File Management in OpenOffice.org

Contents

Overview	iii

Copyright and trademark information	iii

Feedback	iii

Acknowledgments	iii

Modifications and updates	iii

Opening files	1

File formats	2

Default file format	2

Opening text format files	3

Opening spreadsheets	3

Opening presentations	4

Opening graphic files	4

Opening formula files	4

Saving files	4

Password protection	5

Saving a document automatically	6

Writer can save to these file formats	7

Calc can save to these file formats	7

Impress can save to these file formats	8

Draw can save to these file formats	8

The HTML writer can save in these formats	8

AportisDoc and PocketWord files for transport to your PDA	8

Exporting files	9

XHTML Export	9

Export to PDF	9

PDF Options	9

Deleting and renaming files	10

Deleting a file	11

File associations	11

Creating new files	12

Using the Open and Save As dialogs	13

Overview

This chapter describes basic file management (opening, saving, exporting, deleting, and renaming files; creating new files; file associations; and using the OpenOffice.org dialogs) in all components of OpenOffice.org 1.1.x.

Copyright and trademark information

The contents of this Documentation are subject to the Public Documentation License, Version 1.0 (the "License"); you may only use this Documentation if you comply with the terms of this License. A copy of the License is available at:
http://www.openoffice.org/licenses/PDL.rtf.

The Original Documentation is File Management in OpenOffice.org. The Initial Writer(s) of the Original Documentation is/are Linda Worthington © 2004. All Rights Reserved. (Initial Writer contact(s): lindaw65@earthlink.net. The Initial Writer contact(s) is to report errors in the documentation. For questions regarding how to use the software, subscribe to the Users Mail List and post your question there: http://support.openoffice.org/index.html.)

Contributor(s): Ian Laurenson.

Portions created by Ian Laurenson are Copyright © 2004. All Rights Reserved. (Contributor contact(s): hillview@paradise.net.nz).

All trademarks within this guide belong to their legitimate owners.

Feedback

Please direct any comments or suggestions about this document to:
authors@user-faq.openoffice.org.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Jean Hollis Weber for expanding and revising this document.

Modifications and updates

Version	Date	Description of Change
1.0	18 December 2004	First published edition.

Opening files

To open an existing document, choose File > Open or click the Open File icon on the Function Toolbar, or press Control+O.

The Open dialog appears. Figure 1 shows the WindowsXP version of this dialog.

Figure 1. Open dialog in WindowsXP

Choose the file to open, then click the Open button.

Note: Under Microsoft Windows there is the option of using either the OpenOffice.org Open and Save As dialogs or the ones provided by Microsoft Windows. See “Using the Open and Save As dialogs” on page 13.

File formats

OpenOffice.org can import Microsoft Office files. However, Microsoft Office cannot import OpenOffice.org files, so if you want to send a file to a Microsoft Office user, you must save it in a Microsoft Office format or in .rtf. Below is a chart for quick reference.

Document type	Application	Document Extension	Template Extension	Microsoft Office eqv
Text	Writer	.sxw	.stw	.doc .dot
Spreadsheet	Calc	.sxc	.stc	.xls .xlt
Drawing	Draw	.sxd	.std	na
Presentation	Impress	.sxi	.sti	.ppt .pot .pps
Formula	Math	.sxm	na	
Master document	Writer	.sxg	na	
HTML document	Writer	.html	na	

Default file format

OpenOffice.org saves files in its native format unless you tell it to save them differently. If you always need to produce files in some other format (such as Microsoft Office formats), you may wish to change the default file format.

To set the default file format when saving new files:

Tools > Options... > Load/Save > General. (See Figure 2.)

In the Standard File Format section of this page, choose a document type (for example, “Text document”) and then choose a file format from the Always Save As list.

Repeat for each document type as necessary.

Click OK to save your changes.

Note: If the default is set to an OpenOffice.org format and a Microsoft Office file is being saved, then a warning dialog will be displayed about potential loss of formatting.

Figure 2. Choosing default formats for saving files

Opening text format files

In addition to its native formats (.sxw and .stw), OpenOffice.org Writer can import Microsoft Office formats (.doc, .dot) as well as the .rtf, .txt, .csv and StarWriter formats.

When opening .HTM or .HTML files, OpenOffice.org customizes Writer for working with these files.

Opening spreadsheets

In addition to the native formats (.sxc and .stc), OpenOffice.org can open the following spreadsheet formats:

Microsoft Excel 97/2000/XP (*.xls; *.xlw)	Rich Text Format (*.rtf)
Microsoft Excel 97/2000/XP Template (*.xlt)	Text CSV (*.csv; *.txt)
Microsoft Excel 95 (*.xls; *.xlw)	Lotus 123 (*.wk1; *.wk1)
Data Interchange Format (*.def)	StarCalc formats
dBase (*.dbf)	Sylk
HTM and HTML files including Web page queries	

Opening presentations

In addition to its native formats (.sxi and .sti), OpenOffice.org can open the following presentation formats:

Microsoft PowerPoint 97/2000/XP (*.ppt; *.pps)

Microsoft PowerPoint 97/2000/XP Template (.pot)

StarDraw, StarImpress

CGM - Computer Graphics Metafile (*.cgm)

Opening graphic files

In addition to the native formats (.sxd and .std), OpenOffice.org can open the following graphic formats:

BMP	JPEG	PGM	RAS	TGA
DXF	MET	PLT	SGF	TIFF
EMF	PBM	PNG	SGV	WMF
EPS	PCD	PPM	StarDraw	XBM
GIF	PCX	PSD	SVM	XPM

Opening formula files

In addition to its native format, OpenOffice.org can open the following formula files:

StarMath and MathML (*.mml).

When opening a Word document that contains an embedded equation editor object, if the option for it is checked in Tools > Options > Load/Save > Microsoft Office then the object will be automatically converted to an OpenOffice.org Math object.

Saving files

To save a new file:

Choose File > Save As.

When the Save As dialog (Figure 3) appears, enter the file name and verify the file type (if applicable).

Note: File names should never have spaces. If you need to separate the file name, use an underscore (_) between words; for example, file_maint.sxw.

To save an open document, with no need to change the file name, choose File > Save. This will overwrite the last saved state of the file.

Figure 3. Saving a new file

Password protection

To protect an entire document from being viewable without a password, there is an option on the Save As dialog to enter a password. This option is only available for files saved in OpenOffice.org formats.

On the Save As dialog (Figure 3), mark the checkbox beside Save with password, and then click Save. You will receive a prompt:

Enter the same password in the Password field and the Confirm field, and then click OK.

If the passwords match. the document will be saved password protected. If the passwords do not match, you will receive the prompt to enter the password again.

Note: Passwords must contain a minimum of 5 characters. Until you have entered 5 characters, the OK button remains inactive.

Saving a document automatically

You can choose to have OpenOffice.org save files for you automatically. Automatic saving, like manual saving, will overwrite the last saved state of the file. To set up automatic file saving:

Choose Tools > Options > Load/Save > General. (See Figure 4.)

Mark Autosave every, set the time interval. If you want to be prompted before the file is automatically saved, select the Prompt to save checkbox as well.

Figure 4. Choosing to save a document automatically

Writer can save to these file formats

In addition to its native formats (.sxw and .stw), Writer can save in these formats:

OpenOffice.org Writer template (.stw)

Microsoft Word 97/2000/XP (.doc)

Microsoft Word 95 (.doc)

Microsoft Word 6.0 (.doc)

Rich Text Format (.rtf)

StarWriter 5.0 (.sdw)

StarWriter Template (.vor)

StarWriter 4.0 (.sdw)

StarWriter 4.0 Template (.vor)

StarWriter 3.0 (.sdw)

StarWriter Template 3.0 (.vor)

Text (.txt)

Text Encoded (.txt)

HTML (.html; .htm)

Note: The .rtf format is a common format for transferring text files between applications but be aware of the lack of formating available in that format. It also seems that there is a bug concerning files saved in the .rtf format that contain images when opened by Microsoft Office. So the best way to pass a file in writer to a Microsoft Word user is to save it as Microsoft Word 97/2000/XP (.doc).

Calc can save to these file formats

In addition to its native formats (.sxc and stc), Calc can save in these formats:

Microsoft Excel 97/2000/XP (*.xls; *.xlw)

Microsoft Excel 97/2000/XP Template (*.xlt)

Microsoft Excel 95 (*.xls; *.xlw)

Data Interchange Format (*.dif)

dBase (*.dbf)

SYLK (*.slk)

Text CSV (*.csv; *.txt)

StarCalc formats (*.sdc, *.vor)

HTM and HTML files

Impress can save to these file formats

Microsoft PowerPoint 97/2000/XP (*.ppt; *.pps)

Microsoft PowerPoint 97/2000/XP Template (*.pot)

StarDraw, StarImpress (*.sda, *.sdd, *.vor)

Impress can also export to MacroMedia Flash (*.swf) and any of the graphics formats as listed below for Draw.

Draw can save to these file formats

Draw can only save in its native formats (.sxd and .std) and StarDraw format, but can export to BMP, EMF, EPS, GIF, JPEG, MET, PBM, PCT, PGM, PNG, PPM, RAS, SVG, SVM, TIFF, WMF, and XPM.

The HTML writer can save in these formats

HTML Document (*.html; *.htm)

OpenOffice.org 1.0 HTML Template (*.stw)

StarWriter/Web5.0 and 4.0 (*.vor)

Text (OpenOffice.org Writer/Web) (*.txt)

Text Encoded (OpenOffice.org Writer/Web) (*.txt)

AportisDoc and PocketWord files for transport to your PDA

When installing OpenOffice.org, you can optionally choose to install filters for saving and opening documents in formats suitable for mobile devices compatible with Palm OS and PocketPC (AportisDoc, PocketWord and PocketExcel). These filters are not installed by default.

To add the filters later:

Go to the folder in which OpenOffice.org is installed and start Setup.exe.

On the Installation program for OpenOffice.org page of the Setup Wizard, choose Modify and click Next.

On the Select OpenOffice.org Modules page, click the plus sign next to Optional Components, then click the plus sign next to Mobile Device Filters at the bottom of the list.

Click on the components you want to install, then click the Modify button at the bottom of the page. The filters will be installed.

Once the filters are installed, the formats are then added to the Save As menu automatically.

Note: The Java Runtime Environment is required to use the mobile device filters.

Exporting files

XHTML Export

OpenOffice.org has the ability to export files to XHTML. This feature is not installed by default. You can either choose this filter on first install or add it later using the procedure described above for AportisDoc and PocketWord filters. On the Select OpenOffice.org Modules page of the Setup Wizard, click the plus sign next to Optional Components and select XSLT Sample Filters. This will install the XHTML export filter.

Export to PDF

In each application there is the ability to directly export to PDF. This industry-standard file format for file viewing is ideal for sending the file to someone else to view using Acrobat Reader.

You can export directly to PDF using a button on the toolbar or by choosing File > Export.

If you use File > Export, you are asked to enter the filename for the PDF file and then the PDF Options dialog (Figure 5) opens.

Figure 5. Specifying the PDF export options

Note: If you use the Export Directly as PDF button, you are asked to enter the filename for the PDF file, but you do not get a chance to choose a page range or the print quality.

PDF Options

All

Exports the entire document.

Range

To export a range of pages, use the format 3-6. To export single pages, use the format 7;9;11. If you want, you can export a combination of page ranges and single pages, by using the format 3-6;8;10;12.

Screen optimized

Files will be very small but they will not print well.

Print optimized

Files are optimized for high quality printing and the file sizes will be somewhat larger than the Screen optimized files.

Press optimized

Files are optimized for the highest quality and are the largest file sizes.

See Table 1 for a summary of compression options.

Table 1. Comparison of PDF optimization options

	Screen optimized	Print optimized	Press optimized
Resolution	600dpi	1200dpi	2400dpi
Compress Text and Line Art	yes	yes	yes
Bitmap Images
Resampling	Average Downsampling at 72dpi	Bicubic Downsampling at 300dpi	Bicubic Downsampling at 300dpi
Compression	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic
Quality	Medium	High	Maximum
Monochrome Bitmap Images
Resampling	Average Downsampling at 300dpi	Bicubic Downsampling at 1200dpi	Bicubic Downsampling at 1200dpi
Compression	CCITT Group 4	CCITT Group 4	CCITT Group 4

Deleting and renaming files

You can rename or delete files within the OpenOffice.org dialogs. It is not possible to copy and paste files within the dialogs.

To rename a file while using OpenOffice.org:

Choose File > Open and browse to the required file.

Right-click on the file name and choose Rename. The file name will be selected.

Typing replaces the selected name, or use a left or right arrow key to move the insertion point to modify the existing name.

Deleting a file

To delete a file while using this dialog:

Right-click on the file name to display a context menu.

Click Delete and you will get a confirmation dialog. Note: Instead of Right-click > Delete, you can simply press the Delete key.

File associations

File associations are used to open certain types of files automatically with OpenOffice.org. You have the option to associate Microsoft Office files with OpenOffice. When installing OpenOffice.org you are prompted to associate file types, as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6. Choosing file associations when installing OpenOffice.org

If during installation you chose not to have OpenOffice.org automatically open Microsoft Word files, you can change this later by modifying the installation. To do this:

Go to the folder in which OpenOffice.org is installed and start Setup.exe.

On the Installation program for OpenOffice.org page of the Setup Wizard, choose Modify and click Next.

Continue through the Setup Wizard until you reach the page shown in Figure 6. Select the file types you want OOo to open (put a mark in each checkbox) and click OK.

Creating new files

Different ways of creating a new document:

File > New.

Use the New button on the Function Bar. This button has the long-click feature for selecting the type of document to be created.

From a “Quick start” program. For instance, the Microsoft Windows version of OpenOffice.org has a Quickstart icon in the system tray.

Control + N.

Using AutoPilots: File > AutoPilot.

Using the Open and Save As dialogs

Under Microsoft Windows there you can choose whether to use the OpenOffice.org Open and Save As dialogs or the ones provided by Microsoft Windows. To view or change which type of dialog OpenOffice.org is using:

Choose Tools > Options... > OpenOffice.org > General.

Select the Use OpenOffice.org dialogs checkbox.

This section discusses the OpenOffice.org Open and Save As dialogs.

Figure 7. The OOo Open dialog, showing some of the file formats that can be opened

The three buttons in the top right of the OOo Open dialog are, from left to right:

Go up one level in the folder (directory) hierarchy. Note that this is a long-click button if you want to go up higher than just one level.

New folder.

Default Directory.

For OpenOffice.org documents that have been saved with more than one version, use the version drop-down to select which version you wish to open in read-only mode.

Note: For Microsoft Office documents, only the current version can be opened.

Use the File type field to specify the type of file to be opened or the format of the file to be saved.

The Read only checkbox opens the file for reading and printing only. Consequently most of the toolbars disappear and most menu options are disabled. An Edit File button is displayed on the Function Toolbar to open the file for editing.

It is possible to open files from the web using URLs.

Figure 8. The OpenOffice.org Save As dialog, showing some of the Save formats

Using the Open and Save As dialogs

File Management in OpenOffice.org	14

Title:	File Management in OpenOffice.org
Version:	1.0
First edition:	December 2004
First English edition:	December 2004

Overview

File Management in OpenOffice.org	xiv

File Management in OpenOffice.org

Jean Hollis Weber

2004-11-24T18:09:05