Saving a New Document

Software name : OpenOffice.org
Software version  : 2.2

When you start the OpenOffice.org wordprocessor you automatically get a new (blank) page. If you wish to start a new text document then you only need to save the new document somewhere on your computer.

Saving a blank text file 

If you are about to start work on your new document then its a very good idea to first save the document. In fact, saving your document at the start and as many times as you can remember while writing it is an excellent idea. The would be a good deal less frustration caused by lost documents if this advice was followed with more rigor.

OpenOffice.org does not let you save a blank document so first you will have to type some text onto the blank page. Just mouse over the blank document, click the mouse, and type something (anything - you can always delete the text later). Now, to save the new document click on the File menu and select Save

Once you have released the mouse button then you will see a dialog appear:

Choose a name for the file

Type the name of the file in box next to where it says Name: You can call the file anything you like. Just click the mouse on the empty text box and type away. In this example we will use 'mynewfile' as the name.

Choose where to save the file

If you just press Save the document will now be saved in the default location as listed in the Save in folder box.

 

This is usually in your home directory. However you can easily choose another place to save the document by clicking on the small arrow next to the text  Browse for other folders

Then you will see a new section appear:

 

Now you can browse your computers directories by clicking one of the 'places' listed on the left or by clicking one of the directories on the right. For example, if I wanted to save my new document in the 'Examples' directory in the above example, I would double click on the directory 'Examples'. The contents of that directory will then be displayed:

If I pressed Save now the document would be saved in this directory alongside all the other documents listed.

As you can see, the location of the directory where you are saving the document is displayed at the top left:

 

In the above image you can see that the directory name where the document will be saved is displayed in bold at the far right. If you decide this is not where the document is to be saved you can always change the location by doing one of the following:

• clicking on the directory names displayed at the top (for example, by clicking on 'floss')

 

• browse the directories displayed in the list on the right

 

• click on the 'Places' listed on the left

Choose the file format

The last thing you need to do now is choose what format the document should be saved in. A format is a very mysterious thing and there has been many hours lost debating the dark arts of file formats. The basic principle is this:

* softwares store data in files

* the way in which the data is arranged in that file is known as the 'format' or 'file format'

* choose a format that can be used by the software you use, and by the software used by people you might send documents to

Formats are usually identified by the suffix of a file name. So if you have a file called 'myfile.doc' the file format is indicated by the suffix ('.doc'). We know that '.doc' is a file format used by Microsoft Word.

Most people these days use Microsoft Word (.doc) file formats, however this is not always the case. My friends, for example, are not too keen on receiving this kind of file. If in doubt, its polite to ask what format they prefer before sending a file.

You can see a list of the available formats by clicking on the drop down menu near the bottom of the dialog:

When clicked you will see a long list of different formats.

Choose the one that suits you. If you are not sure which one to use then perhaps stay with the default format - OpenDocument Text (.odt).  If you prefer Microsoft Word then you will need to save it in one of the Mircosoft Word formats, in which case you could choose:

* Microsoft Word 97/2000/XP (.doc)

* Microsoft Word 95 (.doc)

* Microsoft Word 6.0 (.doc)

If you choose the wrong format and awake in the middle of the night sweating because it was a bad choice, you can always change the format by saving the document again and choosing a preferable file format.

Press save

When you have decided the name, place to save the document, and the format of the document then press Save