OpenOffice.org Off the Wall
List of the columns written by Bruce Byfield
Introduction
OpenOffice.org Off the Wall and others are columns written by Bruce Byfield and published about twice monthly at the Linux Journal web site (http://www.linuxjournal.com) and other on-line media. It began in March 2004, and, so far (August 2005), is still continuing.
Personally I think these columns are very good introductions to the features and possibilities in OpenOffice.org (OOo). Previously there was a link The Rookery from the OOo web site (http://www.openoffice.org) to these columns but that link was removed for some reason. Therefore I decide to make my own list and want to share it to the OOo community.
Bruce Byfield has his own list on his site: http://members.axion.net/~bbyfield/off-the-wall.pdf, but it appears that not all the links are correct.
This list was initially compiled by Magnus Adielsson. Last updated 2005-07-22 by G. Roderick Singleton. It you find any errors in the list, please let both of us know.
The information in this list on each article has been copied from the articles themselves. It is not my own words.
The articles are listed in reverse order of publication, with the most recent article first.
OOo Off the Wall: Recovering Hidden Treasures
By Bruce Byfield on Mon, 2005-08-15
Can't find your favorite functionality tools and shortcuts in 2.0? They still might be available, if you know where to look.
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8492
Our new OpenOffice.org article automated response system
By: Bruce Byfield on Sat, 2005-07-23
After writing articles about OpenOffice.org over the last few years, I've noticed that, no matter what the exact subject is, I get the same comments from readers. This situation strikes me as deeply unfortunate. NewsForge readers, I know, are busy people. They don't have time to write long comments, or engage in endless email discussions. To spare them, I have devised a series of generic comments for articles about OpenOffice.org -- not just mine, but anybody's.
http://www.newsforge.com/articles/05/07/19/1824234.shtml?tid=149
Oo Off the Wall: What New Users Need to Know About OpenOffice.org
By Bruce Byfield on Thu, 2005-07-14
OOo does some things quite differently than other office applications, so what should you know going in for the first time?
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8443
OOo Off the Wall: Tabling the Notion, Part 2
By Bruce Byfield on Wed, 2005-06-01
Although not as versatile as a spreadsheet, table formulas in OOo Writer can help you automate more of your work.
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8336
OOo Off the Wall: Tabling the Notion, Part 1
By Bruce Byfield on Mon, 2005-05-09
How to add, design and manipulate tables in OOo 2.0.
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8298
OOo Off the Wall: Fielding Questions, Part 4 - Mail Merges
By Bruce Byfield on Tue, 2005-04-12
It takes a while to get the hang of mail merges, but OOo 2.0's new Mail Merge Wizard helps make them easier to use.
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8238
OOo Off the Wall: Fielding Questions, Part 3
By Bruce Byfield on Fri, 2005-03-11
How to use fields for editing and content management.
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8154
OOo Off the Wall: Fielding Questions, Part 2 - Cross References and User-Defined Fields
By Bruce Byfield on Wed, 2005-02-23
Tips and workarounds to get you through the sometimes frustrating process of creating cross-references in Writer documents.
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8112
OOo Off the Wall: Fielding Questions, Part 1 - The Basics
By Bruce Byfield on Tue, 2005-02-01
Fields aren't supposed to mess up your documents and make you pull out your hair--learn when fields are useful and how to use them.
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8071
OpenOffice.org Off-the-Wall: ToCs, Indexes and Bibliographies in OOo Writer
By Bruce Byfield on Tue, 2005-01-04
A new way of thinking about and tagging a document's table of contents and other supporting features makes sense and is more convenient.
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8012
OOo Off the Wall: My Objects All Sublime
By Bruce Byfield on Fri, 2004-11-26
OOo Off the Wall: My Objects All Sublime
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7915
OOo Off the Wall: Floating Windows
By Bruce Byfield on Wed, 2004-10-20
OpenOffice.org's extensive use of floating windows puts some of the most-used editing tools at your fingertips.
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7850
OOo Off the Wall: Macros and Add-ons
By Bruce Byfield on Tue, 2004-09-28
The OOo community has begun to release some macros and add-ons to extend the functionality of the office suite.
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7802
OOo Off the Wall: The Outlining and the Ecstasy
By Bruce Byfield on Tue, 2004-09-07
With a bit of practice and some of these tips, you can become an outlining pro, even if you haven't done an outline since Freshmen Comp.
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7759
Comment from 'ftack' at oooforum.org on this article regarding the possibly confusion between 'Tools > Outline numbering' and Format > Numbering/Bullets:
http://www.oooforum.org/forum/viewtopic.phtml?t=12371)
OOo Off the Wall: Getting in the Frame
By Bruce Byfield on Mon, 2004-08-16
A discussion of how to use frame styles in OOo Writer.
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7733
OOo Off the Wall: Setting Up Page Styles in OOo Writer
By Bruce Byfield on Sun, 2004-07-25
A little planning ahead will make your word processing tasks easier and keep your documents looking consistent as they grow.
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7203
OOo Off the Wall: It's Numbering, but Not as We Know It
By Bruce Byfield on Wed, 2004-07-07
Numbered and bulleted lists that don't disappear, switch, realign themselves or otherwise make your life miserable.
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7659
OOo Off the Wall: Paragraph Styles, Part II
By Bruce Byfield on Wed, 2004-06-16
Writer offers a bag of tricks for when you want to do a bit more than the normal with paragraph styles and formatting.
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7634
OpenOffice.org Off the Wall: Shooting the Sun
By Bruce Byfield on Mon, 2004-05-31
Positioning options for paragraph styles in OOo.
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7599
OOo Off the Wall: Building Characters
By Bruce Byfield on Mon, 2004-05-10
Learning about character styles in OOo Writer
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7576
OpenOffice.org Off the Wall: Fonts of Wisdom
By Bruce Byfield on Thu, 2004-04-15
Advice for installing and choosing fonts in OpenOffice.org.
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7535
OpenOffice.org Off-the-Wall: Style Is Everything, Right?
By Bruce Byfield on Wed, 2004-03-31
A guide for when and how to use styles instead of manual overrides in OpenOffice.org documents.
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7488
OpenOffice Off-the-Wall: Bullet Proof Templates
By Bruce Byfield on Mon, 2004-03-15
How templates function differently in OpenOffice.org than they do in Office, and why OpenOffice.org's are better.
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7447
Eleven Tips for Moving to OpenOffice.org
By Bruce Byfield on Mon, 2004-03-01
Replacing a complicated piece of software like an office suite can be a major undertaking. But, if you apply a few simple rules to make sure your needs are met, you'll be ready to be productive on the new software right away.
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7158
