Contents

# Editing Graphic Objects

Choose View - Toolbars - Drawing to open the Drawing toolbar, if it is not already open.

Drawing objects can be subsequently edited and modified. Drawing objects created in this way are vector graphics, which you can scale freely without any loss of quality.

To create a rectangle, click the rectangle icon and move your cursor to the place in the document where you want one corner of the rectangle to be. Press the mouse button and hold it down while dragging to the opposite corner of the rectangle. When you release the mouse button, the rectangle is inserted in the document. It is selected, and you can edit its properties through the context menu.

- To draw multiple objects of the same type, double-click the icon.To draw multiple objects of the same type, double-click the icon.Draw multiple objects of the same type. Click the document without moving the mouse to stop drawing objects.

- If you want to open up draw objects from the center instead of dragging from one corner to the other, hold down the OptionAlt key while dragging. With some window managers, you may need to hold down also the meta key.

- Holding down the Shift key while dragging restricts the created object. For example, instead of a rectangle you get a square, instead of an ellipse you get a circle. When you drag a handle of an existing object with Shift held down, the aspect ratio of the object is retained.

- To scale the objects, first select them by clicking on them with the selection tool. You then see eight handles around the object. When you drag one of the four corner handles, the opposite corner remains fixed while the other three corners move. When you drag one of the side handles, the opposite side remains fixed.

- To scale a draw object using the keyboard, first select the object, then press CommandCtrl+Tab repeatedly to highlight one of the handles. Then press an arrow key. To scale in smaller steps, hold down the OptionAlt key while pressing an arrow key. Press Esc to leave the point edit mode.

- To move draw objects, first select them. To select more than one object, press the Shift key while clicking. Select text objects by clicking exactly on their edge. While holding down the mouse button, drag the objects to the new location.

- To move a draw object using the keyboard, first select the object, then press an arrow key. To move in smaller steps, hold down the OptionAlt key while pressing an arrow key.

- To enter text to be a part of a graphics object, select the object and start typing your text. Click outside the object to end entering text. Double-click text inside an object to edit the text.

To revert to normal mode after creating and editing draw objects, click in an area of the document containing no objects. If you see a drawing cursor, first exit this mode by clicking the Select icon.

Related Topics

Information about the individual icons

Inserting Graphics

Inserting a Graphic From a File

Inserting Objects From the Gallery

Inserting a Scanned Image

Inserting Graphics From LibreOffice Draw or Impress

Inserting a Calc Chart into a Text Document

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