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.

December 14th is here. Is OpenOffice 3.2?

Yes, and at the same time, no.

As we’ve been counting down to this date with the new

features that will be a part of all the programs that make up OOo 3.2, in anticipation of this day, December 14th, in which, according to the OpenOffice Wiki page.

But, since the holidays are upon us, the development team decided that perhaps this wasn’t the best time to release a new version. So, the wiki has been updated to read that OpenOffice 3.2 is pushed to a January release.

Meanwhile, as it has been for several months, a beta version of OOo 3.2 is available for those brave enough to check it out.

For this week, though, we can look for a Release Candidate version of OpenOffice 3.2 that will be ready on December 17th. For those scoring at home, the Release Candidate isn’t a beta, but not quite the finished product, as there are, as with any software, some remaining bugs that need to be worked out before being ready for public consumption.

While a definite release date is looming (though not concrete at the moment), we will, for our part, be switching back over to our regularly-scheduled OpenOffice Wednesday next week, but will certainly get into any news that we can find regarding the release of OOo 3.2.

Hopefully, we will see 3.2 in January, mostly because it looks as if the development team is already setting up to get OpenOffice 3.3 out the door next June.

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!

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 modifications 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.

• Merged Cells - Copying and pasting one set of merged cells from the Clipboard to Calc used to be an issue, usually creating an error message. That has been fixed, and merged cells will now properly be inserted into your spreadsheet. Also, you will be able to insert and delete columns or rows into and from the middle of merged cells. Again, with previous editions, trying this function would result in an error message.
• Sorting with Formatting - The latest version of OOo modifies the Sort Ascending/Descending button on the toolbar so that the cell’s format is sorted along with the data, which was not previously possible.
• Bubble Charts Available – Similar to the standard XY chart, bubble charts are structured so that data points are emphasized by dots or bubbles. This chart will now be available for Calc, and will include a parameter to increase or decrease the size of the bubble.
• Data Label Rotation – When using Calc’s charts, modifying data labels so they would rotate wasn’t an option. It has now been built into OOo 3.2, so that rotation and text direction can be altered.
• AutoFill Numbers – Calc’s AutoFill function has now been changed so that if the starting cell contains a number at the start and the end, and there’s no space after the first number, the number at the end is now incremented.

Next week: We will take a look at the new features in Impress.

Note: This is the second 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.

Part One – The Countdown Begins

First, a little housekeeping. As we mentioned at the start of the Countdown, OpenOffice.org 3.2 will be publicly available sometime in December. According to the OOo Wiki page, that date will be December 14, 2009. That should give us plenty of time to get through all the OOo components.

This week, of course, we start with the Writer program, which, of course, is the OpenOffice counterpart to Microsoft Word.
Much of the enhancements to Writer, unlike many of the other programs, are for the more advanced users of the word processor. Nonetheless, the changes for OOo 3.2 should prove to be very useful.

• Word Correct-Auto Complete - In previous versions of Writer, there was a checkbox that read, “When closing a document, save the list for later use in other documents.” However, users found this to be misleading, as it was not about saving the list but to remove those words collected for the document.As a result, the feature has been changed, with the checkbox now reading, “When closing a document, remove the words collected from it from the list” and its function has been changed so that when users start a new document, the word list has been deleted so that no auto-completion shall occur.
• Alternative Text for Writer Objects – One of the features of the Open Document Format (ODF) was that objects embedded into OOo documents would have alternative text, including titles and descriptions. Until now, Writer did not have this capabilities. OpenOffice 3.2 changes this, and now support for alternative text has now been implemented.
• Apply Style Shortcut – Traditionally, the Apply Style function required the user to root through the Menu items either through the keyboard or a mouse. With OOo 3.2, users will now only have to press Ctrl-F11, and the Apply Style combo box will appear.

Next week: We will take a look at the new features in Calc.