Introduction to styles
Styles: A style is a collection of all formatting information, which you want to save and then
apply on the document.
Style Categories
Writer provides six Style categories, which are as follows:
1. Page Style: It is used for formatting pages. It defines basic page layout like page size,
its margin, placement of header and footer, footnote, borders and background.
2. Paragraph Style: It is used for formatting paragraphs. It includes tab stops, text
alignment, line spacing and borders.
3. Character Style: This styling is used on block of letters, i.e. word(s). It allows
changing the text colour, text size, highlighting text and emphasising it.
4. Frame Style: Frames are like containers, which can hold text, graphics & lists. Frame
Styles allows formatting a frame by specifying its size, position, border and how the
text is placed around the picture.
5. List Style: It can be used to style lists by putting numbering or bullets of a different
kind or specify numeric format.
6. Table Style: Using tables, a large amount of information can be organised and
presented effectively. Table Style category allows to format a table by adding borders,
using different text or border colour(s), aligning text inside the table, having different
patterns or text colour.
Styles and Formatting
There are many predefined Styles in Writer, which can be accessed by using the following
methods:
1. Using Style option from Menu Bar
2. Using Style Drop Down list box
3. Using Sidebar Menu
4. Using keyboard shortcut — F11 function key.
Applying Styles
Step 1: Select the text to be formatted. The selected text may be a collection of characters,
words, lines, paragraph, page, frame or table.
Step 2: To format the selected text, choose appropriate style category by clicking the button
from the top of the Styles bar.
Step 3 : A list of styles for that category appears. Double click on the desired style to apply to
the selected text.
Fill Format
This method is useful when a same style is to be applied at many places scattered in the
document.
Step 1: Open the document to be styled.
Step 2: Open the Styles window and select the desired style category and then desired style
from drop down list.
Step 3: Select Fill Format button.
Step 4: To apply the selected style, take the mouse pointer to desired location and click.
Step 5: To quit Fill Format option, click the Fill Format button again or press the Esc key.
Creating and Updating a New Style
Custom Style can be created From Selection and by using drag and drop.
A. From Selection
Step 1: Select the portion of document to change its appearance. Format it as per the
requirement.
Step 2: From the buttons at the top of the Style menu, choose the category for which a new
style is to be created.
Step 3: Select Style action button. Click on New Style from Selection.
Step 4: In Create Style dialog window, type the name of new style.
Step 5: Click OK to save the name of new style.
B. Using Drag and Drop
Step 1: Select the portion of document to change its appearance. Format it as per the
requirement
Step 2: From the buttons at the top of the Style menu, choose the category for which a new
style is to be created
Step 3: Click on the desired style under which, new style is to be created
Step 4: From the document drag the selected portion of text to the Style Menu.
Step 5: In the Create Style dialog box type the name of new style.
Step 6: Click OK button to save the name of new style
Updating a Style
Step 1: Select the portion of document to change its appearance. Format it as per the
requirement.
Step 2: Go to Style menu, and click on the button to update.
Step 3: Using Style Action button, click on Update Selected Style.
Load Styles
The last option, in Style Action button of Style Menu is Load Styles. It is used to copy styles
from an existing template or document.
Step 1: In the Styles Menu, click on the Load Styles.
Step 2: In the Load Styles dialog box, choose the category of your document.
Step 3: Find and select the desired template to copy styles from.
Step 4: Now select the options for the types of styles to be copied.
Step 5: Click OK to copy the styles.
SESSION 2: INSERT AND USE IMAGES
LibreOffice Writer allows to work on images, shapes, charts and diagrams by providing various
tools. The image file can be Inserted into a document using different ways.
Using Insert Image Option
Step 1: Open the document to insert an image in LibreOffice Writer.
Step 2: Place the cursor where you want to insert an image.
Step 3: Select and click on Insert > Image from menu bar.
Step 4: An Insert Image dialog box will open which will allow choosing the picture file to be inserted.
Step 5: Select the file and click on Open button to insert an image in document.
Using Drag and Drop option
Step 1: Open the document to insert an image in LibreOffice Writer.
Step 2: Open a file browser window (Win+E) and select the image file to be inserted.
Step 3: Drag the image into the document.
Step 4: Drop it, where you want it to appear in the document.
Copy and Paste method
Step 1: Open the document to insert an image in LibreOffice Writer.
Step 2: Copy the image file stored in computer.
Step 3: Paste the image file in the document.
Inserting an image using any of the above described method saves a copy of image file in the
document wherever image is inserted, that means, the image gets embedded in the document. If
multiple copies of the same image are required to be inserted in the document, it is beneficial to save
the link of image instead of inserting the image. Inserting a link, stores its reference instead of the
image itself, thereby reduces the size of the document, because actual image is saved only once as a
separate file along with the document.
Linking an Image in a Document:
In Insert Image dialog box, check the Link option .
Keyboard shortcut to link an image – drag and drop the image while holding the Ctrl+Shift keys.
Modifying an Image:
The image toolbar automatically appears when an image is inserted or selected in the document.
If you want to keep it always on screen, click on View > Toolbars > Image from the menu bar.
Image Filter: There are 11 types of filters available for improving an image.
Image Mode: Image can be changed to black and white, gray-scale or a watermark.
Crop: Cuts off non-desirable part of the image.
Flip Horizontally: Flips the image Horizontally by 180 degree
Flip Vertically: Flips the image Vertically by 180 degree.
Rotate 90degree left.
Rotate 90 degree right.
Rotate. (At your desired angle)
Transparency: Makes an image transparent by using the value provided in percentage.
Colour: Using Drop Down list Red, Blue or Green colour can be modified or adjustment for
brightness, contrast and gamma can be made.
Description of Image Filter:-
1. Invert : Inverts the colour values of coloured image.
2. Smooth: Softens the contrast of image.
3. Sharpen: Increases the contrast of image.
4. Remove Noise: Removes single pixels from the image.
5. Solarisation: Reverses the tone. Dark appears light and light appears dark.
6. Aging: Simulates the effect of time on picture.
7. Posterise : Makes a picture appear like painting by reducing colours in the image.
8. Charcoal Sketch: Changes image as charcoal sketch.
9. Relief : Adjusts light source to create shadow.
10. Mosaic : Joins group of pixels into a single area of one colour.
Resizing an Image:
Resizing is the process of reducing or enlarging the size of the image.
Step 1 :Click on the image, eight sizing handles surrounding the image will appear on the screen.
Step 2 : Position the pointer over one of the sizing handles. The pointer changes shape indicating the
direction of resizing.
Step 3: Click and drag to resize the image.
Step 4: Release the mouse button when satisfied with the new size and observe the size of the image is
reduced.
By dragging the corner handles, one can resize both the width and the height of the image
simultaneously, while the other four handles only resize one dimension at a time.
Deleting an Image:
To delete the image Just select the image by clicking on the image and press the Delete key.
Drawing Objects:
To display Drawing Toolbar in the Writer window, click on View > Toolbars > Drawing. There
are many default drawing objects used to create designs in document. To use them –
Step 1: Place the cursor in the document where you want the drawing to be placed (anchored).
Step 2: Select the tool from the Drawing toolbar.
Step 3: Place the pointer on document where you want the image to appear then click-and-drag to
create the drawing object.
Step 4: Release the mouse button to finish drawing.
To cancel the selected drawing function, press the Esc key or click the Select icon (the arrow) on the
Drawing toolbar.
Setting or Changing Properties of Drawing Object:
To set the properties before drawing the object:
Step 1: From the Drawing Toolbar, select the object you want to draw.
Step 2 :From Drawing Object Properties Toolbar, click on the icon of property to be modified.
Step 3: Change the value of parameter.
Step 4: Repeat steps 2 and 3 to change all desired properties.
Step 5 :Draw the desired figure.
When properties are modified before creation, it is known as setting default value(s).
Steps for changing properties of the object after drawing it:
Step 1: Select the object whose properties are to be modified.
Step 2 :Follow steps 2 to 5 of the previous process of setting Properties before drawing an object.
Resizing and Grouping objects:
Follow the given steps to resize a drawing:
Step 1: Select the object to be resized. All eight handles on the corners and edges will be visible.
Step 2: Click on any of the handles and drag it to its new place. The object will be scaled up or down,
depending on your action.
Step 3 : For resizing and maintaining original shape of drawing, use corner handles.
Grouping drawing objects:
LibreOffice Writer allows grouping different shapes, to behave as a single entity without
affecting their size and position. Once grouped, all shapes belonging to that group become its member
and a change applied on one member works on all.
Step 1 :Select the object by clicking over it.
Step 2: Hold the Shift key and keep on selecting all other objects by clicking on it to be included in
the group.
Step 3: Select a group tool from Drawing Object Properties Toolbar. Alternatively, selecting from
main menu Format > Group > Group will also do same work.
Positioning Image in the Text:
Once the task of creating, formatting, resizing and grouping the drawing object is complete, it
has to be positioned in the document with text and other image or drawings. Positioning of an image
is controlled by four settings.
(i) Arrangement
(ii) Anchoring
(iii) Alignment
(iv) Text Wrapping
These settings can be accessed using three ways – by using Format menu, by using context menu
after right clicking on the object, by using Drawing Object Properties Toolbar for changing the
properties of the drawings.
Positioning Image in the Text:
i. Arrangement
In Overlapping objects arrangement determines the position of the current drawing with respect to
other drawings or text.
ii. Anchoring
It acts as a reference point for image or drawing. Anchoring allows an image to retain its position
to a page, paragraph, character or frame. Image can be anchored to Page, Paragraph, Character or
Frame. So whenever a page, paragraph, character or frame is aligned, the anchored image moves
along with it.
iii. Alignment
It allows the vertical or horizontal placement of the image with respect to its anchor. Alignment tools
are located under Drawing Properties Toolbar.
iv. Text Wrapping
It allows the placement of image in relation to text. Text Wrapping tools are available under Drawing
Object Properties Toolbar.
