed it and rushed to purchase the "Getting Started with ... " from http://www.lulu.com.

Best $xx.oo I ever spent. All the benefits of on-line learning not withstanding, there is nothing like a book at hand when you are trying out a new Program (anything?). Maybe I feel that way because I am in my 70's. <grin>