In the list of options, locate the one labeled Application Background and use the drop-down menu to choose a color. In the left hand panel, expand and click on Appearance. To make the Writer background look more like Word (or to use any other color you desire), click on Tools>Options to open the Options window. Word uses a much friendlier blue that is cheerful. Not only is this drab, but staring at it for a long time can make the rest of the application disappear into a gray fog. OpenOffice Writer uses a dull, medium gray background under the document. Click the OK button, close the Spelling window, and you are done.Ĥ – Change Application Background in OpenOffice Writer This time, check the box next to Check Grammar As You Type. To turn this feature on, follow the same procedure above for turning on spell checking. Second only to Check Spelling As You Type, the Check Grammar As You Type feature often saves authors at all levels from making grammatical and sentence structure errors in their writing. Click the OK button, close the Spelling window, and you are done.ģ – Check Grammar as you Type in OpenOffice Writer In the area labeled Options, check the option titled Check Spelling As You Type. On the Spelling window, click on the Options button. To turn it one, click on Tools>Spelling and Grammar. One of the most important and useful features in Microsoft Word is seeing those red squiggly lines that tell you when you’ve misspelled a word. Remember that the text boundary does not print it is only an element in the program to help you see how the application lays out your document.Ģ – Check Spelling as you Type in OpenOffice Writer If you want to see the text boundary again, click on View>Text Boundaries a second time and it will appear again. This command turns the text boundary off and on. To hide the text boundary in Writer, click on View>Text Boundaries. Microsoft Word does not have a boundary that indicates in which area text will appear in the document. 1 – Hide Text Boundaries in OpenOffice Writer

Making these five changes can help you enjoy the benefits of Writer without losing the look and feel of Word. For example, you can hide text boundaries, turn on check spelling as you type, turn on check grammar as you type, change the application background color, and change the appearance of the toolbar buttons. There’s no way to simulate the Ribbon in OpenOffice Writer but there are other things you can do to make Writer look and function more like Microsoft Word.

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