Inserting and formatting text - OpenOffice presentation

Inserting and formatting text

Pasting text

Text may be inserted into the text box by copying it from another document and pasting it into Impress. There are several ways to ensure consistency. These methods are explained below.

Pasting unformatted text

It is normally good practice to paste text without formatting and apply the formatting later. To paste without formatting, press Ctrl+Shift+V or select Unformatted text from the dialogbox that appears (Figure 13.1), or click on the small black triangle next to the paste symbol in the standard toolbar (Figure 13.2)and select Unformatted text.

Formatting pasted text

If pasting the text into an AutoLayout area, then to give the pasted text the same look and feel of the rest of the presentation apply the appropriate out line style to the text. To do so:

1. Paste the text in the desired position.

2. Select the text you have just pasted .

3. Select Format → Default formatting from the menu bar.(Figure 13.3)

4. Use the four arrow buttons in the Text Formatting toolbar to move the text to the appropriate position.

Inserting special characters

To insert special characters, such as copyright, math, geometric, ormonetary symbols, or characters from another language:

1. Click in the place in the text where you want to insert the character.

2. Choose Insert → Special Character. The Special Characters dialog box appears. (Figure 13.4).

3. Choose the font and character subset from the Font and Subset drop-down menus.

4. Click the character you want to insert. You may have to scroll to find the one you want.

5. Click OK.

To show toolbar buttons that are not visible, click on the small down-arrow on the right end of the tool bar, move the cursor over Visible Buttons and then click on the icon you wish to make visible (Figure 13.5).

Formatting text

Formatting text can give a presentation a consistent look and a dynamic feel.

Modifying a style

In Impress there are two categories of styles: presentation styles and graphics styles. When inserting text in an Auto Layout area, the presentation styles become available. When inserting text in a text box or a graphic object it is possible to apply the graphic styles.

If you have selected a presentation style, the dialog box in Figure 13.6 will appear. The Presentation Style dialog box determines the formatting of the text.

The dialog box for making modifications to a graphics style is shown in Figure 13.7.

Text must be selected before it can be formatted manually.

Formatting characters

To view the character formatting options, select Format → Characteror click the Character button on the Text Formatting toolbar. (If a toolbar with the text icon is not visible, choose View→ Toolbars → Text Formatting.) The Character dialog box appears.

Font page

Use the Font page, shown in Figure 13.8, to select the desired font type, its base attributes (Italic, Bold, etc.) as well as the size. A sample of the font is displayed in the lower part of the dialog box. You can also specify the language of this style.This page is available when creating or modifying a presentation style or a graphics style.

When writing a presentation in multiple languages, you can make the best of the language setting by creating two styles that only differ in the language but are otherwise the same. This allows you to check the spelling of all of the contents without affecting the appearance.

Font Effects page

Use the Font Effects page, shown in Figure 13.9, to apply special effects to the text, such as underlining, color, shadow and so on. A sample of the text is displayed in the lower part of the dialog box allowing a quick visual check of the effects applied. This page is available when creating or modifying a presentation style or a graphics style.

Position page

The Position page, shown in Figure 13.10, has advanced options to customize text. This page is not available when creating or modifying a presentation style or a graphics style. Use this page to set the text position relative to the baseline when you need to insert subscripts or superscripts.

Formatting paragraphs

To view the paragraph formatting options, select Format → Paragraph or click the Paragraph button on the Text Formatting toolbar. If a toolbar with the text icon is not visible, choose View → Toolbars → Text Formatting. The Paragraph dialog box (Figure 13.11) is shown.

Indents and Spacing page

The Indents and Spacing page, shown in Figure 13.12, has four sections:

• Indent: modifies the indentation of the text (before and after) as well as the indentation of the first line.

• Spacing: defines the space before and after each paragraph formatted with the style.

• Line spacing: determines the spacing between two lines

Alignment page

Use the Alignment page to determine the text alignment: Left, Right,Center, or Justified. A preview shows the effects of the changes. (Figure 13.12)

Tabs page

Use the Tabs page, shown in Figure 13.13, to set tab stops. To delete one existing tab stop, select it in the list and click the Delete button. To delete all the tab stops, click the Delete All button.

Creating bulleted and numbered lists

You can customize the appearance of a list, changing the bullet type or numbering for the entire list or for single entry. All the changes can be made using the Bullets and Numbering dialog box. It is accessed by selecting Format → Bullets and Numbering or by clicking on the Bullets and Numbering icon on the text formatting toolbar. (Figure 13.14)

Workshop -1

1. Create a presentation using 8 slides and insert the following features in each slide.

• Pasting using unformatted text

• Formatting the text pasted

• Inserting special characters

• Formatting text (Changing font attributes)

• Formatting characters

• Formatting paragraphs

• Creating bulleted and numbered lists