The people at OpenOffice.org have released the newest version of the popular
office suite for Mac, Linux and PC, OpenOffice 3.1.0. The software is free to download for anyone owning a Mac running Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger or later.
The 3.1.0 release is a major update to the powerful office suite. You can go
here to have a look at the two-page-long changelog, or read on for a summary of the general fixes and the enhancements brought to the most important part of the suite, the Writer application.
General Improvements The people at OpenOffice.org promise an improved screen appearance using a technique called “anti-aliasing,” to improve the way it draws on screen (lines, circles, etc). Users will notice an immediate improvement in the clarity of graphics – particularly charts – wherever they appear throughout the suite, according to the developers. This has also improved the 'graphic geometry,' the team says.
The 3.1.0 release should also make 'dragging' easier with graphics, the release notes reveal. “When you drag an object in a drawing across the screen, OpenOffice.org now shows you a 'shadow' of the object, rather than just a dotted outline. This makes it much easier to place images accurately in complicated drawings,” the people behind the office suite add.
OpenOffice.org now has its own file-locking mechanism, which acts as a reliable security measure when the locking from the operating systems fails. It also allows OpenOffice.org to see who has already opened the document. As far as overlining is concerned, OpenOffice.org now supports overlining for text, as well as underlining, with the same range of options as underlining (type of line, color).
The
OpenOffice.org Writer sports the following improvements:
Subtle highlights:
· Highlighted text is now displayed with a subtle background color, rather than reverse video. Easier on the eye, easier to use.
Improvements to Comments:
· It's now possible for a series of editors to carry out a structured conversation through Comments, by right-clicking on a Comment and selecting 'Reply.' As a further enhancement, the Search facility now also searches the text of Comments.
Further grammar checker integration:
· With OpenOffice.org 3.1, the grammar checker framework has been extended so that Extensions like LanguageTool can now be accessed from the Tools -> Spelling and Grammar menu command.
Note that OpenOffice.org has a grammar-checking framework, but does not come with a grammar checker. This can be installed as an Extension.
Outline levels within paragraphs:
· Writers of documents with complex ordering formats can now specify a new paragraph and paragraph style attribute 'outline level.' This transforms a normal paragraph into a heading, independent of any list style or paragraph style. Download OpenOffice.org (Free)
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