Draw Guide

Chapter 8
Connections, Flowcharts, andOrganization Charts

CopyrightThis document is Copyright © 2020 by the LibreOffice Documentation Team. Contributors arelisted below. You may distribute it and/or modify it under the terms of either the GNU General
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All trademarks within this guide belong to their legitimate owners.

Contributors
To This EditionPeter Schofield

Regina HenschelClaire Wood

Martin Fox

John Cleland

Jean Hollis WeberJohn A Smith

Peter Schofield

To Previous Editions

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Publication date and software version
Published June 2020. Based on LibreOffice 6.4.

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

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Open the sidebar Styles deck

Documentation for LibreOffice is available at http://documentation.libreoffice.org/en/Contents
Copyright..............................................................................................................................2
Contributors................................................................................................................................. 2
To This Edition......................................................................................................................... 2
To Previous Editions................................................................................................................ 2
Feedback..................................................................................................................................... 2
Publication date and software version.........................................................................................2
Using LibreOffice on macOS........................................................................................................2

Introduction..........................................................................................................................4
Connectors and glue points................................................................................................4
Connectors.................................................................................................................................. 4
Connector types...................................................................................................................... 5
Adding connectors.................................................................................................................. 6
Modifying connectors.............................................................................................................. 6
Glue points.................................................................................................................................. 7
Glue point types...................................................................................................................... 8
Adding glue points................................................................................................................... 9
Customizing glue points.......................................................................................................... 9
Deleting glue points............................................................................................................... 10
Connector text........................................................................................................................... 10
Adding text............................................................................................................................ 10
Formatting and editing text....................................................................................................11

Flowcharts..........................................................................................................................12
Organization charts...........................................................................................................13

Connections, Flowcharts, and Organization Charts | 3

Introduction
Connectors and glue points were briefly introduced in Chapter 2 Drawing Basic Shapes. Thissection describes them in more detail and how to use them.
Connectors are lines or arrows whose ends automatically dock to a connection or glue point on an
object. Connectors are useful when drawing, for example, flowcharts and organization charts. The
connecting lines between objects remain intact even when objects are moved or rearranged. Also,
if you copy an object with a connector, the connector is also copied.

Connectors and glue points
Connectors
Draw has a comprehensive selection of connectors to help you connect objects in, for example, aflowchart or organization chart. The default set of connectors can be accessed using one of thefollowing methods:•

Click the small triangle to the right of the Connector icon on the Drawing toolbar(highlighted in Figure 1). The icon changes shape depending on the last connector used.

•

Select a connector from Shapes > Default > Connectors on the Sidebar (Figure 2).

The connectors on the Drawing toolbar (Figure 1) can be displayed as a floating toolbar as
follows:
1)

Click on the small triangle on the right of the Connector icon on the Drawing toolbar.

2)

Click at the top of the pop up toolbar and drag it on to the Workspace.

3)

Release the mouse button and the pop up toolbar becomes a floating toolbar (Figure 3).

Figure 1: Drawing toolbar

Figure 2: Connectors section in
Shapes deck on Sidebar

4 | Connections, Flowcharts, and Organization Charts

Figure 3: Connectors toolbar

Figure 4: Connectors toolbar Visible Buttons

Connector types
The full range of predefined connectors can be accessed by clicking on the small downward facing
triangle on the Connectors toolbar and selecting Visible Buttons (Figure 4). The connectors
available on the toolbar are indicated by a check mark against the name.
Connectors fall into four type groups:•

Standard connectors – connector name starts with Connector. Line segments run
vertically and horizontally. Draws a connector with one or more 90-degree angle bends.
Click on an object glue point on an object, drag to a glue point on another object, thenrelease.

Connectors and glue points | 5•Line connectors – connector name starts with Line. Consists of a line segment with two
smaller segments at the ends and draws a connector that bends near a glue point. Click on
an object glue point, drag to a glue point on another object, then release. To adjust thelength of the line segment between a bend point and a glue point, click the connector anddrag the bend point.

•

Straight connectors – connector name starts with Straight. Consists of a single line anddraws a straight line connector. Click on an object glue point, drag to a glue point onanother object, then release.

•

Curved connectors – connector name starts with Curved. Based on Bézier curves andcurve around objects. Draws a curved line connector. Click on an object glue point, drag to
a glue point on another object, then release.

Adding connectors
When you select a connector and move the mouse pointer over a filled object or the edge of an
unfilled object, glue points appear. A glue point is a fixed point where you can attach a connector
line. You can also add custom glue points to an object, see “Glue points” on page 7 for more
information.
To draw a connector, select the connector type and click on a glue point on an object. Drag the
cursor to a glue point on another object and then release. Figure 5 shows a standard connector
drawn between two objects. Remember not to drag the connector so that it overlaps or touches
any objects and creates a confusing drawing. If this does happen, see “Modifying connectors”
below on how to change the connector route to avoid any objects the connector crosses over.
You can also drag a connector to an empty part of your document. When you release the mousebutton, the unattached end of the connector is locked into place until you drag the end to adifferent location.

Figure 5: Connector between two objects

Modifying connectors
To detach or reposition a connector, click and drag either end of the connector line to a different
location.
To change the connector route between objects avoiding any objects on the route, click on acontrol point on the connector line and drag it to a new position. In Figure 5, the control points areshown as small red squares.
To modify a connector, right-click on the connector and select Connector from the context menu to
open the Connector dialog (Figure 6). Use this dialog to change connector type and its properties.
•

Line skew – defines the skew of the line and the dialog preview displays the result.

•Line spacing – sets the spacing for the connectors.
— Begin horizontal – enter the amount of horizontal space you want at the beginning of
the connector.

6 | Connections, Flowcharts, and Organization Charts

Figure 6: Connector dialog— Begin vertical – enter the amount of vertical space you want at the beginning of theconnector.
— End horizontal – enter the amount of horizontal space you want at the end of theconnector.
— End vertical – enter the amount of vertical space you want at the end of the connector•

Preview window – a left click zooms in on the preview and a right click zooms out..

Note
You cannot swap the ends of the connector using the Connector dialog, that is startpoint becomes the end point and the end point becomes the start point. To swap theends of a connector, you have to draw a new connector in the opposite direction.

Glue points
Glue points are not the same as the selection handles of an object. The selection handles are formoving or changing the shape of an object (see Chapter 3 Working with Objects and Object Points
for more information). Glue points are used to fix or glue a connector to an object so that when theobject moves, the connector stays fixed to that object.
All Draw objects have glue points, which normally are not displayed and only become visible when
the Connectors icon on the Drawing toolbar (Figure 1 on page 4) is selected. Note that theConnectors icon changes shape depending on the last connector tool used.
To add, customize or delete glue points to an object, go to View > Toolbars > Glue Points on themain menu bar to activate the Glue Points toolbar (Figure 7). This toolbar only becomes visible
after using one of the following methods:•

Click on the Show Glue Point Functions icon on the Standard or Drawing toolbars.

•

Select Edit > Glue Points on the main menu bar.

Connectors and glue points | 7

Figure 7: Glue Points toolbar and Visible
Buttons

Note
The Show Glue Point Functions icon on the Drawing toolbar is not part of thedefault set of tools for the Drawing toolbar. To add this icon, right click in an empty on
the Drawing toolbar and select Visible Buttons > Glue Points from the context
menu.

Glue point types
When the Glue Points toolbar (Figure 7) opens, only the six tools on the left of the toolbar are
active. The remaining six tools on the right of the toolbar only become active when the Glue Point
Relative icon is deselected.
The following briefly describes the function of each tool on the Glue Points toolbar (Figure 7).
•

Insert Glue Point – inserts a glue point where you click in an object.

•

Exit Direction Left – connector attaches to the left edge of the selected glue point.

•

Exit Direction Top – connector attaches to the top edge of the selected glue point.

•

Exit Direction Right – connector attaches to the right edge of the selected glue point.

•

Exit Direction Bottom – connector attaches to the bottom edge of the selected glue point.

•

Glue Point Relative – maintains the relative position of a selected glue point when you
resize an object. This tool is selected by default when the Glue Point toolbar opens.

The following six tools only become active when the Glue Point Relative tool is deselected.
•

Glue Point Horizontal Left – when the object is resized, the current glue point remains
fixed at the left edge of the object.

•

Glue Point Horizontal Center – when the object is resized, the current glue point remains
fixed at the center of the object.

•

Glue Point Horizontal Right – when the object is resized, the current glue point remains
fixed at the right edge of the object.

•

Glue Point Vertical Top – when the object is resized, the current glue point remains fixedat the top edge of the object.

8 | Connections, Flowcharts, and Organization Charts•Glue Point Vertical Center – when the object is resized, the current glue point remains
fixed at the vertical center of the object.

•

Glue Point Vertical Bottom – when the object is resized, the current glue point remains
fixed at the bottom edge of the object.

Note
Each glue point you have added can have only one horizontal position and one vertical
position. Only one of the horizontal position tools and one of the vertical position tools
can be selected and used at any one time.

Adding glue points
By default, most objects normally have four glue points. Add additional glue points to an object asfollows:
1)

Make sure no objects are selected and use one of the following methods to open the Glue
Points toolbar:— Click on the Show Glue Point Functions icon on the Standard or Drawing toolbars.
— Select Edit > Glue Points on the main menu bar.

2)

If the Glue Points toolbar does not open, go to View > Toolbars > Glue Points on themain menu bar.

3)

Select the object and then the Insert Glue Point icon, or right click on a glue point you
have previously inserted and select Insert Glue Point from the context menu.

4)Move your cursor to a position where you want the glue point on an object and click toinsert the glue point.

5)

To move a glue point to another position, click on the glue point and drag it to its new
position.

Tip
When adding, moving or customizing glue points, it is recommended to use the zoom
function to make it easier to work with glue points. See Chapter 3 Working with
Objects and Object Points for more information. Also, glue points snap to the grid
making it easier to position a glue point.

Customizing glue points
Only glue points that have been added to an object can be customized. The default glue points
included with an object cannot be customized.
Customize the exit direction for the added glue point as follow:
1)

Make sure no objects are selected and use one of the following methods to activate glue
points that have been added to an object:— Click on the Show Glue Point Functions icon on the Standard or Drawing toolbars.
— Select Edit > Glue Points on the main menu bar

2)

If the Glue Points toolbar does not open, go to View > Toolbars > Glue Points on themain menu bar.

3)

Double-click on a glue point that you have added to select the glue point for customization.

Connectors and glue points | 9

4)

Select an exit direction you want to use for the connector you will be attaching to the glue
point from the Glue Points toolbar (Figure 7 on page 8), or right click on the glue point andselect the exit direction from the context menu.

Customize the horizontal and vertical positioning for the added glue point as follow:
1)

Make sure no objects are selected and use one of the following methods to activate glue
points that have been added to an object:— Click on the Show Glue Point Functions icon on the Standard or Drawing toolbars.
— Select Edit > Glue Points on the main menu bar

2)

If the Glue Points toolbar does not open, go to View > Toolbars > Glue Points on themain menu bar.

3)

Double-click on a glue point that you have added to select the glue point for customization.

4)

Click on the Glue Point Relative icon on the Glue Points toolbar (Figure 7 on page 8) todeselect this tool, or right-click on the glue point and deselect Glue Point Relative from thecontext menu.

5)

Select the horizontal and vertical positioning tools you want to use for the glue point. Only
one horizontal positioning tool and one vertical positioning tool can be used at any one
time.

Deleting glue points
Only glue points that have been added to an object can be deleted. The default glue points
included with an object cannot be deleted.
1)

Select the glue point you have previously added and now want to delete.

2)

Press the Delete key or go to Edit > Cut on the main menu bar.

Connector text
Text can be easily added to connectors, then formatted or edited to make, for example, yourflowchart or organization chart easier to follow. See Chapter 2 Drawing Basic Shapes and Chapter
9 Adding and Formatting Text for more information on working with text.

Figure 8: Text Formatting toolbar

Adding text
1)

Select the connector and the control points become active.

2)

Click on the Text icon or Text Vertical icon (if active) on the Standard toolbar. A flashingtext cursor appears close to the connector and the Text Formatting toolbar (Figure 8)
opens.

3)

If necessary, use the tools available on the Text Formatting toolbar or go to Format > Text
on the main menu bar to change the text format.

4)Type the text and, when you have finished typing your text, move the cursor away from thetext and connector and click to end the text mode. This also closes the Text Formatting
toolbar.

10 | Connections, Flowcharts, and Organization Charts

Figure 9: Text dialog – Text page

Figure 10: Text dialog – Text Animation page

Formatting and editing text
1)

Select the connector and the control points become active.

2)

Click on the Text icon or Text Vertical icon (if active) on the Standard toolbar and the Text
Formatting toolbar (Figure 8) opens.

3)

Use the tools available on the Text Formatting toolbar or go to Format > Text on the main
menu bar to change the text format.

4)

Right-click on the connector text and select Text from the context menu to open the Text
dialog (Figure 9) allowing you to change how the text appears next to the connector:— Drawing Object Text – allows you to fit the text to the connector rectangle (frame) or
allow the text to follow the contour of the connector.
— Spacing to Borders – creates margins around the text within the connector rectangle.
— Text Anchor – positions the text within the connector rectangle.
Connectors and glue points | 11

5)

If required, click on the Text Animation tab (Figure 10) where you can select options toanimate the text. However, this is not recommended unless you are going to display thedrawing as part of a presentation. See the Impress Guide for more information on text
animation.

6)

When you have finished editing the text, move the cursor away from text and connector
and click to end the text mode. This also closes the Text Formatting toolbar.

Flowcharts
For drawing flowcharts (also known as flow diagrams), Draw has a Flowchart toolbar (Figure 11)that includes a large selection of flowchart tools to help you to easily draw a flowchart. To open the
Flowchart toolbar:
1)

Click on the small triangle to the right of the Flowchart icon on the Drawing toolbar toopen the Flowchart pop up menu. Note that this icon changes shape depending on the lastflowchart tool used.

2)

Click at the top of the Flowchart menu and drag it into your workspace.

3)

Release the mouse button and the Flowchart menu becomes a floating Flowchart toolbar.

Figure 11: Flowchart toolbar and Visible Buttons
12 | Connections, Flowcharts, and Organization Charts

Recommended basic steps to follow when creating a flowchart:
1)

When adding objects to your flowchart, see Chapter 2 Drawing Basic Shapes for
information on how to draw and resize object shapes.

2)

Add text to each flowchart shape to make it easily identified in the flowchart. See Chapter 2
Drawing Basic Shapes and Chapter 11 Advanced Draw Techniques for more information.

3)

Use connections lines in your flowchart. This allows repositioning of an object in your chart
while maintaining connections with the other objects in the chart. See “Connectors and glue
points” on page 4 for more information.

4)

Use the zoom, grid and snap functions to help in positioning objects in your flowchart. See
Chapter 3 Working with Objects and Object Points for more information.

5)

Use the alignment and distribution functions to give your flowchart a more professional
look. See Chapter 5 Combining Multiple Objects for more information.

6)

Duplicate objects when you require more than one of the same shape and size. See
Chapter 5 Combining Multiple Objects for more information.

Organization charts
Draw does not have a toolbar for organization charts, but these charts are easily created using
basic shapes, flowchart shapes, connection points and connector lines. Hierarchy in an
organization is easily indicated using shading and/or color. When using shading and color in an
organization chart, make sure that your selection provides a good contrast between the text andthe shading or color to make the chart easy to read on a computer display or in a printed
document.

Figure 12: Example organization chart
An example of an organization chart is shown in Figure 12. This was drawn using the process
shape from the Flowchart toolbar and connection lines.
1)

When adding objects to your chart, see Chapter 2 Drawing Basic Shapes for information on
how to draw and resize object shapes.

2)

Add text to each object in the organization chart to make it easily identified in the chart. See
Chapter 2 Drawing Basic Shapes and Chapter 11 Advanced Draw Techniques for more
information.

3)

Use connections lines in your organization chart. This allows repositioning of an object inyour chart while maintaining connections with the other objects in the chart. See“Connectors and glue points” on page 4 for more information.

4)

Use the zoom, grid and snap functions to help in positioning objects in your chart. See
Chapter 3 Working with Objects and Object Points for more information.

5)

Use the alignment and distribution functions to give your organization chart a more
professional look. See Chapter 5 Combining Multiple Objects for more information.

6)

Duplicate objects when you require more than one of the same shape and size. See
Chapter 5 Combining Multiple Objects for more information.

Organization charts | 13