Creating a book of poetry in OpenOffice

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zorahpoet
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Creating a book of poetry in OpenOffice

Post by zorahpoet »

Hello All,
Some aspects of OO - like pagination - are less "user-friendly" than I am used to. I am, of course, still very new with the app,
but I am (impatiently) creating a book of (155 pp) poetry as I learn! Can anyone direct me to a Q/A or share tips for formatting?
(And how to turn off some off these autoformat actions?!) Thanks so much.
OpenOffice 4.1.5 on MacOS 10.10.6
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RoryOF
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Re: Creating a book of poetry in Open Office

Post by RoryOF »

For a relatively brief introduction, see

Writer for students (several languages)
Apache OpenOffice 4.1.15 on Xubuntu 22.04.4 LTS
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robleyd
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Re: Creating a book of poetry in Open Office

Post by robleyd »

And for the last part of your question, [Tutorial] Automatic functions in Writer - enable / disable
Cheers
David
OS - Slackware 15 64 bit
Apache OpenOffice 4.1.15
LibreOffice 24.2.1.2; SlackBuild for 24.2.1 by Eric Hameleers
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RoryOF
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Re: Creating a book of poetry in Open Office

Post by RoryOF »

A longer book on formatting, based on LibreOffice, but applicable to OpenOffice, is Bruce Byfield's book, Designing with LibreOffice, this also covers Apache OpenOffice. It focuses on the use of styles and templates, mainly in Writer but with some info on Calc, Impress, and Draw.

A PDF of the book, and/or a zip file of the chapter ODTs, can be downloaded free from the book's website. If you prefer, you can buy a printed copy. http://designingwithlibreoffice.com

With apologies to Bruce, this will tell you much more than you _need_ to know about formatting for your present project.
Apache OpenOffice 4.1.15 on Xubuntu 22.04.4 LTS
zorahpoet
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Joined: Sat Mar 24, 2018 9:03 pm

Re: Creating a book of poetry in OpenOffice

Post by zorahpoet »

Thanks so much for the responses. Right now, I would be happy if I could just find a simple way to adjust the page margins to a specific size. With gratitude, and meaning no offense, but both these documents seem far more advanced than I need to be at present; both seem written for more advanced practitioners. Like - computer programmers and software designers. I am a poet, a writer, a teacher (literature) and having to do all these technical searches, then learn-as-I-go, just gives me a headache. *Nevertheless,* I will continue my attempt to find easily understood and applied information about basic, simple procedures (page margins) and even, "styles." (Just glanced at a part of one of these books? Says *never* use default to create a MS. Of course, that is just what I did, since I did not know what else to do.) Again, thanks so much for your prompt helpfulness. :)
OpenOffice 4.1.5 on MacOS 10.10.6
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RoryOF
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Re: Creating a book of poetry in OpenOffice

Post by RoryOF »

OO Help file: Margins.
 Edit: You can use Find and Replace, drop more options and check "Search for Styles", select "default" using the dropdown beside Find and choose your target style, possibly "text body" using the dropdown beside Replace, and then either Replace all, or replace on a case by case basis. 
Apache OpenOffice 4.1.15 on Xubuntu 22.04.4 LTS
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