Impress Guide 7.3

Chapter 2,
Master Slides, Styles, andTemplates

CopyrightThis document is Copyright © 2022 by the LibreOffice Documentation Team. Contributors arelisted 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 editionPeter Schofield

Kees Kriek

To previous editionsPeter Schofield
Dimona Delvere
Jean Hollis Weber
Vasudev Narayanan

Felipe Viggiano
Michele Zarri
Low Song Chuan
Rachel Kartch

Regina Henschel
T. Elliot Turner
Hazel Russman

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 May 2022. Based on LibreOffice 7.3 Community.
Other versions of LibreOffice may differ in appearance and functionality.

Using LibreOffice on macOS
Some keystrokes and menu items are different on macOS from those used in Windows andLinux. The table below gives some common substitutions for the instructions in this document.
For a detailed list, see the application Help.
Windows or LinuxmacOS equivalent

EffectTools > Options on
Menu barLibreOffice > Preferenceson Menu bar

Access to setup options

Right-click

Ctrl+click and/or right-click
depending on computer setup

Opens a context menu

Ctrl or Control⌘ and/or Cmd or Command,
depending on keyboard

Used with other keys

Alt

⌥ and/or Alt or Option
depending on keyboard

Used with other keys

F11

⌘+T

Open the Styles deck in the Sidebar

Documentation for LibreOffice is available at https://documentation.libreoffice.org/en/Contents
Copyright............................................................................................................................2
Contributors.............................................................................................................................. 2
Feedback.................................................................................................................................. 2
Publication date and software version.......................................................................................2
Using LibreOffice on macOS.....................................................................................................2

Designing a presentation.................................................................................................5
What are master slides?...................................................................................................5Working with master slides..............................................................................................6
Creating master slides..............................................................................................................7
Applying master slides..............................................................................................................8
Loading additional master slides...............................................................................................8
Editing master slides............................................................................................................... 10
Editing................................................................................................................................ 10
Direct formatting.................................................................................................................11
Selecting and applying backgrounds.......................................................................................12
Using slide setup................................................................................................................ 12
Using background style......................................................................................................12
Adding images........................................................................................................................ 13
Default text areas.................................................................................................................... 14
Quick positioning and resizing............................................................................................14
Controlled positioning and resizing.....................................................................................15
Background........................................................................................................................ 17
Border................................................................................................................................ 18
Alignment........................................................................................................................... 19
Arrangement...................................................................................................................... 19
Adding text and fields.............................................................................................................. 19
Text.................................................................................................................................... 19
Default footer sections........................................................................................................20
Header and Footer dialog...................................................................................................20
Custom footer sections.......................................................................................................21
Manual fields...................................................................................................................... 22
Inserting fields.................................................................................................................... 22
Replacing default fields......................................................................................................22

Working with styles.........................................................................................................23
Presentation styles.................................................................................................................. 23
Drawing styles......................................................................................................................... 24
Accessing styles..................................................................................................................... 24
Editing styles........................................................................................................................... 24
Dialog formatting................................................................................................................ 24
Format menu...................................................................................................................... 25
Modifying............................................................................................................................ 25
Updating............................................................................................................................. 26
Custom styles......................................................................................................................... 26
Direct formatting...................................................................................................................... 27
Linked styles........................................................................................................................... 27
Assigning styles keyboard shortcuts.......................................................................................27
Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and Templates | 3

Working with templates..................................................................................................27
Templates supplied with LibreOffice........................................................................................28
Creating templates.................................................................................................................. 29
Setting default template..........................................................................................................30
Changing default template..................................................................................................30
Resetting default template..................................................................................................30
Editing templates.................................................................................................................... 30
Organizing templates.............................................................................................................. 31
Creating custom categories................................................................................................31
Deleting custom categories................................................................................................31
Moving templates............................................................................................................... 32
Deleting templates.............................................................................................................. 33
Renaming templates.......................................................................................................... 33
Importing templates............................................................................................................ 33
Exporting templates............................................................................................................ 33

4| Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and Templates

Designing a presentation
In addition to careful planning of the content, as discussed in Chapter 1, Introducing Impress,
designing and planning of a presentation is important. Before this can be done, it isrecommended to create an outline to determine some of the requirements for the appearance ofthe slides. For example:•

What color combinations (background and text) will look good and also be easy for an
audience to read?

•

Would an image help an audience understand the contents better?

•

Is there any particular text and image that has to appear on all the slides? For example acompany name and logo.

•

Would an audience benefit from having the slides numbered so that they can quickly
refer to one of them?

•

Is a background graphic or gradient required? If so, select something that does notinterfere or clash with content such as the colors used in charts.

•

How many master slides are required?

•

Will one slide design suit all presentation content?

The appearance of slides can be changed as the presentation is developed, but planning ahead
saves time in the long run.

What are master slides?
A master slide is a slide that is used as the starting point for other slides. It is similar to a pagestyle in LibreOffice Writer as it controls the basic formatting of all slides based on it. A
presentation can have more than one master slide.

Note
LibreOffice uses three terms for one concept: master slide, slide master, and masterpage. All refer to a slide which is used to create other slides. This user guide uses
the term master slide, except when describing the user interface.
A master slide has a defined set of characteristics that are automatically placed onto a slide
being created for a presentation. This may include, for example, a background color, graphics, or
gradients. Also objects (for example, logos, decorative lines), headers and footers, placement
and size of text frames, and text formatting can all be included on a master slide.
All of the characteristics of master slides are controlled by styles. The styles of any new slide
created are inherited from the master slide from which it was created. In other words, the stylesof the master slide are available and applied to all slides created from that master slide.
Changing a style in a master slide results in changes to all the slides based on that master slide.
It is, however, possible to modify each individual slide without affecting the master slide.
Master slides have two types of styles associated with them: presentation styles and drawing
styles. The presentation styles can be modified, but new presentation styles cannot be created.
For drawing styles, the styles can be modified and new drawing styles can be created. For more
information, see “Working with styles” on page 23.

Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and Templates | 5

Figure 1: Master Slides deck on Sidebar

Note
It is recommended to use the master slides whenever possible. However, there areoccasions where manual changes are needed for a particular slide. For example,
editing a slide to enlarge the chart area when the text and chart layout is used.

Working with master slides
Impress comes with a collection of master slides. These master slides are shown in the Master
Slides deck of the Sidebar (Figure 1). This deck has three panels: Used in This Presentation,
Recently Used, and Available for Use. Click the expand marker next to the name of a panel toexpand it and show master slide thumbnails, or click the collapse marker to collapse the panel tohide the thumbnails.
•

Used in This Presentation — displays the master slides from a presentation templatethat are being used in the presentation that is being created.

•

Recently Used — displays the master slides from presentation templates that have been
recently used in a presentation.

•

Available for Use — displays the master slides that from the default presentation
templates that were installed with LibreOffice, or installed from other sources. For
example, the presentation templates available on the LibreOffice website athttps://www.libreoffice.org/discover/templates-and-extensions/. For more information onpresentation templates, see “Working with templates” on page 27.

6| Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and TemplatesFigure 2: Default master slide

Figure 3: Master
View toolbar
If a new presentation is being created without using one of the templates available then a default
master slide is available (see Chapter 1, Introducing Impress for more information). This default
master slide is a good starting point for creating master slides. An example of the default masterslide is shown in Figure 2.

Creating master slides
Creating a new master slide is carried out when Impress is in Master View.
1) Go to View > Master Slide on the Menu bar to open Master View in the Workspace. The
Master View toolbar also opens (Figure 3). If the Master View toolbar does not open, go
to View > Toolbars on the Menu bar and select Master View.
2) Create a new master slide using one of the following methods and a new master slide
appears in the Slides pane:– Click on New Master in the Master View toolbar.
– Right-click on a master slide in the Slides pane and select New Master from thecontext menu.
– Go to Slide > New Master on the Menu bar.
3) Rename the new master slide using one of the following methods and open the Rename
Slide dialog (Figure 4):– Click on Rename Master in the Master View toolbar.
– Right-click on the new master slide in the Slides pane and select Rename Masterfrom the context menu.

Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and Templates | 7

Figure 4: Rename Slide dialog
4) Enter a memorable name for the new master slide in the Name text box, then click on OK
to save the changes and close the dialog.
5) Make sure the new master slide is selected in the Slides pane and add all the text,
graphics and master elements that are required for the new master slide. The chapters inthis user guide give more information on adding, editing, formatting and managing thedifferent types of objects on a master slide.
6) When finished creating a new master slide, use one of the following methods to return toNormal View:– Click on Close Master View on the Master View toolbar.
– Go to View > Normal on the Menu bar.
7) Save the presentation file before continuing.

Applying master slides
To apply a master slide to all slides or selected slides in a presentation:
1) Click on Master Slides to open the Master Slides deck on the Sidebar.
2) Right-click on the master slide required in the Used in This Presentation section in the
Master Slides deck on the Sidebar.
3) Select Apply to All Slides or Apply to Selected Slides from the context menu.

Loading additional master slides
In a presentation, it maybe necessary to mix multiple master slides that belong to different
templates (for more information, see “Working with templates” on page 27). For example, use acompletely different layout for the first slide of the presentation, or add a slide from a different
presentation.
1) Select the slide or slides in the Slides pane where the master slide is to be changed.
2) Go to Slide > Change Slide Master on the Menu bar to open the Available Master Slides
dialog (Figure 5).
3) To add master slides, click on Load to open the Load Master Slide dialog (Figure 6).
4) In Categories, select the template category to use.
5) In Templates, select the template to use for master slides.
6) Click OK to close the Load Master Slide dialog and the master slides from the selected
template appear in the Available Master Slides dialog.
7) Select the master slide required in Select a Slide Design box.
8) To apply the selected master slide to all slides in a presentation, select Exchange
background page.
9) To apply the slide design to selected slides only, deselect Exchange background page.
10) Click OK to apply the template selection and close the Available Master Slides dialog.
8| Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and TemplatesFigure 5: Available Master Slides dialog

Figure 6: Load Master Slide dialog

Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and Templates | 9

Editing master slides
The following items can be changed on a master slide:•

Background (color, gradient, hatching, or bitmap). For more information, see “Selecting
and applying backgrounds” on page 12.

•

Background objects (for example, a logo or decorative graphics). For more information,
see “Adding images” on page 13; Chapter 4, Adding and Formatting Pictures; Chapter 5,
Managing Graphic Objects; and Chapter 6, Formatting Graphic Objects.

•

Text attributes for the main text area and notes. For more information, see “Adding text
and fields” on page 19 and Chapter 3, Adding and Formatting Text.

•

Size and placement of default frames for slide titles and content. For more information,
see “Default text areas” on page 14.

•

Size, placement, and contents of header and footer elements to appear on every slide.
For more information, see “Adding text and fields” on page 19 and Chapter 3, Adding andFormatting Text.

Editing
1) Select View > Master Slide on the Menu bar. This also opens the Master View toolbar.
2) Select a master slide for editing in the Slides pane so that it appears in the Workspace(Figure 7).
3) Go to Slide > Slide Properties on the Menu bar or right-click in the Workspace andselect Slide Properties from the context menu to open the Slide Setup dialog (Figure 8).
4) Use the various options in the Slide, Background and Transparency pages in the Slide
Setup dialog to make changes to the master slide format.
5) Click OK to save the changes and close the Slide Setup dialog.
6) Select an object on the master slide, then right-click on the object to open a context
menu.

Figure 7: Master slide view
10| Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and TemplatesFigure 8: Slide Properties dialog – Slide page7) Select one of the options from the context menu to edit the object. Selecting an option
may open another context menu, a dialog, an application or file browser window to makethe necessary changes to a selected object.
8) Click on Close Master View on the Master View toolbar or go to View > Normal on the
Menu bar to exit from editing master slides.
9) Save the presentation file before continuing.

Note
Any changes made to a master slide in Master Slide view appear on all slides using
the same master slide. Always make sure to close Master Slide view and return toNormal view before working on any of the presentation slides.

Direct formatting
Any changes made to any object on a slide in Normal view (for example, changes to bullet pointstyle, color of the title area, and so on) will not be overridden by subsequent changes made to
the master slide used for that slide. However, where it is desirable to revert the formatting of amanually formatted object on a slide to the style defined in the master slide, select the object on
the slide and use one of the following methods to change the formatting:•

Go to Format > Clear Direct Formatting on the Menu bar.

•

Right-click on an object and select Clear Direct Formatting from the context menu.

Note
The title and text boxes inherit the properties of a master slide, but if the position ofthese text boxes in the master slide has changed, the layout may appear corrupted.
Some of the layout elements may have to have the horizontal and/or verticalmanually repositioned on a slide.

Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and Templates | 11

Figure 9: Slide Properties dialog - Background Color page

Selecting and applying backgrounds
Backgrounds can be applied to a number of elements in Impress (for example: slide, default text
area, image and so on). The procedure is similar when applying a background to a master slide,a slide, or an object on a slide.

Using slide setup
1) Select View > Master Slide on the Menu bar. This also opens the Master View toolbar.
2) Select a master slide in the Slides pane so that it appears in the Workspace.
3) Go to Slide > Slide Properties on the Menu bar or right-click in the Workspace andselect Slide Properties from the context menu to open the Slide Properties dialog.
4) Select the Background tab to open the Background page on the Slide Properties dialog(Figure 9).
5) Select the type of background required from Color, Gradient, Bitmap, Pattern and Hatch.
See Chapter 6, Formatting Graphic Objects for more information on how to use theoptions available for each type of background selected.
6) When satisfied with the slide background, click OK to save the changes and close the
Slide Properties dialog.

Using background style
1) Select View > Master Slide on the Menu bar. This also opens the Master View toolbar.
2) Select a master slide in the Slides pane so that it appears in the Workspace.
3) Click on Styles on the Sidebar to open the Styles deck.
4) Click on Presentation Styles on the Styles deck to open the Presentation Styles list
(Figure 10).
5) Right-click on Background style and select Modify from the context menu to open the
Background dialog. This dialog only has an Area tab and offers the same options as the
Background page in the Slide Properties dialog.

12| Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and TemplatesFigure 10: Presentation Styles in Styles
deck on Sidebar
6) Select the type of background required from Color, Gradient, Bitmap, Pattern and Hatch.
See Chapter 6, Formatting Graphic Objects for more information on how to use theoptions available for each type of background selected.
7) When satisfied with the background, click OK to save the changes and close the
Background dialog.

Tip
Custom fills can be created for each type of background. See Chapter 6, Formatting
Graphic Objects for more information on creating custom fills for each type ofbackground.

Adding images
When the same image appears on every slide of a presentation, the easiest and quickest
solution is to use a master slide. This saves time creating a presentation and allows modification
or repositioning of the image on all slides. If the same image is added to each slide manually,
modification and repositioning has to be performed on each individual slide in a presentation,
which can produce errors. In addition to images, a number of other objects can be added to thebackground, for example decorative lines, text, shapes, and company logos.
LibreOffice supports a large number of image and graphic formats. For more information on
working with images, see Chapter 4, Adding and Formatting Pictures; Chapter 5, Managing
Graphic Objects; and Chapter 6, Formatting Graphic Objects.
For example, one of the most common actions in preparing a presentation is to add an image tothe master slide. To insert an image already available on the computer, follow these steps:
1) Select View > Master Slide on the Menu bar. This also opens the Master View toolbar.
2) Select the master slide where the image is to be added.
3) Select Insert > Image on the Menu bar to open the file browser.
4) Navigate to the directory where the image is located and select it.
Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and Templates | 13

5) Click Open to close the file browser and the image is placed centrally into the masterslide.
6) If necessary, modify and/or reposition the image on the master slide.
7) Right-click on the image and select Arrange > Send to Back from the context menu.
This moves the image to the background so that any information added to the slide whencreating a presentation appears over the background image.

Note
LibreOffice offers the option to insert an image as a link to a file rather thanembedding it in a presentation. This is only useful when a presentation is notintended for distribution onto other computers and remains in the same directory
structure and computer. For example, a presentation could be created on a notebook
computer, which is used to give the presentation to a group of clients.
However, if the presentation file is to be distributed to other computers, the image
must be embedded to avoid the “missing image” syndrome when the presentation is
given using a different computer.

Default text areas
When a master slide is opened for editing, it contains five default text areas, as shown in Figure 2
on page 7.
•

Title area for AutoLayouts.

•

Object area for AutoLayouts.

•

Date area.

•

Footer area.

•

Slide number area.

Quick positioning and resizing
Click in any of these areas to display the selection handles around the default text area. Usethese selection handles to modify the size and position of a default text area.
1) Select the default text area for repositioning so that the selection handles are visible.
2) Move the cursor toward the border of the default text area, not on a selection handle, andthe cursor changes shape. Normally this is a clenched hand, but the shape is dependent
on the computer setup and operating system.
3) Click and hold, then drag the default text area to the desired position. Release when the
text area is at the desired position.
4) Position the cursor over a left or right selection handle and the cursor changes shape.
5) Click and hold, then drag the left or right selection handle to change the width of thedefault text area. Release when the text area is at the desired width.
6) Position the cursor over a top or bottom selection handle and the cursor changes shape.
7) Click and hold, then drag the top or bottom selection handle to change the height of thedefault text area. Release when the text area is at the desired height.
8) Position the cursor over a corner selection handle and the cursor changes shape.
9) Click and hold, then drag the corner selection handle to change both the height and widthof the default text area at the same time. Release when the desired width and height arereached.

14| Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and Templates

Note
The shape of the cursor usually changes when positioned over a selection handle
giving a clear visual indication of how it will affect the shape of the default text area
when the selection handle is moved.

Tip
Keep the Shift key pressed while dragging a selection handle to maintain the ratio
between the width and height dimensions of the default text area.

Controlled positioning and resizing
To accurately control the shape, size and position of a default text area, it is recommended to use
the Position and Size dialog or the Position and Size panel in the Properties deck on the Sidebar.
1) Select the default text area by clicking on its border.
2) Use one of the following methods to access the position and size options for a default text
area:
– Go to Format > Object and Shape > Position and Size on the Menu bar to open the
Position and Size dialog (Figure 11).
– Use the keyboard shortcut F4 to open the Position and Size dialog.
– Right-click on the border of the default text area and select Position and Size fromthe context menu to open the Position and Size dialog.
– Click on Properties on the Sidebar to open the Properties deck, then open the
Position and Size panel (Figure 12).

Figure 11: Position and Size dialog

Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and Templates | 15

Figure 12: Position and Size panel in Properties
deck on Sidebar
The Position and Size options are explained fully in the Draw Guide. Only short descriptions of
the most important functions are provided as follows:•

Position – specifies the X (horizontal) and Y (vertical) position of the default text area.
The values represent the distance of the selected base point and the default position is
the top left corner of the slide.

•

Size – specifies the width and height of the default text area.

•

Base point – available in the Position and Size dialog only. Allows selection of a point on
the rectangular area that does not move while resizing. The default setting of top left
corner means that the position of the top left corner of the area will not change after
resizing.

•

Rotation – rotates the default text area. For example, place the footer area on the side of
the slide by rotating each text area by 90 degrees obtain a more modern layout. In
general, it is preferable to use only horizontal or vertical orientation for ease of editing,although the program does not impose restrictions on the values that can be used.

•

Slant & Corner Radius – adds a corner radius to a text box border only, but if a visibleline style has been selected. Slant options are only available for images or shapes, nottext boxes.

16| Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and TemplatesFigure 13: Area dialog - Area Color page

Figure 14: Area panel in Properties deck on
Sidebar

Background
Change the type of area fill used for backgrounds in a default text area using one of the following
methods. The options available depend on the type of area fill selected. See Chapter 6,
Formatting Graphic Objects for more information on changing backgrounds.
•

Go to Format > Object and Shape > Area on the Menu bar to open the Area dialog(Figure 13).

•

Right-click on the default text area and select Area from the context menu to open the
Area dialog.
Click on Properties on the Sidebar to open the Properties deck, then open the Area
panel (Figure 14).

•

Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and Templates | 17

Figure 15: Line dialog - Line page

Figure 16: Line panel in Properties deck on
SidebarBorderChange the type of line used for borders in a default text area using one of the following
methods. The options available depend on the type of line selected. See Chapter 6, Formatting
Graphic Objects for more information on changing borders.
•

Go to Format > Object and Shape > Line on the Menu bar to open the Line dialog(Figure 15).

•

Right-click on the object and select Line from the context menu to open the Line dialog.

18| Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and Templates•

Click on Properties on the Sidebar to open the Properties deck, then open the Linepanel (Figure 16).

Alignment
Change the alignment of default text area in relation to its position on a master slide or thealignment between a default text area and other objects on a master slide using one of thefollowing methods. See Chapter 5, Managing Graphic Objects for more information on changingalignment of default text areas.
••••

Go to Format > Align Objects on the Menu bar and select the type of alignment fromthe options available in the context menu.
Right-click on the object and select Align Objects from the context menu, then select thetype of alignment from the options available in the context menu.
Click on the triangle ▼ to the right of Align Objects on the Line and Filling toolbar andselect the type of alignment from the options available.
Select the required alignment tool in the Position and Size panel in the Properties deckon the Sidebar.

Arrangement
Arrange the position of an object on a slide in relation to other objects on a slide using one of thefollowing methods. See Chapter 5, Managing Graphic Objects for more information on changing
position of default text areas in relation to other objects.
••••

Go to Format > Arrange on the Menu bar and select the type of arrangement from theoptions available in the context menu.
Right-click on the object and select Arrange from the context menu, then select the typeof arrangement from the options available in the context menu.
Click on the required arrangement tool on the left end of the Line and Filling toolbar.
Select the required arrangement tool in the Position and Size panel on the Properties
deck on the Sidebar.

Adding text and fields
Adding text and fields to a master slide allows placing of information that will appear on all theslides in a presentation. For example, presentation title, company name and logo, date, and slide
number. For more information on adding and formatting text and fields, see Chapter 3, Adding
and Formatting Text.

Text
Text objects can be placed anywhere on the master page to appear on every slide in apresentation. Text objects can also be placed in the footer if the default fields in the footer of apresentation are not going to be used.
1) Select View > Master Slide on the Menu bar to open the master slide view. This also
opens the Master View toolbar.
2) Select the master slide so that it appears in the Workspace.
3) Switch text editing mode on using one of the following methods. The Text Formatting
toolbar (Figure 17) automatically opens replacing the Line and Filling toolbar.
– Select Insert Text Box on the Standard or Drawing toolbar.
– Go to Insert > Text Box on the Menu bar.
– Use the keyboard shortcut F2.

Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and Templates | 19

Figure 17: Text Formatting toolbar
4) Click once on the master slide so that a text box is created and there is a flashing cursor
inside the text box.
5) Type or paste the text into the text object, then format the text. See Chapter 3, Adding
and Formatting Text for more information.
6) Click outside the text object to close the Text Formatting toolbar and reopen the Line andFilling toolbar.
7) Click Close Master View on the Master View toolbar or go to View > Normal on the
Menu bar when adding and formatting text to a master slide is completed.

Default footer sections
By default, the footer used in a slide consists of three sections with each section containing adefault field as follows:•

Left section – date and time, labelled Date Area. Field name is <date/time>.

•

Center section – footer text, labelled Footer Area. Field name is <footer>. This section
can be used for the presentation title, file name and so on.

•

Right section – slide number, labelled Slide Number Area. Field name is <number>.

Header and Footer dialog
The default footer fields are set up as follows using the Header and Footer dialog (Figure 18):
1) Select View > Master Slide on the Menu bar to open the master slide view. This also
opens the Master View toolbar.
2) Select the master slide so that it appears in the Workspace.
3) Go to Insert > Header and Footer on the Menu bar to open the Header and Footer
dialog.
4) Select Date and Time for the date and time to appear in the left section of the footer.
– For a fixed date and time in the left footer section, select Fixed and enter the date touse in the text box.
– For a variable date and time in the left footer section, select Variable, then select theformat and language to use from the Format and Language drop down lists. Using avariable date and time means that each time the presentation is opened, the date andtime are updated.
5) To place text in the footer center section, select Footer and then type or paste therequired text into the Footer text box.
6) To place the slide number in the right section of the footer, select Slide number.
7) If the footer is not going to appear on the first slide of a presentation, select Do not showon the first slide. The first slide is normally the title slide of a presentation.
8) Click Apply to save the changes and close the Header and Footer dialog.
9) To format the text used for the default footer fields, see Chapter 3, Adding and Formatting
Text for more information.
20| Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and TemplatesFigure 18: Header and Footer dialog - Slides page10) Click Close Master View on the Master View toolbar or go to View > Normal on the
Menu bar when setting up the default footer fields is completed.

Note
It is possible to format, resize, and reposition the default sections of a footer. See“Default text areas” on page 14 and Chapter 3, Adding and Formatting Text for more
information.

Custom footer sections
The default fields in a footer section can be replaced with text or manual fields as follows:
1) Select View > Master Slide on the Menu bar to open the master slide view. This also
opens the Master View toolbar.
2) Select the master slide so that it appears in the Workspace.
3) Highlight the default field in the footer section and press the Delete or Backspace key. A
flashing text cursor appears in the footer section and the Text Formatting toolbar
automatically opens replacing the Line and Filling toolbar.
4) Type in the text or insert a manual field into the footer section. For more information on
manual fields, see “Manual fields” below.
5) Format the text or manual field placed in the footer section. See Chapter 3, Adding andFormatting Text for more information.
6) Click outside the footer section to close the Text Formatting toolbar and reopen the Lineand Filling toolbar.
7) Click Close Master View on the Master View toolbar or go to View > Normal on the
Menu bar when setting up a custom footer section is completed.

Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and Templates | 21

Manual fields
Manual fields, for example date or slide number, can be added as text objects on a master slideor replace one of the default footer fields. The fields used in Impress are as follows:•

Date (fixed)•

Date (variable) – updates automatically each time the presentation is opened.

•

Time (fixed)•

Time (variable) – updates automatically each time the presentation is opened and eachtime a slide is opened more than once during a presentation.

•

Author – first and last names listed in the LibreOffice user data.

•

Slide number•

Slide Title•

Slide Count•

File Name

Inserting fields
Insert a field on a master slide as follows:
1) Select View > Master Slide on the Menu bar to open the master slide view. This also
opens the Master View toolbar.
2) Select the master slide so that it appears in the Workspace.
3) Click anywhere on the master slide without selecting an object.
4) Go to Insert > Field on the Menu bar and select the required field from the context menu.
By default, the field is placed in the center of the master slide.
5) Reposition the field text box to the desired position on the master slide. See “Default text
areas” on page 14 for more information.
6) Format the text placed in a field, see Chapter 3 Adding and Formatting Text for more
information.
7) Click Close Master View on the Master View toolbar or go to View > Normal on the
Menu bar when inserting a field is completed.

Replacing default fields
Replace a default footer field on a master slide as follows:
1) Select View > Master Slide on the Menu bar to open the master slide view.
2) Select the master slide so that it appears in the Workspace.
3) Highlight all of the characters used in the default field being replaced in the footer.
4) Go to Insert > Field on the Menu bar and select the required field from the context menu.
5) Format the text placed in the field, see Chapter 3 Adding and Formatting Text for more
information.
6) Click Close Master View on the Master View toolbar or go to View > Normal on the
Menu bar when replacing the default footer fields is completed

Tip
To change the number format (1, 2, 3 or a, b, c or i, ii, iii, and so on) for the slide
number, go to Slide > Slide Properties on the Menu bar to open the Slide
Properties dialog. In Layout Settings, select the type of number format to use fromthe Slide numbers drop down list.
22| Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and Templates

Working with styles
A style is a set of formats that can be applied to selected elements such as slides, text, lists,
frames, borders, lines and area fills in a presentation to quickly set or change their appearance.
Applying a style means applying a group of formats at the same time providing a consistent look
to a presentation. For example, to manually change an attribute on the same object type on
every slide in a presentation is time consuming and prone to errors. Using styles reduces timeand provides greater accuracy.
Impress has two types of styles available for formatting text and graphic objects – presentationstyles and drawing styles.
•

For information on formatting text, see Chapter 3, Adding and Formatting Text.

•

For information on formatting graphic objects, see Chapter 6, Formatting Graphic Objects
and the Draw Guide.

•

More information on styles used in LibreOffice can be found in the Getting Started Guide.

Note
The presence of text and title styles both in the presentation and drawing styles may
seem confusing. This apparent duplication is because Impress uses special text
boxes (auto layout boxes) when adding structured text to slides where presentationstyles apply. The title and other text styles in drawing styles are used on any othertext boxes, or text associated with shapes or lines.

Presentation styles
Presentation styles in Impress are used when creating a presentation using one of the Impress
slide layouts. These presentation styles are divided into four categories.
•

Background and Background objects – are used to format objects on the default
master slide such as icons, decorative lines, and shapes.

•

Notes – formats the text used in presentation notes.

•

Outline 1 thru Outline 9 – are used for the different levels of the outline to which they
belong. For example, Outline 2 is used for the sub-points of Outline 1, Outline 3 is used
for the sub-points of Outline 2 and so on.

•

Subtitle and Title – formats the text used for any titles or subtitles used on slides.

Note
As with the Heading styles in Writer, the Outline styles in Impress are hierarchicallylinked. For example, changing an attribute in the Outline 1 style cascades through all
the other styles for Outline levels.
The default master slide and slide layouts in Impress use auto layout boxes. Presentation styles
can only be used within these auto layout boxes. An example of text using these presentationstyles is shown in Figure 2 on page 7.
Presentation styles cannot be created or deleted, but can be formatted, modified or updated tothe presentation requirements. Also, the presentation style used for an object cannot be changed
to another presentation style. For example, text with Outline 2 style cannot be changed to
Outline 3 style.

Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and Templates | 23

Note
Changing outline levels is done in normal view using the Tab key or Shift+Tab key
combination or the Promote and Demote tools on the Outline toolbar. See
Chapter 3, Adding and Formatting Text for more information.

Note
Any text added to a slide using the text tools available is automatically placed in astandard text box and allocated the Default Drawing Style from Drawing Styles. For
more information on formatting text, see Chapter 3, Adding and Formatting Text.

Drawing styles
Drawing styles in Impress define the characteristics of graphic and text objects placed on a slide.
These styles include attributes for line, area, shadowing, transparency, text, connectors anddimensioning.
For example, when creating organization charts in a presentation, it will probably be required tohave all of the objects with a consistent appearance, such as line style, font type, shadow, and soon. The easiest way to achieve this result with the minimum effort is to use a drawing style for theobjects and apply it to each object. The major benefit is that if there is a change, say, thebackground color of objects, all that is required is to modify the style rather than each individual
object.
Drawing styles included with Impress cannot be deleted, but can be formatted, modified, andupdated. New or custom drawing styles can be created, see “Custom styles” on page 26. Any
custom style created is only available in the presentation where it was created.

Accessing styles
Use one of the following methods to access styles available in Impress.
•

Use the keyboard shortcut F11 (Windows and Linux) or ⌘+T (macOS) and open the
Styles deck on the Sidebar.

•

Go to Format > Styles on the Menu bar and select an option from the submenu that
opens. This will open the Graphic Styles dialog for the selected style.

•

Click on Show the Styles Sidebar (F11) located on the Line and Filling toolbar and open
the Styles deck on the Sidebar.

•

Click on Styles on the Sidebar to open the Styles deck.

Editing styles
Formatting presentation and drawing styles can be carried out in either Normal or Master Slideview. Formatting options are available in dialogs for each style or using Format on the Menu bar.
For more information on formatting text and objects, see Chapter 3, Adding and Formatting Text
and Chapter 6, Formatting Graphic Objects.

Dialog formatting1) Select an object on a slide or master slide and its style is highlighted in the Styles deck on
the Sidebar.
2) Go to Format > Styles > Edit Style on the Menu bar or right-click on the highlighted stylein the Styles deck on the Sidebar to open the formatting dialog for the selected style. An
example dialog for the Title style is shown in Figure 19.

24| Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and TemplatesFigure 19: Example dialog for modifying styles
3) Use the various options available in the tabbed pages of the dialog to format the style.
4) Click OK to save the formatting changes and close the dialog.

Note
Clicking on Reset before clicking OK removes all formatting changes made in thestyle formatting dialog.

Format menu
1) Open the Styles deck on the Sidebar. See “Accessing styles” on page 24 for more
information.
2) Click on Presentation Styles or Drawing Styles at the top left of the Styles deck andselect a style from the displayed list.
3) Go to Format on the Menu bar to open a submenu with various formatting options
available. Depending on the object selected, some formatting options will not be available
and are greyed out.
4) Select a formatting option from the submenu. Depending on the option selected, anothersubmenu may open giving further formatting options or a formatting dialog opens.

Modifying
1) Open the Styles deck on the Sidebar. See “Accessing styles” on page 24 for more
information.

Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and Templates | 25

2) Click on Presentation Styles or Drawing Styles at the top left of the Styles deck andselect a style from the displayed list.
3) Right-click on the style selected and select Modify from the context menu to open theformatting dialog for the style selected. An example dialog for the Title style is shown in
Figure 19.
4) Make the necessary changes to the selected style using the various options available inthe dialog that has opened.
5) Click OK to save the changes and close the dialog.

Updating
Updating a presentation or drawing style is similar to modifying, but changes to the text or object
are made first. Updating styles can only be carried out in Normal view.
1) Select the text or object on a slide in Normal view.
2) Use the various tools on the Text Formatting toolbar, Line and Filling toolbar, or the
options in Format on the Menu bar to format the selected object.
3) Open the Styles deck on the Sidebar. See “Accessing styles” on page 24 for more
information.
4) Click on Presentation Styles or Drawing Styles at the top left of the Styles deck andselect a style from the displayed list. The style used for the selected object will behighlighted.
5) Click on Update Style at the top right of the Styles deck and the style is updated toinclude the formatting changes made to the selected object.

Custom styles
Custom presentation styles cannot be created in Impress, only custom drawing styles can becreated. These custom drawing styles are only available for the presentation being created.
1) Create or select an object on a slide to create a custom drawing style.

Figure 20: New Style from Selection
dialog26| Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and Templates

2) Format the object to the presentation requirements using the various formatting options
available in the Text Formatting toolbar, Line and Filling toolbar, or the options in Format
on the Menu bar.
3) Open the Styles deck on the Sidebar. See “Accessing styles” on page 24 for more
information.
4) Click on Drawing Styles at the top left of the Styles deck to open the drawing styles list.
5) Click on New Style from Selection at the top right of the Styles deck and the New Style
from Selection dialog opens (Figure 20).
6) Enter a name for the custom drawing style in the Enter new style name text box.
7) Click OK to close the Create Style dialog. The custom drawing style is created andappears in the drawing styles list in the Styles deck on the Sidebar.

Direct formatting
Direct formatting overrides any formatting applied to an object when a style is used. Direct
formatting cannot be removed from an object by applying a style to it. To remove any direct
formatting, select the object so that the selection handles are visible, then use one of thefollowing methods to clear any direct formatting:•

Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+M (macOS Shift+M).

•

Go to Format > Clear Direct Formatting in the Menu bar.

•

If the object is a text object, highlight all of the text and then click on Clear Direct
Formatting on the Text Formatting toolbar.

•

If the object is a text object, highlight all of the text, right-click on the selected text andselect Clear Direct Formatting from the context menu.

Linked styles
Impress styles support linking or inheritance. This allows a style to be linked to another (parent)
style so that it inherits all the formatting settings of the parent, creating families of styles.
For example, if there are multiple boxes that differ in color, but are otherwise identicallyformatted, the best way to proceed is to define a style for the box including borders, area fill, font,and so on. Then create a number of styles that are hierarchically dependent, but differ only in thefill color attribute. For example, if the font size or the thickness of the border needs to bechanged, only change the parent style and all the other linked (child) styles change accordingly.

Assigning styles keyboard shortcuts
LibreOffice provides a set of predefined keyboard shortcuts which allow quick application ofstyles while working with a presentation. These shortcuts can be redefined or custom shortcuts
created. For more information, see Appendix A, Keyboard Shortcuts and the Getting Started
Guide.

Working with templates
A template is a special type of presentation that is used as a basis to create presentations. For
example, create a template for business presentations so that any new presentations have thecompany logo, name and information on the first slide and the remaining slides in thepresentation only show the company logo and name.
Templates can contain anything that presentations can contain, such as text, graphics, a set ofstyles, and user-specific setup information such as measurement units, language, the default
printer, and toolbar and menu customization.
Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and Templates | 27

Figure 21: Select a Template dialog
All document types created using LibreOffice are based on templates. Specific templates can becreated for any document type (text, spreadsheet, drawing, presentation). If a template is not
specified when creating a new document, then the default template for that type of document isused. If a default template is not specified, LibreOffice uses the blank template for that type of
document that is installed with LibreOffice. This default template can be changed, see “Setting
default template” on page 30 for more information.
However, Impress is a little different from other LibreOffice components, in that it starts with theSelect a Template dialog (Figure 21), unless this option has been turned off for this dialog in
LibreOffice options. When creating a presentation and the template dialog is active, it opens
offering several choices for templates as a starting point for a presentation. If this Select a
Template dialog is turned off for creating a new presentation, LibreOffice uses the LibreOfficedefault template for presentations. If a default template has been defined, LibreOffice uses thisdefault template to create a presentation, see “Setting default template” on page 30 for more
information.
For more information on templates and how to use them, see the Getting Started Guide.

Templates supplied with LibreOffice
Impress comes with a set of predefined templates. These templates only contain backgrounds
and background objects, providing a starting point to create presentations or presentation
templates.
Any templates created are located in the My Templates folder after the template has been saved
as a presentation template. These templates appear in the LibreOffice startup window and the
Select a Template dialog the next time LibreOffice is started.

28| Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and TemplatesUse one of the following methods to create a new presentation using a template:•

Click on the triangle ▼ on the right of Templates in LibreOffice start up window and thenselect Impress Templates from the context menu to display the available presentation
templates. Select a template and a new presentation opens.

•

Go to File > New > Templates on the Menu bar to open the Templates dialog (this dialog
is similar to the Select a Template dialog). Select Presentations from the Filter
drop-down list to display presentation templates. Select a presentation template and click
OK. The dialog closes and a new presentation opens.

•

Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+N (macOS ⌘+Shift+N) to open the Templates dialog(this dialog is similar to the Select a Template dialog). Select Presentations from theFilter drop-down list to display presentation templates. Select a presentation templateand click OK. The dialog closes and a new presentation opens.

Creating templates
Create a template and save it to a template folder as follows:
1) Open a presentation or presentation template as a starting point for a new template.
2) Add and format the content and styles as required for the new presentation template.
3) Go to File > Templates > Save As Template on the Menu bar to open the Save as
Template dialog (Figure 22).
4) Enter a name for the new template in the Enter Template Name text box.
5) Select a template category for the new template.
6) If required, select the option Set as default template to use as the default template thenext time LibreOffice is opened and no template is selected. See “Setting default
template” below for more information on setting default templates.

Figure 22: Save As Template dialog

Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and Templates | 29

7) Click on Save to save the new template and close the Save as Template dialog. The
template appears in the LibreOffice startup window and the Select a Template dialog thenext time LibreOffice is started.

Note
When saving a new template, it is important to save the template in one of thecategories given in the Save as Template dialog. This allows LibreOffice to find the
new template and use it for creating a new presentation.

Setting default template
If a new presentation is being created and no template is selected, LibreOffice creates thepresentation from the default Impress template. This is normally a blank template. However, any
presentation template can be set as the default template, even a new template that has been
recently created. The template has to be located in a category displayed in the Save as Template
dialog so that LibreOffice can find it. The default template can always be reset to the original
LibreOffice default template.

Changing default template
1) Use one of the following methods to open the Select a Template dialog.
– Go to File > New > Templates on the Menu bar.
– Go to File > Templates > Manage Templates on the Menu bar.
2) Select the template to use as the default LibreOffice presentation template.
3) Right-click on the selected template and select Set as Default from the context menu.
4) Click on Open and a new presentation opens using the new default template and sets thedefault presentation template in LibreOffice. The next time a new presentation is created
and a template is not selected, the presentation is created using the new default
presentation template.

Resetting default template
To reset the default presentation template back to the original LibreOffice default template forpresentations:
1) Use one of the following methods to open the Select a Template dialog.
– Go to File > New > Templates on the Menu bar.
– Go to File > Templates > Manage Templates on the Menu bar.
2) Select the presentation template that is being used as the default presentation templatein the Select a Template dialog.
3) Right-click on the template and select Reset Default from the context menu.
4) Click on Close to close the Select a Template dialog. The next time that a newpresentation is created and a template is not selected, the presentation is created using
the default LibreOffice presentation template.

Editing templates
Template styles and content can be edited and reapplied to presentations that were created fromthat template.
1) Use one of the following methods to open the Select a Template dialog.
– Go to File > New > Templates on the Menu bar.
– Go to File > Templates > Manage Templates on the Menu bar.
30| Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and Templates– Click on the triangle ▼ on the right of Templates in LibreOffice start up window andselect Impress Templates from the context menu.
2) Right-click on the template to be edited and select Edit from the context menu and thetemplate opens in Impress.
3) Edit and update the styles, text and/or objects on the selected template.
4) Go to File > Save on the Menu bar or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+S (macOS ⌘+S) tosave the changes.
5) Close the template or create a presentation using the edited template.

Note
Any presentation created from the template before editing can be updated to show
the changed template settings the next time the presentation is opened after
template editing. A confirmation dialog opens asking if the updated styles are to be
used or keep the old styles. If keep the old styles is selected, then the presentation
continues to use the old styles without any confirmation.

Organizing templates
LibreOffice can only use templates that are in LibreOffice template categories (template folders).
New LibreOffice template categories can be created and used to organize LibreOffice templates.
For example, separate template categories for different projects or clients. Templates can also be
imported and exported.

Tip
The location of folders used LibreOffice template categories varies with computer
operating systems. To learn where the template folders are stored on a computer, go
to Tools > Options > LibreOffice > Paths.

Creating custom categories
1) Use one of the following methods to open the Select a Template dialog.
– Go to File > New > Templates on the Menu bar.
– Go to File > Templates > Manage Templates on the Menu bar.
2) Right-click on Tools in the bottom left of the Select a Template dialog and select New
Category from the context menu.
3) Enter a category name in Enter new category name box that has opened.
4) Click OK to save the new category and the category appears in the Filter drop-down list
for categories at the top of the Select a Template dialog.

Deleting custom categories
Template categories supplied with LibreOffice or installed using the Extension Manager cannot
be deleted. Only custom categories that have been created in Impress can be deleted.
1) Use one of the following methods to open the Select a Template dialog.
– Go to File > New > Templates on the Menu bar.
– Go to File > Templates > Manage Templates on the Menu bar.
2) Right-click on Tools in the bottom left of the Select a Template dialog.
3) Select Delete Category from the context menu to open the Delete Category dialog(Figure 23).

Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and Templates | 31

Figure 23: Delete Category dialog

Figure 24: Select Category dialog
4) Select the custom category for deletion.
5) Click OK to delete the custom category and confirm the deletion.

Moving templates
1) Use one of the following methods to open the Select a Template dialog.
– Go to File > New > Templates on the Menu bar.
– Go to File > Templates > Manage Templates on the Menu bar.
2) Select the template that is going to be moved.

32| Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and Templates3) Click on Move at the bottom of the Select a Template dialog to open the Select Category
dialog (Figure 24).
4) Select a category from the displayed list in Select from Existing Category, or selectCreate a New Category and create a new category for the template.
5) Click OK to move the template to its new category and close the Select Category dialog.

Deleting templates
Templates supplied with LibreOffice or installed using the Extension Manager cannot be deleted.
Only templates that have been created in Impress or imported from other sources can bedeleted.
1) Use one of the following methods to open the Select a Template dialog.
– Go to File > New > Templates on the Menu bar.
– Go to File > Templates > Manage Templates on the Menu bar.
2) Right-click on the template being deleted and select Delete from the context menu.
3) Click on Yes to confirm the deletion.

Renaming templates
Templates supplied with LibreOffice or installed using the Extension Manager cannot berenamed. Only templates that have been created in Impress or imported from other sources canbe renamed.
1) Use one of the following methods to open the Select a Template dialog.
– Go to File > New > Templates on the Menu bar.
– Go to File > Templates > Manage Templates on the Menu bar.
2) Right-click on the template being renamed and select Rename from the context menu.
3) Enter a new template name in the text box that has opened.
4) Click on OK to save the new template name.

Importing templates
If a template is in a different location on the computer, then the template must be imported into a
LibreOffice category for LibreOffice to recognize the template.
1) Use one of the following methods to open the Select a Template dialog.
– Go to File > New > Templates on the Menu bar.
– Go to File > Templates > Manage Templates on the Menu bar.
2) Click on Import at the bottom of the Select a Template dialog to open the Select Category
dialog.
3) Select a category from the displayed list or select Create a New Category in the SelectCategory dialog.
4) In the file browser window that opens, navigate to the folder where the template is locatedon the computer.
5) Select the template and click Open. The file browser window closes and the templateappears in the selected category.

Exporting templates
1) Use one of the following methods to open the Select a Template dialog.
– Go to File > New > Templates on the Menu bar.
– Go to File > Templates > Manage Templates on the Menu bar.

Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and Templates | 33

2) Select the template for export, then click on Export at the bottom of the Select a
Template dialog to open a file browser window.
3) Navigate to the folder where the template is to be exported to and click on OK. The
template is exported to the selected location and the file browser window closes.

34| Chapter 2, Master Slides, Styles, and Templates