OpenOffice 3.2 – The Countdown is Over!

February 11, 2010

After a great deal of testing and numerous release candidates, the day we have been waiting for has finally arrived – OpenOffice 3.2 is now available to the public!

You will be able to download the new version via the OOo Website – http://download.openoffice.org. Also, for those of you following along, here are our posts as part of our Countdown to OpenOffice 3.2:

Part One – The Countdown Begins
Part Two – Writer
Part Three – Calc
Part Four – Impress and Draw
Part Five – Base

Also, be sure to check out the Features page on OpenOffice.org.

The OOo team has touted this version as one with better compatiability with proprietary software, faster load times and improved security. For our part, we’ve already downloaded our copy and will provide a full review next Wednesday.

Until then, download away! And, of course, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

By Bob McDonald | Posted in OpenOffice Wednesday | Comment (1)

OpenOffice – Out With the Old, In With the New

January 27, 2010

With 2010 in full swing, one thing that won’t be carrying over long into the New Year is the 2.x version of OpenOffice.org. With version 3.0 being released in late 2008, and with the upcoming public release of OOo 3.2, the 2.x version, with its last release being 2.4.3, has achieved legacy status.

In its “end-of-life” state, OpenOffice 2.x will, at least from a community standpoint, cease to be maintained. That means support no more bug fixes or security releases. Translation? If you have a 2.x version, you’re pretty much on your own from this point forward.

That’s not to say that all users with older versions of OOo 2.x are completely out in the cold. As with most legacy software, there are numerous resources available online. In the case of OpenOffice, the community itself will be your best bet to answer questions about your older versions.

Also, if you happen to be running a system that came with the older version installed, you may also be able to get technical support through them.

Meanwhile, the long, winding journey that has been OpenOffice 3.2 is slowly, but surely, reaching its send. Since December, there have been numerous Release Candidates available, the most recent being today’s availability of Release Candidate 4.

And while we spent most of the end of last year in our Countdown to OpenOffice 3.2 series discussing the new features, OpenOffice.org has gone on step further, postineven more information about OOo 3.2′s new features on the OpenOffice Web site.

With news like this, users can be confident that a public release is just around the corner.

By Bob McDonald | Posted in OpenOffice Wednesday | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Countdown to OpenOffice 3.2 – Base

December 9, 2009

Note: This is the fifth in a multi-part series on OpenOffice Wednesday that will focus on some of the new and upgraded features that will appear in OpenOffice.org 3.2, which is slated 128px-OOoBase.svgto be released December 14, 2009.

Part One – The Countdown Begins
Part Two – Writer
Part Three – Calc
Part Four – Impress and Draw

The development team for OpenOffice.org certainly had a field day with the database program, Base, the open-source counterpart to Microsoft Access. In fact, the number of changes and additions to Base far outstrip those of the other OOo programs.

  • View/Zoom Menu Item - With Base, all documents within the database could be zoomed by using the View/Zoom menu item, with the exception of forms. That restriction has been lifted, and you will be able to manipulate the view of all your database items.
  • Sun Report Builder - The report builder within Base will feature three items that will allow the removal of excess space. The top shrink and bottom shrink removes top and bottom spaces, respectively, while the Shrink command removes space from both directions
  • First Line as Column Names – When rich-text format and HTML pages are copied to a database, there was no ability to allow for the first column of the copied material to be used for column names. With OOo 3.2, that capability has been added to Case with the click of a checkbox.
  • Multi-line Text Controls – Multiple cut-and-pastes should be easier with the addition of the multi-text controls. That means the formatting will go with the text when it is copied.
  • Form Property Browser – With 3.2, more information will be displayed in the property browser, including font name/style/size, plus the ability to change the positioning, size and anchor, which is very useful in the event you wish to modify multiple shapes.

Next week: OpenOffice 3.2 is available, and we will present a special Monday edition of OpenOffice Wednesday to review everything!

By Bob McDonald | Posted in OpenOffice Wednesday | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Countdown to OpenOffice 3.2 – Impress and Draw

November 18, 2009

Note: This is the fourth in a multi-part series on OpenOffice Wednesday that will focus on some of the new and upgraded features that will appear in OpenOffice.org 3.2, which is slated to be released December 14, 2009.

Part One – The Countdown Begins
Part Two – Writer
Part Three – Calc

Of each of the OpenOffice. org programs, Impress, OOo’s answer to Microsoft PowerPoint, will have the least amount of new and modified features that will be available in version 3.2. Also noteworthy is the the new features for Impress are the same as Draw, OpenOffice.org’s graphics component. Read More »

By Bob McDonald | Posted in OpenOffice Wednesday | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (2)

Countdown to OpenOffice 3.2 – Calc

November 11, 2009

Note: This is the third in a multi-part series on OpenOffice Wednesday that will focus on some of the new and upgraded features that will appear in OpenOffice.org 3.2, which is slated to be released December 14, 2009.

Part One – The Countdown Begins
Part Two – Writer

For this week’s edition, we are taking a look at some of the 128px-OOoCalc.svgmodifications that have been made to Calc, the OpenOffice spreadsheet that rivals Microsoft Excel. For Calc, changes have been made to some of the ways that cells can be edited, plus the addition of new chart styles that have been Excel staples but until OOo 3.2, were not options.

Read More »

By Bob McDonald | Posted in OpenOffice Wednesday | Tagged , , , , , | Comment (1)