Draw Guide

Chapter 1,
Introducing Draw

CopyrightThis document is Copyright © 2021 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 edition.
Peter Schofield

Regina HenschelElzett Kotze

John ClelandPeter Schofield

Jean Hollis Weber
Vipul Gupta

To previous editions.
Martin Fox
John A Smith
Kees Kriek

Feedback
Please direct any comments or suggestions about this document to the Documentation Team
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 July 2021. Based on LibreOffice 7.1 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. Table 1 below gives some common substitutions for the instructions in this user guide. Fora more detailed list, see the application Help.
Table 1: Using LibreOffice on macOS
Windows or LinuxmacOS equivalent

EffectTools > Options
menu selection

LibreOffice > Preferences

Access setup options

Right-click

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

Open a context menu

Ctrl (Control)⌘ (Command)

Used with other keys

F11

⌘+T

Open the Styles deck in the Sidebar

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

Using LibreOffice on macOS............................................................................................2
Introduction........................................................................................................................4
Draw main window............................................................................................................4Workspace................................................................................................................................ 4
Pages pane............................................................................................................................... 4
Layers bar................................................................................................................................. 5
Sidebar...................................................................................................................................... 5
Rulers....................................................................................................................................... 6
Status bar.................................................................................................................................. 6
Toolbars.................................................................................................................................... 8
Adding and removing tools...................................................................................................9
Available toolsets................................................................................................................10
Docked and floating toolbars..............................................................................................10
Unlocking and locking toolbars...........................................................................................11
Customizing toolbars..........................................................................................................11

Choosing and defining colors........................................................................................11
Color palette............................................................................................................................ 11
Specialized color palettes........................................................................................................12
Custom colors......................................................................................................................... 12

Grid, snap, and help lines...............................................................................................12

Chapter 1, Introducing Draw | 3

Introduction
LibreOffice Draw is a vector graphics drawing program, although it can also perform some
operations on raster graphics (pixels). Using Draw, a wide variety of graphical images can easilyand quickly created.
Vector graphics store and display an image as an assembly of simple geometric elements suchas lines, circles, and polygons, rather than a collection of pixels (points on the screen). Vector
graphics allow for easier storage and scaling of the image.
Draw is fully integrated into the LibreOffice suite, and this simplifies exchanging graphics with allcomponents of the suite. If an image is created in Draw, reusing it in a Writer document isrelatively easy, for example, select and copy the drawing in Draw and then paste the image
directly into a Writer document. Also, drawings can be worked on directly from within Writer or
Impress, using a subset of the functions and tools from Draw.
The functionality of LibreOffice Draw is extensive. Draw was not designed to rival high-end
graphics applications, but it possesses more functionality than the drawing tools that are
generally integrated with the majority of office productivity suites.
A few examples of the drawing functions are: layer management, magnetic grid-point system,
dimensions and measurement display, connectors for making organization charts, 3D functions
that enable small three-dimensional drawings to be created (with texture and lighting effects),
drawing and page-style integration, and Bézier curves.
This Draw Guide is not a course book to be worked through from beginning to end. Rather, it is areference work in which can be browsed for guidance on particular topics.
This document describes only the functions associated with Draw. Some concepts, such as file
management or the way the LibreOffice environment works, are mentioned only briefly and arecovered in more detail in the Getting Started Guide.

Draw main window
Workspace
The large area in the center of the Draw main window is the Workspace (Figure 1) where
drawings are created. This drawing area can be surrounded with toolbars and information areas.
The number and position of the visible tools vary with the task in hand, user preferences, andcomputer setup.
The maximum size of a drawing page in LibreOffice Draw is limited by the computer setup andthe page size that that can be set and used in the printer connected to the computer.

Pages pane
Drawings in Draw can be split over several pages. Multi-page drawings are used mainly forpresentations. The Pages pane, on the left side of the Draw main window, gives an overview ofthe pages that created in a drawing. If the Pages pane is not visible, go to View > Page Pane on
the Menu bar. To make changes to the page order, drag and drop one or more pages.

4| Chapter 1, Introducing Draw

Figure 1: Draw main window

Layers bar
By default, the Workspace consists of three layers (Layout, Controls and Dimension Lines)
and the tabs for these default layers appear at the bottom of the Workspace. The default layers
cannot be deleted or renamed, but layers can be added as and when necessary. A layer is aworkspace where drawing elements and objects can be inserted.
The Layers bar is located on the bottom of the Workplace and contains three default layers called
Layout, Controls and Dimensions. The default layers cannot be deleted or renamed, but layers
can be added when necessary.
Tabs for layers appear in the Layers bar at the bottom of the Workspace, which is located at thebottom of the Workplace. The Layers bar allows for navigation between layers, adding layers as
required, or deleting layers that have been created. For more information on layers, see
Chapter 11, Advanced Draw Techniques.

Sidebar
The Sidebar has five main decks in Draw and is similar to the Sidebar in the other LibreOfficemodules. To open a deck, click on its icon on the right of the Sidebar, or click on Sidebar
Settings icon at the top of the tab bar and select a deck from the drop-down list. If the Sidebar is
not visible, go to View > Sidebar on the Menu bar.
Properties
Contains sections for object properties, for example, Page, Character, Paragraph, Area,
Effect, Shadow, Image, Line, and Position and Size. Available sections depends on theobject selected.
ShapesProvides quick selection of most items that are available on the Drawing toolbar: Lines andArrows, Curves and Polygons, Connectors, Basic Shapes, Symbol Shapes, Block Arrows,
Flowchart, Callouts, Stars and Banners, and 3D Objects.
Chapter 1, Introducing Draw | 5

Styles
Provides options to edit and apply Drawing Styles to objects within a drawing. When a styleis edited or modified, the changes are automatically applied to all of the elements formatted
using that style. In Draw, Presentation Styles are not available.
Gallery
From the Gallery deck, objects can be inserted into a drawing either as a copy or as a link.
The Gallery is divided into categories: Arrows, BPMN (Business Process Model and
Notation), Bullets, Diagrams, Flowchart, Icons, Network, Shapes, and Sounds. See
Chapter 11, Advanced Draw Techniques for more information on using the Gallery.
Navigator
On the Navigator deck, pages and objects in a drawing can be quickly selected. It is
recommended to give pages and objects in a drawing meaningful names so that they areeasily identified when using the Navigator.

RulersRulers are positioned on the upper and left-hand sides of the Workspace. If they are not visible,
go to View > Rulers in the Menu bar. The rulers show the size of a selected object on the pageusing double lines (highlighted in Figure 2). Also, rulers can be used to manage object handles
and guide lines when positioning objects.
The page margins in the drawing area are also represented on the rulers. Change the margins
directly on the rulers by dragging them with the cursor. The margin areas are indicated by thegrayed out area on the rulers as shown in Figure 2.
To change the measurement units of the rulers, right-click on a ruler and select the measurement
unit from the drop down list, as shown in Figure 3 for the horizontal ruler. Measurement units forthe horizontal and vertical rulers can be set to different measurement units.

Status bar
The Status Bar (Figure 4) is located at the bottom of the Workspace in all LibreOffice modules.
To hide the Status Bar, go to View on the Menu bar and deselect Status Bar.

Note
The measurement units shown on the Status Bar are set by going to Tools >Options > LibreOffice Draw > General on the Menu bar. These measurement units
can be different to the measurement units set for the rulers.

Figure 2: Rulers showing object size

6| Chapter 1, Introducing Draw

Figure 3: Ruler measurement units

Figure 4: Status bar•

Slide number – shows the number of the drawing pane that is selected.

•

Information area – shows which action is being carried out, or object type selected.

•

Cursor position and Object size – shows different information depending on whether
objects are selected or not.
– When no object is selected, the position numbers show the current position (X and Y
coordinates) of the mouse cursor.
– When an object is selected and being resized with the mouse, the object size
numbers show the size of the object (width and height).
– If an object is selected, the position numbers shows the X and Y coordinates of theupper-left corner and the object size number pair displays the size of the object.
These numbers do not relate to the object itself, but to the selection outline, which isthe smallest possible rectangle that can contain the visible part or parts of the object;
see Chapter 3, Working with Objects and Object Points for more information.
– When an object is selected, clicking in either of these areas opens the Position andSize dialog. See Chapter 4, Changing Object Attributes for more information.

•

Unsaved changes – indicates that the file needs saving and the icon depends on
computer setup. Clicking on this icon opens the Save as dialog if the file is new and has
not been saved before. If the file has been saved before any changes, then clicking on
this icon after any changes automatically saves the file.

•

Digital signature – indicates if the document is digitally signed. The icon only appears if
the drawing has a digital signature certificate. After the file has been saved, doubleclicking on this icon opens the digital signatures dialog. See LibreOffice Help for more
information on digital signature certificates.

•

Fit drawing – resizes the drawing so that the whole drawing appears in the Workspace.

•

Zoom slider and Zoom percentage – adjusts and indicates the zoom percentage of theWorkspace displayed. Double-clicking on zoom percentage opens the Zoom & View
Layout dialog.

Chapter 1, Introducing Draw | 7

Figure 5: Visible buttons on a toolbar

Toolbars
To display or hide the various Draw toolbars, go to View > Toolbars on the Menu bar and selectfrom the drop down menu the toolbar required. For example, the Standard and Drawing toolbars
are shown by default, but the Line and Filling, Text Formatting, and Options toolbars are notshown.
The appearance of the tool icons on toolbars depends on the computer operating system and theselection of icon style and size in Tools > Options > LibreOffice > View.
The tools available on a toolbar are indicated by a shaded outline around the tool icon or a check
mark as shown by the example in Figure 5. For more information about working with toolbars,
see the Getting Started Guide.
The four main toolbars used in Draw are as follows:Standard toolbar
The Standard toolbar (Figure 6) is the same for all LibreOffice components and is notdescribed in detail in this chapter. By default, it is locked into position at the top of the Draw
main window.

Figure 6: Standard toolbar
Drawing toolbar
The Drawing toolbar (Figure 7) contains all the necessary functions for drawing various
geometric and freehand shapes, and for organizing them in the drawing. By default, it islocked into position on the left of the Draw main window. It is described in detail in
Chapter 2, Drawing Basic Shapes.

8| Chapter 1, Introducing Draw

Figure 7: Drawing toolbar
Line and Filling toolbar
The Line and Filling toolbar (Figure 8) is used to modify the main properties of a drawing
object. The tools and pull-down lists vary according to the type of object selected. For
example, to change the style of a line, click on the up and down arrows for Line Style andselect the required style.
The functions on the Line and Filling toolbar are used to change the color, style, and widthof the line drawn, the fill color and style, and other properties of a selected object. If theselected object is a text frame, the Line and Filling toolbar is replaced by the Text
Formatting toolbar. For more information, see Chapter, 4 Changing Object Attributes.

Figure 8: Line and Filling toolbar
Text Formatting toolbar
The Text Formatting toolbar (Figure 9) is similar to the Formatting toolbar in Writer. It is only
available when a text object has been selected in a drawing, replacing the Line and Filling
toolbar. For more information, see Chapter, 4 Changing Object Attributes, and Chapter 9
Adding and Formatting Text.

Figure 9: Text Formatting toolbar

Adding and removing tools
The default set of tools on each toolbar can be modified using Visible Buttons. Add or remove atool to or from a toolbar as follows:
1) Either, right-click in an empty area on the toolbar, or click on the downward pointing
triangle ▼ in the toolbar title and select Visible Buttons from the context menu.
2) Click on a tool name to add or remove the tool to or from the toolbar.

Note
For more information on the available tools that can be added to a toolbar, see
Appendix B, Toolbars and the Getting Started Guide. When a tool is added to a
toolbar, its position on the toolbar (from left to right) is the same as its position in the
Visible Buttons context menu.
Chapter 1, Introducing Draw | 9

Available toolsets
Some tools on a toolbar have a downward pointing triangle ▼ to the right side of the tool icon.
This indicates that the tool has additional tools available. Click on the downward pointing
triangle ▼ to display the full set of tools (Figure 10).
This toolset can be turned into a floating toolbar. Click the area at the top of the toolset as shownin Figure 10, drag it across the screen to a convenient location and release the mouse button. To
close a floating toolbar, click on the X on the right of the toolbar title.

Figure 10: Available tools and floating toolbar

Note
When a toolset is made into a floating toolbar, the tool on the existing toolbar
remains in the toolbar and always shows the last tool used. This means that the toolicon on a screen may differ from the tool icon shown in this guide.

Tip
When double-clicking on a tool, the command corresponding to that tool becomes
active and remains active. The tool command can be repeated as often as required.
To exit from this mode, press the Esc key or click on another tool. Please note that
this may not work for every tool on every toolbar.

Docked and floating toolbars
When Draw is opened, the Standard and Drawing toolbars, by default, are already locked anddocked into their positions on the main Draw window. These toolbars can be undocked creating
floating toolbars. To undock a toolbar and create a floating toolbar:
1) Move the mouse cursor to the far left of the toolbar and over the toolbar handle(Figure 11). The cursor changes shape, normally a grabbing hand, depending on
computer setup and operating system.
2) Click and drag on the toolbar handle to move the toolbar until it becomes a floating
toolbar. This floating toolbar capability is common to all components of LibreOffice.

Figure 11: Toolbar handles
10| Chapter 1, Introducing Draw

To dock a floating toolbar, press and hold the Ctrl key, then double click on the title of the toolbar.
The toolbar moves into available space at the top of the Draw main window.
An alternative method of docking a toolbar is to click in the toolbar title and drag the toolbar to thedocked position that required. This can be the top, bottom or one of the sides of the Draw main
window.

Unlocking and locking toolbars
By default when Draw is opened, any docked toolbars are locked into position and have to be
unlocked before they can become floating toolbars or repositioned on the Draw main window.
To unlock a toolbar, right-click in a blank area on the toolbar and deselect Lock Toolbar Position
from the context menu. A toolbar handle, as shown in Figure 11, appears at the left end of thetoolbar, indicating that the toolbar is unlocked and can be moved.
To lock a toolbar into position, dock the toolbar into position, then right-click in a blank area on
the toolbar and select Lock Toolbar Position from the context menu. The toolbar handle
disappears from the left end of the toolbar.

Customizing toolbars
Draw toolbars can be customized by adding or removing commands to or from a toolbar. Also,
customization allows the creation of toolbars for specific purposes. Customizing toolbars is inaddition to using “Adding and removing tools” above.
For more information when adding a new commands, modifying toolbars, or creating toolbars,
see Appendix B, Toolbars and the Getting Started Guide.

Choosing and defining colors
Color palette
The Color Palette (Figure 12) provides quick access to a standard set of colors to use forselected objects and text in a drawing.
1) Go to View on the Menu bar and select Color Bar to open the Color Palette.
2) Select an object or text where to change the color.
3) Left click on the color required for the area fill or text and change the color of the object ortext.
4) Right click on the color required for the object or text box border and change the color of
the border.
5)

Go to View on the Menu bar and deselect Color Bar to close the Color Palette.

Figure 12: Color Palette (Color Bar)
Chapter 1, Introducing Draw | 11

Note
The box with the X at the bottom left of the Color Palette corresponds to none (nocolor).

Note
The colors available in the Color Palette depend on the color palette that had beenpreviously used when changing color on an object. For example, Figure 12 shows
the Standard color palette that had been used previously when changing color to an
object using a properties dialog.

Specialized color palettes
In addition to the standard Color Palette, Draw has several specialized color palettes available,
giving a greater choice of color: for example, chart-palettes, material, html, and so on. After
selecting an object or text in a drawing, use one of the following to access the specialized color
palettes.
•

Area or fill color – Color page in the Area dialog, Fill Color on the Drawing or Line andFilling toolbar, or Fill in the Area section in the Properties deck on the Sidebar.

•

Line color – Line page in the Line dialog, Line Color on the Drawing or Line and Filling
toolbar, or Color in the Line section in the Properties deck on the Sidebar•

Text color – Font Color tool on the Text Formatting toolbar, or Font Color in the
Character section in the Properties deck on the Sidebar.

For more information on selecting a color and a color palette for an object or text, see Chapter 4,
Changing Object Attributes, Chapter 9, Adding and Formatting Text and Chapter 11, Advanced
Draw Techniques.

Custom colors
In Draw, custom colors can be created using the Color Picker dialog, specific CMYK values, or
specific RGB values to match the color schemes used in a company. For more detailed
information on creating custom colors and color palettes, as well as more information on CMYK
and RGB color schemes, refer to Chapter 11, Advanced Draw Techniques.

Grid, snap, and help lines
The grid and snap lines in Draw act as drawing aids and these can be turned on or off by clicking
on Display Grid or Display Snap Guides on the Line and Filling or Options toolbars. The gridand snap lines are displayed only on the screen and are not shown on a printed drawing or when
the drawing is used in another LibreOffice module. The color, spacing and resolution of the grid
points can be individually chosen for each axis.
Help lines when moving objects can be displayed and these are turned on or off by clicking on
Helplines While Moving on the Line and Filling or Options toolbars. Showing the position of theobject while moving makes positioning the object much easier. If this function is activated, pairsof vertical and horizontal lines enclosing the object are shown while moving the object. Theselines extend to the edges of the drawing area.
Draw also offers several snap functions to positioning of objects exactly in a drawing.
For more information on the grid, snap lines, snap functions, and help lines, see Chapter 3,
Working with Objects and Object Points.
12| Chapter 1, Introducing Draw