Help! How Do I...

How many times have you had this thought while working in Open Office? I know I have. Well, now there is one definitive place to look for that help.

Solveig Haugland, an ex-Sun Microsystems employee and founder of her own consulting firm, GetOpenOffice.org, has written a definitive tome (520 pages!) on the open source office suite, "The OpenOffice.org 2 Guidebook".

Her website (http://openoffice.blogs.com/) also has plenty of goodies to go along with the book, including a copy of the book's Table of Contents, three free chapters, worksheets, tips and tricks advice, and a link to buy the book direct for $6 less than Amazon will charge you.

Why buy the book when there are so many guides and tutorials out there on the web that are as free as the software? Lots of reasons, some of which can be found in the Linux.com review.

• Hard Copy - Plain old paper is discounted a lot these days, but I for one LIKE to have a manual in my hands, something I can hold open on my lap while I try to perform the function it is walking me through without having to flip back and forth between windows. Plus, you can highlight it and dog-ear it like your favorite college textbook.
• Reliability - A brief look at her site will convince you that Ms. Haugland is fully qualified to write this book. Can you say the same for every free tutorial found on the web?
  
• Consolidation - This book puts it all in one place. You may find a great guide for using Writer, but the same author's or site's guide to Impress may leave a lot to be desired. Not only does this book consolidate information, it also consolidates cost, since, while a lot of the available guides are free, not all of them are, and at $10-$20 per program guide that can add up quickly.
• Index - Don't underestimate indexes! A LOT of the OOo resources on the web are unindexed and when you're in a hurry to find something, this is a major shortcoming.

Check it out - I plan to order a copy myself.