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Documentation Development
The first edition of the LibreOffice user guides are based on the guides from the OpenOffice.org project, originally largely written by the community and all released under copy-left (a fairly new form of copyright) agreements. These documents are in the process of being re-branded and updated for publication as official LibreOffice documentation. The English documentation team and various localization teams are currently using Alfresco as an ECM (Enterprise Content Management) system.
If you would like to join us in our efforts to document LibreOffice, please drop a line at the Documentation Team mailing list, introduce yourself and request a user account for our Alfresco platform. We look forward to hearing from you.
To sign up for the mailing list, please send a blank e-mail message to documentation+subscribe@global.libreoffice.org and follow the instructions that will be mailed back to you.
First steps with the Documentation team
We are writing a Contributors' Guide for the Documentation team. Some of the chapters are available in draft form:
- Joining the LibreOffice Documentation Team (incomplete)
- Producing LibreOffice User Guides (Updated 28 March 2012 - reasonably complete)
- Using LibreOffice's Alfresco website (not up to date)
- Style Guide for LibreOffice User Guides
- Using the LibreOffice Chapter Template
- Using the AutoText dialog
Templates for user guides:
User Guides
Below is the workflow we are using on Alfresco. But since it is presently not working, we are using the ODFAuthors website. First are the instructions for using ODFAuthors and after it are the instructions for using Alfresco.Using ODFAuthors website
- Create draft doc, upload to Drafts folder for the relevant book.
- Create draft document according to:
- The latest chapter template (currently LO_3_4_chapter_template.ott)
- Producing-LO-userguides.odt.
- Naming convention: (name)_initials_date.odt
- Multi-word names: no spaces between words and every word begins with a capital. (GettingStartedWithCalc)
- Date format: YYYYMMDD (20120215)
- Initials:
- Draft: initials of the author
- Review by another: author's initials_reviewer's initials_.(_DEL_JHW_)
- Author's approval of changes: reviewer's initials removed
- Naming convention: (name)_initials_date.odt
- Uploading drafts to the appropriate draft folder:
- Request your user name and password for the ODFAuthors web site from the document team mailing list. (documentation@global.libreoffice.org)
- Sign into the ODFAuthors web site.
- LibreOffice > English > (appropriate folder for your document) > Drafts. This takes you to the folder your file should be uploaded to.
- Click "Add new" and then click File from its menu.
- Enter the title and a description of the document
- Click the Browse button to tell the website where the file is located on your hard drive.
- Click the Save button to upload the file.
- Submitting your document for review.
- Click "State: Internal draft" and select "Submit for publication". (It changes to "State: Pending review".
- Log out.
- Report what you have done to the document team mailing list (documentation@global.libreoffice.org)
- Downloading a file for review:
- Sign into ODFAuthors.
- LibreOffice > English > (appropriate folder for your document) > Drafts.
- Click the file you want to download. Your browser opens a dialog to download the file.
- Change the file's status:
- Click "Actions" followed by "Check out".
- Click "State: Pending review" and select Retract. (It changes to "State: Internal draft".
- Uploading a file after a review:
- Sign into ODFAuthors.
- LibreOffice > English > (appropriate folder for your document) > Feedback.
- Click "Add new" and then click File from its menu.
- Enter the title and a description of the document
- Click the Browse button to tell the website where the file is located on your hard drive.
- Click the Save button to upload the file.
- Submitting your document for review.
- Click "State: Internal draft" and select "Submit for publication". (It changes to "State: Pending review".)
- Change the status of the reviewed document.
- Navigate to the Draft folder containing the file you downloaded to review.
- Click "Actions" followed by "Check in".
- Log out.
- Report what you have done to the document team mailing list (documentation@global.libreoffice.org) Generally, the author will review the changes you made accepting or rejecting them individually.
- Create draft document according to:
NOTE: The rest of the workflow is the same as the ones below for the Alfresco website.
Using Alfresco website
- Create draft doc, upload to Drafts space for relevant book.
- Create draft document according to:
- The latest chapter template (currently LO_3_4_chapter_template.ott)
- Producing-LO-userguides.odt. The latter has the naming convention you should use when naming your document. Follow the naming convention on page 20 for all documents.
- Uploading drafts to the appropriate draft folder:
- Request your user name and password for the Alfresco web site from the document team mailing list. (documentation@global.libreoffice.org)
- Sign into the Alfresco web site.
- Repository (at the top) > English (left side) > Documentation > (appropriate folder for your document) > Drafts. This takes you to the folder your file should be uploaded to.
- Click the Upload button (at the top) and a pop-up window appears
- Click the icon with a sheet of paper and magnifine glass to browse to your draft file on you computer.
- Click the “Upload file(s)” button to begin the uploading. (uploading process is shown over the name of your file.)
- When the uploading is completed, the Upload file(s) button changes to OK. Click it.
- If the uploading fails, try again. (Some times it takes two or three tries to successfully upload a file.)
- The file now appears in the draft folder.
- Submitting your document for review.
- On the right side of the file look for “+More”
- Click it to open a drop down list.
- Select Submit for review. (The file is moved to the Proofing folder.)
- Report what you have done to the document team mailing list (documentation@global.libreoffice.org)
- Create draft document according to:
- Reviewer checks out draft doc, makes changes with tracking on, checks doc in, promotes to Reviewed space.
- Author (or someone else, depending on book & circumstances) revises draft, removes change tracking up to that point, demotes file to Drafts space -- OR skip to Step 5.
- Repeat Steps 2 and 3 as needed.
- When ready, author (or other) promotes file from Reviewed space to Copyediting/Proofing space.
- Copyeditor does job with change tracking on, puts into Feedback.
- Author (or other) accepts/rejects edits, puts file into Indexing/Final Layout folder, marks as ready for further work.
- Indexer/Book Coordinator/whoever final checks all and puts file into Published folder (or returns to Feedback for further work).
- Book Coordinator/Publisher/whoever outputs file into various formats (PDF, others to be decided) and makes available to public, with a copy into the working folder for next revision.
If you have any questions, remember Documentation Team mailing list and #documentfoundation at irc.freenode.net.
When you are working on a chapter, please place your initials (or your wiki user ID) in the appropriate column of the tables below. When you are done, please add the date when you returned the file to Alfresco.
For more information on how to review and update LibreOffice user guides (including image creation, cross-referencing, indexing, and publishing), please see Producing LibreOffice User Guides.
Getting Started Guide
The LO v3.3 edition of this book has been published. The LO v3.4 edition of this book is in the final stages of proofing.
TO DO: Update to LO 3.5, as noted in list below. See 3.5 New Features and Fixes for more info. Most items on that page go into other guides or are too detailed or behind-the-scenes for user guides; use judgment).
The list below is a work in progress. Feel free to add items yourself.
General: On copyright page of each chapter:
- Change LibO version number and publication date.
Chapter 1 (Intro)
Chapter 2 (Setup)
Chapter 3 (Styles & Templates)
Chapter 4 (Writer)
- Better UI for Header and Footers handling
- Better page breaks indicators (may not be needed in GS)
- Word count dialog
- Bundled LightProof grammar checkers; other grammar checking improvements
Chapter 5 (Calc)
- New multiline input bar
- New option to specify the initial number of sheets in new documents
Chapter 6 (Impress)
Chapter 7 (Draw)
Chapter 8 (Base)
Chapter 9 (Math)
Chapter 10 (Printing etc)
Chapter 11 (Graphics)
Chapter 12 (Web Pages)
Chapter 13 (Macros)
Chapter 14 (Customizing)
Appendix A (Shortcuts)
Appendix B (Open Source)
Status of tasks
| Chapter | Draft/updated | Reviewed | Edit/proof | Published | Checkout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Introducing LO | |||||
| 2 Setting Up LO | |||||
| 3 Styles & Templates | |||||
| 4 Writer | |||||
| 5 Calc | |||||
| 6 Impress | |||||
| 7 Draw | |||||
| 8 Base | |||||
| 9 Math | |||||
| 10 Printing | |||||
| 11 Graphics | |||||
| 12 Web Pages | |||||
| 13 Macros | |||||
| 14 Customizing | |||||
| A Shortcuts | |||||
| B Open Source |
Writer Guide
The first edition of this book, for LO 3.3, has been published.
The second edition of this book, for LO 3.4, has been published.
TO DO: Update to LO 3.5, replace screenshots and other figures as needed. Include any enhancements or corrections that have been identified.
General:
Chapter 1 (Intro)
Chapter 2 (Setup)
Chapter 3 (Text)
Chapter 4 (Page Layout)
Chapter 5 (Printing etc)
Chapter 6 (Intro to Styles)
Chapter 7 (Working with Styles)
Chapter 10 (Templates)
Appendix A (Keyboard Shortcuts)
Status of tasks
| Chapter | Draft/updated | Reviewed | Edit/proof | Published | Checkout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Intro | |||||
| 2 Setup | |||||
| 3 Text | |||||
| 4 Format Pages | |||||
| 5 Printing | |||||
| 6 Intro Styles | |||||
| 7 Work with Styles | |||||
| 8 Graphics | |||||
| 9 Tables | |||||
| 10 Templates | |||||
| 11 Mail Merge | |||||
| 12 TOCS, Indexes | |||||
| 13 Master Docs | |||||
| 14 Fields | |||||
| 15 Forms | |||||
| 16 Customizing | |||||
| A Shortcuts |
Calc Guide
The first edition of this book, for LO 3.3, has been published.
TO DO: Update to LO 3.4, replace screenshots and other figures as needed.
General:
- Use files in Drafts folder for the book. Use the Template Changer extension to apply the v3.4 chapter template (LO_3_4_chapter_template.ott, available from the Documentation > Resources folder in Alfresco).
- Check screenshots for changes. Use silver/gray theme for any replacements needed. Use LO Galaxy icon set (Tools > Options > LO > View).
- If the same topic is covered here as in Getting Started with Calc, use the same text in both places unless it should be discussed in more detail in this book.
- Change arrows in menu paths to > (to match most other books).
- Replace any references to "DataPilot" with "Pivot Table".
- Improve indexing in all chapters. Many topics should be indexed that are not.
Chapter 1 (Intro)
- Redesigned Move/Copy Sheet dialog (Edit->Sheet->Move/Copy) - put in section on "working with sheets". Reuse what is written for Getting Started.
- When the document is encrypted with a password, you can now change the password while the document is open, from File->Properties->General->Change Password. The button is enabled only when the document is encrypted with a password.
Chapter 2 (Data Entry etc.)
- Support for autofilter per sheet: It is now possible to set autofilter per sheet without manually creating named database ranges prior to setting autofilter. Previously Calc only supported one autofilter per document, which caused the previous autofilter to disappear when setting another one even on a different sheet unless a named database range was created beforehand.
- ?Expand section on filtering a bit? Also refer to Chapter 13 (Calc as D/B) for examples of use.
- See [Bug 42339] EDITING and VIEWING cell borders differs from expected and PRINTING -- does any of this belong in this chapter, and/or in another chapter?
Chapter 3 (Charts and Graphs)
- Mention ability to add & remove color charts and refer to info in Chapter 14.Chapter 8 (DataPilot)* DataPilot is now named Pivot Table.
- Support for unlimited number of fields: Previously DataPilot only supported up to 8 column/row/data fields and up to 10 page fields. 3.4 has lifted this restriction to allow unlimited number of fields in each field type.
- Named range as data source: With 3.4 it is now possible to use a named range as the data source for DataPilot. This allows, for example, addition of new rows to the data source and update of the DataPilot table to reflect the new data, without manually changing the data source range in the DataPilot dialog.
Chapter 4 (Styles & Templates)
- Check info (especially Templates) against Chapter 3 of Getting Started and revise here as needed.
Chapter 9 (Data Analysis)
- Multiple subtotals on a single sheet: It is now possible to define more than one subtotal range in a single sheet via Data->Subtotals. Previously, setting a second subtotal range removed the first one if they were on the same sheet.
Chapter 10 (Linking)
- Preserve OLE links to other Excel documents when importing an Excel document. OLE links get converted to external references upon import. Previously, Calc ignored OLE links and cells containing OLE links resulted in error upon import.
Chapter 13 (Calc as D/B)
- Named ranges in sheet-local scope: Previously, Calc only supported named ranges in global scope, that is, all named ranges were made available for the entire document regardless of the current sheet. In 3.4 Calc now supports named ranges that are local to a sheet. The named range dialog (Insert->Names->Define) has been modified to reflect this change.
Chapter 14 (Setup & Customizing)
- Color Charts: Adding and Removing color charts is now possible from Tools->Options->Charts->Default Colors.
Status of tasks
| Chapter | Draft/updated | Reviewed | Edit/proof | Published | Checkout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Intro | GX 1 Dec 2011 GX 14 Dec |
JHW 5 Dec; returned to GX |
GX 5 Dec | ||
| 2 Enter Edit Format Data | GX 1 Dec | ||||
| 3 Charts & Graphs | |||||
| 4 Styles & Templates | |||||
| 5 Graphics | |||||
| 6 Printing | |||||
| 7 Formulas & Functions | |||||
| 8 DataPilot (now Pivot Tables) | Martin Fox | ||||
| 9 Data Analysis | |||||
| 10 Linking Calc Data | |||||
| 11 Sharing & Reviewing | |||||
| 12 Calc Macros | |||||
| 13 Simple Database | |||||
| 14 Customizing | |||||
| A Shortcuts | |||||
| B Function Descr | |||||
| C Error Codes |
Impress Guide
The first edition of this book, for LO 3.3, has been published.
To do: update to LO 3.4, replace screenshots and other figures as needed.
General:
- Use files in Drafts folder for the book. Use the Template Changer extension to apply the v3.4 chapter template (LO_3_4_chapter_template.ott, available from the Documentation > Resources folder in Alfresco).
- Check screenshots for changes. Use silver/gray theme for any replacements needed. Use LO Galaxy icon set (Tools > Options > LO > View).
- If the same topic is covered here as in Getting Started with Impress, use the same text in both places unless it should be discussed in more detail in this book.
- Improve indexing in all chapters. Many topics should be indexed that are not.
Chapter 2 (Slide masters, style & templates))
- Check info (especially Templates) against Chapter 3 of Getting Started and revise here as needed.
Chapter 7 (Spreadsheets, Charts, etc)
- Mention ability to add & remove color charts and refer to info in Chapter 11.
Chapter 10 (Printing, Exporting, etc)
- Improved HTML export with an image thumbnail gallery of the slides on the contents page.
Chapter 11
- Color Charts: Adding and Removing color charts is now possible from Tools->Options->Charts->Default Colors.
Status of tasks
| Chapter | Draft/updated | Reviewed | Edit/proof | Published | Checkout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Intro | Feb 2012 | ||||
| 2 Slide Masters | Feb 2012 | ||||
| 3 Text | Feb 2012 | ||||
| 4 Pictures | Feb 2012 | ||||
| 5 Manage Objects | Feb 2012 | ||||
| 6 Format Objects | Mar 2012 (v3.5) | ||||
| 7 Spreadsheets | |||||
| 8 Slides Notes Handouts | |||||
| 9 Slide Shows | |||||
| 10 Customizing | |||||
| A Shortcuts |
Draw Guide
The first edition of this book, for LO 3.3, has been published.
TO DO:
- update to LO 3.4, replace screenshots and other figures as needed.
- update to LO 3.5
Update to 3.4
General:
- Use the Template Changer extension to apply the v3.4 chapter template (LO_3_4_chapter_template.ott, available from the Documentation > Resources folder in Alfresco).
- Check screenshots for changes. Use silver/gray theme for any replacements needed. Use LO Galaxy icon set (Tools > Options > LO > View).
- If the same topic is covered here as in Getting Started with Impress, use the same text in both places unless it should be discussed in more detail in this book.
- Improve indexing in all chapters. Many topics should be indexed that are not.
- Martin Fox has identified some other differences, which will be added to this page.
Chapter 6 (Pictures)
- Eyedropper is now called Color Replacer. New pix needed as well as name change in text.
| Chapter | Draft/updated | Reviewed | Edit/proof | Published | Checkout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Intro | |||||
| 2 Basic Shapes | |||||
| 3 Objects | |||||
| 4 Object Attributes | |||||
| 5 Combining | |||||
| 6 Edit Pictures | |||||
| 7 3D Objects | |||||
| 8 Tips & Tricks | |||||
| 9 Flowcharts | |||||
| 10 Advanced |
Update to 3.5
General: see above (3.4)
Actual Software Updates: see Wiki (ReleaseNotes/3.5#Impress.2FDraw) and Website (http://www.libreoffice.org/download/3-5-new-features-and-fixes/)
Math Guide
The first edition of this book, for LO 3.3, has been published.
TO DO: Update to LO 3.4, as needed.
General: Use files in Drafts folder for the book. Use the Template Changer extension to apply the v3.4 chapter template (LO_3_4_chapter_template.ott, available from the Documentation > Resources folder in Alfresco).
| Chapter | Draft/updated | Reviewed | Edit/proof | Published | Checkout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full book |
Base Guide
General: Use files in Drafts folder for the book. Use the Template Changer extension to apply the v3.4 chapter template (LO_3_4_chapter_template.ott, available from the Documentation > Resources folder in Alfresco).
To Do:
| Chapter | Draft/updated | Reviewed | Edit/proof | Published | Checkout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Introducing Base | DEL 10 Nov 2011, DEL 29 Nov 2011 |
HZ 17 Nov 2011, JHW 28 Nov 2011 |
JHW 1 Dec 2011 | ||
| 2 Planning/Designing your Database | DEL | ||||
| 3 Data Input and removal | |||||
| 4 Data Output | |||||
| 5 Exchanging Data | |||||
| 6 Customizing your Database Design | |||||
| 7 More Customization | |||||
| 8 Using Base at Work | |||||
| Appendix I Build the Example Database | |||||
| Appendix II Overview of a Database | |||||
| Appendix III Further Reading on Database Design | |||||
| Appendix IV Editing the Base Document File |
Other Documents
Below are a few of the other documents to be developed.
Administrators' Guide
Could be based on the OpenOffice.org Admin Guide.
Basic Programmers' Guide
Could be based on the OpenOffice.org BASIC Programmers' Guide.
Developers' Guide
Could be based on the OpenOffice.org Developers' Guide.
What To Do When Rebranding
Below is a summary of the things to do during rebranding of an OOo doc to LO. See How to rebrand documents from OpenOffice.org to LibreOffice for details.
- Apply LibO3.3 chapter template.
- Change OpenOffice.org and OOo to LibreOffice, but be careful of places where this may be wrong (e.g., "In earlier versions of ...") and need rewriting.
- Change formatting of Tip/Note/Caution tables to match those in the LibO3.3 template.
- Check the links and fix as needed (if they refer to OOo). Refer to Chapter 1 of Getting Started for correct links.
- Change the style for referring to other chapters from "Chapter X (Title of chapter)" to "Chapter X, Title of chapter,".
- Change table formatting to: Borders horizontal only, below rows only, except above heading; heading row background gray 10%. No change to line color/width.
- Check index entries (especially for "OpenOffice.org") and change if required.