Draw Guide

4

Chapter
Changing Object
Attributes

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separatel y.)CopyrightThis document is Copyright © 2005–2010 by its contributors as listed
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under the terms of either the GNU General Public License, version 3 orlate r, or the Creative Commons Attribution License, version 3.0 orlate r.
All trademarks within this guide belong to their legitimate owners.

Authors
Agnes Belzunce
Martin Fox
Regina HenschelWolfgang Uhlig
Claire Wood

Daniel Carrera
Thomas Hackert
Gary Schnabl
Jean Hollis Weber
Linda Worthington

Feedback
Please direct any comments or suggestions about this document to:authors@documentation.openoffice.org

Acknowledgments
This chapter is based on an original French document written for
OpenOffice.org 1.x by Michel Pinquier (translated to English by Alex
Thurgood) and previous content revised by Jim Taylo r. The chapter
was revised for OpenOffice 2 by Linda, Daniel, Jean, and Agnes, andlater translated into German by Wolfgang Uhlig, Thomas Hackert andRegina Henschel; the German revisions were then translated into
English and updated for OpenOffice 3.2 by Martin Fox.

Publication date and software version
Published 28 July 2010. Based on OpenOffice.org 3.2.

You can download
an editable version of this document fromhttp://oooauthors.org/english/userguide3/published/

Contents
Copyright.................................................................................................2
Toolbars and menus.................................................................................5
Line and Filling toolbar........................................................................5
Text Formatting toolbar.......................................................................5
The context menu.................................................................................5
Editing lines and borders.........................................................................6
Common line properties.......................................................................7
Drawing arrows....................................................................................8
Customizing line and arrow styles.......................................................9
Customizing line styles......................................................................9
Customizing arrow styles..................................................................9
Editing the inside (fill) of an object.......................................................11
Common fill properties.......................................................................11
Fill with a uniform color..................................................................12
Fill with a gradient..........................................................................12
Fill with a line pattern.....................................................................13
Fill with an image............................................................................13
Adding a shadow.................................................................................14
Advanced area fill options..................................................................14
Creating your own fill color............................................................14
Creating your own gradient............................................................15
Creating your own hatching (line pattern).....................................16
Creating your own bitmap fill.........................................................17
Customizing shadows.........................................................................18
Adding transparency..........................................................................19
Using styles............................................................................................20
Creating a new style...........................................................................20
Applying a style..................................................................................20
Modifying a style................................................................................21
Special effects........................................................................................21
Rotating an object..............................................................................21
Changing Object Attributes

3

Flip an object......................................................................................22
Mirror copies......................................................................................22
Distorting an image............................................................................23
Distort an object..............................................................................23
Set in circle (perspective)...............................................................24
Set to circle (slant)..........................................................................24
Dynamic gradients..............................................................................25

4

Changing Object Attributes

Toolbars and menus
To change an object’s attributes (such as colo r, border width, among
others) you can use the Line and Filling toolbar or the context menu.

Line and Filling toolbar
If the Line and Filling toolbar is not visible, you can display it using
View > Toolbars > Line and Filling. From here you can edit themost common object attributes. You can also open the Line dialog byclicking on the Lineicon and the Area dialog by clicking on the Area
icon to see more options.

1 Styles and Formatting
2 Line3 Arrow Style

4 Line Style
5 Line Width
6 Line Color

Figure 1: Line and Filling toolbar

7Area
8–9 Area Style / Filling
10 Shadow

Text Formatting toolbar
When you select text, the Line and Filling toolbar changes to show text
formatting options. You can also display the Text Formatting toolbar bychoosing View > Toolbars > Text Formatting.

Figure 2: Text Formatting toolbar (when text is selected)

The context menu
When an object is selected, you can right-click on the object to bringup a context menu (Figure 3). The context menu 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-handside contain a submenu.

Toolbars and menus

5Figure 3: Right-click on an object to see
the context menu

Editing lines and borders
Lines, arrows, and the borders of an object are managed through thesame dialog (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Lines and borders
You can change some properties from the Line and Filling toolba r. To
see more options, select the object and right-click on the object andchoose Line from the context menu. This opens the Line dialog.

6

Changing Object Attributes

Figure 5: Line dialog (right-click on an object and choose Line).

Common line properties
In most cases the property you want to change is the line’s style (solid,
dashed, invisible, and so on), its colo r, or its width. These options are
all available from the Line and Filling toolba r.

Figure 6: Common line options (style, width, color)
You can also edit these properties from the Line dialog. They are on
the first tab, left column (see Figure 5). From the Line dialog you canalso change the line’s transparenc y. Figure 7 illustrates different
degrees of transparenc y.

Figure 7: The vertical lines have different levels oftransparency (0%, 25%, and 50%).
Editing lines and borders

7

Drawing arrows
Arrowheads (and other line endings—usually referred to in this guidecollectively as arrows) are a line propert y. Select a line and click on
the Arrow Styleicon. This opens the Arrowheads menu.

Figure 8: Arrowheads menu
There are several types of arrowheads available. Each end of the line
can have a different arrowhead (or no arrowhead).
Note

Arrowheads are only applicable to lines. They have no effect on
an object’s border.

In the Line dialog (Figure 5), Arrow styles on the right-hand side
contains a number of options to fine tune the arrow properties. If
Synchronize ends is selected, both line endings will have the same
appearance. The Center option brings the middle of the arrow overthe end point of the line. If this option is not selected, the line ends on
the outermost edge of the arro w. It is much easier to understand if you
look at the following sketch.

Figure 9: Default arrowheads (left) vscentered arrowheads (right)
8

Changing Object Attributes

Customizing line and arrow styles
You are not constrained to using only the line and arrow styles
provided by default in Dra w. You can modify the styles and create yourown.

Customizing line styles
In the Line dialog, click on the Line Styles tab (see Figure 10). From
here you can customize the line styles or create your own (click on the
Add button to create your own). You can change the length of thedashes, the space between them, and other attributes.

Load Line Style
Save Line Style

Figure 10: Editing line styles
Use the Load Line Styleand Save Line Style
icons to save a
new definition or read one from disk (file extension .sod).

Customizing arrow styles
You can also create your own arrowheads to create some interesting
effects, such as:

The first step is to draw a curve with the shape you want for thearrowhead.
Editing lines and borders

9Figure 11: To create your own arrowhead,
you must first draw a curve.

Note

The arrowhead must be a curve. A curve is something you could
draw without lifting a pencil. For example,
is a curve but
is not a curve. You can however draw forms which are notcurves and then at the end convert them to a curve.

Select the curve, open the Line dialog, and go to the Arrow Styles
page. Click on Add, enter a name for the arrow style and click OK (seeFigure 12).

Tip

The part of the shape which should point in the direction of theline must be drawn facing upwards. In Figure 11 the top of the
shape will point towards the “outside” of the line.

Figure 12: Adding an arrow style
Now you can access the new style from the Arrow style list (Figure 13)
or the Arrowheads dialog (Figure 8).

10

Changing Object Attributes

Figure 13: Arrow style list

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 colo r, a gradient, a hatchingpattern, or an image. It can be made partly or wholly transparent andcan throw a shado w.

Figure 14: Different types of area fill

Common fill properties
In most cases, you will choose one of the standard fill options, whether
it is a colo r, a gradient or an image. These options are all available
from the Line and Filling toolba r.
If you want no fill at all, select the object you wish to edit and on theLine and Filling toolbar select the option Invisible on the pull down
list at the right of the paint can.

Editing the inside (fill) of an object

11

Figure 15: Common fill options

Fill with a uniform color
Select the object you wish to edit. On the Line and Filling toolba r,
select Color on the pull down list at the right of the paint can, andthen choose a color from the right-hand menu.

Figure 16: Filling with a color

Fill with a gradient
Select the object you wish to edit. On the Line and Filling toolba r,
select Gradient and then choose a gradient from the right-hand menu.

Figure 17: Filling with a gradient12

Changing Object Attributes

Fill with a line pattern
The OOo term for line patterns is Hatching. Select the object you wish
to edit. On the Line and Filling toolba r, select Hatching and thenchoose an option from the menu.

Figure 18: Filling with a line patternFill with an image
You can fill an object with a bitmap image (as opposed to a vector
graphic image). Select the object you wish to edit. On the Line andFilling toolba r, select Bitmap and then choose an option from themenu.

Figure 19: Filling with an image

Editing the inside (fill) of an object

13

Adding a shadow
In Dra w, shadows are considered an area propert y. Click on the Filling
icon on the Line and Filling toolbar—next to the area fill functions(Figure 20).

Figure 20: Adding a shadow

Advanced area fill options
Click on the Area icon
to bring up the Area dialog. From this
dialog, you can fine tune the area fill of an object in greater detail.

Creating your own fill color
Click on the Colors tab of the Area dialog (Figure 21). From here you
can modify existing colors or create your own.

Figure 21: Customizing the color palette
Depending on the color model (RGB or CMYK can be selected from thepull down menu) in use you can change the individual values of theconstituent colors—Red, Green, and Blue or Cyan, Magenta, Yello w,
14

Changing Object Attributes

and Black. Click on Add to add this color to the color table. Clicking on
the Modify button will change the values of the current color (here it
is Blue 8, shown in the upper rectangle) to those on the screen in thelower rectangle. The Edit button allows you to fine tune the color
using a palette with visual feedback.
Further explanation about color palettes can be found in Chapter 8(Tips and Tricks).

Creating your own gradientOn the Area dialog, click on the Gradients tab. From here you can
modify existing gradients or create your own.

Figure 22: Customizing gradients
A gradient works by creating a smooth transition from one color toanothe r. First, you need to choose two colors.

Figure 23: Choosing colors for a gradient

Editing the inside (fill) of an object

15

Then choose a type of gradient. There are several available (Linea r,
Axial, Radial, and so on) and each has up to four different options to
specify it in detail. For example, a radial gradient has a center you canspecify (Figure 24).

Figure 24: Center option in a radial gradientFigure 25 shows how an ellipsoid gradient is rotated, moved verticallyand horizontall y, and the color of the border area varied.

Figure 25: Center, Angle, and Border options for a gradientCreating your own hatching (line pattern)
On the Area dialog, click on the Hatching tab (Figure 26). From here
you can modify existing hatchings (line patterns) or create your own.
You can customize options like the spacing between lines, the angle
and the color of the lines. There is no way to edit the line thickness.

16

Changing Object Attributes

Figure 26: Modifying hatchings

Creating your own bitmap fill
You can add your own bitmap images to fill an area. First, you need tocreate the bitmap image. This could be a photo or another sketch you
have created in another program. For example, you can draw
something with Draw and export it as a PNG format image file.
To export a PNG image file: Create the image, select it, then choose
File > Export, choose PNG from the pulldown list of file formats, givethe file a name, and save it.
To use an image as a bitmap fill, open the Area dialog and click on the
Bitmaps tab (Figure 27).

Figure 27: Adding your own bitmap images
Editing the inside (fill) of an object

17

From there you can add new bitmap images to serve as area fills. Clickon Import and choose a file you previously saved. Give it a name thatwill make it easy to remembe r. The last imported image will appear at
the bottom of the pulldown list of bitmap fills. Now you can use thatimage as an area fill.

Figure 28: Adding your own bitmap images

Tip

If the imported image seems to be very small in the preview inFigure 26 probably you forgot to select the image before you
exported it. The exported image was then the whole page with a(small) drawing on it.

Customizing shadowsFirst, select the object you want to apply a custom shadow to. Open the
Area dialog and go to the Shadow tab (Figure 27). There you cancustomize the shadow’s position, distance and colo r.

Figure 29: Customizing shadows
18

Changing Object Attributes

Shadows can also have transparenc y, so the shadow does not hide
objects behind it.

Figure 30: Shadow with 50% transparency

Adding transparency
You can make objects partly or fully transparent, or even a with avarying degree of transparency (as a gradient). On the Transparency
page (Figure 31), choose Transparency (for a uniform transparency)
or Gradient for a gradient transparenc y.

Figure 31: Transparency page of Area dialog
An example of gradient transparency is shown in Figure 32. See also
“Dynamic gradients” on page 25.

Figure 32: Example of gradient transparency
Editing the inside (fill) of an object

19

Using styles
Suppose that you want to apply the same area fill, line thickness, andborder 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 6 (Introduction to Styles) in the Writer
Guide.
Click on the Styles and Formatting
icon on the Line and Filling
toolbar or press the F11 key to open the Styles and Formatting window(Figure 33). This window can be docked to the left or right side of themain Draw windo w, if you wish.

Figure 33: Styles and Formatting window

Creating a new style
Select an object and customize the area fill and borde r. When you aresatisfied, click on the New Style from Selection
icon on the Styles
and Formatting windo w. This defines a new style based on the selected
object. Type a name for the new style and click OK.

Applying a style
Once the new style is defined, you can apply it to other objects. Selectanother object and double-click on the style name you defined. The
new object will acquire the area fill and line properties of that style.
20

Changing Object Attributes

Tip

Question: What happens if I modify a style after it has been
applied?
Answer: Then every object with that style is updated
automatically!

Modifying a style
Modifying a style is similar to creating a new style. Select an object
with that style and change the area and line properties. Whensatisfied, click on the Update Style icon.

Special effects
First make sure that the Drawing toolbar is selected (View > Toolbars> Drawing). On the Drawing toolba r, locate the Effects icon.
Click on the arrow next to that icon. This opens a submenu with all the
special effect tools (see Figure 34).

1 Rotate
2 Flip
3 In 3D Rotation Object

4 Set in Circle (perspective)
5 Set to Circle (slant)
6 Distort

7 Transparency
8 GradientFigure 34: Mode tear-off submenu
The tools are described in the following sections with the exception of
the 3D rotation tool, which is described in Chapter 7 ( Working with 3D
Objects).

Rotating an object
Click on the Effects
icon to select the Rotate tool. Then select anobject. The selected object will have red handles instead of the usual
green handles.

Special effects

21

Grab one of the handles and move it
to rotate the object. The black circle
in the middle of the object is thepivot (center of rotation). You canmove the location of the pivot withthe mouse.

Flip an object
Select an object and click on the Flip icon
. You will
see a dashed line through the middle of the object.
This dashed line is the axis of symmetr y. The object
will be reflected about this line. Move one or both endsof the line with your mouse to set the orientation of theaxis.
Then, grab any one of the eight green handles and moveit across to the other side of the dashed line. The newposition of the figure is shown faintly until the mouse isreleased.

Note

If you press the Shift key while moving the line, the line will
rotate in 45-degree increments.

Mirror copies
Officiall y, this useful command does not (yet) exist in Dra w. It can,howeve r, be easily emulated.
Move the axis of symmetry to the desired location of the mirror axis.
Copy the object to the clipboard. Flip the object, then click on an
empty area of the Draw screen in order to deselect the object. Pastefrom the clipboard to put a copy of the object in its original locationand now you have a mirror cop y.

22

Changing Object Attributes

Figure 35: Making a mirror copy of an object

Distorting an image
There are three tools on the Effects menu that let you drag thecorners and edges of an object to distort the image.
The Distort tool distorts an object in perspective, the Set to Circle(slant) and Set in Circle (perspective) tools both create a pseudo
three-dimensional effect.
The results of using these tools are shown in the following figures.

Distort an object
Select an object and click on the Distort icon . Draw will ask if you
want to transform the object to a curve. This is a necessary step before
distortion, so click Yes. Then you can move the object handles tostretch it.
The corner handles distort, as shown in Figure 36. The midpoint
handles distort the figure either horizontally (handle on vertical side of
figure) or vertically (handle on horizontal side of figure).

Figure 36: Distort an image
Special effects

23

Set in circle (perspective)
Select an object and click on the Set in Circle (perspective)
icon.
Draw will ask if you want to transform the object to a curve. This is anecessary step before distortion, so click Yes. Then you can move theobject handles to give a pseudo three-dimensional perspective).

Figure 37: Set an image in a circle with perspective

Set to circle (slant)
Select an object and click on the Set to Circle (slant)
icon. Draw
will ask if you want to transform the object to a curve. This is anecessary step before distortion, so click Yes. Then you can move theobject handles to give a pseudo three-dimensional slant perspective.

Figure 38: Set an image to a circle with slant perspective
24

Changing Object Attributes

NoteTransforming an object into a curve is a safe operation, but it
cannot be reversed other than by clicking the Undo button.

Dynamic gradients
You can control transparency gradients in the same manner as color
gradients. Both types of gradient can be used togethe r. With atransparency gradient, the direction and degree of an object’s fill color
changes from opaque to transparent (in a regular gradient, the fillchanges from one color to anothe r, but the degree of transparency
remains the same).
If you have assigned transparency to an object with a color fill, you cancontrol the transparency by clicking on the Transparency icon . To
define a transparent gradient, select an object, choose a transparency
fill from the Line and Filling toolba r, The transparency icon is now
active. When you click on this icon, a dashed line connecting two
squares appears on the object. Move the two squares to modify thegradient. You can define the direction of the gradient (vertical,
horizontal, or at any angle) and the spot at which the transparency
begins.
In the same manne r, to define a regular gradient, select an object,choose a gradient fill from the Line and Filling toolba r. The Gradienticon
is now active. When you click on the gradient icon, a dashedline connecting two squares appears on the object, just as it does for atransparency gradient.
In both cases a dashed line connecting two small squares appears on
top of the object. Click outside the object to set the gradient.

Note

If the transparency and gradient icons are not visible, you candisplay them using View > Toolbars > Mode.
Moving the squares will have different effects, depending on thetype of gradient. For example, for a linear gradient, the start andend squares of the gradient will always be situated to either sideof the center point of the object.

The three examples in Figure 39 demonstrate how the type and degreeof transparency can be controlled.

Special effects

25

A single color object and a transparency
gradient, covering part of the underlying
object.
The gradient can be dynamically adjusted,made more transparent by moving thewhite square or more opaque by moving
the black square.
An object with a color gradient, completely
covering another object.
The gradient is adjusted dynamically bymoving the squares – the color of thesquare relating to the increase or decreasein that colo r.

An object with both color and transparency
gradients, partly covering the underlying
object.

Figure 39: Dynamic gradients

26

Changing Object Attributes