Options menu → Apache OpenOffice

User data

On this module it is possible to set the user data. The data inserted here will be used to identify the document author, as it shows on File → Properties → General tab.

On a Writer document, for example, this data is used by the program to define what needs to be done when an existing document is opened: if the user information match with the author information, Writer will automatically open the document on the last edited point while of the information to not match the document will open on the first page.

General

The first option, "Help", defines how tool tips are presented: the small windows with information that appears when hovering the mouse on a toolbar button or (on Writer) on a footnote anchor. It is also possible to activate the "Extended tips" that provides even more information.

The option, selected by default, "Help Agent" will open a small window bottom right on the program each time a new characteristic is used: with a click there the bundled help will open with related information. If the user do not click on the help agent, it will close after a few seconds and on the third time it is not used for that topic, it will not show again for that argument. To reset the Help Agent to the default status it is enough to press  Reset Help Agent .

On the drop down menu under "Help formatting" it is possible to define how the help is presented: normal or hight contrast.

"Document status" permits to select the option to tag the document as changed when printing.

On some operative systems or desktop environments it is possible to find there an option to use the system menus to open and save files.

The last option on that section is how to treat years written with only two digits.

Memory

On this section it is possible to indicate the amount of memory used by the program, the frequency with which that memory must be cleaned, the number of steps recorded on the "Undo" option and the number of object inserted that must be maintained on memory when editing a document. On some systems, augmenting those values could lead to a slightly better performance.

Here it is also possible to enable/disable the "quick start": a small program that loads Apache OpenOffice on the system start and that lives on the system tray giving several options on a right click menu, like quickly create new documents.

View

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Print

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Paths

Here it is possible to set the paths used by default: where documents are saved, where templates are stored, the gallery, etcetera.

To modify on path, it is enough to select it and press  Edit .

The  Default  button returns the paths to their default values.

On a default configuration, beside the localization of temporary files and the default folder to save documents, most paths point to the user profile.

Colors

Apache OpenOffice comes with a series of predefined colours that can be used on the different components, for example to assign a fill colour on a graphical object, the colour of the text or a paragraph background.

On this menu it is possible to modify these default colours or to create new ones that will be immediately available on every Apache OpenOffice component.

The simplest way to create a new colour is to select an existing one from the table, write a new name under "Name" and press  Add : a new colour, identical to the one selected but with the new name will be created. Now, it is possible to select this new colour and press  Edit  to obtain a tool to define colours.

As it is possible to see from the screenshot, there are several ways to define the colour:

• Graphically, selecting with the mouse first the hue on the vertical bar and then the colour on the left box.
• Writting the colour coordinates, either the RGB (with red, green and blue values or by the hexadecimal code), CMYK or HSB.

The horizontal bar compares the original colour (the one is being edited) and the new one.

Fonts

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Security

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Appearance

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Accessibility

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Java

Even if not written on that language, Apache OpenOffice can use Java for some components (mainly, Base), some export filters and many extensions.

For this reason, the availability of a Java runtime environment even if not strictly needed, is highly recommended.

There are different Java systems that can be used. In addition to the one developed by Oracle also exists the open source project OpenJDK.

Java on Linux

For Linux users, Java is not a problem: almost all Linux distributions installs by default OpenJDK, which works perfectly with Apache OpenOffice.

If for any reason Java is not installed on your Linux system, it is highly recommended to install it through you package manager using an official repository: a manual install of Java is not that easy. Read the documentation of your Linux distribution to know how to install a package from repository.

Java on Windows and other systems

Go to this page for Java 7 or to this page for Java 6 in order to download the installer. How to install the package depends on your system, but on those pages you'll find the instructions.

On window systems, Apache OpenOffice is only available on 32 bits versions. Even if you have a 64 bit system you need to download the 32 bit version of Java in order to use it with Apache OpenOffice.

Making Java work on Apache OpenOffice

It is important to note that it is not enough to install Java: you need to tell AOO to use it. On Tools → Options → Apache OpenOffice → Java make sure to see something like this

BOTH boxes, the "Use a Java runtime environment" and the corresponding to the chosen runtime must be clearly checked.

Online Update

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