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| <h2 align="center">How To Compose a Document with Simple Geometric Shapes,</h2> |
| <h2 align="center"> to Change their Attributes (color, size, position, ...) </h2> |
| <h2 align="center">and to Print the Result.</h2> |
| <h2 align="center"> </h2> |
| <h3> </h3> |
| <h5 align="center" ><i>provided by</i></h5> |
| <h5 align="center" ><i>the OpenOffice.org Documentation Project</i></h5> |
| <h2 align="center"> </h2> |
| <h3>Table of Contents:</h3> |
| <ol> |
| <li><a href="#fastrecognition">A quick introduction</a>. An introduction to |
| the OpenOffice.org drawing tools.</li> |
| <li><a href="#drawnow">I want to draw, now!</a> Start expressing your artistic |
| inspiration.</li> |
| <li><a href="#customizedrawings">Customize your drawings</a>. Change their attributes |
| (color, size, position, ...)</li> |
| <li><a href="#printyourwork">Print your work</a>. Put the results of your efforts |
| on paper. |
| <ol start="4"> |
| <li>1 <a href="#printingtroubleshooting">Troubleshooting Printing</a>. Does |
| anything go wrong when you attempt to print? If so, consult this section.</li> |
| </ol> |
| </li> |
| <li><a href="#credits">Credits</a>. Author and related facts.</li> |
| </ol> |
| <h3><a name="fastrecognition"></a>1. A quick introduction. An introduction to |
| the OpenOffice.org drawing tools</h3> |
| <p>In 1937, the great Spanish painter Pablo Picasso amazed the World with his |
| fascinating and dramatic masterpiece: <i>Guernica</i>. Fortunately, nowadays, |
| we don't need to be excellent painters listed in Fine Art books to create drawings |
| and other high quality graphic documents. Modern drawing software is enough. |
| Among these applications, <b>OpenOffice.org Draw</b> makes our creative work |
| easier and somehow more entertaining.</p> |
| <p>Before you start to learn the basic functionality of Draw, you should have |
| an overview of the work area and tools with which you will get to work. When |
| you open a new Draw document, a window like this will be displayed:</p> |
| <p><img src="DrawScreenshot.gif" width="640" height="480" |
| alt="OpenOffice.org Draw main window"></p> |
| <p>Just below the window title bar (the one with the butterfly logo) you can see |
| three command bars. They are, in order of appearance:</p> |
| <ul> |
| <li>The <b>Menu Bar</b></li> |
| <li>The <b>Function Bar</b></li> |
| <li>The <b>Object Bar</b></li> |
| </ul> |
| <p>The Menu bar lists the main Menus available in Draw. The Function bar displays |
| the icons to access functions like Open, Save, Copy, Cut, Paste and other OpenOffice.org |
| common tasks. The Object Bar includes some specific drawing tools that can be |
| used to modify the appearance of an object when it is selected (line style, |
| color and thickness; fill style and color).</p> |
| <p><b><i>Hint: </i></b><i>Although several people think that these bars are unchangeable, |
| this is not absolutely true. In fact, you can modify the icons and functions |
| that appear on them according to your needs, by clicking with the right mouse |
| button on the Main Toolbar or the Object Bar. A context menu will be displayed. |
| Then, select </i><b>'Configure...'</b><i> or </i><b>'Customize...'</b><i><b> |
| </b>to alter the content of the bars. In addition to this, by selecting </i><b>'Visible |
| Buttons'</b><i><b> </b>you can turn some buttons on/off. From the same context |
| menu you can summon another bar, called the </i><b>Options Bar </b><i>that is |
| disabled by default. It contains additional buttons to access useful positioning |
| and modification tools.</i></p> |
| <p>To the left side of the Draw Window you will find the <b>Main Toolbar. </b>In |
| it, there are tools you need to complete your Draw document. The base functionality |
| of this bar will be discussed throughout this 'How-To'. Finally, at the bottom, |
| there is the <b>Status Bar. </b>It displays very useful information such as: |
| cursor location in the Draw document (expressed in coordinates), zoom percentage, |
| template name, etc.</p> |
| <p>The 2 numbered bars that you can see next to the document area are the <b>horizontal |
| and vertical rulers. </b>You can change the measurement units on them by right |
| clicking on them to display the context menu where other units can be chosen. |
| You do not need them? Then turn them off, selecting <b>View-Rulers </b>from |
| the Menu bar<b>. </b>To make them visible again, simply repeat the same menu |
| choice, so that the <b>'Rulers' </b>item has a symbol of selection at its side.</p> |
| <h3><a name="drawnow"></a>2. I want to draw, now! Start expressing your artistic |
| inspiration.</h3> |
| <p>If you jumped to this section directly without reading the previous one it |
| would be a good idea to go back and read it, since there are terms defined above |
| that will be used from this point onwards. However for those who are impatient, |
| we will now discuss how to draw simple geometric shapes in a Draw document!</p> |
| <p><img src="MainToolBar.gif" width="30" height="375" align="right" |
| alt="Main Toolbar"></p> |
| <p>The figure you see to the right shows the <b>Main Toolbar. </b>The drawing |
| tools that you will use in <strong>OpenOffice.org Draw</strong> reside here. |
| To activate a specific tool, click on its icon. Each icon's button is of the |
| 'toggle' type, so when you release your mouse button the button itself will |
| change to a depressed style so that you can see that the tool is correctly selected. |
| Try to select the rectangle tool... It is the fourth icon from the top...</p> |
| <p>Now, move your mouse pointer. You will notice that it has transformed into |
| a cross with a little rectangle. To draw your first shape, follow this procedure:</p> |
| <ol> |
| <li>Left Click and Hold somewhere in the document area. This point will be the |
| upper left corner of your rectangle.</li> |
| <li>Drag your mouse and then release the left button at any desired position.</li> |
| </ol> |
| <p>Eureka! Your rectangle is displayed in all its magnificence! Looking at the |
| Main Toolbar, you can see that the rectangle tool is selected no more. It exhibits |
| this behavior because you have clicked on it 1 time. If you had clicked twice, |
| the rectangle tool would have been selected until you chose another tool. So: |
| 1 left click is equal to 1 drawing action, while 2 left clicks are equal to |
| multiple drawing actions.</p> |
| <p><b><i>Hint</i></b><i>: Surely you have noticed another feature of the Main |
| Toolbar: a lot of icons have a little green triangle to their left. This symbol |
| shows that each associated tool has a floating bar. To display it, click on |
| the desired icon and hold the mouse button for few seconds. The floating bar |
| should appear. You can move it anywhere in the document area simply by dragging |
| it. This is a useful way to draw several shapes of the same type, but with different |
| attributes. To close it and move back to the Main Toolbar, simply use the close |
| button in the upper right corner of the floating bar.</i></p> |
| <p>The rectangle is a very simple shape to draw. The square is too. You can create |
| one by selecting the square tool from the rectangle floating bar, and then repeating |
| the steps listed for creating the rectangle. Nothing is easier! Of course <strong>OpenOffice.org |
| Draw</strong> can be used to draw more complex shapes, for example: a circle, |
| an ellipse or circle sections. To create such shapes you need to:</p> |
| <ol> |
| <li>Select the ellipse tool from the Main toolbar (it is the icon just below |
| the rectangle tool), holding down the mouse button for a few seconds to display |
| the floating bar.</li> |
| <li>Choose the shape you want to draw.</li> |
| <li>Left click and drag on the document area.</li> |
| <li>Release the left mouse button.</li> |
| </ol> |
| <p>In addition to this common procedure, there are specific actions that need |
| to be performed to draw or to modify some of the shapes that you can choose |
| from the ellipse floating bar. Here they are:</p> |
| <ul> |
| <li><b>Circle:</b> No special action is required. The further you drag the mouse |
| before releasing the mouse button the larger the circle will be.</li> |
| <li><b>Ellipse:</b> Moving the mouse horizontally or vertically during the dragging |
| phase reduces or enlarges the ellipse's radius.</li> |
| <li><b>Ellipse Pie</b>: This shape is very similar to a normal ellipse, but |
| a part of it will not be drawn, creating an empty region similar to a piece |
| of cake. Follow these steps: |
| <ol> |
| <li>Select the <b>'Ellipse pie'</b> tool from the Ellipse floating bar. |
| Draw your shape as if it were a normal ellipse.</li> |
| <li>When you release the left mouse button you will see an ellipse, but |
| this is not the final drawing object. In fact, a line inside the ellipse |
| is still visible: the <b>radius. </b>You can move the radius by moving |
| the mouse up to the position you want to demark the first side of the |
| region that will be empty. Click the left mouse button to confirm the |
| stop position.</li> |
| <li>Repeat step 2 to determine the position of the second side of the empty |
| region.</li> |
| </ol> |
| </li> |
| <li><b>Circle Pie:</b> After having selected the <b>'Circle pie' </b>tool from |
| the Ellipse floating bar and then having created your circle, follow steps |
| 2 and 3 of the 'Ellipse Pie' procedure.</li> |
| <li><b>Ellipse Segment:</b>This is a section of an ellipse. |
| <ol> |
| <li>Select the <b>'Ellipse segment'</b> tool from the Ellipse floating bar. |
| Draw your shape as if it were a normal ellipse.</li> |
| <li>The radius will be still visible. Click a first time with the left mouse |
| button to set the first point of the line where the ellipse will be truncated.</li> |
| <li>Click a second time to set the second point of the line where the ellipse |
| will be truncated.</li> |
| </ol> |
| </li> |
| <li><b>Circle Segment:</b> After having selected the <b>'Circle segment'</b> |
| tool from the Ellipse floating bar and after having created your circle, follow |
| steps 2 and 3 of the 'Ellipse Segment' procedure.</li> |
| </ul> |
| <h3><a name="customizedrawings"></a>3. Customize your drawings: Change their attributes |
| (color, size, position, ...)</h3> |
| <p>If you have followed all of the procedures listed in the previous section, |
| you may have too many shapes in your Draw document. What a confusion! Please, |
| create a new blank Draw document by selecting<b> File-New-Drawing</b> from the |
| Menu bar.</p> |
| <p>On your new white page, draw a rectangle. Look at it. It is filled with a light |
| blue color and has small green squares along its perimeter. Light blue is the |
| default fill color, while the small green squares are the resize handles and |
| show that your rectangle is selected. Light blue is certainly a pretty color, |
| but some among you may think that it is too coquettish and may wish to change |
| it.</p> |
| <p>There are several ways to change the color of an object. The most common ones |
| are:</p> |
| <ol> |
| <li>Select <b>Format-Area </b>from the Menu bar. In the Area tab of the Dialog |
| window that will appear, choose the color you want to use.</li> |
| <li>Right click on the selected object to display its context menu. Then choose: |
| <b>'Area...' </b>from that menu. In the Area tab of the Dialog window that |
| will appear, choose the color that you want to use.</li> |
| <li>Select the color that you prefer from the <b>'Area/Style Filling'</b> drop |
| down list box which you will find in the <b>Object bar.</b></li> |
| </ol> |
| <p>Remember that whatever procedure you follow to change the object color, the |
| object itself must be selected. To do this, simply left click on the object.</p> |
| <p><b><i>Hint: </i></b><i> people who often draw web graphics are in the habit |
| of using color expressed as hexadecimal values or web color names. A web safe |
| color palette is a palette which contains only colors that will be displayed |
| in a nearly identical way by different browsers on different platforms. To use |
| this feature, follow these steps:</i></p> |
| <ol> |
| <li><i>Draw an object on the document page.</i></li> |
| <li><i>Click on the object to select it.</i></li> |
| <li><i>Right click on it to display the context menu.</i></li> |
| <li><i>Select the</i> '<b>Area...</b>'<i> item.</i></li> |
| <li><i>In the pop-up window that will appear, flip to the</i> '<b>Colors</b>'<i> |
| tab.</i></li> |
| <li><i>Click on the </i> '<b>Load Color List</b>'<i> icon <img |
| src="OpenIcon.gif" width="31" height="25" |
| alt="Load Color List icon">.</i></li> |
| <li><i>Select the html.soc file and press</i><b> 'OK'</b><i>. (standard path:</i> |
| <b>OpenOffice60/user/config/</b><i>)</i></li> |
| </ol> |
| <p>Color is only one of the object attributes you can modify. Left click somewhere |
| in a document zone where there is nothing, to deselect your rectangle. Now, |
| look at it again. You can see that its perimeter is a thin black line. You can |
| change this perimeter's style and color!</p> |
| <p>Once more, a single action can be performed in several ways (don't forget to |
| select your object by clicking on it):</p> |
| <ol> |
| <li>Select <b>Format-Line</b> from the Menu Bar. In the Line tab of the Dialog |
| window that will appear choose the attributes of the line that you want to |
| change.</li> |
| <li>Right click on the selected object to display its context menu. Then choose: |
| <b>'Line...' </b>from that menu. In the Area tab of the Dialog window that |
| will appear choose the color that you want to use.</li> |
| <li>Select the color and style which you prefer from the <b>'Line Style' </b>and<b> |
| 'Line Color' </b>drop down list box that you find in the <b>Object bar.</b></li> |
| </ol> |
| <p>Until this moment, we have spoken about object features that are related to |
| the drawing appearance of an object. Now, we will go on to describe how to change |
| the position and size of an object. Select the rectangle tool from the Main |
| Toolbar and draw a second rectangle in an empty zone of your Draw document. |
| The new rectangle will be automatically selected when you release the left mouse |
| button. It has already been said that the small green squares are called 'resize |
| handles'. You can use them to modify the size of your object in this way:</p> |
| <ol> |
| <li>Pass your mouse pointer over a green square. The pointer will transform |
| into a line with little arrows at the edges. The orientation of the arrows |
| shows you in which direction you can resize your object. The corner squares |
| allow you to modify the object's width and/or height contemporarily, while |
| the middle squares allow you to change only one of these dimensions (depending |
| on which square you choose).</li> |
| <li>Left click on one of the squares, holding the button down. Drag the mouse |
| until the object has reached the dimensions you want, then release the mouse |
| button.</li> |
| </ol> |
| <p>When you drag a middle resize handle you can, however, proportionally change |
| the width and height at the same time. Simply hold the <b>[SHIFT] </b>key down |
| while you perform the action.</p> |
| <p>You are now able to modify the size of your rectangle, but you may want to |
| change its position too. You can do so in this way:</p> |
| <ol> |
| <li>Be sure that one of your shapes is selected.</li> |
| <li>Move your mouse cursor over it. It will change to a cross with four arrows.</li> |
| <li>Left click on the object to grab it.</li> |
| <li>Drag the mouse up to a new position, then release the mouse button.</li> |
| </ol> |
| <p><b><i>Hint:</i></b><i> in some drawing projects, you may need to position or |
| to resize your objects in a more accurate way than what you can do visually. |
| In OpenOffice.org you can perform this action by right clicking on an object |
| and selecting </i><b>'Position and Size'</b><i><b> </b>from the context menu. |
| In the Dialog window that will be displayed, you'll be able to change size and |
| position using the default measurement unit. Alternatively, you can improve |
| the accuracy of these actions by displaying a dotted grid as a background to |
| your document. Right click on a command bar to display the context menu, then |
| select </i><b>'Options Bar'</b><i><b>. </b>In the new bar that should appear |
| just above the status bar, click on the </i><b>'Display Grid'</b><i><b> </b>icon |
| <img |
| src="DisplayGrid.gif" width="22" height="23" alt="Display Grid icon">. The grid |
| attributes can be modified by choosing </i><b>Tools-Options-Drawing-Grid</b><i><b> |
| </b>from the Menu bar.</i></p> |
| <p>When you proceed to modify your drawing documents, you may find that an object |
| will overlap another object, but not in the stacking sequence that you would |
| like. Of course you can change the order in which your objects are layered. |
| There are two main ways to do so:</p> |
| <ul> |
| <li>Click for a few seconds on the <b>'Arrange' </b>icon <img |
| src="Arrange.gif" width="26" height="21" alt="Arrange icon"> in the Main Toolbar |
| so that the <b>'Arrange'</b> Floating Toolbar appears and then select the |
| specific tool that you need.</li> |
| <li>Right click on a selected object to display its context menu, then select |
| the correct sub-item of the <b>'Arrange'</b> item.</li> |
| </ul> |
| <h3><a name="printyourwork"></a>4. Print your work. Put the results of your efforts |
| on paper.</h3> |
| <p>There are several ways in which you can exploit the drawing documents you create |
| with OpenOffice.org. The most traditional way is to print them. Since printing |
| systems can vary substantially from platform to platform, this 'How-to' will |
| describe only the printing commands for the Microsoft Windows OS. However, many |
| OpenOffice.org dialog windows are the same across every OS.</p> |
| <p>Before trying to print your document, it would be a wise thing for you to save |
| it on your hard disk. If the document is untitled, choose <b>File-Save as... |
| </b>from the main menu. If you have already saved it before, simply press <b>[CTRL]+S |
| </b>on your keyboard. Now, whatever happens during the printing operation, your |
| work will not be lost.</p> |
| <p>You can select the printer with which you will print by selecting <b>File-Printer |
| Settings... </b>from the Menu bar. In the Dialog box, the default printer name |
| should be already present in the drop down list box labeled <b>'Name'. </b>Click |
| on the <b>'Properties' </b>button to modify the settings of your printer driver.</p> |
| <p>Now you are ready to print. You can do it directly by clicking on the <b>'Print |
| File directly'</b> icon <img src="print_file_directly.GIF" width="27" height="21" |
| alt="Print File directly icon"> on the Function Bar. Otherwise you can make some |
| final modifications through the Print Dialog Window. You can access this dialog |
| by:</p> |
| <ul> |
| <li>selecting <b>File-Print </b>from the Menu bar</li> |
| <li>pressing <b>[CTRL]+P </b>on your keyboard</li> |
| </ul> |
| <p>The Print Dialog Window looks like this:</p> |
| <p><img src="PrintDialogWindow.gif" width="509" height="299" |
| align="left" alt="Print Dialog Window"></p> |
| <p>The upper part of the window is identical to the Printer settings dialog, and |
| you can modify it in the same way. The only addition is the <b>'Print to file' |
| </b>check box. If you check this option, a <b>'Save as...'</b> dialog will be |
| displayed so that you can choose the name of a file to which your document will |
| be printed. This function is particularly useful to print a document created |
| on a notebook which has no printer attached, or to transfer such a file to a |
| workstation outside your LAN and print it there.</p> |
| <p>The <b>'Print range' </b>section allows you to determine what pages of your |
| document should be printed, while the <b>'Copies' </b>section can be used to |
| modify the number of copies of the document to be printed.</p> |
| <p>In the bottom right corner, you will find the <b>'Options' </b>button. By clicking |
| on it, the Options Dialog Window will appear. There, you will be able to change |
| additional settings such as: the printer quality, page settings and footnote |
| text (page name, date, time).</p> |
| <p>Finally, click the <b>'OK' </b>button in the Print Dialog Window to get your |
| document printed.</p> |
| <h3><a name="printingtroubleshooting"></a>4.1 Printing Troubleshooting. Does anything |
| go wrong when you attempt to print? If so, consult this section..</h3> |
| <p>This section, like the previous one, describes the OpenOffice.org Suite running |
| on a Microsoft Windows OS. Most suggestions are applicable to other platforms, |
| but you should take into consideration the differences between the printing |
| subsystems.</p> |
| <h4><b>A. </b>The printer doesn't print at all:</h4> |
| <ol> |
| <li>This response may seem silly, but have you checked if your printer is powered |
| on? Many times, the simplest things are the first ones to be forgotten.</li> |
| <li>Check the hardware connection between your printer and PC. Under a Windows |
| OS, printing problems are more often caused by hardware than by software. |
| </li> |
| <li>Maybe, your printer has not been selected as the default printer. Open the |
| Print Dialog Window selecting <b>File-Printer Settings... </b>from the Menu |
| bar and check which printer is shown in the <b>'Name' </b>drop down list box. |
| Change the selected printer if needed. </li> |
| <li>Be sure that the <b>'Print to file' </b>checkbox in the Print Dialog Window |
| is unchecked. Otherwise, the output of your document will be redirected to |
| a file and not to your printer. </li> |
| </ol> |
| <p><b>B. The colors printed by your printer are not the same ones displayed on |
| the screen:</b> </p> |
| <p>Modern color printers use a % mix of 4 inks (or 6 in the newest ones) to reproduce |
| the colors that our eyes are normally able to see. In OpenOffice.org Draw, to |
| edit a color using the exact percentage of ink you have to:</p> |
| <ol> |
| <li>Click on the object whose color you want to change. It will be selected.</li> |
| <li>Right click on it and choose '<b>Area...</b>' from the context menu.</li> |
| <li>In the pop-up window that will appear, flip to the '<b>Colors</b>' tab.</li> |
| <li>Select CMYK from the '<b>Color System</b>' combo box.</li> |
| <li>Modify the CMYK % values in the boxes below.</li> |
| <li>Press the <b>'OK'</b> button. You will be prompted as to whether you want |
| to modify the existing color or to add a new one to the palette. Make your |
| choice.</li> |
| </ol> |
| <p>Otherwise, you can use/modify a ready CMYK palette: </p> |
| <ol> |
| <li>Repeat steps 1, 2 and 3 listed above.</li> |
| <li>Click on the '<b>Load Color List</b>' icon.</li> |
| <li>Select the cmyk.soc file and press the <b>'Open'</b> button. (standard path: |
| <b>OpenOffice60/user/config/</b>)</li> |
| <li>Close the window by pressing the <b> 'OK'</b> button.</li> |
| </ol> |
| <p><b>C. The drawings near the top or bottom page borders are not printed properly:</b></p> |
| <p>You have probably set the margins of the Draw document page too near the print |
| area borders of your printer. You have to:</p> |
| <ol> |
| <li>Check your printer manual to find out how large your printer's print area |
| is.</li> |
| <li>Select<b> Format-Page...</b> from the Menu bar.</li> |
| <li>In the '<b>Page</b>' tab of the '<b>Page Setup</b>' window, change the top |
| and button margins to the size you have found in your printer manual. If you |
| do not have your printer manual anymore, try a value higher than 2,5 cm (1 |
| inch). This works with many printers.</li> |
| <li>Press the <b>'OK'</b> button</li> |
| </ol> |
| <p>Remember to arrange your drawing, making sure that every object is within the |
| new page margins.</p> |
| <p><b><i>Hint: </i></b><i>OpenOffice.org Draw is a very powerful application, |
| but it cannot improve the capabilities of your hardware. So, if you think that |
| your printed document is not up to scratch, please consider the quality of your |
| hardware too. Especially when you are printing documents with photos or images |
| with million colors, you should own a Photo printer and use special glossy paper.</i></p> |
| <h3><a name="credits"></a>5. Credits</h3> |
| <p><b>Original Author: </b>Gianluca Turconi</p> |
| <p><b>Acknowledgments:</b> Grateful thanks to James Treleaven for his valuable |
| collaboration.</p> |
| <p><b>Integration by: </b>N/A</p> |
| <p><b>Last modified on</b>: February 11, 2001</p> |
| <p><b>Organization contact:</b> <span style="font-weight: medium">OpenOffice.org |
| Documentation Project </span><a href="http://documentation.openoffice.org/index.html"><span style="font-weight: medium">http://documentation.openoffice.org/index.html</span></a></p> |
| <h3><br> |
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