Using+Drawing+Tools+in+OpenOffice+(or+Microsoft+Word)

=How To Use Drawing Tools in OpenOffice (or Microsoft Word)=

This tutorial shows you how to create drawings in a word-processing program. Essentially, you create shapes, move them around, and change their colors. You can also add text or label them.

The screenshots for this tutorial were done on a Mac running NeoOffice, which is the MacIntosh version of OpenOffice. Your screen may look slightly different.

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 * 1) Make sure that the **Drawing** toolbar is showing. Click on **View . . . Drawing**:
 * 1) You can click on a basic shape from the **Drawing** menu:
 * 1) Click and drag on the page to create the shape. Double-click on the shape you created to add text.
 * 1) If you want to move the shape around, make sure you click on the **Pointer** tool first.
 * 1) 3D shapes are more interesting. Click on the little triangle to the right of the icon to bring up a gallery of 3D shapes. Click again to pick a particular shape:
 * 1) Click and drag on the page to create the shape.
 * 1) Click on the **Extrude** tool to make the shape 3D.
 * 1) The **3D Settings** toolbar allows you to modify the object, for example, to tilt it:
 * 1) **Callouts** are useful for labeling things:
 * 1) Click and drag to place the callout on the page:
 * 1) Double-click to add text. Note that I extruded the callout box.
 * 1) You can also change the font.
 * 1) Right-click on the object to choose the **Position and Size** dialog to further adjust your object:
 * 1) Click on a rotation preset (or enter exact degrees if you want):
 * 1) If you have more than one object on the screen, you can place one on top of another. Right-click on the object you want on top and choose **Arrange . . . Bring to Front**.
 * 1) If you want to put a bunch of objects together, first select the objects and then right-click on the selection and choose **Group**. To select multiple objects, choose the pointer tool and click and drag to make a big box around all of the objects.
 * 1) You can change the colors of objects.
 * 1) Here is the **Area** dialog box:
 * 1) Here's the result:
 * 1) Here's my initial with a callout box:
 * 1) Make sure you save your file as **init** (all lowercase):
 * 1) For maximum compatibility, choose to save the document as a **.doc** file (Microsoft Word 97).