OpenOffice.org Newsletter

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                           OPENOFFICE.ORG NEWSLETTER

                      Volume 05  -  Issue 05  -  11/2007

                      Please send news clippings to:
                      newsletter@marketing.openoffice.org

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Contents
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1. Announcements
================
* Announcing the OpenOffice.org Community Forum
* OpenOffice.org at foss.in
* OpenOffice.org home user and SMB support in French and German


2. Success Stories
==================
* Increasing ISV support for OpenOffice.org and ODF
* Ubuntu for 160,000 students in Macedonia
* $199-Laptop sold at Walmart (OpenOffice.org included!)
* Zonbu, yet another Openoffice.org distribution channel


3. Featured News
================
* Presenter Screen Designs Wanted
* Spreadsheet Solver Infrastructure
* Pagination Extension for OpenOffice.org
* Creative Commons Support for OpenOffice.org
* Native print dialog for Mac/Aqua port
* More money for the government employees due to open source
* German Federal Court of Auditors criticizes IT purchasing behavior


4. Tips & Tricks
================
* Business Intelligence with OpenOffice.org
* OpenOffice.org will get PDF/A support
* About smart tags and extension development
* Debugging an OOo extension with Eclipse
* "Creating interactive forms with OpenOfice.org Writer"


5. ODF News
===========
* Shrinking ODF Files
* Document Format FUD: A Guide for the Perplexed
* Server-side PDF conversion for ODF



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Want to help OpenOffice.org?  Find out hot to contribute or see our
To Do List!!

http://contributing.openoffice.org/index.html
http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/To-Dos/index.html
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Announcements
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Announcing the OpenOffice.org Community Forum
=============================================
"The OpenOffice.org Community announces the opening of the OpenOffice.org
Community Forum http://user.services.openoffice.org.  This new Forum goes
beyond being simply a knowledge base of questions and answers and is
rather a place for OpenOffice.org users to interact freely with each
other.

The Forum has been established by a team of enthusiasts who bring a wealth
of expertise gained in providing OpenOffice.org forum-based support.
Initially launched in English, the new platform has the
capability to support multiple languages in future. Your
native-language community can tell you what support is available in your
language http://projects.openoffice.org/native-lang.html"

http://www.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=announce&...


OpenOffice.org at foss.in
=========================
"The OpenOffice.org presence in India is large and growing. Millions
use it there, in numerous languages. This December, as part of the
internationally renown foss.in conference held annually in Bangalore,
OpenOffice.org will have its first Project Day: a day devoted to talks
and workshops on OpenOffice.org, its code, architecture, community,
extensions, future. You are invited.

With members from the local community presenting on issues pertinent
to India and with speakers flying in from Germany and Canada, the
OpenOffice.org Project Day gives all Indian community members the
opportunity not just to learn but to speak their own voice directly to
the project leads. And as OpenOffice.org becomes the productivity
platform of choice, those voices are ever more important."

http://www.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=announce&...


OpenOffice.org home user and SMB support in French and German
=============================================================
Home users as well as small and medium businesses looking for
OpenOffice.org should check out this new offering. It's now possible
to buy support incident packs for OpenOffice.org for German and French.
More languages might get added going forward.

http://blogs.sun.com/dancer/entry/openoffice_org_home_use...



Success Stories
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Increasing ISV support for OpenOffice.org and ODF
=================================================
More and more software vendors are adding OpenOffice.org and ODF support
to their solutions. I just became aware of this German medical solution
called "fd-klinika". BTW, in case you still don't know, a list of
software products complementary to OpenOffice.org can be found here.
If you or your company has a solution as well, feel free to add it to
the wiki page!

http://blogs.sun.com/dancer/entry/increasing_isv_support_...
http://www.fliegel-data.de/fd-online/images/stories/softw...
http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/OpenOffice.org_S...


Ubuntu for 160,000 students in Macedonia
========================================
According to the German article below, about 160,000 students in
Macedonia will get to use Ubuntu via PC's and thin clients. Actually,
the software being used will be a localized version of the education
flavor of Ubuntu called Edubuntu. Since Ubuntu includes OpenOffice.org,
I guess these are also good news for OpenOffice.org and ODF.

http://blogs.sun.com/dancer/entry/ubuntu_for_160_000_stud...
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/99171


$199-Laptop sold at Walmart (OpenOffice.org included!)
======================================================
"Check out these reviews of the $199-PC at Walmart! It's fascinating
to see that the large majority of the reviews are very positive. Sure,
a few might not be from actual buyers but from Open Source enthusiasts.
Nevertheless, the positive reviews show that people are very happy
without Windows and Office. I'm actually waiting for the Asus Eee PC
to show up on the German market, although I actually would prefer one
with an US English keyboard. Considering the low price and weight as
well as the small form factor, the Eee PC looks like an interesting
gadget for reading emails and chatting when you don't want to carry
around too much stuff."

http://blogs.sun.com/dancer/entry/happy_without_windows_a...


Zonbu, yet another Openoffice.org distribution channel
======================================================
"Unfazed by the failure of earlier subscription-based PCs from vendors
like PeoplePC, Zonbu Wednesday launched an inexpensive subscription
notebook that the company claims will free users from the hassle of
computer maintenance.
...
The notebook, which runs a customized version of the open-source
Linux OS, comes preloaded with 20 software applications, including
free applications already available on the Internet, like the Firefox
Web browser and OpenOffice.org office suite. It's targeted as a second
computer for those tired of updating PCs, Zonbu said. The notebook is
currently in "beta," according to Zonbu. The final version of the
notebook with updated software will ship globally early next year."

http://www.itworld.com/Comp/1290/071129zonbu/



Featured News
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Presenter Screen Designs Wanted
===============================
"For the Presenter Screen Extension that is currently in the works, we
are looking for layout and design proposals.

I have already started a $,1r|(Bpresentation$,1r}(B that contains some ideas. As you
can see we have some degree of freedom. And for really mind blowing
designs I am sure we can convince Andre to make it happen.

I should mention that we want to ship the extension with a couple of
pre-installed "themes". User customization (like in Apple Keynote) would
not be possible in the first step. That's also a reason why great layouts
and designs should come 'right out of the box'.

now it's your turn $,1rs(B thanks for giving your proposals to discuss@ux.openoffice.org."

http://blogs.sun.com/GullFOSS/entry/presenter_screen_desi...


Spreadsheet Solver Infrastructure
=================================
"Currently, several solver components for Calc are available (with
different capabilities and different licenses), and OOo 3.0 is scheduled
to contain another one in the default installation. Some areas, like
non-linear models, are still open, so more solver implementations may
appear in the future.

Instead of having a variety of $,1r|(BSolver xyz$,1r}(B entries in the $,1r|(BTools$,1r}
(Bmenu, each with their own dialog, it seems better to select between
the implementations in a single dialog. So that's what we are doing:
There's going to be a UNO service $,1r|(Bcom.sun.star.sheet.Solver$,1r}(B for the
core implementation, without UI, and a dialog within the $,1r|(Bsc$,1r}(B module
to specify model parameters, and select between different service
implementations. Future components will be able to implement just
that service, and be called from the common dialog. The dialog design
isn't final yet, but it will look similar to this (the images in the
specification will be updated if the design is changed):"

http://blogs.sun.com/GullFOSS/entry/spreadsheet_solver_in...


Pagination Extension for OpenOffice.org
=======================================
"In the last week a new extension got my attention. The description
simply says, $,1r|(BA little macro that adds an 'Insert / Page number...'
dialog to Writer.$,1r}(B Yes it does. And with a little support from user
experience, the dialog integrates very well into OpenOffice.org's
user interface:
...
Thanks, Charles Brunet, for developing this extension!
The extension is available for download in the extension repository."

http://blogs.sun.com/GullFOSS/entry/pagination_extension_...


Creative Commons Support for OpenOffice.org
===========================================
"We$,1ry(Bre releasing a beta release of the add-in which allows you to select
and embed a license in Writer, Calc and Impress documents (press release).
You can find download information as well as a screencast of the add-in
in action on the wiki."

http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/7819


Native print dialog for Mac/Aqua port
=====================================
"CWS nativeprintdlg01 is making fast progress. This is about using the
native print dialog on the Mac/Aqua platform. Thanks to the efforts of
Eric Bachard and Michael Sicotte the CWS now approaches its objective
very fast; preview works, printing including settings like duplex etc.
works."

http://blogs.sun.com/GullFOSS/entry/native_print_dialog_f...


German Federal Court of Auditors criticizes IT purchasing behavior
==================================================================
In the remarks to its latest report (German PDF file), the German Federal
Court of Auditors ("Bundesrechnungshof") criticizes the IT purchasing
behavior of the federal government agencies in Germany. According to the
document many federal government agencies frequently upgraded to the
latest versions of the operating system and the office suite of the
market leader that has 90% market share without seriously evaluating
alternatives, even though alternatives are available. I became aware
of the news through the German article on heise below.

http://blogs.sun.com/dancer/entry/german_federal_court_of...
http://www.bundesrechnungshof.de/veroeffentlichungen/beme...
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/99420


More money for the government employees due to open source
==========================================================
According to the German article below, the labor union of the police
in Berlin is unhappy with Windows and thus considers a switch to Linux.
It's not 100% clear to me if the issues are on the desktop side or the
server side, but apparently the labor union members are experiencing
stability problems. From my point of view the most interesting part
of the news is that the switch to open source is also considered to
be a chance to pay the government employees a Christmas bonus again
based on open source related savings.

http://blogs.sun.com/dancer/entry/more_money_for_the_gove...
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/99164


"Obama Voices Support for ODF"
==============================
Interesting how open standards and open file formats become more and
more of a political topic. Check out the following eWeek article:
"Obama Voices Support for ODF". In this context, the statement by the
German Federal Foreign Minister Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier also fits in:
"Modern information technology has turned the world into a village with
amazing speed. It links people and builds bridges in a way which even
quite recently we would have believed impossible.
An open, unhindered exchange of information in all areas of life is of
fundamental importance for today's knowledge-based society. It is an
important foundation for our shared objective: a peaceful, democratic,
pluralistic society. The Open Document Format, as a completely open and
ISO-standardized format, is an excellent vehicle for the free exchange
of knowledge and information in the globalized age."

http://blogs.sun.com/dancer/entry/obama_voices_support_fo...



Tips & Tricks
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Business Intelligence with OpenOffice.org
=========================================
"Christian Schieder of the Chemnitz University of Technology introduced
the PalOOCa project. This acronym stands for the far-advanced integration
of Palo in OpenOffice.org Calc. As an example for the good interaction
between open and non-open source software served the Palo integration in
Abacus, a successful ERP software with over 30,000 medium-sized customers."

http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2007/11/emw569940.htm


OpenOffice.org will get PDF/A support
=====================================
"Thanks to Giuseppe Castagno's (aka beppec56) considerable efforts two
improvements are now on their way into OOo. Barring unexpected tragic
events, OOo 2.4 will have support for PDF/A, a feature often requested
in governmental environments. The other improvement is OOo's handling
of internal and external links in exported PDF documents which can now
be customized to point to a structure of files interlinking."

http://blogs.sun.com/GullFOSS/entry/news_in_pdfexport


About smart tags and extension development
==========================================
"I hope also that we can focus on further improvements and new features
for our OpenOffice.org API plugin for Netbeans (currently it's somewhat
stalled) because as i have mentioned above tooling is important to
attract new developers. So you can help us to give feedback and let us
know what you would like to see or where we can do things better. I
know a lot of small things that we have not addressed yet or that are
simply bugs but i would really like to here your feedback.
...
At the end i would like to point you again on the Smart Tag feature
that was introduced for OpenOffice.org 2.3. A nice tutorial can you
find in the wiki. Jacob Lechner made this feature possible and i think
he was driven by some demand for it in his company. Anyway think about
it for a while. Somebody needs a feature that doesn't exist, he simply
started the work, got all the support he needs from Frank Meies and in
the end he got the feature and the OpenOffice.org project got a further
nice service provider interface (SPI) that allows fast integration of
some nice features in the writer. You can help and can implement some
nice Smart Tags as extension. I have already tried it for a workshop
demo and was able to implement a simple one (with our NetBeans plugin)
in 30 minutes or so. So just do it!"

http://blogs.sun.com/GullFOSS/entry/community_building_vi...


Debugging an OOo extension with Eclipse
=======================================
"Every developer needs a way to debug its applications. It goes the
same way for OpenOffice.org Java extensions. At the OOoCon 2008 in
Barcelona, Steffen Grund explained me how he integrated OOo Java
extensions debugging in the Netbeans plugin. Even if it was very
interesting, I only had time to do it with Eclipse and here is how
to do it."

http://cedric.bosdonnat.free.fr/wordpress/?p=57


"Creating interactive forms with OpenOfice.org Writer"
======================================================
[Here is the article one more time because the URL was not included
in the previous newsletter!]
"With OpenOffice.org Writer you can create any kind of form from simple
questionnaires to sophisticated interactive tests. Here$,1ry(Bs how to create
a simple quiz using the form tools, and how to add interactivity to it
with a couple of macros."

http://www.nothickmanuals.info/doku.php/articles:oooforms



ODF News
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Shrinking ODF Files
===================
"So here comes the beauty of Open Source, and in this case: Open Formats.
It turns out, that OpenOffice and StarOffice documents are actually ZIP
files that contain XML for the actual documents, plus all the image files
that are associated with it in a simple directory structure. A few years
ago I wrote a script that takes an OpenOffice document, unzips it, looks
at all the images in the document's structure and optimizes their
compression algorithm, size and other settings based on some simple
rules. That script was very popular with my colleagues, it got lost for
a while and thanks to Andreas it was found again. Still, colleagues are
asking me about "That script, you know, that used to shrink those
StarOffice presentations." once in a while.

Today, I brushed it up a little, teached it to accept the newer od[ptdc]
extensions and it still works remarkably well. Here are some examples:"

http://blogs.sun.com/constantin/entry/shrink_big_presenta...


Document Format FUD: A Guide for the Perplexed
==============================================
"I've decided to put together a list of misconceptions that I hear, generally on 
the topic of document formats. I'll try to update this list to keep it current, 
with the most recent entries at the top. Readers are invited to submit the FUD 
they observe as comments, and I'll include it where I can."

http://www.robweir.com/blog/2007/11/document-formats-guid...


Server-side PDF conversion for ODF
==================================
The StarOffice 8 Server has just been released. The StarOffice 8
Server is a flavor of the StarOffice software that has been optimized
for server-side usage to do document conversion. Check out the
features list yourself!

http://blogs.sun.com/dancer/entry/server_side_pdf_convers...



Newsletter Archive
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Past issues of the OpenOffice.org Newsletter can be found in the archive
of the announce mailing list:

http://www.openoffice.org/servlets/SummarizeList?listName...



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