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Contributor andruk on OpenOffice.org Word Processor

When saving in OpenOffice it should give the first few words as file-name option  
Written by kramer65 the 22 Sep 08 at 17:02. Not an idea
I often make documents which I quickly need to save. In MS Word it then simply gives the first few words as filename option which you can then of course change as you like, but it is at least something.

If I save something in OOo it doesn't give anything. So if I need to save something I cannot simply click save > save. I need to think of a name. And although that is not a hard thing, if I'm in the rush of work and I got a document which simply should have the same title as the first few words in the document (eg. "friday-list for Bob") I want it to go quick.

It is a small thing, but it would make my life again a little bit easier. :-)
162
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Solution #1: Auto-generated solution of idea #13559
Written by kramer65 the 22 Sep 08 at 17:02.
Ubuntu Brainstorm was updated in January 2009. Since the idea #13559 was submitted before this update, its rationale and solution are not separated. Please vote accordingly, and if you have the necessary rights, please separate the rationale from the solution. Thanks!

See the 8 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 23 Oct 11 at 16:50) >>

Change the look and feel of OpenOffice.org  
Written by ubby the 17 Oct 08 at 08:49. Not an idea
It don't have to look like Microsoft Office 2007 but some graphical improvement should be fine.
Maybe it's a option for a competition for a new look that also needs to be easy to work with.
55
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closed
Solution #1: Auto-generated solution of idea #14487
Written by ubby the 17 Oct 08 at 08:49.
Ubuntu Brainstorm was updated in January 2009. Since the idea #14487 was submitted before this update, its rationale and solution are not separated. Please vote accordingly, and if you have the necessary rights, please separate the rationale from the solution. Thanks!

See the 12 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 23 Oct 11 at 16:36) >>

Better OpenOffice Writer formula  
Written by andruk the 18 Mar 08 at 07:41. Not an idea
OpenOffice.org Writer Formula (the thing that lets you put in complex equations like OpenOffice.org Math) could use a few improvements to make it easier to use.
90
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Solution #1: A few suggestions (Original solution from pre-January 2009 idea)
Written by andruk the 18 Mar 08 at 07:41.
1) Currently, when I make an equation within Writer (Insert > Object > Formula), the input box is not automatically selected. This would be nice so I don't have to click inside the box to start entering an equation.

2) A keystroke (like shift+enter) should close the editor and move the text cursor so I can keep typing without clicking out of the selected formula box that I just made.

3) If I enter in nothing in the formula editor box, it means that I don't want to create a formula here. Currently, OpenOffice inserts a blank formula, which then requires me to click it to delete it.

These are small, but important, details that I think would really make OpenOffice more power-user friendly. It would also make inserting a formula really easy.

See the 7 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 10 Sep 11 at 05:44) >>

Simplify Openoffice : Do To OpenOffice What Gimpshop did to the gimp  
Written by jman6495 the 20 Oct 09 at 09:31. New
We need to make it easier for office users to convert,
make it look a little more like office 2003; for example,
it took my dad 1 hour to find out how to apply a background in OpenOffice Impress, whereas in Microsoft Office it's just Format - Background. No offense intended to OpenOffice, it's a fantastic office suite, but it needs To be more simple!

Also, for example, when a user first wants to save a file, it should warn them that they will need to save as a .doc file (or .docX) to open it in Microsoft Office.

This is what we need to convert users!

I selected OpenOffice Writer as the "related project", but
I really mean OpenOffice as a whole. Don't get me wrong here, I can use OpenOffice fine, but can our users?
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Solution #1: Make It Look Like Office 2003
Written by jman6495 the 20 Oct 09 at 09:31.
Not everyone wants open source software looking like the windows alternative, but i think it's important for OpenOffice!
Look at how many downloads the Internet Explorer 6 themes for Firefox there are, or how many downloads the XP theme for Ubuntu have!

So in this case... I think that we must change OpenOffice to evolve.
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Solution #2: Open Office should be independet of MS Office
Written by bt90 the 20 Oct 09 at 20:35.
Keep it simple but independent!
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Solution #3: Solution #2 + Adopt iPod phylosophy
Written by chuse the 27 Oct 09 at 17:10.
Solution #2 is ok, but doesn't solve the "simplifying problem", if it exists. Is possible to adopt iPod phylosophy, just 3 clicks to get everywhere in the program, so if there's some option beyond the third click, we take it back to
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Solution #4: Switch to Go-oo
Written by robertjlee the 30 Oct 09 at 22:03.
Go-oo is a fork of OpenOffice.org which is more receptive of patches.

From the description (http://www.go-oo.org/), “Go-oo's user interface is more familiar, with lots of small pieces of polish”
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Solution #5: Beginner Mode
Written by Jon Monreal the 31 Oct 09 at 14:04.
OpenOffice.org can stand on its own. However, there is definitely merit in making it easier for users to transition to their new Office Suite, whether they are coming from Windows with a package like MS Office or are coming from the Mac with iWork.

For this reason, perhaps a "beginner mode" with a different template could be added. This template SHOULD NOT be designed to look like Microsoft Word but instead should bring the common functions to the forefront and help new users learn where those functions are normally located, so that they can easily transition to the original interface when they are ready.

Said interface should also include common Office Suite formats outside of the normal drop-box in the save dialog, so that those coming from other suites can save in said other formats for compatibility reasons, although open document should remain the default.

The programs could be (keep in mind, this is just a preliminary idea) launched from a separate subfolder, that could easily be hidden by experienced users.

While this plan might add a little bit of overhead to a default installation, it could also serve to attract many users to Linux that get "too confused" by OpenOffice.org and give up before they have even really tried.

As a Ubuntu advocate, I have seen this before, and I personally believe that making whatever Office Suite Ubuntu should include at any given time more friendly to beginners is one of the most important things we can do, considering the fact that word processing is one of the most common activites that people do on a computer.

If this gets enough attentaion, I shall work on a mockup.
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Solution #6: Create a new suite
Written by argh0 the 5 Nov 09 at 16:52.
Why not create a new suite, trying to be innovative, implementing concepts and ideas different to the Microsoft ones, and having always in mind ergonomy and simplicity ?

For example, I'd like to see a further implementation of the "what you see is what you mean" concept of LyX. Don't care about layout in a first time, just write down, structure and work. I don't even want to see different pages on my screen. But I don't want either to see ugly tags or wiki code that makes reading a pain. And then do a beautiful layout. That's the concept of LyX for text editing, but can it be generalised, for example, for presentations ?

Like, you write down text elements that will be on your slides, choose medias, images, design relationships between elements, and then perhaps let the program generate (or assist you generating) real and beautiful slides for you... Or like, you draw with your mouse the frames and arrows where those elements will take place, and a form recognition script transforms them in real frames and arrows... Ok, it's blurry.

Other ideas : when draft formulations/sentences are erased, keep them besides the document, invisible but at hand, as it used to be when you "crossed" something in your handwritten draft. Sometimes I write whole paragraphs and then I decide that they don't deserve to be in the final version, but it can be useful to recycle a sentence, or something like that... Well, be closer to the natural creative process, with errors, drafts, combinations, reformulations, go and returns, etc... Also make a non stop saving, as "drafts" in Gmail, and no need to create a document for it starting to be saved.

Because cloning MS Office innovations and ergonomy is not a good idea. It is too much "copying" : in this case I prefer the original to the copy. And in this case Ooo will always be "late".

But I'm not sure either trying to make Ooo better would work. Let's face it : OpenOffice is bad. It is terribly unintuitive, it is slow, it is heavy, sometimes it freezes or bugs. It is ugly and makes ugly things (drawings for example). I loose time using OpenOffice. And I hate loosing time trying to make something with a software that "should be easy". Once I tried MS Office, last version. And I had to admit it is terribly better, even used to Ooo I did easily what I wanted. I'm not a developper, but I'm not sure trying to make Ooo code evolve is the good way.

[edited 6 november 09 : put ideas before critics of Ooo)
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Solution #7: Add clean some nice Stylesheets, Templates, and Cliparts
Written by xeniac the 6 Nov 09 at 10:52.
Changing the overall beahaviour of OpenOffice is something Sun and Novell can do. Canonical and Ubunutu have limited resources and the "non-openess" of Suns OpenOffice development makes ist really hard to change non-trivial parts, like the interface.

But Ubuntu-Go-Oo comes with no Templates, and you can spend hours to create a professional looking Page Layout. We could create a small bundle of good and professional Fonts, Templates and Cliparts preinstalled per default to make these things easier.
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Solution #8: smaller icons
Written by ementos the 6 Nov 09 at 15:26.
When I see OpenOffice on ubuntu I think the icons are so big!
On OpenOffice on windows or on KDE icons are smaller and i think that why they are nicer! Gnome OOO should be nice too ;)
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Solution #9: Contribute ideas to OOo first
Written by Mirek2 the 7 Nov 09 at 19:38.
If you have ideas or comments on improving OOo, go ahead and add your voice to the project: http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Main_Page .
The team is working on a new UI, complete with a new look: http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Renaissance
There's been a lot of thinking and prototyping and arguing about the direction it will go -- and I think, in its current copycat state, it will definitely remain very controversial -- but the UI direction isn't sealed and you definitely have a voice in which way it will go.
And if your ideas remain ignored, then go ahead and try your luck here.
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Solution #10: Keep what we need, lose what we don't.
Written by alkx4444 the 11 Nov 09 at 00:05.
I love open office but I keep seeing a whole load of stuff that we don't need and a other things that need a tiny bit of improvement., so what needs to happen is it needs to be more strip down, this i would expect would improve the efficiency of program and would also create less pressure on the computer system., just because technology gets better doesn't mean we have to develop programs that demand more resources.
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Solution #11: Simple Mode View
Written by iswan the 7 Feb 10 at 05:57.
Sometimes I only want to write something without configuring them, so I think it is a good idea to have simple mode view that if you click it will hide toolbar (or even menubar) and make Open Office as simple as possible. People will just need to click the icon (should appear somewhere) to put the view back to the normal state when people need the full functionality.

See the 16 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 26 Oct 10 at 09:16) >>

After computer restart OpenOffice.org documents should be reopened  
Written by caspercop the 20 Oct 09 at 08:29. New
The OpenOffice.org files which were open when the computer was shut down should also be reopened not just OpenOffice itself. They should also be restored on the desktop they where closed before not all on the same desktop.
The idea is, that I shut down my computer in the evening and want everything as it was when I put it back on: e.g. document A (maybe a calc file) back open on desktop 2, document B (writer) and C (calc) on desktop 3. Just as I left them (open) to continue my work without restoring the desktops by hand.
Cause it was asked I want to add that I mean normal shut downs - if there was a hard reset I wouldn't expect such a behavior.
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Solution #1: Save nessesary values to use at restart
Written by caspercop the 20 Oct 09 at 08:29.
The paths and desktop number the documents were on should be stored somehow so these informations can be used to restore the documents.
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Solution #2: Same as #1 + Possibility to disable
Written by jensfr the 21 Oct 09 at 18:55.
Solution #1 + The possibility to disable this feature both on the startup, and permanently

See the 5 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 23 Oct 09 at 07:19) >>

Alternative position for Fullscreen button in OO Writer to reduce screen clutter  
Written by crazyivan the 5 Jan 09 at 17:27. New
When viewing a document in OpenOffice Writer in fullscreen mode, it is desirable for the interface to be as uncluttered as possible, giving maximum focus to and minimum distractions from the document in question.

Unfortunately, the Fullscreen button, being a toolbar, resides in a large-enough-to-be-distracting floating box. You can drag it to a different place so it doesn't obscure the document, but it's still there - and whether you consciously realise it or not, reducing your attention span on the document. (An absolute nightmare for revision, I can tell you!)

I did however notice a small square at the bottom right hand corner of the screen, between the horizontal and vertical scrollbars, which is currently unused. This would be a good alternative place to put the fullscreen button because:
-it doesn't distract your attention from the document as it is completely in line with the scrollbars,
-it doesn't obscure the document in any way,
-it doesn't increase the size of the scrollbars and "clutter" at the side of the screen (which turning the Fullscreen button into a toolbar will do),
-it's very easily accessible as it's a corner target (either Fitt's Law or something similar say that it is much easier to hit a button that's in a corner than anywhere else).

Even though it would be much smaller than the current button, the very fact it's in a corner makes it easier for the user to hit.

The only disadvantage I can see is that because it's not huge like the current one, a new user won't find it so easily. So I propose that the default behaviour is to keep the big floating fullscreen button, with the option to change to the discreet corner button contained in the OO Writer Options menu.

If you have a better idea as to how to integrate this feature, or you think the new user is smart enough to find the "discreet" button right from the off, please say below.


[....]
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Solution #1: Auto-generated solution of idea #17058
Written by crazyivan the 5 Jan 09 at 17:27.
Ubuntu Brainstorm was updated in January 2009. Since the idea #17058 was submitted before this update, its rationale and solution are not separated. Please vote accordingly, and if you have the necessary rights, please separate the rationale from the solution. Thanks!

See the 3 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 6 Jan 09 at 10:53) >>