On Thu, 13 May 2010 20:39:47 +0100, Orchid XP v8 wrote:

>>> For example, I asked Calc to draw a graph, and spent forever trying to
>>> figure out how to add a secondary axis. As far as I can tell, they
>>> just haven't got around to implementing that feature yet.
>> 
>> What do you mean by a "secondary axis"?
> 
> Have series 1 plotted against the Y-axis scale at the left end of the
> chart, and series 2 plotted against the (unrelated) Y-axis scale at the
> right end of the chart.
> 
> Come to think of it, I think I also had trouble plotting a bar chart
> with a line graph overlayed...

I think I did something like that recently, but I'd have to go look.

>>> I will say this: The chart options layout is superior to Excel. Far
>>> more logical grouping, options do what you'd actually expect them to
>>> do, etc.
>> 
>> That's one of the nice things about OSS development - when you reach a
>> critical mass of developers and get a good group of people who look at
>> user needs, you end up with software that can meet the needs of more
>> users and provide more options.
> 
> Linux used to be almost unusable. It's got a lot better... but now it
> seems to have plataued out again. So it's not just a function of being
> OSS.

Sure, it's not a function of being OSS, true.  But again, "almost 
unusable" isn't a helpful description.  My wife uses Linux daily.  I've 
used it for over a decade.

Linux isn't Windows:  Most people who say that Linux is "unusable" are 
expecting a free version of Windows.  It isn't, it's something different.

http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm

That's a pretty good article someone wrote a few years ago explaining 
this.

>>> Writer works for simple tasks. Sometimes it's quite frustrating trying
>>> to make it do what you want though. (I can't remember a specific
>>> example right now.)
>> 
>> There again, I don't have an issue with getting it to do what I want.
>> You may be running up against a learning curve (don't expect it to be
>> like MS Office, that's a starting point).
> 
> Oh, I *like* that it isn't like MS Office. It's just that certain things
> are either well-hidden or just not implemented yet.

Well, either that or you don't know how to use them and are too 
<adjective> to ask for help (proud, perhaps?).

>>>>> As I say, I sometimes use OO for fixing broken MSO documents. (MSO
>>>>> itself is apparently too stupid to do this.)
>>>> Indeed, I remember you mentioning that before.
>>> Trouble is, it tended to chew up the formatting slightly. (I tried it
>>> with files that weren't corrupted; same issue. It ate the company
>>> logo, for example.) I imagine this is something they're probably
>>> working on improving.
>> 
>> What version have you used?  Have you opened bugs on these issues?
> 
> To file a bug, I'd have to pin down exactly what it's doing wrong. Just
> saying "I converted this document once and the headers came out wrong"
> isn't going to help anybody. (Especially since I can't show them the
> document. It's confidential commercial property, after all.)

No, you don't really have to go to that extent.  Duplicate the document 
with a generic graphic and use that.   Most people *think* you have to be 
very specific about what the problem is (so specific that if you coded in 
the language, you could fix the bug), and that's not generally true.

Jim

Post a reply to this message