8. Download and Explore applications: Xmind, Scribus

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1 Aim: In this lesson, you will learn: Find an application for a given purpose. Explore the features and use it independently. 8. Download and Explore applications: Xmind, Scribus Tejas: During the weekend I visited my friend Gurpreet. His brother is preparing a brochure. He said that he is using a FOSS desktop publishing software. He also told us that he learnt to use the application on his own by exploring the features. What is FOSS? Moz: You have been using many FOSS applications like Open office suite for Text processing, presentations, spreadsheet, and also educational games and multimedia applications. Jyoti: Yes. We used all these applications for many purposes like project reports, presentations at competitions, holding game competitions. Tejas: The same application was available on all the computers in the lab. Our teacher downloaded and shared the application with us to be installed at home. Moz: You have already given two parts of the definition of FOSS. One is freedom to use the application for any purpose and the second is freedom to share application with others. There are two more parts to the definition. You already know what a program code looks like from BASIC. Jyoti: Yes. Moz: Similary applications are written in some programming language and this code is called source code. Now, suppose you want a feature in Open office word processor which is not there. Then you can modify the source code of word processor application to add the feature, and also distribute the modified application to others. Freedom to modify and distribute an application are the third and fourth part of the FOSS definition. FOSS concept Concept Free software is a matter of the users freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. More precisely, it means that the program s users have the four essential freedoms: 1. The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0). 2. The freedom to study how the program works, and change it to make it do what you wish (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this. 3. The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2). 4. The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others (freedom 3). By doing this you can give the whole community a chance to benefit from your changes. Access to the source code is a precondition for this. Jyoti: How do we know how to install and use the features of an application? Moz: Documentation for installation and using the features of the application are usually provided. Sometimes users of the applications put up some tutorials and solutions to some sample problems with the software. You will learn more about user forums later. 60

2 Using FOSS applications Installation Many FOSS applications are available for download. Based on the Operating sytem different distributions are available. (Ex: Open office is available for Ubuntu and Windows OS). For installing special user permissions are required. Info Documentation Is usually available for oo Installation oo Usage of features Other help links that can be searched for are, tutorials, sample problems and solutions and application output samples. Some applications may only provide the documentation under the Help menu. Troubleshooting For clarifications on aplication, Frequently asked question (FAQ) section is generally available at the application originating link. Queries can be uploaded at user forum of the application. Moz: Till now you have learnt from the lessons how to use the FOSS applications. Today you will explore the features on your own and complete the assignments in the following three FOSS applications. First let us start with Xmind. Explore Xmind XMind, is an open source brainstorming and mind mapping software application. Brainstorming is a strategy for generating ideas and a mind map is used to visualize, structure, and classify ideas. In a mind map the ideas that are generated during a brain storming session are arranged around a central idea or key word. 61

3 Xmind: Getting started zzuse the path Applications--> Office --> Xmind to open this application. It opens an empty workbook, with a placeholder for the central idea or topic. To rename the Central Topic, select it and type in the required name. Skill To add a Main Topic, select the Central topic and press Enter. (You can also use Insert option on the menubar to add a main topic) Select and rename the Main Topic1 as per the requirement. To add a subtopic press Tab key. To insert a topic in the: 1. Same level - Select a topic and Press Enter key 2. Sub-level - Select a topic and press Tab key Using Xmind Guidlines In the mind map, you can add: notes and pictures to your ideas boundaries to various sections Relationship lines between ideas A mind map for Inside a computer drawn using Xmind. Assignments: Using Xmind, draw a mindmap for the respiratory system in human beings. 62

4 Explore Scribus Show your creativity, by exploring Scribus, to design a page layout for a newsletter. This is a DTP application used to design page layout of the content. (Ex. News paper, Magazines, Brochures, Newsletters). An online manual is available at Scribus: Getting started Use the path Applications--> Graphics --> Select the required document layout, page orientation and size, margin size etc. Then click OK.name. The document is opened with the selected settings. To insert content : text or image, you have to insert a text of image frame. In a text frame you can insert only text, while image frame is for inserting images in the document. Skill Right click on the text frame to insert the text. You can type in or paste already typed text. You can even insert files into the text frame. Similarly, you can insert images into the image frame. 63

5 Using Scribus Guidlines For using the application: Keep all the content and images ready in a directory. Plan the design of the page. Text frames are required for content in text format and image frames are required for images. Check these and other options available under insert submenu. Populate the content that is text and images as per the design. Note that you may have to resize the images, font sizes etc. Assignments: What is the purpose of Scribus application? Name three page layouts that can be designed using Scribus. Design the newsletter page layout using the two sample formats given below. Use the content of Newsletter that you have prepared in the lesson 3. 64