Introduction

Apache OpenOffice 4.1 Draw Guide

Chapter 3: Working with Objects and Object Points

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• Introduction
  • Selection Modes
  • Changing the Selection Mode
  • Selecting Objects
    • Direct Selection
    • Selection by Framing
  • Selecting Hidden Objects
    • Arranging Objects
• Moving and Dynamically Adjusting an Object’s Size
  • Dynamic Movement of Objects
  • Dynamic Size Modification of Objects
  • Dynamic Size Modification of Objects with the Help of the Status Bar
  • Modifying an Arc
• Rotating and Shearing an Object Using the Mouse
  • Rotating
  • Changing Inclination or Perspective
• Setting Size and Position Exactly
  • Position and Size
  • Rotating Objects
  • Slant and Corner Radius
• Editing Object Points
• Another Way to Change the Form of Basic Shapes
• How Curves Work
  • The Edit Points Toolbar
  • The Three Kinds of Tangent
  • Examples

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Introduction

This chapter examines tools and functions with which you can modify existing drawings. All the functions apply to a selected object or group of objects, which can be distinguished by small colored squares or circles located around it. These points are called handles.

The handles form a rectangular frame that is just big enough to contain the object. When several objects are selected, the surrounding frame corresponds to the smallest rectangle that can contain all of them. This frame is called the selection rectangle.

If the Options bar is displayed (select View → Toolbars → Options to enable it, if it is not displayed), you can change the size of the handles using two buttons: Simple Handles shows the handles as flat squares; otherwise, they are shown in 3D. Large Handles increases the size of the handles. You can combine the two effects. Figure 41 below shows the location of the handles and other buttons.

Figure 41: Location of handles on the Options toolbar