Enhancing a Document

Enhancing a Document

1. Inserting pictures

Open office Writer has the ability to insert and edit images in a more simple way. The picture gallery of the writer consists of a collection of images from which the desired image can be selected and inserted into the document. To insert an image from a file, the steps are as follows:

·      Place the insertion pointer where you want the image to appear

·      Select Insert  -> Picture  -> From file

·      The insert picture dialog box appears where the picture gallery opens from which the desired picture can be selected.

·      If the picture is not in the gallery, then browse the pictures from the folder, choose the desired one and

·      Click on the Open button

·      The selected picture is inserted into the document

2. Inserting Special Characters

Many symbols which are used in a mathematical equation like alpha(∞), beta(β), pi(π) etc., are not available on the standard keyboard. However, representing these characters are very much essential in mathematical equations. To insert such characters, the procedure given below is followed:

·      Place the insertion pointer in your document where you want the character to appear

·      Click on the Insert  -> Special characters

·      The Special characters dialog box appears from which the desired symbol can be selected by clicking on the character.

·      As you select each character, it is shown on the lower right, along with the numerical code for that character

·      If you do not find a particular special character you want, try changing the font selection.

·      Click the OK button and the character is inserted at the current location. The insert special characters dialog box is displayed in Figure 6.41.

3. Inserting Shapes

OpenOffice writer uses the drawing tools, to create various shapes by using the Drawing toolbar. To use the drawing tools repeatedly, you can move this toolbar to a convenient place on the window. The drawing tool bar can be obtained by clicking View -> Toolbars  -> Drawing as displayed on Figure 6.42.

To use a drawing tool, the steps are as given below:

·      Click in the document where you want the drawing to be anchored.

·      Select the tool from the Drawing toolbar as shown in Figure  The mouse pointer changes to a drawing-functions pointer.

·      Move the cross-hair pointer to the place in the document where you want the graphic to appear and then click-and-drag to create the drawing object.

·      Release the mouse button. The selected drawing function remains active, so you can draw another object of the same type.

·      To cancel the selected drawing function, press the Esc key or click on the Select icon on the Drawing toolbar.

·      You can now change the properties (fill color, line type and weight, anchoring, and others) of the drawing object using either the Drawing Object Properties toolbar or the choices in the dialog box.

4. Inserting AutoText

AutoText allows you to assign text, tables, graphics and other items to a key or key combination. For example, rather than typing "TamilNadu" every time you use that phrase, you might just type "tn" and press F3. You can also save a formatted Tip as AutoText and then insert a copy by typing "tip" and pressing F3.

To assign AutoText shortcut to some text, the steps are as follows :

1.   Type the text into your document.

2.   Select the text so that it is highlighted.

3.   Select  Edit   -> AutoText  (or  press Ctrl+F3) .

4.   Enter a name for your shortcut. Writer will suggest a one-letter shortcut, which you can change.

5.   Click on the inverted arrow of the AutoText button on the right and select New (text only) from the menu.

6.   Click Close to return to your document.

7.   Once the entry is created, to insert the auto text into the document, place the cursor where the text is to be inserted and click Ctrl+F3,

8.   Select the name from the list of entries and click Insert button.

9.           The auto text is inserted into your text.