There has been much written about how X11 is buggy in Leopard and there
are active efforts to fix this. Check frequently at
www.x.org/wiki/XDarwin for the most recent update and the commands you
need to download and install the patch at the command line in a Terminal
window. The file being fixed is Xquartz, and it is up to build 1.2a7
now. X11 installs by default in Leopard so you should already have it on
your Mac. (This wasn't the case in Tiger--it was an optional package on
the Install CDs.)
Once you have that tidied up, go to
http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/download/x11-104.html and get the
desired file (you choose either Intel or PPC). The installation is a
snap. There is no OOo 2.3 release yet dedicated to Leopard, but don't
worry--if you upgrade your X11 as above the Tiger version works fine.
Once you have the OOo 2.3 package copied to your Applications folder, I
suggest that you start X11 by clicking on the X11 icon in
/Applications/Utilities BEFORE trying to start up OOo. You can do a cold
start of OOo, but the start is sluggish and you may get a message box
advising "command timed out". Click okay and OOo Writer starts by
default. If you start X11 first and then OOo, it goes much faster and
there is no error box.
My set up is a little fancier. I have customized the X11 menu to add
items that permit me to start each of the OOo components directly once
X11 is started. Assuming that OpenOffice.org 2.3.app is in the
Applications folder, where it should best be, the commands are of the form:
/Applications/"OpenOffice.org 2.3.app"/Contents/MacOS/swriter (for Writer)
/Applications/"OpenOffice.org 2.3.app"/Contents/MacOS/scalc (for Calc)
/Applications/"OpenOffice.org 2.3.app"/Contents/MacOS/simpress (for Impress)
I assume the commands are similar for Base and Draw, but I don't use
them so I haven't set them up.
With X11 running I can choose whatever OOo app I want from the
Applications menu (I like to right click the X11 icon in the Dock) and
it pops up fast.
To get even fancier, I have set up my machine to start X11 on boot. Go
System Preferences, choose Accounts, select your profile, chose Login
Items, click on the + button, navigate to
/Applications/Utilities/X11.app in the box that comes up and select that
file to add to the list. When all is done, X11 will start with each
boot. This is not necessary, but I find it is a nice touch and provides
me quick access to my menu items in the X11 Applications menu if X11 is
running in the background all the time. I don't think it uses much RAM
when it isn't doing anything.
Thanks to the active efforts to fix X11 for Leopard, OOo works rather
well. Keep in mind this an X11 program, not a native Mac OS app, so the
windows and menus have a slightly different look and feel. But still the
interface is familiar and the software does what it is supposed to.
If working under X11 is not appealing to you, an alternative can be
found at www.neooffice.org. NeoOffice is a port of OOo that works
directly under the Mac OS. Keep in mind that it is NOT just a version of
OOo even though it looks and acts a lot like it. It is developed
separately from the OOo project. Moreover, the developers seem to imply
that this is an ongoing beta, and they caution about bugs and using the
software for life-and-death stuff. I get the sense that OOo 2.3 for X11
is a lot more stable, and working in X11 doesn't really take a huge
amount of getting used to.
I hope you enjoy working with OpenOffice on your Mac.
Les
John writer wrote:
I have Leopard Mac OS-- is it good to download your software?
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