Draw Guide 7.3

Chapter 8,
Connections, Flowcharts, andOrganization Charts

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Contributors
To this editionPeter Schofield

Kees Kriek

To previous editions
John Cleland
John A Smith
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Peter Schofield

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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

Connectors and glue points.............................................................................................4
Connectors................................................................................................................................ 4
Connector type groups.........................................................................................................5
Connector types...................................................................................................................5
Adding connectors to objects...............................................................................................5
Modifying connectors........................................................................................................... 6
Glue points................................................................................................................................ 7
Glue point types................................................................................................................... 8
Adding glue points................................................................................................................9
Customizing glue point exit direction....................................................................................9
Customizing glue point positioning.....................................................................................10
Deleting glue points............................................................................................................ 10
Connector text......................................................................................................................... 10
Adding text.......................................................................................................................... 11
Formatting text................................................................................................................... 12

Flowcharts........................................................................................................................13
Organization charts.........................................................................................................14

Chapter 8, Connections, Flowcharts, and Organization Charts | 3

Connectors and glue points
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
the border of an object. Connectors are useful in drawings because connecting lines between
objects remain connected to objects, even when objects are moved or rearranged. Also, when an
object with a connector attached is moved or resized, the connector automatically adjusts its
shape to accommodate the changes.
For example, when creating flowcharts, organization chart, schematics, or diagrams, it is highly
recommended to use connectors instead of simple lines. Using connectors removes the need to
redraw lines between objects,
When a connector is drawn or selected, Draw displays selection handles that are different to theselection handles for normal lines or objects. The termination points of a connector are round at
the start and end points of a connector, and square in the center of the lines that make up aconnector, as shown by the example in Figure 1. The square selection handles on a connector
are used to change the routing of a connector where applicable.

Figure 1: Example of connectors between objects

Connectors
Draw has a comprehensive selection of connectors to connect objects together, for example, in a
flowchart or organization chart. The default set of connectors can be accessed using one of thefollowing methods:•

Click the triangle ▼ to the right of Connectors on the Drawing toolbar to open a pop-up
toolbar. The Connectors icon changes shape depending on the last connector used.

•

Select a connector from the options available in the Connectors panel in the Shapes
deck on the Sidebar.

If necessary, the pop-up toolbar for connectors on the Drawing toolbar can be displayed as aConnectors sub-toolbar as follows:
1) Click on the triangle ▼ on the right of Connectors on the Drawing toolbar.
2) Click on the line at the top of the pop-up toolbar and drag it on to the Workspace.
3) Release the cursor and the pop-up toolbar becomes the Connectors sub-toolbar(Figure 2).

Figure 2: Connectors sub-toolbar

4 | Chapter 8, Connections, Flowcharts, and Organization Charts

Connector type groups
Connectors are grouped into four groups as follows:•Standard – connector name starts with Connector. Line segments run vertically andhorizontally. Creates a connector with one or more 90 degree angle bends. Click on an
object glue point, then drag the cursor to a glue point on another object to create astandard connector.

•

Line – 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, then drag to a glue point on another object to create a line connector.
To adjust the length of the line segment between a bend point and a glue point, click on
the connector and drag the bend point.

•

Straight – connector name starts with Straight. Consists of a single line and draws astraight line connector. Click on an object glue point, then drag the cursor to a glue pointon another object to create a straight connector.

•

Curved – connector name starts with Curved. Based on Bézier curves, a curved
connector bends around objects. Draws a curved line connector. Click on an object glue
point, then drag the cursor to a glue point on another object to create a curved connector.

Connector types
The full range of predefined connectors can be accessed by clicking on the triangle ▼ on theright of the titlebar for the Connectors sub-toolbar and selecting Visible Buttons from the context
menu. The connectors are installed on the Connectors sub-toolbar in the same order that they
appear in the Visible Buttons drop-down list. The full range of connectors available for use is asfollows:
Connector Ends with Arrow
Straight Connector Ends withArrow
Curved Connector Ends withArrow
Line Connector Ends withArrow
Connector
Straight Connector
Curved Connector
Line Connector
Connector with Arrows
Straight Connector with Arrows

Curved Connector with Arrows
Line Connector Ends with
CircleLine Connector with Arrows
Connector Starts with Circle
Connector Starts with Arrow
Straight Connector Starts with
Straight Connector Starts with
CircleArrow
Curved Connector Starts with
Curved Connector Starts with
CircleArrow
Line Connector Starts withLine Connector Starts with
CircleArrow
Connector with Circles
Connector Ends with Circle
Straight Connector with Circles
Straight Connector Ends with
CircleCurved Connector with Circles
Curved Connector Ends withLine Connector with Circles
CircleDepending on the computer system being used, the connectors already installed on theConnectors sub-toolbar are indicated either by a check mark against the name, or the connector
icon is highlighted.

Adding connectors to objects
1) Click on the triangle ▼ on the right of Connectors on the Drawing toolbar to open theoptions available for selecting connectors.
2) Select the type of connector required. See “Connector type groups” and “Connector
types” above for more information on connector types.

Connectors and glue points | 5

Figure 3: Example of object
glue points
3) Move the cursor over one of the objects to be connected and small crosses appear
around the object edges, normally in the same position as object selection handles.
These crosses are the glue points to which a connector can be attached (Figure 3). See“Glue points” on page 7 for more information on glue points.
4) Click on the required glue point to attach the start point of the connector, then click anddrag the cursor to draw a connector to the target object.
5) When the cursor is over a glue point of the target object release the cursor and theconnector is drawn. The connector end point is attached to the glue point on the target
object.
6) The square selection handles that appear on the connector are used to adjust the path ofthe connector so that it does not cover any other object in its path. See “Modifying
connectors” below on how to change the connector route to avoid any objects theconnector crosses over.

Note
The end point of a connector can be positioned in an empty part of a document.
When the cursor is released, the unattached end point of the connector is locked into
place until it is moved to a different location.

Note
The start and end points of a connector cannot be swapped, that is the start point
becomes the end point and the end point becomes the start point. To swap the end
points of a connector, the connector has to be deleted and a new connector has tobe drawn in the opposite direction.

Modifying connectors
To detach or reposition a connector, click and drag either round end point of a connector line to adifferent location. See the example in Figure 1 on page 4 for an example of round end points.
To change the connector route between objects so that the connector does not overlap any
objects on the route, click on a square control point on the connector line and drag it to a newposition. See the example in Figure 1 on page 4 for an example of square control points.
To modify a connector, right-click on the connector and select Connector from the context menu
to open the Connector dialog (Figure 4). Use this dialog to change connector type and its
properties.

6 | Chapter 8, Connections, Flowcharts, and Organization Charts

Figure 4: Connector dialog•

Type – select the connector type group from the drop-down list. See “Connector typegroups” on page 5 for more information.

•Line skew – defines the skew of a connector line. The dialog preview displays the resultof any changes.

•

Line spacing – sets the spacing around a connector.
– Begin horizontal – enter the amount of horizontal space required at the beginning of aconnector.
– End horizontal – enter the amount of horizontal space required at the end of aconnector.
– Begin vertical – enter the amount of vertical space required at the beginning of aconnector.
– End vertical – enter the amount of vertical space required at the end of a connector•

Preview box – displays a preview of the selected connector and the objects theconnector is connected to. The preview changes as changes to the selected connector
are made using the Connector dialog. A left click zooms in on the preview and a rightclick zooms out.

Note
The type of connector ends cannot be changed using the Connector dialog. Tochange the connector ends, the connector has to be deleted and a new connector
drawn with the required ends.

Glue points
Glue points are not the same as object selection handles. The selection handles are for moving
or changing the shape of an object (see Chapter 3, Working with Objects for more information).
Glue points are used to fix or glue a connector to an object so that when the object moves, theconnector stays fixed to that object.

Connectors and glue points | 7

Figure 5: Glue Points toolbar
All objects have glue points and Figure 3 on page 6 shows an example of glue points visible on
an object after a connector has been selected. Glue points are not normally displayed on an
object and only become visible when one of the following methods is used.
•

Connectors is selected on the Drawing toolbar. The Connectors icon displayed on the
Drawing toolbar is the connector type that had been previously used.

•

A connector type is selected in the Connectors panel in the Shapes deck on the Sidebar.

To add, customize or delete glue points to an object, go to View > Toolbars > Glue Points on
the Menu bar to activate the Glue Points toolbar (Figure 5). This toolbar only becomes visible
after using one of the following methods:•

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

•

Select Edit > Glue Points on the Menu bar.

Note
Show Glue Point Functions on the Drawing toolbar is not part of the default set oftools for the Drawing toolbar. To add this tool, right-click in an empty area on the
Drawing toolbar and select Visible Buttons > Glue Points from the context menu.

Glue point types
When the Glue Points toolbar opens, only the five tools on the left of Glue Point Relative are
active. The remaining six tools on the right of the toolbar only become active when Glue Point
Relative is deselected.
•

Insert Glue Point – inserts a glue point at the cursor position in an object when the
button is clicked.

•

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 – when selected, the glue point moves when the object is resized
maintaining its position relative to the object borders. When deselected, a glue point canbe repositioned after the object is resized. This tool is selected by default when the Glue
Point toolbar opens.

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

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

•

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

•

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

•

Glue Point Vertical Top – when the object is resized, the selected glue point remains
fixed at the top edge of the object.

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

•

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

Note
Each glue point added to an object 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 as shown in the example in Figure 3 onpage 6. Add additional glue points to an object as follows:
1) Go to View > Toolbars > Glue Points on the Menu bar to activate the Glue Points
toolbar.
2) Make sure no objects are selected and use one of the following methods to open the
Glue Points toolbar:– Click on Show Glue Point Functions on the Standard or Drawing toolbars.
– Select Edit > Glue Points on the Menu bar.
3) Select the object, then click on Insert Glue Point on the Glue Points toolbar.
4) Move the cursor to the required position on the selected object and the cursor changes
shape. Normally this is a cross, but the actual shape used depends on the computer
setup.
5) Click once to add a glue point. To add more glue points, move the cursor to a newposition and click.
6) When finished adding glue points, move the cursor off the selected object and click in an
empty space to deselect the object.
7) Alternatively, right-click on a glue point previously added to the object and select Insert
Glue Point from the context menu, then click and drag the new glue point to the required
position.
8) Select the type of glue point required from the options available on the Glue Points
toolbar. See “Glue point types” above for more information.

Note
When an object has no fill, a glue point can only be added to the border of an empty
object.

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

Customizing glue point exit direction
Customize the exit direction for a glue point that has been added to an object as follows:
1) Go to View > Toolbars > Glue Points on the Menu bar to activate the Glue Points
toolbar.
Connectors and glue points | 92) Open the Glue Points toolbar:3) Double-click on a glue point that has been added to an object to select the glue point forcustomization.
4) Select the required exit direction for the connector to be attached to the glue point using
one of the following methods:– Click on the exit direction in the Glue Points toolbar.
– Right-click on the glue point and select the exit direction from the context menu.

Customizing glue point positioning
Customize the horizontal and vertical positioning for a glue point that has been added to an
object as follow:
1) Go to View > Toolbars > Glue Points on the Menu bar to activate and open the Glue
Points toolbar.
2) Double-click on a glue point that has been added to an object to select the glue point forcustomization.
3) Click on Glue Point Relative on the Glue Points toolbar to deselect this tool, or right-clickon the glue point and select Glue Point Relative from the context menu to deselect thetool.
4) Select the horizontal and vertical positioning tools required for the glue point using one of
the following methods Only one horizontal positioning tool and one vertical positioning
tool can be used at any one time:– Click on the required horizontal and vertical positioning in the Glue Points toolbar.
– Right-click on the glue point and select the required horizontal and vertical positioning
from the context menu.

Note
Only glue points that have been added to an object can be customized. The default
glue points included with an object cannot be customized.

Deleting glue points
1) Select a glue point for deletion that has previously been added to the object.
2) Press the Delete or Backspace key, or go to Edit > Cut on the Menu bar.

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

Connector text
Text can be easily added to connectors, then formatted, for example, to make a flowchart ororganization chart easier to follow. See Chapter 9, Adding and Formatting Text for more
information on working with and formatting text.

10 | Chapter 8, Connections, Flowcharts, and Organization Charts

Figure 6: Text Formatting toolbar

Figure 7: Standard toolbar with Insert Vertical Text added

Figure 8: Drawing toolbar with Insert Vertical Text added

Adding text1) Select a connector and the control points become active.
2) Enter text mode using one of the following methods. A flashing text cursor appears close
to the connector and the Text Formatting toolbar (Figure 6) opens.
– Click on Insert Text Box or Insert Vertical Text (if added) on the Standard toolbar(Figure 7), or Drawing toolbar (Figure 8).
– Use the keyboard shortcut F2 to create horizontal text on the selected connector.
3) Type the required text for the connector.
4) If necessary, format the connector text. See “Formatting text” below for more information
on formatting and editing text text.
5) When adding and formatting text is complete, move the cursor away from the text andconnector, then click to end text mode. This also closes the Text Formatting toolbar.

Note
In the default installation of LibreOffice, the Insert Vertical Text tool is not included
on the Standard or Drawing toolbars. To add Insert Vertical Text to the toolbar,
right-click in an empty area in either toolbar, go to Visible Buttons and selectVertical Text from the context menu.

Connectors and glue points | 11

Figure 9: Text dialog - Text page

Formatting text1) Select a connector with text added and activate the control points to enter text mode. See“Adding text” above for more information on adding text to a connector.
2) Use the tools available on the Text Formatting toolbar or the options available in Format> Text on the Menu bar to format the text. By default, connector text is formatted withhorizontal central alignment and vertical central positioning for the connector text
paragraph.
3) Right-click on the connector text and select Text Attributes from the context menu to
open the Text dialog (Figure 9) and change how the text appears next to the connector.
The options available are as follows:– Drawing Object Text – Fit to frame – resizes the text to fit the entire area of aconnector rectangle or frame.
– Drawing Object Text – Adjust to contour – adapts the text flow so that it matches thecontours of the selected connector.
– Spacing to Borders – specify the amount of space to leave between the connector
and the borders of the text.
– Text Anchor – select one of nine positions to anchor the text within the connector
rectangle.
– Full width – anchors the text to the full width of the connector rectangle. Whenselected, only the top, middle and bottom center positions can be used to anchor thetext.
4) Click OK to save the changes to text attributes and close the Text dialog.
5) Move the cursor away from text and connector, then click to end the text mode. This also
closes the Text Formatting toolbar.

Note
The options available for text animation are not recommended for connector text
unless the drawing is going to be displayed as part of a presentation. See the
Impress Guide for more information on text animation.

12 | Chapter 8, Connections, Flowcharts, and Organization Charts

Note
The options available for text columns are not recommended for connector text. Text
columns are normally used for text that is placed into a text box when adding
information to a drawing or into an object such as a rectangle or circle. For more
information on text columns, see Chapter 9, Adding and Formatting Text.

Flowcharts
For drawing flowcharts (also known as flow diagrams), Draw has a floating Flowchart sub-toolbar(Figure 10) that includes a large selection of flowchart tools to create a flowchart.
1) Click on the triangle ▼ to the right of Flowchart on the Drawing toolbar to open a
Flowchart pop-up menu. Note that the Flowchart icon changes shape depending on thelast flowchart tool used.
2) Click on the line at the top of the Flowchart pop-up menu and drag the pop-up menu into
the Workspace.
3) Release the cursor and the pop-up menu becomes a floating Flowchart sub-toolbar.

Figure 10: Flowchart sub-toolbar
The available flowchart shapes on the Flowchart sub-toolbar, from left to right, are as follows:
Flowchart: Process
Flowchart: Manual Input
Flowchart: Extract
Flowchart: Alternate Process
Flowchart: Manual Operation
Flowchart: Merge
Flowchart: Decision
Flowchart: Connector
Flowchart: Stored Data
Flowchart: Data
Flowchart: Off-page Connector Flowchart: Delay
Flowchart: Predefined Process
Flowchart: Card
Flowchart: Sequential Access
Flowchart: Internal Storage
Flowchart`: Punched Type
Flowchart: Magnetic DiscFlowchart: Document
Flowchart: Summing Junction
Flowchart: Direct Access
Storage
Flowchart: Multidocument
Flowchart: Or
Flowchart: Display
Flowchart: Terminator
Flowchart: Collate
Flowchart: Preparation
Flowchart: Sort
An example flowchart is shown in Figure 11 and the recommended basic steps when creating a
flowchart are as follows:•

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

•

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.

•

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

•

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

•

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

Flowcharts | 13

Figure 11: Example flowchart•

Duplicate objects when more than one of the same shape and size is required. 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, and connectors. Hierarchy in an organization is easily indicatedusing shading and/or color. When using shading and color in an organization chart, make surethe selection provides a good contrast between the text and the shading or color. This makes thechart easy to read on a computer display or in a printed document.
An example of an organization chart is shown in Figure 12. This was drawn using the rectangle
basic shape and connectors.
•

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

Figure 12: Example of an organization chart
14 | Chapter 8, Connections, Flowcharts, and Organization Charts•

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 formore information.

•

Use connectors in an organization chart. This allows repositioning of an object in a chart
while maintaining connections with the other objects in the chart. See “Connectors andglue points” on page 4 for more information.

•

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

•

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

•

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

Organization charts | 15