Writer Guide

Figure 250: Insert picture dialog
Linking an image file
If the Link option in the Insert picture dialog is selected, OOo creates
a link to the file containing the image instead of saving a copy of the
image in the document. The result is that the image is displayed in the
document, but when the document is saved, it contains only a
reference to the image file—not the image itself. The document and the
image remain as two separate files, and they are merged together only
when you open the document again.
Linking an image has two advantages and one disadvantage:
• Advantage – Linking can reduce the size of the document when it
is saved, because the image file itself is not included. File size is
usually not a problem on a modern computer with a reasonable
amount of memory, unless the document includes many large
graphics files; OOo can handle quite large files.
• Advantage – You can modify the image file separately without
changing the document because the link to the file remains valid,
and the modified image will appear when you next open the
document. This can be a big advantage if you (or someone else,
perhaps a graphic artist) is updating images.
• Disadvantage – If you send the document to someone else, or
move it to a different computer, you must also send the image
files, or the receiver will not be able to see the linked images. You
need to keep track of the location of the images and make sure
the recipient knows where to put them on another machine, so
the document can find them. For example, you might keep images
272 OpenOffice.org 3.x Writer Guide
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