Open Office Writer has imitated some of the worst features of Microsoft Word
'97 formatting. Two examples:
1. Location of Page Numbers.
After trying just about everything I could think of, I still found it
impossible to put page numbers in the upper right corner of a document.
The program's default is page numbers in the lower right corner, with no simple
choice available for upper right corner page numbering. Yet novels,
screenplays, journals, etc., require the page number to be in the upper right
hand corner of the page. Selecting the location of page numbering should be
simple and transparent For instance, Under the heading, Page Numbering, there
should be a list of choices as to where the user would like the page number to
be. Simple. (BTW. I still don't know how to put page numbers in the upper right
corner of the page.) .
2. Automatic Paragraph Numbering.
The default for automatic paragraph numbering is single spacing. The result
might look like this.
1. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
2. More blah, more blah, more blah, more blah, more blah, more blah,
more blah, more blah, more blah, more blah, more blah, more blah.
But suppose you want a double space between paragraphs so the result might look
like this:
1. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,
2. More blah, more blah, more blah, more blah, more blah, more blah,
more blah, more blah, more blah, more blah, more blah, more blah.
Well, just try and figure out how to accomplish that double space between
automatic numbered paragraphs. It is extremely difficult to accomplish and not
intuitive at all. (I still haven't figured out how to do this either!)
I feel that one of the goals for Open Office Writer is not to copy the horrors
of Microsoft Word, but to create a much simpler and more intuitive interface
for the user. These are just two examples. I'm sure each of you can supply
more. BTW. If anyone knows how to accomplish the above two items, please shoot
me an email. If not, just shoot me.
