View source for Documentation/OOoAuthors User Manual/Impress Guide/Moving, resizing and rotating a graphic object

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Moving, resizing and rotating a graphic object}}
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This section describes the mechanisms that are available in Impress to move, resize and rotate a graphic object. Note that the same procedures can be applied equally to a picture (see [[Documentation/OOoAuthors User Manual/Impress Guide/Adding and Formatting Pictures|Chapter 4]]) and to a graphic (see [[Documentation/OOoAuthors User Manual/Impress Guide/Creating Graphic Objects|Chapter 5]]).

== Moving graphic objects ==
# Click the graphic object, if necessary, to show the green resizing handles.
# Move the pointer over the graphic object until the pointer changes shape. On most operating systems, the cursor associated with moving objects is a four-headed arrow, but it may also be a hand or some other symbol.
# Click and drag the graphic object to the desired position.
# Release the mouse button.

For a more accurate placement of the graphic object, use the Position and Size dialog shown below. To open this dialog, first select the graphic object by clicking on it; when the resizing green handles are displayed, either press ''F4'' or select '''Format > Position and Size''' from the menu bar.

Use the ''Position'' section of the dialog to specify the X (horizontal) and Y (vertical) position of the graphic object. The values represent the distance of the base point (selected on the right hand side of the dialog) relative to the top left corner of the slide.

To prevent accidental modification of the position of the graphic object, select the '''Position''' checkbox in the ''Protect'' section (bottom left) of the dialog.

The unit of measurement for this and the other dialogs in this section is set in '''Tools > Options > OpenOffice.org Impress > General'''.

[[Image:IG6-2.png|Position and Size dialog]]<br>''Fine adjustment of position and size of the graphic object.''

== Resizing graphic objects ==
# Click the graphic object, if necessary, to show the green resizing handles.
# Position the pointer over one of the green resizing handles. The pointer changes shape, giving a graphical representation of the direction of the resizing.
# Click and drag to resize the graphic object.
# Release the mouse button when satisfied with the new size.

The corner handles resize both the width and the height of the graphic object simultaneously, while the other four handles only resize one dimension at a time.

{{Documentation/Tip| To retain the original proportions of the graphic, ''Shift+click'' one of the corner handles, then drag. Be sure to release the mouse button '''before''' releasing the ''Shift'' key.}}

For more accurate resizing of the graphic object, use the Position and Size dialog. Select as the base point the part of the graphic object that you would like to anchor to the page. The default setting (top left corner) means that the when resizing the area, the position of the top left corner of the area will not change. Now modify either the ''Width'' value or the ''Height'' value of the object. To maintain the proportions between width and height, select the '''Keep ratio''' checkbox before modifying any value. Notice that when the checkbox is selected both dimensions change simultaneously.

To prevent accidental modifications of the size, make sure that the '''Size''' checkbox is selected in the ''Protect'' section in the bottom left part of the dialog.

== Rotating graphic objects ==
As for the position and the size, rotation of an object can be done manually or using a dedicated dialog. To rotate a graphic manually, do as follows:

# Select the graphic object if necessary so that the green handles around it show.
# Click the '''Rotate''' button [[Image:RotateIcon.png]] on the Drawing toolbar. This toolbar is usually located at the bottom the screen, but it can be undocked and used as a floating toolbar. If the toolbar is not showing, select '''View > Toolbars > Drawing'''. The Drawing toolbar is discussed in detail in [[Documentation/OOoAuthors User Manual/Impress Guide/Creating Graphic Objects|Chapter 5]].
# Eight red handles replace the green square handles, as shown below. Move the mouse over one of the corner handles and the mouse cursor shape will change. Click the mouse and move in the direction in which you want to rotate the graphic object.
# When satisfied release the mouse button.

{{Documentation/Note| The icons representing the functions in the toolbars are different depending on the operating system used and on whether OOo has been customized for the Linux distribution in use or not. When in doubt, hover the mouse over the icons and wait for the tooltip to appear showing the name of the button.}}

: [[Image:IG4-5.png|Rotating handles]]<br>''Shape showing the red rotating handles. Only the corner ones are active.''

At step 2 a black crosshair with a circle appears in the middle of the picture: this represents the pivot point for the rotation. Normally the center of the picture will be just fine, but on some occasions you may wish to rotate around a corner or even around a point outside the picture; to do that, click on the crosshair and drag it to the desired position.

To restrict the rotation angles to multiples of 15 degrees, press the ''Shift'' key while rotating the graphic. This is very handy to rotate pictures of right angles, for example from portrait to landscape or vice versa.

Instead of rotating a graphic object manually, you can use the '''Rotation''' dialog shown below. To display this dialog, select the graphic object so that the green resizing handles are shown, then press ''F4'' or select '''Format > Position and Size''' and select the '''Rotation''' page.

[[Image:IG6-4.png|Rotation page]]<br>''The Rotation page of the Position and Size dialog.''

In the top part of the dialog, select the position of the pivot point relative to the top left corner of the page. The default position of the pivot point is the center of the figure.

In the lower part of the dialog select the angle by which to rotate the graphic object. On the right hand side 8 default rotation values are easily configurable by selecting the desired button.


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