Translations by coldnew

There are a wide variety of office applications available for Xubuntu that allow you to create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, and even to design publications.

Some of these applications are included by default in Xubuntu while others can be easily installed using <application>Synaptic</application>.

The default office suite in Xubuntu is <application>GNOME Office</application>. The applications in this suite are generally lighter and faster than the programs in the <application>OpenOffice.org suite</application>, and have fewer features as a result. But this may be exactly what you want. The suite has excellent compatibility with other major Office suites, such as Microsoft Office.

The <application>GNOME Office suite</application> includes the following software:

A spreadsheet application (<application>Gnumeric</application>);

The <application>OpenOffice.org</application> suite includes the following applications:

Writer – a word processor you can use for anything from writing a quick letter to producing an entire book. It can be started with <menuchoice><guimenu>Applications</guimenu><guisubmenu>Office</guisubmenu><guimenuitem>OpenOffice.org Word Processor</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.

Spreadsheet – a powerful spreadsheet with all the tools you need to calculate, analyse, and present your data in numerical reports or sizzling graphics. It can be started with <menuchoice><guimenu>Applications</guimenu><guisubmenu>Office</guisubmenu><guimenuitem>OpenOffice.org Spreadsheet</guimenuitem></menuchoice>

For more details about the OpenOffice.org suite, visit <ulink url="http://www.openoffice.org">OpenOffice.org homepage</ulink>.

GnuCash Accounting Application

<application>GnuCash</application> is a program to manage your personal or business finances. <application>GnuCash</application> lets you track bank accounts, stocks, income and expenses. As quick and intuitive as a checkbook register, it is based on professional accounting principles to ensure balanced books and accurate reports.

For more information visit the <ulink url="http://gnucash.org/">GnuCash Web site</ulink>

Install the <application>gnucash</application> package from the <quote>Universe</quote> repository (see <link linkend="add-applications">Add Applications</link>).

To start <application>GnuCash</application>, choose <menuchoice><guimenu>Applications</guimenu><guisubmenu>Office</guisubmenu><guimenuitem>GnuCash Finance Management</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.

<application>Scribus</application> is a professional desktop publishing program. For more information, see the <ulink url="http://www.scribus.net/">Scribus website</ulink>.

Install the <application>scribus</application> package (see <link linkend="add-applications">Add Applications</link>).

You will need to use <application>Synaptic Package Manager</application> to install this package

To start <application>Scribus</application>, choose <menuchoice><guimenu>Applications</guimenu><guisubmenu>Office</guisubmenu><guimenuitem>Scribus</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.

Sending documents to other people

Sometimes, you may wish to send a document to someone who is using a different operating system, such as <application>Microsoft Windows</application>. They may use an office application which is not capable of understanding the file formats used by the office suites available in Xubuntu. This can cause confusion if they find that they are unable to open the document you sent.

The solution to this problem is to save the document in a format which they can use before you send it.

The instructions for <application>OpenOffice.org</application> are as follows:

Open the document you wish to send using <application>OpenOffice.org</application>.

Select a location to save the file in, then press <guibutton>Save</guibutton>.

Select a location to save the file, then press <guibutton>OK</guibutton>.