OpenOffice Impress

IMPRESS is the presentation feature in OpenOffice. A presentation is pages that can be seen on the
computer screen as normal and, with the use of a projector, the page can be seen on the wall or on an
external screen. Normally, a laptop is used since it has good portability.
Impress is like a SLIDE SHOW. One page after the other is projected.
A page that is projected is called a SLIDE. The following can be included in a Slide:
1. Animation
2. 3-D graphics
3. Bullets and Numbered Lists
4. All the normal stuff that is in a word processor (Writer) and in spreadsheets such as bold, colors,
text alignment, borders, drawing, templates (master slide) , etc.
Notes can be added to a slide that are not projected but can be seen by the presenter.

Use A Template
1. OpenOffice has two ready-made templates, Introducing A New Product and
Recommendation Of A Strategy.
2. Click File > New > Presentation > From Template. (Part 1 of Window 1 of the “Presentation
Wizard” appears.)

3. If not already selected, select Introducing a New Product. Click Next (Part 2 of Window 1 of
the "Presentation Wizard" appears.)
4. In the dialog box under Select a slide design, click Presentation if it is not already selected.
(Window 2 of the "Presentation Wizard" appears. Note that "Introducing a New Product" is
highlighted. If you prefer another background than the default, under "Select a slide design",
click "Presentation backgrounds" and select your choice.) In the dialog box under Select an
output medium, click Slide.
5. Click Next. (Window 3 of "Presentation Wizard" appears.) Under Select a slide transition, use
the default for Effect and Speed. Under Select Presentation Type, click Automatic. In the
Duration of pages dialog box, type 11 in the seconds place. In the Duration of pause, type 11
in the seconds place. (Highlight and type the numbers or use the to select a number. The
format for the numbers is: 00.00.11. The "hours setting" is before the first decimal (period). The
"minutes setting" is before the second decimal. The "seconds setting" is before the third
decimal.)

6. Note: If you use the default settings, click Create and you have your presentation ready for
pictures, text. Etc.
7. Under Describe your basic ideas, in the dialog box under What is your name or the name of
your company?, type The Save Time Company. In the dialog box under What is the subject
of your presentation?, type A New Watch. In the dialog box under Further ideas to be
presented, type Use the Stopwatch Function and Use The Date Function.
8. Click Next. (Window 4 of the 'Presentation Wizard" appears.)

9. Under Choose your pages, select what you want in your presentation or use the default
settings. Click Create. (Note: "Next" is grayed. "Create" is the next step.)
10.Click Slide Transition if it is not already selected. To see your presentation that you just made,
click Slide Show.

Save And Close Your Presentation

1. Click File > Save As. In the Save in: pull-down menu box, click My Documents (if it is not
already selected). In the Save as type:" box, click OpenDocument Presentation (.odp) (if it is
not already selected).
2. In the File name: box, type My Slide Show .
 3. Click Save. (" My Slide Show" is saved. The file, "My Slide Show" is still on the screen.)
4. Click File > Close. (The file, " My Slide Show", is no longer on the screen.)

To Watch "My Slide Show” at a Later Time

1. Click File > Open. (The "Open" window appears.)
2. In the menu below the "Look in:" dialog box, click My Documents if it is not already there. In
the menu below the File name: dialog box, click My Slide Show. ("My Slide Show" appears
on your screen.)
3. Click Slide Transition if it is not already selected. To see your presentation that you just made,
click Slide Show.

Advanced And Beginner Users

This lesson is for both advanced and beginner users.
This lesson will explain the Presentation Wizard by using one of the templates that comes with
OpenOffice.

Open And Use The Presentation Wizard

1. OpenOffice has two ready-made presentation templates, Introducing a New Product and
Recommendation of a Strategy.
2. Click File > New > Presentation > From Template. (Window 1 of the “Presentation Wizard”
 appears.)

3. Click Next. (Window 1 of the “Presentation Wizard” reappears.)

4. If not already selected, select Introducing a New Product.
5. Click Next. (Window 2 of the "Presentation Wizard" appears. Note that "Introducing a New
Product" is highlighted. If you prefer another background than the default, under "Select a slide
design", click "Presentation backgrounds" and select your choice.) In the dialog box under
Select a slide design, click Presentation if it is not already selected. In the dialog box under
Select an output medium, click Slide.
6. Click Next. (Window 3 of "Presentation Wizard" appears.) Under Select a slide transition, use
the default for Effect and Speed. Under Select Presentation Type, click Automatic. In the
Duration of pages dialog box, type 11 in the seconds place. In the Duration of pause, type 11
in the seconds place. (Highlight and type the numbers or use the to select a number. The
format for the numbers is: 00.00.11. The "hours setting" is before the first decimal (period). The
"minutes setting" is before the second decimal. The "seconds setting" is before the third
decimal.)
7. Note: If you use the default settings, click Create and you have your presentation ready for
pictures, text. Etc.

8. Under Describe your basic ideas, in the dialog box under What is your name or the name of
your company?, type The Save Time Company. In the dialog box under What is the subject
of your presentation?, type A New Watch. In the dialog box under Further ideas to be
presented, type Use the Stopwatch Function and Use The Date Function.
9. Click Next. (Window 4 of the 'Presentation Wizard" appears.)
10.Under Choose your pages, select what you want in your presentation or use the default
settings. Click Create. (Note: "Next" is grayed. "Create" is the next step.)

11.Click Slide Transition if it is not already selected. To see your presentation that you just made,
click Slide Show.
 Save And Close Your Presentation
1. Click File > Save As. In the Save in: pull-down menu box, click My Documents (if it is not
already selected). In the Save as type:" box, click OpenDocument Presentation (.odp) (if it is
not already selected).
2. In the File name: box, type My Slide Show .
3. Click Save. (" My Slide Show" is saved. The file, "My Slide Show" is still on the screen.)
4. Click File > Close. (The file, " My Slide Show", is no longer on the screen.)

To Watch "My Slide Show” at a Later Time

1. Click File > Open. (The "Open" window appears.)
2. In the menu below the "Look in:" dialog box, click My Documents if it is not already there. In
the menu below the File name: dialog box, click My Slide Show. ("My Slide Show" appears
on your screen.)
3. Click Slide Transition if it is not already selected. To see your presentation that you just made,
click Slide Show.
 Restart A Presentation Automatically
You can make your Impress presentations restart automatically after a specific time which you set. This
is useful if you have, for example, a stand set up at a trade show. You might also create a small
presentation for use before a main event and have it playing before the event starts.
You make your presentation automatically restart as follows:
Activity Explanation

1. Click on Slide Show – Slide Show

Settings.

2. Under the Type choose Auto.

3. Then set the time in Seconds. This will be

how long it takes before the slide show
restarts.
 Introduction
This tutorial converts Microsoft PowerPoint Presentations to Sun Office or OpenOffice Impress
Presentations.
When opening a PowerPoint presentation using OpenOffice, the slide transition settings do not always
convert and are not applied. You will need to manually set the transition settings using Open Office
Impress (Presentation).

Once you have set the transitions, you can save in MS PowerPoint format and the transitions will work
for both PowerPoint and Open Office Presentations.

Different Ways To Use This Tutorial

1. The quickest way to use this Step-By-Step tutorial is just to read it online.
2. Print this tutorial.
a. Read a step.
b. Do a step.
c. See what happens on the computer screen.
3. If you already have a PowerPoint file, use that file with this tutorial. If you do not have a
PowerPoint file, click here to get a “Sample Presentation” file.

Convert PowerPoint to Impress Presentation

Activity Explanation

1. Open a You should now be seeing the first slide of the presentation.
PowerPoint file
in Impress OR
open the Sample
Presentation file.
Click File –
Open and
choose the file
you want to
open.

2. Click Slide “Slide Show” window appears.

Show - Slide
Show Settings
 Activity Explanation

3. Under Options,
ensure that
“Change slides
manually” and
“Change Slides
by Clicking on
background” are
NOT checked.
Click OK.

4. Click Slide 1 tab The first slide appears on the computer screen.

If using a projector, the first slide is seen

5. Click Slide “Slide Transition” window opens.

Show Under
Tasks, click
Slide Transition
if it is not
already
available.

6. In the Advance The Duration box is below the "Automatically after" button.
slide box, click
Automatically
after. select how
long this slide
appears before
the next slide
will appear.
 Activity Explanation

00:00:05 means 5 seconds.

02:00:00 means 2 hours.

Do this by clicking on the Duration box. Highlight the "sec" and type 00:00:05 OR

Click on the at the edge of the Duration box to enter a time.

7. Click the Apply

To All Slides
button.

8. Click File >

Save As. In the
Save in: " pull-
down menu box,
click My
 Activity Explanation

Documents (if it
is not already
selected). In the
Save as type:"
pull-down menu
box, click
OpenDocument
Presentation
(.odp) (if it is
not already
selected).

9. In the File
name: box, type
Cats. .

10.Click Save. " Cats" is saved. The file, "Cats" is still on the screen.

11.Click File > The file, " Cats", is no longer on the screen.
Close.

Create The Fontwork

Activity Explanation

1. To open Impress, double click on the

desktop icon. In OpenOffice, click File >
New > Presentation.

2. Use a blank presentation or load one of

your previously saved presentations.

3. Click View > Toolbars > Drawing. The Drawing toolbar appears at the bottom of the
screen.
 Activity Explanation

4. Click on the Fontwork Gallery Icon It looks like a box with an A in the middle and a
from the Drawing Toolbar handle on top.

The Fontwork Gallery appears.

5. Choose a Font from the selection by "Fontwork' appears on the page in very large text.
putting your pointer on it and clicking and
then click on OK.

6. You will need to change the word,

Fontwork, to the word that you want to
use and also to resize it.

7. Start by putting your pointer on the word,

Fontwork, and double click.

8. You will notice that a smaller version of

the word Fontwork now appears. You can
either add to the word that is there or
replace it with your own word or words.
Click anywhere on the page except on the
Fontwork to accept the changes.
 Activity Explanation

The "Fontwork Gallery Toolbar" appears.

Resize, Change The Style, Or Move The Fontwork

Once you have your new word on the page, you might want to resize it and/or change the style of the
word. You can also move the word to any part of the page by clicking and holding the left mouse button
and dragging and dropping it anywhere you like.
Activity Explanation

1. You can resize the Fontwork by

using the resizing handles located
at the edges of the box in the same
way as you do with pictures or
Clip Art in other programs.

2. Use the Fontwork Toolbar to

change the style of your Fontwork
Word in the following steps.

3. To align it on the page, click the

Fontwork Alignment icon. The
menu gives you five choices.

The menu appears.

 Activity Explanation

4. To change to a completely
different type of word, click on
the Fontwork Gallery Icon. The
menu gives you the Fontwork
Gallery window with different The "Fontwork Gallery" window appears.
options .

5. To change the Fontwork

Character Spacing, click on the
Fontwork Character Spacing
icon. The menu gives you several
options. The menu appears.
 Activity Explanation

6. To change the Fontwork Shape,

click on the Fontwork Shape
icon. The menu give you various
shapes that you can use.

The menu appears.

7. To make all the letters the same There is no menu but the letters will change to be the same
height, click the Fontwork Same height.
Letter Heights icon.

8. Now practice your Fontwork by

inserting several words onto the
page and moving them around.
 Custom Animation
Activity Explanation

1. Create a New Blank Slide. On

the right menu window, click on
Custom Animation. Insert a
picture from the Gallery or from
a file on your computer. Click on
it so that the resize boxes appear
at the edges.

2. You can use the picture in the

right column by clicking on it so
that the handles appear at the
edges and copying it to the blank
slide.

3. Click the Custom Animation The "Custom Animation" window appears.

tab. In the Custom Animation
window, click Entrance tab >
Pinwheel > OK.
 Activity Explanation

4. You will see the Pinwheel effect

if you have a check mark in the
box by the Automatic preview.
To see it again, scroll down to
select Play on the Custom
Animation window.
 Activity Explanation

5. Watch what happens to your

picture whenever you click on
one of the choices from the list!
You can also make changes using
Emphasis – Exit – Motion

Save File For Future Use

Activity Explanation

1. Click File > Save As.

2. Click File > Save As. In the Save in: "

pull-down menu box, click My
 Documents if it is not already selected. In
the Save as type:" pull-down menu box,
click OpenDocument Presentation (.odp)
if it is not already selected.

3. In “File name:” box, type "Funny Cats". The name of the file will be "Funny Cats".

"Funny Cats" appears at the top of the screen.

4. Click File > Close. The document is no longer on the screen.

Automate Slides In Your Presentation

Once you have created your Impress Presentation you might now want to automate the slides so that
you don't have to click the mouse to move to the next slide every time.
Activity Explanation

1. Click File > Open . The "Open" window appears.

2. In the menu below the Look in: dialog Your Presentation appears on your screen.
box, click My Documents if it is not
already there. In the menu below the File
name: dialog box, click the name of your
Presentation. .

In the Tasks window, click Slide Transition. The "Tasks" window is on the right side of your
"Impress Presentation" screen.
 Activity Explanation

Under Apply to selected slides, click the to

scroll to select a transition like Wipe Down or
Wipe right.

Click the to scroll to Fast in the dialog box to In the "Speed "dialog box, you have three choices
the right of Speed under Modify transition. Click for the speed of the transition. The choices are
Fast. "Slow", "Medium", and "Fast".

Click Automatically after in the dialog box You can also highlight the number in the dialog
box and type the number of seconds.
below Advance slide. Click the to set the
Seconds to 5sec.

Click Apply to All Slides.

Press F5 to view your presentation to see if you

have the speed and format the way you want it. If
you want to change the speed or the type of
transition you simply apply the process again.

Showing a Slide Show

Different ways exist to start a slide show. Once a slide show is running, you can take control pressing
keys or clicking the mouse buttons.
By default, a slide show always starts with the first slide. You advance manually through slides up to
the last slide. You can change these settings.

Running a Slide Show

• Choose Slide Show - Slide Show to run the show.
If you want all shows to start from the current slide instead of the first slide, choose
Tools - Options - OpenOffice.org Impress - General and
click Always with current page.

• Click to advance to the next effect or to the next slide.

Press Esc to abort the show before the

end.

Many more keys are available to control a slide show. You can also right-click to open a context menu
with useful commands.

Showing an automatic slide show (kiosk mode)

For an automatic change to the next slide, you must assign a slide transition to each slide.
1. On the Task Pane, click Slide Transition to open that tab page.
2. In the Advance slide area, click Automatically after, and select a time duration.
3. Click Apply to All Slides.

You can assign a different time for every slide to advance to the next slide.
The feature can assist you to get the timing right.

To advance to the first slide, after all slides have been shown, you must set the slide show to repeat
automatically.
1. Choose Slide Show - Slide Show Settings.
2. In the Type area, click Auto and select a pause time between shows.

When you create a new slide show using the Presentation Wizard,
you can select the duration of slides and of the pause, on the third wizard page.

Running a slide show from a file

You can start OpenOffice.org from a command prompt, followed by the parameter -show and an
Impress filename. For example, to start the file filename.odp from the command prompt, enter the
following command:
soffice -show filename.odp
This assumes that soffice is in the program path of your system, and that filename.odp is located in
the current directory.

Changing the Slide Order

Do one of the following:
• Choose View - Slide Sorter, select one or more slides, and then drag the
slides to another location. To select multiple slides, hold down shift and click
on the slides. To create a copy of a selected slide, hold down Ctrl while you
drag. The mouse pointer changes to a plus sign. You can also drag a copy of
a slide into another open OpenOffice.org Impress document.
• Choose View - Outline, select a slide, and then drag the slide to another
location.
• Choose View - Normal or Notes, select the slide preview on the Slides
Pane, and then drag the slide preview to another location.
To temporarily remove a slide from your presentation, go to
Slide Sorter, right-click the slide, and then choose Show/Hide Slide.
The number of the hidden slide is crossed out. To show the slide, right-click the slide,
and then choose Show/Hide Slide.

Animating Slide Transitions

You can apply a special effect that plays when you display a slide.

To apply a transition effect to a slide

1. In Normal view, select the slide that you want to add the transition effect to.
2. On the Tasks pane, click Slide Transition.
3. Select a slide transition from the list.
You can preview the transition effect in the document window.

To apply the same transition effect to more than one slide

1. In Slide Sorter view, select the slides that you want to add the transition effect to.
If you want, you can use the Zoom toolbar to change the view magnification for the slides.
2. On the Tasks pane, click Slide Transition.
3. Select a slide transition from the list.
To preview the transition effect for a slide, click the small icon underneath the slide on the Slides Pane.
 To remove a transition effect
1. In Slide Sorter View, select the slides that you want to remove the
transition effect from.
2. Choose No Transition in the listbox on the Tasks pane.

Changing the Slide Background Fill

You can change the background color or the background fill of the current slide or all of the slides in
your document. For a background fill, you can use hatching, a gradient, or a bitmap image.
If you want to change the background fill for all of the slides, choose View - Master - Slide Master.
To change the background fill of a single slide, choose View - Normal.

To use a color, gradient, or hatching pattern for the slide

background
1. Choose Format - Page, and then click on the Background tab.
2. In the Fill area, do one of the following:
Select Color, and then click a color in the list.
Select Gradient, and then click a gradient style in the list.
Select Hatching, and then click a hatching style in the list.
3. Click OK.

To use an image for the slide background

You can display an entire image as a slide background, or you can tile the image to produce a patterned
background.
1. Choose Format - Page, and then click on the Background tab.
2. In the Fill area, select Bitmap, and then click an image in the list.
If you want to use a custom image for the slide background, close the Page Setup dialog, and then ch
Format - Area. Click the Bitmaps tab, and then click Import. Locate the image you want to import
click Open. When you return to the Background tab, the image you imported will be in the Bitmap

3. Do one of the following:

To display the entire image as the background, clear the Tile check box in the Position area, and
then select AutoFit.
To tile the image on the background, select Tile, and set the Size, Position, and Offset options
for the image.
4. Click OK.
This modification is only valid for the current presentation document.
 To save a new slide master as a template
1. Choose View - Master - Slide Master to change to the slide master.
2. Choose Format - Page to change the slide background, or choose other formatting commands.
Objects that you add here will be visible on all slides that are based on this slide master.
3. Choose View - Normal to close the master view.
4. Choose File - Templates - Save to save the document as a template.
5. Enter a name for the template. Do not change the category from "My Templates". Click OK.
Now you can use the Presentation Wizard to open a new presentation based on your new template.

Creating a Custom Slide Show

You can create custom slide shows to meet the needs of your audience using slides within the current
presentation.

To create a custom slide show:

1. Choose Slide Show - Custom Slide Shows.
2. Click New and enter a name for your slide show in the Name box.
3. Under Existing Slides, select the slides you want to add to your slide show,
and click the >> button. Hold down Shift to select a range of slides, or Ctrl
to select multiple slides.
You can change the order of the slides in your custom slide show, by dragging and
dropping the slides under Selected Slides.

To start a custom slide show:

1. Choose Slide Show - Custom Slide Show.
2. Select the show you want to start from the list.
3. Click Start.

If you want the selected custom slide show to start when you click the Slide Show icon on the Presentation
toolbar, or when you press F5, select Use Custom Slide Show.

Options for Running a Slide Show

To always start a slide show from the current slide:

1. Choose Tools - Options - OpenOffice.org Impress - General.
2. In the Start presentation area, select the Always with current page
check box.
 Do not select this option if you want to run a custom slide
show.

To hide a slide:
1. Choose View - Slide Sorter, and then select the slide(s) that you want to
hide.
2. Choose Slide Show - Show/Hide Slide.
The slide is not removed from your document.

To show a hidden slide:

1. Choose View - Slide Sorter, and then select the hidden slide(s) that you
want to show.
2. Choose Slide Show - Show/Hide Slide.

Zooming With the Keypad

You can use the keypad to quickly enlarge or reduce the view on your slide.
• To zoom in, press the Plus Sign.
• To zoom out, press the Minus Sign.

If you are using a mouse with a scroll wheel, you can hold down Ctrl and turn the wheel to change the
zoom factor in all main modules of OpenOffice.org.

Rehearse Timings of Slide Changes

OpenOffice.org assists you in defining the right rehearse timings for automatic slide changes.
Prepare the slides, start the show using a special icon, tell your imaginary audience what you want to
tell for the first slide, then advance to the next slide and so on. OpenOffice.org records the display time
for each slide, so the next time you play the show with automatic slide changes, the timing will be as
recorded.

To record a show with rehearse timings

1. Open a presentation, and switch to Slide Sorter View.
2. Start the show with the Rehearse Timings icon in the Slide View bar. You see the first slide,
and a timer in the bottom corner.
3. When it's time to advance to the next slide, click the timer. To keep the default setting for this
slide, click the slide, but not the timer. Continue for all slides in your presentation.
 4. OpenOffice.org has recorded the display time for each slide. Save your presentation.
5. If you want the whole presentation to auto-repeat, open the menu Slide Show - Slide Show
Settings. Click Auto and OK.

Printing faster with Reduced Data

You can decide to reduce the data necessary to print your document. The settings can be defined
differently for printing directly to the printer or for printing to a file.
1. Choose Tools - Options - OpenOffice.org - Print.
2. Click one of the following settings options:
Printer - to define options for reducing data while printing directly to a printer
Print to file - to define options for reducing data while printing to a file
3. Select any combination of the four options, then click OK.
All documents that you print from now on will use the changed options.
4. Print your document.
You can reduce data for transparency, for gradients, or for bitmaps. When you reduce the data, on many
printers you will not see a reduction of printing quality. But the printing time is substantially shorter,
and when you print to a file, the file size is much smaller.

Animating Objects in Presentation Slides

You can apply preset animation effects to objects on your slide.

To apply an animation effect to an object:

1. On a slide in Normal view, select the object you want to animate.
2. Choose Slide Show - Custom Animation, click Add, and then select an
animation effect.
3. In the Custom Animation dialog, click a tab page to choose from a
category of effects. Click an effect, then click OK.
To preview the animation, click the Play button.

To apply and edit a motion path effect:

An object can be animated to move along a motion path. You can use predefined or your own motion
paths.
If you select "Curve", "Polygon", or "Freeform Line", the dialog closes and you can draw your own
path. If the drawing is finished and not canceled, the created path is removed from the document and
inserted as a motion path effect.
Editing motion paths
If the Custom Animation Panel is visible, the motion paths of all effects of the current slide are drawn
as a transparent overlay on the slide. All paths are visible all the time, therefore animations with
consecutive paths can be created easily.
A motion path can be selected by clicking on the path. A selected path will support handles, it can be
moved and resized like a shape. A double click on a path starts the point edit mode. The point edit
mode can also be started by Edit - Points or by pressing F8.

To remove an animation effect from an object:

1. On a slide in Normal view, select the object from which to remove the
effect.
2. Choose Slide Show - Custom Animation.
3. Click Remove.

Creating Animated GIF Images

You can animate drawing objects, text objects, and graphic objects (images) on your slides to make
your presentation more interesting. OpenOffice.org Impress provides you with a simple animation
editor where you can create animation images (frames) by assembling objects from your slide. The
animation effect is achieved by rotating through the static frames that you create.

If you create a bitmap animation (animated GIF), you can assign a delay time to each frame, and spec
the number of times the animation is played.

To create an animated GIF:

1. Select an object or group of objects that you want to include in your
animation and choose Insert - Animated Image.
2. Do one of the following:
• Click the Apply Object button to add a single object or a group of
objects to the current animation frame.
• Click the Apply Objects Individually button to create a separate
animation frame for each of the selected objects.
3. In the Animation Group area, select Bitmap object.
Use the animation timeline to specify the duration for displaying a frame
and the number of times an animation sequence is presented (looping).
4. Enter a frame number in the Image Number box (left box).
5. Enter the number of seconds you want the frame to display in the Duration box (middle box).
6. Repeat the last two steps for each frame in your animation.
 You can preview your animation by using the controls to the left of the Image
Number box.

7. Select the number of times you want the animation sequence to repeat in the Loop count box
(right box).
8. Select an alignment option for the objects in the Alignment box.
9. Click Create.

Exporting Animations in GIF Format

1. Select an animated object on your slide.
2. Choose File - Export.
3. Select GIF - Graphics Interchange Format (.gif) in the File type list.
4. Click the Selection check box to export the selected object, and not the
entire slide.
5. Locate where you want to save the animated GIF, enter a name, and then
click Save.

Selecting Underlying Objects

• To select an object that is covered by other objects, hold down Alt and click
through the objects until you reach the underlying object. To cycle through
the objects in reverse order, hold down Alt+Shift when you click.
• To select an object that is covered by another object using the keyboard,
press Tab to cycle through the objects on the slide. To cycle through the
objects in reverse order, press Shift+Tab.

Converting 2D Objects to Curves, Polygons, and

3D Objects
You can convert two dimensional (2D) objects to create different shapes. OpenOffice.org can convert
2D objects to the following object types:
• Curved object based on Bézier curves
• Polygon object consisting of straight line segments
• 3D object with shading and a light source
• 3D rotation object with shading and a light source
 To convert an object to a curved shape:
1. Select a 2D object on the slide or page.
2. Right-click the object and choose Convert - To Curve.
To modify the shape of the object, click the Points icon on the Drawing toolbar, and drag the
handles of the object. You can also drag the control points of a handle to modify the shape of the curve.

To convert a 2D object to a polygon:

1. Select a 2D object on the slide or page.
2. Right-click the object and choose Convert - To Polygon.
To modify the shape of the object, click the Points icon on the Drawing toolbar, and drag the
handles of the object.

To convert a 2D object to a 3D object:

1. Select a 2D object on the slide or page.
2. Click the Extrusion On/Off icon on the Drawing bar, or right-click the
object and choose Convert - To 3D.
To edit the properties of the 3D object, use the Line and Filling toolbar and the 3D Settings toolbar.

To convert a text object to 3D, use the Fontwork icon on the Drawing
toolbar.

To convert a 2D object to a 3D rotation object:

A 3D rotation object is created by rotating the selected object around its vertical axis.
1. Select a 2D object on the slide or page.
2. Right-click the object and choose Convert - To 3D Rotation Object
To edit the properties of the 3D object, use the Line and Filling toolbar and the 3D Settings toolbar.

You can rotate the 2D object before converting it to create a more

complex shape.

Importing HTML Pages Into Presentations

You can import any text file, including text in HTML documents, into a slide.

To insert text from a file into a slide:

1. In the slide where you want to insert the text, choose Insert - File.
2. Select "Text" or "HTML Document" as the File type.
 3. Locate the file containing the text that you want to add, and then click
Insert.
If the text file contains more text than can be inserted into a single slide, you can divide the text over
several slides.
1. Double-click in the inserted text to enter edit mode.
2. Select all of the text that lies below the visible slide area and press Ctrl+X.
3. Choose Insert – Slide, and then press Ctrl+V.
4. Repeat steps 1 to 3 until all of the text is on slides.

Saving a Presentation in HTML Format

1. Open the presentation that you want to save in HTML format.
2. Choose File - Export.
3. Set the File type to HTML Document (OpenOffice.org Impress)
(.html;.htm).
4. Enter a File name, and then click Export.
5. Follow the instructions in the HTML Export Wizard.

Loading Color, Gradient, and Hatching Lists

You can use lists to organize colors, gradients, or hatching patterns. OpenOffice.org provides several
lists that you can load and use in your document. If you want, you can add or delete elements from a
list, or even create custom lists.

To load a color list:

1. Choose Format - Area, and then click the Colors tab.
2. Click the Load Color List button.
3. Locate the color list that you want to load, and then click Open. A color list
file has the format [filename].soc.
To save a color list, click the Save Color List button, enter a filename, and then click Save.
The CMYK list is optimized for print colors, whereas the colors in the Web and the HTML lists are
optimized for displays using a resolution of 256 colors.

To load a gradient list:

1. Choose Format - Area, and then click the Gradients tab.
2. Click the Load Gradients List button.
3. Locate the gradient list that you want to load, and then click Open. A
 gradient list file has the format [filename].sog.
To save a gradients list, click the Save Gradients List button, enter a filename, and then click Save.

To load a hatching list:

1. Choose Format - Area, and then click the Hatching tab.
2. Click the Load Hatches List button.
3. Locate the hatches list that you want to load, and then click Open. A
hatches list file has the format [filename].soh.
To save a hatches list, click the Save Hatches List button, enter a filename, and then click Save.

Loading Line and Arrow Styles

You can use styles to organize similar line and arrow types. OpenOffice.org provides a few standard
style files that you can load and use in your document. If you want, you can add or delete elements
from a style file, or even create a custom style file.

To load a line styles file:

1. Choose Format - Line, and then click the Line Styles tab.
2. Click the Load Line Styles button.
3. Locate the file containing the line styles that you want to load, and then
click OK. The file has the format [filename].sod.
To save a line styles file, click the Save Line Styles button, enter a filename, and then click OK.

To load an arrow styles file:

1. Choose Format - Line, and then click the Arrow Styles tab.
2. Click the Load Arrow Styles button.
3. Locate the file containing the line styles that you want to load, and then
click OK. The file has the format [filename].sod.
To save an arrow styles file, click the Save Arrow Styles button, enter a filename, and then click OK.

Printing Presentations
Default printer settings
• To set the default printing options for OpenOffice.org Impress, choose Tools
- Options - OpenOffice.org Impress - Print.
 Setting printer options for the current presentation
1. Choose File - Print.
2. Click Options, and then select the printer options.
These settings override the default printer options in Tools - Options -
OpenOffice.org Impress - Print for the current print job only.

Choosing a print layout for handouts

1. Choose File - Print.
2. On the Print dialog, select the "Handout" entry from the Content listbox.
3. Select the number of slides to print per page of paper.
You see a preview of layouts of one to nine slides per page.

Defining print options for handouts

1. Click the Handout tab.
2. Choose Insert - Page Number to open the Header and Footer dialog box.
3. Click Notes and Handouts to enter the header and footer text for handouts.
You see four areas on this dialog with check boxes for Header, Date and time, Footer, and Page
number. These four areas correspond to the four areas in the corners of the handout master view.
4. Enter text for header, footer, and date. Check the Page number box, if you want to number the
handout pages. Ensure the Header check box is enabled if you want your header text to be
printed.
5. Click Apply to All.
The fields in the handout master view on screen are not updated, but the text that you entered
will be printed.

Printing handouts or notes

1. Choose File - Print.
2. Click the Contents listbox and select the type of contents to print.
3. Select Handouts or Notes and select the number of slides to print on each page of paper.

If you want another layout of the slides on the printed paper pages, use the mouse to move the slides around
the Handout view.

Printing a range of slides

1. Choose View - Slide Sorter.
2. Hold down Shift, and click the range of slides that you want to print.
3. Choose File - Print.
 4. In the Print range area, click Pages.
5. Enter the slide numbers you want to print, and click OK.

Printing a Slide to Fit a Paper Size

You can reduce the size of a slide when you print, so that the slide can fit on a printed page.
1. Open the document that you want to print.
2. In Normal View, choose Format - Page, and then click the Page tab.
3. In Layout settings area, select the Fit object to paper format check
box.
4. In the Paper format area, select a Format.
5. Click OK. The slide is resized to fit the printed page, while maintaining the
relative positions of the objects on the slide.

Opening documents saved in other formats

You can open a document saved in another format by using the following procedure:
1. Choose File - Open.
2. Select a format from the Files of type list.
3. Select a file name and click Open.
If you always want the file dialogs to show another format by default, choose Tools - Options -
Load/Save - General and select that format as Standard file format.

Converting all documents of a folder

Open the wizard, which guides you through the operation, to copy and convert all documents from
Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel or Microsoft PowerPoint into OpenDocument file format documents.
You can select a source and target directory, specify whether to convert documents and/or templates,
and more besides.
• Choose File - Wizards - Document Converter.

Saving Documents in Other Formats

1. Choose File - Save as. You will see the Save as dialog.
2. In the Save as type or File type list box, select the desired format.
3. Enter a name in the File name box and click Save.
If you want the file dialogs to offer another file format as default, select that format in Tools - Options
- Load/Save - General in the Standard file format area.
Using Shortcut Keys in OpenOffice.org Impress
Some of the shortcut keys may be assigned to your desktop system. Keys that are assigned to the desk
system are not available to OpenOffice.org. Try to assign different keys either for OpenOffice.org, in T
- Customize - Keyboard, or in your desktop system.

You can use the keyboard to access OpenOffice.org Impress commands as well as to navigate through
the workspace. OpenOffice.org Impress uses the same shortcut keys as OpenOffice.org Draw to create
drawing objects.

Selecting placeholders
OpenOffice.org Impress AutoLayouts use placeholders for slide titles, text, and objects. To select a
placeholder, press Ctrl+Enter. To move to the next placeholder, press Ctrl+Enter again.

If you press Ctrl+Enter after you reach the last placeholder in a slide, a new slide is inserted after the curren
slide. The new slide uses the same layout as the current slide.

To Create and Edit a Drawing Object

1. Press F6 to navigate to the Drawing bar.
2. Press the Right arrow key until you reach the toolbar icon of a drawing tool.
3. If there is an arrow next to the icon, the drawing tool opens a sub toolbar. Press the Up or Down
arrow key to open the sub toolbar, then press the Right or Left key to select an icon.
4. Press Ctrl+Enter.
The object is created at the center of the current document.
5. To return to the document, press Ctrl+F6.
You can use the arrow keys to position the object where you want. To choose a command from
the context menu for the object, press Shift+F10.

To Select an Object
1. Press Ctrl+F6 to enter the document.
2. Press Tab until you reach the object you want to select.

During a Slide Show

To start a slide show, press Ctrl+F2.

Advance to the next slide or to the next animation effect

Spacebar
 Advance to the next slide without playing object animation effects
Alt+PageDown

Return to previous slide

Alt+PageUp

Go to a specific slide
Type the page number of the slide, and then press Enter.

Slide Sorter
When you first switch to Slide Sorter, press Enter to change the keyboard focus to the workspace.
Otherwise, press F6 to navigate to the workspace, and then press Enter.

Selecting and deselecting slides

Use the arrow keys to navigate to the slide that you want to select, and then press the Spacebar. To add
to the selection, use the arrow keys to navigate to the slide(s) that you want to add, and press Spacebar
again. To deselect a slide, navigate to the slide, and then press Spacebar.

Copying a slide:
1. Use the arrow keys to navigate to the slide that you want to copy, and then
press Ctrl+C.
2. Move to the slide where you want to paste the copied slide, and then press
Ctrl+V.
3. Select Before or After the current slide, and then click OK.

Moving a slide:
1. Use the arrow keys to navigate to the slide that you want to move, and then
press Ctrl+X.
2. Navigate to the slide where you want to move the slide, and then press
Ctrl+V.
3. Select Before or After the current slide, and then click OK.

Grouping Objects
You can combine several objects into a group so that they act as a single object. You can move and
transform all objects in a group as a single unit. You can also change the properties (for example, line
size, fill color) of all objects in a group as a whole or for individual objects in a group. Groups can be
temporary or assigned:
• Temporary - group only lasts as long as all of the combined objects are
selected.
 • Assigned - group lasts until it is ungrouped through a menu command.
Groups can also be grouped in other groups. Actions applied to a group do not affect the relative
position of the individual objects to each other in the group.

To group objects:
Select the objects you want to group and choose Modify -
Group.

For example, you can group all of the objects in a company logo to move and resize the logo as a single
object.
After you have grouped objects, selecting any part of the group selects the entire group.

Selecting Objects in a Group

You can select single objects in a group by entering the group.
Double-click a group to enter it and click on the object to select it.
You can also add or delete objects to and from a group in this mode.
The objects that are not part of the group are grayed out.

To exit a group, double-click anywhere

outside it.

Inserting, Editing, Saving Bitmaps

Inserting Bitmaps
A bitmap image can be inserted in OpenOffice.org Writer, OpenOffice.org Calc, OpenOffice.org Draw
and OpenOffice.org Impress documents.
1. Choose Insert - Picture - From File.
2. Select the file. In the File type box you can restrict the selection to certain
file types.
3. Click the Link box if you want a link to the original file.
If the Link box is marked, whenever the document is updated and loaded
the bitmap image is reloaded. The editing steps that you have carried out in
the local copy of the image in the document are re-applied and the image is
displayed.
If the Link box is not marked, you are always working with the copy created
when the graphic was first inserted.
To embed graphics that were first inserted as links, go to Edit - Links and
click the Break Link button.
 4. Click Open to insert the image.

Editing Bitmaps

Icons on the Picture bar

When you select the bitmap image, the Picture Bar offers you the tools for editing the image. Only a
local copy is edited in the document, even if you have inserted an image as a link.

The Picture Bar may look slightly different depending to the module you
are using.

A number of filters are located on the Graphic Filter toolbar, which you can open with the icon on the
Picture Bar.
The original picture file will not be changed by the filters. Filters are applied to a picture only inside the
document.
Some of the filters open a dialog, which you can use to select, for example, the intensity of the filter.
Most filters can be applied multiple times to increase the filter effect.

In OpenOffice.org Draw and OpenOffice.org Impress, you can add text and graphics,
select these objects together with the bitmap, and export the selection as a new bitmap image.

The Picture dialog

1. Right-click the picture and choose Picture from the submenu to open a properties dialog.
2. Change the properties of the selected picture, then click OK.

Saving Bitmaps
If you want to save in a format such as GIF, JPEG or TIFF, you must select and export the bitmap
image. This is only possible in OpenOffice.org Draw and OpenOffice.org Impress.
1. Select the bitmap image. You can also select additional objects, such as
text, to be exported with the image by pressing the shift key while selecting
or by opening a selection frame around all objects.
2. Choose File - Export. The Export dialog opens.
The Export command writes the picture with all applied filter effects to a
file. The Save as Picture command in the context menu saves the picture
without any filter effects, if the picture was inserted as a linked picture. An
embedded picture will always be saved or exported with filters applied.
3. In the File format field, select the file format you want, for example GIF or
JPEG.
4. If you only want to export the selected objects, mark the Selection box.
If Selection is not marked, the entire page of the document is exported.
 5. Enter a name for the file and click Export.

Copying Formatting With the Format

Paintbrush
You can use the Format Paintbrush tool to copy formatting from a text selection or object and apply the
formatting to another text selection or object.
1. Select the text (in Writer) or object whose formatting you want to copy.
2. On the Standard Bar, click the Format Paintbrush icon.
The cursor changes to a paint bucket.
If you want to apply the formatting to more than one selection,
double-click the Format Paintbrush icon .
After you apply all the formatting, click the icon again.

3. Select or click the text (in Writer) or object that you want to apply the formatting to.

To exclude paragraph formatting, hold down Ctrl when you click.

To exclude character formatting, hold down Ctrl+Shift when you click.

The following table describes the formatting attributes that the Format Paintbrush can copy:
Type of Selection Comment
Nothing selected, but Copies the formatting of the current paragraph and the
cursor is inside a text character formatting of the next character in the text flow direction
passage
Text is selected Copies the formatting of the last selected character and
of the paragraph that contains the character.
Frame is selected Copies the frame attributes that are defined in Format -
Frame dialog. The contents, size, position, linking, hyperlinks,
and macros in the frame are not copied.
Object is selected Copies the object formatting that is defined in the Format -
Graphics or Format - Object dialogs. The contents, size,
position, hyperlinks, and macros in the object are not copied.
Form control is selected Not supported
Drawing object is Copies all formatting attributes. In Impress and Draw,
selected the text contents of the object is also copied.
Text within drawing Not supported
object or within Calc
cells is selected
Writer table or cells are Copies the formatting that is specified in Table, Text Flow,
selected Borders, and Background tab pages in the Format - Table dialog.
 The paragraph and character formatting are also copied.
Calc table or cells are Copies the formatting that is specified in the Format -
selected Cells dialog as well as the formatting of the cell contents

Undoing Direct Formatting for a Document

You can undo all formatting that has not been made by styles in a few steps.

Direct and Style Formatting

If you format a document without Styles, it is referred to as "direct" formatting. This means modifying
text or other objects, such as frames or tables, by applying various attributes directly. The format
applies only to the selected area and all changes must be made separately. Styles, on the other hand, are
not applied to the text directly, but rather are defined in the Styles and Formatting window and then
applied. One advantage is that when you change a Style, all parts of the document to which that Style is
assigned are modified at the same time.
You can remove direct formatting from your document by selecting the entire text with the shortcut
keys Ctrl+A and then choosing Format - Default Formatting.

Removing all Direct Formatting in a OpenOffice.org Writer

Document
1. Press Ctrl+A to select the whole text.
2. Choose Format - Default Formatting.

Removing all Direct Formatting in a OpenOffice.org Calc

Spreadsheet
1. While pressing the Shift key click the first and then the last sheet tab to select all sheets.
2. Press Ctrl+A to select the whole text.
3. Choose Format - Default Formatting.

Removing all Direct Formatting in a OpenOffice.org

Presentation
1. Click the Outline tab to open outline view.
2. Press Ctrl+A to select the whole text.
3. Choose Format - Default Formatting.

Changing the Slide Background Fill

You can change the background color or the background fill of the current slide or all of the slides in
your document. For a background fill, you can use hatching, a gradient, or a bitmap image.
If you want to change the background fill for all of the slides, choose View - Master - Slide Master.
To change the background fill of a single slide, choose View - Normal.

To use a color, gradient, or hatching pattern for the slide

background
1. Choose Format - Page, and then click on the Background tab.
2. In the Fill area, do one of the following:
Select Color, and then click a color in the list.
Select Gradient, and then click a gradient style in the list.
Select Hatching, and then click a hatching style in the list.
3. Click OK.

To use an image for the slide background

You can display an entire image as a slide background, or you can tile the image to produce a patterned
background.
1. Choose Format - Page, and then click on the Background tab.
2. In the Fill area, select Bitmap, and then click an image in the list.
If you want to use a custom image for the slide background,
close the Page Setup dialog, and then choose Format - Area.
Click the Bitmaps tab, and then click Import.
Locate the image you want to import and click Open.
When you return to the Background tab, the image you imported will be in
the Bitmap list.

3. Do one of the following:

To display the entire image as the background, clear the Tile check box in the Position area, and
then select AutoFit.
To tile the image on the background, select Tile, and set the Size, Position, and Offset options
for the image.
4. Click OK.
This modification is only valid for the current presentation document.

To save a new slide master as a template

1. Choose View - Master - Slide Master to change to the slide master.
2. Choose Format - Page to change the slide background, or choose other formatting commands.
Objects that you add here will be visible on all slides that are based on this slide master.
3. Choose View - Normal to close the master view.
4. Choose File - Templates - Save to save the document as a template.
 5. Enter a name for the template. Do not change the category from "My Templates". Click OK.
Now you can use the Presentation Wizard to open a new presentation based on your new template.

Adding a Header or a Footer to All Slides

Every slide is based on a slide master. The text, pictures, tables, fields or other objects that you place on
the slide master are visible as a background on all slides that are based on that slide master.
Masters exist for slides, notes, and handouts.
• To edit a slide master, choose View - Master - Slide Master. Click the Close Master View icon
on the Master View toolbar, or choose View - Normal, to leave the slide master.
• To edit a notes master, choose View - Master - Notes Master. Click the Close Master View
icon on the Master View toolbar, or choose View - Normal, to leave the notes master.
• To edit a handout master, click the Handout tab above the slide. Click the Normal tab to leave
the handout master.

Adding predefined header or footer objects

Every type of master has some predefined areas to hold the date, footer, and slide numbers.
When you switch to the master view, you can move that areas to any position on the master. You can
enter additional text and resize the areas. You can select the contents of the areas and apply text
formats. For example, you can change the font size or color.

A predefined Header Area is available only for notes and handouts.

If you want a header on all slides, you can move the Footer Area on the slide master to the top.

Objects that you insert on a slide master are visible on all slides that are based on that slide master.
1. Choose View - Header and Footer.
You see a dialog with two tab pages: Slide and Notes and Handouts where you can enter
contents to the predefined areas.
By default, the Date and Time checkbox is enabled, but the format is set to Fixed and the text
input box is empty, so no date and time is visible on the slides.
By default, the Footer checkbox is enabled, but the text input box is empty, so no footer is
visible on the slides.
By default, the Slide number checkbox is cleared, so no slide numbers are visible.
2. Enter or select the contents that should be visible on all slides.
3. If you want to change the position and formatting of the master objects, choose View - Master -
Slide Master.
You see the slide master with areas near the bottom. You can move the areas , and you can
select the fields and apply some formatting. You can also enter some text here which will be
shown next to the fields.
 4. Click the Date Area and move the time and date field. Select the <date/time> field and apply
some formatting to change the format for the date and time on all slides. The same applies to the
Footer Area and the Slide Number Area.

Adding text objects as header or footer objects

You can add a text object anywhere on the slide master.
1. Choose View - Master - Slide Master.
2. On the Drawing bar, select the Text icon .
3. Drag in the slide master to draw a text object, and then type or paste your text.
4. Choose View - Normal when you are finished.

You can also add fields, such as the date or page number, to a header or footer by choosing
Insert - Fields.

You can hide the header or footer on the current slide by choosing Format -
Slide Layout, and clearing the Objects on background check box.

Fontwork For Graphical Text Art

You can use Fontwork to create graphical text art objects.

To create a Fontwork object

1. On the Drawing toolbar, click the Fontwork Gallery icon.
2. In the Fontwork Gallery dialog, select a Fontwork style and click OK.
The Fontwork object is inserted into your document.
3. Double-click the object to enter text edit mode.
4. Replace the default Fontwork text with your own text.
5. Press Esc to exit text edit mode.

To edit a Fontwork object

1. Click the Fontwork object.
The Fontwork toolbar is displayed. If you do not see the Fontwork toolbar, choose View -
Toolbars - Fontwork.
2. Click an icon in the Fontwork toolbar.
The following icons are available:
• Fontwork Gallery - adds another Fontwork object
• Fontwork Shape - edits the shape
 • Fontwork Same Letter Heights - changes the height of characters
• Fontwork Alignment - aligns the text
• Fontwork Character Spacing - changes the character spacing and kerning

To edit more Fontwork attributes

1. Click the Fontwork object to select it.
2. Select the properties from the Drawing Object Properties toolbar. You can change the line
width, line color, fill color, fill style, and more.

Zooming With the Keypad

You can use the keypad to quickly enlarge or reduce the view on your slide.
• To zoom in, press the Plus Sign.
• To zoom out, press the Minus Sign.
If you are using a mouse with a scroll wheel,
you can hold down Ctrl and turn the wheel to change the zoom factor in
all main modules of OpenOffice.org.

Drawing Curves
The Curve icon on the Drawing toolbar opens a toolbar to draw Bézier curves. Bézier curves are
defined by a start point and an end point, which are called "anchors". The curvature of the Bézier curve
is defined by control points ("handles"). Moving a control point changes the shape of the Bézier curve.

Control points are only visible in "Edit Points" mode. Control points are represented by circles, ancho
points are represented by squares. The start point is a little bit larger than the other anchor points.

Bézier curve segments and straight line segments can be joined to form more complex Bézier curves.
Three different transitions can be applied to join adjacent segments:
• A symmetrical anchor point has the same line curvature on either side,
and two control lines that move together as a straight line.
• A smooth anchor point may have different line curvatures on either side.
• A corner anchor point has one or two independent control lines. Changing
one side has no effect on the other side.

How to use the Curve tool

1. On the Drawing toolbar, open the Curves toolbar and select the Curve tool.
 2. Click where you want the curve to start, and drag in the direction where you want the curve to
go. The control line will indicate the direction.
Hold down Shift while you drag to restrict the direction to a 45 degree grid.
3. Release the mouse where the first control point should be.
4. Move the pointer to where you want the curve segment to end. The curve follows the pointer.
5. Do one of the following:
• Double-click on the position of the end point to finish drawing the line.
To create a closed shape, double-click the starting point of the line.
• Click and release the mouse button to add an anchor point. Move the mouse to draw the next
segment.
• Click and drag in any direction to add a smooth anchor point.

How to use the Freeform Line tool

1. On the Drawing toolbar, open the Curves toolbar and select the Freeform Line tool.
2. Click where you want the curve to start, and keep holding the mouse button down.
3. Draw the freeform line as you would do with a pencil.
4. Release the mouse button to finish the line.

Editing Curves
A curved line segment consists of two data points (endpoints) and two control points (handles). A
control line connects a control point to a data point. You can change the shape of a curve by converting
a data point to a different type, or by dragging the control points to a different location.
You can also modify the properties of the line by selecting the line and choosing Format - Line.
To view the data points and control points of a curved line, select the line, and then click the Points ic
on the Drawing bar. The data points are represented by squares and the control points by circles. A con
point might overlay a data point.

To adjust a curved line segment:

1. Select a curved line, and then click the Points icon on the Drawing Bar.
2. Do one of the following:
• Drag a data point to resize the line. If a control point overlies the data point,
drag the control point until you can see the data point, and then drag the
data point.
• Drag a control point. The curve pulls in the direction that you drag the
control point.
 To split a curved line:
You can only split a curved line that has three or more data points.
1. Select a curved line, and then click the Points icon on the Drawing Bar.
2. Select a data point, and then click the Split Curve icon on the Edit Points
Bar.

To create a closed shape:

1. Select a curved line, and then click the Points icon on the Drawing Bar.
2. On the Edit Points Bar, click the Close Bézier icon.

To convert a data point on a curved line:

1. Select a curved line, and then click the Points icon on the Drawing Bar.
2. Click the data point you want to convert, and do one of the following:
• To convert the data point to a smooth point, click the Smooth Transition
icon on the Edit Points Bar.
• To convert the data point to a symmetrical point, click the Symmetric
Transition icon on the Edit Points Bar.
• To convert the data point to a corner point, click the Corner Point icon on
the Edit Points Bar.

To add a data point:

1. Select a curved line, and then click the Points icon on the Drawing Bar.
2. On the Edit Points Bar, click the Insert Points icon.
3. Click the line where you want to add the point, and drag a short distance.

If a data point does not have a control point, select the data point, and then click the Convert to Curve icon
the Edit Points Bar.

To delete a data point:

1. Select a curved line, and then click the Points icon on the Drawing Bar.
2. Click the point you want to delete.
On the Edit Points Bar, click the Delete Points icon.

Copying Slides From Other Presentations

You can insert slides from another presentation into the current presentation. You can also copy and
paste slides between presentations.
 To insert a slide from another presentation:
1. Open a presentation, and choose View - Normal.
2. Choose Insert - File.
3. Locate the presentation file containing the slide that you want to insert, and
click Insert.
4. Click the plus sign next to the icon for the presentation file, and then select
the slide(s) that you want to insert.
5. Click OK.

To copy and paste slides between presentations:

1. Open the presentations that you want to copy and paste between.
2. In the presentation containing the slide(s) that you want to copy, choose
View - Slide Sorter.
3. Select the slide(s), and then choose Edit - Copy.
4. Change to the presentation where you want to paste the slide(s), and then
choose View - Normal.
5. Select the slide that you want the copied slide to follow, and then choose
Edit – Paste.

Including Spreadsheets in Slides

You can apply different methods to insert spreadsheet cells into your Impress slides or Draw pages:
• Insert a native table - you enter the data into the cells and apply fancy formatting using the
Table Design section on the Tasks pane
• Insert a new table as an OLE object or insert an existing file as an OLE object - you can specify
the link to a file to be a live link to the latest data saved in a spreadsheet file

Inserting a native table

1. Go to the Impress slide or Draw page where you want to insert the table.
2. Choose Insert - Table or use the Table icon on the Standard toolbar to insert a table.
3. Double-click the table and enter or paste the data into the cells.
4. Right-click a cell to open the context menu and choose additional commands regarding the
cell's contents.
5. Right-double-click the table border to open the table's context menu. Use the context menu to
insert or delete rows and columns, among other commands.

Inserting a new spreadsheet as an OLE object

You can add a blank OpenOffice.org Calc spreadsheet to a slide as an OLE object.
 1. Go to the slide where you want to insert the spreadsheet.
2. Choose Insert - OLE- Object. Click Create new and select the
OpenOffice.org Spreadsheet. Click OK. Click in the spreadsheet to enter your
data.
3. Click outside the spreadsheet to view the slide.
To resize the spreadsheet without resizing the cells, double-click the spreadsheet, and then drag a
corner handle. To resize the cells of the spreadsheet, click the spreadsheet, and then drag a corner
handle.

Inserting a spreadsheet from a file

When you insert an existing spreadsheet into your slide, changes that are made to the original
spreadsheet file are not updated on your slide. You can, however, make changes to the spreadsheet in
your slide.
1. Go to the slide where you want to insert the spreadsheet.
2. Choose Insert - Object - OLE Object.
3. Select Create from file, and click Search.
4. Locate the file you want to insert, and then click OK.
Enable the Link to file checkbox to insert the file as a live link.
The entire spreadsheet is inserted into your slide.
If you want to change the sheet that is displayed, double-click the spreadsheet,
and then select a different sheet.

Converting Text Characters into Drawing

Objects
You can convert text characters into curves that you can edit and resize as you would any drawing
object. Once you convert text into a drawing object, you can no longer edit the content of the text.

To convert text into a drawing object:

1. Select the text that you want to convert, and do one of the following:
In OpenOffice.org Draw, choose Modify - Convert - To Curve.
In OpenOffice.org Impress, right-click the border of the text object, and then
choose Convert - To Curve.
2. If your text contains more than one character, the converted text becomes a grouped object.
Double-click the group to edit individual objects. Press Esc when finished.
3. Now, click the Points icon on the Drawing bar. Click the object. You can see all the Bézier
points of the object. On the Edit Points bar, you can find various icons for editing, inserting and
deleting points.
Converting Bitmap Images into Vector Graphics
A vector graphic can be resized without losing the quality of the graphic. In OpenOffice.org Draw and
Impress, you can convert a bitmap image into a vector graphic.
1. Select the bitmap image that you want to convert.
2. Do one of the following:
In OpenOffice.org Draw, choose Modify - Convert - To Polygon.
In OpenOffice.org Impress, right-click the object, and then choose Convert - To Polygon.
3. Set the conversion options for the image, and then click OK. See Convert to Polygon for a
description of the conversion options.

Applying Line Styles Using the Toolbar

The Drawing Object Properties toolbar contains icons and combo boxes to define various line
attributes.
• Click the Line icon to open the Line dialog.
• Click the Arrow Styles icon to select an arrow style for the right and left ends of a line.
• Select a style from the Line Style box and specify the width in the Line Width box. A width of
0 corresponds to 1 pixel.
• Select the line and arrow color in the Line Color box.

Defining Line Ends

You can define any object to be included in the list of available line ends.
1. Use the draw functions to create an object to be used as a line end.
2. Select the object and choose Format - Object - Line.
3. In the dialog, click the Arrow Styles.
4. Click Add and assign a name to the new arrow style.
5. Click OK to close the dialog.

Defining Line Styles

1. Select a line drawing object in a document.
2. Choose Format - Object - Line and click the Line Styles tab.
3. Specify the line options that you want.
 To specify the length of the line as a percentage of the line width, select Fit to
line width.

4. Click Add.
5. Enter a name for the line style and click OK.

To save the line style in a custom line style list, click the Save Line
Styles icon.

6. Click Close to close the dialog.

OpenOffice.org Impress Features

OpenOffice.org Impress lets you create professional slide shows that can include charts, drawing
objects, text, multimedia and a variety of other items. If you want, you can even import and modify
Microsoft PowerPoint presentations.
For on-screen slide shows, animation, slide transitions and multimedia are a few of the techniques you
can use to make your presentation more exciting.

Creating Vector Graphics

Many of the tools for creating vector graphics in OpenOffice.org Draw are available in OpenOffice.org
Impress.

Creating Slides
OpenOffice.org Impress provides you with templates to create professional-looking slides.
You can also assign a number of dynamic effects to your slides, including animation and transition
effects.

Creating Presentations
Several views or pages are available when you design a slide show. For example, the Slide Sorter
displays an overview of your slides in thumbnail form, while the Handout page contains both the slide
and the text you want to distribute to the audience.
OpenOffice.org Impress also lets you rehearse the timing of your slide show.

Publishing Presentations
You can publish your slides on-screen, as handouts, or as HTML documents.

Giving Presentations
OpenOffice.org Impress gives you the choice of running a slide show automatically or manually.
Using Charts in OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org lets you present data graphically in a chart, so that you can visually compare data series
and view trends in the data. You can insert charts into spreadsheets, text documents, drawings, and
presentations.

Chart Data
Charts can be based on the following data:
• Spreadsheet values from Calc cell ranges
• Cell values from a Writer table
• Values that you enter in the Chart Data Table dialog (you can create these charts in Writer,
Draw, or Impress, and you can copy and paste them also to Calc)

To insert a chart
Inserting Charts
Choosing a Chart Type

To edit a chart
• Click a chart to edit the chart object properties:
size and position on the current page
alignment, text wrap, outer borders, and more
• Double-click a chart to enter the chart edit mode:
chart data values (for charts with own data)
chart type, axes, titles, walls, grid, and more
• Double-click a chart element in chart edit mode:
double-click an axis to edit the scale, type, color, and more
double-click a data point, or a data series in the legend, to edit the graphical values of the data
series
with a data series selected, double-click a single data point to edit the properties of this data
point (for example, a single bar in a bar chart)
double-click any other chart element, or click the element and open the Format menu, to edit the
properties
• Click outside the chart to leave the current edit mode.

To print a chart in high quality, you can export the chart to a PDF file and
print that file.
Using Databases in OpenOffice.org Base
In OpenOffice.org Base, you can access data that is stored in a wide variety of database file formats.
OpenOffice.org Base natively supports some flat file database formats, such as the dBASE format. You
can also use OpenOffice.org Base to connect to external relational databases, such as databases from
MySQL or Oracle.
The following database types are read-only types in OpenOffice.org Base. From within OpenOffice.org
Base it is not possible to change the database structure or to edit, insert, and delete database records for
these database types:
• Spreadsheet files
• Text files
• Address book data

Using a Database in OpenOffice.org

• To create a new database file, choose File - New - Database.
The Database Wizard helps you to create a database file and to register a new database within
OpenOffice.org.

The database file contains queries, reports, and forms for the database as well as a link to the database where
records are stored. Formatting information is also stored in the database file.

• To open a database file, choose File - Open. In the File type list box, select to view only
"Database documents". Select a database document and click Open.