OpenOffice.org 2, Firefox, and Thunderbird for Windows All in One [Electronic resources]

1.

Select a Line Tool

Long-click to open the

Lines and Arrows toolbar from your

Drawing toolbar, and select a

Line tool. As with any shape, you can double-click the tool to keep it active when you want to draw multiple occurrences of that line or arrow. You'll see the various lines and arrows on the toolbar; the icon on each of the buttons shows what your selected line or arrow will look like. For example, the

dimension line is a line with arrows on each end that intersect straight lines.

2.

Draw a Line

Click the starting point for the line or arrow and drag your mouse to the ending point. You can draw lines and arrows in any direction, except for the 45-degree line, which you can only draw straight up, straight down, or at a diagonal angle.

NOTE

The direction you drag when you draw a line with an arrow determines the direction your drawn arrow will point.

TIP

Press

Shift as you drag to draw a line or arrow in 45-degree increments from the starting point.

3.

Change the Line's Attributes

You can select a color and line thickness from the

Line and Filling toolbar either before or after you draw the line or arrow. If you want to change an attribute after you draw the line or arrow, you can click to select the line or arrow and then change its thickness and color.

4.

Change a Line to an Arrow

You can convert a line to an arrow by first clicking to select the line and then clicking the

Arrow Style button on the

Line and Filling toolbar. The

Arrow Style list box appears, containing more forms of arrows, including double-headed arrows, than is available from the

Lines toolbar. Click a style on the left side of the list box to apply it to the left end of your line; click a style on the right side to apply it to the right end of the line.

5.

Prepare for Connectors

Draw two shapes on your drawing area that you will later connect with connectors.

6.

Select Connector Tool

Long-click to open the

Connector toolbar from your

Drawing toolbar. Select a connector and click the first object you drew to connect. Drag your mouse to the next object. As you drag your mouse, Draw updates the connecting line according to the style of the connector. You can connect the same two shapes with multiple connectors, so feel free to add another kind of connecting line to familiarize yourself with the connectors.

7.

Display Line Dialog Box

Draw enables you to adjust lines and connectors with precision from the

Line dialog box. Select one of the lines or connectors you've drawn and click the

Line button on the

Line and Filling toolbar. The

Line dialog box appears.

8.

Modify Line Properties

The

Line page lets you control the line style, color, width, and whether or not the line allows graphics beneath it to show through by the amount of the

Transparency option. In addition, the

Line page enables you to change or select from arrow styles, widths, and measurements. A preview at the bottom of the dialog box shows you the result of any change you make to the selected line.

9.

Modify Line Styles

Click to select the

Line Styles page. Here, you not only select a style but you can help create a new style by specifying the number of dashes or dots that follow one another across the length of your selected line. If you change the line's styles, you will be able to save that style for use later in another drawing by clicking

Save Line Styles .

10.

Modify Arrow Styles Properties

The

Arrow Styles page enables you to adjust the look of any arrow you select in your drawing. If you change an arrow's style, you will be able to save that style for use later in another drawing by clicking

Save Arrow Styles . Click

OK when you want to apply your

Line dialog box settings to your selected line, connector, or arrow.