Documentation/UserGuide/Writer/Text

Working with text

Either the toolbars, sidebar and menus (normal and contextual) offer options to modify text. It is possible to modify the paragraph as a whole or the selected text with Format → Paragraph/Character or with a right click → Paragraph/Character. The available options are clear and will be discussed when talking about paragraph and character styles.

Both the Format menu and the right click offer an option to modify the page, adding for example headers and footers, page size, and so fourth. But it is important to note that these options only modify the corresponding page style: in Writer there is no direct formatting for pages, page formatting can only be done through styles. For this reason, we will leave the analysis about how to format pages to the corresponding section for page styles in this guide.

Numbered list and bullets

On the format toolbar there are two buttons that toggle numbered lists or bullets.

It is important to note that it is better to avoid the use of numbered list in numbered chapters. In another section of this guide we will see how to number chapters and give an outline to a document.

It is also possible to toggle the numbering on a particular paragraph pressing  F12 , while  ⇧ Shift  +  F12  toggles the bullets.

With the numbering or the bullets active, a contextual toolbar will be presented

The buttons, numbered on the screenshot, perform the following actions:

1. Numbering (can be used to change bullets to numbering)
2. Bullets (can be used to change numbering to bullets)
3. Disable
4. Promote one level
5. Demote one level
6. Promote one level with sub-points
7. Demote one level with sub-points
8. Insert an unnumbered entry
9. Move line up
10. Move line down
11. Move line up with all its sub-points
12. Move line down with all its sub-points
13. Restart numbering
14. Properties of the list

The options available when pressing the last button are the same available when editing a list style, so they will be discussed later.

The "sub-points" mentioned earlier are to give "levels" to a numbered list or bullet, building list like the following example

1. First
   1. Sub First
2. Second
   1. Sub Second
      1. Sub Sub Second

To change the level of one line in the list, it is possible to use button 4 and 7, or with the cursor at the beginning of the line  Tab ⇆  and  ⇧ Shift  +  Tab ⇆ .

Autotext

In an empty paragraph in a Writer document, write "dt" (without quotes) and press  F3 : a long paragraph with a sample text will be introduced (note: "dt" stands for "dummy text" and different acronyms may apply to non-English versions: use Edit → AutoText to see the one appropriate for your language). Now, type "fn" (again, without quotes) and press  F3 : a one row and two columns table will be introduced, with a Math object on the left cell and a variable on the other.

Both examples show what AutoText does and their use: to introduce a document snip previously defined in any place, using only an abbreviation and a keyboard shortcut.

Inserting an AutoText

The faster way to insert an AutoText is to use the abbreviation followed by  F3 . The problem with this method is the need to remember all the abbreviations and their functions.

With Edit → AutoText ( Ctrl  +  F3 ) we will have a list of all the available AutoTexts, but there is an easier method: Activating the Insert toolbar, we will have a button with a list of all the AutoTexts with their abbreviations: one click on the element on the list will introduce the autotext on the document

Defining an AutoText

In any document, select what you want to use for an AutoText. The content can be anything: text, tables, pictures, frames, sections... everything. With the content selected Edit → AutoText

If the AutoText contains a table, it is necessary to select at least one line before and one line after the table, otherwise only the content and not the table itself will go into the AutoText.

Under "Name" and "Shortcut" set a name and an abbreviation for the AutoText. In the box to the left choose where the new AutoText will be classified.

With the option "Display remainder of the name as suggestion while typing" enabled, Writer will try to guess if the user wants to insert an AutoText while writing so if you start to type the AutoText name Writer will suggest it, pressing  ↵ Enter  the AutoText will be introduced.

To the right of the window, the  Categories...  button allows you to create new categories to classify the AutoTexts.

Also to the right, the  AutoText  button shows a drop down menu with different options, like create a new AutoText.  Path...  defines where to save the AutoTexts.

From the options at the bottom of the page, the first two change how links are saved on the AutoText while the "Show preview" is only valid for existing AutoText: it will not work with new ones.

Editing an AutoText

On the same menu used to create the AutoText, it is possible to select an existing one from the list: the  AutoText...  button now offers the possibility to modify or even eliminate the AutoText.

Selecting Edit, a document will be opened with the AutoText. It is enough to modify that document and save it.

The changes will apply only to AutoTexts inserted after the modification, AutoText already inserted will not be changed