Open Office database functionality...
So I have a speadsheet with address information and I want to put it in a database so I can print and organize mailing labels... piece of cake, no? I know how to do it in MS Office, but I'm using Open Office, the open-source alternative. I like OO, but the way you accomplish things is sometimes unexpected, and I'm not that facile with it.
So, I look for an import. None found. I search in the help and don't find anything, and I google and find instructions for writing a Python script to import data..huh..that's wierd. I'm in the middle of complaining to KatyBeth, who I sometimes whine about technology to, when she suggests exporting it from the spreadsheet to something useful. That's sounds promising, so I try...no joy - nothing I can get the database component to open.
But I do another Google search using moderately different words, since my goal is now slightly altered...and I find a page with a tutorial for importing data into OO's database. It notes that a db program you can't import data to would be pretty useless (Uhm...YEAH...)
It turns out you copy the rows and columns you want, including the column-headers, and you paste it into the "new table" area in the database component, which brings up a pretty efficient wizard. A fairly elegant solution, actually. I found this gem at the end of the tutorial:
This is a pretty straightforward approach -- once you know about it, of course. I think something along the lines of, oh, an option called Import under the Tools or File menu would have been nice; let's hope it'll be in the next version.
Ya THINK?!
So, I look for an import. None found. I search in the help and don't find anything, and I google and find instructions for writing a Python script to import data..huh..that's wierd. I'm in the middle of complaining to KatyBeth, who I sometimes whine about technology to, when she suggests exporting it from the spreadsheet to something useful. That's sounds promising, so I try...no joy - nothing I can get the database component to open.
But I do another Google search using moderately different words, since my goal is now slightly altered...and I find a page with a tutorial for importing data into OO's database. It notes that a db program you can't import data to would be pretty useless (Uhm...YEAH...)
It turns out you copy the rows and columns you want, including the column-headers, and you paste it into the "new table" area in the database component, which brings up a pretty efficient wizard. A fairly elegant solution, actually. I found this gem at the end of the tutorial:
This is a pretty straightforward approach -- once you know about it, of course. I think something along the lines of, oh, an option called Import under the Tools or File menu would have been nice; let's hope it'll be in the next version.
Ya THINK?!