Chapter 4

Changing Object Attributes

Toolbars and menus
To change object attributes, such as color or border width, and so on, use the Line and Filling
toolbar, the Text Formatting toolbar, or the context menus.

Line and Filling toolbar

If the Line and Filling toolbar is not displayed, go to View > Toolbars > Line and Filling to open
the toolbar (Figure 69). The most common object attributes can be edited using this toolbar. For
example, you can open the Line dialog by clicking on the Line icon and the Area dialog by
clicking on the Area icon for access to more formatting options. The tools available from left to
right on the Line and Filling toolbar are also shown in Figure 69.

Figure 69: Line and Filling toolbar and available tools

Figure 70: Text Formatting toolbar and available tools

62 LibreOffice 4.1 Draw Guide

Text Formatting toolbar
When you select text, the Line and Filling toolbar automatically changes to show the Text
Formatting toolbar (Figure 70). You can also open the Text Formatting toolbar by selecting View >
Toolbars > Text Formatting. The tools on this toolbar will not become active until text has been
selected. The tools available from left to right on the Text Formatting toolbar are also shown in
Figure 70.

Context menu
When an object is selected and you right-click on the object, a context menu (Figure 71) opens that
applies to the selected object. This context menu provides access to the options available and
allows you to change object attributes without having to open a dialog. Menu entries with a small
triangle on the right-hand side contain a submenu with more menu options.

Figure 71: Example of a Context menu

Formatting lines
In LibreOffice the term line indicates both a freestanding segment (line), the outer edge of a shape
(border), or an arrow. In most cases the properties of the line you can modify are its style (solid,
dashed, invisible, and so on), its width, and its color.
To quickly format a line, first select the line then use the highlighted controls in Figure 72 on the
Line and Filling toolbar to change the style, width, and color of the line.

Figure 72: Common line properties (style, width and color)

Chapter 4 Changing Object Attributes 63

If you want to fully change the appearance of a line, then you need to use the Line dialog.
1) Select the line on your drawing.
2) Go to Format > Line on the main menu bar, or right-click on the line and select Line from
the context menu, or select the Line icon from the Line and Filling toolbar to open the
Line dialog (Figure 73) where you can set line properties. This dialog consists of four
pages: Line, Shadow, Line Styles, and Arrow Styles, as explained in the following sections.
3) Click OK to close the dialog and save your changes. The preview box at the bottom of the
dialog shows the effect of your changes on a line.

Figure 73: Line properties dialog Line page

Line properties
The Line page is where you can set the basic parameters of the line and is divided into four
sections as follows.

Line properties section

Use the Line Properties section on the left side to set the following parameters:
Line style several line styles are available from the drop-down list, but more line styles
can be defined if necessary.
Color choose from the predefined colors in the drop down list or create a new color.
Width specifies the thickness of the line.
Transparency sets the transparency of a line. Figure 74 shows the effects of different
percentages in transparency levels to lines when placed over an object.

64 LibreOffice 4.1 Draw Guide

 Figure 74: Line transparency effect (0%, 25%, 50%, 75% left to right)

Arrow styles section

The Arrow styles section of the Line dialog is only applicable to individual lines and is not used for
lines that form the borders of a shape.
Style sets the style of the two ends of a line. The left drop down menu is for where you
start the line and the right drop down menu is for where you end the line.
Width specifies the thickness of the arrow endings
Center moves the center of the arrow endings to the end point of the line. Figure 75
shows the effects of selecting this option.
Synchronize ends makes the two line ends identical.

Figure 75: Default arrowheads (left) and centered arrowheads (right)

Corner and cap styles section

Corner and cap styles determine how the connection between two segments looks. To appreciate
the difference between these styles, choose a thick line style and observe how the preview
changes.
Corner style select the shape to be used at the corners of the line. In case of a small
angle between lines, a mitered shape is replaced with a beveled shape.
Cap style select the style of the line end caps. The caps are added to inner dashes as
well.

Arrowheads
A quick way to set the arrowheads for a selected line is to click on the Arrow Style icon in the
Line and Filling toolbar to open the Arrowheads menu (Figure 76). Here you can select one of the
many predefined arrowhead styles for the start and ending of the selected line.

Chapter 4 Changing Object Attributes 65

 Arrowheads are only applicable to lines. They have no effect on the border of an
Note object.

Figure 76: Arrowheads menu

Line shadows
Use the Shadow page (Figure 77) of the Line dialog to add and format the line shadow. The
settings on this page are the same as those for shadows applied to other objects and are
described in Formatting shadows on page 83.

A quicker way to apply a shadow to a line is using the Shadow icon on the Line and Filling
toolbar. The main disadvantage of using the Shadow icon is that the shadow appearance will be
constrained by the shadow settings of the default graphics style.

Figure 77: Line properties dialog Shadow page

66 LibreOffice 4.1 Draw Guide

Line styles
Use the Line Styles page (Figure 78) of the Line dialog to create new line styles as well as to load
previously saved line styles. It is normally better to create new styles when necessary than modify
predefined styles.

Figure 78: Line dialog Line Styles page

Creating line styles

To create a new line style:
1) Choose Format > Line on the main menu bar, or right-click on the line and select Line
from the context menu, or select the Line icon on the Line and Filling toolbar to open the
Line dialog.
2) Click on the Line Styles tab.
3) Select from the Line style drop-down menu a style similar to the style you want to create.
4) Click Add and type a name for the new line style in the dialog that opens, then click OK.
5) Now define the new style. Start by selecting the line type for the new style. To alternate two
line types (for example, dashes and dots) within a single line, select different types in the
two Type boxes.
6) Specify the Number and Length (not available for dot style) of each of the types of line
selected.
7) Set the Spacing between the various elements
8) If necessary, select Fit to line width so that the new style fits the width of the selected line.
9) The new line style created is available only in the current document. If you want to use the
line style in other documents, click the Save Line Styles icon and type a unique
filename in the Save as dialog that opens. Saved styles have the file extension of .sod.

10) To use previously saved line styles, click the Load Line Styles icon and select a style
from the list of saved styles. Click Open to load the style into your document.
11) If necessary, click on the Modify button to change the name of the style.
12) Click OK to close the dialog and save any changes you have made.

Chapter 4 Changing Object Attributes 67

Arrow styles
Use the Arrow Styles page (Figure 79) of the Line dialog to create new arrow styles, or modify
existing arrow styles, or load previously saved arrow styles.

Figure 79: Line dialog Arrow Styles page

Figure 80: Using shapes for arrow styles

Creating arrow styles

To create a new arrow style:
1) First draw a curve in the shape you want to use for the arrowhead, or create a shape and
convert to a curve. The top of the shape must face upward, as shown in Figure 80,
because this becomes the point of the arrow.

The arrowhead must be a curve, which is something you can draw without lifting a
pencil from the paper. For example, a star can be a curve, but a smiley face cannot
Note be a curve because you have to reposition the pencil on the paper to draw eyes and
a mouth on the face.

2) Select the shape and, if necessary, right-click and choose Convert > To Curve to convert
the shape to a curve. If the shape is already a curve, To Curve will not be available.
3) With the selection handles showing, select Format > Line from the menu bar, or right-click
and choose Line from the pop-up menu.
4) Go to the Arrow styles page, click the Add button, type a name for the new arrow style, and
click OK. The new arrowhead style will be shown in the preview.

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 5) Now you can access the new style from the Arrow style list. When you select the name of
the new style, it is shown at the bottom of the dialog.
6) The new arrowhead style created is available only in the current document. If you want to
use this arrowhead style in other documents, click the Save Line Styles icon and type
a unique filename in the Save as dialog that opens. Saved styles have the file extension
of .sod.
7) To use previously saved arrowhead styles, click the Load Line Styles icon and select
the style from the saved list of styles. Click Open to load the style into your document.
8) If necessary. click on the Modify button to change the name of the style.
9) Click OK to close the dialog and save any changes you have made.

Formatting fill area

The term area fill refers to the inside of an object, which can be a uniform color, gradient, hatching
pattern, or bitmap as shown in Figure 81. An area fill can be made partly or wholly transparent and
can throw a shadow.

Figure 81: Different types of area fill

The Line and Filling toolbar has the majority of the tools normally used to format graphic objects. If
this toolbar is not showing, go to View > Toolbars > Line and Filling on the main menu bar. You
can also use the Area dialog, described in Using the Area dialog on page 71.
To format the area of an object, select it so that the selection handles show. A wide number of
default fillings are readily available from the Line and Filling toolbar (Figure 82). Select on the Area
Style/Filling drop-down menus the type of fill required (Figure 83) from None, Color, Gradient,
Hatching, or Bitmap and then select the style of fill to be used. Once you have decided on a
predefined or custom fill, you can further refine it by adding a shadow or transparency.

Figure 82: Common fill options highlighted

Figure 83: Area fill types

Chapter 4 Changing Object Attributes 69

Color area fill
To change the area fill of an object to a color (Figure 84):
1) Select the object you wish to edit.
2) On the Line and Filling toolbar, select Color from the Area Style/Filling drop down list.
3) Select a color from the drop-down list.

Figure 84: Color area fill

Gradient area fill

A gradient fill provides a smooth transition from one color to another. The transition pattern may
vary from a simple linear transition to a more complex radial one. To change the area fill of an
object to a gradient (Figure 85):
1) Select the object you wish to edit.
2) On the Line and Filling toolbar, select Gradient from the Area Style/Filling drop down list.
3) Select a gradient from the drop-down list.

Figure 85: Gradient area fill

Hatching area fill

When a hatching fill is applied it fills the complete area of the selected object. To change the area
fill of an object to a hatching (Figure 86):
1) Select the object you wish to edit.
2) On the Line and Filling toolbar, select Hatching from the Area Style/Filling drop down list.
3) Select a hatching fill from the drop-down list.

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 Figure 86: Hatching area fill

Bitmap image area fill

You can fill an object only with a bitmap image but not a vector graphic image. To change the area
fill of an object to a bitmap image (Figure 87):
1) Select the object you wish to edit.
2) On the Line and Filling toolbar, select Bitmap from the drop down list.
3) Select a bitmap fill from the drop-down list.

Figure 87: Bitmap image area fill

Using the Area dialog

In addition to using the Line and Filling toolbar, you can use the Area dialog to apply existing area
fills with greater control or create your own area fill.
1) Select the object you wish to edit.

2) Go to Format > Area on the main menu bar, or click on the Area icon on the Line and
Filling toolbar, or right-click on the object and select Area to open the Area dialog.
3) Click on the Area tab to open the Area page and to apply an area fill. LibreOffice includes
several area fills already defined, but you can create area fills yourself. See Creating new
area fills on page 73 for more information.
4) Select the type of area fill from the drop-down list: None, Color, Gradient, Hatching, or
Bitmap. Types of area fill are explained below.
5) Select the style of area fill from the options that become available. The number of available
options will depend on the type of area fill selected above.
6) Click OK to close the dialog and save your changes. The area fill will then appear in your
selected object.

Chapter 4 Changing Object Attributes 71

Types of area fill
Color fills select Color from the Fill drop down list and then select your required color
from the list of available colors (Figure 88). A preview of the selected color appears at the
bottom of the dialog.

Figure 88: Area color dialog

Gradient fills select Gradient from the drop down list and then select your required
gradient from the list of available gradients (Figure 89). You can override the number of
steps (increments) that should be applied to the gradient transition. To do so, deselect the
Automatic option under Increments and then enter the number of steps required in the box
to the right. A preview of the selected gradient appears at the bottom of the dialog.

Figure 89: Area gradient dialog

Hatching fills select Hatching from the drop down list and then select your required
hatching from the list of available hatchings (Figure 90). You can apply a different
background color by selecting the Background color option and choosing a color from the
drop down list. A preview of the selected hatching appears at the bottom of the dialog.

Figure 90: Area hatching dialog

Bitmap fills select Bitmaps from the drop down list and then select your required bitmap
from the list of available bitmaps (Figure 91). You can customize a large number of
parameters. A preview of the selected bitmap appears at the bottom of the dialog.

72 LibreOffice 4.1 Draw Guide

 Figure 91: Area bitmap dialog

Creating new area fills

The following sections describe how to create new fills and how to apply them.
Although you can change the characteristics of an existing fill and then click the Modify button, it is
recommended that you create new fills, or modify custom fills rather than the predefined ones, as
these may be reset when updating LibreOffice.

Creating custom colors

On the Colors page (Figure 92), you can modify existing colors or create your own. You can also
specify a new color either as a combination of the three primary colors Red, Green, and Blue,
(RGB notation) or by percentages of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (CMYK notation).

Creating new color

1) Select the object you wish to edit.

2) Go to Format > Area on the main menu bar, or click on the Area icon on the Line and
Filling toolbar, or right-click on the object and select Area to open the Area dialog.
3) Click on the Colors tab to open the Colors page.
4) Enter a name for the new color in the Name box.
5) Select whether to define the color in RGB or CMYK. For RGB, specify the red (R), green
(G) and blue (B) component on a 0 to 255 scale. For CMYK, specify the cyan (C), magenta
(M), yellow (Y) and black (K) components from 0% to 100%.
6) Click the Add button. The color is now added to the Color drop down list.
7) Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog.

Chapter 4 Changing Object Attributes 73

 Figure 92: Creating a new color

Modifying colors
1) Select the object you wish to edit.

2) Go to Format > Area on the main menu bar, or click on the Area icon on the Line and
Filling toolbar, or right-click on the object and select Area to open the Area dialog.
3) Click on the Colors tab to open the Colors page.
4) Select the color to modify from the list.
5) Enter the new values that define the color in RGB or CMYK.
6) Modify the name as required.
7) Click Modify to save your changes.
8) Click OK to close the dialog.

Editing colors
1) Select the object you wish to edit.

2) Go to Format > Area on the main menu bar, or click on the Area icon on the Line and
Filling toolbar, or right-click on the object and select Area to open the Area dialog.
3) Click on the Colors tab to open the Colors page.
4) Select the color to edit from the list.
5) Click on the Edit button to open the Color Picker dialog (Figure 93).
6) Modify the color components as required using RGB, CMYK or HSB (Hue, Saturation,
Brightness).
7) Click OK to exit the Color Picker dialog.
8) Modify the name as required.

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 Figure 93: Editing a color
9) Click Modify on the Color dialog to save your changes.
10) Click OK to close the dialog.

Saving and using new colors

Any new color created is available only in the current document. If you want to use this color in
other documents, click the Save Color List icon and type a unique filename in the Save as
dialog that opens. The saved colors list has the file extension of .soc.

To use a previously saved color list, click the Load Color List icon and select from the file
open dialog. Click Open to load the saved color list into Draw.

You can also add custom colors using Tools > Options > LibreOffice > Colors. This
Tip method makes the color available to all components of LibreOffice.

Creating custom gradients

To create a new gradient or to modify an existing one, select the Gradients tab from the Area dialog
(Figure 94). Several types of gradients are predefined and in most cases changing the From and
To colors will be sufficient to obtain the desired result.
It is highly recommended that you create a new gradient even if you just want to change the two
colors, rather than modifying the predefined ones, which should only be used as starting points.

Chapter 4 Changing Object Attributes 75

 Figure 94: Creating a new gradient

Creating new gradients

1) Select the object you wish to edit.

2) Go to Format > Area on the main menu bar, or click on the Area icon on the Line and
Filling toolbar, or right-click on the object and select Area to open the Area dialog.
3) Click on the Gradients tab to open the Gradients page.
4) Select the From and To colors from the drop down lists.
5) Select the type of gradient from the drop down list: Linear, Axial, Radial, Ellipsoid, Square
or Rectangular. A preview of the gradient type is shown in the dialog.
6) Set all the properties as desired (very often the default values will work well). The
properties used to create a gradient are summarized in Table 2. Depending on the type of
gradient selected, some properties may be grayed out.
7) Click Add to add the newly created gradient to the list.
8) Type a name for the new gradient in the dialog that opens and click OK.
9) Click OK to close the dialog.

Table 2: Gradient properties

Property Meaning
For Radial, Ellipsoid, Square and Rectangular gradients, modify these values to
Center X
set the horizontal offset of the gradient center.
For Radial, Ellipsoid, Square and Rectangular gradients, modify these values to
Center Y
set the vertical offset of the gradient center.
Angle For all the gradient types, specifies the angle of the gradient axis.

76 LibreOffice 4.1 Draw Guide

 Property Meaning
Increase this value to make the gradient start further away from the border of the
Border
shape.
The start color for the gradient. In the edit box below enter the intensity of the
From
color: 0% corresponds to black, 100% to the full color.
The end color for the gradient. In the edit box below enter the intensity of the
To
color: 0% corresponds to black, 100% to the full color.

Modifying gradients
1) Select the object you wish to edit.

2) Go to Format > Area on the main menu bar, or click on the Area icon on the Line and
Filling toolbar, or right-click on the object and select Area to open the Area dialog.
3) Click on the Gradients tab to open the Gradients page.
4) Select the gradient to modify from the list.
5) Enter the new values for the properties that become available for change. See Table 2 for
more information on gradient properties.
6) Click Modify to save your changes.
7) Click OK to close the dialog.

Saving and using new gradients

The new gradient created is available only in the current document. If you want to use this gradient
in other documents, click the Save Gradients List icon and type a unique filename in the
Save as dialog that opens. The saved gradients list has the file extension of .sog.

To use a previously saved gradients list, click the Load Gradients List icon and select from
the file open dialog. Click Open to load the saved gradients list into Draw.

Advanced gradient controls

As discussed in Creating custom gradients on page 75, gradient properties can be configured
using the properties given in the dialogs shown in Figure 94 and Table 2. However, LibreOffice
provides advanced controls for gradients as follows.
1) Select the object you wish to edit.

2) Go to Format > Area on the main menu bar, or click on the Area icon on the Line and
Filling toolbar, or right-click on the object and select Area to open the Area dialog.
3) Click on the Gradients tab to open the Gradients page (Figure 94).
4) Select the type of gradient you want to use for your object from the Type drop down list.
Properties you can adjust will depend on the gradient type you have selected and these are
explained below.
5) Go to View > Toolbars > Mode on the main menu bar, click on the Effects icon on the
Line and Filling toolbar to open the Mode toolbar.

6) Click on the Gradient icon in the Mode toolbar (Figure 95). This displays a dashed
line connecting two colored squares. The colors show the From and To colors that are used
for the selected gradient (Figure 96).

Chapter 4 Changing Object Attributes 77

 Figure 95: Mode toolbar

Figure 96: From Red 4 to Yellow 1 gradient

7) For linear gradients move the square corresponding to the From color to change where
the gradient starts (border value). Move the square corresponding to the To color to change
the orientation (angle value).
8) For axial gradients move the To color to change both the angle and border properties of
the gradient. Only the square corresponding to the To color can be moved.
9) For radial gradients move the From color to modify the border property to set the width
of the gradient circle. Move the To color to change the point where the gradient ends
(Center X and Center Y values).
10) For ellipsoid gradients move the From color to modify the border property to set the
size of the gradient ellipsoid. Move the To color to change the angle of the ellipsoid axis
and the axis itself.
11) For square and rectangular gradients move the From color to modify the border to set
the size of the gradient square or rectangle and the angle of the gradient shape. Move the
To color to change the center of the gradient.
12) Click OK to save your changes and close the Area dialog.

Moving the squares will have different effects depending on the type of gradient. For
Note example, for a linear gradient, the start and end squares of the gradient will always
be situated to either side of the center point of the object.

Creating custom hatching patterns

To create new hatching patterns or modify existing ones, select the Hatching tab of the Area dialog
(Figure 97). As with gradients and colors, it is better to create a new hatching pattern rather than
modify a predefined one. The properties that can be set for a hatching pattern are shown in Table
3.

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 Figure 97: Creating a new hatching pattern

Table 3: Hatching pattern properties

Property Meaning
Spacing Determines the spacing between two lines of the pattern. As the value is
changed the preview window is updated.
Angle Use the mini map below the numerical value to quickly set the angle formed
by the line to multiples of 45 degrees. If the required angle is not a multiple of
45 degrees, just enter the desired value in the edit box.
Line type Set single, double or triple line for the style of the pattern.
Line color Use the list to select the color of the lines that will form the pattern.

Creating new hatching patterns

1) Select the object you wish to edit.

2) Go to Format > Area on the main menu bar, or click on the Area icon on the Line and
Filling toolbar, or right-click on the object and select Area to open the Area dialog.
3) Click on the Hatching tab to open the Hatching page.
4) Select as a starting point a pattern similar to the one that will be created.
5) Modify the properties of the lines forming the pattern. A preview is displayed in the window
below the available patterns. More information on hatching properties is shown Table 3.
6) Click Add and type a name for the new gradient in the dialog that opens, then click OK.
7) Click OK to close the dialog.

Chapter 4 Changing Object Attributes 79

Modifying hatching patterns
1) Select the object you wish to edit.

2) Go to Format > Area on the main menu bar, or click on the Area icon on the Line and
Filling toolbar, or right-click on the object and select Area to open the Area dialog.
3) Click on the Hatching tab to open the Hatching page.
4) Select the hatching pattern to modify from the list.
5) Enter the new values for the properties that become available for change. See Table 3 for
more information on gradient properties.
6) Click Modify to save your changes.
7) Click OK to close the dialog.

Saving and using new hatching patterns

The new hatching pattern created is available only in the current document. If you want to use this
hatching pattern in other documents, click the Save Hatches List icon and type a unique
filename in the Save as dialog that opens. The saved hatches list has the file extension of .soh.

To use a previously saved hatches list, click the Load Hatches List icon and select from the
file open dialog. Click Open to load the saved hatches list into Draw.

Figure 98: Advanced formatting for bitmap fill

Working with bitmap fills

1) Select the object you wish to edit.

2) Go to Format > Area on the main menu bar, or click on the Area icon on the Line and
Filling toolbar, or right-click on the object and select Area to open the Area dialog.
3) Click on the Area tab to open the Area page.
4) Select Bitmap from the Fill drop down list (Figure 98).

80 LibreOffice 4.1 Draw Guide