Introduction to Styles

Styles: A style is a collection of all formatting information, which you

want to save and then apply on the document.

Importance of Styles:
Speeds up the formatting process.
Ensures uniform formatting throughout the document
Using Style allows you to shift your focus from appearance
of the document to the content of document.
Enhances the document's professional look with consistent
formatting.
Style Categories

Writer provides six Style categories, which are as follows:

Page Style It is used for fomatting pages. It defines basic page layout
like page size, its margin, placement of header and footer,
footnote, borders and background.
Paragraph It is used for fomatting paragraphs. It includes tab stops,
Style text alignment, line spacing and borders.

Character this styling is used on block of letters, i.e. word(s).

Style It allows changing the text colour, text size, highlighting
text and emphasising it.
Frame Frames are like containers, which can hold text, graphics & lists.
Style Frame Styles allows to format a frame by specifying its size,
position, border and how the text is placed around the picture.

List It can be used to style lists by putting numbering or bullets of

Style a different kind or specify numeric format.

Table using tables, a large amount of information can be organised

Style and presented effectively. Table Style category allows to
format a table by adding borders, using different text or
border colour(s), aligning text inside the table, having
different patterns or text colour.
Styles and Formatting

There are many predefined Styles in Writer, which can be accessed

by using the following methods: #1

Using Style option from Menu Bar

#3
Using Style Drop Down list box #2

Using Sidebar Menu

Using keyboard shortcut — F11 function key.

Applying Styles

Step 1 Select the text to be formatted. The selected text may be a

collection of characters, words, lines, paragraph, page,
frame or table.

Step 2 To format the selected text, choose appropriate style

category by clicking the button from the top of the Styles bar.

Step 3 A list of styles for that category appears. Double click on the
desired style to apply to the selected text.
 Fill Format
This method is useful when a same style is to be applied at many
places scattered in the document.
Step 1 Open the document to be styled.
Step 2 Open the Styles window and select the desired style category
and then desired style from drop down list.
Step 3 Select Fill Format button.
Step 4 To apply the selected style, take the mouse pointer to desired
location and click.
Step 5 To quit Fill Format option, click the Fill Format button again or
press the Esc key.
Creating and Updating a New Style

Custom Style can be created From Selection and by using

drag and drop.
From Selection
Step 1 Select the portion of document to change its appearance.
Format it as per the requirement.
Step 2 From the buttons at the top of the Style menu, choose the
category for which a new style is to be created.
Step 3 Select Style action button. Click on New Style from Selection.
Step 4 In Create Style dialog window, type the name of new style.
Step 5 Click OK to save the name of new style.
Creating and Updating a New Style

Using Drag and Drop

Step 1 Select the portion of document to change its appearance.
Format it as per the requirement.
Step 2 From the buttons at the top of the Style menu, choose the
category for which a new style is to be created.
Step 3 Click on the desired style under which, new style is to
be created.
Step 4 From the document drag the selected portion of text to
the Style Menu.
Step 5 In the Create Style dialog box type the name of new style.
Step 6 Click OK button to save the name of new style.
Drag and Drop cannot be used to create a Page Style.
Updating a Style

Step 1 Select the portion of document to change its appearance.

Format it as per the requirement.
Step 2 Go to Style menu, and click on the button to update.
Step 3 Using Style Action button, click on Update Selected Style.
Load Styles

The last option, in Style Action button of Style Menu is Load Styles.
It is used to copy styles from an existing template or document.
Step 1 In the Styles Menu, click on the Load Styles.
Step 2 In the Load Styles dialog box, choose the category of your
document.
Step 3 Find and select the desired template to copy styles from.
Step 4 Now select the options for the types of styles to be copied.
Step 5 Click OK to copy the styles.
Inserting an Image in a Document

LibreOffice Writer allows to work on images, shapes, charts and

diagrams by providing various tools. The image file can be
inserted into a document using different ways.
Using Insert Image Option
Step 1 Open the document to insert an image in LibreOffice Writer.
Step 2 Place the cursor where you want to insert an image.
Step 3 Select and click on Insert > Image from menu bar.
Step 4 An Insert Image dialog box will open which will allow to
choose the picture file to be inserted.
Step 5 Select the file and click on Open button to insert an image in
document.
Using Drag and Drop option
Step 1 Open the document to insert an image in LibreOffice Writer.
Step 2 Open a file browser window (Win+E) and select the image
file to be inserted.
Step 3 Drag the image into the document.
Step 4 Drop it, where you want it to appear in the document.

Copy and Paste method

Step 1 Open the document to insert an image in LibreOffice Writer.
Step 2 Copy the image file stored in computer.
Step 3 Paste the image file in the document.

Inserting an image using any of the above described method saves a copy
of image file in the document wherever image is inserted, that means, the
image gets embedded in the document.
If multiple copies of the same image are required to
be inserted in the document, it is beneficial to save
the link of image instead of inserting the image.

EMBED

Inserting a link, stores its reference instead of the image itself, thereby
reduces the size of the document, because actual image is saved only
once as a separate file along with the document.
Linking an Image in a Document

In Insert Image dialog box, check the Link option .

Keyboard shortcut to link an image – drag and drop the image
while holding the Ctrl+Shift keys.
 Modifying an Image
The image toolbar automatically appears when
an image is inserted or selected in the document.
If you want to keep it always on screen, click on
View > Toolbars > Image from the menu bar.

Image Toolbar
Image Filter
There are 11 types of filters available for improving an image.

Image Mode
Image can be changed to black and white, gray-scale
or a watermark.
 Crop
Cuts off non-desirable part of the image.

Flip Flip
Horizontally Vertically
Flips the image Horizontally Flips the image Vertically by
by 180 degree. 180 degree.
 Rotate 90 Rotate. (At
degree left. your desired
angle)
Rotate 90
degree right.

Transparency Makes an image transparent by using the

value provided in percentage .
 Colour
Using Drop Down list Red, Blue or Green colour can be
modified or adjustment for brightness, contrast and
gamma can be made.
Image Filters

Invert Inverts the colour values of coloured image.

Smooth Softens the contrast of image.
Sharpen Increases the contrast of image.

Remove Removes single pixels from the

Noise image.
Solarisation Reverses the tone. Dark appears
light and light appears dark.
Aging Simulates the effect of time on picture.

Posterise Makes a picture appear like painting by reducing colours

in the image.
Image Filters

Charcoal Changes image as charcoal sketch.

Sketch
Relief Adjusts light source to create shadow.

Mosaic Joins group of pixels into a single area

of one colour.
 Resizing an Image
Resizing is the process of reducing or enlarging the size of the image.
Step 1 Click on the image, eight sizing handles surrounding the
image will appear on the screen.
Step 2 Position the pointer over one of the sizing handles. The pointer
changes shape indicating the direction of resizing.
Step 3 Click and drag to resize the image.
Step 4 Release the mouse button when satisfied with the new size
and observe the size of the image is reduced.
By dragging the corner handles, one can resize both the width and the
height of the image simultaneously, while the other four handles only
resize one dimension at a time.
Deleting an Image

To delete the image, just select the image by clicking on the image
and press the Delete key.
Drawing Objects
To display Drawing Toolbar in the Writer window,
click on View > Toolbars > Drawing.
There are many default drawing objects used to create designs in
document. To use them –
Step 1 Place the cursor in the document where you want the
drawing to be placed (anchored).
Step 2 Select the tool from the Drawing toolbar.
Step 3 Place the pointer on document where you want the image to
appear then click-and-drag to create the drawing object.
Step 4 Release the mouse button to finish drawing.
Step 5 To cancel the selected drawing function, press the Esc key or
click the Select icon (the arrow) on the Drawing toolbar.
Setting or Changing Properties of Drawing Object
To set the properties before drawing the object:
Step 1 From the Drawing Toolbar, select the object you want to draw.
Step 2 From Drawing Object Properties Toolbar, click on the icon of
property to be modified.
Step 3 Change the value of parameter.
Step 4 Repeat steps 2 and 3 to change all desired properties.
Step 5 Draw the desired figure.
When properties are modified before creation, it is known as
setting default value(s).
Changes done in properties of an object, before
creating it, are available only for current session.
Steps for changing properties of the object after drawing it:

Step 1 Select the object whose properties are to be modified.

Step 2 Follow steps 2 to 5 of the previous process of setting Properties
before drawing an object.
Resizing and Grouping objects
Follow the given steps to resize a drawing:

Step 1 Select the object to be resized. All eight handles on the

corners and edges will be visible.
Step 2 Click on any of the handles and drag it to its new place. The
object will be scaled up or down, depending on your action.
Step 3 For resizing and maintaining original shape of drawing, use
corner handles.
Grouping drawing objects
LibreOffice Writer allows grouping different shapes, to behave as a
single entity without affecting their size and position.
Once grouped, all shapes belonging to that group become its
member and a change applied on one member works on all.

Step 1 Select the object by clicking over it.

Step 2 Hold the Shift key and keep on selecting all other objects by
clicking on it to be included in the group.
Step 3 Select a group tool from Drawing Object Properties Toolbar.
Alternatively, selecting from main menu Format > Group >
Group will also do same work.
Step 4 This process will group the selected drawing objects.
Positioning Image in the Text
Once the task of creating, formatting, resizing and grouping the
drawing object is complete, it has to be positioned in the document
with text and other image or drawings.
Positioning of an image is controlled by four settings.
(i) Arrangement
(ii) Anchoring
(iii) Alignment
(iv) Text Wrapping
These settings can be accessed using three ways – by using Format
menu, by using context menu after right clicking on the object, by
using Drawing Object Properties Toolbar for changing the
properties of the drawings.
Positioning Image in the Text
Arrangement
In Overlapping objects arrangement determines the position of the
current drawing with respect to other drawings or text.

Image/
Drawing
Objects

Drawing
Objects
Positioning Image in the Text
Anchoring
It acts as a reference point for image or drawing. Anchoring allows an
image to retain its position to a page, paragraph, character or frame.
Image can be anchored to Page, Paragraph, Character or Frame.
So whenever a page, paragraph, character or frame is aligned,
the anchored image moves along with it.
Positioning Image in the Text
Alignment
It allows the vertical or horizontal placement of the image with
respect to its anchor. Alignment tools are located under Drawing
Properties Toolbar.
Text Wrapping
It allows the placement of image in relation to text. Text Wrapping
tools are available under Drawing Object Properties Toolbar.
Hierarchy of Headings

LibreOffice Writer supports up to 10 levels of headings H1 to H10.

Let’s see how headings are applied in a document.

Step 1 Create a new document in LibreOffice Writer and enter the

text, Heading 1 to Heading 10.
Step 2 Click the Styles button on the right sidebar, select
Paragraph Styles ➔ Headings. A list of headings from
Heading 1 to Heading 10 will appear.
Step 3 Place the cursor on "Heading 1" as typed in the document,
then click on "Heading 1" from the Styles dialog to apply
“Heading 1" style.
Step 4 Similarly, place the cursor on "Heading 2" in the document,
then click "Heading 2" in the Styles dialog to apply the
"Heading 2" style.
Step 5 Repeat this for "Heading 3" to "Heading 10" to apply the
corresponding styles to each heading.

Heading 1
Heading 2
Heading 3
Heading 4
Heading 5
Heading 6
Heading 7
Creating a Table of Contents (ToC)

Step 1 Open the document.

Step 2 Assign proper heading styles to the various headings from
the Styles dialog box.
Step 3 Place the cursor at the position where the table of contents is
to be inserted.
Step 4 From main menu, select Insert ➔ Table of Contents and
Index ➔ Table of Contents, Index or Bibliography. The Table of
Contents, Index and Bibliography dialog box will be
displayed.
Step 5 In the "Title Text Box," you can change the default name
"Table of Contents" by typing a new name.
By default, the checkbox for Protected against Manual
Changes option is selected. This protects the ToC from any
accidental change. If this box is unchecked, then the
contents of ToC can be changed directly on the document
page, just like any other text on the document.
In the Create Index box, the Entire Document option is
selected by default.
So the ToC will be automatically created from the headings
and sub-headings of entire document.
A maximum of 10 headings is supported, but this can be
adjusted based on the number of headings you need to
include in the table of contents.
Step 6 Click OK button. The “Table of Contents” will be inserted in
the document.

Note:- All headings in the ToC will display with page numbers.
Moving a mouse pointer over any of the entries and then
Pressing Ctrl+click, the cursor will directly move on to the
selected section heading.
Customisation of ToC

Right click anywhere on the ToC and select Edit Index

option from the popup menu.
The Table of Contents, Index or Bibliography dialog box
will be displayed.
The dialog box has five tabs – Type, Entries, Styles,
Columns and Background.

Type Tab: Active by default after opening the Table of

Contents, Entries or Bibliography dialog box to
insert the ToC.
Entries Tab: Contains options to set styles for various entries
in the ToC.
Styles Tab: Contains options to apply the desired custom
styles to the text of each level.
Steps to apply a custom style
Step 1 Click and select the level from the Levels list box.
Step 2 Click and select the desired paragraph style from the
Paragraph Styles list box.
Step 3 Click OK button to apply the selected styles.

Note:- To remove the applied paragraph styling, select the desired

level in the Levels list box, and then click the Default button.
Columns Tab: Contains options to set the number of columns that
we want to have in our ToC.
Background Tab: Contains options to change the background of
the ToC.

Steps to change the background color

Step 1 Click the Color button on the top of the dialog box.
Step 2 Select the desired color from the Colors palette.
Step 3 Click OK to apply the desired color to the ToC.
Note:- To remove the background colour from the ToC, click
None button present on the top of the dialog box.
LibreOffice Writer also allows to add a graphic as a
background of the ToC. For this, Select Bitmap button in
the Background tab ➔ Select desired graphic option ➔
Click OK button .
Maintaining a Table of Contents

As new content is added and old content is removed, headings

and page numbers in the document may change.
These updates will only be reflected in the ToC when it is updated.

Updating the ToC

LibreOffice Writer does not update the ToC automatically.

Steps to update a ToC manually

Step 1 Right-click anywhere in the ToC.
Step 2 Select Update Index option. This will update the ToC.
Deleting the ToC
To delete the ToC, right click on the table and select Delete Index
option from the pop-up menu.
The ToC will be deleted.
Using Templates
A template is a preset layout that helps to create professional and
formal documents easily.
In our school, we use a report card with a predefined layout.
The layout includes School logo, Student name, Marks
organized in a table format, listed subject-wise.
We save this layout as a template.
With the template, we only need to enter each student's specific
data to create a new report card document.
Without the template, designing the report card from scratch
every time would be time-consuming.
 Using templates allows us to create professional and formal
documents efficiently and consistently.

Checking the template of the document

To see what template is associated with a document, select

Properties option from the File menu.
The Properties dialog box will be displayed.
Since the document was created from the default template, no
template is listed.
Steps to create a document with template

Step 1 Create a new document from File > New > Templates.
Step 2 A template selection window will be displayed, then select a
template.
Step 3 Click on Open button, a document with the selected
template will open.
Step 4 Now check the template of the created document from File
> Properties. Observe that the template name is displayed
under Template in the Property Dialog box.
Creating a Template

Step 1 Open the document in LibreOffice Writer whose template is

to be created.
Step 2 From main menu bar, select File > Templates > Save.
Step 3 Type the name of the new template in Template Name text
box.
Step 4 Select the category of the template being created.
Step 5 Click and select Set as default template checkbox to make
the current template as the default template.
Step 6 Click Save button to save the template.

Note:- A template in Writer is saved with an extension .ott.

Using In-built/Saved Templates

Step 1 Open a new document in LibreOffice Writer.

Step 2 From main menu bar, select File > Templates > Manage
Templates. You can also use the keyboard shortcut key
Ctrl+Shift+N to open the Templates dialog box.
Step 3 Select the desired template, and click Open button.
Step 4 Make the desired changes and save the file.
Using Online Templates
LibreOffice provides a wide range of online templates.
Step 1 From main menu bar of LibreOffice Writer, select File >
Templates > Manage Templates.
Step 2 Templates dialog box will be displayed.
Step 3 Click on Browse Online Templates button on the bottom left
of the Templates window.
Step 4 Download the desired template and save it on your
computer.
Step 5 Open LibreOffice Writer.
Step 6 Click File > Templates > Open Template. The template file
will open.
Step 7 Make the desired changes and Save the file.
Importing a Template
Once a template is downloaded and saved in any file or folder, it is
possible to import it so that it is visible in the list of templates in the
Templates dialog box.

Step 1 Open the Templates dialog box.

Step 2 Click Import Templates button located in bottom right corner
of the dialog box then Select Category dialog box will open.
Step 3 To add the new template into any existing category, click and
choose that category from the list box. Otherwise click and
select Create a New Category check box.
Step 4 Type the name of new category in the text box.
Step 5 Click OK button. The Open dialog box will appear.
Step 6 Select the file and click Open button. The selected file will be
added to the list of templates.
Editing a Template

Step 1 Click File > Templates > Manage Templates. The Templates
dialog box will be displayed.
Step 2 Right click on the template file that has to be edited.
Step 3 Select the Edit option from the popup menu. The template file
will be opened. Make the desired changes and save the file.
Now if we apply this template for any document, the edited
file will be used.
Setting Up a Custom Default Template

Any template can be set as a default template. LibreOffice Writer

gives a blank document as a default template.
Step 1 Open the Templates dialog box by pressing Ctrl+Shift+N.
Step 2 Right click on the template that you wish to set as the default
template.
Step 3 From the popup menu, select option Set as Default.
The default icon will appear on the top left of the template
file.
The next time you create a new document by selecting File >
New > Text Document, the new document will use the last
edited template.
Moving a Template

Step 1 Open the Templates dialog box.

Step 2 Click and select the template to be moved.
Step 3 Click Move button.
Step 4 Select the new category where the template has to be
moved.
Step 5 Click OK button.
Exporting a Template

Export template feature allows to store the template file in the

desired folder on your computer.
It is a useful feature for sharing the templates with multiple users.
Step 1 In the Templates dialog box, select the template to be
exported.
Step 2 Click on Export button located in the bottom right of the
dialog box.
Step 3 Then the Select Path dialog box appears. Select the folder
where you want to export the template.
Step 4 Select the folder and press on OK button. The selected
template will be exported in that folder.
Applying Templates to a Blank Document

Step 1 Open a new document in LibreOffice Writer by selecting File

> New > Text Document.
Step 2 Select File > New > Templates to display the Templates
dialog box.
Step 3 Select the desired template. The template will be opened in
a new window.
Step 4 Copy the entire content of the template by using keyboard
shortcut key Ctrl+A for selection and Ctrl+C to copy.
Step 5 Open the blank document and paste the copied content of
the template by using keyboard shortcut key Ctrl+V.
Step 5 Add or delete the content as desired and save it as a text file.
Track Changes Feature

The Track Changes feature of Writer offers a method to keep a

record of all the changes made in the original document.
All the changes that are recorded can be either accepted or
rejected by the original author.
This feature also gives us the option to add comments while
reviewing a document.
To view the Track Changes toolbar, from main menu bar, select
View > Toolbars > Track Changes. The Track Changes toolbar
will appear in the bottom left corner of the Writer window.
Various buttons present on the Track Changes toolbar

View Track Changes

Clicking on this button displays all the changes made in the
document by different users.

Record Track Changes

Clicking on this button, turns on the Track Changes feature.
After this, any sort of editing done will be marked.

Previous Track Changes/Next Track Changes

Click on these buttons to navigate between the changes made.
Accept/Accept All Track Changes
Once the editing is done, the original author may accept the
change made to the document by clicking Accept All Track
Changes button.

Reject/Reject All Track Changes

The original author of the document may reject a single change or
all changes made to the document by clicking Reject All Track
Changes button.

Manage Track Changes

By clicking on this button the Manage Changes dialog box is
displayed, which contains a detailed list of all changes made to the
document
Insert Comment
This button is used to add a comment in a document.
Preparing a Document for Review

Track Changes feature is used when a document is shared with

one or more users for review or editing purposes.
So, before the document is shared, one should make sure that
the changes made should be recorded.
For that, select Edit > Track Changes >Record option.
Alternatively, select the Record button from the Track Changes
toolbar. To make sure that no user is able to disable the track
changes option, we can protect the document with password.
Steps to set the Password

Step 1 Create a new document in LibreOffice Writer. From the main

menu, select Edit > Track Changes > Protect option. The
Enter Password dialog box will appear.
Step 2 Enter the Password and click on OK button.
After protecting the document with password, if any user
tries to disable the Track Changes feature, Writer will prompt
to enter the password.
Recording Changes

Once the Track Changes features is ON, to record the changes,

press Ctrl+Shift+C.

Alternatively, Click Edit > Track Changes > Record option.

To stop recording, Click Edit > Track Changes > Record or click
the Record button on the toolbar.
Accepting and Rejecting Changes

Once the changes are made by all the reviewers, the original author
may accept or reject them.

Step 1 To accept or reject a change, click on the change made and

then select Accept Track Change / Reject Track Change
button.
Step 2 To navigate between the changes click Previous Track
Changes and Next Track Changes buttons.
Step 3 To accept or reject all the changes made, select Accept All
Tracked Changes / Reject All Tracked Changes button
respectively.
Step 4 If Manage Track Changes button is clicked, a Manage
Changes dialog box appears. It contains the details of all
the changes made in the document. The dialog box
contains buttons to accept and reject changes as well.
Adding Comments

To add comments while reviewing, we can use the Track Changes

toolbar as well. Click at the place in the document where the
comment is to be placed.
Step 1 Click Insert Comment button on the Track Changes toolbar.
A comment box will be inserted on the right side of the
window.
Step 2 Type the comment.
Step 3 Once done click anywhere on the document to activate it.
Note:- If more than one or two of users add comments then the
comments by different users will be shown in different
coloured comment boxes.
Deleting Comments

To delete any comment, click on the down arrow on the bottom

right of the comment box.
A popup menu will be displayed and it gives the option to delete
only the current comment, all comments by a particular author and
to delete all comments. Select the desired option.
Comparing Documents

Once the reviewers have made the changes and given their
comments, Writer allows to compare the original document with
the reviewed document.
Step 1 Open the edited document.
Step 2 Select Edit > Track Changes > Compare Documents option.
Step 3 The Compare To dialog box will appear. Browse and select
the original file to be compared.
Step 4 The Manage Changes dialog box is displayed.Accept or
reject the desired changes.
Step 5 Close the dialog box and Save the edited file.