Use the draw functions available from the
main toolbar
to create rectangles, ellipses, lines, and three-dimensional shapes
without having to open a separate graphics application.
You can modify drawn
objects created with the drawing functions.
Drawing elements created in this way are vector graphics, which you
can scale freely without any loss of quality.
- Click to enable the drawing mode. The relevant drawing icons
display on the main toolbar.
- To create a rectangle,
for example, perform the following
steps:
- Click the rectangle icon and
move your cursor to the
place in the document where you want one corner of the rectangle to
be.
- Click and drag the cursor to the
opposite corner of
the rectangle.
- Release the mouse button
when you reach the size and
shape that you want the rectangle to occupy. The
rectangle is inserted in the document. It is selected, and you can
edit its properties through the context menu.
- Optional: To draw multiple
objects of the same
type, double-click the icon.
- Optional: To open up drawn objects from the
center instead of dragging from one corner to the other, press Alt
while dragging.
- Optional: To reshape
an object, press Shift
while dragging the shape. For example, instead of a rectangle with
sides of different length, you obtain a square.
- Optional: To scale objects, first select them
by clicking them with the selection tool. Eight handles
display around the object. If you drag a corner handle, the opposite
corner remains fixed while the other three corners move. If you drag
one of a side handle, the opposite side remains fixed.
- Optional: To move drawn objects, first
select
them. To select more than one object, press the Shift key while clicking.
To select a text object, click exactly on its edge, press and hold
the mouse button, then drag the objects to the new location. If you
hold down the Shift key while dragging, the objects can only be positioned
in places compatible with the page margins and other objects on the
page.
- Optional: To copy a drawing,
press the Ctrl
key while dragging the drawn object.
- To revert
to normal text mode after creating and editing
draw objects, click in an area of the document containing no drawn
or other graphics. If you are in a drawing view, first
exit this mode by clicking the Select icon on the main toolbar.