Taming OpenOffice.org

A reader, who wants to use OpenOffice.org for page layout (and not Scribus or another program), asked me some questions about drop caps. I would like to be able to do these things myself, but I don’t know of a way it can be done without resorting to a workaround like manually putting the initial in a frame anchored to the paragraph and then fiddling with the paragraph’s settings.

Here are the questions. If anyone reading this can offer suggestions, please do!

- Drop caps near multiple paragraphs: My initials (drop caps) are 4 lines high. Now, the problem is, if there is a new paragraph starting in that 4 lines, the drop cap will only be as high as the first paragraph. The old book I mostly based my design on (printed in 1905) has the new paragraph continuing next to the initial, and the first-line indent used in paragraphs is even added. It looks like this:

XXXXXX first paragraph that is
XXXXXX only two lines.
XXXXXX ____Second paragraph with
XXXXXX its first line indented from
the initial with the same amount as
the normal indent.
____Third paragraph indented
normally under the initial.

But instead, Writer makes the Initial only two lines high, as high as the first paragraph is. I need a way to force it to make all initials the same height, even if there are not enough lines. I could do this with empty lines added but that would not be professional, and also I need the next paragraph start next to the initial.

- Drop caps first line indent: I need the very first line of the paragraph touch the initial while the other lines have a gap. Now Writer can only set a spacing that it has a gap in all lines. What I need is something like this:

XXXXXirst line is touching
X____ the initial while
XXX__ the rest of the lines
X____ are being separated
with a slight gap.

This is also a design element from my old book copy. On Writer if I try to play with indents and spacing, spacing adds gap to all lines while indent moves even the Initial itself, and all lines with it.

- Drop caps height: I would need the initials start not at the top of the first line, but stick a little bit out at the top, being a bit higher than the 4 lines.

OpenOffice.org’s Project Renaissance is asking users to them them about any default settings that you change first thing when you install a new version of OOo, especially if they are in Impress, because the suggestions for default settings in the presentation application need to be made by the end of April. Please share what they are and why the change makes your life much easier. (Check the list on the wiki page to see if your favourite is already there and add your name if you wish.)

Better Default Settings, Anyone? (Blog entry)

Wiki page

Please don’t send your suggestions here. Send them to OpenOffice.org by using the wiki page. I am just the messenger.

OpenOffice.org 3.1, scheduled for release on 26 March, has some great new features. You can read all about them on the OOo website.

Templates for OOo Writer, Calc, Impress, and Draw are now available through the Template Browser. They are categorized in several ways to help you find what you need.

I have not looked through the collection in detail to see how complete it is, or what I think of the quality of the templates. A quick look shows that the collection includes some or all of the individual templates also available in the Sun Professional Template Packs (available as extensions), as well as templates created by others.

Community members can submit templates through the “Upload your template” link on the Template Browser.

(Previously templates were scattered in various places, including on the Documentation Project’s website, and were often difficult to find and search. This new site is a great improvement—part of a general usability overhaul of the OOo support system.)

Another great blog post from OOoNinja: New Features in OpenOffice.org 3.1, an Early Look. Clear, easy-to-understand summary with helpful illustrations.