Operation Manual

lines and arrows. Alternatively, go to View > Toolbars > Arrows to open the Arrows toolbar as a
floating toolbar (Figure 171). The icon for the tool used most recently will be shown on the Drawing
toolbar to make it easier to use the same tool again.
After drawing the line, you can change the arrow style by clicking on the Arrowheads icon in
the Line and Filling toolbar and select the arrow start and end options.
Figure 171: Arrows toolbar and available tools
Drawing rectangles or squares
Drawing a rectangle is similar to drawing a straight line. Click on the Rectangle icon in the
Drawing toolbar or the Insert Shapes sub-section in Sidebar Properties. As you draw the rectangle
with the mouse cursor, the rectangle appears with its bottom right corner attached to the cursor.
Squares are rectangles with all sides of equal length. To draw a square, click on the Rectangle
icon and hold down the Shift key whilst you draw a square.
Note
If the option When creating or moving objects has been selected in Tools > Options >
LibreOffice Draw > General, the action of the Shift key is reversed. When the
Rectangle tool is selected, a square is drawn. To draw a rectangle, you have to press
the Shift key when drawing. This Shift key reversal also applies when drawing ellipses
and circles.
To draw a rectangle or square from its center rather than the bottom right corner, position your
cursor on the drawing, press the mouse button and then hold down the Alt key while dragging with
the cursor. The rectangle or square uses the start point (where you first clicked the mouse button)
as the center.
Drawing circles or ellipses
To draw an ellipse (also called an oval), click on the Ellipse icon on the Drawing toolbar or the
Insert Shapes sub-section in Sidebar Properties. A circle is an ellipse with both axes the same
length. To draw a circle, click on the Ellipse icon and hold down the Shift key whilst you draw a
circle.
Chapter 7 Getting Started with Draw | 197