[Solved] Not new, but new

[Tyrel]

Well, I've been using open office for a while now, and I suppose I've come to appreciate it in part, mostly because of the fact that it is open source. However, there are features I recognize that I am ignorant concerning. I have neglected up to this point to join, as I have not considered them of any great importance.

I am now, however, in dire need of some very simple and embarrassing support. Perhaps I am far too stressed to think clearly, but I certainly do not have time to figure this out on my own at this point {thus a hasty reply from anyone will be appreciated the world over}. However, I would like to know exactly how to create and use footnotes, edit them, and create new ones such that those which appear latter in the document rearrange their numbers appropriately and respectively.

I decided to join, as I have many more questions which I may as well ask now, in my spare time. However, being a college student, I have procrastinated up to this point on a report due tomorrow. I'm sure everyone here knows how the story goes. In any case, please, anyone who can tell me how to USE the footnotes, could you perhaps inform me?

I apologize that this is such a poor introduction. I hope it meats the community here well.


Well, now I sit and wait... Thank you in advance.

[DrewJensen]

Hi Tyrel,

I am going to move your post over to the Writer general use forum - you have a much better chance of help in that spot for this question.

[Tyrel]

Thank you kindly DrewJensen.

I was sort of torn as to where to put it {whether in the beginners sub-forum, or here in the writer sub-forum}.

[Tyrel]

ok, so I've found http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wik ... d_endnotes

But that DOESN'T help me much, seeing as the dropdown menu in the current openoffice is tools footnotes and that doesn't seem to be working out for me. Whereas the insert footer footnote doesn't seem to be working either.

I still need help. Anyone. That would be greatly appreciated.

[acknak]

Have you looked at the online help? Look under "footnotes;inserting and editing" It's short, but it's a start.

[Tyrel]

Sorry, but is it possible to link me directly to the page you are referring to please?

As I said, I found this; http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wik ... 2Fendnotes

However, that doesn't cut it. Probably because I'm not mentally stable at the moment, but it seems to me unclear exactly how one should insert and edit them, based on what I have seen.

Please, treat me as a first time computer user who barely knows how to plug it in and turn it on. Can you, in very simple language, explain just how it is supposed to work?

Unless of course that link of yours does just that. In which case, I will thank you for showing me the way.

[Tyrel]

erm.. I don't know if it's appropriate to "bump", but I fear people have forgotten about me, or figured that my problem has been solved, because of the many posts.

If anyone is reading this, please do help me.

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

Sorry, but is it possible to link me directly to the page you are referring to please?

As I said, I found this; http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wik ... 2Fendnotes

However, that doesn't cut it. Probably because I'm not mentally stable at the moment, but it seems to me unclear exactly how one should insert and edit them, based on what I have seen.

Please, treat me as a first time computer user who barely knows how to plug it in and turn it on. Can you, in very simple language, explain just how it is supposed to work?

Unless of course that link of yours does just that. In which case, I will thank you for showing me the way.

The link that you found to the Writer's Guide is clearer than the help file topic "Inserting and Editing Footnotes or Endnotes " because it is illustrated with screenshots of the dialogue boxes. If you cannot understand those instructions, then do something about your mental instability first. Take a break, and read it again when your mind is clear. I really don't think there is more that anyone can say to make it more clear.

[Tyrel]

Well, I suppose my first reaction was to think your post was to think it harsh, but it seems the few hours of sleep I caught really did restore my mental capacities.

Thanks for bearing with me. I was either selecting;

Insert Footer

or else;

Tools Footnotes

For whatever reason, it simply wasn't registering that Insert Footnote was quite separate from Insert Footer.

In any case, I'm sorry for being a nuisance, and I thank you for the patience. Hopefully I might become of some help here.. eventually. Until then, the clock is ticking, and I have a paper to write.

[acknak]

Just to be clear, I did not link to any article because there is no article to link to--you find it in the OOo menus:

Help > OO.org Help, or type the F1 key (top row of your keyboard)

Select "OOo Writer" at the top, and the "Index" tab (that should be the default) and enter the text "footnotes;inserting and editing". As soon as you start to type that, the first matching index entry will be selected; by the time you type "f o o t", the full entry should appear in the list and you can just double click the list to jump to that topic.

Even though the instructions there have no pictures, they are straightforward.

I'm sorry my pointer was not clear before; I was in a hurry and I hoped it would be enough. I include the instructions now because it really is important for you to understand how to use the built-in help. It's far from perfect, but there is a wealth of information there. Even if you read it and don't understand it at first, you can come here with a specific question and we can explain what a word or phrase means.

I did not link to the article you found, because it is not actually from the Writer Guide, it is from the instructions to authors who want to contribute to the Guides. I assumed that it would be aimed at experienced users and too specific. I see now that my assumption was wrong and I'm glad you found it anyway.

[Tyrel]

Yes, well, suffice it to say the Idea that my question was embarrassing, so say the least, as I asserted it would be in the first post. I, however, generally tend away from the help files for programs, especially with open source, as I have not had good experiences with them.

You are correct though, that I should have checked. However, given my state of mind, it may not have done me any good.

In any case, I have to get back to writing it. Thank you again for your patience. Now I must seem quite the idiot, I'm sure, but as I said, I knew it was going to be embarrassing the second I decided to come here.

I'm content to have an answer, and now I'm both one step closer to finishing, along with being a more informed user.