Implementing the bracket notation system in OpenOffice.org
WORKSPACE
We’ll show you a universal system for marking changes in text documents; and along the way, you’ll get some practical experience with writing OpenOffice marcos.
The Changes feature in Open-Office.org is an essential tool for collaborative editing. Although it is easy to understand, this feature has a couple of serious drawbacks. First, Changes works best only when you are dealing with OpenOffice.org’s native formats. If your peers are using Microsoft Office, there is no guarantee that changes will survive back-and-forth conversion. And if your colleagues are using any other word processor, such as AbiWord, TextMaker, or KWord, you are completely out of luck. Secondly, the Changes feature is not the most elegant solution out there, and it can sometimes be quite cumbersome.
Fortunately, you don’t have to put up with these limitations. Instead, you can implement an alternative solution for marking changes in a document. This alternative is known as bracket notation. Although bracket notation is not a new idea, it is best explained and implemented by the people behind the Get Humanized blog [1].
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Fedora 43 Has Finally Landed
The Fedora Linux developers have announced their latest release, Fedora 43.
-
KDE Unleashes Plasma 6.5
The Plasma 6.5 desktop environment is now available with new features, improvements, and the usual bug fixes.
-
Xubuntu Site Possibly Hacked
It appears that the Xubuntu site was hacked and briefly served up a malicious ZIP file from its download page.
-
LMDE 7 Now Available
Linux Mint Debian Edition, version 7, has been officially released and is based on upstream Debian.
-
Linux Kernel 6.16 Reaches EOL
Linux kernel 6.16 has reached its end of life, which means you'll need to upgrade to the next stable release, Linux kernel 6.17.
-
Amazon Ditches Android for a Linux-Based OS
Amazon has migrated from Android to the Linux-based Vega OS for its Fire TV.
-
Cairo Dock 3.6 Now Available for More Compositors
If you're a fan of third-party desktop docks, then the latest release of Cairo Dock with Wayland support is for you.
-
System76 Unleashes Pop!_OS 24.04 Beta
System76's first beta of Pop!_OS 24.04 is an impressive feat.
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 is Available
Linus Torvalds has announced that the latest kernel has been released with plenty of core improvements and even more hardware support.
-
Kali Linux 2025.3 Released with New Hacking Tools
If you're a Kali Linux fan, you'll be glad to know that the third release of this famous pen-testing distribution is now available with updates for key components.

