Discovering OpenOffice

Installing OpenOffice is relatively simple. You follow the setup wizard that runs when you open the file you downloaded. If you have not already downloaded the OpenOffice file, then click here and follow the instructions to download OpenOffice from their web site.

First you should check that you have the minimum system requirements to install OpenOffice. Additionally, to take full advantage of OpenOffice you should consider installing the Java runtime environment if you don’t have it already. Not sure? Just visit the Java website and it will do a check through your browser to see if you have it, and provide instructions for installation if you don’t.

To install OpenOffice for Windows, follow the steps below.

1. Locate the file that you downloaded and double click on it.
   Another way you can do this in Windows is to click on Start –> Run –> Browse (and select the file from where you have saved it) –> OK
2. The setup program will load and begin verifying itself.
   
3. Click on “Next”.
   
4. The installer is now going to create a place to put all the files that it needs to install the program. It is usually OK just to accept the default location, however if you wish to save the files somewhere else, then click on browse, select the folder you want the files stored, and then click on “Unpack”.
   Note: This is not a permanent location - this is just a temporary place to store the installation files. The program itself will be stored in the ‘Program Files’ folder with all the others when installed.
   
5. The installer then unpacks the files. You will then see something like the following screens.
   
   
6. The installation files have been unpacked and we are now ready to continue the installation of the program itself.
   Click on “Next” to continue.
   
7. Click on the bullet next to “I accept…” and then click on “Next”
   
8. Enter your name and organisation here. This is so that when you do things like addresses and such moving forward, it will automatically fill these fields out. You can leave the organisation field blank.
   
   Also, select whether the application is for all users or just for the log in that you are currently logged into Windows under. If you’re not sure about this, it is usually acceptableto leave the default setting: “Anyone who uses this computer (all users)”
9. Now you have the option of doing a “Complete” installation, which installs all OpenOffice components, or you can choose “Custom”. If you choose complete, please go to step 11.
   Why choose custom? Well, you get to specify where the program is installed (eg. a different directory than “Program Files”), or you may only want to install the spreadsheet program and not the word processor, for example. Of course, if you select custom, you can install everything anyway, so don’t worry if you clicked on custom.
   
   Click “Next”.
10. This is where you get to select what features you want installed. Note the explanations below.
    (a) When the icon () is white, it means that all the features for this application are installed.
    (b) When the icon is grey, it means that some of the features are installed and some are not. For example, in the image above, for optional components, the icon is grey, and with the components listed underneath it, some are installed () and some are not (see c).
    (c) When the icon has a cross (), it means that you are not installing this feature.
    To select whether to install or not install, simply click on the icon and select from the menu:
    
    (d) You can change where you want the program to be installed (select Change –> browse for the new installation location on your hard drive and select OK).
    Click “Next” when you have completed your selections.
    Note: If you choose not to install something and want to install it later, you can re-run the installer and select the feature you want to add.
11. Now you need to select whether OpenOffice will be the default application for your documents. What does this mean? Basically, if you double click on a file, what will be the application that opens by default (eg. if I click on a .doc file, will it open with MS Word or will it open with OO Writer?). If you don’t have MS Office installed, you should select all three of these. I usually use OO as the default for Word and Excel, but leave MS as the default Powerpoint application, due to the nature of the training that I do and the presentations that I am required to use. What you select will be entirely up to you, but kep in mind the other users that you share files with and what they use.
    
    Click “Next” when you have completed your selections.
12. Your program is now ready to be installed.
    Click “Next”
    
13. The following screen appears while the program is copying all the files across. This may take some time, so be patient and don’t close anything.
    
14. Your installation is complete when you see the following screen.
    Click Finish and you can now start using OpenOffice for all your word processing, spreadsheet and presentation needs.
    I recommend starting the program at least once to verify that the installation was successful [It has other uses as well, but we’ll discover them later]

Cleaning Up

Remember the temporary files from step 4? Well unfortunately OpenOffice doesn’t remove them. You can delete them manually afterwards to save disk space, or leave them there in case you want to add or remove features from your installation.

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