It’s paper-writing time again, which means I’ve spent many long hours lately with OpenOffice Writer (for now, I’m still using version 2.4). Writer is a great application and a useful tool for getting work done. But there are some components that I continue to find endlessly frustrating, namely…

OpenOffice.org 3.0 beta 2 is available in preparation for an official September release. Here are some quick first impressions of the Writer word-processor program.

The AuthorSupportTool extension not just adds some random features to OpenOffice.org Writer, it dramatically enhances the word processor's functionality, turning it into a powerful tool for working on research papers and complex documents.

Nothing is more frustrating than needing to change something very simple only to find yourself waste precious time figuring out where to find it or how to do it. If you want to insert page numbers into your OpenOffice Writer document you came to the right place. I’ll be using OpenOffice 3.0 RC1 to explain page numbering in a few quick steps.

Writer is, without a doubt, the most frequently used application in the OpenOffice.org suite. It offers many advanced features that can help you to create anything from a simple letter to a book with a complex layout. But, as with any powerful application, you often have to dig deep in order to get the most out of Writer.

You can insert bookmarks in a Writer document, and use the Navigator to find them. Here's how...

A list of macros that add functionality to OpenOffice.org.

One of the perqs of being a journalist is that I often hear about software and events before most people. A case in point is Writer's Tools, an extension for OpenOffice.org Writer being developed by my fellow journalist Dimitri Popov, whose articles about macros have taught me most of what I know on the subject.

Contrary to the conventional wisdom that a word processor can’t help you to become a better writer, you can use OpenOffice.org Writer with the Writer's Tools extension to improve your writing skills and make the writing process more efficient.