Adding images to a document

Getting Started with OpenOffice.org 3

Chapter 11. Graphics, the Gallery, and Fontwork

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• Adding images to a document
• Inserting images from the clipboard or a scanner
• Using the OpenOffice.org Gallery
• Managing the Gallery
• Creating an image map
• Using OOo’s drawing tools
• Using Fontwork
• Editing a Fontwork object

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Images can be added to a document in several ways: by inserting an image file, directly from a graphics program or a scanner, or from the OOo Gallery.

Inserting an image file

When the image is in a file stored on the computer, you can insert it into an OOo document using either of the following methods.

Drag and drop

1. Open a file browser window and locate the image you want to insert.
2. Drag the image into the Writer document and drop it where you want it to appear. A faint vertical line marks where the image will be dropped.

This method embeds (saves a copy of) the image file in the Writer document. To link the file instead of embedding it, hold down the Control+Shift keys while dragging the image.

Insert Picture dialog

1. Click in the OOo document where you want the image to appear.
2. Choose Insert > Picture > From File from the menu bar.
3. On the Insert Picture dialog, navigate to the file to be inserted, select it, and click Open.

File:WG8-1.png

Insert picture dialog

At the bottom of the dialog are two options, Preview and Link. Select Preview to view a thumbnail of the selected image on the right, so you can verify that you have the correct file. See below for the use of Link.

Linking an image file

If the Link option in the Insert picture dialog is selected, OOo creates a link to the file containing the image, instead of saving a copy of the image in the document. The result is that the image is displayed in the document, but when the document is saved, it contains only a reference to the image file—not the image itself. The document and the image remain as two separate files, and they are merged together only when you open the document again.

Linking an image has two advantages and one disadvantage:

• Advantage – Linking can reduce the size of the document when it is saved, because the image file itself is not included. File size is usually not a problem on a modern computer with a reasonable amount of memory, unless the document includes many large graphics files; OOo can handle quite large files.
• Advantage – You can modify the image file separately without changing the document because the link to the file remains valid, and the modified image will appear when you next open the document. This can be a big advantage if you (or someone else, perhaps a graphic artist) is updating images.
• Disadvantage – If you send the document to someone else, or move it to a different computer, you must also send the image files, or the receiver will not be able to see the linked images. You need to keep track of the location of the images and make sure the recipient knows where to put them on another machine, so the document can find them. For example, you might keep images in a subfolder named Images (under the folder containing the document); the recipient of the file needs to put the images in a subfolder with the same name (under the folder containing the document).

When inserting the same image several times in the document it would appear beneficial to create links; however, this is not necessary as OOo embeds in the document only one copy of the image file.

Embedding linked images

If you originally linked the images, you can easily embed one or more of them later if you wish. To do so:

1. Open the document in OpenOffice.org and choose Edit > Links.
2. The Edit Links dialog shows all the linked files. In the Source file list, select the files you want to change from linked to embedded.
3. Click the Break Link button.
4. Save the document.

File:EditLinks3.png

The Edit Links dialog

Going the other way, from embedded to linked, is not so easy—you must delete and reinsert each image, one at a time, selecting the Link option when you do so.