Author: paul.gray

Apply automatic text formatting options.

Automatic text formatting means that the text keeps on getting formatted automatically while we are typing the text into a Writer document. This means that when we type any text in a Writer document, then this text gets formatted automatically according to a pre-defined set of rules.
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To apply automatic text formatting, we simply need to define these rules. To apply automatic text formatting in Writer, click on ‘Tools’ from the main menu bar and from the resulting menu, click on ‘AutoCorrect Options’. This will open the ‘AutoCorrect’ dialog box.

In this dialog box, under the ‘Options’ tab, we have a list of different formatting options. All these options have a couple of checkboxes which control whether these options will be applied while modifying existing text or while typing new text. The respective checkboxes can be checked as per the requirements and thus the required formatting rules can be set.

After setting all the rules, click on ‘OK’. This will apply the selected auto text formatting options to the document.

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Embed data into a document as an object.

One of the most amazing features of Writer is that it enables us to embed data into a document as an object. This means that we can insert any form of data, say a spreadsheet or a chart or a drawing or any other type, into a document as an object and then work with this data.
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To embed data into a document as an object, click on ‘Insert’ from the main menu bar and from the resulting menu, click on ‘Object’. This will display a sub-menu from where you need to click on ‘OLE Object’. This will open the ‘Insert OLE Object’ dialog box.

In this dialog box, we have two views which can be opened with the help of two radio buttons. These are ‘Create new’ and ‘Create from file’. The ‘Create new’ view is used to create a new data object while using ‘Create from file’; we can create an object from an already existing file.

In the ‘Create new’ view, we just need to select the type of data file we need to insert into the document under ‘Object Type’ and then click on ‘OK’. The selected data file will get inserted into the document as an object.

In the ‘Create from file’ view, under ‘File’, choose the file which you need to embed as an object. The ‘Search’ button can be used to browse to that particular file. The ‘Link to file’ checkbox can be checked if you also want to create a link to the original document. After selecting all the values, click on ‘OK’. The selected file will get embedded into the document as an object.

Edit, delete embedded data.

As we saw in the last section, there are two ways to embed a data object into a writer document. To create a new data object or to embed an existing file as a data object. To edit or delete embedded data for a newly created data object, we simply need to double-click on the data object. This will bring the data object into its native form. This means that if the data object was a spreadsheet it will start looking like a spreadsheet.

After this, edit or delete the data in the data object as is normally done. When you next save the document, your changes will get saved.

Though the same does not apply to a data object created from an existing file. To edit or delete a data object which has been created from an existing file, you need to edit the original file. After making changes to the original file, when the Writer document will be next saved, the changes will get reflected in the data object.
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Insert, edit, and remove a hyperlink.

Hyperlinks are used to jump to a different location from within a document and this location can be in the same file, in different files and also some websites.

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To insert a hyperlink, click on ‘Insert’ from the main menu bar, and from the resulting drop-down menu, click on ‘Hyperlink’. This will open the ‘Hyperlink’ dialog box.

In this dialog box, we have four options in the left hand side of the dialog. These are ‘Internet’, ‘Mail & News’, ‘Document’ and ‘New Document’. Under ‘Internet’, we can create a hyperlink to jump to a website. The website URL can be entered in the ‘Target’ field.

Under ‘Mail & News’, we can create a hyperlink for sending an email. The email ID and the subject for the email can be set here under the ‘Recipient’ and ‘Subject’ fields.
Under ‘Document’, we can create a hyperlink for jumping to an already existing document. The path for this document can be browsed to by using the ‘Path’ field.

Under ‘New Document’, we can create a hyperlink for creating and opening a new document. The file name and file type can be specified under the ‘File’ and ‘File Type’ fields.
There are a number of other options as well which can be set as per the requirements. This is how we can insert a hyperlink in Writer.

To edit a hyperlink, first of all select the hyperlink. Now click on ‘Insert’ from the main menu bar, and from the resulting drop-down, click on ‘Hyperlink’. The ‘Hyperlink’ dialog box will get opened with the selected hyperlink already open in the dialog. You can make changes to the hyperlink here and then click on ‘Apply’. This will save the changes. After this, click on ‘OK’. The changes will get reflected in the document.

To remove a hyperlink, select the hyperlink and then click on ‘Delete’ button from the keyboard. This will delete the hyperlink.
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Modify a template.

A template is simply a format based on which a new document will get created in Writer. There are a number of templates which are already present in Writer and if we want to have our own template or make changes to one of the existing ones then this can be achieved easily in Writer.
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To modify a template in Writer, click on ‘File’ from main menu bar. From the resulting drop-down, click on ‘New’, and from the sub-menu, click on ‘Templates’. This will open the ‘Template Manager’ wizard.

Under the ‘Documents’ tab, click on ‘My Templates’ or any of the other folders in case you have stored your templates in the other folders. This will open the templates which you have stored in that particular folder.

Now to modify a template, click on that template to select it. This will make a row of icons visible above the template.

Among the icons, click on ‘Edit’ and this will open the document template in Writer. Make all the required changes which need to be made and finally click on ‘Save’ from the ‘File’ button of the main menu bar to save your changes.

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Create, modify a form using available form field options: text field, check box, drop-down menu.

We all know what forms are. They help in presenting the data in a better and more efficient way, they are used in a variety of domains, and the best part is we can create highly interactive and useful forms using Writer.
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To create a form using available form field options, click on ‘View’ from the main menu bar. From the resulting drop-down menu, click on ‘Toolbars’, and from the resulting sub-menu, click on ‘Form Controls’. This will open the ‘Form Controls’ dialog box. In this dialog, first of all click on the ‘Design Mode On/Off’ button. This will enable all the other buttons.

After this, click on any of the controls, say ‘Push Button’. The mouse pointer will change to a ‘+’ sign. Drag anywhere on the sheet to create a ‘Push Button’. The push button will get created in the document. In the same way we can create other fields like a text box, a check box or a drop down menu.

We can insert as many fields as required and design our form accordingly. This is how we can create a form in Writer.

Add help text to a form field: visible on status bar, activated by F1 Help key.

To add help text to a form field, right click on any of the newly created buttons and from the resulting menu, click on ‘Control’. This will open the ‘Properties’ dialog box.
In this dialog, under the ‘General’ tab, we have different options. In the ‘Help text………’ input box, enter the help text which you want to be visible for that particular button. After entering the help text, simply close the ‘Properties’ dialog box.

Now the help text which you just entered will be visible when we hover over that particular form field.

Protect, unprotect a form.

A form is nothing but a simple Writer document. So to protect a form, we need to protect our document. The simplest method to do this is to make the document read-only. To do this, click on ‘File’ from the main menu bar, and from the resulting menu, click on ‘Properties’. This will open the ‘Properties’ dialog box.

In this dialog box, under the ‘Security’ tab, we have a checkbox ‘Open file read-only’. Check this checkbox and then save the document. Next time when the document will be opened then it will be opened as a read only document and no one will be allowed to make changes to your form.

This is how we can protect a form.

To unprotect a form, simply uncheck the ‘Open file read-only’ checkbox.

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To update a field, right-click on the field and from the resulting menu, click on ‘Fields’. This will open the ‘Edit Fields’ dialog box. In this dialog box, we have the same ‘Type’, ‘Select’ and ‘Format’ areas as we have seen in the previous sections. Select the required ‘Type’ and ‘Format’ from this dialog box and then click on ‘OK’. This will update the field accordingly.
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Locking a field means that we will not be able to update that field later. So no matter how much we try and update that field, but the contents will remain the same. To lock a field, while inserting a field, say ‘File Name’; in the ‘Fields’ dialog box, in the bottom right-hand corner, we have the ‘Fixed content’ check-box. If this check-box is checked, then the field will get locked and will not change even if it is updated at a later stage.

To unlock a field, simply uncheck this ‘Fixed content’ checkbox using the ‘Edit Fields’ dialog box.

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When we enter a field into a document which has some kind of numbering attached to it, then sometimes it may be desired to change the numbering format for that field. This can be easily achieved in Writer.
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To change the field number format, click on ‘Insert’ from the main menu bar, and from the resulting menu, click on ‘Fields’. This will display a sub-menu, click on ‘More Fields’ from this menu. This will open the ‘Fields’ dialog box.

In this dialog box, under the tab ‘Variables’, under ‘Type’, we have an option ‘Number range’. When we select this option, then under ‘Select’ we get different types of numbering fields available in Writer. Select any of the required option here and then under ‘Format’ we will get different types of numbering formats available in Writer. Select the one which is required.

After this, click on ‘Insert’. This will insert the field with the selected numbering format into the document. After this, click on ‘Close’ to return to the document. This is how we can insert a field with a particular numbering format into the document.

Also, to change the numbering format for a field which has already been inserted into the document, double click on that particular field. This will open the ‘Edit Fields’ dialog box. In this dialog box, we have the same ‘Type’, ‘Select’ and ‘Format’ areas. Select the required format from ‘Format’ and then click on ‘OK’. This will change the field number format for that field.

Insert a sum formula field code in a table.

In the last section, we saw some of the different types of fields which we can insert into a document. Other than these, we can also insert a sum formula field code into a document.
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To insert a sum formula field code into a document, click on ‘Insert’ from the main menu bar, and from the resulting menu, click on ‘Fields’. This will display a sub-menu, click on ‘More Fields’ from this menu. This will open the ‘Fields’ dialog box.

In this dialog box, under the tab ‘Variables’, under ‘Type’, we have an option ‘Insert Formula’. When we select this option, then under ‘Format’ we get different types of formula formats available in Writer. Select the one which is required and after this, enter the sum formula code which needs to be inserted into the document in the ‘Formula’ input box.

After this, click on ‘Insert’. This will insert the sum formula field code into the document. After this, click on ‘Close’ to return to the document. This is how we can insert a sum formula field code into a document. Any other formula field can also be inserted into the document using this same method.

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Insert, delete fields like: author, file name and path.

In Writer, fields are one of the most useful features. We can use fields for a number of different purposes. Fields are used to enter standard data blocks into a document. These can be current date, the total number of pages in a document, page number or even some conditional content. These are only some of the many field types available in Writer.
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To insert fields into a document, click on ‘Insert’ from the main menu bar, and from the resulting menu, click on ‘Fields’. This will display a sub-menu which lists a number of different fields available in writer. We can select the required field name from this list and the selected field will get inserted into the document.

If the field type required is not available in this menu, then click on ‘More Fields’. This will open the ‘Fields’ dialog box.

In this dialog box, we have a wide variety of fields available under different tabs. Under the ‘Document’ tab, under ‘Type’, we have the option ‘File name’. When we select this option, then under ‘Format’ we get different types of field formats available in Writer. Select the one which is required and then click on ‘Insert’. This will insert the field into the document. After this, click on ‘Close’ to return to the document. We can enter the other available fields by following these same steps.
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Create, delete a cross-reference to: numbered item, heading, bookmark, figure, and table.

A cross reference is simply a reference from one part of the document to some other part of the document which contains related information. This simply means that if two parts of a document contain related information then we can use a cross reference to establish a connection between these two parts.
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To create a cross reference, first of all go to the part of the document from where you need to create a cross reference to some other part of this document. After this, click on ‘Insert’ from the main menu bar and from the resulting menu, click on ‘Cross-reference’. This will open the ‘Fields’ dialog box.

In this dialog box, under the ‘Cross-references’ tab, we have a number of sections. Under ‘Type’, we can select the type of cross-reference we need to create. So if we need to create a cross reference for a bookmark which we have already created, select ‘Bookmarks’ as ‘Type’. All the available bookmarks will get listed under ‘Selection’. Select the required bookmark here. After this, under ‘Insert reference to’, we can select where we need to insert the cross-reference; whether in the same ‘Page’, the same ‘Chapter’ or one among the other available options.

Under ‘Name’, we can provide the name for the new cross-reference being created. After selecting all the values, click on ‘Insert’. A new cross-reference will get inserted into the document.

In the same way as we chose to create a cross-reference for a bookmark, we can also select other options, like ‘Headings’ or ‘Illustration’, under ‘Type’. This is how we can create a cross-reference for different parts of a document.
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