LibreOffice 4.
Copyright This document is Copyright © 2015 by the LibreOffice Documentation Team. Contributors are listed below. You may distribute or modify it under the terms of either the GNU General Public License (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html), version 3 or later, or the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), version 4.0 or later. All trademarks in this guide belong to their legitimate owners.
Contents Copyright..................................................................................................................................... 2 Contributors............................................................................................................................. 2 Feedback................................................................................................................................ 2 Acknowledgments................................................................
Connectors............................................................................................................................ 40 Drawing geometric shapes........................................................................................................ 41 Basic shapes......................................................................................................................... 41 Symbol shapes............................................................................................
Formatting fill area..................................................................................................................... 76 Line and Filling toolbar.......................................................................................................... 77 Sidebar.................................................................................................................................. 78 Area dialog.....................................................................................
Inserting............................................................................................................................... 116 Embedding.......................................................................................................................... 117 Linking................................................................................................................................. 117 Scanning......................................................................................
3D effects............................................................................................................................ 146 3D-Settings toolbar editing.................................................................................................. 155 Combining 3D objects.............................................................................................................. 155 Chapter 8 Connections, Flowcharts, and Organization Charts..................................
Directly as PDF................................................................................................................... 200 Controlling PDF content and quality.................................................................................... 200 Other formats...................................................................................................................... 200 Web pages............................................................................................................
Opening menus and menu items......................................................................................... 237 Accessing menu commands................................................................................................ 237 Accessing toolbar commands..............................................................................................238 Navigating and selecting with the keyboard........................................................................ 238 Controlling dialogs....
Preface
Who is this book for? Anyone who wants to get up to speed quickly with LibreOffice Draw will find this guide valuable. You may be new to drawing software, or you may be familiar with another program. What is in this book? This book introduces the main features of LibreOffice Draw. Draw is a vector graphics drawing tool, although it can also perform some operations on raster graphics (pixels) such as photographs. Using Draw, you can quickly create a wide variety of graphical images.
Table 1: Free support for LibreOffice users Free LibreOffice support Ask LibreOffice Questions and answers from the LibreOffice community http://ask.libreoffice.org/en/questions/ Documentation User guides, how-tos, and other documentation. http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/documentation/ https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Documentation/Publications FAQs Answers to frequently asked questions http://wiki.documentfoundation.
2) On a Mac operating system, go to LibreOffice > Preferences > View on the main menu bar to open the dialog for view options. 3) In User interface > Icon size and style select Galaxy from the options available in the drop down list. 4) Click OK to save your settings and close the dialog. Note Some Linux operating systems, for example Ubuntu, include LibreOffice as part of the installation and may not include the Galaxy icon set.
Figure 1: Dialog showing common controls In most cases, you can interact only with the dialog (not the document itself) as long as the dialog remains open. When you close the dialog after use (usually, clicking OK or another button saves your changes and closes the dialog), then you can again work with your document. Some dialogs can be left open as you work, so you can switch back and forth between the dialog and your document. An example of this type is the Find & Replace dialog.
Frequently asked questions How is LibreOffice licensed? LibreOffice is distributed under the Open Source Initiative (OSI) approved Mozilla Public License (MPL). The MPL license is available from http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/2.0/. May I distribute LibreOffice to anyone? Yes. How many computers may I install it on? As many as you like. May I sell it? Yes. May I use LibreOffice in my business? Yes.
Chapter 1 Introducing Draw
Introduction Draw is a vector graphics drawing tool, although it can also perform some operations on raster graphics (pixels) such as photographs. Using Draw, you can quickly create a wide variety of graphical images. Vector graphics store and display a picture as simple geometric elements such as lines, circles, and polygons rather than as a collection of pixels (picture elements or points on the screen). This permits simpler storage and supports precise scaling of the picture elements.
Figure 2: LibreOffice Draw workspace Pages Pane You can split drawings in Draw over several pages. Multi-page drawings are used mainly for presentations. The Pages Pane, on the left side of the Draw workspace in Figure 2, gives an overview of the pages that you create. If the Pages Pane is not visible on your setup, you can enable it by going to View > Page Pane on the main menu bar. To make changes to the page order, just drag and drop one or more pages into a new position.
Styles and Formatting Clicking on the Styles and Formatting icon opens the Styles and Formatting section of the Sidebar showing the image styles that are available for a selected object in your drawing. Here you can edit and apply image styles. When you edit a style, the changes are automatically applied to all of the elements formatted with this style in your drawing.
Figure 4: Ruler units The page margins in the drawing area are also represented on the rulers. You can change the margins directly on the rulers by dragging them with the mouse. The margin area is indicated by the grayed out area on the rulers as shown in Figure 3. To modify the measurement units of the rulers, which can be defined independently, right-click on the desired ruler, as illustrated for the horizontal ruler in Figure 4.
Figure 5: Draw status bar • Unsaved changes are indicated whenever any change is made to the document but not yet saved to disk. • Digital signature indicates if the document has been digitally signed. A double-click or right-click in this area opens the Digital Signatures dialog. A document must be saved at least once before it can be digitally signed. After a document is digitally signed, an indicator appears in this area.
You can also select the icons or buttons that you want to appear on toolbars. To change the visible icons or buttons on any toolbar, right-click in an empty area on the toolbar and select Visible Buttons from the context menu. Visible icons or buttons are indicated by a shaded outline around the icon as shown by the icons in Figure 6. Click on an icon to hide or show it in the toolbar.
Figure 11: Options toolbar Options toolbar Use the Options toolbar (Figure 11) to activate or deactivate various drawing aids. The Options toolbar is not displayed by default. To display it, go to View > Toolbars > Options on the main menu bar. The tools available on this toolbar are shown in Figure 11 and described in greater detail in other chapters of this Draw Guide. Floating and moving toolbars Available toolsets Many icons have a small triangle pointing downward to the right side of the icon.
Note When a toolset is made into a floating toolbar, the icon on the existing toolbar remains in the toolbar and always shows the last tool you used. This means that the icon you see on your screen may differ from the icon shown in this guide. Tip When you double-click on an icon on a toolbar, the command corresponding to that icon will become active and remain active. You can then repeat this action as often as you like. To exit from this mode, press the Esc key or click on another icon.
Figure 14: Customize dialog – Toolbars page 5) Click Toolbar and select how you want the toolbar to appear in Draw from the context menu – Icons Only, Text Only, Icons & Text, or Restore Default Settings. 6) Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog. For more information when adding a new function, or modifying a toolbar, see the Getting Started Guide. Choosing and defining colors The Color dialog (Figure 15) displays the current color palette.
Figure 15: Colors dialog Figure 16. Area dialog – Colors page To load another palette, click on the Load Color List icon . The file selector dialog asks you to choose one of the standard LibreOffice palettes (files with the file extension *.soc). For example, web.soc is a color palette that is adapted to creating drawings for placing in web pages. These colors will display correctly on workstations with screens capable of at least 256 colors.
Grid, snap, and help lines Draw provides a grid and snap lines as drawing aids and these can be turned on or off by clicking on the Display Grid or Display Snap Lines icons on the Options toolbar. The grid and snap lines are displayed only on the screen and are not shown on a printed drawing or when the drawing is used in another LibreOffice module. The color, spacing and resolution of the grid points can be individually chosen for each axis.
Chapter 2 Drawing Basic Shapes
Introduction You can create 2D and 3D objects in Draw. This chapter shows how to draw simple 2D objects. The following chapters describe how to work with and edit such objects. For more information on 3D objects, see Chapter 7 Working with 3D Objects. All shapes, whether they are lines, rectangles, or more complicated shapes, are called objects. This is common notation in vector drawing software. The drawing tools are found on the Drawing toolbar (Figure 17).
Figure 19: Tools available for Drawing toolbar Note When you draw a basic shape or select one for editing, the information area at the left side in the status bar changes to reflect the present action: for example Line created, Text frame xxyy selected, and so on. Straight lines A straight line is the simplest element or object in Draw to create. 1) Click on the Line icon on the Drawing toolbar and place the cursor at the point where you want to start the line (Figure 20).
Note This is the default behavior of the Shift key. However, if the option When creating or moving objects in the Snap position section of Tools > Options > LibreOffice Draw > Grid has been selected, the action of the Shift key is the opposite. Lines will automatically be drawn at a multiple of 45 degrees unless the Shift key is pressed. 5) Keep the Ctrl key pressed while drawing a line to enable the end of the line to snap to the nearest grid point. Note This is the default behavior of the Ctrl key.
Figure 22: Sidebar Line subsection Figure 23: Information area in the Status bar 9) While you are working with a line (or any other element), use the information field on the Status bar to monitor your activity. A description of the current activity or selection is shown when you are working with elements and Figure 23 shows two examples.
Arrows Arrows are drawn like lines because Draw classifies arrows as a subgroup of lines, that is lines with arrowheads. The information field on the status bar shows them only as lines. Click on the Line Ends with Arrow icon to draw an arrow. The arrow head is drawn at the end point of the arrow when you release the mouse button.
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. Start options are on the left and end options are on the right in Figure 25. Rectangles or squares Drawing a rectangle is similar to drawing a straight line. Click on the Rectangle icon in the Drawing toolbar.
Figure 26: Circles and Ovals toolbar Figure 27: Customize dialog 1) Go to View > Toolbars > Customize on the main menu bar, or right-click in a blank area in the Drawing toolbar and select Customize Toolbar from the context menu to open the Customize dialog (Figure 27). 2) Select the Toolbars tab to open the Toolbars page of the Customize dialog. 3) Select Drawing from the Toolbar drop down list and click Add to open the Add Commands dialog (Figure 28). 4) Select Drawing in the Category list.
Figure 28: Add Commands dialog Note The icon used to open the Circles and Ovals toolbar is still called Ellipse and is not to be confused with the Ellipse icon that is one of the default tools placed on the left of the Drawing toolbar. The new Circles and Ovals (Ellipse) icon appears on the Drawing toolbar with a small triangle to the right of it. Click on this triangle to open the Circles and Ovals toolbar (Figure 26).
5) When you have drawn the arc or segment you require, click again to complete the arc or segment. Curves or polygons To draw a curve or polygon, click the Curve icon on the Drawing toolbar. Click on the triangle to the right of the icon to open the toolbar (Figure 29). The Curve icon on the Drawing toolbar always indicates the last tool used and may not be the same as the Curve icon shown above. Hovering the cursor over this icon gives a tooltip of Curve.
If you selected a filled polygon, the last point is automatically joined to the first point to close off the polygon and fills it with the current standard fill color. A polygon without filling will not be closed when you end the drawing. Polygons 45° These polygons are drawn the same way as ordinary polygons above, but the angles between lines are restricted to 45 or 90 degrees when you create another point in your polygon.
Glue points are not the same as the selection handles of an object. The selection handles are for moving or changing the shape of an object, as described in Chapter 3 Working with Objects and Object Points. Glue points are used to fix or glue a connector to an object so that when the object moves, the connector stays fixed to the object. For a more detailed description on the use of glue points, see Chapter 8 Connections, Flowcharts and Organization Charts.
Drawing geometric shapes The icons for drawing geometric shapes are located on the Drawing toolbar and each geometric shape is explained in the following sections. Clicking on the triangle to the right of the icon opens a floating toolbar giving access to the tools for that geometric shape. The use of these tools for geometric shapes is similar to the tool used for drawing rectangles and squares. For more information, see “Rectangles or squares” on page 35.
Flowcharts Click on the triangle to the right of the Flowcharts icon to open the Flowchart toolbar for symbols used in drawing flowcharts. The creation of flowcharts, organization charts, and similar planning tools are further described in Chapter 8 Connections, Flowcharts and Organization Charts. Callouts Click on the triangle to the right of the Callouts icon callouts.
Chapter 3 Working with Objects and Object Points
Introduction This chapter looks at the tools and functions that let you modify existing drawings. All of the functions apply to a selected object or a group of selected objects, which can be distinguished by selection handles on a rectangular frame that is large enough to contain the object. Where several objects are selected, the frame around the objects corresponds to the smallest rectangle that can contain all of the objects. This frame is called the selection rectangle.
Arranging objects In a complex drawing, several objects may be stacked on top of one another.
Status bar The zoom controls are located on the right side of the status bar (Figure 41); these controls give you quick and easy access to zooming. Figure 41: Status bar zoom controls • • • • Click on the minus sign to reduce the zoom factor. Click on the plus sign to increase the zoom factor. Click and hold on the slide control and move it to increase or decrease the zoom factor. Right-click on the zoom percentage number and select a zoom factor from the context menu that opens.
• Automatic – automatic view layout displays pages side by side, as many as the zoom factor allows. • Single page – single page view layout displays pages beneath each other, but never side by side. • Columns – in columns view layout you see pages in a given number of columns side by side. Enter the number of columns. • Book mode – in book mode view layout you see two pages side by side as in an open book. The first page is a right page with an odd page number.
Moving and adjusting object size When moving an object or changing its size, check the left-hand area of the status bar at the bottom of the Draw window (Figure 44). From left to right, this area shows what object is selected, its position on the drawing in X/Y coordinates and dimensions of the object. The units of measurement are those selected in Tools > Options > LibreOffice Draw > General.
Figure 45: Modifying arcs Click on one of these handles and drag it to a new position to change the shape of the arc. Also, when click on one of these handles, a control point appears and the end of a dashed line. Click on the end of this control point to also adjust the shape of the arc.
If you press the Shift key while rotating an object, rotation will be restricted to 15° of movement. Note This is the default behavior of the Shift key. However, if When creating or moving objects has been selected in Tools > Options > LibreOffice Draw > Grid, the action of the Shift key is reversed: that is rotation will be restricted to 15° of movement unless the Shift key is pressed.
Figure 48: Position and Size dialog Figure 49: Position and Size on the Sidebar Chapter 3 Working with Objects and Object Points 51
Position and Size • Position – specify the location of the selected object on the page. – Position X – enter the horizontal distance that you want to move the object relative to the base point selected in the grid. – Position Y – enter the vertical distance that you want to move the object relative to the base point selected in the grid.
Figure 50: Position and Size dialog – Rotation page – Default settings – select where you want to place the pivot point. Default position is the center of the object. Changing the rotation pivot point is only valid for single use. The pivot point is reset to default settings when you close the Position and Size dialog. • Rotation – specify the number of degrees that you want to rotate the selected object, or click in the rotation grid.
• Corner Radius – you can only round the corners of a rectangular object. If this section is grayed out, then you cannot set a corner radius. – Radius – enter the radius of the circle that you want to use to round the corners. The larger the value for corner radius set, the rounder the corners of an object become. • Slant – slants the selected object along the bottom edge of the object. – Angle – enter the angle of the slant axis.
• Grid – specifies the settings for the configurable grid on your document pages. This grid helps you determine the exact position of your objects. You can also set this grid in line with the magnetic snap grid. If you have activated the snap grid but wish to move or create individual objects without snap positions, keep the Shift key pressed to deactivate this function for as long as needed. – Snap to grid – specifies whether to move frames, drawing elements, and controls only between grid points.
also applies to an ellipse (a circle will be created based on the longest diameter of the ellipse). When Extend edges is not selected, a square or a circle will be created based on the shorter side or diameter. – When rotating – specifies that graphic objects can only be rotated within the rotation angle that you selected. If you want to rotate an object outside the defined angle, press the Shift key when rotating. Release the key when the desired rotation angle is reached.
Changing color of grid points By default the grid points are gray and, depending on you display and computer setup, are not always easy to see. To change the color of the grid points, go to Tools > Options > LibreOffice > Appearance to open the Appearance dialog (Figure 54). In the Drawing/Presentation section, select a more suitable color from the drop-down list.
Displaying snap points and lines Displaying or turning off snap points and lines in your drawing can be done using one of these methods: • Go to View > Grid > Display Snap Lines on the main menu bar. • Click on the Display Snap Lines icon on the Options toolbar. • Right-click on your drawing and select Display Snap Lines from the context menu.
Changing form of regular shapes When drawing certain regular shapes, one or more dots are displayed in a different color to the selection handles when an object is selected. When the cursor hovers over one of these dots, it changes shape. Clicking and dragging on one of these dots modifies the shape of the object. For example, you can increase the corner radius of a rounded rectangle or square, change the angles of an arc, and so on. These dots perform different functions according to the shape selected.
Stars • 4-point star, 8-point star, 24-point star – use the dot to change the thickness and shape of the star points. • Vertical scroll, horizontal scroll – use the dot to change the width and shape of the scroll. • Doorplate – use the dot to change the inward curvature of the corners. Curves and polygons Bézier curves The editing of curves depends on the mathematics of Bézier curves1. Explaining Bézier curves goes beyond this scope of this chapter.
Edit Points toolbar Open the Edit Points toolbar (Figure 58) by going to View > Toolbars > Edit Points on the main menu bar. It will then appear whenever you select an object that is a curve or polygon and the Points icon on the Drawing toolbar. Available tools on the Edit Points toolbar will depend on the object selected and which object point has been selected. Figure 58: Edit Points toolbar Tangents Before you can use tangents on an object, you must convert the object to a curve.
Figure 59: Symmetric transition Smooth transition Smooth Transition converts a corner point or symmetrical point into a smooth point. Both control points of the corner point are aligned in parallel, and can only be moved simultaneously. The control points may differentiate in length, allowing you to vary the degree of curvature. 1) Convert the object to a curve and click on the selection handle where you want to place the tangent.
Figure 61: Corner point Tangent rotation You can alter the angle by which a tangent relates to curve by clicking on one of the end points of the tangent and rotating it with the cursor. As you change the angle of the tangent, the shape of the curve changes in response (Figure 62). Figure 62: Tangent rotation Points Moving points Move Points activates a mode in which you can move points. The cursor displays a small empty square when resting on a point. Drag that point to another location.
Figure 63: Moving points Inserting points Insert Points activates a mode in which you can insert points. You can also move points in this mode, just as in the move mode. If, however, you click on the curve between two points and move the cursor a little while holding down the mouse button, you insert a new point. The point is a smooth point and the lines to the control points are parallel and remain so when moved.
Figure 65: Deleting points Eliminating points The Eliminate Points icon only functions on lines with multiple points. These lines are created when a curve is converted to a line using the Convert to Curve icon on the Edit Points toolbar (see “Converting curves or lines” on page 66). The process of eliminating points from a line to create a straight line is shown in Figure 66. 1) Select a line with multiple points where the points have been converted to a line.
4) Make sure the Eliminate Points icon is active. The area around the icon becomes shaded when active. If it is not active, click on the Eliminate Points icon. 5) Accurately position the mouse cursor over the selected point, then click and start dragging the selected point. As you drag, a dotted line forms between the two neighboring points. 6) When this dotted line appears to be a straight line between the two neighboring points, release the mouse button.
Figure 68: Splitting curves Closing curves 1) Select an open and existing curve (Figure 69). Figure 69: Closing curves 2) Select a point of the curve. Note that the start point of a curve is larger than the other points visible on the curve. 3) Click on the Close Bézier icon to close the curve. If the open curve was originally a closed and filled curve, then the original color will fill the curve when it is closed.
Chapter 4 Changing Object Attributes
Formatting lines In LibreOffice the term line indicates both a freestanding segment (line), the outer edge of a shape (border), or an arrow. In most cases the properties of the line you can modify are its style (solid, dashed, invisible, and so on), its width, and its color. Line and Filling toolbar To quickly format a line using the Line and Filling toolbar (Figure 71): Figure 71: Line and Filling toolbar 1) Make sure the line is selected.
Sidebar To quickly format a line using the Sidebar (Figure 72): 1) Make sure the line is selected in your drawing. 2) Click on the Properties icon on the Sidebar, then click on the plus sign on the left of the Line title bar to open the Line subsection. 3) Use the various options in the Line subsection to format the width, color, transparency, and style of the selected line. 4) Select from the drop-down lists in the Arrow option to change the line into an arrow.
Line properties The Line page is where you can set the basic parameters of the line and is divided into four sections as follows. Line properties section Use the Line Properties section on the left side to set the following parameters: • Line style – several line styles are available from the drop-down list, but more line styles can be defined if necessary. • Color – choose from the predefined colors in the drop-down list or create a new color. • Width – specifies the thickness of the line.
Corner and cap styles section Corner and cap styles determine how the connection between two segments looks. To appreciate the difference between these styles, choose a thick line style and observe how the preview changes. • Corner style – select the shape to be used at the corners of the line. In case of a small angle between lines, a mitered shape is replaced with a beveled shape. • Cap style – select the style of the line end caps. The caps are added to inner dashes as well.
Figure 77: Line properties dialog – Shadow page Line styles Use the Line Styles page (Figure 78) of the Line dialog to create new line styles as well as to load previously saved line styles. It is normally better to create new styles when necessary than modify predefined styles.
5) Now define the new style. Start by selecting the line type for the new style. To alternate two line types (for example, dashes and dots) within a single line, select different types in the two Type boxes. 6) Specify the Number and Length (not available for dot style) of each of the types of line selected. 7) Set the Spacing between the various elements 8) If necessary, select Fit to line width so that the new style fits the width of the selected line.
Creating arrow styles To create a new arrow style: 1) First draw a curve in the shape you want to use for the arrowhead, or create a shape and convert to a curve. The top of the shape must face upward, as shown in Figure 80, because this becomes the point of the arrow. Note The arrowhead must be a curve, which is something you can draw without lifting a pencil from the paper.
Line and Filling toolbar Tools on the Line and Filling toolbar (Figure 71) provide a wide number of default fillings readily available to quickly format graphic objects. If this toolbar is not showing, go to View > Toolbars > Line and Filling on the main menu bar. To format the area of an object: 1) Select an object so that the selection handles are displayed. 2) Click on the left Area Style/Filling drop-down list and select the type of fill required (None, Color, Gradient, Hatching, or Bitmap) (Figure 82).
Figure 87: Sidebar Properties Area subsection Sidebar To quickly format the area of an object using the Sidebar (Figure 87): 1) Make sure the object is selected in your drawing. 2) Click on the Properties icon on the Sidebar, then click on the plus sign on the left of the Area titlebar to open the Area subsection. 3) Use the various options in the drop-down lists of the Area subsection to format the fill and transparency of the object. For more information on area fills, see “Area dialog” below.
Figure 88: Area dialog – Area page available colors Types of area fill • Color fills – select Color from the Fill drop-down list and then select your required color from the list of available colors (Figure 88). A preview of the selected color appears at the bottom of the dialog. • Gradient fills – select Gradient from the drop-down list and then select your required gradient from the list of available gradients (Figure 89).
Figure 91: Area dialog – Area page available bitmaps Creating new area fills The following sections describe how to create new fills and how to apply them. Although you can change the characteristics of an existing fill and then click the Modify button, it is recommended that you create new fills, or modify custom fills rather than the predefined ones, as these may be reset when updating LibreOffice. Creating custom colors On the Colors page (Figure 92), you can modify existing colors or create your own.
Figure 92: Area dialog – Colors page Modifying colors 1) Select the object you wish to edit. 2) Go to Format > Area on the main menu bar, or click on the Area icon on the Line and Filling toolbar, or right-click on the object and select Area to open the Area dialog. 3) Click on the Colors tab to open the Colors page. 4) Select the color to modify from the list. 5) Enter the new values that define the color in RGB or CMYK. 6) Modify the name as required. 7) Click Modify to save your changes.
Figure 93: Color Picker dialog Saving and using new colors Any new color created is available only in the current document. If you want to use this color in other documents, click the Save Color List icon and type a unique filename in the Save as dialog that opens. The saved colors list has the file extension of .soc. To use a previously saved color list, click the Load Color List icon open dialog. Click Open to load the saved color list into Draw.
Figure 94: Area Dialog – Gradients page 6) Set all the properties as desired (very often the default values will work well). The properties used to create a gradient are summarized in Table 2. Depending on the type of gradient selected, some properties may be grayed out. 7) Click Add to add the newly created gradient to the list. 8) Type a name for the new gradient in the dialog that opens and click OK. 9) Click OK to close the dialog.
3) Click on the Gradients tab to open the Gradients page. 4) Select the gradient to modify from the list. 5) Enter the new values for the properties that become available for change. See Table 2 for more information on gradient properties. 6) Click Modify to save your changes. 7) Click OK to close the dialog. Saving and using new gradients The new gradient created is available only in the current document.
5) Go to View > Toolbars > Mode on the main menu bar, click on the Effects icon Line and Filling toolbar to open the Mode toolbar. on the – Click on the Gradient icon in the Mode toolbar (Figure 95). This displays a dashed line connecting two colored squares. The colors show the From and To colors that are used for the selected gradient (Figure 96). – For linear gradients – move the square corresponding to the From color to change where the gradient starts (border value).
Figure 97: Area dialog – Hatching page Creating new hatching patterns 1) Select the object you wish to edit. 2) Go to Format > Area on the main menu bar, or click on the Area icon on the Line and Filling toolbar, or right-click on the object and select Area to open the Area dialog. 3) Click on the Hatching tab to open the Hatching page. 4) Select as a starting point a pattern similar to the one that will be created. 5) Modify the properties of the lines forming the pattern.
Saving and using new hatching patterns The new hatching pattern created is available only in the current document. If you want to use this hatching pattern in other documents, click the Save Hatches List icon and type a unique filename in the Save as dialog that opens. The saved hatches list has the file extension of .soh. To use a previously saved hatches list, click the Load Hatches List icon file open dialog. Click Open to load the saved hatches list into Draw.
Property Meaning Size – Width When Relative is selected 100% means that the bitmap original width will be resized to occupy the whole fill area width, 50% means that the width of the bitmap will be half that of the fill area. Size – Height When Relative is selected 100% means that the bitmap original height will be resized to occupy the whole fill area height, 50% means that the height of the bitmap will be half that of the fill area.
Figure 99: Creating a new bitmap Modifying bitmaps 1) Select the object you wish to edit. 2) Go to Format > Area on the main menu bar, or click on the Area icon on the Line and Filling toolbar, or right-click on the object and select Area to open the Area dialog. 3) Click on the Bitmap tab to open the Bitmap page. 4) Select a bitmap that you have created from the list. 5) Make the changes to your bitmap using the Pattern Editor and the color drop-down lists. 6) Click Modify to save your changes.
Figure 100: Area dialog – Shadow page Formatting shadows Shadowing can be applied to lines, shapes and text. To quickly apply a shadow to a line or shape only, first select the object and then click on the Shadow icon in the Line and Filling toolbar. The shadow applied using this method cannot be customized and is set to default settings. For a more control when adding shadows to an object, you have to use the Shadow page on the Area dialog (Figure 100) as follows: 1) Select the object you wish to edit.
Figure 101: Area dialog – Transparency page 5) To create a gradient transparency (so that the area becomes gradually transparent) select Gradient and select the type of gradient transparency from the drop-down list: Linear, Axial, Radial, Ellipsoid, Quadratic or Square. 6) Set the parameters for the type of the gradient transparency you selected above. Refer to Table 5 for a description of the properties. The available parameters will depend on the type of gradient transparency selected above.
Linked drawing object styles Drawing object styles support inheritance; that is, a style can be linked to another (parent) style so that it inherits all the formatting settings of the parent. You can use this property to create families of styles. For example, if you need multiple boxes that differ in color but are otherwise identically formatted, the best way to proceed is to define a generic style for the box including borders, area fill, font, and so on.
Figure 103: Image Styles dialog – Organizer page 4) Click on the Organizer tab to the Organizer page. 5) Give your new drawing object style a memorable file name. 6) Use the various pages and available options in the Image Styles dialog to format and categorize your new style. 7) Click OK when finished to save your new drawing object style and close the dialog.
Modifying drawing object styles To modify an existing style: 1) Right-click on the style in the Styles and Formatting dialog or the Styles and Formatting section on the Sidebar. 2) Select Modify from the context menu to open the Image styles dialog (Figure 103). 3) Make the required changes to the style. 4) Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog.
Figure 104: Mode toolbar and available tools Applying special effects As well as the basic actions of moving and resizing an object, a number of special effects can also be applied to objects in Draw. Several of these effects are readily available in the Mode toolbar (Figure 104). If the Mode toolbar is not showing, select it from View > Toolbars > Mode.
3) If necessary, click and drag the pivot point for rotation to change the way an object is rotated. The pivot point is a circle and appears, by default, in the middle of the selected object. Normally the center of an object will be just fine, but on some occasions you may wish to rotate around a corner or even around a point outside the object. 4) Move the mouse over one of the corner handles and the cursor changes shape. 5) Click the mouse and move in the direction in which you want to rotate the object.
Figure 107: Position and Size dialog – Rotation page Rotation dialog Instead of rotating an object manually or using the Sidebar, you can use the Rotation dialog (Figure 107) for more precise control when rotating an object. 1) Select the object so that the selection handles are displayed. 2) Press F4 key, or select Format > Position and Size on the main menu bar, or right-click on the object and select Position and Size from the context menu to open the Position and Size dialog.
Flip tool The Flip tool on the Mode or Line and Filling toolbars can also be used to flip an object. Using this tool, you can also change the position and angle that the object flips over (Figure 108). Figure 108: Using the Flip tool 1) Select an object and the selection handles will be displayed. 2) Click the Flip icon on the Mode toolbar and the axis of symmetry appears as a dashed line through the middle of the object. The object will be flipped about this axis of symmetry.
3) Move the axis of symmetry to the desired location of the mirror axis, then flip the object. 4) Click on an empty area of the page to deselect the object. 5) Paste from the clipboard to put a copy of the object back into its original location and now you have a mirror copy. 6) If necessary, select both objects and realign them by going to Modify>Alignment on the main menu bar, or right-click and select Alignment from the context menu and then select the type of alignment.
Distorting Select an object and click on the Distort icon on the Mode toolbar. After converting to a curve as requested, move the handles to stretch the object. The corner handles distort the corners, the vertical midpoint handles distort the figure horizontally and the horizontal ones distort it vertically (Figure 109). Setting in circle (perspective) Select an object and click on the Set in Circle (perspective) icon in the Mode toolbar.
Dynamic gradients You can control transparency gradients in the same manner as color gradients and both types of gradient can be used together. With a transparency gradient, the direction and degree of object fill color changes from opaque to transparent. In a color gradient, the fill changes from one color to another, but the degree of transparency remains the same. Two icons are present on the Mode toolbar to dynamically control transparency and color gradients.
Figure 113: Example 2 of a dynamic gradient Example 3 An object with both color and transparency gradients, partly covering the underlying object (Figure 114). Figure 114: Example 3 of a dynamic gradient 102 LibreOffice 4.
Chapter 5 Combining Multiple Objects Grouping, Combining, Merging, and Positioning
Grouping objects Grouping of objects is similar to putting objects into a container. You can move the objects as a group and apply global changes to the objects within the group. A group can always be undone and the objects that make up the group can always be manipulated separately. Temporary grouping A temporary grouping is when several objects are selected. Any changes to object parameters that you carry out are applied to all of the objects within the temporary group.
Editing individual objects You can individually edit an object within a group without ungrouping the group. 1) Right-click on the group and select Enter group from the context menu, or go to Modify > Enter Group on the main menu bar, or press the F3 key, or double-click on the group. When you enter a group, objects outside the group cannot be selected for editing and appear pale (Figure 116). 2) Once inside the group, click on any object to individually edit it (Figure 117).
Combining 1) Select the objects you want to combine. 2) Right-click on the selection and select Combine from the context menu, or go to Modify > Combine on the main menu bar, or use the keyboard combination Control+Alt+Shift+K. Figure 118: Combining objects At first glance, the results can seem rather surprising, but once you understand the rules governing combination in Draw, combining objects will become clearer.
Figure 120: Splitting a combined object Breaking combined objects When an object is combined from several objects, the combined object can be broken into its constituent parts by going to Modify > Break on the main menu bar. This means that the original objects are broken into their constituent parts; for example, a rectangle will be broken into four separate lines and the area fill will be lost, as shown by the right graphic in Figure 121. The left graphic in Figure 121 is the original combined object.
Merge When you merge objects, a new object is created with a shape that follows the shape of the merged objects. The area fill of the merged object is determined by the area fill of the object that is at the rear of all the other objects, as shown in Figure 122. Subtract When you subtract objects, the objects at the front are subtracted from the object behind. This leaves a blank space that the subtracted objects occupied (Figure 123).
Select both shapes, right-click, and select Shapes > Subtract from the context menu. Draw another rectangle and put it over the top half of the ellipse. Select both shapes, right-click, and select Shapes > Subtract from the context menu. Draw a small ellipse covering just the lower right corner. Select both shapes, right-click, and select Shapes > Subtract from the context menu. The knife blade shape is now complete. To make the handle, draw a rectangle and an ellipse. Merge the shapes together.
Figure 127: Duplication example To duplicate an object or group of objects: 1) Select an object or group of objects. 2) Go to Edit > Duplicate on the main menu bar or use the keyboard shortcut Shift+F3 to open the Duplicate dialog (Figure 126). 3) Select the number of copies, placement, enlargement, and the start and end colors for your duplicate copies. 4) Click OK and your duplicate copies are created. An example of a duplication is shown in Figure 127. Each duplicate object is a separate object.
Cross fading Cross-fading transforms one object shape into another object shape. The result is a new group of individual objects that includes the start and end objects with the intermediate steps show the transformation from one object shape to another object shape. To cross-fade two objects: 1) Select two objects and go to Edit > Cross-fading on the main menu bar to open the Cross-fading dialog (Figure 128). 2) Select the number of increments for the transformation.
Positioning objects Arranging objects When you combine, merge, subtract, or intersect objects, the end result varies depending on which object is at the front and which object is at the back. Each new object that you place on a drawing automatically becomes the front object and all the other objects move backwards in the positioning order. Arranging objects allows you to change the order in which objects are positioned.
Figure 131: Alignment tools • Centered – horizontally centers the selected objects. If only one object is selected, the center of the object is aligned to the horizontal center of the page. • Right – aligns the right edges of the selected objects. If only one object is selected, the right edge of the object is aligned to the right page margin. • Top – vertically aligns the top edges of the selected objects. If only one object is selected, the top edge of the object is aligned to the upper page margin.
Figure 132: Distribution dialog • Vertical distribution specifies the vertical distribution between the selected objects. – None – does not distribute the objects vertically. – Top – distributes the selected objects so that the top edges of the objects are evenly spaced from one another. 114 – Center – distributes the selected objects so that the vertical centers of the objects are evenly spaced from one another.
Chapter 6 Editing Pictures Raster Graphics
Introduction Earlier chapters of the Draw Guide have dealt only with vector graphics. However, Draw also contains a number of functions for handling raster graphics (bitmaps) such as photographs and scanned pictures, including import, export, and conversion from one format to another. Draw can read all the majority of graphic file formats. It has a subset of capabilities similar to raster graphics programs like Adobe Photoshop or Gimp.
Embedding Embedding a graphic into a drawing makes the graphic a permanent part of the drawing. Any changes you make to an embedded graphic will only appear in the drawing; the original graphic file will not be affected. Embedding happens when you import a graphic into a drawing using the Insert Image dialog, copying and pasting, scanning a graphic, or dragging and dropping.
Any changes made to a linked graphic within a LibreOffice drawing will apply only to that copy of the graphic placed into your the drawing and will not affect the original graphic file that has been linked to your drawing. Links can be updated, modified, or broken as follows: 1) Go to Edit > Links on the main menu bar to open the Edit Links dialog (Figure 134). 2) Select the link to be edited. 3) Click on Update, Modify or Break Link, as appropriate.
After copying you can also choose the format when you paste a graphic into Draw using Edit > Paste Special on the main menu bar. Available formats will depend on the type of image copied onto the clipboard. Dragging and dropping Dragging and dropping is another method of embedding graphics into a drawing and can be used on graphics that have been embedded or linked. The way that dragging and dropping works is determined by the computer operating system.
Exporting graphics Exporting the entire file By default Draw saves drawings in the *.ODG format. Some software programs cannot open these files. To make your drawings available for other programs, you can export the file in various formats. Figure 136: Exporting graphics 1) 2) 3) 4) Select your file and go to File > Export on the main menu bar. Select the required format from the File type list (Figure 136). Click Export.
Exporting objects To export individual objects from your drawing: 1) Select the objects and then go to File > Export on the main menu bar. 2) Select the required graphic format from the File type list. 3) Select the Selection option on the Export dialog (Figure 136). 4) Click Export. 5) Depending on the graphic format selected, another dialog will open allowing you to select the required options for that graphic format.
Figure 137: Picture toolbar Figure 138: Color toolbar • Color – opens the Color toolbar (Figure 138) to adjust the values of the RGB colors, brightness, contrast, and Gamma. These adjustments do not affect the original picture, but the values are stored in Draw as a separate formatting set. – Red, Green, Blue – select values between –100% (no color) to +100% (full intensity); 0% represents the original color value of the graphic.
Cropping For more control and accuracy over cropping functions, select the picture and go to Format > Crop Image, or right-click and select Crop Picture from the context menu to open the Crop dialog (Figure 139). Any changes made in the Crop dialog change only the display of the graphic. The original graphic file is not changed. If you want to export a cropped graphic, you must do it through File > Export. If you use Save as Picture from the context menu, the changes are not exported.
graphic. If Keep image size is selected, enter a positive amount to increase the horizontal scale of the graphic, or a negative amount to decrease the horizontal scale of the graphic. • Top and Bottom – if Keep Scale is selected, enter a positive amount to trim the top or bottom of the graphic, or a negative amount to add white space above or below the graphic.
Figure 141: Invert graphic filter Smooth graphic filter Clicking on the Smooth icon softens or blurs the image by applying a low pass filter reducing the contrast between neighboring pixels and produces a slight lack of sharpness (Figure 142). The Smooth icon also opens the Smooth dialog (Figure 143), where you can set the Smooth Radius parameter used for the Smooth filter when you click OK.
Sharpen graphic filter Clicking on the Sharpen icon sharpens the image by applying a high pass filter, increasing the contrast between neighboring pixels emphasizing the difference in brightness. This will accentuate the outlines and the effect will be strengthened if you apply the filter several times (Figure 144). Remove noise graphic filter Clicking on the Remove Noise icon removes noise by applying a median filter by comparing every pixel with its neighbors.
development and is now used in the digital world of computing to create a change or reversal of color (Figure 146 and Figure 147). Clicking on the Solarization icon opens the Solarization dialog, where you can define the threshold value for solarization. Entering a Threshold value above 70% reverses the color values (center picture in Figure 146). Selecting the Invert option causes all the colors to be inverted (right picture in Figure 146).
Figure 151: Posterize dialog Posterize graphic filter Posterizing reduces the number of colors in a graphic making it look flatter. When used on a photograph, posterizing can make the photograph look like a painting. Clicking on the Posterize icon opens the Posterize dialog, where you can define the number of Poster colors to produce the effect you want (Figure 150 and Figure 151). Pop art graphic filter Click on the Pop Art icon to change the colors of a graphic to a pop-art format (Figure 152).
Relief graphic filter The Relief graphic filter calculates the edges of a graphic in relief as if the graphic is illuminated by a light source. Clicking on the Relief icon opens the Emboss dialog, where you can select the position of the Light source producing shadows that differ in direction and magnitude (Figure 154 and Figure 155).
Figure 157: Mosaic dialog Replacing colors The Color Replacer allows you to replace or change a color in a graphic for another color or set the color as transparent. Up to four colors can be replaced at once. The tool works on the entire graphic and you cannot select an area of the graphic for editing. The Color Replacer can only be used on embedded graphics. If you try to use the Color Replacer on a linked graphic, you will get the following error message This graphic is linked to a document.
4) Move the cursor over the color you want to replace in the selected graphic and click on the color to be replaced. 5) A check box is now marked and the selected color appears in Source color. 6) Enter the amount of tolerance required for replacing the color in the Tolerance box. The default selection is 10% tolerance. 7) In Replace with, select a color from the drop-down list. Transparent is the default selection.
Figure 159: Convert to Polygon dialog Polygon Conversion Converts a selected graphic to a collection of polygons filled with color. The graphic also becomes a vector graphic and can be resized with no loss of image quality or distortion of any text. After conversion, you can break the graphic into groups of polygons and then split these groups into individual polygons. Breaking and splitting allows you to edit or delete individual colors within the graphic.
• Fill holes – fills the blank areas in the graphic that can be created when applying a point reduction. • Tile size – enter the size of the rectangle for the background fill. The range of tile sizes is between 8 and 128 pixels. • Source picture – preview of the original image. • Vectorized image – preview of the converted image. Click Preview to generate the vectorized image. • Progress – displays a progress bar during conversion.
Figure 160: Options – LibreOffice Draw – Print Figure 161: Print dialog – Options Figure 162: Options – LibreOffice – Print 134 LibreOffice 4.
Print options If you have only a monochrome (single color) printer or are experiencing problems with printing, then the following settings may help with printing your drawing. You can set up printing so that all text and all graphics are printed either in grayscale or black and white. The general settings are in Tools > Options > LibreOffice Draw > Print (Figure 160) and will only apply to all drawings that you print using LibreOffice Draw.
Chapter 7 Working with 3D Objects
Introduction Although Draw does not match the functionality of leading drawing or picture editing programs, it is capable of producing and editing 3D drawings and pictures. 3D objects can be created using one of the following methods: • • • • Extrusion – creates a 3D shape. Rotation – creates a 3D scene. Conversion – creates a 3D scene. Ready-made 3D objects which are 3D scenes.
Creating Drawing toolbar Before you begin creating 3D objects in your drawing, it is recommended that you add the LibreOffice 3D tools to the Drawing toolbar as follows: 1) Right-click in an empty area on the Drawing toolbar and select Visible Buttons from the context menu. 2) Select To 3D and To 3D Rotation Object from the available list of icons to place them on the Drawing toolbar as shown in Figure 163.
3) Click the Extrusion On/Off icon on the Drawing toolbar and the selected 2D object is converted into a 3D shape (Figure 164). The Extrusion On/Off icon used to create 3D shapes from 2D objects is included in the default set of tools for the Drawing toolbar. 4) Alternatively, click on the Extrusion On/Off icon on the 3D-Settings toolbar and the selected 2D object is converted into a 3D shape. If the 3D-Settings toolbar is not visible, go to View > Toolbars > 3D-Settings on the main menu bar.
2) Click on the small triangle next to the Effects icon on the Line and Filling toolbar and select the In 3D Rotation Object icon in the popup toolbar. Figure 167: In 3D body rotation 3) Alternatively, go to View > Toolbars > Mode on the main menu bar to open the Mode toolbar and select the In 3D Rotation Object icon . 4) If necessary, adjust the position and angle of the rotation axis. This is shown as a dashed line with rotation points at each end.
Text and Fontwork Text Draw treats text like an object which can be converted to 3D as easily as any other object in your drawing. 1) Click on the Text icon on the Drawing toolbar. 2) Move the cursor onto your drawing and click once to create a text box, then type your text. 3) Click again on the text box to select it. Selection handles will show on the text box.
Ready-made 3D objects LibreOffice has a collection of ready-made 3D objects available for immediate use. To access these ready-made 3D objects, go to View > Toolbars > 3D Objects on the main menu bar to open the 3D-Objects toolbar or click on the 3D Objects icon up menu (Figure 169). on the Drawing toolbar to open a pop- Creating 3D scenes using this toolbar is exactly the same as drawing basic shapes. See Chapter 2 Drawing Basic Shapes for more information.
5) Click on a center selection handle and hold the mouse button down until the cursor changes to parallel arrows. These center selection handles are not available for 3D shapes created using the extrusion method. 6) Drag the cursor to rotate the 3D object around the horizontal axis or the vertical axis. The left and right center selection handles are used for the horizontal axis. The top and bottom center selection handles are used for the vertical axis.
3D-Settings toolbar The 3D-Settings toolbar (Figure 171) is only used to edit a 3D shape that has been created from a 2D object using extrusion ( see “Extrusion” on page 139 for more information). To open the 3DSettings toolbar, go to View > Toolbars > 3D-Settings on the main menu bar. The 3D-Settings toolbar only becomes active when a 3D shape has been selected. Figure 171: 3D-Settings toolbar The tools available for editing 3D shapes are as follows.
3D effects The 3D Effects dialog (Figure 172) offers a wide range of possible settings for 3D objects created using the following methods. This dialog can also be used to convert a 2D object to 3D using the tools in the bottom left corner of the dialog. To open the 3D Effects dialog, select the 3D object and right-click on the object then select 3D Effects from the context menu to open the 3D Effects dialog. Any 3D effects that you apply to a 3D scene are not carried out until you click on the Assign icon .
• Perspective On/Off – switches perspective projection on or off for a 3D object. Perspective projection is where projecting lines from the center of projection pass through an imaginary plane until they meet at a point some distance from an object. 3D Effects – Geometry On the Geometry page of the Effects dialog (Figure 172) you can make changes to the geometry of a 3D object. • Geometry – defines the properties for a 3D scene or shape created from a 2D object.
Figure 175: Rotation angle example – Depth – enter the extrusion depth for the selected 3D object. This option is not available for 2D rotation objects converted to 3D using the To 3D Rotation Object tool. Figure 176 shows an example of a 2D circle converted to a 3D cylinder with the extrusion depth increased to 3 cm. Figure 176: Depth example • Segments – changes the number of segments that Draw uses to draw a 3D rotation object.
Figure 178: Object-Specific, Flat, and Spherical examples Figure 179: Invert Normals and Double-Sided Illumination examples • Normals – modifies the rendering style of the 3D surface (Figure 178 and Figure 179). – Object-Specific – renders the 3D surface according to the shape of the object. For example, a circular shape is rendered with a spherical surface.
transparent. If there is no view to the inside face, normally for an extruded 3D object with solid texture, the Double-Sided should be switched off to improve performance during rendering. Any 3D object created using rotation often allow an inside view and it is recommended that Double-Sided is switched on. Which side of an object face is considered to be back or front is determined by the Invert Normals setting, that is the front side of a plane is the one the normal points away from.
Figure 182: Example of using Shadow • Shadow – adds or removes a shadow from a selected 3D object (Figure 182). – 3D Shadowing On/Off – switches the shadowing on or off. – Surface angle – enter an angle from 0 to 90 degrees for casting a shadow. • Camera – sets the camera options for a selected 3D scene as if you are actually using a camera to take a photograph (Figure 183). – Distance – enter the distance to leave between the camera and the center of the selected 3D scene.
Figure 184: 3D Effects dialog - Illumination 3) Select a color for the light from the drop-down list for Light source. A different color can be used for each light source selected. 4) If necessary, select a color from the drop-down list for Ambient light to set the color of the surrounding light. 5) To deselect a light source, select the light source and click on it again. The light source location and color are shown in the lower right corner of the Illumination page.
Figure 185: 3D Effects - Textures • Projection X – sets the options for displaying the texture along the X axis. Only one of the three following options can be selected. – Object-Specific – automatically adjusts the texture for best fit based on the shape and size of the object. This is the default setting. – Parallel – applies the texture parallel to the horizontal axis and is mirrored on the rear side of the object. – Circular – wraps the horizontal axis of the texture pattern around an object.
Figure 186: 3D Effects - Material 3D Effects - Material On the Materials page of the Effects dialog (Figure 186) you can change the appearance of a 3D object to represent different materials. Materials and textures can be combined with each other and it is a matter of trial and error to achieve the desired result. • Material – assigns a predefined color scheme or lets you create your own color scheme.
3D-Settings toolbar editing When 3D shapes have been created from 2D objects using the extrusion method, they are handled differently from 3D scenes. You have to use the tools on the 3D-Settings toolbar to make any changes to a 3D shape. These tools are highlighted in Figure 187. • Depth – sets the extrusion depth and direction from the pop-up options. • Direction – sets a view direction and a perspective or parallel projection from the pop- up options.
Chapter 8 Connections, Flowcharts, and Organization Charts
Connectors and glue points Connectors and glue points were briefly introduced in Chapter 2 Drawing Basic Shapes. This section describes them in more detail and how to use them. Connectors are lines or arrows whose ends automatically dock to a connection or glue point on an object. Connectors are useful when drawing, for example, flowcharts and organization charts. The connecting lines between objects remain intact even when objects are moved or rearranged.
• Line connectors (Figure 190) – consist of a line segment with two smaller segments at the ends. Draws a connector that bends near a glue point. Click on an object glue point, drag to a glue point on another object, then release. To adjust the length of the line segment between a bend point and a glue point, click the connector and drag the bend point. Figure 190: Line connectors • Straight connectors (Figure 191) – consist of a single line. Draws a straight line connector.
Figure 193: Connector between two objects You can also drag a connector to an empty part of your document. When you release the mouse button, the unattached end of the connector is locked into place until you drag the end to a different location. Modifying connectors To detach or reposition a connector, click and drag either end of the connector line to a different location.
Note You cannot swap the ends of the connector using this dialog, that is start point becomes the end point and the end point becomes the start point. To swap the ends of a connector, you have to draw a new connector. Glue points Glue points are not the same as the selection handles of an object. The selection handles are for moving or changing the shape of an object; see Chapter 3 Working with Objects and Object Points for more information.
• • • • Exit Direction Top – connector attaches to the top edge of the selected glue point. Exit Direction Right – connector attaches to the right edge of the selected glue point. Exit Direction Bottom – connector attaches to the bottom edge of the selected glue point. Glue Point Relative – maintains the relative position of a selected glue point when you resize an object. This tool is selected by default when the Gluepoint toolbar opens.
Customizing glue points Only glue points that have added to an object can be customized. The default glue points included with an object cannot be customized. 1) Make sure no objects are selected and click on the Glue Points icon or select Edit > Glue Points on the main menu bar, or right click on a selected connector and select Edit Points from the context menu. 2) If the Gluepoints toolbar (Figure 195 on page 161) does not open, go to View > Toolbars > Gluepoints on the main menu bar.
Formatting and editing text 1) Click on the connector text to enter text editing mode. The Text Formatting toolbar replaces the Line and Filling toolbar under the menu bar. Figure 196: Text dialog 2) Perform any changes to the text using the text tools provided on the Text Formatting toolbar or Format and Tools on the main menu bar. You can also right-click on the text and select text tools from the context menu.
Note This toolbar can become a floating toolbar by clicking on the bottom of the pop-up toolbar and dragging it into your workspace. Figure 197: Flowchart toolbar 1) When adding objects to your flowchart, see Chapter 2 Drawing Basic Shapes for information on how to draw and resize object shapes. 2) Add text to each flowchart shape to make it easily identified in the flowchart. See Chapter 2 Drawing Basic Shapes and Chapter 11 Advanced Draw Techniques for more information.
3) Use connections lines in your flowchart. This allows repositioning of an object in your chart while maintaining connections with the other objects in the chart. See “Connectors” on page 158 for more information. 4) Use the zoom, grid and snap functions to help in positioning objects in your flowchart. See Chapter 3 Working with Objects and Object Points for more information. 5) Use the alignment and distribution functions to give your flowchart a more professional look.
Chapter 9 Adding and Formatting Text
Introduction When text is used in drawings, it is contained in text boxes. This chapter describes how to create, format, use, and delete text. It also discusses the various types of text that can be inserted into a drawing. Finally, it provides information on how to insert special forms of text such as numbered or bulleted lists, tables, fields, and hyperlinks. Using the text tool To activate the text tool, click the Text icon vertical text on the Drawing toolbar.
Creating a text box 1) Click the Text icon or the Vertical Text icon on the Drawing toolbar. 2) Click and drag to draw a text box on the drawing. This sets the width. The height of the text box automatically increases as you type or add text. 3) Release the mouse button when you have reached the desired width for your text box. The cursor appears in the text box and the text box, depending on your computer system, has a border indicating edit mode. 4) Type or paste your text in the text box.
Figure 202: Resizing a text box 6) To quickly rotate a text box, click again on a selection handle to change the shape and color of the selection handles. Click and drag on a corner handle to rotate the test box, then release the mouse button when the text box is at the desired rotation angle. A ghosted outline of the text box being rotated appears and the current angle of rotation is shown in the status bar (Figure 203).
Figure 204: Position and Size dialog Figure 205: Sidebar Position and Size subsection Chapter 9 Adding and Formatting Text 171
Using text with Draw objects Text can be added to most Draw objects. The exceptions are control elements like buttons, list boxes, or 3D objects. An object is not dynamic and does not behave like a text frame. To keep text within the borders of the object, you have to use paragraphs, line breaks, smaller text size, increasing the object size, or a combination of all four methods. To add text to an object: 1) Select the object.
2) Use the formatting tools that are available on the Text Formatting toolbar, or go to Format on the main menu bar and select a formatting tool from the drop-down menu, or right-click on the text and select a formatting tool from the context menu. 3) Alternatively, go to Format > Styles and Formatting or press the F11 key to open the Styles and Formatting dialog. See “Using styles” on page 175 for more information.
Inserting non-breaking spaces and hyphens Where it is not desirable for words that are separated by a space or a hyphen to span over two lines, or where an optional hyphen is desired, you can insert a special formatting mark. Draw supports the following formatting marks: • Non-breaking space – inserts a space that will keep bordering characters together on line breaks. • Non-breaking hyphen – inserts a hyphen that will keep bordering characters together on line breaks.
Selecting text All text To select all the text in a text box: 1) Click on the Text icon on the Drawing toolbar and then click once on the text to turn on edit mode for the text box. 2) Click once on the border of the text box to display the selection handles. 3) Refer to “Character formatting” on page 177 and “Paragraph formatting” on page 179 for information on how to format the text.
Figure 209: Sidebar Styles and Formatting subsection Figure 210: Image Styles dialog Creating styles 1) Go to Format > Styles and Formatting on the main menu bar or press the F11 key to open the Styles and Formatting dialog (Figure 208). Alternatively, click on the Styles and 2) 3) 4) 5) Formatting icon on the Sidebar to open the Styles and Formatting subsection (Figure 209). Right-click on a style name and select New from the context menu to open the Image Styles dialog (Figure 210).
Modifying styles 1) Go to Format > Styles and Formatting on the main menu bar or press the F11 key to open the Styles and Formatting dialog (Figure 208). Alternatively, click on the Styles and Formatting icon on the Sidebar to open the Styles and Formatting subsection (Figure 209). 2) Right-click on the style to be modified and select Modify from the context menu to open the Image Styles dialog (Figure 210).
Figure 212: Sidebar Character subsection 1) Click on the Text icon, then select the characters you want to format. See “Selecting text” on page 175 for information on how to select text. 2) Go to Format > Character on the main menu bar, or click the Character icon on the Text Formatting toolbar, or right-click on the selected character and select Character from the context menu to open the Character dialog (Figure 211).
– Spacing – sets the spacing between the characters of the font, which can be defined in number of points. – Pair kerning – automatically adjusts the spacing between certain pairs of characters to visually improve the appearance. Paragraph formatting Any individual paragraph formatting will override any formatting that has been applied using a drawing object style.
Figure 214: Sidebar Paragraph subsection Note Selecting Format > Text on the main menu bar, or right-clicking on selected text and then selecting Text from the context menu, opens the Text dialog. The Text dialog is used to format a text box or an object that contains text and any text animation applied to text within a text box or object.
• Tabs – determines the tab stops. This page is also available in the graphics styles dialog. • Asian Typography – sets the following properties relative to line changes and is only available if Enabled for Asian Languages is selected in Tools > Options > Language Settings > Languages. – – – Apply list of forbidden characters to the beginning and end of lines. Allow hanging punctuation. Apply spacing between Asian, Latin and Complex text.
Alternatively, select a list style from the drop-down lists for the Bullets or Numbering icons on the Paragraph subsection on the Sidebar (Figure 214). Clicking on More Options at the bottom of these drop-down lists opens the Bullets and Numbering dialog. Editing and customizing a list You can edit and customize the appearance of a list by changing the bullet type or numbering for the entire list or a single entry or the outline level of a list item.
2) Set the Indent, which is the spacing between the bullet or number and the text. If you select the Relative option, the indent value will be measured relative to the previous level and not from the margin. 3) Set the measurement for Width of numbering. This is the space to leave between the numbering or bullet point and the text. 4) Set the Numbering alignment, which is normally only used on a numbered list. Setting this option does not set the alignment of the text.
2) Make your changes to the list using the options on this page. The preview on the right hand side of the dialog shows the effect of the changes. 3) Click OK to save your changes. To revert back to the default values of the list, click Reset. Depending on the bullet style selected (for example, bullet, native numbering, graphics), some of the following options may not be available on the Customize page: • • • • Before – enter any text to appear before the number (for example, Step).
Figure 219: Table toolbar and table tools Modifying tables Once the table is added to your drawing, you can control its appearance, size, position, and so on using a combination of the tools on the Table toolbar (Figure 219) and the Format Cells dialog (Figure 223). The Table toolbar is only active when a table has been selected. If the Table toolbar does not display when you select a table, go to View > Toolbars > Table.
Figure 220: Table graphic tool • Borders – selects predefined border configurations. The borders are applied to the selected cells. If the desired border pattern is not available, you will need to use the Format Cells dialog. • Area Style/Filling – select the cells to be filled, then select the type of fill from the drop- down list: Invisible (no color), Color, Gradient, Hatching, or Bitmap. The fillings drop-down menu is populated with the available fillings for the fill type selected.
• Insert Row, Insert Column, Delete Row, Delete Column – select a row or column and use these four tools to insert or delete rows and columns into or from your table. Rows and columns are inserted/deleted below and to the right of the selected cell. You can also select, insert, or delete rows and columns by right-clicking a cell and using the context menu that opens.
Figure 223: Format Cells dialog Using fields Fields allow the automatic insertion of text into a drawing. You can think of a field as a kind of formula which is calculated when the drawing is loaded or printed and the result is written in the drawing. Inserting fields 1) Move the cursor where the field will be positioned. 2) Go to Insert > Fields on the main menu bar. A text box is created when you insert a field and can be repositioned just like any other text box.
Customizing fields The appearance of fields can be customized as follows. Page Number, Page Count, and File Name fields cannot be customized. 1) Place the cursor at the start of the field data and go to Edit > Fields on the main menu bar to open the Edit Field dialog (Figure 224) and select the desired format from the available options. 2) Click OK. 3) Alternatively, right-click on the field and select the required options from the context menu.
Figure 225: Hyperlink dialog • New Document – creates a hyperlink to a new document. Choose whether to edit the newly created document immediately (Edit now) or just create it to edit later (Edit later). Choose the type of document to create (text, spreadsheet, etc.). The Select path button opens a file browser so that you can choose the directory for the new document.
Working with hyperlink buttons A hyperlink button is inserted in the center of the current drawing. In most cases, that is not where you want it to appear. To edit the text or size of a hyperlink button, or to move it to another place on the drawing: 1) Go to View > Toolbars > Form Controls on the main menu bar to open the Form Controls toolbar (Figure 226). 2) Select the Design Mode On/Off icon.
Chapter 10 Printing, Exporting, and E-mailing
Printing Quick printing To quickly print a document or drawing, click on the Print File Directly icon on the Standard toolbar to send the entire document to the default printer that is defined for your computer. Note You can change the action of the Print File Directly icon by sending a document to the printer defined for the document instead of the default printer for the computer. Go to Tools > Options > Load/Save > General and select the Load printer settings with the document option.
LibreOffice Draw page On the LibreOffice Draw page of the Print dialog (Figure 228), you can define settings that are specific to the current document type: • In the Contents section, print the page name and/or the date and time on the drawing. • In the Colors section, print the drawing in original colors, as a grayscale, or in black and white.
Options page On the Options page (Figure 230) you can select whether to print to file, create single print jobs when you want to use collated output, use only the printer tray specified in the printer preferences, or use the paper size specified in the printer preferences. Figure 230.
Selection printing To print a selection from a page or multiple pages: 1) In the document, highlight the section of the page or pages to print. 2) Go to File > Print on the main menu bar or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+P to open the Print dialog and then select the General page (Figure 227). 3) In the Ranges and copies section, select the Selection option. 4) Click Print to print the document.
8) In the Page sides section, select Back sides/left pages option from the drop-down list. 9) Click Print. 10) Take the printed pages out of the printer, turn the pages over, and put them back into the printer in the correct orientation to print on the blank side. You may need to experiment a bit to find out what the correct arrangement is for your printer. 11) In the Page sides section, select Front sides/right pages option from the drop down list. 12) Click Print to print the document.
Figure 233: Printer Properties dialog – Device page LibreOffice settings To change the LibreOffice settings to print all color text and graphics as grayscale: 1) Go to Tools > Options > LibreOffice > Print on the main menu bar. 2) Select Convert colors to grayscale option then click OK to save the change. 3) Go to File > Print on the main menu bar or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+P to open the Print dialog and then select the General page (Figure 227). 4) Click Print to print the document.
Directly as PDF Click on the Export Directly as PDF icon on the Standard toolbar to export the entire document using your default PDF settings. You are asked to enter the file name and location for the PDF file, but you cannot choose page range, image compression, or other options. Controlling PDF content and quality For more control over the content and quality of the resulting PDF you have to use the option Export as PDF. For more information on the available options, see the Getting Started guide.
Figure 235: Export dialog See Chapter 6 Editing Pictures in this guide for more information on exporting graphics. Note The content of the exported file will depend on the elements selected on the page. No selection results in the entire image being exported. For most export formats, only the image on the current page will be exported.
2) In your e-mail program, enter the recipient, subject, and any text you want to add, then send the e-mail. PDF format To email the current document as a PDF file: 1) Go to File > Send >-E-mail as PDF on the main menu bar. LibreOffice creates a PDF using the default PDF settings and then opens your email program with the PDF file attached. 2) In your e-mail program, enter the recipient, subject, and any text you want to add, then send the e-mail. 202 LibreOffice 4.
Chapter 11 Advanced Draw Techniques
Multi-page documents Draw documents, like Impress presentation documents, can consist of multiple pages. This allows you to create a drawing that has several sections that are stored as one file on a computer. When pages are inserted into a drawing, they are automatically named as Slide 1, Slide 2, and so on in the Navigator. As you change page order, the pages are automatically renumbered. However, if you want to easily identify each page, then it is recommended to give each page a memorable name.
Figure 237: Navigator dialog Figure 238: Navigator section on Sidebar • Select a thumbnail in the Page pane, then drag and drop the thumbnail to change the order of pages in the document. • Click and drag on the separator line between the Page pane and workspace to change the width of the Page pane. • Click on the middle of this line to show or hide the Page pane (highlighted in Figure 236).
Note LibreOffice uses interchangeable terms for one concept: slide master, master slide, and master page. All refer to a page which is used to create other pages. When searching for information in Draw Help, it may be necessary to use alternative search terms. Master page view To add objects and fields to a master page, go to View > Master on the main menu bar to open the master page view. The Master View toolbar (Figure 239) also opens when you switch to master view.
Inserting fields You can insert fields on each master page by going to Insert > Fields on the main menu bar and selecting a field from the context menu. The following fields can be inserted into a master page. • Date (fixed) – inserts the current date into the master page as a fixed field. The date is not automatically updated. • Date (variable) – inserts the current date into the master page as a variable field. The date is automatically updated when you reload the file.
Figure 241: Load Slide Design dialog 3) If necessary, click Load to open the Load Slide Design dialog and use any predefined Draw master pages or templates (Figure 241). 4) If necessary, select the Exchange background page option to use the selected master page for all pages in the drawing. 5) If necessary, select the Delete unused backgrounds option to delete any master pages shown in the Slide Design dialog that have not been assigned to a page. 6) Click OK to assign the selected master page to your page.
Templates from other sources You can download templates for LibreOffice from many sources, including the official template repository at http://templates.libreoffice.org/, and install them on your computer. On other websites you may find collections of templates that have been created using OpenDocument format that Draw uses as its default format. These templates from other sources are installed using the Extension Manager, as described in “Importing template collections” on page 213.
Figure 243: Template Manager when creating a document from a template, showing Drawing templates located in two folders, one of which is user-created. See note below. The Drawings tab shows all Drawing templates, regardless of their location in folders. Note In Figure 243, the user has created a separate folder for My Drawings and has saved one Drawing template in it.
3) Select the template you want to use as the default template. 4) Click the Set as default icon and your selected template becomes the default template. The next time that you create a new drawing using Draw, the drawing will be created from the default template you have just set.
Organizing templates LibreOffice can only use templates that are in LibreOffice template folders. You can create new LibreOffice template folders and use them to organize your templates. For example, separate template folders for different projects or clients. You can also import and export templates. Tip The location of LibreOffice template folders varies with your computer operating system. To learn where the template folders are stored on your computer, go to Tools > Options > LibreOffice > Paths.
To delete a template: 1) Go to File > New > Templates on the main menu bar to open the Template Manager. 2) Select the Drawings tab to open the tab for drawings (Figure 243). 3) Navigate to the template that you want to delete and then select it. 4) Click the Delete icon deletion. Click Yes. and a message box appears and asks you to confirm the Importing templates If the template that you want to use is in a different location, you must import it into an LibreOffice template folder.
The Extension Manager (Figure 244) provides an easy way to install collections of templates that have been packaged as extensions. For more about the Extension Manager, see the Getting Started Guide. 1) Download the extension package (.OXT file) and save it anywhere on your computer. You can find several templates at http://templates.libreoffice.org/template-center that have been developed for use with LibreOffice.
• Controls – used for buttons that have been assigned an action, but should not be printed and the layer properties are set to not printable. Objects on this layer are always in front of objects on other layers. • Dimension Lines – is where the dimension lines are drawn. By switching the layer to show or hide, you can easily switch dimension lines on and off.
Working with layers Selecting a layer To select a layer, click on the name tab of the layer at the bottom of the drawing workspace. Hiding layers 1) Right-click on the name tab of the layer and select Modify Layer from the context menu or double-click on the name tab to open the Modify Layer dialog. 2) Clear the Visible check box and click OK. The text on the name tab changes color to blue. Any objects placed on a hidden layer will no longer be visible on the other layers in your drawing.
Dimensioning Draw allows you to dimension objects and display these dimensions to make your drawing look more like an engineering drawing. When you create dimensions, they are automatically placed on the Dimension Lines layer (see “Default layers” on page 214 for more information). Configuring dimensioning Two ways are available to access the options to configure dimensioning. Both methods use a similar dialog where you can change the length, measurement, and guide properties of a dimension line.
Context menu 1) Draw a dimension line. See “Dimensioning objects” on page 219 for more information. 2) Right-click on the dimension line and select Dimensions from the context menu to open the Dimensioning dialog (Figure 247). Figure 247: Context menu Dimensioning dialog 3) Make the changes you want to use for dimensioning using the various options on this dialog. 4) Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog.
• Legend – sets the properties of the dimension text. – Text position – determines the position of the dimension text with respect to the dimension line and the guides. The AutoVertical and AutoHorizontal checkboxes must be cleared before you can assign a text position. – – – – AutoVertical – determines the optimal vertical position for the dimension text. AutoHorizontal – determines the optimal horizontal position for the dimension text.
Drawing to scale In Draw a drawing is made on a predefined drawing area. This is normally Letter or A4 page size depending on your locale, computer setup, and the default printer connected to your computer. However, depending on the actual size of the drawn objects, it is often convenient to reduce or enlarge the drawing by scaling (for example 1:10 or 2:1).
Gallery images Draw includes several images in a Gallery. These images are grouped into themes: Bullets; Rulers; Homepage; Rulers; Sounds and so on. The left pane of the gallery window lists the available themes. Click on a theme to see its images displayed in the right pane of the Gallery dialog (Figure 251). The default themes are read only; no images can be added to or deleted from these themes.
Figure 252: Sidebar Gallery section Figure 253. Properties of New Theme dialog – General page Figure 254. Properties of New Theme dialog – Files page 222 LibreOffice 4.
Figure 255. Selecting path for new images in themes 6) Click Select to select the files contained in the folder and the Select Path dialog closes. The list of files contained in the folder now appear in the Properties of New Theme dialog. 7) Select the files you want to use in for your new theme and click Add. The added files will disappear from the file list and the images will appear in the Gallery. 8) If you want to add all the files in the list, click Add All.
Colors and color palettes Draw (like all LibreOffice components) uses color palettes for the representation of colors. You can customize the color palette to suit your own needs by modifying colors in a palette, adding other colors, or creating new color palettes. Note LibreOffice uses the RGB color model internally for printing in all of its software modules. The CMYK controls are provided only to ease the input of color values using CMYK notation.
Figure 257: Area dialog – Colors page Selecting colors 1) Go to Tools > Options > LibreOffice > Colors (Figure 256) or Format > Area > Colors (Figure 257) on the main menu bar to open a color dialog. Alternatively, right-click on a selected object and select Area from the context menu, then click on the Colors tab to open the color dialog (Figure 257). 2) Select a color from the Color drop-down list, or select a color from the color table, or enter the RGB or CMYK values for the color you want to use.
2) Enter integer values or percentage values in each of the RGB or CMYK boxes or use the spinners at the right of each box. 3) The original color is shown the top color sample and the new color is shown in the lower color sample. 4) Click Modify to apply and store the new setting in the color palette without changing the color name. Or, click Add and you will be prompted to give the color a new name.
3) The color bar below the sample color area will show the new color on the left half of the bar so that you can compare it with the original color on the right half of the bar. 4) If you are satisfied with the color created, click OK to use the color. 5) See “Using color values” on page 225 to save the color. Deleting colors 1) 2) 3) 4) To delete a color from a color palette, open the color dialog (Figure 256 or Figure 257).
Figure 260: Lines toolbar 3) Click at the start point where you want to draw the curve and, keeping the mouse button pressed, drag the cursor to the approximate the position of the end point for the curve. 4) Release the mouse button, then drag the end point of the curve to its end position. 5) Double-click when you have reached the end position of the curve and a curve is drawn. The arc of the curve is determined by the distance you have dragged to create the end point.
11) When you have finished editing the curve, click anywhere on the workspace to deselect the curve and stop editing points. Edit Points tools With reference to Figure 261, the tools available on the Edit Points toolbar allow you to edit and change the shape of a Bézier curve and are explained as follows: • Points – allows you to activate or deactivate the edit mode for Bézier objects. In the edit mode, individual points of the drawing object can be selected.
Figure 264: Smooth transition point • Symmetric Transition – converts a corner point or a smooth point into a symmetrical point (Figure 265). Both control points of the corner point are aligned in parallel and have the same length. They can only be moved simultaneously and the degree of curvature is the same in both directions. Figure 265: Symmetric transition point • Close Bézier – closes a line or a curve.
Figure 266: Comment in a drawing Note For your initials and name to appear in a comment, you have to enter your user data. Go to Tools > Options > LibreOffice > User Data and enter all the necessary data. If more than one person edits the document, each author is automatically allocated a different background color. Connecting and breaking lines It is possible in Draw to connect separate line elements together to make one line, or to break a line that is composed of separate elements.
Appendix A Keyboard Shortcuts
Introduction You can use LibreOffice without requiring a pointing device, such as a mouse or trackball, by using its built-in keyboard shortcuts. Tasks as varied and complex as docking and un-docking toolbars and windows, or changing the size or position of objects can all be accomplished with only a keyboard. Although LibreOffice has its own extensive set of keyboard shortcuts, each component provides others which are specific to its work.
Draw-specific function keys and keyboard shortcuts Function keys Shortcut Keys Effect F1 Opens LibreOffice Draw Help. F2 Enters text mode, to add or edit text. F3 Enters group to edit individual objects. Shift+F3 Opens the Duplicate dialog. Ctrl+F3 Exits a group. F4 Opens the Position and Size dialog. F5 Opens the Navigator. F7 Check spelling. Ctrl+F7 Opens the thesaurus. F8 Turns Edit points on/off. Ctrl+Shift+F8 Fits text to frame.
Shortcut Keys Effect Page Down Switches to next page. Ctrl+Page Up Switches to previous layer. Ctrl+Page Down Switches to next layer. Arrow Key Moves the selected object in the direction of the arrow key. Ctrl+Arrow Key Moves the page view in the direction of the arrow key. Ctrl+click while dragging an object. Creates a copy of the object being dragged when mouse button is released.
Page Pane navigation Shortcut Keys Effect Home/End Sets the focus to the first/last page. Left/Right arrow keys or Page Up/Page Down Sets the focus to the next/previous page. Enter Creates a new page. General function keys and keyboard shortcuts Opening menus and menu items Shortcut Keys Result Opens a menu where is the underlined character of the menu you want to open. For example, Alt+F opens the File menu. Alt+ With the menu open, menu items have underlined characters.
Accessing toolbar commands Press F6 repeatedly until the first icon on the toolbar is selected. Use the right and left arrows to select an icon on a horizontal toolbar. Similarly, use the up and down arrows to select an icon on a vertical toolbar. The Home key selects the first icon on a toolbar and the End key, the last. Press Enter to activate the selected icon.
Shortcut Keys Result Up, down arrow keys Moves focus up and down a list. Increases or decreases value of a variable. Moves focus vertically within a section of dialog. Left, right arrow keys Moves focus horizontally within a section of a dialog. Tab Advances focus to the next section or element of a dialog. Shift+Tab Returns focus to the previous section or element in a dialog. Alt+Down Arrow Shows items in a drop-down list.
Editing Shortcut Keys Result Ctrl+X Cuts selected items. Ctrl+C Copies selected items to the clipboard. Ctrl+V Pastes copied or cut items from the clipboard. Ctrl+Shift+V Opens the Paste Special dialog. Ctrl+A Selects all. Ctrl+Z Undoes last action. Ctrl+Y Redoes last action. Ctrl+Shift+Y Repeats last command. Ctrl+F Opens the Find dialog Ctrl+H Opens the Find & Replace dialog. Ctrl+Shift+F Searches for the last entered search term.
Index Our apologies that this book has no index. It is produced by volunteers from the LibreOffice community, and no one among the volunteers has updated the index. Our choices were to have no index or to delay publication for so long that it would be very out of date. We decided that “no index” was the best choice.
LibreOffice 4.
