Arrangement of WORD and ODT files 寫作程式之排版比較

I have been writing on ODT file of Open Office software. ODT file is convenient in the sense that it provides automatic suggestion for vocabularies that you often key in. Take the word ‘miscellaneous’ for example. If you are typing on a WORD file, you need to key in each alphabet. On ODT, you key in m-i-s-c and the suggestion pops up immediately.

It is good for saving time, but at the expense of your spelling ability. It makes no difference for me; I usually have almost-perfect spelling when I put pen to paper.

Saving in WORD file is another function of ODT file. When I complete an English article, I can save in both ODT and WORD files. I send WORD files directly to clients because they prefer WORD to ODT.

You must pay attention when converting Chinese writing in ODT to WORD files. Such conversion sometimes ends up in untidy paragraphs and sentences in WORD. I have now learned the smart way. If I am writing a Chinese copy on ODT, I would copy and paste it on a blank WORD file. On the WORD file itself, I start working on its arrangement, including fonts and line spacing.

Computer is a tool helping our work; it is never perfect. It is the right way forward to be smart to try new ways and go the extra mile at work.

我一直以來多數使用 Open Office 軟體的 ODT檔案寫文章。這個軟體的好處就是自動英文拼法，也就是有些字寫得多了，它可以自動建議拼法。例如 miscellaneous，若使用微軟的WORD檔案寫文章，你必須逐個字母打出來，ODT檔案則在你輸入misc之後跳出一個建議的拼法。這個功能的好處當然是比較省時，壞處則是你的串字能力可能受到影響。這事情無法影響我，因為我提筆很少寫錯英文字。

ODT檔案其中一個功能就是可以讓你儲存 WORD檔案。例如寫了一篇英文文章，馬上儲存 ODT和WORD兩個檔案。客戶多數喜歡使用 WORD檔案，因此可以直接傳送給他們。

以上 ODT轉成WORD檔案的方法，若是處理中文文件就必須多加注意，因為字裡行間可能出現排版不整齊、文句或段落錯亂的問題。現在我也學聰明了，若使用ODT檔案寫中文文章，寫完之後整篇複製下來，打開一個空白的WORD檔案貼上，這才開始整理WORD檔案上面的排版。

電腦只是協助我們工作的工具，它並非萬能。隨時懂得變通，工作上多走幾步，才是正經。