Word 2003 to Libre Writer - Comparison Chart

users
#1

Hi Folks,

MS Word has a comparison chart which shows you how to perform certain
tasks in Word compared to how you effect them in WordPerfect.

It's an easy chart to check (and learn) Word if you've been a WordPerfect user.

Ex. Ctrl/F8 will perform a certain task in WordPerfect but that same
task is done with different function key combinations in Word

I was wondering if anyone has come across a similar comparison chart
for Libre Writer and Word, especially Word 2003?

The chart would show how a task is done in Word and then next to it
would reveal how that task is done in Libre Writer.

Thanks so much,

Charles.

#2

I know that the creation of such a tool would take very important dev resources, but it would be a good tool to promote LIbO Writer.

But why to compare with Word 2003? As far as I know a big change has taken place with Word 2007 (or 2010?)/

#3

Hello,

sent also to [design] as I think this is where it pertains.

Hi Folks,

MS Word has a comparison chart which shows you how to perform certain
tasks in Word compared to how you effect them in WordPerfect.

It's an easy chart to check (and learn) Word if you've been a WordPerfect user.

Ex. Ctrl/F8 will perform a certain task in WordPerfect but that same
task is done with different function key combinations in Word

I was wondering if anyone has come across a similar comparison chart
for Libre Writer and Word, especially Word 2003?

The chart would show how a task is done in Word and then next to it
would reveal how that task is done in Libre Writer.

On the same goal and idea, I had suggested a *loooong* time ago on the French OOo lists to create a set of keyboard shortcuts that would help the MS-Word power users switching to Writer.

Beginners and standard users can switch quite easily. They haven't a thorough knowledge of the tool and usually just use the menus to get to the functionalities they need (argh!).

Power users have long understood that the keyboard is a tool of productivity. Thus, they use keyboard shortcuts widely. As Word and Writer have different sets of shortcuts (at least they had when I left MS-Word alone, a long time ago), it could be an interesting work to port the Word shortcuts into Writer. We could then offer an easy transition that would fill a big gap for these people, helping them to switch tools more quickly.

What do you think? Do I miss something?

Note that this is just an idea. I have to-day no clue to what the Word shortcuts are vs Writer ones.

#4

Yes, MS completely redesigned the user interface with Word 2007, so any
chart made for Word 2003 could be very different for one made for Word 2007.

I'm not sure how effective a chart would be, for LibO and Word, in many
ways, just think differently. LibO uses not only paragraph styles but also
page styles, which is a completely foreign concept to MS. So, it's not just
about hitting a sequence of mouse clicks in the right order; it's about
relearning how to create, edit, and format documents. There are typically
several ways to accomplish a task, and the LibO method that is most like
Word may not be the best way to get things done. To get the most out of
LibO, you might find yourself having to deliberately unlearn Word. To be
sure, you can find things in the Writer menu that are similar to the Word
menu, but the power of an office suite comes in learning how the program
thinks, which is working at a deeper level than simply selecting a font from
a drop-down box, etc.

Virgil

ps. Can someone "fix" the annoying feature of this list that you must hit "reply all" to send a reply to the list? I'm constantly sending out duplicates of my messages because my first one only went to one person. No other list I belong to has that behavior. My apologies to Dr. Stapf for the rerun.

#5

Hi Marc,

We had discussed this quite a while ago on the Marketing Team and Ron
Faile JR had developed a series of reference cards that could be adapted
for this. In fact we did adapt some of these for different booth
purposes. When the end product is folded it is formed into a triangular
prism that can sit on a desk in front of the keyboard. Have a look here:
http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Marketing/Reference_Cards

The reference cards may need checking as they were designed for
LibreOffice 3.3 and they still need to be adapted for A4 paper stock. I
still have one on my desk and the people I sent it to (educators who
tried it with students) said that it was well received by both groups.
It is really cool.

Unless I'm mistaken, the ref cards you're talking about are a different beast.

My suggestion is to have a configurable set of Writer shortcuts so that a Word power user finds his/her usual way of use without the need to learn yet another shortcut set.

(BTW, ISTR that I had a proposal for a A4 3-fold refcard.)

#6

When I wrote my comment I was not thinking about the change of a font, but getting something which helps to understand how Writer work and a support to "unlearn" Word. I am currently struggling with unlearning Word and Power Point.

#7

Hi:)
I think just working through the "Getting Started" guide helps hugely.  Pay special attention to the Styles chapter. 
wiki.documentfoundation.org/Documentation/Publications

I had to help someone tidy up a Word document yday and it was a total Pita.  Fortunately they are very unfamiliar with MS-anything so;
1.  They didn't do so many of the weirdnesses that people learn to use to really stuff-up their documents and make them unreadable to everyone that isn't using their system
2.  There is some hope of pushing them straight into using LO
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#8

Paying special attention to the Styles Chapters is definitely
    important; maybe the most important chapters to look at.A guidance for LibO beginners could help to move people from MSO to
    LibO. I observe that many people are sticking with MSO because with
    huge efforts they learned to use MSO (most often just very basics)
    and don't want to take an effort to learn something new without a
    good guidance.On 2012-11-14 20:38, Tom Davies wrote:
Hi:)I think just working through the "Getting Started" guide helps
        hugely.Pay special attention to the Styles chapter.wiki.documentfoundation.org/Documentation/PublicationsI had to help someone tidy up a Word document yday and it was a
        total Pita.Fortunately they are very unfamiliar with
        MS-anything so;1.They didn't do so many of the weirdnesses that people learn
        to use to really stuff-up their documents and make them
        unreadable to everyone that isn't using their system2.There is some hope of pushing them straight into using LORegards fromTom :slight_smile:
                    Comparison Chart
When I wrote my comment I was not thinking about the
                change of a font, but getting something whichhelps to understand how Writer work and a support to
                "unlearn" Word. I am currently struggling withunlearning Word and Power Point.On 2012-11-13 22:56, VA wrote:Yes, MS completely redesigned the user interface
                with Word 2007, so anychart made for Word 2003 could be very different
                for one made for Word 2007.I'm not sure how effective a chart would be, for
                LibO and Word, in manyways, just think differently. LibO uses not only
                paragraph styles but alsopage styles, which is a completely foreign concept
                to MS. So, it's not justabout hitting a sequence of mouse clicks in the
                right order; it's aboutrelearning how to create, edit, and format
                documents. There are typicallyseveral ways to accomplish a task, and the LibO
                method that is most likeWord may not be the best way to get things done. To
                get the most out ofLibO, you might find yourself having to
                deliberately unlearn Word. To besure, you can find things in the Writer menu that
                are similar to the Wordmenu, but the power of an office suite comes in
                learning how the programthinks, which is working at a deeper level than
                simply selecting a font froma drop-down box, etc.Virgilps. Can someone "fix" the annoying feature of this
                list that you must hit "reply all" to send areply to the list? I'm constantly sending out
                duplicates of my messages because my first one onlywent to one person. No other list I belong to has
                that behavior. My apologies to Dr. Stapf for thererun.-----Original Message----- From: Dr. R. O StapfSent: Tuesday, November 13, 2012 2:22 AMTo:users@global.libreoffice.orgSubject: Re: [libreoffice-users] Word 2003 to Libre
                Writer - Comparison ChartI know that the creation of such a tool would take
                very important dev resources, but it would be agood tool to promote LIbO Writer.But why to compare with Word 2003? As far as I know
                a big change has taken place with Word 2007 (or2010?)/On 2012-11-13 02:27, charles meyer wrote:Hi Folks,MS Word has a comparison chart which shows you
                how to perform certaintasks in Word compared to how you effect them
                in WordPerfect.It's an easy chart to check (and learn) Word if
                you've been a WordPerfect user.Ex. Ctrl/F8 will perform a certain task in
                WordPerfect but that sametask is done with different function key
                combinations in WordI was wondering if anyone has come across a
                similar comparison chartfor Libre Writer and Word, especially Word
                2003?The chart would show how a task is done in Word
                and then next to itwould reveal how that task is done in Libre
                Writer.Thanks so much,Charles.--For unsubscribe instructions e-mail to: users+help@global.libreoffice.orgProblems?http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/mailing-lists/how-to-unsubscribe/Posting guidelines + more:http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/NetiquetteList archive:http://listarchives.libreoffice.org/global/users/All messages sent to this list will be publicly archived
                and cannot be deleted

#9

WE do need to have some document comparing MSO [2003, 2007, 2010, and 2013] with LibreOffice as part of a Marketing Tool. We need to be able to show our users that what they are using MSO for, they can use LO to do the same.

There are many advantages in using LO instead of MSO, besides the price of the software, and we need to have some "official" list/document from LO/TDF that describes these advantages.

YES - I would like to see a chart comparing features with MSO. The last one I used was MSO2003, but we need to have LO compared to MSO 2010/13 as well. 2010 is the current version and we need to compare LO with MS's current package. It would be nice to get a MSO2013 beta and see how LO compares with that package.

I know that there are differences in the UI, but the functions are the important part. Import/Export filters. MSO does not have a Draw style package, as far as I remember. Things like that.

#10

Hi :slight_smile:
+1
They often seem to think it's going to take them just as long to learn LO as it took them to learn MSO.  Of course it takes a lot less time because most of the ideas are the same or similar.

I'm currently struggling with a lady that seems determined to use the space-bar instead of; tabs, indents, centre, right-aligned, columns, tables.  Most people have taken years to learn those sorts of things and seem to think they are going to have to re-learn all of that.

Today she protested that LO wasn't as easy as i had made out but my boss (an MS fanboy) stepped in and somehow told her nicely a better way = to do the typing first and then apply formatting afterwards!  Fantastic!! :slight_smile:

Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

________________________________
From: Dr. R. O Stapf <reinhold@stapf-online.com>
To: Tom Davies <tomdavies04@yahoo.co.uk>
Cc: "users@global.libreoffice.org" <users@global.libreoffice.org>
Sent: Wednesday, 14 November 2012, 14:05
Subject: Re: [libreoffice-users] Word 2003 to Libre Writer - Comparison Chart

Paying special attention to the Styles Chapters is definitely important; maybe the most important chapters to look at.

A guidance for LibO beginners could help to move people from MSO to

    LibO. I observe that many people are sticking with MSO because with
    huge efforts they learned to use MSO (most often just very basics)
    and don't want to take an effort to learn something new without a
    good guidance.

Hi:)

I think just working through the "Getting Started" guide helps

        hugely.  Pay special attention to the Styles chapter.

wiki.documentfoundation.org/Documentation/Publications

I had to help someone tidy up a Word document yday and it was a

        total Pita.  Fortunately they are very unfamiliar with
        MS-anything so;

1.  They didn't do so many of the weirdnesses that people learn

        to use to really stuff-up their documents and make them
        unreadable to everyone that isn't using their system

2.  There is some hope of pushing them straight into using LO
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

________________________________
From: Dr. R. O Stapf <reinhold@stapf-online.com>
To: users@global.libreoffice.org
Sent: Wednesday, 14 November 2012, 8:00
Subject: Re: [libreoffice-users] Word 2003 to Libre Writer - Comparison Chart

When I wrote my comment I was not thinking about the

                change of a font, but getting something which

helps to understand how Writer work and a support to

                "unlearn" Word. I am currently struggling with

unlearning Word and Power Point.

Yes, MS completely redesigned the user interface

                with Word 2007, so any

chart made for Word 2003 could be very different

                for one made for Word 2007.

I'm not sure how effective a chart would be, for

                LibO and Word, in many

ways, just think differently. LibO uses not only

                paragraph styles but also

page styles, which is a completely foreign concept

                to MS. So, it's not just

about hitting a sequence of mouse clicks in the

                right order; it's about

relearning how to create, edit, and format

                documents. There are typically

several ways to accomplish a task, and the LibO

                method that is most like

Word may not be the best way to get things done. To

                get the most out of

LibO, you might find yourself having to

                deliberately unlearn Word. To be

sure, you can find things in the Writer menu that

                are similar to the Word

menu, but the power of an office suite comes in

                learning how the program

thinks, which is working at a deeper level than

                simply selecting a font from

a drop-down box, etc.

Virgil

ps. Can someone "fix" the annoying feature of this

                list that you must hit "reply all" to send a

reply to the list? I'm constantly sending out

                duplicates of my messages because my first one only

went to one person. No other list I belong to has

                that behavior. My apologies to Dr. Stapf for the

rerun.

Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2012 2:22 AM
To: users@global.libreoffice.org
Subject: Re: [libreoffice-users] Word 2003 to Libre

                Writer - Comparison Chart

I know that the creation of such a tool would take

                very important dev resources, but it would be a

good tool to promote LIbO Writer.

But why to compare with Word 2003? As far as I know

                a big change has taken place with Word 2007 (or

2010?)/

Hi Folks,

MS Word has a comparison chart which shows you

                how to perform certain

tasks in Word compared to how you effect them

                in WordPerfect.

It's an easy chart to check (and learn) Word if

                you've been a WordPerfect user.

Ex. Ctrl/F8 will perform a certain task in

                WordPerfect but that same

task is done with different function key

                combinations in Word

I was wondering if anyone has come across a

                similar comparison chart

for Libre Writer and Word, especially Word

                2003?

The chart would show how a task is done in Word

                and then next to it

would reveal how that task is done in Libre

                Writer.

Thanks so much,

Charles.

--
For unsubscribe instructions e-mail to: users+help@global.libreoffice.org
Problems? http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/mailing-lists/how-to-unsubscribe/
Posting guidelines + more: http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Netiquette
List archive: http://listarchives.libreoffice.org/global/users/
All messages sent to this list will be publicly archived

                and cannot be deleted

#11

I think LO is easier to use than MSO2003. That was before the "Ribbon" UI was created. What I hated about MSO-2003-Word, was how long it took to be to the point where I could do anything. Then there were all these side-bar options that I could not get to stop showing up and slowing down my use of Word. LO, even at its slowest opening versions was faster to get to the point of typing/editing my document.

Yes, the UI is different than MSO and we need to see about some graphic/chart showing new users where the options are in the menu-bar. I know some packages show that type of thing in a printed sheet for new users. I had one for MSO.

A company called BarCharts, Inc. does a very good job creating quick study guides. I have some of their Math and Science laminated "QUICK STUDY Academic" sheets. I find that they were great for helping me with the formulas needs when I was substituting as a Math teacher. I have not bought any since the late 90's, but the company seems to have 5 or 10 times the number of titles since I bought the sheets from them.

Word 2010 sheet - http://www.barcharts.com/Inventory/Navision/9781423214526

This company has MSO guides, but no LibreOffice ones. It would be interesting if we could get such a quick reference guide sheet created for LibreOffice. The basics should not change over the various versions. The basic UI and menu option placements should not change [much] between lines either.

#12

Hi :slight_smile:
Just found this link again too.  Any good for inspiration for the wiki?
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#13

I just bought 3 sheets for BarCharts, Inc. [$22 USD]
Excel 2010
Word 2010
Word Tips & Tricks

Will see what they have decided was needed for their laminated quick study sheets.

Well, is seems that they charged NYS sales tax on their "Freight Out" i.e. shipping charge. Weird.

So in a few weeks I will have them and will see what they are all about. I MAY make low-res scans of them and send them to a few people to help me organize what LO has and can do. Low-res will do no good for printing and using, so it should be OK. I just want a few of us to have an idea on how these guides are setup and what can be included.