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Draw Guide 7.5

Chapter 9,
Adding and Formatting Text

Copyright

This document is Copyright © 2023 by the LibreOffice Documentation Team. Contributors are listed below. This document maybe distributed and/or modified under the terms of either the GNU General Public License (https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html), version 3 or later, or the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), version 4.0 or later. All trademarks within this guide belong to their legitimate owners.

Contributors

Contributors for this edition:

Peter Schofield

Contributors for previous editions:

Jean Hollis Weber

Low Song Chuan

Martin Saffron

Michele Zarri

Peter Schofield

Regina Henschel

Feedback

Please direct any comments or suggestions about this document to the Documentation Team mailing list: loguides@community.documentfoundation.org.

Note

Everything sent to a mailing list, including email addresses and any other personal information that is written in the message, is publicly archived and cannot be deleted.

Publication date and software version

Published August 2023. Based on LibreOffice 7.5 Community.
Other versions of LibreOffice may differ in appearance and functionality.

Using LibreOffice on macOS

Some keystrokes and menu items are different on macOS from those used in Windows and Linux. The table below gives some common substitutions used in this document. For a detailed list, see LibreOffice Help.

Windows or Linux

macOS equivalent

Effect

Tools > Options
menu selection

LibreOffice > Preferences

Access setup options

Right-click

Control+click, Ctrl+click, or right-click depending on computer setup

Open a context menu

Ctrl or Control

⌘ and/or Cmd or Command, depending on keyboard

Used with other keys

Alt

⌥ and/or Alt or Option depending on keyboard

Used with other keys

F11

+T

Open the Styles deck in the Sidebar

Introduction

When text is used in drawings, it is placed inside an object or text box. This chapter describes how to create, format, use, delete text, and provides information for the various types of text that can be inserted into a drawing. Also, there is information on how to insert special forms of text such as numbered or bulleted lists, tables, fields, hyperlinks, columns, and Fontwork.

Note

When selecting a text tool to add text to a drawing, Draw automatically switches to text mode. Also, the Text Formatting toolbar (Figure 1) automatically opens replacing the Line and Filling toolbar at the top of the drawing.

Text mode

Activating text mode

Before any text is typed into a drawing, text mode must be activated using one of the following methods.

Adding vertical text

If Insert Vertical Text is not visible on the Drawing toolbar, it can be added to the toolbar as follows:

1)  Go to Tools > Options > Language Settings > Languages (macOS LibreOffice > Preferences > Language Settings > Languages) on the Menu bar to open the Languages page in the Options dialog.

2)  In Default Languages for Documents, select the option Asian. Accept the default settings for this option.

3)  Click OK to close the Options dialog and save the changes.

4)  Right-click in an empty area on the Drawing toolbar (Figure 2) and select Visible Buttons from the context menu.

5)  Select Vertical Text from the drop-down list of options to add Insert Vertical Text to the Drawing toolbar.

Figure 1: Text Formatting toolbar

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Figure 2: Drawing toolbar

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Figure 3: Text toolbar

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Text toolbar

It is recommended to have the Text toolbar (Figure 3) available in Draw when working text. If the Text toolbar is not available, go to View > Toolbars on the Menu bar and select Text from the context menu to add it to the available toolbars. The tools available on the Text toolbar, numbered from left to right, are as follows:

1)  Insert Text Box (F2)

2)  Fit Text in Textbox Size

3)  Callouts

4)  Insert Vertical Text

5)  Fit Vertical Text to Frame

6)  Vertical Callouts

Text boxes

Creating text boxes

When text is added to a drawing, a text box is automatically created to contain the text. By default, the text box either expands horizontally to accommodate a single line of horizontal text, or vertically to accommodate a single line of vertical text.

Note

Text boxes are only for text and cannot contain illustrations, inline pictures, formulas, tables, or objects.

1)  Activate text mode in Draw for horizontal or vertical, see “Activating text mode” on page 1. The Text Formatting toolbar automatically opens, replacing the Line and Filling toolbar.

2)  Click at the approximate position in the drawing to insert the text box. A text box is created containing a flashing text cursor for the operating system and computer setup being used.

3)  Type or paste the text into the text box and the text box expands either horizontally or vertically to accommodate a single line of text. Also, the left corner of the Status Bar indicates text edit mode and the position of the text cursor (Figure 4).

4)  To create multiple lines in the text box, use one of the following methods:

Figure 4: Example of text information on the Status Bar

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5)  Move, resize, rotate or format the text box as required. For more information, see the following sections and Chapter 3, Working with Objects.

6)  Format the text using the various tools on the Text Formatting toolbar. For more information on text formatting, see “Formatting text” on page 1.

7)  When adding and formatting text is completed, click outside the text box to save the changes and deselect the text box.

Text box borders

By default, when a text box is created, the borders of the text box are only displayed when the text box is selected. If necessary, use one of the following methods to create a visible border around the text box.

Line and Filling toolbar

1)  If the Line and Filling toolbar is not visible, go to View > Toolbars > Line and Filling on the Menu bar to open the toolbar.

2)  Click on a text box to select it and display the border indicating that the text box is in edit mode.

3)  In Line Style on the Line and Filling toolbar (Figure 5), select a line style from the options in the drop‑down list.

Figure 5: Line and Filling toolbar

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Figure 6: Line dialog for text box border

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4)  In Line Width on the Line and Filling toolbar, enter a line width for the text box border.

5)  In Line Color on the Line and Filling toolbar, select a color from one of the available color palettes, or create a custom color.

6)  Click outside the text box to exit edit mode and save the changes.

Line dialog

1)  Click on a text box to select it and display the border indicating that the text box is in edit mode.

2)  Open the Line dialog (Figure 6) using one of the following methods:

3)  Click on Line to open the Line page.

4)  In Style, select a line style from the drop-down list to use as a text box border.

5)  In Color, select a color for the line style from one of the available color palettes, or create a custom color.

6)  In Width, enter a width for the line style selected.

7)  In Transparency, enter a percentage value for the line style, if required.

8)  In Corner Style, select the type of corner style from the drop‑down list.

9)  Click OK to save the changes and close the Line dialog, then click outside the text box to exit edit mode.

Note

For a corner style to be clearly visible in a text box border, it is recommended to set the line width to a thickness above 0.35cm, as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7: Example of using rounded corners

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Figure 8: Line panel in Properties deck on Sidebar

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Line panel in Sidebar

1)  Click on a text box to select it and display the border indicating that the text box is in edit mode.

2)  In the Sidebar, click on Properties to open the Properties deck in the Sidebar, then click on Line to open the Line panel (Figure 8).

3)  In Line, select a line style from the drop-down list to use as a text box border.

4)  In Width, enter a width for the line style selected.

5)  In Color, select a color for the line style from one of the available color palettes, or create a custom color.

6)  In Transparency, enter a percentage value for the line style, if required.

7)  In Corner Style, select the type of corner style from the drop‑down list, as shown by the example in Figure 7.

8)  Click outside the text box to exit edit mode.

Moving text boxes

1)  Click on a text box to select it and display the border indicating that the text box is in edit mode.

2)  Move the cursor over the border. The cursor changes shape to the move symbol for the computer setup (for example, a clenched hand).

3)  Click on the border and drag the text box to a new position in the drawing. A ghosted outline of the text box shows where it will be placed (Figure 9).

4)  Release the text box when it is in the required position.

5)  To accurately position a text box, use the Position and Size dialog, or the Position and Size panel in the Properties deck on the Sidebar. See Chapter 3, Working with Objects for more information.

6)  When the text box is in the required position, click outside the text box to save the changes and deselect the text box.

Resizing text boxes

1)  Click on a text box to select it and display the border indicating that the text box is in edit mode.

2)  Move the cursor over one of the selection handles. The cursor changes shape to the resizing symbol for the computer setup (for example, a double-headed arrow). The selection handles are used to resize the text box as follows:

Figure 9: Example of moving a text box

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Figure 10: Example of resizing a text box

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3)  Click and drag the border to a new position to resize the text box. A ghosted outline of the text box shows is displayed as the text box is resized (Figure 10).

4)  Release the text box when it reaches the required size.

5)  To accurately resize a text box, use the Position and Size dialog, or the Position and Size panel in the Properties deck on the Sidebar. See Chapter 3, Working with Objects for more information.

6)  When the text box is at the required size, click outside the text box to save the changes and deselect the text box.

Note

Press and hold the Shift key to maintain text box proportions, then click and drag a selection handle to resize. Release the cursor before releasing the Shift key.

Rotating text boxes

1)  Click on a text box to select it and display the border indicating that the text box is in edit mode.

2)  Click again on the text border and the selection handles change shape and color to indicate rotation mode.

3)  Click on a corner selection handle and drag to rotate the text box. A ghosted outline of the text box being rotated appears (Figure 11) and the current angle of rotation is shown in the status bar.

4)  Release the text box is at the desired rotation angle.

5)  To accurately rotate a text box, use the Rotation page in Position and Size dialog, or the Position and Size panel in the Properties deck on the Sidebar. See Chapter 3, Working with Objects for more information.

Figure 11: Example rotating a text box

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Note

When in rotation mode, the top, bottom, and side selection handles, though visible, are not available for rotating a text box. Also, text boxes cannot be sheared, slanted, or flipped vertically/horizontally.

Formatting text boxes

Text boxes are treated the same as other basic shapes in a drawing when formatting the area fill or borders of a box. See Chapter 3, Working with Objects for more information on formatting the area fill or borders of a text box. After formatting the text box to match the drawing requirements, format the text attributes to make the text appear correctly inside the text box:

1)  Select a text box and use one of the following methods to open the Text dialog (Figure 12).

2)  Click on Text in the Text dialog to open the Text page and access to the formatting options.

3)  If required, click on Text Animation to open the Text Animation page to access options for animating the text. For more information on using text animation in a drawing, see “Text animation” on page 1.

4)  If required, click on Text Columns to open the Text Columns page to access the options for creating columns in a text box. For more information on using text columns in a drawing, see “Text columns” on page 1.

Figure 12: Text dialog — Text page — formatting text boxes

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5)  Click OK to save the changes to text attributes and close the Text dialog.

6)  Click in a blank space to deselect the text box and end the text editing mode.

Text box formatting options

Drawing Object Text

Fit width to text

Expands or reduces text box width to match the length of the text, if the text box is smaller or larger than the text. Can be used with Fit height to text to automatically adjust width and height of the text box to the text.

Fit height to text

Expands or reduces the text box height to match the height of the text, if the text box is smaller or larger than the text. Can be used with Fit width to text to automatically adjust width and height of the text box to the text.

Fit to frame

Resizes text width and height to fit the entire area of the text box without changing the text box width or height. This option is not available if Fit width to text and/or Fit height to text options are selected.

Spacing to Borders

Specify the amount of space to leave between the text and the borders of the text box.

Text Anchor

Anchors the text to one of nine positions within the text box. The left and right anchor positions can only be selected when Full width is not selected. A text anchor only determines the position of the text within the text box and does not change the paragraph alignment of the text inside the text box.

Full width

When selected, the text box width expands to fit the longest paragraph of text inside the text box as a single line. When selected, only the top, middle or bottom center positions in Text Anchor can be used to anchor the text inside the text box.

Deleting text boxes

1)  Click on the text box so that the selection handles are visible indicating that the text box is in edit mode.

2)  Press the Delete or Backspace key. The text box is deleted without any warning.

Text in Draw objects

Note

Text can be added to most Draw objects. However, text cannot be added to 3D objects, or control elements such as buttons.

By default, an object is not dynamic when first created in Draw and does not behave like a text box. Also, text does not word wrap inside an object. To keep text within the borders of an object, use word wrap, paragraphs, line breaks, smaller text size, increasing object size, or a combination of all methods. Actual method method available depends on the type of Draw object selected.

Figure 13: Example of text word wrap inside an object

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  1. No word wrap

  2. Word wrap to shape applied

Adding text to objects

An example of adding text into a Draw object is shown in Figure 13. The left object does not have the word wrap option applied and the right object has the word wrap option applied.

1)  Create an object in a drawing and make sure the object is selected with the selection handles displayed.

1)  Enter text mode on the selected object using one of the following methods:

2)  Type or paste text into the selected object.

3)  Format the text using the various tools on the Text Formatting toolbar, the panels in the Properties deck on the Sidebar, or the options in Format on the Menu bar. For more information on text formatting, see “Formatting text” on page 1.

4)  If the text goes outside the object borders, click on Text in the Text dialog to open the Text page (Figure 14) and access text formatting options for a Draw object.

5)  If required, click on Text Animation to open the Text Animation page and access animation options for text. For more information on using text animation in a drawing, see “Text animation” on page 1.

6)  If required, click on Text Columns to open the Text Columns page and access options for creating columns inside an object. For more information on using text columns in a drawing, see “Text columns” on page 1.

Text options for objects

Custom Shape Text

Word wrap text in shape

Wraps text to fit inside an object. For example, if the width of the object is changed, then the height of the object either increases or decreases allowing for the increase or decrease in the number of text lines.

Resize shape to fit text

Resizes the object to fit the text that is being entered into the object. For example, if the object already contains one multi-line paragraph of text and this option is selected, then the object width expands and the height decreases until the text is a single line of text.

Figure 14: Text dialog — Text page — adding text to objects

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Spacing to Borders

Specify the amount of space to leave between the text and the borders of the object.

Text Anchor

Anchors the text to one of nine positions within the text box. The left and right anchor positions can only be selected when Full width is not selected. A text anchor only determines the position of the text within the text box and does not change the paragraph alignment of the text inside the object.

Full width

When selected, the object width expands to fit the longest paragraph of text inside the object as a single line. When selected, only the top, middle or bottom center positions in Text Anchor can be used to anchor the text inside the text box.

Pasting text

Text is pasted into a text box or object by copying text from another object, drawing, or document. Pasted text retains formatting from the source drawing or document and may not match formatting of the text already in use. It is good practice to paste text without formatting and apply formatting later to match any text already in a drawing.

Note

Using Format > Paste on the Menu bar, or the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+V (macOS ⌘+V) pastes copied text directly into a drawing and NOT into an object, creating an OLE object. When creating text boxes or adding text to Draw objects, it is recommended to paste text into Draw as unformatted text.

1)  Copy and paste text as unformatted text into a drawing, or draw object using one of the following methods:

2)  Format the pasted text to the drawing requirements, or apply a drawing style. Unformatted text is pasted into a text box at the cursor position, or inside a selected object and formatted to the default drawing style.

Formatting text

Text formatting gives a drawing a more consistent and professional look without any distracting elements. Text formatting tools are available on the Text Formatting toolbar and drop‑down menus in Format on the Menu bar. For more information on text formatting, see the Writer Guide.

If there are several text boxes and/or objects in a drawing that require the same text formatting, it is recommended to use drawing styles. For more information on using and creating styles, see Chapter 4, Changing Object Attributes.

Quick font resizing

After selecting text, is quickly increase or decrease font size using the tools Increase Font Size (Ctrl+]) (macOS ⌘+]) and Decrease Font Size (Ctrl+[) (macOS ⌘+[) on the Text Formatting toolbar. Changing font size depends on the standard sizes available for the font in use.

Selecting text

Text must be selected before it can be formatted using one of the following methods. Any formatting changes apply only to the selected text.

Paragraph formatting

Direct formatting

Direct text formatting is applied directly to characters, words, sentences, and paragraphs overriding any formatting that has been applied using styles.

1)  Select the text (see “Selecting textabove) and format using one of the following methods:

2)  Click outside the text box, or object to deselect the text edit mode.

Paragraph dialog

1)  Click anywhere in the paragraph being formatted.

2)  Use one of the following methods to open the Paragraph dialog (Figure 15).

3)  Use the various options on the tabbed pages of the Paragraph dialog to format the text.

4)  Click OK to save the changes and close the Paragraph dialog.

5)  Click outside the text box or object to deselect the text.

Figure 15: Paragraph dialog — Indents & Spacing page

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Figure 16: Paragraph panel in Properties deck on Sidebar

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Note

For information on the various formatting options available for text in the pages of the Paragraph dialog, refer to the Writer Guide.

Paragraph panel in Sidebar

An alternative method of formatting paragraphs is to use the Paragraph panel (Figure 16) in the Properties deck on the Sidebar. Formatting options are limited, but similar in use to the formatting options available in the Paragraph dialog. Any formatting applied to a paragraph using the Sidebar is immediate.

1)  Click anywhere in the paragraph being formatted.

2)  On the Sidebar, click on Properties to open the Properties deck.

3)  If necessary, click on the expansion symbol on the left of the Paragraph title bar to open the Paragraph panel.

4)  Format the text using the various options available in the Paragraph panel.

5)  If necessary, click on More Options on the right of the title bar to open the Paragraph dialog to format text.

Note

For information on the various formatting options available for text in the Paragraph panel on the Sidebar, refer to the Writer Guide.

Character formatting

Direct formatting

Direct or manual character formatting is applied to individual characters and words. Direct character formatting overrides any formatting that has been applied using paragraph formatting and drawing styles.

1)  Select the characters for formatting, see “Selecting text” on page 1 for more information.

2)  Format characters using one of the following methods.

3)  Click outside the text box or object to deselect the text.

Character dialog

1)  Select the characters for formatting and open the Character dialog (Figure 17) using one of the following methods:

2)  Use the options on the tabbed pages of the Character dialog to format the selected characters.

Figure 17: Character dialog — Fonts page

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Figure 18: Character panel in Properties deck on Sidebar

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3)  Click OK to apply the formatting changes and close the dialog.

4)  Click outside the text box or object to deselect the text.

Note

For information on the various formatting options available for characters in the pages of the Character dialog, refer to the Writer Guide.

Sidebar Character panel

An alternative method of formatting text is to use the Character panel (Figure 18) in the Properties deck on the Sidebar. The formatting options available are limited, but similar in use to the formatting options available in the various pages of the Character dialog. Most of the options are also available on the Text Formatting toolbar.

1)  Select a text box or object so that the selection handles on the border are displayed.

2)  On the Sidebar, click on Properties to open the Properties deck.

3)  Click on the expansion symbol on the left of the Character title bar to open the Character panel.

4)  Format the text using the tools in the Character panel.

5)  If necessary, click on More Options on the right of the title bar to open the Character dialog to format text.

Note

For information on the various formatting options available for characters in the Character panel on the Sidebar, refer to the Writer Guide.

Unordered or ordered lists

Unordered (bulleted) and ordered (numbered) lists can be created in text boxes and objects. When creating lists in objects, Draw objects are not dynamic and do not automatically expand as a list is created.

Creating unordered or ordered lists in Draw is similar to LibreOffice Writer. For more information on unordered or ordered lists, see the Writer Guide.

Creating lists

Unordered or ordered lists are created in text boxes, or Draw objects as follows:

1)  Select all the required text for a list.

2)  Create a list using one of the following methods and default settings for lists:

3)  To change the format of the list, click on the triangle ▼ on the right of the list icons and select a list style from the options available in the pop-up More Bullets dialog (Figures 20) or More Numbering dialog (Figure 21).

Figure 19: Lists panel in Properties deck on Sidebar

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Figure 20: More Bullets dialog

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Figure 21: More Numbering dialog

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Adjusting list item level and position

The level for each item in an unordered or ordered list is demoted or promoted within a list, or moved up or down in list order as follows:

1)  Click on a list item being demoted, promoted, or moved up or down.

2)  Demote a list item down one level at a time using one of the following methods:

3)  Promote a list item up one level at a time using one of the following methods:

4)  Change the position of a list item in the list order using one of the following methods:

Bullets and Numbering dialog

Use the Bullets and Numbering dialog (Figure 22) for more control over list formatting. Select text in a text box or object and open the dialog using one of the following methods:

Figure 22: Bullets and Numbering dialog

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Note

For more information on the options available in the Bullets and Numbering dialog for unordered or ordered lists, see the Writer Guide.

Text columns

Text in a drawing can be formatted into columns inside text boxes and objects. However, columns cannot be used on separate parts of text inside a text box or object. The whole of the text box, or object has to be used for columns. An example of text columns inside a Draw object is shown in Figure 23.

The type of columns used in Draw are continuous flow columns. This means that when text reaches the bottom of a column, text automatically flows into the next column as more text is added.

Figure 23: Example of text columns in a rectangle basic shape

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Figure 24: Text dialog — Text Columns page

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Text boxes

1)  Click the border of a text box to select it so that the selection handles are displayed indicating that the text box is in edit mode.

2)  Open the options for text columns using one of the following methods:

3)  Set the number of columns required in the Number of columns box and the required spacing between the columns in the Spacing box.

4)  Save the changes and deselect the text box using one of the following methods:

Note

Any text inside a text box, or drawing object automatically flows into column format when the changes are saved.

Figure 25: Columns panel in Properties deck on Sidebar

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Drawing objects

1)  Click on an object to select it so that the selection handles are displayed indicating that the object is in edit mode.

2)  Double-click on the selected object to switch on text edit mode.

3)  Open the options for text columns using one of the following methods:

4)  Set the number of columns required in the Number of columns box and the required spacing between the columns in the Spacing box.

5)  Save the changes and deselect the object using one of the following methods:

6)  Double-click again on the object to switch on text edit mode.

7)  Type or use copy and paste to enter the required text. Any text entered appears in column format.

8)  If necessary, format the text to the drawing requirements.

9)  Click outside the object to deselect it and save the changes.

Figure 26: Text dialog — Text Animation page

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Text animation

Note

Text animation is not recommended in a drawing unless the drawing is going to be displayed as part of a presentation. See the Impress Guide for more information on text animation.

Creating text animation

1)  Right-click on text in a text box, or drawing object and select Text Attributes from the context menu to open the Text dialog.

2)  Click on Text Animation to open the Text Animation page in the Text dialog (Figure 26).

3)  In Effect, select how the text appears during the text animation.

4)  In Direction, select which direction the text appears from during animation.

5)  In Properties, select Start inside for the text to be visible and inside the drawing object when applying the animation effect.

6)  In Properties, select Text visible when exiting for the text to remain visible after applying the animation effect.

7)  In Animation cycles, select either Continuous, or enter the number of animation cycles for the animated text.

8)  In Increment, select the increment value in Pixels for scrolling the text.

9)  In Delay, specify Automatic, or enter the time delay to wait before repeating the animation effect.

10)  Click OK to save the changes and close the Text dialog.

Text animation options

Effect

Select the animation effect from the drop-down list to apply to the text in the selected drawing object. To remove an animation effect, select No Effect.

Direction

Select a scrolling direction for the animated text.

Properties

Start inside

Text is visible and inside the drawing object when applying the animation effect.

Text visible when exiting

Text remains visible after applying the animation effect.

Animation cycles

Set the looping options for the animation effect.

Continuous

Plays the animation effect continuously. To specify the number of times to play the animation effect, deselect this check box, and enter the number of cycles in the Continuous box.

Increment

Specifies the increment value in the Pixels box for scrolling the text.

Delay

Specifies the amount of time before repeating the animation effect.

Automatic

LibreOffice automatically determines the amount of time before repeating the animation effect. To manually assign a delay period, unmark this check box, and then enter a time value in the Automatic box.

Text callouts

A text callout is a short line of text connected by a line to highlight, or point out a feature of an illustration or drawing. Two types of text callouts (Figure 27) are available –– Callouts for horizontal text and Vertical Callouts for vertical text. Text callouts in LibreOffice Draw are a legacy from the first versions of LibreOffice and are only available on the Text toolbar.

Note

Custom shape callouts can also be found by selecting Callout Shapes on the Drawing toolbar, or the Callouts panel in the Shapes deck on the Sidebar. These custom shape callouts have the same purpose as text callouts, but have different options available.

Creating text callouts

1)  Click on Callouts for horizontal text, or Vertical Callouts for vertical text on the Text toolbar.

2)  Click in the drawing and drag the cursor to create the callout.

Figure 27: Example of horizontal and vertical text callouts

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3)  Double click in the callout box to enter text mode.

4)  Type the required text, then click in a blank space in the drawing. The callout box adjusts its size horizontally and/or vertically to fit the text within the callout box.

5)  Select the callout and click on the selection handle at the end of the connector line, then drag the end of the connector line to the required position.

6)  With the callout still selected, click on the callout box and drag it to the required position.

7)  Click in a blank space in the drawing to deselect the text callout and save the changes.

Editing text callouts

1)  Double click in the callout box to enter text mode to edit and format the text. See “Formatting text” on page 1 for more information on text formatting.

2)  Click in a blank space on the drawing to save the changes to the text.

3)  Select the text callout so that the selection handles are displayed.

4)  Right click on the selected text callout and select an option from the context menu to change the attributes for position, size, line, and area of the text callout. For more information, see Chapter 3, Working with Objects, and Chapter 4, Changing Object Attributes.

5)  Click on the selection handle at the end of the connector line and drag it to change the position of the line end or the length of the connector line.

6)  Select the text callout and open the Position and Size dialog (Figure 28) using one of the following methods:

Note

The Callout page in the Position and Size dialog is only available when a text callout has been selected. It is not available for Callout Shapes that are available on the Drawing toolbar, or the Callouts panel in the Shapes deck on the Sidebar.

Figure 28: Position and Size dialog — Callout page

Image27

7)  Click Callout to open the formatting options available for text callouts.

8)  Select the style of text callout from Straight Line, Angled Line, or Angled Connector Line.

9)  In Spacing, enter the amount of space required between the end of the callout line and the callout box.

10)  In Extension, select from the available options how the callout line from extends the callout box.

11)  If From top, or From left has been selected from the Extension drop-down list, enter a distance value in the By: box to create a space between the start point of the connector line and the callout box.

12)  If Horizontal, or Vertical has been selected from the Extension drop-down list, enter a position setting from the Position drop-down list to set the position of where the connector line is attached to the text callout box.

13)  In Length, enter the length of the callout line segment that extends from the callout box to the angle point of the connector line.

Note

The Length option is only available if Angled Connector Line is selected as the callout style and the Optimal check box is not selected.

14)  Select Optimal to display the angle point in a connector line at an optimal distance from the callout box.

15)  Click in a blank space in the drawing to deselect the text callout and save the changes.

Text callout options

Callout Styles

Select the required callout style from the options available.

Spacing

Enter the amount of space required between the end of the callout line and the callout box.

Extension

Select where and how the callout line extends from the callout box.

Length

Enter the length of the callout line segment that extends from the callout box to the inflection point of the line.

Optimal

Select this option to display a single line in the optimum position.

Note

The Length option is only available if Angled connector line is selected as the callout style and Optimal is not selected.

Tables in Draw

Tables provide information easily and quickly when used in a drawing. Tables can be added directly to a drawing eliminating the need to embed a Calc spreadsheet, or a Writer text table. However, it makes sense to embed a spreadsheet into a drawing, especially when greater functionality is required in the table. The tables provided by Draw do have a limited functionality.

Inserting tables

Tables are placed at the center of a drawing and cannot be placed into objects or shapes. Also, unlike text boxes and other objects, tables cannot be rotated.

Note

When inserting tables into a drawing, the table is created using the default style with settings already applied. Currently these defaults are hard coded in LibreOffice. The table can be formatted to the drawing requirements after insertion.

Table dialog

1)  Go to Insert > Table on the Menu bar to open the Insert Table dialog (Figure 29).

2)  Enter the number of rows and columns required.

3)  Click OK to insert the table in the center of a drawing and close the dialog.

4)  Move the table into position by clicking on the border and dragging it to its new position.

Figure 29: Insert Table dialog

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Figure 30: Table toolbar

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Figure 31: Table grid

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Table grid

1)  Click on Table on the Table toolbar (Figure 30), or Standard toolbar to open the Table grid (Figure 31).

2)  Click and drag the cursor until the required number of columns and rows are selected,

3)  Click again to insert the table into the center of a drawing and close the Table grid.

4)  If necessary, click on More Options to open the Insert Table dialog to select the number of rows and columns required.

5)  Move the table into position by clicking on the border and dragging it to its new position.

Notes

If the Table toolbar is not visible, go to View > Toolbars > Table on the Menu bar. The Table toolbar is normally docked at the bottom of the Draw window.

The Table grid is only available on the Standard toolbar for computers using a Windows or Linux operating system.

Figure 32: Table Design panel in Properties deck on Sidebar

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Table Design panel

Several predefined table designs are provided in the Table Design panel in the Properties deck on the Sidebar (Figure 32). The Table Design panel is only available when a table is selected.

Inserting table designs

1)  Insert a table into a drawing or select a table in a drawing.

2)  Click on Table Design in the Properties deck on the Sidebar to open the Table Design panel.

3)  Select a design for the table from the available design options.

4)  Format the rows and columns using the available options listed below the Table Design panel.

5)  Alternatively, right click on the selected table design and select the format options for the rows and columns from the context menu.

Creating table designs

1)  Insert a table into a drawing, then select the new table.

2)  Click on Table Design in the Properties deck on the Sidebar to open the Table Design panel, or click on Table Design on the Table toolbar.

3)  Click on the plus sign in Table Design panel to create a new design.

4)  Make sure the new design is selected, then format the rows and columns from the available options listed below the Table Design panel.

5)  Alternatively, right click on the new table design and select the format options for the rows and columns from the context menu.

Table design options

Header row

Selected by default. The first row is normally a header row and is displayed with a different background from the rest of the table.

Total row

When selected, changes the background of the last row to make it stand out from other rows.

Banded rows

Selected by default. Alternate rows have different backgrounds making it easier to read data entered into the rows.

First column

When selected, highlights the first column of the table using a darker background.

Last column

When selected, highlights the last column of the table using a darker background.

Banded columns

When selected, alternate columns are highlighted with dark and light colors.

Table formatting

Format a selected table using the tools and options available on the Table toolbar, by going to Format > Table on the Menu bar, or using the options available in the Table Properties dialog.

Table toolbar

The Table toolbar (Figure 30 above) automatically opens when a table is selected providing tools for creating and formatting a table. The default position for the toolbar is docked at the bottom of the Draw Workspace.

Table

Inserts a new table in a drawing using the Insert Table dialog or the Table grid. See “Inserting tables” on page 1 for more information on inserting tables.

Border Style

Changes the line style of the borders of selected cells. Click on the triangle▼ next to Border Style to open a drop-down list and select from a range of predefined styles.

Border Color

Changes the color of the borders of selected cells. Click on the triangle▼ next to Border Color to access the available LibreOffice color palettes. Select a color from a range of predefined palettes or create a custom color.

Borders

Selects a predefined border configuration for the selected table, or cells. Click on the triangle▼ next to Borders to open a drop-down list to select a border configuration.

Area Style/Filling

Select the cells to be filled, then select the type of fill from the drop‑down list: None, Color, Gradient, Hatching, Bitmap, Pattern, Use Slide Background.

Fill Color

Select a fill option from the drop-down menu. The fill options change to show the fillings available for each Area Style/Filling type.

Figure 33: Split Cells dialog

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Merge Cells

Merges the selected cells into one cell. Note that the contents of the merged cells are also merged. Alternatively, right-click on selected cells and select Merge Cells from the context menu.

Split Cells

Splits a selected cell into multiple cells either horizontally or vertically. Make sure the cursor is positioned on the cell, then click on Split Cells to open the Split Cells dialog (Figure 33).

In Split cells into, select the number of cells required when splitting a cell and whether to split the cell Horizontally or Vertically. If necessary, when splitting horizontally, select Into equal proportions to create cells of equal size. The contents of the split cell are kept in the original cell (left or top cell).

Optimize

Evenly distributes the selected rows and columns in a table either horizontally or vertically. Clicking on Optimize opens a pop-up toolbar which contains the following tools:

Minimal Row Height

Determines the minimal row height for selected rows. Minimal row height depends on the font size of the smallest character in the row.

Minimal Column Width

Defines the minimal column width for selected columns. Minimal column width depends on the shortest entry within a column.

Optimal Row Height

Determines the optimal row height for selected rows. Optimal row height depends on the font size of the largest character in the row.

Optimal Column Width

Defines the optimal column width for selected columns. Optimal column width depends on the longest entry within a column.

Distribute Rows Equally

Adjusts the height of the selected rows to match the height of the tallest row in the selection.

Distribute Columns Evenly

Adjusts the width of the selected columns to match the width of the widest column in the selection. The total width of the table cannot exceed the width of the page.

Align Top, Center Vertically, Align Bottom

Sets the vertical alignment of text in selected cells.

Insert Row Above, Insert Row Below

Click in a cell or cells to select rows and use these two tools to insert a row or rows above or below the selected rows. Alternatively, right‑click on the selected rows and select Insert > Insert Row Above or Insert Row Below.

Insert Column Before, Insert Column After

Click in a cell or cells to select columns and use these two tools to insert a column or columns before or after the selected columns. Alternatively, right‑click on the selected columns and select Insert > Insert Column Before or Insert Column After.

Delete Row, Delete Column, Delete Table

Click in a cell or cells to select rows or columns, then click on a tool to delete the selected rows or columns. To delete the whole table, place the cursor in a cell and select Delete Table. Alternatively, right-click on the selected cells and select Delete > Delete Row, or Delete Column, or Delete Table from the context menu.

Select Table, Select Column, Select Row

Select a table, column, or row if the same attributes are going to be applied to a table, column, or row.

Table Design

Clicking on this tool opens the Table Design panel in the Properties deck on the Sidebar. See “Table Design panel” on page 1 for more information.

Table Properties

Clicking on this tool opens the Table Properties dialog. Alternatively, right-click on the table and select Table Properties from the context menu.

Menu bar

Go to Format > Table on the Menu bar and select a formatting option from the submenu .

Minimal Row Height

Determines the minimal row height for selected rows. Minimal row height depends on the font size of the smallest character in the row.

Optimal Row Height

Determines the optimal row height for selected rows. Optimal row height depends on the font size of the largest character in the row.

Distribute Columns Evenly

Adjusts the width of the selected columns to match the width of the widest column in the selection. The total width of the table cannot exceed the width of the page.

Select Row

Selects the row or rows where cells have been selected in the table.

Insert Rows

Inserts rows in the table where cells have been selected in the table.

Delete Row

Deletes rows in the table where cells have been selected in the table.

Minimal Column Width

Defines the minimal column width for selected columns. Minimal column width depends on the shortest entry within a column.

Optimal Column Width

Defines the optimal column width for selected columns. Optimal column width depends on the longest entry within a column.

Distribute Columns Evenly

Adjusts the width of the selected columns to match the width of the widest column in the selection. The total width of the table cannot exceed the width of the page.

Select Column

Selects the column or columns where cells have been selected in the table.

Insert Columns

Inserts columns in the table where cells have been selected in the table.

Delete Column

Deletes columns in the table where cells have been selected in the table.

Merge Cells

Merges the selected cells into one cell. The contents of the merged cells are also merged. Alternatively, right-click on selected cells and select Merge Cells from the context menu.

Split Cells

Splits a selected cell into multiple cells either horizontally or vertically. Make sure that the cursor is positioned on the cell, then click on Split Cells to open the Split Cells dialog.

Delete Table

To delete the whole table, place the cursor in a cell and select Delete Table. Alternatively, right-click on the selected cells and select Delete Table from the context menu.

Select…

Selects the whole table.

Properties…

Opens the Table Properties dialog.

Figure 34: Table Properties dialog — Font page

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Figure 35: Table Properties dialog — Font Effects page

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Table Properties dialog

The Table Properties dialog has five tabbed pages that provide formatting options for Font, Font Effects, Borders, Background, and Shadow. Open the Table Properties dialog using one of the following methods:

The formatting options on each dialog page are as follows:

Font (Figure 34)

Select the required Family, Style, Size, and Language for text in the table. A sample of the font selected is displayed in the preview box. See the Writer Guide for more information on fonts.

Font Effects (Figure 35)

Select the required Font Color, Text Decoration, and Effects for the text in the table. A sample of the font effects applied to the text is displayed in the preview box. See the Writer Guide for more information on font effects.

Borders (Figure 36)

Select the required Line Arrangement, Line, and Padding for the table and cell borders. These options are similar to the tools Border Style, Border Color, and Borders on the Table toolbar. See Chapter 4, Changing Object Attributes for more information on the lines used for table and cell borders.

Figure 36: Table Properties dialog — Borders page

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Figure 37: Table Properties dialog — Background page

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Background (Figure 37)

Select a background as the area fill for the table and/or selected cells. This dialog page provides the same functions as Area Style/Filling tools on the Table toolbar. See Chapter 4, Changing Object Attributes for more information on area style and filling used for table and cell backgrounds.

Shadow (Figure 38)

Adds a shadow to the table. The options adjust the look and position of the shadow. See Chapter 4, Changing Object Attributes for more information on table shadows.

Figure 38: Table Properties dialog — Shadow page

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Figure 39: Position and Size dialog

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Table position and size

Tables are placed into boxes when created allowing tables to be formatted as a Draw object. After selecting the table, use one of the following methods to change table position and size. See “Text boxes” on page 1 and Chapter 3, Working with Objects for more information positioning and resizing.

After selecting the table, use one of the following methods to open the Position and Size dialog:

Note

When the size of a table box is changed, the table and cell contents also increases or decreases in size to match the box size.

Deleting tables

Whole table

Make sure the table is selected and the selection handles are visible on the table border, then delete the table using one of the following methods:

Row or column

Click in a table cell to delete the table row or column using one of the following methods. Make sure the table selection handles are NOT displayed.

Cell contents

Delete cell contents in a table as follows:

1)  Select the cell or cells.

2)  Press the Delete, or Backspace key on the keyboard.

Using fields

Fields allow for the automatic insertion of text into a drawing and are used when creating templates and drawing masters. For more information on templates and master drawings, see Chapter 11, Advanced Drawing Techniques.

Inserting fields

When a field is created, a text box for the field is inserted into the center of a drawing and can be repositioned just like any other text box. See “Text boxes” on page 1 for more information.

1)  Go to Insert > Field on the Menu bar and select the type of field required.

2)  If necessary, position and resize the field text box.

3)  If necessary, format the text used for the field information. See “Formatting text” on page 1 for more information.

Field types

Date (fixed)

Inserts the current date into a drawing as a fixed field. The date is not automatically updated. Available date formats depend on the language setting in Tools > Options > Language Settings > Language (macOS LibreOffice > Preferences > Language Settings > Language). Right-click on the date field and select the required date format from the context menu.

Date (variable)

Inserts the current date into a drawing as a variable field. The date is automatically updated each time the file is opened. Available date formats depend on the language setting in Tools > Options > Language Settings > Language (macOS LibreOffice > Preferences > Language Settings > Language). Right-click on the date field and select the required date format from the context menu.

Time (fixed)

Inserts the current time into a drawing as a fixed field. The time is not automatically updated. Available time formats depend on the language setting in Tools > Options > Language Settings > Language (macOS LibreOffice > Preferences > Language Settings > Language). Right-click on the time field and select the required time format from the context menu.

Time (variable)

Inserts the current time into a drawing as a variable field. The time is automatically updated each time the file is opened. Available time formats depend on the language setting in Tools > Options > Language Settings > Language (macOS LibreOffice > Preferences > Language Settings > Language). Right-click on the time field and select the required time format from the context menu.

Author

Inserts the first and last names of the author of the drawing. This information is taken from values entered in the LibreOffice user data. To modify this information go to Tools > Options > LibreOffice > User Data (macOS LibreOffice > Preferences > LibreOffice > User Data).

Page Number

Inserts the page number into the current drawing. Alternatively, go to Insert > Page Number on the Menu bar. If a page number is to be added to every page in the drawing, go to View > Master on the Menu bar and insert the page number field.

Page Title

Inserts the page title. The default name is Page # if the page has not been renamed.

Page Count

Inserts the total number of pages in a drawing.

File Name

Inserts the name of the file used for the drawing. The file name only appears after the file has been saved.

Using hyperlinks

When inserting text that can be used as a hyperlink (for example, a website address or URL), Draw formats it automatically, creates the hyperlink, and applies color and underlining. There four types of hyperlinks and each hyperlink type requires a different procedure when inserting a hyperlink.

Tips

To prevent LibreOffice from automatically turning website addresses, or URLs into hyperlinks, go to Tools > AutoCorrect Options > Options on the Menu bar and deselect URL Recognition.

To change the color of hyperlinks, go to Tools > Options > LibreOffice > Application Colors, scroll to Unvisited links and/or Visited links, select the checkboxes, then select new colors from the color palettes for the links and click OK. Note this color change changes the color for all hyperlinks across all LibreOffice modules.

Figure 40: Hyperlink dialog — Internet page

Image39

Internet hyperlink

1)  Click in the text box at the required position for the hyperlink.

2)  Go to Insert > Hyperlink on the Menu bar, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+K (macOS ⌘+K) to open the Hyperlink dialog.

3)  Select Internet to open the Internet page of the Hyperlink dialog (Figure 40).

4)  In Protocol, select either Web, or FTP.

5)  In the URL text box, enter the required web address for the hyperlink.

6)  In the Name text box, enter a name for the hyperlink.

7)  If necessary, enter the details required for Further Settings. See “Further Settings” on page 1 for more information.

8)  Click Apply to insert the hyperlink and save the selections. If several hyperlinks are being created, click Apply after inserting each hyperlink.

9)  Click OK to close the Hyperlink dialog.

Figure 41: Hyperlink dialog — Mail page

Image40

Mail hyperlink

1)  Click in the text box at the required position for the hyperlink.

2)  Go to Insert > Hyperlink on the Menu bar, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+K (macOS ⌘+K) to open the Hyperlink dialog.

3)  Select Mail to open the Mail page of the Hyperlink dialog (Figure 41).

4)  In Recipient text box, enter the email details of the recipient.

5)  In the Subject text box, enter a subject title.

6)  If necessary, click on Data Sources to open a data source browser, then drag the email data field for the receiver from the data source browser into the Recipient text box.

7)  If necessary, enter the details required for Further Settings. See “Further Settings” on page 1 for more information.

8)  Click Apply to insert the hyperlink and save the selections. If several hyperlinks are being created, click Apply after inserting each hyperlink.

9)  Click OK to close the Hyperlink dialog.

Document hyperlink

Creates a hyperlink to another document or to another place in a document, commonly referred to as a bookmark.

1)  Click in the text box at the required position for the hyperlink.

2)  Go to Insert > Hyperlink on the Menu bar, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+K (macOS ⌘+K) to open the Hyperlink dialog.

3)  Select Document to open the Document page of the Hyperlink dialog (Figure 42).

Figure 42: Hyperlink dialog — Document page

Image41

Note

Leave Path blank if the link is to a target in the same drawing.

4)  In the Path text box, enter the file path for the document.

5)  Alternatively, click on Open File to open a file browser and select the file as a target for the hyperlink.

6)  Optionally, to specify a target in a specific drawing, click on Target in Document to open a dialog to select a target. However, if the name of the target is known, type it into the Target text box.

7)  If necessary, enter the details required for Further Settings. See “Further Settings” on page 1 for more information.

8)  Click Apply to insert the hyperlink and save the selections. If several hyperlinks are being created, click Apply after inserting each hyperlink.

9)  Click OK to close the Hyperlink dialog.

New Document hyperlink

Creates a new document and a hyperlink to the new document.

1)  Click in the text box at the required position for the hyperlink.

2)  Go to Insert > Hyperlink on the Menu bar, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+K (macOS ⌘+K) to open the Hyperlink dialog.

3)  Select New Document to open the New Document page of the Hyperlink dialog (Figure 43).

4)  In New Document select Edit now to edit the newly created document immediately, or Edit later to only create the hyperlink.

Figure 43: Hyperlink dialog — New Document page

Image42

5)  Select the type of document to create from the File type drop-down list.

6)  Click on Select path to open a file browser and navigate to the folder where the new document is going to be saved

7)  Select the folder and click on Open. The selected folder appears in the File text box.

8)  If necessary, enter the details required for Further Settings. See “Further Settings” on page 1 for more information.

9)  Click Apply to insert the hyperlink and save the selections. If several hyperlinks are being created, click Apply after inserting each hyperlink.

10)  Click OK to close the Hyperlink dialog.

Further Settings

The Further Settings section in the Hyperlink dialog is common to all hyperlink types, although some options are more relevant to specific types of links.

Frame

Enter a name for the frame in the Frame text box that the linked file opens in, or select a predefined frame from the list. If the Frame text box is empty, the linked file opens in the current browser window.

Form

Specifies whether the hyperlink is inserted as text, or as a button.

Text

Specifies the visible text, or button caption for the hyperlink.

Name

Applicable to HTML documents. It specifies the text added as a NAME attribute in the HTML code behind the hyperlink.

Editing text hyperlinks

1)  Select the hyperlink.

2)  Right-click on the hyperlink and select Edit Hyperlink from the context menu to open the Hyperlink dialog.

3)  Make editing changes using the available options.

4)  Click Apply to insert the hyperlink and save the selections. If several hyperlinks are being created, click Apply after inserting each hyperlink.

5)  Click OK to save the changes and close the Hyperlink dialog.

Note

DO NOT click directly on the hyperlink text when editing or formatting hyperlinks. Clicking on the hyperlink text opens the hyperlink.

Formatting hyperlinks

A hyperlink is inserted in the centre of the current slide. To edit the text, the size of a hyperlink text box, or to reposition the hyperlink on the slide:

1)  Click and drag a selection marquee over the hyperlink text to display a text box border and selection handles.

2)  Right-click on the selected hyperlink and select the type of formatting required from the options available in the context menu.

3)  To reposition hyperlink, click and drag on the text border to move the hyperlink on the slide.

4)  Select Position and Size from the context menu, or use the F4 key to open the Position and Size dialog. Options can be selected to move the hyperlink, or resize the text box.

Image maps

An image map defines areas of an image (called hotspots) associated with a URL (a web address or a file on the computer). Hotspots are the graphic equivalent of text hyperlinks. In Draw, clicking on a hotspot opens the linked page in the appropriate program (for example, default browser for HTML pages; LibreOffice Writer for ODT files; PDF viewer for PDF files).

Hotspots can be created in various shapes, such as rectangles, ellipses, and polygons, and include several hotspots in the same image. When a hotspot is clicked on, the URL opens in a browser window or frame that has been specified. The text that appears when the cursor hovers over a hotspot can also be specified.

Creating image maps

1)  Select an image in a drawing to use as a hotspot.

2)  Go to Tools > ImageMap on the Menu bar to open the Image Map Editor dialog (Figure 44). The main part of the dialog shows the selected image where hotspots will be defined.

3)  Select the type of hotspot area required from the icons at the top of the Image Map Editor dialog from the options Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, or Freeform Polygon.

4)  Draw the hotspot area onto the selected image.

Figure 44: Image Map Editor dialog

Image43

5)  Enter the hyperlink address for the hotspot in the Address text box using the address format: file:///<path>/document_name#anchor_name.

6)  Click on Apply to apply the settings.

7)  Click on Save to save the image map to a file.

8)  Click on Close the Image Map Editor dialog.

Image map tools

Apply

Applies the changes.

Open

Loads into the Image Map Editor an existing image map in the MAP-CERN, MAP-NCSA or SIP StarView image map file format.

Save

Saves the image map in the MAP-CERN, MAP-NCSA, or SIP StarView image map file format.

Select

Selects a hotspot in the image map for editing.

Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, Freeform Polygon

Draws a hotspot on the selected image in the shape selected.

Edit Points

Change the shape of the selected hotspot by editing the anchor points.

Move Points

Move the individual anchor points of the selected hotspot.

Insert Points

Adds an anchor point at the selected point on the outline of the hotspot.

Delete Points

Deletes a selected anchor point.

Undo

Cancels the previous action.

Redo

Reapplies the previous cancelled action.

Active

Toggles the status of a selected hotspot between active and inactive.

Macro

Assign a macro that runs when the hotspot is clicked on.

Properties

Define the properties of the selected hotspot.

Address

Enter the URL for the file that opens when the selected hotspot is clicked on. The address format to be used: file:///<path>/document_name#anchor_name.

Text

Enter the text that is displayed when the cursor rests on the hotspot . If no text is entered, the Address is displayed.

Frame

Enter the name of the target frame for the hotspot. Standard frame name can be selected from the drop-down list and used instead.

_blank

Opens in a new browser window.

_self

Default selection and opens in the current window.

_top

File opens in the topmost frame in the hierarchy.

_parent

File opens in the parent frame of the current frame. If there is no parent frame, the current frame is used.

Graphic view

Displays the image map so that the hotspots can be selected and edited.

Note

The value _self for the target frame will work on the vast majority of the occasions. It is not recommended to use the other values, if available, unless absolutely necessary.

Fontwork

Using Fontwork creates graphical text as objects in a drawing. Different settings for Fontwork (line, area, position, size, and more) are available to match the requirements of a drawing.

Fontwork is also available with the Writer, Calc, and Impress modules of LibreOffice, but there are small differences in the way that each LibreOffice module displays Fontwork.

Figure 45: Fontwork Gallery dialog

Image44

Figure 46: Example of creating Fontwork text

Image45

Creating Fontwork

1)  Go to Insert > Fontwork on the Menu bar to open the Fontwork Gallery dialog (Figure 45).

2)  Select a Fontwork style from the dialog.

3)  Double click on the selected Fontwork object, or select OK. This closes the Fontwork Gallery dialog and the selected Fontwork object appears in the center of the drawing.

4)  Double-click on the Fontwork object to switch on editing mode. The Fontwork text appears in the center of the image in text edit mode, as shown by the example in Figure 46.

Figure 47: Fontwork toolbar

Image46

Figure 48: Fontwork Shape sub-toolbar

Image47

5)  Highlight all of the black text to select, then type in the required text. to replace the highlighted black text.

6)  Press the Esc key, or click outside the selected area to apply the change and the text appears as a Fontwork object in the center of the drawing.

7)  If necessary reposition and resize the Fontwork object to the drawing requirements. See Chapter 3, Working With Objects and Chapter 4, Changing Object Attributes for more information.

Fontwork toolbar

The Fontwork toolbar (Figure 47) becomes visible and active on the Workspace when a Fontwork object is selected. If the toolbar is not visible, go to View > Toolbars > Fontwork on the Menu bar. The following tools are available for editing a Fontwork object.

Insert Fontwork Text

Opens the Fontwork Gallery dialog.

Fontwork Shape

Changes the shape of the selected object. Click on Fontwork Shape to open a pop-up toolbar and select a Fontwork shape for the available options. The shapes are shown in the Fontwork Shape floating sub-toolbar (Figure 48).

Fontwork Same Letter Heights

Changes the height of characters in the selected Fontwork object. Toggles between normal height where the characters have different heights to where all characters have the same height.

Fontwork Alignment

Specifies the text alignment within the frame. Options available are Left Align, Center, Right Align, Word Justify, and Stretch Justify.

Fontwork Character Spacing

Selects the spacing between characters and whether kerning pairs should be used. Options available are Very Tight, Tight, Normal, Loose, Very Loose, and Custom. For Custom spacing, input a percentage value: 100% is normal character spacing, less than 100% character spacing is tighter, and more than 100% character spacing is looser.

Toggle Extrusion

Converts the Fontwork object into a 3D shape using extrusion. See Chapter 7, 3D Objects for more information.

Modifying Fontwork

A Fontwork object is treated like any other object in Draw. It can be resized, rotated, skewed, slanted, flipped, and so on. For more information on modifying a Fontwork object, see Chapter 3, Working With Objects, Chapter 4, Changing Object Attributes, and Chapter 5, Combining Multiple Objects.

Fontwork consists of text, but only minimal text formatting options can be used with Fontwork text, for example font type, font size, Bold, or Italic.

Some of Fontwork shapes can be modified and this is indicated by a dot appearing on a selected shape. For example, change angles of a trapezoid, or parallelogram basic shapes by moving the dot displayed along with the selection handles.

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