Using Apache OpenOffice's Drawing Tools

Getting Started with OpenOffice 4

Chapter 10: Graphics, the Gallery, and Fontwork

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• Introduction
• Adding images to a document
• Modifying and positioning graphics
• Managing the gallery
• Creating an image map
• Using Apache OpenOffice’s drawing tools
• Using Fontwork

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Using Apache OpenOffice's Drawing Tools

You can use Apache OpenOffice's drawing tools to create graphics such as simple diagrams using rectangles, circles, lines, text, and other predefined shapes. You can also group several drawing objects to make sure they maintain their relative position and proportion.

You can place the drawing objects directly on a page in your document, or you can insert them into a frame.

You can also use the drawing tools to annotate photographs, screen captures, or other illustrations produced by other programs, but this is not recommended because:

• You cannot include images in a group with drawing objects, so they may get out of alignment in your document.

• If you convert a document to another format, such as HTML, the drawing objects and the graphics will not remain associated; they are saved separately.

In general, if you need to create complex drawings, it is recommended to use Apache OpenOffice Draw, which includes many more features such as layers, styles, and so on.

Creating Drawing Objects

To begin using the drawing tools, display the Drawing toolbar (Figure 244) by clicking View → Toolbars → Drawing.

If you are planning to use the drawing tools repeatedly, you can tear off this toolbar and move it to a convenient place on the window.

1	Select	5	Free-form Line	9	Symbol Shapes	13	Stars
2	Line	6	Text	10	Block arrows	14	Points
3	Rectangle	7	Callouts	11	Flowcharts	15	Fontwork Gallery
4	Ellipse	8	Basic Shapes	12	Callouts	16	From File
						17	Extrusion On/Off
Figure 244: The Drawing toolbar

To use a drawing tool:

1. Click in the document where you want the drawing to be anchored. You can change the anchor later, if necessary.
2. Choose the tool from the Drawing toolbar (Figure 244). The mouse pointer changes to a drawing-functions pointer .
3. Move the cross-hair pointer to the place in the document where you want the graphic to appear and then click and drag to create the drawing object. Release the mouse button. The selected drawing function remains active, so you can draw another object of the same type.
4. To cancel the selected drawing function, press the  Esc  key or click on the Select icon (the arrow) on the Drawing toolbar.
5. You can now change the properties (fill color, line type and weight, anchoring, and others) of the drawing object using either the Drawing Object Properties toolbar (Figure 245) or the choices and dialogs reached by right-clicking on the drawing object.

Set or Change Properties for Drawing Objects

To set the properties for a drawing object before you draw it:

1. On the Drawing toolbar (Figure 244), click the Select tool.
2. On the Drawing Object Properties toolbar (Figure 245), click on the icon for each property and select the value you want for that property.
3. For more control, or to define new attributes, you can click on the Area or Line icons on the toolbar to display detailed dialogs.

1	Line	5	Line Color	9	To Foreground	13	Alignment
2	Arrow Style	6	Area	10	To Background	14	Change Anchor
3	Line Style	7	Area Style / Filling	11	Bring to Front	15	Ungroup
4	Line Width	8	Rotate	12	Send to Back	16	Group
Figure 245: Drawing Object Properties toolbar

The default you set applies to the current document and session. It is not retained when you close the document or close Writer, and it does not apply to any other document you open. The defaults apply to all the drawing objects except text objects.

To change the properties for an existing drawing object:

1. Select the object.
2. Continue as described above.

You can also specify the position and size, rotation, and slant and corner radius properties of the drawing object:

1. Right-click on the drawing object and then choose Position and Size from the pop-up menu. The Position and Size dialog is displayed.
2. Choose any properties, as required.

Many of the tools to change the Area, Line, and Position and Size of objects are available in the Properties deck of the Sidebar once the object is drawn, and it is selected.

Resizing a Drawing Object

An object is resized similarly to an image. Select the object, click on one of the eight handles around it and drag it to its new position. For a scaled resizing, select one of the corner handles and keep the  ⇧ Shift  key pressed while dragging the handle to its new position.

For more sophisticated control of the size of the object, choose Format → Object → Position and Size from the menu bar. Use the Position and Size dialog to set the width and height independently. If the Keep ratio option is selected, then the two dimensions change so that the proportion is maintained, allowing for a scaled resizing.

Grouping Drawing Objects

To group drawing objects:

1. Select one object, then hold down the  ⇧ Shift  key and select the others you want to include in the group. The bounding box expands to include all the selected objects.
2. With the objects selected, choose Format → Group → Group (in Draw the menu is Modify → Group) from the menu bar or right-click and choose Group → Group (in Writer and Calc) or Group (in Impress and Draw) from the pop-up menu.

You cannot include an embedded or linked graphic in a group with drawing objects.