The Annotation Tool

The idea to improve the annotation feature came from an editor who liked to highlight the text the notes are referring to. On the other hand we as authors were annoyed by the procedure of deleting large numbers of notes. It is possible to move from note to note via navigator, but each note has to be deleted individually. Result: a lot of unnecessary work.

The extension enables the user to create a note referring to a highlighted text - and to delete all notes in a document by one click in the menu.

Via this download link you get the current version of the tool in a package for easy installation. For the integration in OpenOffice.org just follow the instructions below.

To get the tool and documentation in German just go to our Notizen-Tool-Site.

We are looking forward to more localisations of the tool, f.e. in French.

Thanks to the users who already wrote us their problems and suggestions!

Nov 10 2006

- Bugfix: The text highlighting does not continue automatically now, if you write text directly after the extended note.

- Now extended notes can be set and deleted also in text tables, captions or similar text elements.

- Users who forget to select text for the highlighting are reminded by a dialog.

- The new file extension .uno.pkg is a zip archive that will be still supported, when the future file extension .oxt comes.

The integration of an update works via package manager (see below). You can identify the new file by the date, f.e. „AnnotationTool20061110). Use the „Remove“ buttons in the package manager to take out the old version.

In the future updates will replace old versions of extensions automatically.

Complete extensions like the Annotation Tool can be integrated easily in OpenOffice.org. Just save the zip-file, open a writer document and use the menu „Tools, Package Manager“. „Add“ the zip-file from your directories to „My Packages“. After a restart of OpenOffice.org you will find a new item „Addons“ in the top level menu.

Dialog of the Package Manager: AnnotationTool installed

To create the highlighting just select the textpassage via mouse before you choose the menu „Addons, Extended Notes, Insert extended Note“. The note will be inserted at the end of the selected text. The textinput for the note you perform as usual in a dialog. To put in a multiline note just press enter for a linebreak.

Selected textpassage and dialog for text input

Afterwards highlighting and note appear together in your writer document. To delete all notes you use the menu „Addons, Extended Notes, Delete all Notes“.

The extended note and the new extensions menu