Apache OpenOffice Community Forum

Welcome beginner. Please answer all of the questions below which may provide information necessary to answer your question.
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Which version of OpenOffice.org are you using? 2.4
What Operating System (version) are you using? XP
What is your question or comment?

I have used Open Office for years and spread the word wherever possible. Thanks for a great product.
I normally upgrade to each new version I have 2 suggestions.

a) New versions - Why not automatically got to a setup screen for the first time to set options like auto correct, etc...
Some of the irritating (opinion) automatic options like bulleting and connections to the internet etc... would be easier if turned off in the beginning by first time users and users upgrading. It's also a good way to get people to look at all the options and save trips to this forum. Microsoft always insists that you do it their way, shouldn't OO let users know they have options and provide them upfront rather than search for ways to stop them?
b) Shouldn't bulleting type options belong in format-page rather than Tools - autocorrect. It would be a more logical place for a person to look for a formatting tool? I was able to find the answer easily in the forum again, but only because a frustrated user also had the same problem. I'm sure that I will forget where all the settings are during the next upgrade as well.

oouser12345 wrote:Thanks for a great product.

Nice sentiment, but this is a user-to-user forum. (Survival Guide for the forum.)
Suggestions should be posted in the Issue Tracker if they don't already exist there.

oouser12345 wrote:a) New versions - Why not automatically got to a setup screen for the first time to set options like auto correct, etc...
Some of the irritating (opinion) automatic options like bulleting and connections to the internet etc... would be easier if turned off in the beginning by first time users and users upgrading. It's also a good way to get people to look at all the options and save trips to this forum. Microsoft always insists that you do it their way, shouldn't OO let users know they have options and provide them upfront rather than search for ways to stop them?

Unfortunately, that will confuse more users than it would help, I think.

People are quickly overwhelmed when being asked to make decisions about software they know little or nothing about. How are they to know what AutoCorrect options they'd want if they don't know what AutoCorrect is?

I understand your point about making such options visible so people are at least aware they exist, but usually the users just won't have the tools they need to understand what to choose until they're more familiar with the program and their own needs. And giving people confusing choices will drive them away from the application altogether, because asking them to make baseless decisions will frustrate and anger them.

oouser12345 wrote:b) Shouldn't bulleting type options belong in format-page rather than Tools - autocorrect. It would be a more logical place for a person to look for a formatting tool?

I would never look for bulleting options as a page format. It's paragraph (text) formatting, and if it's to be applied automatically when you type, that can only be done through AutoCorrect. All AutoCorrect options need to be kept in the same place, so there is no other or better place to turn this on or off. As for changing the appearance of bulleting, that's taken care of in the appropriate paragraph styles.