Impress Guide 7.2

Chapter 12
User Interface Variants

Copyright

This document is Copyright © 2021 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

To this edition

Peter Schofield

Vasudev Narayanan

Rachel Kartch

To previous editions

First issue of this chapter.

Feedback

Please direct any comments or suggestions about this document to the Documentation Team’s mailing list: documentation@global.libreoffice.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 November 2021. Based on LibreOffice 7.2.

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 for the instructions in this document. For a detailed list, see the application Help.

Windows or Linux	macOS equivalent	Effect
Tools > Options menu selection	LibreOffice > Preferences	Access setup options
Right-click	Control+click or right-click depending on computer setup	Open a context menu
Ctrl (Control)	⌘ (Command)	Used with other keys
F11	⌘+T	Open the Styles deck in the Sidebar

Introduction

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.

Selecting user interface

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 one of the variants. An example of the selected variant is shown in the Preview box, along with a short description.

3)  Click on Apply to Impress to apply the variant selection to LibreOffice Impress only, or click on Apply to All to apply the user interface variant to all the LibreOffice modules. The LibreOffice window changes to match the selected variant.

4)  Click Close to close the dialog.

Note

If the option Enable experimental features has been selected in the Tools > Options > Advanced dialog, several more variants appear in UI variants. Being experimental, these variants are not described in this user guide.

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. 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 toolbar positioned below the Menu bar.

• Drawing toolbar positioned vertically on the left of the Workspace.

• Sidebar on the right of the Workspace.

For more information on the Impress Workspace, see Chapter 1, Introducing Impress.

Tabbed user interface

The Tabbed user interface provides a familiar interface for users coming from proprietary office suites, for example, Microsoft Office. Every tab within 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.

If the tool icons on a tab page do not fit into the width of the Impress window, a double chevron >> appears at the right end of the row. Click the double chevron >> to display more commands.

On 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.

On the right of the Tab bar, a Quick menu (≡) (Figure 3) is available giving access to some commonly used commands and links. Some of the Quick menu items have submenus, indicated by a small triangle ► on the right. The Quick menu is the same for all tabs.

On the left of the Tab bar, an Icon bar (Figure 4) is available giving access to some commonly used tools – Menubar; Open (Ctrl+O); Save (Ctrl+S);Undo (Ctrl+Z); Redo (Ctrl+Y); Start from First Slide (F5).

The Tabbed user interface can be customized as follows:

1)  Click on Quick menu and select Customize from the submenu to open the Customize dialog.

2)  Click on Notebookbar to open the Notebookbar page in the Customize dialog.

3)  Select or deselect the various tools in Assigned Commands.

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

For more information on the customization of LibreOffice, see the Getting Started Guide and the Writer Guide.

Note

When using the Tabbed user interface, the Impress toolbars are no longer visible. If necessary, it is possible to open toolbars by going to View > Toolbars on the Menu bar or Quick menu > Toolbars.

Fixed tabs

File tab

The File tab (Figure 5) is a fixed tab providing a default set of tools, for example, to create new documents; open, save, print, and close documents; manage templates and so on. The File tab has a File menu (Figure 6) and a Help menu (Figure 7) providing links to a variety of resources and containing the same tools as the tools available on the tab.

File tab tools from left to right

Home tab

The Home tab (Figure 8) is a fixed tab providing a default set of tools, for example, to cut, copy, paste, and format text; insert common items; and so on. The Home menu (Figure 9) at the right end of the Home tab bar provides additional tools that are not on the tab.

Home tab tools from left to right

Insert tab

The Insert tab (Figure 10) is a fixed tab providing a default set of tools to insert many commonly used items. The Insert menu (Figure 11) at the right end of the Insert tab bar provides some of the same tools.

Insert tab tools from left to right

Layout tab

The Layout tab (Figure 12) is a fixed tab providing a default set of tools to create a slide layout. The Layout menu (Figure 13) at the right end of the Layout tab bar provides some of the same tools.

Layout tab tools from left to right

Slide Show tab

The Slide Show tab (Figure 14) is a fixed tab providing a default set of tools for creating a slide show. The Slide Show menu (Figure 15) at the right end of the Slide Show tab bar provides some of the same tools.

Slide Show tab tools from left to right

Review tab

The Review tab (Figure 16) is a fixed tab providing a default set of tools for reviewing a slide show. The Review menu (Figure 17) provides additional text editing tools. Some of these tools appear only if Asian or Complex Text Layout are selected in Tools > Options > Language Settings > Languages.

Review tab tools from left to right

View tab

The View tab (Figure 18) is a fixed tab providing a default set of tools to control the display of slides on a screen. The View menu (Figure 19) provides additional tools relating to the display of slides on a screen.

Top row, left to right

Extension tab

The Extension tab (Figure 20) is a fixed tab containing only the tool to access the Extension Manager allowing the installation of extensions that are compatible for use in LibreOffice.

Tools tab

The Tools tab (Figure 21) is a fixed tab providing a default set of tools for working with, for example, macros; color replacer; media player; and so on. The Tools menu (Figure 22) provides some of the same tools, plus extra tools for organizing, for example, macros and dialogs; image map; data sources; and so on.

Tools tab tools from left to right

Additional tabs

Additional tabs appear between the View and Extension tabs when an object in Impress is selected.

Draw tab

The Draw tab (Figure 23) becomes available when a drawing object is selected in a slide. It provides tools for editing, transforming, grouping, aligning, and distributing draw objects. The Draw tab menu (Figure 24) provides some of the tools required for editing, transforming and converting drawing objects.

Draw tab tools from left to right

Image tab

The Image tab (Figure 25) becomes available when an 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. The Image tab menu (Figure 26) provides links to dialogs for working with images.

Image tab tools from left to right

Object tab

The Object tab (Figure 27) becomes available when an object, such as a chart, is selected. It provides tools to position, resize, choose colors, and so on for the selected object. The Object tab menu (Figure 28) provides extra tools matching the type of object selected.

Object tab tools from left to right

Table tab

The Table tab (Figure 29) becomes available when a table is selected in a slide. It provides tools to format a table to the presentation requirements. The Table tab menu (Figure 30) includes extra tools for editing a table.

Table tab tools from left to right

Media tab

The Media tab (Figure 31) only becomes available when a media object is selected in a slide. It provides tools for positioning and running an audio or video file. The Media tab menu (Figure 32) includes extra tools for editing a media object.

Media tab tools from left to right

Single Toolbar & Sidebar user interfaces

When selected, the Single Toolbar and Sidebar user interfaces only show the Menu bar with no toolbars. However, toolbars can be added to either of these user interfaces 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.

Tabbed Compact user interface

The Tabbed Compact user interface has 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. Figure 33 shows an example of the File tab in the Tabbed Compact user interface.

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 user interface” for more information.

Groupedbar Compact user interface

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. Clicking on the double chevron >> displays more tools for editing an object. Figure 34 shows an example of Groupedbar Compact user interface when a basic shape object is selected.

The Groupedbar Compact menu (Figure 35) on the right-hand end of this interface provides extra tools for working with LibreOffice Impress, including convenient ways to change the user interface and access toolbars.

Contextual Single user interface

The Contextual Single user interface displays a single toolbar to suit the type of object that has been selected. Clicking on the double chevron >> displays more tools for editing an object. Figure 36 shows an example of a Contextual Single user interface when a basic shape object is selected.

Contents

• Copyright

• Contributors

• Feedback

• Publication date and software version

• Using LibreOffice on macOS

• Introduction

• Selecting user interface

• Standard Toolbar user interface

• Tabbed user interface

• Fixed tabs

• File tab

• Home tab

• Insert tab

• Layout tab

• Slide Show tab

• Review tab

• View tab

• Extension tab

• Tools tab

• Additional tabs

• Draw tab

• Image tab

• Object tab

• Table tab

• Media tab

• Single Toolbar & Sidebar user interfaces

• Tabbed Compact user interface

• Groupedbar Compact user interface

• Contextual Single user interface