Impress Guide 24.2
Chapter 12, User Interface Variants
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Contributors for this edition:
Peter Schofield
Contributors for previous editions:
Kees Kriek
Peter Schofield
Rachel Kartch
Vasudev Narayanan
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Published May 2024. Based on LibreOffice 24.2 Community.Other versions of LibreOffice may differ in appearance and functionality.
By default, commands and tools used in LibreOffice Impress are grouped in a user interface consisting of cascading menus and toolbars. The functions and use of these cascading menus and toolbars are described in previous chapters of this user guide.
This chapter describes the user interface variants that are available for LibreOffice Impress. A user then has the option to select the user interface that suits their requirements and methods of creating presentations in LibreOffice Impress.
Note
When changing the user interface, the variant can be applied only to LibreOffice Impress, or applied to all the modules in LibreOffice.
To select a user interface variant or switch between the user interface variants:
1) Go to View > User Interface on the Menu bar to open the Select Your Preferred User Interface dialog (Figure 1).
2) In UI variants, select the required variant. An example of the selected user interface is shown in the Preview box with a short description.
3) Click on Apply to Impress to immediately apply the selected user interface to LibreOffice Impress only, or click on Apply to All to immediately apply the selected user interface to all LibreOffice modules. The LibreOffice window changes to match the selected user interface.
4) Click on Close to close the dialog.
Note
If the option Enable experimental features has been selected in the Tools > Options > Advanced (macOS LibreOffice > Preferences > LibreOffice > Advanced), several more variants appear under UI variants. Being experimental, these user interfaces are not described in this user guide.
Figure 1: Select Your Preferred User Interface dialog
Figure 2: Standard Toolbar User Interface
The Standard Toolbar user interface is the default view when LibreOffice is installed and the Workspace opened for the first time. For more information on the Impress Workspace, see Chapter 1, Introducing Impress. Figure 2 shows an example of the default Workspace view in LibreOffice Impress consisting of the following:
Menu bar at the top of the Workspace.
Standard, and Line and Filling toolbars positioned below the Menu bar.
Drawing toolbar positioned vertically on the left side of the Workspace.
Sidebar on the right of the Workspace.
The Tabbed user interface provides a user interface that is similar to other office software packages, for example Microsoft Office. The tabs in this user interface consists of a set of tools grouped by context. The context changes automatically depending on the LibreOffice module and the object selected. Figure 3 shows an example of the default Workspace view using the Tabbed user interface in LibreOffice Impress.
It includes Menu bar, Tab bar, and tool icons grouped in context for use in LibreOffice Impress. If the tool icons on a tab page do not fit into the width of the LibreOffice Impress window, a double chevron >> appears at the right end of the tab row. Click on this double chevron >> to display more available options for the Tabbed user interface.
Figure 3: Tabbed User Interface
Figure 4: Quick menu on Tabbed User Interface
At the left end of the Tab bar, an Icon bar (highlighted in Figure 3) is available giving access to some commonly used tools — Menubar; Open; Save; Undo; Redo; Start from First Slide. In Windows and Linux operating systems, the Menu bar can be hidden or displayed by clicking on Menubar at the left end of the Tab bar.
At the top of the Workspace and on the right side, click on the 3 horizontal lines (≡) to access commonly used commands and links, as shown by the example in Figure 4. Some commands have submenus with more commands and this is indicated by a triangle ►, or a single chevron >, on the right of a command.
Note
When using the Tabbed user interface, LibreOffice Impress toolbars are no longer visible. If required, it is possible to open toolbars by going to View > Toolbars on the Menu bar, or select Toolbars on the quick menu.
The File tab (Figure 5) provides commands to create new documents; open, save, print, and close documents; manage templates; export to PDF and EPUB; display document properties; add a digital signature; and sign an existing PDF. The File tab has two menus: File and Help.
File menu contains the same commands as the tools available on the tab.
Help menu provides links to a variety of resources.
Figure 5: Tabbed User Interface — File tab
The Home tab (Figure 6) provides tools to cut, copy, paste, and format text; insert common items (for example images, tables, charts); apply, update, and edit drawing styles; and so on. Click on Home at the right end of the Home tab bar to open a drop-down menu with additional tools not available on the Home tab bar.
Figure 6: Tabbed User Interface — Home tab
The Insert tab (Figure 7) provides tools to insert many commonly used items. Click on Insert at the right end of the Insert tab bar to open a drop-down menu with some of the same tools.
Figure 7: Tabbed User Interface — Insert tab
The Layout tab (Figure 8) provides tools to insert many commonly used items. Click on Layout at the right end of the Layout tab bar to open a drop-down menu with some of the same tools.
Figure 8: Tabbed User Interface — Layout tab
The Slide Show tab (Figure 9) provides tools for creating slide shows. Click on Slide Show at the right end of the Slide Show tab bar to open a drop-down menu with some of the same tools.
Figure 9: Tabbed User Interface — Slide Show tab
The Review tab (Figure 10) provides tools for reviewing slide shows. Click on Review at the right end of the Review tab bar to open a drop-down menu with additional text editing tools. Some of the text tools only appear if the text options Asian or Complex Text Layout are selected in LibreOffice options. Go to Tools > Options > Advanced (macOS LibreOffice > Preferences > LibreOffice > Advanced) to access these text options.
Figure 10: Tabbed User Interface — Review tab
The View tab (Figure 11) provides tools for controlling how slides are displayed. Click on View at the right end of the View tab bar to open a drop-down menu providing additional tools for displaying slides on a screen
Figure 11: Tabbed User Interface — View tab
The Extension tab is a fixed tab containing only the Extension Manager tool. When selected, this tool opens the Extension Manager dialog allowing for installation and deletion of extensions that are compatible with LibreOffice.
The Tools tab (Figure 12) provides tools for macros; color replacer; media player; and so on. Click on Tools at the right end of the Tools tab bar to open a drop-down menu with some of the same tools.
Figure 12: Tabbed User Interface — Tools tab
The following additional tabs only open in the user interface between the View and Extension tabs when a compatible object in LibreOffice Impress is selected.
The Draw tab (Figure 13) only becomes available when a compatible drawing object is selected in a slide. It provides tools for editing, transforming, grouping, aligning, and distributing draw objects. Click on Draw at the right end of the Draw tab bar to open a drop-down menu with some of the same tools to edit, transform and convert drawing objects.
Figure 13: Tabbed User Interface — Draw tab
The Image tab (Figure 14) only becomes available when a compatible image is selected in a slide, for example a photograph. It provides tools for working with images, such as cropping, borders, area styles, colors, and so on. Click on Image at the right end of the Image tab bar to open a drop-down menu with some of the same tools.
Figure 14: Tabbed User Interface — Image tab
The Object tab (Figure 15) only becomes available when a compatible object is selected in a slide, for example a chart. It provides tools to position, resize, select colors, and so on for the selected compatible object. Click on Object at the right end of the Object tab bar to open a drop‑down menu with two extra tools to name and describe the object.
Figure 15: Tabbed User Interface — Object tab
The Table tab (Figure 16) only becomes available when a compatible table is selected in a slide. It provides tools to position, resize, select colors, and so on for the selected table. Click on Table at the right end of the Table tab bar to open a drop-down menu provides extra tools for editing a table.
Figure 16: Tabbed User Interface — Table tab
The Media tab (Figure 17) only becomes available when a media object is selected in a slide. It provides tools for positioning and running an audio or video file. Click on Media at the right end of the Media tab bar to open a drop-down menu provides extra tools for editing a media object.
Figure 17: Tabbed User Interface — Media tab
When selected, the Single Toolbar user interface only shows the Menu bar and the Standard (Single Mode) toolbar, as shown in Figure 18. However, toolbars can be added to the user interface by going to View > Toolbars on the Menu bar and selecting the required toolbar from the options available. For more information on toolbars, see Appendix B, Toolbars in this guide and the Getting Started Guide.
Figure 18: Single Toolbar User Interface
When selected, the Sidebar user interface only shows the Menu bar with no toolbars. However, toolbars can be added to the user interface by going to View > Toolbars on the Menu bar and selecting the required toolbar from the options available. For more information on toolbars, see Appendix B, Toolbars in this guide and the Getting Started Guide.
The Tabbed Compact user interface uses the same tabs as the Tabbed user interface, but the tools on each tab are arranged as a single row of tools. Some of these tools have drop‑down menus with extra options. The tab menu on the right of the Tabbed Compact user interface provides the same options as the tab menus in the Tabbed user interface, see “Tabbed” on page 1 for more information.
The Groupedbar Compact user interface is divided into groups that contain commands organized as sets of tools and menus. The tools and menus that are available change to suit the type of object selected. If necessary, clicking on the double chevron >> displays more tools for editing an object. Figure 19 shows an example of Groupedbar Compact user interface.
The Menu on the right-hand end of the Groupedbar Compact interface provides extra tools for working with LibreOffice Impress, including convenient ways to change the user interface and access toolbars.
Figure 19: Groupedbar Compact User Interface
The Contextual Single user interface displays a single toolbar to suit the type of object that has been selected. If necessary, clicking on the double chevron >> displays more tools for editing an object. Figure 20 shows an example of a Contextual Single user interface when a basic shape object is selected.
Figure 20: Contextual Single User Interface
