Editing objects
To change an object’s attributes (such as color, border width, among others) you can use the Line and Filling toolbar or the context menu.
If the Line and Filling toolbar is not visible, you can display it using View > Toolbars > Line and Filling. From here you can edit the most common object attributes. You can also open the Line dialog by clicking on the Line File:LineIcon.png icon and the Area dialog by clicking on the Area File:AreaIcon.png icon to see more options.
| 1 Styles and Formatting | 2 Line | 3 Arrow Style | 4 Line Style | 5 Line Width |
| 6 Line Color | 7 Area | 8-9 Area Style / Filling | 10 Shadow |
When you select text, this toolbar changes to show text formatting options.
When an object is selected, you can right-click on the object to bring up a context menu, which provides additional access to the options shown above and another way to change an object’s attributes. The entries with a small arrow on the right-hand side contain a submenu.
Editing lines and borders
Lines (like arrows) and the borders of an object are managed through the same dialog. An object’s border is just another type of line.
You can change some properties from the Line and Filling toolbar. To see more options, select the object and click on the Line File:LineIcon.png icon or right-click on the object and choose Line from the context menu. This opens the Line dialog.
Common line properties
In most cases the property you want to change is the line’s style (solid, dashed, invisible, and so on), its color, or its width. These options are all available from the Line and Filling toolbar.
You can also edit these properties from the Line dialog, where you can also change the line’s transparency. The figure below illustrates different degrees of transparency.
Drawing arrows
Arrowheads (and other line endings, usually referred to collectively as arrows) are a line property. Select a line and click on the Arrow Style File:ArrowsIcon.png icon. This opens the Arrowheads menu.
There are several types of arrowheads available. Each end of the line can have a different arrowhead (or no arrowhead).
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Arrowheads are only applicable to lines. They have no effect on an object’s border. |
Customizing line and arrow styles
You can modify the line and arrow styles and create your own. See Chapter 4 (Changing Object Attributes) in the Draw Guide for details.
Editing the inside (fill) of an object
The OpenOffice.org term for the inside of an object is Area fill. The area fill of an object can be a uniform color, a gradient, a hatching, or a pattern from an image. It can be made partly or wholly transparent and can throw a shadow.
In most cases, you will choose one of the standard fill options, which are all available from the Line and Filling toolbar. You can also define your own area fills; see Chapter 4 of the Draw Guide for details.
Adding a shadow
In Draw, shadows are considered an area property. Click on the Shadow File:ShadowIcon.png icon on the Line and Filling toolbar.
You can customize the position, distance, color, and transparency of shadows.
Adding transparency
You can make objects partly or fully transparent, or even with a varying degree of transparency (as a gradient).
Using styles
Suppose that you want to apply the same area fill, line thickness, and border to a set of objects. This repetitive process can be greatly simplified by the use of styles. Styles allow you to define a formatting template (a style) and then to apply that style to multiple objects. For more about styles, see Chapter 3. Using Styles and Templates for more information.
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