Extensions for OpenOffice?

I really don't know but now that I just read your thread I didn't want to read it and ignore it, but this surprises me because I thought OpenOffice had those functions by default. I mean I haven't used OO since May 2011 and when I did use it I used it for one day because I didn't like the way it handled Spanish-language manuscripts, but I really, really don't know. I imagine if you need a certain special functionality or extension you can look up more information on the website of OpenOffice, official website, and they'll tell you what features they offer and which features they don't. I don't know, perhaps another Open-Office user will help you. Many AWers use OpenOffice according to what I've read. It's the most popular alternative to MS Word around here, again, per what I've read on Tech Help, Tech Talk and other subforums.


Sincerely
M.


ETA

c. m. n. said:

FYI, I do have word... somewhere. It's not installed. I'd rather not use it.

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For some reason that comment made me

there's a bit of a trick to turning the spell checker on (it's there all right) you hve to go to languages, and click it etc, but cant remember at the mo. there is a utube vid on it. it's simple 'when you know how'

will check it out if you havent solved it tomo.

As discussed in this thread a few months ago, you may eventually want to upgrade to LibreOffice:
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=195628

This one may be of use if you find you ever need accented characters of some sort:

http://extensions.services.openoffice.org/en/project/ComposeSpecialCharacters

OpenOffice vs. LibreOffice

But I'm going to stick with OpenOffice at least for a while longer.

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You should understand that OpenOffice.org (OOo) and LibreOffice (LO) are essentially the same. LibreOffice is a "fork" of OOo. Most of the developers of OOo departed from the OOo project because they reportedly believed that the new owners, Oracle, were not supporting the project.

I have since read that Apache is supposedly going to work on OOo. Who knows? But you really ought to look at that thread linked to, above, if you have not done so. I have switched over to LO entirely. Again, it works essentially the same way and looks almost identical to OOo.

Personally, I doubt that OOo will continue to be viable indefinitely, in view of the shift of the developers from OOo to LO.

If you want to download LO, you can find it here. You will find much less difference between it and OOo than you would between two versions of Word. It is available in two versions, 3.4 and 3.3 The 3.4 version seems to be the one that is still undergoing development. It is what I use.

Furthermore, you can install LibreOffice and still have OpenOffice installed, so it's easy enough to switch back if you want to.

I can't recommend any extensions, as I'm using a stock version of OO (technically I'm using the free open source alternative called Libre Office), but I do have a friend of mine working on an extension that will allow you to have automatic file name versioning on your manuscript files. The idea is rather simple. I keep multiple different versions of my manuscript in date named files (ie, something like "My Story (2011-09-23).odt") to allow for easier tracking of changes (at least it's easier for me anyways), as well as extra security for the manuscript. The second one comes from an experience I had years ago where I was almost completely done writing my story and somewhere along the line the file crashed and I lost all my work (I mean, this was epic level file corruption). So since then I've been very meticulous to keep separate dated copies of each day's work so that if I do suffer another total file corruption, all I lose is that days work, and not the entire novel. And before you ask why I didn't just back it up like I should, I did. The problem is, whatever caused the file to collapse also infected my backup copies, so they were useless.

Anywho, that's my two cents.

I keep multiple different versions of my manuscript in date named files (ie, something like "My Story (2011-09-23).odt") to allow for easier tracking of changes (at least it's easier for me anyways), as well as extra security for the manuscript.

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Good idea!

And what a bummer to lose everything like that.

Do you keep the last few days and then trash the much older versions?

Steven_Lake said:

...
And before you ask why I didn't just back it up like I should, I did. The problem is, whatever caused the file to collapse also infected my backup copies, so they were useless.

Anywho, that's my two cents.

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For two cents a sheet, you can make a backup on paper.

strange world. i just opened a odt new doc and it wont spell check. and i've forgot how to resolve it.

so, as the OP's Q wasnt actually answered....any ideas?

(i'm not emotionally ready for LO just yet)