Editing text hyperlinks

1) Select the hyperlink by dragging across the text, not clicking on it.
2) Go to Edit > Hyperlink from the main menu bar.
3) Make changes as needed and click Apply when done. If you need to edit several
hyperlinks, click Apply after each one.
4) When you are finished editing hyperlinks, click Close.

Working with hyperlink buttons

A hyperlink button is inserted in the center of the current drawing. In most cases, that is not where
you want it to appear. To edit the text or size of a hyperlink button, or to move it to another place on
the drawing:
1) Go to View > Toolbars > Form Controls on the main menu bar to open the toolbar (Figure
221).
2) Select the Design Mode On/Off icon.
3) Now click on the hyperlink button and drag it to another position, or right-click to open a
dialog where you can change the text on the button, the size of the button, and other
properties.
4) When you have finished editing the button, click the Design Mode On/Off icon again to
make the button inactive. For a more detailed description of the properties and how to work
with Form Controls, refer to the Writer Guide.

Figure 221: Form Control toolbar and tools

Chapter 9 Adding and Formatting Text 181

Chapter 10
Printing, Exporting &
E-mailing
Printing

Quick printing
To quickly print a document or drawing, click on the Print File Directly icon on the Standard
toolbar to send the entire document to the default printer that is defined for your computer.

You can change the action of the Print File Directly icon by sending a document
to the printer defined for the document instead of the default printer for the
Note computer. Go to Tools > Options > Load/Save > General and select the Load
printer settings with the document option.

Controlling printing
For more control over printing, use the Print dialog by going to File > Print on the main menu bar,
or the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+P. The Print dialog (Figure 222) has four tabs where you can choose
a range of options and these are described in the following sections.

The options selected on the Print dialog only apply to the printing of the current
Note document that is open in Draw. To specify default print settings for LibreOffice, go to
Tools > Options > LibreOffice > Print.

If you have the option Use LibreOffice dialogs selected in Tools > Options >
General > Print dialogs then the Print dialogs will be similar to the one shown in
Note Figure 222 thru . If Use LibreOffice dialogs is not selected, the Print dialog displayed
will depend on your computer setup.

Figure 222. Print dialog General page

184 LibreOffice 4.1 Draw Guide

General page
On the General page of the Print dialog (Figure 222), you can select:
Which printer to use from the printers available in the Printer section.
Which pages to print, number of copies to print, whether to collate multiple copies, and
page order for printing in the Range and copies section.

LibreOffice Draw page

On the LibreOffice Draw page of the Print dialog (Figure 223), you can define settings that are
specific to the current document type:
In the Contents section, print the page name and/or the date and time on the drawing.
In the Colors section, print the drawing in original colors, as a grayscale, or in black and
white.
In the Size section, print the drawing in its original size, fit the drawing to the printable area
of the page, print the drawing on multiple sheets of paper if the drawing is too large for the
paper size being used, or print the drawing as multiple tiles on a sheet of paper.

Figure 223. Print dialog LibreOffice Draw page

Page Layout page

On the Page Layout page of the Print dialog (Figure 224), you can define the page layout when your
drawing is printed.
In the Layout section, select how many pages per sheet of paper are printed, the order in
which the pages are printed on a sheet, whether a border is drawn around each page, or
the drawing is printed as a brochure.
In the Page sides section, select whether to print all the pages, the back sides/left pages
only, or the front sides/right pages only. This option is useful when you want to print double-
sided when your printer does not support duplex printing.

Chapter 10 Printing, Exporting & E-mailing 185

 Figure 224. Print dialog Page Layout page

Options page
On the Options page (Figure 225) you can select whether to print to file, create single print jobs
when you want to use collated output, use only the printer tray specified in the printer preferences,
or use the paper size specified in the printer preferences.

Figure 225. Print dialog Options page

186 LibreOffice 4.1 Draw Guide

Printing multiple pages on a single sheet
To print multiple pages of a document on one sheet of paper:
1) Go to File > Print on the menu bar or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+P to open the Print
dialog and then select the Page Layout page (Figure 224).
2) In the Layout section, select from the Pages per sheet drop-down list the number of pages
to print per sheet. The preview panel on the right shows how the pages will look in the
printed document.
3) When printing more than two pages per sheet, select the order in which the pages are
printed on a sheet from the Order drop down list.
4) To distinguish each page on a sheet, select the Draw a border around each page option.
5) Click Print.

Selecting pages to print

In addition to printing a full document, you can choose whether to print individual pages, a range of
pages, or a highlighted selection within a document.

Individual page
1) Go to File > Print on the menu bar or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+P to open the Print
dialog and then select the General page (Figure 222).
2) In the Ranges and copies section, select the Pages option.
3) Enter the number of the page to print.
4) Click the Print button.

Range of pages
1) Go to File > Print on the menu bar or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+P to open the Print
dialog and then select the General page (Figure 222).
2) In the Ranges and copies section, select the Pages option.
3) Enter the number of the pages to print (for example 1-4 or 1,3,7,11), or any combination of
the two (for example: 1-4,5-9,10).
4) Click Print.

Selection printing
To print a selection from a page or multiple pages:
1) In the document, highlight the section of the page or pages to print.
2) Go to File > Print on the menu bar or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+P to open the Print
dialog and then select the General page (Figure 222).
3) In the Ranges and copies section, select the Selection option.
4) Click Print.

Brochure or booklet printing

In Writer, Impress, and Draw, you can print a document with two pages on each side of a sheet of
paper, arranged so that when the printed pages are folded in half, the pages are in the correct
order to form a booklet or brochure.

Chapter 10 Printing, Exporting & E-mailing 187

 Plan your document so it will look good when printed half size; choose appropriate
Tip margins, font sizes, and so on. You may need to experiment.

Single sided printer

To print a brochure or booklet on a printer only capable of single sided printing:
1) Go to File > Print on the menu bar or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+P to open the Print
dialog and then select the General page (Figure 222).
2) Select the printer you want to use if more than one printer is connected to your computer.
3) Click Properties to open the properties dialog for the selected printer (Figure 226).
4) Check the printer is set to the same orientation (portrait or landscape) as specified in the
page setup for your document. Usually the orientation does not matter, but it does for
brochures and booklets.
5) Click OK to return to the Print dialog.
6) Select the Page layout tab in the Print dialog (Figure 224).
7) Select the Brochure option (Figure 227).

Figure 226: Printer Properties dialog

Figure 227: Brochure or booklet printing

8) In the Page sides section, select Back sides/left pages option from the drop-down list.
9) Click Print.
10) Take the printed pages out of the printer, turn the pages over, and put them back into the
printer in the correct orientation to print on the blank side. You may need to experiment a bit
to find out what the correct arrangement is for your printer.
11) In the Page sides section, select Front sides/right pages option from the drop down list.
12) Click Print.

Double sided or duplex printer

To print a brochure or booklet on a printer that is capable of double-sided or duplex printing:
1) Go to File > Print on the menu bar or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+P to open the Print
dialog and then select the General page (Figure 222).

188 LibreOffice 4.1 Draw Guide

 2) Select the printer you want to use if more than one printer is connected to your computer.
3) Click Properties to open the properties dialog for the selected printer (Figure 226).
4) Check the printer is set to the same orientation (portrait or landscape) as specified in the
page setup for your document. Usually the orientation does not matter, but it does for
brochures and booklets.
5) From the Duplex drop down list, select Long Edge or Long Side printing. Actual options
available for duplex printing do depend on printer model and the computer system being
used.
6) Click OK to return to the Print dialog.
7) Select the Page layout tab in the Print dialog (Figure 224).
8) Select the Brochure option (Figure 227).
9) In the Page sides section, select All pages option from the drop-down list.
10) Click Print.

Printing in black and white or grayscale

You may wish to print documents in black and white or grayscale on a color printer. However, some
color printers may only allow you to print in color regardless of the settings you choose. More
details can be found in the information that came with your printer.

Printer settings
To change the printer settings to print in black and white or grayscale:
1) Go to File > Print on the menu bar or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+P to open the Print
dialog and then select the General page (Figure 222).
2) Click Properties to open the properties dialog for the printer, then click the Device tab. The
available choices available depend on printer model and computer operating system, but
you should easily find options for the Color settings. An example of what you may see is
shown in Figure 228.

Figure 228: Printer Properties dialog Device page

Chapter 10 Printing, Exporting & E-mailing 189

 3) In Color and select either black and white or grayscale from the drop-down list.
4) Click OK and return to the Print dialog, then click Print to print the document.

Grayscale is the best option if you have any colored text or graphics in the document.
Tip Colors will print in shades of gray giving more detail. When printing color in black and
white some of this detail maybe lost.

LibreOffice settings
To change the LibreOffice settings to print all color text and graphics as grayscale:
1) Go to Tools > Options > LibreOffice > Print on the main menu bar.
2) Select Convert colors to grayscale option then click OK to save the change.
3) Go to File > Print on the menu bar or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+P to open the Print
dialog and then select the General page (Figure 222).
4) Click Print to print the document.

Draw settings
To change the Draw settings to print all color text and graphics as either black and white or
grayscale:
1) Go to Tools > Options > LibreOffice Draw > Print on the main menu bar.
2) In the Quality section, select either Grayscale or Black & white option, then click OK to
save the change.
3) Go to File > Print on the menu bar or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+P to open the Print
dialog and then select the General page (Figure 222).
4) Click Print to print the document.

Exporting
LibreOffice can export documents to PDF (Portable Document Format). This industry-standard file
format is ideal for sending a file for someone else to view using Adobe Reader or other PDF
viewers. The process and dialogs are the same for Writer, Calc, Impress, and Draw, with a few
minor differences mentioned in this section.

Directly as PDF
Click on the Export Directly as PDF icon on the Standard toolbar to export the entire
document using your default PDF settings. You are asked to enter the file name and location for
the PDF file, but you cannot choose page range, image compression, or other options.

Controlling PDF content and quality

For more control over the content and quality of the resulting PDF:
1) Go to File > Export as PDF on the main menu bar to open the PDF Options dialog (Figure
229). Use this dialog to select the different options in the General, Initial View, User
Interface, Links, and Security pages.
2) When you have selected the appropriate settings, click Export.
3) In the dialog that opens, enter the location and file name of the PDF to be created.
4) Click Save to export the file.

190 LibreOffice 4.1 Draw Guide

See the Getting Started guide for more information.

Figure 229: PDF Options dialog

Other formats
LibreOffice uses the term export for some file operations involving a change of file type. If you
cannot find what you want in File > Save As, look in File > Export. LibreOffice can export files in
various formats and these are listed in the drop down list for File format.
To export a file in another format:
1) Specify a file name for the exported document in the File name text box.
2) Select the required format from the File format drop down list.
3) Click Export.
See Chapter 6 Editing Pictures in this guide for more information on exporting graphics.

The content of the exported file will depend on the element(s) selected on the page.
Note No selection results in the entire image being exported. For most export formats,
only the image on the current page will be exported.

Web pages
To export a multi-page Draw document to a series of web pages, go to File > Export on the main
menu bar and select HTML Document as the file type to open the HTML Export wizard. Follow the
prompts to create the web pages. If required, the wizard can generate a navigation aid to help in
moving from page to page.

Chapter 10 Printing, Exporting & E-mailing 191

E-mailing documents
LibreOffice provides several ways to send documents quickly and easily as an e-mail attachment in
OpenDocument format (LibreOffice default format), or as a PDF. You can email a document to
several recipients, for more information, see the Getting Started guide.

Documents can only be sent from the LibreOffice menu if a mail profile has been set
Note up.

OpenDocument format
To email the current document in OpenDocument format:
1) Go to File > Send > Document as E-mail on the main menu bar. LibreOffice opens your
default e-mail program with the document attached.
2) In your e-mail program, enter the recipient, subject, and any text you want to add, then
send the e-mail.

PDF format
To email the current document as a PDF file:
1) Go to File > Send >-E-mail as PDF on the main menu bar. LibreOffice creates a PDF
using the default PDF settings and then opens your email program with the PDF file
attached.
2) In your e-mail program, enter the recipient, subject, and any text you want to add, then
send the e-mail.

192 LibreOffice 4.1 Draw Guide

Chapter 11
Advanced Draw Techniques
Multi-page documents
Draw documents, like Impress presentation documents, can consist of multiple pages. This allows
you to create a drawing that has several sections, but are stored as one file on a computer.
When pages are inserted into a drawing, they are automatically named as Slide 1, Slide 2, and so
on. As you change page order, the pages are automatically renumbered. However, if you want to
easily identify each page, then it is recommended to give each page a memorable name.

Using the page pane

By default the Page Pane (Figure 230) appears docked on the left of the workspace when you
open Draw and shows every page in the drawing as a thumbnail. If the Page Pane is not
displayed, go to View > Page Pane on the main menu bar.

The Page Pane is called Pages when it is in its docked position on the left of the
Note workspace.

Select a thumbnail in the Page Pane and the corresponding page is loaded in the
workspace. Click on the page in the workspace to activate it for editing. Alternatively, click
on the Navigator icon or press the F5 key or go to View > Navigator on the main
menu bar to open the Navigator dialog (Figure 231) and select pages using this dialog.

Figure 230: Pages Pane and Workspace area

Figure 231: Navigator dialog

194 LibreOffice 4.1 Draw Guide

 Select a thumbnail in the Page pane, then drag and drop a thumbnail to change the order
of pages in the document.
Click and drag on the separator line between the Page pane and workspace to change the
width of the Page pane.
Click on the middle of this line to show or hide the Page pane (highlighted in Figure 230).
Press and hold the Ctrl key, then double-click in the title bar of the Page pane to undock it
and turn it into a floating window.
Press and hold the Ctrl key, then double-click in the title bar of the undocked Page pane to
dock it back into its default position on the left of the workspace.
Right-click in the page pane and, using options in the context menu, you can insert, delete
or rename pages and cut, copy and paste pages.
Go to Insert > Slide on the main menu bar to insert a new page or Insert > Duplicate
Slide to insert a duplicate page.

Master pages
A master page is a page that is used as the starting point for other pages in your drawing. It is
similar to a page style in Writer and controls the basic formatting of all pages based upon it. A
drawing can have more than one master page so that you can assign a different to look to pages in
your drawing, for example title page, contents page and drawing pages.
A master page has a defined set of characteristics, including the background color, graphic, or
gradient; objects (such as logos, decorative lines, and other graphics) in the background, the
formatting of text, blocks of standard text, and insert fields such as page numbering, date and
filename.

LibreOffice uses interchangeable terms for one concept: slide master, master slide,
and master page. All refer to a page which is used to create other pages. When
Note searching for information in Draw Help, it may be necessary to use alternative
search terms.

Master page view

To add objects and fields to a master page, go to View > Master on the main menu bar to open the
master page view. The Master View toolbar (Figure 232) also opens when you switch to master
view. If this toolbar does not appear, go to View > Toolbars > Master View on the main menu bar.
To return to normal page mode, click on Close Master View in the Master View toolbar or go to
View > Normal on the main menu bar.

Figure 232: Master View toolbar

Creating master pages

Each drawing you create already has a default master page, but you can create extra master
pages to change the look of some of the pages in your multi-page drawing.
1) Go to View > Master on the main menu bar to open the master page view.

Chapter 11 Advanced Draw Techniques 195

 2) Click on the New Master icon in the Master View toolbar to create a new master page.
The new master page is automatically selected allowing you to add a new set of items to
create a new look for your pages.

Renaming master pages

Each new master page created has the default name of Default 1, Default 2, and so on. It is
recommended to rename your new master page with a more meaningful name. The default master
page that was created when you first created your drawing can also be renamed.
1) Go to View > Master on the main menu bar to open the master page view.
2) Right-click on a master page in the Page pane and select Rename Page from the context
menu or click on the Rename Master icon on the Master View toolbar. This opens a
dialog where you can type a new name.
3) Click OK to save the master page with its new name.

Deleting master pages

1) Go to View > Master on the main menu bar to open the master page view.
2) Select the master page you want to delete.
3) Right-click on a master page that you created in the Page pane and select Delete Page
from the context menu or click on the Delete Master icon on the Master View toolbar.

The delete option and delete icon are only available when there is more than
Note master page in your drawing. You cannot delete the default master page that was
created when you first created your drawing.

Inserting fields
You can insert fields on each master page by going to Insert > Fields on the main menu bar and
selecting a field from the context menu. The following fields can be inserted into a master page.
Date (fixed) inserts the current date into your master page as a fixed field. The date is
not automatically updated.
Date (variable) inserts the current date into your master page as a variable field. The
date is automatically updated when you reload the file.
Time (fixed) inserts the current time into your master page as a fixed field. The time is
not automatically updated.
Time (variable) inserts the current time into your master page as a variable field. The
time is automatically updated when you reload the file.
Author inserts the first and last names listed in the LibreOffice user data into the active
page.
Page Number inserts the page number into every page of your drawing. To change the
number format, go to Format > Page on the main menu bar and select a format from the
drop down list in Layout Settings.
File name inserts the name of the active file. The name only appears after you save the
file.

Assigning master pages

When your drawing has more than one master page, you can assign different master pages to
different pages.

196 LibreOffice 4.1 Draw Guide

 Figure 233: Slide Design dialog

Figure 234: Load Slide Design dialog

1) Make sure you are in normal page view by going to View > Normal on the main menu bar
and select the page you want to assign a new master page to it.
2) Right-click on the page in the workspace area and select Page > Slide Design from the
context menu to open the Slide Design dialog (Figure 233).
3) If necessary, click Load to open the Load Slide Design dialog and use any predefined
Draw or Impress master pages or templates (Figure 234).
4) If necessary, select the Exchange background page option to use the selected master
page for all pages in the drawing.
5) If necessary, select the Delete unused backgrounds option to delete any master pages
shown in the Slide Design dialog that have not been assigned to a page.
6) Click OK to assign the selected master page to your page.

Multiple layers
Layers in LibreOffice Draw allow you to assemble elements on a drawing page that are related.
Think of layers as individual workspaces that you can hide from view, hide from printing, or lock.
Any layers that do not contain any objects are transparent.
Layers do not determine the stacking order of objects on your drawing page, except for the
Controls layer which is always in front of all other layers. The stacking order of objects on your
drawing page is determined by the sequence in which you add the objects. You can rearrange the
stacking order by going to Modify > Arrange on the main menu bar.

Chapter 11 Advanced Draw Techniques 197

 You can lock a layer to protect its contents, or hide a layer and its contents from
view or from printing. When you add a new layer, the layer is added to all of the
pages in your drawing. However, when you add an object to a layer, it is only
Note added to the current drawing page.
If you want the object to appear on all of the pages (for example, a company logo),
add the object to the master page by going to View > Master. To return to your
drawing, go to View > Normal.

Default layers
LibreOffice Draw provides three default layers and these default layers cannot be deleted or
renamed.
Layout is the default workspace and determines the location of title, text and object
placeholders on your drawing page.
Controls used for buttons that have been assigned an action, but should not be printed
and the layer properties are set to not printable. Objects on this layer are always in front of
objects on other layers.
Dimension Lines is where the dimension lines are drawn. By switching the layer to show
or hide, you can easily switch dimension lines on and off.

Inserting layers
1) Right-click the layer tab area at the bottom left of the Workspace area and select Insert
Layer from the context menu, or go to Insert > Layer on the main menu bar to open the
Insert Layer dialog (Figure 235).

Figure 235: Insert Layer dialog

2) Type meaningful names for the layer in the Name and Title text boxes.
3) If necessary, type a description for the layer in the Description text box.
4) Select Visible if you want the layer to be visible in your drawing. When Visible is not
selected, a layer is hidden and the title in the layer tab changes color to blue.
5) Select Printable if you want the layer to print when you print your drawing. Not printing is
useful if you want use a draft layer for guides or annotations that you use in making the
drawing, but do not want to appear in the final output.

198 LibreOffice 4.1 Draw Guide

 6) Select Locked to prevent any objects on this layer from deletion, editing, or moving. No
additional objects can be added to a locked layer. Locking a layer is useful, for example,
when a base plan is to be protected while adding a new layer with other details.
7) Click OK and the new layer automatically becomes active.

Modifying layers
1) Right-click on the name tab of the layer and select Modify Layer from the context menu or
double-click on the name tab to open the Modify Layer dialog. This dialog is similar to the
Insert Layer dialog in Figure 235.
2) Make your changes to the layer, then click OK to save the changes and close the dialog.

Working with layers

Selecting a layer
To select a layer, click on the name tab of the layer at the bottom of the drawing workspace.

Hiding layers
1) Select a layer, and right-click on the name tab of the layer and select Modify Layer from
the context menu or double-click on the name tab to open the Modify Layer dialog.
2) Clear the Visible check box and click on the OK button. The text on the name tab changes
color to blue. Any objects placed on a hidden layer will no longer be visible on the other
layers in your drawing.
3) Alternatively, hold down the Shift key and click on the name tab to hide the layer.

Showing hidden layers

1) Select a hidden layer, and right-click on the name tab of the layer and select Modify Layer
from the context menu or double-click on the name tab to open the Modify Layer dialog.
2) Check the Visible check box and click OK. The text for the name tab changes to the default
color for text for your computer setup. Any objects placed on a hidden layer will now
become visible on the other layers in your drawing.
3) Alternatively, hold down the Shift key and click on the name tab to make the layer visible.

Locking layers
1) Select a layer, and right-click on the name tab of the layer and select Modify Layer from
the context menu or double-click on the name tab to open the Modify Layer dialog.
2) Check the Locked check box and click OK to prevent any modification of the layer.

Unlocking layers
1) Select a layer, and right-click on the name tab of the layer and select Modify Layer from
the context menu or double-click on the name tab to open the Modify Layer dialog.
2) Uncheck the Locked check box and click OK to allow modification of the layer.

Renaming layers
1) Right-click on the name tab of the layer and select Rename Layer from the context menu.
2) Type a new name for your layer and click outside the tab area to save the change.
3) Alternatively, follow the procedure in Modifying layers above to rename the layer.

Chapter 11 Advanced Draw Techniques 199

Deleting layers
1) Right-click on the name tab of the layer and select Delete Layer from the context menu.
2) Confirm the deletion and the layer and all its objects are deleted.

You can only delete layers that you have added to your drawing. The default
Note layers, Layout, Controls and Dimensioning, cannot be deleted.

Dimensioning
Draw allows you to dimension objects and display these dimensions to make your drawing look
more like an engineering drawing. When you create dimensions, they are automatically placed on
the Dimension Lines layer (see Default layers on page 198 for more information).

Configuring dimensioning
Two ways are available to access the options to configure dimensioning. Both methods use a
similar dialog to set the dimensioning options where you can change length, measurement and
guide properties of a dimension line.

Graphic styles
1) Go to Format >Styles and Formatting on the main menu bar or press the F11 key on your
keyboard to open the Styles and Formatting dialog.
2) Select Dimension Line in the Styles and Formatting dialog.
3) Right-click on Dimension Line and select Modify from the context menu to open the
Graphics Styles dialog (Figure 236). See the Impress Guide for more information about
graphic styles.

Figure 236: Graphic Styles Dimensioning dialog

200 LibreOffice 4.1 Draw Guide