Modifying styles

Getting Started with OpenOffice.org 3

Chapter 3. Using Styles and Templates

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• Applying styles
• Modifying styles
• Creating new (custom) styles
• Copying and moving styles
• Deleting styles
• Using a template to create a document
• Creating a template
• Editing a template
• Adding templates using the Extension Manager
• Setting a default template
• Associating a document with a different template
• Organizing templates
• Examples of style use

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OpenOffice.org provides several ways to modify styles (both the predefined styles and custom styles that you create):

• Changing a style using the Style dialog
• Updating a style from a selection
• Use AutoUpdate (paragraph and frame styles only)
• Load or copy styles from another document or template

Any changes you make to a style are effective only in the current document. To change styles in more than one document, you need to change the template or copy the styles into the other documents as described in Copying and moving styles.

Changing a style using the Style dialog

To change an existing style using the Style dialog, right-click on the required style in the Styles and Formatting window and select Modify from the pop-up menu.

The Style dialog displayed depends on the type of style selected. Each style dialog has several tabs. See the chapters on styles in the user guides for details.

Updating a style from a selection

To update a style from a selection:

1. Open the Styles and Formatting dialog.
2. In the document, select an item that has the format you want to adopt as a style.

Make sure that there are unique properties in this paragraph. For example, if there are two different font sizes or font styles, that particular property will remain the same as before.




3. In the Styles and Formatting dialog, select the style you want to update (single-click, not double-click), then long-click on the arrow next to the New Style from Selection icon and click on Update Style.
File:UpdateStyle.png
Updating a style from a selection.

Using AutoUpdate

AutoUpdate applies to paragraph and frame styles only. If the AutoUpdate option is selected on the Organizer page of the Paragraph Style or Frame Style dialog, applying direct formatting to a paragraph or frame using this style in your document automatically updates the style itself.

If you are in the habit of manually overriding styles in your document, be sure that AutoUpdate is not enabled.

Updating styles from a document or template

You can update styles by copying or loading them from a template or another document. See Copying and moving styles.