OpenOffice.Org 1.0 Resource Kit

This section covers tips and tricks about how to grab what you want and do stuff to it.

About the Direct Cursor Feature: Just Say No

The direct cursor feature, which we don't recommend you use, lets you click in any blank area of a page to insert empty paragraphs and tabs up to the point where you click. Activate direct cursor by clicking its tool on the toolbar.

The reason we don't recommend using it is because creating spacing by inserting a bunch of empty paragraphs and tabs runs counter to good paragraph style control. (See Power Formatting With Styles on page 247.) Also, if you forget to turn the feature off, you could accidentally add paragraphs and tabs where you didn't really want to, and you'd have to take another step to undo it.

But if you do use direct cursor, make sure to use it with nonprinting characters turned on (also on the toolbar) so you can see the results.

You can set specific options for the behavior of direct cursor by choosing Tools > Options > Text document > Formatting Aids.

Selecting Nonconsecutive Blocks of Text

Writer lets you select nonconsecutive blocks of text for cutting, copying, deleting, and formatting.

1. In the status bar, click the box that says STD until it reads ADD, as shown in Figure 6-14. Choosing ADD changes the text selection mode.

   Figure 6-14. Selecting nonconsecutive blocks of text

   Note

   We found that it seems to work without changing the text selection mode, but wanted to make sure we included both methods .

2. Select nonconsecutive blocks of text.

After you perform an action on nonconsecutive text selections, such as deleting, cutting, or pasting, selection mode returns to STD automatically.