Incredible headache from OpenOffice.

[#basedcowboyshirt]

Since my school won't let me install an English version of PPT on my computer, I have to use OpenOffice. And after about 3 hours of googling and trying to get more than the two default backgrounds to work on it, I've still had no success.

.odp files are supposed to be compatible, and yet they just show up as white backgrounds. It seems like nothing is working.

I should clarify - I'm just trying to add some background templates to OpenOffice, which, for being such a seemingly simple task, seems mostly impossible.

[ame]

Did you try 'Save As...' and set the format to MS Office 2003 (or similar)?

[#basedcowboyshirt]

Did you try 'Save As...' and set the format to MS Office 2003 (or similar)?

MS Office backgrounds aren't compatible with OpenOffice, as far as I know.

[ame]

Ah, I see.  You are running OpenOffice, and trying to import the MS PowerPoint backgrounds?  Presumably the backgrounds are there because the Korean version of MS PowerPoint is present on your PC.

Is it really so hard to use Korean PowerPoint?  All you really need is to type your stuff into each slide, add some effects to make some of the text appear and disappear, then apply a template to make it look nice.  If you're doing anything more complicated then you are wasting your time.

[#basedcowboyshirt]

Ah, I see.  You are running OpenOffice, and trying to import the MS PowerPoint backgrounds?  Presumably the backgrounds are there because the Korean version of MS PowerPoint is present on your PC.

Is it really so hard to use Korean PowerPoint?  All you really need is to type your stuff into each slide, add some effects to make some of the text appear and disappear, then apply a template to make it look nice.  If you're doing anything more complicated then you are wasting your time.

No. I'm using OpenOffice, and trying to import OpenOffice backgrounds and templates from OpenOffice sources. And said OpenOffice files are not being recognized by OpenOffice. And for the first time in my life, Google isn't helping me in any way.

And yes, using Korean PowerPoint for someone who has absolutely zero experience with PowerPoint is pretty difficult.

[jgads]

Not the right solution but a "good 'nough" solution is to create your presentation in OpenOffice, save the file as a .ppt, open it in Microsoft PowerPoint and add you backgrounds then. It sometimes takes a bit of cleaning up when you open your OO presentation in PPT, but it works in a pinch.

[poppy]

If you ever have some free time or are desk warming play around with the Korean ppt.  It's not as daunting as it may seem.  When I came last year I had never used power point before, let alone trying to sort it out in Korean.  I just started playing around with it and figured out which buttons added animation, pictures etc.  Of course this year they gave me a new computer with an upgraded version and I have to figure it out all over again.  Until then good luck.  I found the open office power point difficult to use.

[#basedcowboyshirt]

If you ever have some free time or are desk warming play around with the Korean ppt.  It's not as daunting as it may seem.  When I came last year I had never used power point before, let alone trying to sort it out in Korean.  I just started playing around with it and figured out which buttons added animation, pictures etc.  Of course this year they gave me a new computer with an upgraded version and I have to figure it out all over again.  Until then good luck.  I found the open office power point difficult to use.

Hmmm. Okay. That's heartening. My powerpoints always look ridiculously amateurish because I basically only use the text and slop a picture in every now and then because that's all I've been able to figure out how to do. But I'll trust you on this.

[poppy]

When I first started I also found it helpful to look at other people's ppts (like some posted on here) and look at each slide and dissect them to see how they added animation etc.  I am not sure if I am being very clear but I learned a lot through doing that.

[#basedcowboyshirt]

When I first started I also found it helpful to look at other people's ppts (like some posted on here) and look at each slide and dissect them to see how they added animation etc.  I am not sure if I am being very clear but I learned a lot through doing that.

I've tried doing that, but I can never really figure out how to replicate it. Like, I can see all the parts and how they work, but don't know how to implement it myself.

Harumph.

[elzoog]

Since my school won't let me install an English version of PPT on my computer, I have to use OpenOffice. And after about 3 hours of googling and trying to get more than the two default backgrounds to work on it, I've still had no success.

.odp files are supposed to be compatible, and yet they just show up as white backgrounds. It seems like nothing is working.

I should clarify - I'm just trying to add some background templates to OpenOffice, which, for being such a seemingly simple task, seems mostly impossible.

When I downloaded OpenOffice, I ended up with more than 20 different backgrounds to choose from.

Having said that, the lack of templates is a very common complaint for OpenOffice Impress.   I recommend doing a google search on

Openoffice Impress templates

Then download whichever one interests you (you will find hundreds).

You could also make your own template (I did), but it's really hard work.

[elzoog]

When I first started I also found it helpful to look at other people's ppts (like some posted on here) and look at each slide and dissect them to see how they added animation etc.  I am not sure if I am being very clear but I learned a lot through doing that.

I've tried doing that, but I can never really figure out how to replicate it. Like, I can see all the parts and how they work, but don't know how to implement it myself.

Harumph.

Cowboy, take an object (by object I mean a text field, picture, or whatever) then look for "custom animation".   Select that, and then choose from the list of hundreds.

I seriously recommend, along with finding some templates, that you download an Openoffice tutorial.   An example of a website where you can get one is here:

http://www.tutorialsforopenoffice.org/

[#basedcowboyshirt]

When I first started I also found it helpful to look at other people's ppts (like some posted on here) and look at each slide and dissect them to see how they added animation etc.  I am not sure if I am being very clear but I learned a lot through doing that.

I've tried doing that, but I can never really figure out how to replicate it. Like, I can see all the parts and how they work, but don't know how to implement it myself.

Harumph.

Cowboy, take an object (by object I mean a text field, picture, or whatever) then look for "custom animation".   Select that, and then choose from the list of hundreds.

I seriously recommend, along with finding some templates, that you download an Openoffice tutorial.   An example of a website where you can get one is here:

http://www.tutorialsforopenoffice.org/

Thanks, zoog. I have no problems with OpenOffice when it comes to using animations, etcetera. I just have difficulty doing anything beyond the basics with PowerPoint all in Korean.

Those are some good tutorials, though.

I guess maybe I should have taken some IT courses instead of all the Philosophy and English I did. I couldn't used it

[elzoog]

Thanks, zoog. I have no problems with OpenOffice when it comes to using animations, etcetera. I just have difficulty doing anything beyond the basics with PowerPoint all in Korean.

Those are some good tutorials, though.

I guess maybe I should have taken some IT courses instead of all the Philosophy and English I did. I couldn't used it

I took a few IT courses in university.   To be honest though (and most IT people will tell you this) the only useful things about an IT course in a university are the basic ideas, and the piece of paper saying you took the class.  Most of the actual useful stuff is learned doing exactly what you are doing now (i.e. trying to solve a problem you actually want to solve and looking at tutorials).

As far as Philosophy, are you into analytical philosophy (i.e. something more recent than neo-positivism) or something like phenomenology?

I failed the two or three courses of philosophy I took in college, but philosophy is still sort of a hobby of mine.

[#basedcowboyshirt]

Thanks, zoog. I have no problems with OpenOffice when it comes to using animations, etcetera. I just have difficulty doing anything beyond the basics with PowerPoint all in Korean.

Those are some good tutorials, though.

I guess maybe I should have taken some IT courses instead of all the Philosophy and English I did. I couldn't used it

I took a few IT courses in university.   To be honest though (and most IT people will tell you this) the only useful things about an IT course in a university are the basic ideas, and the piece of paper saying you took the class.  Most of the actual useful stuff is learned doing exactly what you are doing now (i.e. trying to solve a problem you actually want to solve and looking at tutorials).

As far as Philosophy, are you into analytical philosophy (i.e. something more recent than neo-positivism) or something like phenomenology?

I failed the two or three courses of philosophy I took in college, but philosophy is still sort of a hobby of mine.

Well, I only identify with analytic philosophy. To me, continental philosophy is interesting, but I don't consider it to be as... I don't know - pleasantly scientific? as analytic. Phenomenology is interesting to me, but way too close to psychology for my tastes. I was was really, really into Berkeley and Reid. Empiricism is a treat.

[elzoog]

Well, I only identify with analytic philosophy. To me, continental philosophy is interesting, but I don't consider it to be as... I don't know - pleasantly scientific? as analytic. Phenomenology is interesting to me, but way too close to psychology for my tastes. I was was really, really into Berkeley and Reid. Empiricism is a treat.

Since this is off topic, if you are interested in discussing this further PM me.   After university (I went to a conservative Catholic university) I looked at arguments for atheism and found them more convincing than arguments for theism.   Theists seems to like to hinge their arguments on things like "You can't find God through a natural scientific process." or "You have to consider all the really sophisticated philosophy developed by all the sophisticated theologians before you can intelligently comment.".   But when I look at the "sophisticated arguments" they seem to always boil down to the same simple argument with a lot of unrelated fluff.

It seems that philosophy is a useful hobby.   I don't want to pay someone thousands of dollars to teach me how to engage in a hobby.

On topic though, I recommend for IT stuff in general, not just Openoffice, but anything, that the best way to learn it is to play with it yourself.   A university course will only tell you what might be something useful to try and what might be a waste of time, but even then, it won't really be very good for doing that either.   This is because by the time a university gets around to teaching something, it's already outdated.

It's a common saying amoung IT people that guys with university IT degrees are over-represented.   Guys that are actually competant (i.e. really know what they are doing) are under-represented.

[Arsalan]

Philosophy is interesting.  One of my undergrads is in Philosophy.  However at some point I understood what the arabs scholars used to say about it: "Philosophy is like following a stray camel."  Meaning you'll die before it does as it wanders aimlessly, and it will end up finding a new owner who ends up suffering the same fate, maybe a little further into the desert.

In any case, OpenOffice is actually rather powerful, but I'm having some difficulty understanding what problem you're having.  Are you unable to import themes?

Here are some themes:
http://www.presentationmagazine.com/free-open-office-impress-templates-91.htm

Here are some basic instructions:
http://marketing.openoffice.org/ooocon2007/presentations/template-how-to.html

[murakano121]

Since my school won't let me install an English version of PPT on my computer, I have to use OpenOffice. And after about 3 hours of googling and trying to get more than the two default backgrounds to work on it, I've still had no success.

If you have the Korean version of it, then it's pretty simple to add the English language onto it.

1) Go to isohunt.com or piratebay.org and download the SAME office version as your work computer. (Use MuTorrent to get the program)
NOTE: As you will be using the serial number your school uses, you are not actually stealing the program. You are just getting the English files.
2) Run the installation and choose "add or remove features"
3) Choose to install English
4) Go to Start>Programs>Microsoft Office>Microsoft Office 도구
5) Choose the one with the world and the A
6) Go to 일반 and change from Korean to English

That should do the trick. When you give up the computer you can change it back following the same steps.
*NOTE you will have to restart office to see the changes.

[#basedcowboyshirt]

Hey, thansk Mura. That's fantastic. I'll give it a shot.

Problematically, however, my school uses only pirated software, so I'm not sure if I can find a legit key. Could I just use a keygen?