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 to 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!