Drawing a Straight Line

Getting Started with OpenOffice 4

Chapter 6: Getting Started with Draw

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• What is Draw?
• Parts of the main Draw window
• Choosing and defining colors
• Positioning objects with Snap functions
• Positioning objects with guiding lines
• The basic drawing shapes
  • Drawing a straight line
  • Drawing an arrow
  • Choosing line endings
  • Drawing a rectangle or square
  • Drawing a circle or ellipse
  • Drawing curves
  • Writing text
  • Gluepoints and connectors
• Drawing geometric shapes
• Selecting objects
• Moving and dynamically adjusting an object’s size
• Editing objects
• Using styles
• Special effects
• Combining multiple objects
• Aids for positioning objects
• Inserting and editing pictures
• Working with 3D objects
• Exporting graphics
• Adding comments to a drawing

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Drawing a Straight Line

Click on the Line icon on the Drawing toolbar and position the mouse pointer where you want to start the line. Drag the mouse while keeping the button pressed. Release the mouse button at the point where you want to end the line.

A selection handle appears at each end of the line, showing that this is the currently selected object.

Figure 145: Drawing a straight line

To restrict the angle of the line to a multiple of 45 degrees (0, 45, 90, 135, and so on), hold down the  ⇧ Shift  key while you draw the line.

To snap the end of the line to the nearest grid point, hold down the  Control (Ctrl)  key while drawing the line.

To extend the line symmetrically in both directions from the starting point, hold down the Alt key while drawing the line. To change line attributes (for example, the color or line type), select the line by clicking on it, then use the tools in the Line and Filling toolbar or the Line panel of the Sidebar Properties deck; or for more control, right-click on the line and choose Line to open the Line dialog.