This points out one of the flaws with Apache OpenOffice: The documentation is sparse, and not well-aimed at non-technical users. I’d have appreciated a warning or error message. There were some oddities that are sensible in retrospect, but don’t call themselves out to a user: For example, switching a text field from “single line” to “multi line with formatting” disconnected it from the underlying database field (a long text field), because formatted text requires a binary field. Some of the interface elements, such as query creation, are not entirely intuitive. Tracking doughnut consumption is perhaps the best use for any spreadsheet.īase provides a functional set of database design and formatting tools. For example, if you select a ‘banded’ table style, and insert or delete rows, the banding does not automatically adjust you must select the table and re-apply the style.

The layout and design options are flexible, but not quite at the level of Word 2007. The sidebar docking feature introduced in Apache OpenOffice 4.0 is very useful if you have a wide monitor, as it’s easy to place multiple panels so that all controls are visible and accessible.

Writer offers a long list of functions: document templates, frames, mail merge, a style manager, section-based headers and footers, and much more.

Sadly, faux-Victorian prose is not within editorial guidelines for reviews.

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