Apache OpenOffice Community Forum

OOG is great I have been using it for about ten years. It has a bazillion features but they all trip me up. Please I need just
a typewriter mode with zero features. I will control everything manually. You know like the good old .TXT format.

One reason is I do a lot of self research and I cut from other websites and publications and google searches and and then I paste into
my document and I get all kinds of fancy stuff like tables and paragraphs etc etc.

I would like to turn off all features so I can just move the text around to look like I want it. My documents are rarely more than a few pages
and I can handle all my own indention, spacing, and tabs and tables etc and paragraph or line numbers etc etc.

PLEASE I NEED ULTIMATE SIMPLE. I've spent hours trying to read the help files and turn everything off and it is crazy.... spend an hour
to clean up two pages of info. All I need is a space bar and a return key..... just like on an old typewriter..

Honestly OO Writer is NOT simple. Tell the truth. It is supremely powerful if you are a professional editor and you need the features it is
a miracle come true.

Please let me format a one or two page letter the way I want it to look and let me do it all manually .

Also, maybe think about some function where I can cut info from other internet sources and then let me paste only
the text content without all the formatting baggage. Maybe a CTRL SHIFT V instead of the regular CTRL V keyboard sequence.


Come to think of it.. It seems like a plain text mode would be like an an editor that could be used to write programs etc

Hep me Hep me please!!!!!!!

The Ctrl+Shift+V command key sequence already does (for the most part) what you are describing for that key sequence.
The only thing you have to remember, when using it, is to select the Unformatted text option in the dialog that appears between when you press the sequence and when the information is actually pasted.

As to setting up Writer to act as a regular typewriter, you can set it up like that, then save it as a template.
Once the template is made, you can call up the template, and then do your writing. If you are sure that this is the only mode you're going to want, then you can make your new template the default, which is loaded up automatically when Writer is started.

Some tutorials that you may find useful:
Automatic functions in Writer - enable/disable
Creating a new default template
Differences between Writer and MS Word files
I included that last one due to your reference to .TXT format.

If the above still does not make Writer work the way you are describing, then the simplest method is for you to use the Notepad program that comes with Windows.

You may be better off with a plain text editor such as Notepad ++

Or even MS Notepad or WordPad. As far as I remember, Wordpad allowed some minimal formatting, directly applied (typewriter fashion).

https://gottcode.org/focuswriter/ produces odt documents. As long as your preferred application produces Open Document Text, you don't have to worry if and how you can view and edit your work in the future.

See [Tutorial] Automatic functions in Writer - enable / disable to disable automatic functions.

When confused it is always useful to read the manual.

To use it as a typewriter don't bother with styles. Just type and then format what you typed as you require. Learn about:

1. Format > Page ..., to set the page size
2. Format > Paragraph ..., to set gaps after paragraph, line spacings etc
3. Tab - automatic (and manual?)
4. View > Non printing characters ..., so you can see what is happening.

See Writer FAQ, the Writer Tutorials, the up to date Writer guide and the Writer Manual. May I suggest you bookmark the pages.

Press F1 to access the Help screen and search for your problem

The chapter headings in the manual are:

1 - Introducing Writer
2 - Setting up Writer
3 - Working with Text
4 - Formatting Pages
5 - Printing, Exporting, Faxing and E-Mailing
6 - Introduction to Styles
7 - Working with Styles
8 - Working with Graphics
9 - Working with Tables
10 - Working with Templates
11 - Using Mail Merge
12 - Tables of Contents, Indexes and Bibliographies
13 - Working with Master Documents
14 - Working with Fields
15 - Using Forms in Writer
16 - Customizing Writer – Keyboard shortcuts.

When a pop-up window opens, click the Help button for extensive help on that function - it is often more comprehensive than the manual.

preventec47 wrote:I cut from other websites and publications and google searches and and then I paste into my document and I get all kinds of fancy stuff like tables and paragraphs etc etc.

Also learn about Edit > Paste Special > Unformatted text. It strips all formatting from text.

Or, better, install PureText - it works in any application. If you paste with Ctrl+V it pastes normally. If you paste with Windows+V it strips all formatting.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telescope where I copied all the highlighted material.

See the .odt file where I pasted it into AOO using PureText Windows+V. I set View > Non printing characters ..., to ON so you can see why the text appears as it does.