As promised. There was a time when I was a true OpenOffice.org fanatic. I even helped actively promoting it by redesigning the homepage . Although I'm still a fan of opensource and open document
storage which ideally should lead to a world in which anyone can use
open software and exchange documents freely without any barriers. Still, I'm no longer typing this in opensource software. I'm typing this in Google -how evil- Docs (update may 2017: Google Docs has been replaced by Apple's notes and iAWriter / Notational Velocity, the latter being markdown based).
It's not that I'm a big fan of Google Docs, but it makes a difference that OpenOffice.org, and other Office systems for that matter, aren't able to make. Not stand alone, nor in a usable way in combination with a proper operating system:
OpenOffice.org pretty much offers you everything you need in an office suite. And much more. Recently I needed to print many addresses. Not personal addresses, but a database of addresses. It was my first time using the database application Base (offered as an alternative to Access), and a first time printing labels. It was not easy, but these steps should help at least me (if there will be a next time) to get me started immediately, instead of spending hours frustrating myself with some of the awkward design decisions made by the OpenOffice.org folks.Prerequisites:a filled OpenOffice.org database (.odb) of data you want to be printed on the labels.sheets with labels (i used no name labels, its doable to adjust the label configuration for any specific type of label)OpenOffice.org 3.1 (3.1 may not be neccessary, but that's the one I used)So what are the required steps?Launch OpenOffice.org WriterMake sure OpenOffice.org Writer knows about this database, by reg…
Sometimes you need an excuse for not doing the work you should be working on. I should be working fulltime+ on my graduation project, but I can't, my Excuse is the new OpenOffice.org website
I joined the guys at the dev@website.openoffice.org mailinglist (well, never left them really, just started to reply again), and it was clear that there was work to be done. The previous website, which I had designed, was getting outdated. And not only that… Although the previous site was a necessary step to make, it has never been a great step. It was the result of endless debates between 'dev'ers' and people, like me, who wanted to turn it more into a promotion website. Anyhow, compromises never lead to great design… so it was time for a new one. Also I never think of myself as a graphic designer, Ivan Miskovic is a much better graphic designer than I am. For now I'll leave you with the original posting at OOo news (always good for your ego, isn't it?):
Led by M…
Dit artikel van murblog van Maarten Brouwers (murb) is in licentie gegeven volgens een Creative Commons Naamsvermelding 3.0 Nederland licentie .