[KLUG Members] OpenOffice workshops

[Mike Williams]

Jason Edward Durrett wrote:
> Thanks Mike.   Here is my situation that I want to solve.  We have been
> using OpenOffice here since 2001.  I would not even now where to begin
> comparing OO to excel and I can't answer questions that begin with, "In
> excel I could . . . " which, oddly enough, still crop up from time to time.
>  
> So, I am looking for something that gives an overview of OO and gives
> the general message of 'hey, this is a really powerful tool and it can
> do a lot for you.' 
>
> I know, for example, KVCC has entire classes on Excel but no offerings
> on OpenOffice.  So, most people in the area come from an Excel
> background and see OO as a cheaper replacement rather than a
> productivity tool.
>
> That could be solved with training in the office here but I don't have
> the staff or budget to really offer good training.
>   
Other than the punctuational difficulties, excel and oo calc work 
basically the same way.  Most of the components borrow shamelessly from 
Microsoft Office's way of doing things.  I know many of the spreadsheet 
formulas have different names, but both programs have good online help, 
at least as far as listing the available functions and what they do. 

I'm afraid how easy it is to switch is going to depend on the person.  A 
person who understands what they are trying to accomplish will have a 
fairly easy time thinking it through, much more so than somebody who 
learned to "click here, then click here" to get the results they need.  
Personally, I've used so many different word processors, many of them 
very obscure, that I can only think in terms of the first method (what 
I'm trying to do).  I can't guess how hard it will be for somebody who 
has never used anything but Word and doesn't really understand the 
concepts behind word processors in general.

Oh, Maximum PC magazine did a side-by-side comparison of Microsoft and 
Open Office about a year and a half ago.  They said good things about 
OO, although they saw it as a cheaper copy rather than an office suite 
that can stand on its own.  It might be a good place to start, and I'll 
see if I can dig it up somewhere.