OpenOffice.Org 1.0 Resource Kit

Here's another section of solutions to odd but everyday issues.

Getting Rid of Empty Pages

1. Choose View > Nonprinting Characters so that there's a check mark next to the menu option.

2. You should be able to see the extra paragraph returns or other items that are creating the extra page. Delete the characters.

If that doesn't take care of it choose View > Online Layout. Scroll through the document and make sure no extra pages are showing. Choose View > Online Layout again to turn it off; your extra pages should be gone.

Another possible cause is that every table automatically has a nondeletable paragraph return after it. So make the page margins bigger, make your table a little bit smaller, or otherwise mess around with the table so it's just a bit smaller and doesn't make that extra page after it.

Adding Content Before a Section or Table

Press Alt + Return twice to insert a paragraph return in front of a section (see Using Sections to Create Multiple Versions of the Same Document on page 409). This also works with indexes and tables since they're both types of sections.

Also you can delete the table or index (select all except the final carriage return and right-click, then choose Delete). Then when you generate it again, don't select the Protected Against Manual Changes option.

Freezing Text So It Can't Be Modified

Use a section. (You can learn more about sections in Using Sections to Create Multiple Versions of the Same Document on page 409.)

Sections are specific named areas of your documentjust select it and choose Insert > Section, and you've got a section. Then you get to set options like whether it's protected from editing. See at right.

One of the things you can do to a section is protect it from editing. See Protecting or Hiding Text Using a Section on page 413 to create a protected section.