Literary

LO has an extension for managing the open source literature management program Zotero [10]. Zotero is described as "a free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, cite, and share research." The Zotero LO Integration extension lets you add citations and bibliographical information to a document by referencing Zotero resources. After downloading and unpacking Zotero, go to the installation folder and run the application, as shown in Listing 2.

By default, the literature sources are located on the left side of the application below My Library. To add new sources while browsing, you need an add-on for your browser that you install from Zotero's website. In addition, you need to register (for free) in order to synchronize the literature manager. Enter your account details below Edit | Preferences in Zotero to activate the sync. Zotero will then identify books and articles while you are browsing, which you can add to the database (see the dialog box in the upper right corner of Figure 6).

Figure 6: Clicking on the Zotero add-on icon lets you synchronize literature references with your Zotero account.

Next, switch to LO Writer and click the Z icon in the form of a white sheet. You can now enter keywords to find the source for which you are looking. Press OK to confirm that you want to add the match to the database (Figure 7). Zotero must be open while you are using LO for the plugin to be able to access the database. Alternatively, you can manually enter or edit the sources in Zotero.

Figure 7: In the Zotero plugin, you can search for literature sources using keywords and paste them into the document by clicking on OK.

Math Jargon

TexMaths [11] adds LaTeX support to LO. As a prerequisite, TexMaths needs both LaTeX itself and a library like dvipng or dvisvgm to convert LaTeX equations into images. You need to enter the paths to the programs in the TexMaths settings. To create a formula, click on the Pi symbol and enter the LaTeX formula. There are selectors for operators, functions, and Greek letters, so you don't need to know the LaTeX syntax.

If you frequently work with LO Math, you might want to consider purchasing Dmaths [12]. The Dmaths plugin is available for about EUR12 and saves a huge amount of typing time when entering mathematical formulas in the body text. Dmaths is very extensive for a plugin, and claims less than two rows in the toolbar.

To format a formula as you would do with LO Math, type the formula first and then click the M icon to do the formatting. Integrals, totals, products, derivatives, and roots can be displayed. When parentheses are set, the Dmaths shortcuts F9 for curly braces and Shift+F9 for round brackets save time, and Dmaths automatically sets the matching closing parenthesis. In addition, Dmath's brackets automatically adapt to larger formulas such as integrals.

Dmaths not only extends LO Math, but it also supports drawing curves (Figure 8), two- and three-dimensional shapes, and coordinate systems. It also includes a function for the sign tables of derivatives that facilitate the reading of extreme values. In addition, Dmath's functions can be plotted and vectors and matrices can be quickly generated using appropriate input masks.

Figure 8: Dmaths can plot a curve if you enter the necessary information.

Conclusions

The extensions presented in this article add convenience and save time for LO users – especially school and academic users. LanguageTool even informs you of incorrect comma usage, and Zotero manages literature sources in a simple way. Dmaths assists with entering mathematical formulas, and CADLO helps you create mechanical drawings.