-OpenOffice FAQ-

How do I start a new line within a cell in Calc?
To start a new line with a cell in Calc press “Ctrl+Enter.”
How can I set Calc to go to the first cell in the next row when I press enter?
Unfortunately, in the current version of OpenOffice you can't. However, if you press Enter then press Home you will be able to achieve this result.
Will we be able to access OpenOffice using Cytrix?
Unfortunately, due to the age and lack in space of the Cytrix server we will not be installing OpenOffice on it (unless the budget request to replace the server is accepted). You have two options here. You can either download OpenOffice freely, from http://OpenOffice.org, onto your home computer, or you can use Microsoft Office when not in the building. One of the nice features about OpenOffice is that you can open, edit, and save Microsoft documents (Excel, Word, or Power Point only) in such a manner that they can still be opened with either Office suite. Therefore, you can switch between using OpenOffice and Microsoft Office when editing your documents at home and at work.
How do I prevent OpenOffice from starting up when I log into my computer?
Right click the OpenOffice QuickStarter icon in your desktop tray icons (lower right corner of computer display) -> uncheck the “Load OpenOffice.org During System Start-Up” option.
I tried double clicking a file to open it, but nothing ever happened?
One of the possible causes for this problem is you didn't wait long enough after the first attempt to open the application, before trying to open it again. This problem has only occurred on PCs where a user has not rebooted his or her computer after installing OpenOffice. When you run OpenOffice for the first time it takes longer than usual and if you try to open it a second time before its done with the first attempt, neither attempt will ever complete and you will need to reboot your machine.
If your using an XP machine, another possibility is that the problem could have to do with the file's location. We have discovered that (for XP) in some file locations, you are unable to open a file through Windows Explorer. In order to open a file where this problem exists you will need to either open the file through a mapped drive, or using the File -> Open option in OpenOffice.
When I try to open a document through Windows NT Explorer, I get multiple errors saying that the file cannot be found and each one displays only a part of the filename as if its the whole name. What is going on?
This problem occurs if a client uses Windows NT Explorer's “OpenWith” ability and checks the “Always use this program to open this type of file” box for the purpose of reassigning the default application back to Microsoft instead of OpenOffice (problem also occurs if you use this technique to assign OpenOffice as the default application). To fix this problem, someone with admin rights will need to repair the install using Add/Remove Programs, and then, again using Add/Remove Programs, Modify the install so that OpenOffice is again the default application for spreadsheets, presentations, and text documents (you check the same boxes that were checked when OpenOffice was initially installed on your machine).
NOTE: If you need to make Microsoft your default application for spreadsheets, presentations, and text documents, the proper way to do so is to run the Add/Remove Program's Modify option and then uncheck the three boxes that were checked in the original install to set OpenOffice as the default application.
Why are we moving from Microsoft to OpenOffice?
The number one reason we are moving is the savings. If we roll this out to the entire company we will save approximately 1 million dollars a year in Microsoft Office Licenses. The fact that OpenOffice is completely free and has nearly all the functionality that Microsoft has makes it an excellent substitute. Also, OpenOffice is an on-going project so high-level functionality that is not supported at the moment will likely be supported in the near future.
Can we have both Microsoft Office and OpenOffice on our computers?
Yes, both Microsoft Office and OpenOffice can be on a machine at the same time, you just have to specify which is the default application. At the moment we are just rolling out OpenOffice and not removing Microsoft Office. But that endeavor is not far behind. We ask that you try to refrain from using Microsoft Excel, Power Point, and Word, and spend the time you have getting used to OpenOffice as these applications will not be on your computers for much longer.
Are we replacing all of our Microsoft Office applications?
No, although OpenOffice does offer alternatives for Microsoft Excel, Power Point, Word, Visio, and Access, we are only going to be replacing Excel, Power Point, and Word at this time. However, the other OpenOffice applications will still remain on your machine for you to use at your leisure.
What file-type should we save our work under?
In order to be sure that all Bradford employees can open documents (that were created in OpenOffice) in both OpenOffice and Microsoft we have designated the file extensions/types that your documents should be saved as. You can select the file extension/type if you click save-as, but these file-types should already be setup as the defaults by our installation procedure, this action should not be necessary.

Impress – save as .ppt (“Microsoft PowerPoint 97/2000/XP”)
Calc – save as .xls (“Microsoft Excel 97/2000/XP”)
Writer – save as .doc (“Microsoft Word 97/2000/XP”)
Draw – save as .odg (“OpenDocument Drawing”)
Base – save as .odb (“OpenDocument database”)

Are there language packs for OpenOffice, which languages are covered, and how do I get them on my machine?
Yes there are language packs for OpenOffice. For those who want to be able to view and edit documents in different languages, submit a helpdesk ticket and we will send you instructions on how to obtain them. The languages available include: Deutsch, Espanol, Francais, Italiano, Japanese, Korean, Purtuges do Brasil, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and Swedish. These work in Windows 97 and above, however, you need to have the appropriate language downloaded to your browser from Microsoft (possibly through a service pack), and OpenOffice version 104 installed, before you can run the installer.
What if when trying to install a language pack I get the error message "This installation package could not be opened. Contact the application vendor to verify that this is a valid Windows installer package?"
This could mean one of two things. You either need to update your Microsoft installer or you need to download the appropriate language to your Internet browser and then install this language pack.
I opened a Microsoft document with OpenOffice document and the formatting is all messed up. What happened, is there anything I can do to fix this?
Unfortunately, there can sometimes be some distortion in the formatting of a Microsoft document when it is opened in OpenOffice. Such distortions are generally very minor and often due to a mistake that Microsoft commonly overlooks, but OpenOffice catches. Some of the situations that can cause such formatting issues are below.

1. The checkbox problem: In some cases, converting files with a checkbox in them can cause a problem. The actual problem is due to the fact that in Microsoft, every time you add a check box it is initially placed in the exact same spot. This results in the possibility of adding a stack of check boxes without even realizing it. Although Microsoft overlooks this mistake and allows you to check and uncheck the top box, OpenOffice neither overlooks the stack nor knows how to handle it properly. There is a similar problem with combo boxes.

2. Problem With Auto Numbering: If at one point in time you manually entered a number instead of using the auto-numbering feature of Microsoft Word, and the auto-numbering feature was used elsewhere in the list, when Open Office opens the document it will still treat all lines as if they were numbered and will treat the typed numbers as part of the text (resulting in an extra number on at the beginning of the line)

3. Non-wrapping spaces issue: In word, if you typed a number of spaces past the end of the line it would not word wrap, even if you followed them with a letter, only the letter would go to the next line. Open Office reads these spaces, however many they are, and word wraps them as if they were all letters or words. This can result in a distortion of the spacing in the original document.

Will macros written in Microsoft Office work in OpenOffice?
Unfortunately, the macro objects used by OpenOffice and Microsoft Office are completely different so the macros from one Office will not work in the other. We are currently on the look out for a macro conversion program but for the moment those Microsoft documents with macros in them will still need to be opened with Microsoft to work properly. Fortunately, OpenOffice can still open Microsoft documents containing macros so that users can look at, and edit, the data in the documents (they just won't be able to run the macros). The user can then save the document with a Microsoft format and the macros will still work when the document is later opened using Microsoft. Therefore a user who only has OpenOffice can open, edit, and save a Microsoft document with macros in it, then have someone who has the appropriate Microsoft application run the macros for them.
Warning for creating a new file using right-click>>new
When you want to create a new document by using the mouse to right-click>>new>>'some document type', be sure to choose “Other Office Document” and then the particular type, instead of one of the OpenDocument (ex: “OpenDocument text“) options. If you accidentally choose one of the OpenDocument options, you will be creating a document with an OpenOffice file-type and unfortunately these file formats will not be recognized by Microsoft Office. It can be difficult to save these documents back in the proper Microsoft format so if you are unable to do so, please submit a helpdesk ticket and we will help you as soon as we can.
How do I print multiple spreadsheets at one time?
Using your mouse and keyboard, hold down control and click on the tabs for each of the spreadsheets to be printed. Then do File>>Print, click the Selection radio button, then click OK. WARNING! After you are done printing, make sure you unselect the tabs using control+left-click again. If you don't, anytime you edit a cell on one of the sheets, it automatically changes that same cell's value in each of the other selected sheets (ex: if you changed the value of A10 to 25 on sheet X, cell A10 of each sheet would now also be 25, regardless of what they were before). This holds true for any situation where you have more than one sheet selected at a time. Unfortunately simply clicking on one of the sheets does not unselect the other tabs, you must control+left-click each one of them again.
What are some of the other differences between the two Offices?
Mind you that these OpenOffice applications do not have 100% of Microsoft's functionality, but what they lack in generally only amounts to high level options that most individuals never use. Most of the differences you will come across are rather minor; usually coming down to the placement of a particular option under a different tab or elsewhere in the application all together. Some of the minor differences that we have noticed (that are not described in detail in OpenOffice's documentation) in OpenOffice Calc are shown below:

In Calc: To open files in csv format
>>Open>>change the file type to .csv
>>select the file and click open (double clicking it won't work correctly)
In Calc: Different method of printing than Excel (How to print just current sheet)
The default printing technique is to print all sheets in the opened workbook, not just the one you have selected. In order to print just the sheets you want you must do the following.
>>File>>Print
>>click the selection radio button
>>click Options button
>>check the box that says “Print only selected sheets”
>>click Ok>>click Ok
In Calc: To force the print out to fit to a certain width and height in pages.
>>Page Preview (or print preview)>>page (a button)
>>sheet (a tab)>>scaling mode (a dropbox)
>>“Fit print range to width/height”
>>then select the desired dimensions.
note: you can set printing to landscape while in here as well, just select the page tab and click the landscape radio button

What resources can we draw on to help solve any problems we may come across?

--EXTERNAL RESOURCES--
OpenOffice home page
http://www.openoffice.org
OpenOffice FAQ
http://user-faq.openoffice.org
--INTERNAL RESOURCES--
Comprehensive Instructions Manual for OpenOffice
Guide to aid in the Migration from Microsoft Office to OpenOffice
(covers many of the software differences as well as how they can interact)
Tutorials on Homepage
OpenOffice FAQ