by erikh » Fri Feb 08, 2019 7:55 pm
I was trying to explain why, as a new user, I was going to keep OpenOffice for now, and switch to LibreOffice when it becomes necessary.
I am an experienced Windows user, and I can perform many tasks, with a high level of proficiency, on Windows, because I have used the software for many years, and I have memorized many keyboard shortcuts, ignore the GUI (which is slow and inefficient), and I have customized the "environment" to replace icons with words (icons have essentially no meaning for me, but I have used *words* since I was a child and they are full of meaning). However, like many other computer users, I want to get away from Windows.
Thus, with the purchase of this new computer, I installed Linux. One of the first tasks I tried to accomplish was to cut-and-paste a short document from the internet, and annotate it with my own notes, for my own use. The document I was working with had *carriage returns* separating lines of text rather than *paragraph marks*. The *find and replace* function on LibreOffice did not appear to have a way to replace carriage return with paragraph mark. So - by myself (because we are supposed to be self reliant as much as possilbe) I searched the internet for a solution, and downloaded an extension for *find and replace* (the name is something like Alt Find and Replace). While I could find instructions on how to download this extension, I could not find any instructions on how to actually use the extension.
That is when I made the big decision to install OpenOffice - I figured that if I could not get LibreOffice to perform a simple find and replace (which is done with CTRL-H in Windows) then I would install OpenOffice. Long periods of time are necessary for a stupid beginner like me to (1) try to install Open Office, (2) realize there is a conflict with LibreOffice, (3) try to uninstall Libre Office, (4) try again to install OpenOffice, (5) try to edit my document, (6) realize there is the same problem with find and replace for formatting marks, (7) search the internet for a solution, (8) finally solve the simple problem (after hours), and then (9) realize I have a problem with Openoffice Writer because the drop down menus are overwritten when I type new values into them.
And then it turns out that problem - solved in this thread, results becase the default *theme color* for the dialog box is off-white instead fo gray. Huh? Who woulda thunk?
Now, I'm grateful for you comment that OpenOffice is on the way out, and LibreOffice is actively supported - but all those hours I spent 2 days ago are - painful - and learning new software takes years. From experience, I know that I was able to keep using Windows XP right up untill I purchased this new computer last week. Even though Windows XP is no longer supported (and there are well publicized reports of problems, at hospitals in UK for example, with hanging onto old software) we ordinary people make a logical decision to use software that we know, because it is so difficult and so painful (hours and hours and hours of work to find a solution for find and replace, for example) to learn new software.
This explanation is a good example. Look at how long this explanation is. I'm sincere in trying to explain why I think it is logical for me to hang onto OpenOffice for now, I really want you to understand - but the only way I think I can explain it is to write this long explanation. My apologies. And thank you for your help.
Apache Open Office 4.1.8
Linux Mint 19.1 Tessa