Cool Add-ins For LibreOffice & OpenOffice

By Khadis

It's an undeniable fact that Linux users vary from different homelands, different education and professional backgrounds, different cultures, different age, and even different gender. Linux users are using Linux tools and software for many activities, based on their needs and their background.

As two "common" software titles that are used by millions of people around the world, LibreOffice and OpenOffice are known to have thousands of helpful add-ins that will make our daily use much more easier and increase our productivity.

The following LibreOffice and OpenOffice add-ins may meet your needs for special purposes.

Qur'an in OpenOffice (QiOO)

QiOO was developed as a "copy" of the same add-in for MS Office Word, called Qur'an in Word. The main function of this add-in is to insert surah and/or verses of the Qur'an (the Koran) and their translation. Although its name is Qur'an in OpenOffice, it can also be installed in LibreOffice.

Unlike the Ms. Office version that can be installed by double-clicking the executable file, QiOO has its own method to be installed to your LibreOffice/OpenOffice. Here are the ways to install it:

First, download the installation package, then extract the all files to a directory, e.g. Documents. Install ScheherazadeRegOT.ttf font that is already included in the package by double-clicking on it.

Second, access the Tool > Extension Manager menu and click on the "Add" button to find out the location of your extracted add-in. Find out the QiOO-xxx.oxt file.

Third, after the QiOO is installed, restart LibreOffice/OpenOffice. After that, activate CTL (Complex Text Layout) from the Tools > Option > Language Settings > Languages > Enable for CTL (Complex Text Layout) menu.

Automatically, you'll find AlQuran menu on your toolbar. QiOO is installed ready to be used. Now, you can insert any surah and or verses, plus their translation (if needed) as easy as clicking on the name of surah and the number of verse.

For more Information, check out this website: http://code.google.com/p/qioo/downloads/list The file is a 728 KB free download.

Anaphraseus, a CAT tool

CAT, or Computer Aided Translation, is a tool that will help translators to translate their works by splitting paragraph/documents into smaller segments to make them easier to be translated. Actually, there are so many premium CAT tools that MUST be owned by professional translators. Unfortunately, the price is so expensive and mostly run under Windows.

Luckily, if you are new in the translation field, you can always rely on Anaphraseus to translate LibreOffice's/OpenOffice's supported files. Unlike any other stand-alone CAT tools, Anaphrasesus is planted into LibreOffice and OpenOffice as add-in.

Anaphraseus can be installed through the Tool > Extension Manager menu. Then, click on the "Add" button and point to the directory where you saved this add-on. Later, in the Extensions Software License Agreement window that appears, scroll down until the Accept button is on. Click that Accept button and restart your copy of LibreOffice/OpenOffice.

Using Anaphraseus is easy. Just open the document that you want to translate and click on Start Session button on your toolbar. You can always choose Setup to create new TM (Translation Memory). This TM will make your next translation projects much easier and faster, by auto-translating the same words, phrases, or even the same sentences inside the document. So, you won't need to do copy-paste or re-write them repeatedly. Next, to start translating, click on Translate icon and use Alt - Down Arrow to move to the next segments.

The only "bad side" of this add-on is that Anaphraseus can only help us to translate OpenOffice/LibreOffice supported file formats as it is running as an add-on for OpenOffice/LibreOffice. If you have other file formats that need to be translated, I suggest you to use OmegaT.

For more information, check out this site: http://sourceforge.net/projects/anaphraseus/ The file is a 249 KB free download.

Mathematic Add-ins

Occasionally in your life, you might need to write a complex math formula, create 2D or 3D objects, create a curve, or any other math objects. If so, then you need to install at least the following 2 math add-ins. Dmaths and iMath. Like other add-ins for LibreOffice/OpenOffice, they can be installed through the Tools > Extension Manager menu.

After installing them, a new toolbar will appear in your LibreOffice/OpenOffice. By using iMath, you can insert any mathematical function into your document.

While by using Dmaths, you can create 2D flat figures and 3D geometrical objects. You can put labels on each corner point (vertex), diagonal line, and even to make nets (e.g. cube net) But please note that Dmaths has components on its toolbar called Gdmath that is shown in German. If you don't know German, it will little bit hard to understand how to use this toolbar.

For more information, check out this site: http://extensions.libreoffice.org/extension-center/ The files, both free downloads, are 12.3 MB (dMaths) and 2.03 MB (iMath).