Chapter 4 Formatting Pages

Writer Guide

Chapter 4

Formatting Pages

Using Page Styles, Tables, Frames, Columns, and

Sections

are listed below. You may distribute it and/or modify it under the terms of either the GNU General

Public License (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html), version 3 or later, or the Creative Commons

Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), version 4.0 or later.

All trademarks within this guide belong to their legitimate owners.

Contributors

John A Smith Jean Hollis Weber

Ron Faile Jr. Jamie Eby

Feedback

Please direct any comments or suggestions about this document to the Documentation Team’s

mailing list: [email protected]

Note: Everything you send to a mailing list, including your email address and any other personal

information that is written in the message, is publicly archived and cannot be deleted.

Acknowledgments

This chapter is adapted and updated from Chapter 4 of the OpenOffice.org 3.3 Writer Guide. The

contributors to that chapter are:

Agnes Belzunce Ken Byars Daniel Carrera

Peter Hillier-Brook Lou Iorio Sigrid Kronenberger

Peter Kupfer Ian Laurenson Iain Roberts

Gary Schnabl Janet Swisher Jean Hollis Weber

Claire Wood Michele Zarri

Publication date and software version

Published 21 May 2014. Based on LibreOffice 4.2.

Note for Mac users

Some keystrokes and menu items are different on a Mac from those used in Windows and Linux.

The table below gives some common substitutions for the instructions in this chapter. For a more

detailed list, see the application Help.

Windows or Linux Mac equivalent Effect

Tools > Options

menu selection

LibreOffice > Preferences Access setup options

Right-click Control+click and/or right-click

depending on computer system

Opens a context menu

Ctrl (Control) (Command)⌘ Used with other keys

F5 Shift+ +⌘ F5 Opens the Navigator

F11 +T⌘ Opens the Styles and Formatting window

Documentation for LibreOffice is available at http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/documentation

Contents
Copyright..............................................................................................................................2
Contributors................................................................................................................................. 2
Feedback..................................................................................................................................... 2
Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................ 2
Publication date and software version.........................................................................................2
Note for Mac users...............................................................................................................2
Introduction..........................................................................................................................5
Choosing a layout method..................................................................................................5
Setting up basic page layout using styles........................................................................7
Inserting a page break without switching the style.......................................................................7
Defining a different first page for a document..............................................................................8
Changing page orientation within a document.............................................................................8
Setting up a landscape page style...........................................................................................9
Inserting a landscape page into a portrait document.............................................................10
Adding title pages......................................................................................................................10
Changing page margins....................................................................................................11
Using columns to define the page layout........................................................................12
Defining the columns on a page.................................................................................................12
Specifying the number of columns........................................................................................13
Formatting column width and spacing...................................................................................13
Formatting separator lines..................................................................................................... 13
Reverting to a single-column layout...........................................................................................14
Changing the number of columns for existing text.....................................................................14
Distributing text across columns................................................................................................15
Using frames for page layout...........................................................................................15
Creating frames.........................................................................................................................16
Moving, resizing, and changing frame attributes........................................................................17
Anchoring frames....................................................................................................................... 18
Linking frames........................................................................................................................... 19
Using tables for page layout.............................................................................................21
Example: Creating sideheads using tables................................................................................21
Using sections for page layout.........................................................................................23
Creating sections....................................................................................................................... 23
Naming sections....................................................................................................................24
Linking sections.....................................................................................................................24
Write-protecting sections.......................................................................................................25
Password-protecting sections................................................................................................25
Hiding sections...................................................................................................................... 25
Formatting a section into columns.........................................................................................26
Indenting the section from margins.......................................................................................26
Changing the background of the section...............................................................................27
Customizing footnotes and endnotes in a section.................................................................27
Customizing footnotes...........................................................................................................27
Formatting Pages 3

Customizing endnotes...........................................................................................................28
Saving a new section.................................................................................................................28
Editing and deleting sections.....................................................................................................28
Editing section attributes.......................................................................................................28
Editing the format of a section...............................................................................................29
Deleting sections................................................................................................................... 29
Updating links....................................................................................................................29
Updating links automatically......................................................................................................29
Updating links manually.............................................................................................................30
Creating headers and footers...........................................................................................31
Formatting headers and footers.................................................................................................32
Portrait headers on landscape pages........................................................................................32
Numbering pages...............................................................................................................35
Preliminaries: fields.................................................................................................................... 35
Preliminaries: insert and format a header..................................................................................36
Simple page numbering.............................................................................................................36
Combining header text and page number..................................................................................36
Changing the number format.....................................................................................................37
Numbering the first page something other than 1......................................................................37
Numbering pages by chapter.....................................................................................................38
Restarting page numbering........................................................................................................39
Example: Restart page numbering: a preface.......................................................................40
Problems with restarting page numbering..................................................................................41
Solving the page count problem............................................................................................41
Defining borders and backgrounds.................................................................................43
Adding a border......................................................................................................................... 43
Adding color to the background.................................................................................................44
Adding a gradient to the background.........................................................................................44
Adding a graphic to the background..........................................................................................44
Deleting color, gradient or graphics from the background..........................................................46
Formatting Pages 4

Introduction

Writer provides several ways for you to control page layouts:

• Page styles

• Columns

• Frames

• Tables

• Sections

This chapter describes these methods and some associated functions:

• Headers and footers

• Numbering pages

• Changing page margins

Tip

Page layout is usually easier if you select the options to show text, object, table,

and section boundaries in Tools > Options > LibreOffice > Appearance and the

options for paragraph ends, tabs, breaks, and other items in Tools > Options >

LibreOffice Writer > Formatting Aids.

Choosing a layout method

The best layout method depends on what the final document should look like and what sort of

information will be in the document. Here are some examples. Do not worry if all this does not

mean much to you now. The techniques mentioned are all described in this chapter.

For a book similar to this user guide with one

column of text, some figures without text beside

them, and some other figures with descriptive text,

use page styles for basic layout, and use tables to

place figures beside descriptive text, where

necessary.

Choosing a layout method 5

Use page styles (with two columns) for an index or

other document with two columns of text where the

text continues from the left-hand column to the

right-hand column and then to the next page, all in

sequence (also known as snaking columns of text).

If the title of the document (on the first page) is full-

page width, put it in a single-column section.

For a newsletter with a complex layout, two or

three columns on the page, and some articles that

continue from one page to some place several

pages later, use page styles for basic layout. Place

articles in linked frames and anchor graphics to

fixed positions on the page, if necessary.

For a document with terms and translations to

appear side-by-side in what appear to be columns,

use a table to keep items lined up so you can type

in both “columns”.

Choosing a layout method 6

Setting up basic page layout using styles

In Writer, page styles define the basic layout of all pages, including page size, margins, the

placement of headers and footers, borders and backgrounds, number of columns, and so on.

Writer comes with several page styles, which you can build on or modify, and you can define new

(custom) page styles. You can have one or many page styles in a single document.

Note

All pages in a Writer document are based on styles. If you do not specify a page

style, Writer uses the Default page style.

To change the layout of individual pages, either define a new page style or use one of the

techniques (sections, frames, or tables) described later in this chapter.

This chapter describes some uses of page styles. Some other uses are discussed in Chapter 6,

Introduction to Styles. The Page Style dialog is covered in detail in Chapter 7, Working with Styles.

Tip

Any modifications of page styles, including the Default page style, apply only to the

document you are working on. If you want the changes to be the default for all

documents, you need to put the changes into a template and make that template

the default template. See Chapter 10, Working with Templates, for details.

Inserting a page break without switching the style

In many documents (for example, a multi-page report), you may want the text to flow from one

page to the next as you add or delete information. Writer does this automatically, unless you

override the text flow using one of the techniques described earlier.

If you do want a page break in a particular place, for example, to put a heading at the top of a new

page, here is how to do it:

1) Position the cursor at the point you want to start the next page. Select Insert > Manual

Break.

2) In the Type section, Page break is preselected, and Style is set at [None].

3) Click OK to position the paragraph at the start of the next page.

Figure 1: Inserting a manual page break

Setting up basic page layout using styles 7

Tip

You can also insert a page break as follows;

1) Position the cursor in the paragraph you want to be at the start of the next page.

Right-click and choose Paragraph in the pop-up menu.

2) On the Text Flow page of the Paragraph dialog, in the Breaks section, select

Insert. Do not select With Page Style.

3) Click OK to position the paragraph at the start of the next page.

Defining a different first page for a document

Many documents, such as letters and reports, have a first page that is different from the other

pages in the document. For example, the first page of a letterhead typically has a different header,

as shown in Figure 2, or the first page of a report might have no header or footer, while the other

pages do. This is simple to achieve with Writer.

Using the Default (or any other) page style for your document, you can add a header/footer as you

wish to the first page by deselecting the Same content on first page option on the header/footer

pages in the Page Style dialog, and then adding the header/footer. You can then add a different

header/footer to the other pages of the document.

Figure 2: Letterhead with different headers for first and following pages

Changing page orientation within a document

A document can contain pages in more than one orientation. A common scenario is to have a

landscape page in the middle of a document, whereas the other pages are in a portrait orientation.

Here are the steps to achieve it.

Setting up basic page layout using styles 8

Setting up a landscape page style

1) If you wish to keep the margins the same as on other pages, then note the margin settings

of the current page style. (You can find the margin settings on the Page Style dialog, by

selecting the Page tab as shown in Figure 4.)

2) In the Styles and Formatting window, right-click on Landscape in the list of page styles and

choose Modify from the pop-up menu (Styles and Formatting can also be accessed from

the Sidebar, View > Sidebar).

3) On the Organizer page of the Page Style dialog (Figure 3), make sure the Next Style

property is set to Landscape (to allow for having more than one sequential landscape

page).

Figure 3: Name the new style and set the next page style to Landscape

4) On the Page page of the Page Style dialog (Figure 4), make sure the Orientation is set to

Landscape. Change the margins so that they correspond with the margins of the portrait

page. That is, the portrait top margin becomes the landscape right margin, and so on.

Figure 4: Set orientation and margins for a landscape page

5) Click OK to save the changes.

Setting up basic page layout using styles 9

Inserting a landscape page into a portrait document

Now that you have defined the Landscape page style, here is how to apply it.

1) Position the cursor in the paragraph or table at the start of the page that is to be set to

landscape. Right-click and choose Paragraph or Table, respectively, in the pop-up menu.

2) On the Text Flow page of the Paragraph dialog (Figure 5) or the Table Format dialog

(Figure 6), select Insert (or Break for a table) and With Page Style. Set the Page Style

property to Landscape. Click OK to close the dialog and to apply the new page style.

Figure 5: Specifying a page break before a paragraph

Figure 6: Specifying a page break before a table

3) Position the cursor in the paragraph or table where the page is to return to portrait

orientation and change the paragraph properties or table properties so that With Page

Style is the portrait page style that was used before the Landscape page style.

4) Click OK to return to the previous portrait page style.

Tip

If you need the headers or footers on the landscape pages to be in portrait

orientation, see “Portrait headers on landscape pages” on page 32.

Adding title pages

Writer provides a fast and convenient way to add one or more title pages to a document and

optionally to restart the page number at 1 for the body of the document.

To begin, choose Format > Title Page from the Menu Bar. On the Title Page dialog (Figure 7), you

can make a variety of choices:

• Convert existing pages to title pages, or insert new title pages

• How many pages to convert or insert

Setting up basic page layout using styles 10

• Where those pages are located

• If and where to restart page numbering, and what number to start with

• What page style to use for the title page

Using this technique, you can insert several “title pages” at different points in your document, for

example to add decorative pages between chapters as well as title, copyright, and other pages at

the beginning of a book.

Figure 7: Adding title pages to a document

Changing page margins

You can change page margins in three ways:

• Using the page rulers—quick and easy, but does not have fine control.

• Using the Page Style dialog—can specify margins to two (fractional) decimal places.

• Using the Page panel of the Properties deck in the Sidebar.

Note

If you change the margins using the rulers or the Sidebar, the new margins affect

the page style and will be shown in the Page Style dialog the next time you open it.

To change margins using the rulers:

1) The shaded sections of the rulers are the margins (see Figure 8). Put the mouse cursor

over the line between the gray and white sections. The pointer turns into a double-headed

arrow and displays the current setting in a tool-tip.

2) Hold down the left mouse button and drag the mouse to move the margin.

Caution

The small arrows on the ruler are used for indenting paragraphs. They are often in

the same place as the page margins, so you need to be careful to move the margin

marker, not the arrows. The double-headed arrows shown in Figure 8 are actual

mouse cursors placed in the correct position.

Changing page margins 11

Figure 8: Moving the margins

To change margins using the Page Style dialog (Figure 4):

1) Right-click anywhere on the page and select Page from the context menu.

2) On the Page page of the dialog, type the required distances in the Margins boxes.

To change margins using the Page panel of the Properties deck of the Sidebar:

1) On the open Sidebar (View > Sidebar) select the Properties tab.

2) Open the Page panel if is not open by clicking the plus (+) symbol in the panel title

3) Click the Margin button to open the sub-panel and enter the required dimensions in the

Custom size boxes (clicking the More Options button will open the Page Style dialog).

Using columns to define the page layout

You can use columns for page layout in the following ways:

• By defining the number of columns and their layout on a page, using page styles.

• By changing the number of columns for existing text.

Defining the columns on a page

It is a good idea to define your basic page style (such as Default) with the most common layout to

be used in your document, either single-column or multiple-column. You can then either define

extra page styles for pages with different numbers of columns or use sections (described in “Using

sections for page layout” starting on page 23) for pages or parts of pages with different numbers of

columns.

To define the number of columns on a page:

1) Choose Format > Columns to go to the Columns dialog (see Figure 9), or go to the

Columns page of the Page Style dialog, or click the More Options button on the Page

panel of the Properties deck of the Sidebar.

2) In the Settings section, choose the number of columns and specify any spacing between

the columns and whether you want a vertical separator line to appear between the

columns. You can use one of Writer’s predefined column layouts, or you can create a

customized column layout. The preview pane, located to the right of the Settings section,

shows how the column layout will look.

Notice the Apply to box in the dialog of Figure 9. In this instance, the changes are being

applied to the Default page style.

3) Click OK to save the changes.

Using columns to define the page layout 12

Figure 9: Defining the number of columns on a page

Specifying the number of columns

In the Settings section, enter the number of columns into the Columns selection box, or select one

of the column layout icons.

Formatting column width and spacing

Select the AutoWidth option in the Width and spacing section to create columns of equal width.

To customize the width and spacing of the columns:

1) In the Width and spacing section, deselect the AutoWidth option.

2) In the Width selection boxes, enter a width for each column.

3) On the Spacing line, enter the amount of space that you want between each pair of

columns.

If you specify more than three columns, use the arrow keys on the Column line to scroll among the

columns.

Formatting separator lines

To display separator lines between the columns:

1) Using the Style drop-down list, select the line style from the three styles available.

2) Using the Width control, select the width of line to use, settable from 0.25pt to 9.0pt. (1 pt =

1 point = 1/12 pica = 1/72 inch = 127/360 mm = 0.3527 mm.)

3) Using the Height control, select the height of line required, as a percentage of the column

height. Variable from 25% to 100%.

4) If you entered a height of less than 100%, use the Position drop-down list to select a

vertical alignment for the separator lines. The vertical-positioning options are: Top,

Centered, or Bottom.

5) The line color can be selected from the Color drop-down list's palette of colors.

Using columns to define the page layout 13

Tip

To quickly input the maximum or minimum allowed value in an input box, click the

current value and press Page Up or Page Down respectively.

Reverting to a single-column layout

To revert to a single-column layout for the page style, go to the Settings section and either reset

the number in the Columns box to 1 or click the single-column layout icon.

Changing the number of columns for existing text

You might want some parts of a page to have one column and other parts of the page to have two

or more columns. For example, you might have a page-width headline over a three-column news

story.

You can create columns and then type or paste text into them, or you can select some existing text

and change the number of columns for displaying it.

When you select text and change the number of columns for that text (Format > Columns), Writer

turns the selected text into a section, as described in “Using sections for page layout” on page 23.

Figure 10 shows the Columns dialog for a selection. The Apply to box has Selection highlighted

and an extra option (Evenly distribute contents to all columns) appears in the Settings section.

Figure 10: Specifying columns for a selection

Tip

You cannot select text on a two-column formatted page and change it to a single

column using this method. Instead, you need to define a single-column page and

then select the text you want to be in a two-column section on that page.

Using columns to define the page layout 14

Distributing text across columns

As you add text to the section, you will see that the text flows from one column to the next. You can

distribute text across the columns in one of two ways:

Evenly—Writer adjusts the length of the columns to the amount of text, so that all the columns

are approximately the same height. As you add or delete text, the columns readjust.

Newspaper-style—Writer fills the columns one at a time, beginning with the first column. The

last column may be shorter than the others.

To distribute text evenly, select the Evenly distribute contents to all columns option in the

Settings area. Deselect this option if you want to distribute text newspaper-style.

Tip

Choose View > Nonprinting Characters (or press Ctrl+F10) to display end of

paragraph markers (¶). Often, unexpected behavior of columns is due to extra

paragraphs that are normally invisible to the user but are taking up space.

Figure 11: (Left) Evenly distributed columns; (Right) Newspaper-style columns.

Using frames for page layout

Frames can be very useful when producing a newsletter or other layout-intensive documents.

Frames can contain text, tables, multiple columns, pictures, and other objects.

Use frames when you need to:

• Position something in a particular place on a page, for example, a logo or a “stop press”

news box in one corner of a page.

• Allow text on one page to continue on another page, somewhere more distant than the next

one, by linking the content of one frame to another so the contents flow between them as

you edit the text.

• Wrap text around an object, such as a photograph.

Using frames for page layout 15

Because LibreOffice does not allow you to define page styles with recurring frames, consider doing

some quick sketches of the basic page layouts you need, indicating the approximate positions of

different frames and their purposes. Try to keep the number of different page layouts as low as

possible in order to avoid chaos in your design.

Pay special attention to the positioning of frames. Many of the predefined styles default to a center

alignment. Although centering all frames looks reasonably good in most cases, it is rarely the best

choice.

One of the most visually effective ways to position a frame is to align its left margin with that of the

paragraph above it. To achieve this effect, the frame is inserted in a blank paragraph of the same

style as the paragraph above. Select Insert > Frame; in the Position section of the Type page,

select From Left in the Horizontal selection box to position the frame exactly where you want it.

You also should think about the type of wrap and the spacing between the frame and text. Instead

of cramming a frame close to the text, use the Wrap tab to place some white space between them.

You can format frames individually or define and apply frame styles; see Chapter 7, Working with

Styles.

Example: Using a frame to center text on a page

Although you can center text horizontally as part of a paragraph style or by using manual

formatting, those methods do not work for vertical centering. To center text vertically, you need to

place the text in a frame, anchor the frame to a page or a paragraph, and then center the frame

vertically on the page. See “Anchoring frames” on page 18.

Creating frames

You can create a frame in several ways, depending on your needs.

• Choose Insert > Frame to create an empty frame. The Frame dialog (Figure 13) appears.

You can click OK and come back to customize it later, or you can set the frame’s

characteristics at this stage.

• Select text or a graphic, choose Insert > Frame, and click OK to create a frame containing

the selection. The selected text is automatically deleted from the normal text flow and

inserted into the frame, and the Frame dialog appears.

• Insert a picture or other object by selecting Insert > Image > From file or Insert > Object

> [type of object] to start the process to insert a picture or object. The item inserted

automatically appears in a frame, but the Frame dialog does not appear.

• Select the Insert Frame Manually button on the Insert toolbar (go to View > Toolbars >

Insert to display it), select the number of frames in the drop-down menu, the mouse cursor

changes to a plus (+) symbol, click and drag the mouse to draw the frame.

Figure 12: Using a button on the Insert toolbar to create a frame

Using frames for page layout 16

Releasing the mouse button creates the frame: an area isolated from the

main document.

To add content to a frame, first deselect the frame by clicking somewhere

else on the page. Then, click inside the frame to place the text cursor

there. Now add content just like you would on the main page. When you are done, deselect the

frame.

Moving, resizing, and changing frame attributes

When an object is added to Writer, it is automatically enclosed in a frame of a predetermined type.

The frame sets how the object is placed on the page, as well as how it interacts with other

elements in the document. You can edit the frame by modifying the frame style it uses or by using

a manual override when a frame is added to the document. Frame styles are discussed in Chapter

7, Working with Styles.

To change the size or location of a frame, first select the frame, then use either the mouse or the

Frame dialog (Figure 13). Using the mouse is quicker but less accurate. You might want to use the

mouse for gross layout and the dialog for fine-tuning.

Figure 13: Frame dialog

You can re-size the frame manually by clicking on the green squares (sizing handles) and dragging

to the appropriate size, or start adding content to it (the frame will re-size automatically if, for

example, you add a large picture to it) or go back to the Frame dialog and set the size and other

characteristics.

To change the location of the frame using the mouse, drag and drop one of the edges or put the

cursor anywhere within the frame. (The I-bar cursor changes to a four-headed arrow when properly

positioned for a drag-and-drop move.)

To change the size of the frame, drag one of the sizing handles. Drag a handle on one of the sides

to enlarge or reduce the text frame in one dimension only; drag a corner handle to enlarge or

reduce it in both dimensions.

Using frames for page layout 17

These resizing actions distort the proportions of the frame. Holding down the Shift key while

dragging one of the handles makes the frame keep the same proportions.

You can open the Frame dialog at any time by selecting the frame, right-clicking, and choosing

Frame from the context menu.

To remove the default border on a newly created frame, open the Frame dialog, go to the Borders

page, and in the Style box under Line, select None. Alternatively, you can assign a borderless

style to the frame; see Chapter 7, Working with Styles, for information on frame styles.

Note

Do not confuse a frame’s border with the text boundaries that are made visible using

the View menu (by selecting View > Text Boundaries).

Figure 14: Removing the border from a frame

Anchoring frames

Using the Frame dialog (or by right-clicking and pointing to Anchor), you can anchor a frame to a

page, paragraph, or character, or you can anchor it as a character.

To Page

The frame keeps the same position in relation to the page margins. It does not move as you

add or delete text. This method is useful when the frame does not need to be visually

associated with a particular piece of text. It is often used when producing newsletters or other

documents that are very layout-intensive. This method is also used to center text on a page.

To Paragraph

The frame is associated with a paragraph and moves with the paragraph. It may be placed in

the margin or another location. This method is useful as an alternative to a table for placing

icons beside paragraphs. It is also used to center text on a page in documents which will be

used in a master document (frames anchored to pages will disappear from the master

document).

To Character

The frame is associated with a character but is not in the text sequence. It moves with the

paragraph but may be placed in the margin or another location. This method is similar to

anchoring to a paragraph.

Using frames for page layout 18

As Character

The frame is placed in the document like any other character and, therefore, affects the height

of the text line and the line break. The frame moves with the paragraph as you add or delete

text before the paragraph. This method is useful for adding a small icon in sequence in a

sentence. It is also the best method for anchoring a graphic to an empty paragraph so it does

not move around the page in unexpected ways.

Linking frames

You can link frames to each other even when they are on different pages of a document. The

contents will automatically flow from one to the next. This technique is very useful when designing

newsletters, where articles may need to be continued on a different page.

Note

You cannot link from a frame to more than one other frame.

To link one frame to another:

1) Select the frame to be linked from.

2) Click the Link Frames button ( ) on the Frames toolbar.

3) Click the next frame in the series (which must be empty).

When a linked frame is selected, any existing links are indicated by a faint connecting line, as

shown in Figure 15. Frames can be unlinked by selecting the Unlink Frames button ( ) on the

Frames toolbar.

Figure 15: Linked frames

The height of a frame that is being linked from is fixed; you can change this height manually or by

using the Frame dialog, but it does not automatically adjust to the size of the contents (that is, the

AutoHeight attribute is disabled). Only the last frame of a chain can adapt its height to the content.

The Options page of the Frame dialog (Figure 16) shows the names of the selected frame and any

frames it is linked to or from. You can change this information here. On this page, you can also

select options to protect the contents, position, and size of the frame.

Using frames for page layout 19

Figure 16: Options page of the Frame dialog

On the Hyperlink page (Figure 17), you can specify the file for the hyperlink to open. This file can

be on your machine, a network, or the Internet.

Figure 17: Hyperlink page of the Frame dialog

To open this file, you must Ctrl+click in the area between the border and the text boundary. Note

that as the mouse cursor moves over any area within the frame boundary the hyperlink tooltip will

be displayed, but it will only be active at the edges.

The Wrap, Borders, Background, Columns, and Macro pages of the Frame dialog are the same as

those for frame styles. Refer to the Chapter 7, Working with Styles, for details.

Using frames for page layout 20

Using tables for page layout

Writer’s tables can serve several purposes, such as holding data as you might see it in a

spreadsheet, lining up material, and creating more complex page layouts. For information about

using tables of data, see Chapter 9, Working with Tables.

This topic describes how to achieve some common layouts by using tables.

Example: Creating sideheads using tables

Sideheads and marginal notes are commonly used in documents from resumes to computer user

guides. The main body of the text is offset to leave white space (usually on the left-hand side) in

which the sideheads or notes are placed. The first paragraph is aligned beside the sidehead, as in

Figure 18.

Example of a

sidehead

In some cases you may want to put only one or two paragraphs in the table itself

and the rest of the text and graphics in ordinary paragraphs (formatted to line up

with the paragraphs in the table) so that text and graphics will flow more easily from

one page to another when you add or delete material.

In other cases, you might put each paragraph in a separate row of the table and

allow the table to break between pages.

Figure 18: Example of a sidehead

Note

Sideheads can also be created by placing text in a frame using the Marginalia

frame style, as described in Chapter 7, Working with Styles.

To create a table for use with a sidehead:

1) Place the cursor where you want the table to appear and choose Insert > Table (Ctrl+F12).

2) In the Insert Table dialog, define a one-row, two-column table with no border and no

heading. Click Insert to create the table.

Figure 19: Defining a two-column borderless

table with no header

Using tables for page layout 21

3) Right-click on the table and choose Table from the context menu. On the Columns page of

the Table Format dialog, make the columns the required width.

Figure 20: Defining a two-column table to line up with text offset at 1.2 inches

4) On the Table page of the Table Format dialog (Figure 21), in the Spacing section, make the

Above and Below values the same as the Top and Bottom spacing you have defined for

ordinary paragraphs of text. Click OK to save your settings.

Tip

To check the top and bottom spacing for ordinary paragraphs:

1) Position the cursor in a paragraph and press F11 (unless the Styles and

Formatting window is already open). Check that the Styles and Formatting

window shows paragraph styles (top left button).

2) The current style should be highlighted. If no paragraph style is highlighted,

select All Styles in the bottom drop-down list. Right-click on it and select

Modify from the pop-up list.

3) Go to the Indents & Spacing page and look in the Spacing area for the values

in Above paragraph and Below paragraph.

Figure 21: Defining the space above and below a table

Using tables for page layout 22

You may also want to turn off number recognition so that Writer will not try to format numbers if you

want them to be plain text. To turn number recognition off:

1) Right-click in the table and then click Number Format on the context menu.

2) On the Format Number dialog, make sure the Category is set to Text. Click OK.

Tip

If you use this table format often, you may want to save it as AutoText, as

described in Chapter 3, Working with Text. Select the table (not just the contents)

to assign the shortcut.

Figure 22: Setting number format to Text

Using sections for page layout

A section is a block of text that has special attributes and formatting. You can use sections to:

• Write-protect text

• Hide text

• Dynamically insert the contents of another document

• Add columns, margin indents, a background color, or a background graphic to a portion of

your document

• Customize the footnotes and endnotes for a portion of your document

Creating sections

To create a section:

1) Place the cursor at the point in your document where you want to insert the new section.

Or, select the text that you want to place in the new section.

2) From the Menu Bar, choose Insert > Section. The Insert Section dialog opens.

3) Choose settings for each page of the dialog as required.

4) Click Insert.

The Insert Section dialog has five tabbed pages.

• Use the Section page to set the section’s attributes.

• Use the Columns page to format the section into columns.

• Use the Indents page to set indents from the right and left margins of the section.

• Use the Background page to add color or a graphic to the section’s background.

• Use the Footnotes/Endnotes page to customize the section’s footnotes and endnotes.

Using sections for page layout 23

At any time before closing the dialog, you can reset a tabbed page to its default settings by clicking

the Reset button. (Note, however, that you cannot reset the Section page. If you wish to undo

changes to the Section page, you must do so manually).

Figure 23: Inserting a section using the Insert Section dialog

Naming sections

Writer automatically enters a name for the section in the name box of the New section list box. To

change the name, select it and type over it. The name is displayed in the Sections category of the

Navigator window. If you give your sections meaningful names, you can navigate to them more

easily.

Linking sections

You can insert the contents of another document into the section and then have Writer update it

whenever the other document is updated. This is called linking the section to the other document.

To link the section to another document, follow these steps:

1) In the Link section of the dialog, select the Link option.

Figure 24: Linking sections

2) Click the (...) button to the right of the File name field. The Insert dialog opens.

Using sections for page layout 24

3) Find and select the document you want to insert and then click the Insert button. The Insert

dialog closes and the name of the selected document appears in the File name field.

4) If you want to insert only a section of the selected document, select the desired section

from the Section drop-down list.

Note

The section must already exist in the selected document. You cannot create a

section in the selected document at this point.

You can update links automatically or manually. See “Updating links” on page 29.

Write-protecting sections

To write-protect the section so that its contents cannot be edited, select the Protect option in the

Write protection area.

Figure 25: Write-protecting sections

Note

Write-protection protects only the section’s contents, not its attributes or format.

Password-protecting sections

To prevent others from editing the section’s attributes or format, additionally protect the section with

a password, as follows:

1) Select the With password option. The Enter Password dialog opens.

2) Type a password in the Password field and then confirm the password by typing it again in

the Confirm field.

3) Click OK. The Enter Password dialog closes. Anyone who tries to edit the section’s

attributes or format will be prompted to enter the password.

Figure 26: Password-protecting a section

Hiding sections

You can hide the section so that it will not be displayed on the screen or printed. You can also

specify conditions for hiding the section. For example, you can hide the section only from certain

users.

Using sections for page layout 25

Note

You cannot hide a section if it is the only content on the page or if the section is in

a header, footer, footnote, endnote, frame, or table cell.

To hide a section, select the Hide option in the Hide section of the dialog.

Figure 27: Hiding sections

To hide the section only under certain conditions, enter the desired conditions in the With Condition

field. The syntax and operators that you use to enter conditions are the same ones that you use to

enter formulas. For syntax and a list of operators, see Writer’s online help under conditions.

If the section is write-protected with a password, the password must be entered to hide or reveal

the text.

Hiding text can be useful for printed documents, if for example you have an instruction manual for

two widgets, Model A and Model B which are very similar. By setting a condition for, say, Model A

widget, you can hide that text which only applies to Model B, before printing it.

Caution

Hiding text is not a secure way to stop someone else reading it. It will stop the

casual reader but will not prevent someone who actively wants to find out what you

have hidden―even if it is password protected.

Formatting a section into columns

Use the Columns page of the Insert Section dialog to format the section into columns. This page is

very similar to the Columns dialog shown in Figure 10 on page 14. Please refer to that topic for

details.

Indenting the section from margins

Use the Indents page (Figure 28), to set indents from the right and left margins of the section.

Figure 28: Indenting sections

Enter the desired left-margin indent in the Before section box. Enter the desired right-margin indent

in the After section box. The preview box on the right-hand side of the page shows you how the

section will look with the indents applied.

Using sections for page layout 26

Changing the background of the section

Use the Background page to add color or a graphic to the background of the current section. This

page is similar to the Background pages for paragraphs, frames, tables, and other objects in

LibreOffice. For more information, refer to Chapter 7, Working with Styles.

Customizing footnotes and endnotes in a section

Use the Footnotes/Endnotes page to customize the current section’s footnotes and endnotes.

Figure 29: Setting footnotes and endnotes for sections

Customizing footnotes

If you want the section’s footnotes to appear separately from the other footnotes in the document,

select the Collect at end of text option in the Footnotes area.

To number the section’s footnotes separately from the other footnotes in the document, and format

the numbering, follow these steps:

1) In the Footnotes section of the page, make sure that the Collect at end of text option is

selected.

2) Select the Restart numbering option.

3) If you want the section’s footnotes to start at a number other than 1, enter the desired

starting number in the Start at number box.

4) Select the Custom format option.

5) From the drop-down list of the Custom format option, select a numbering format for the

footnotes.

To add text to the selected numbering format, use the Before and After text input boxes. For

example, if you want the footnote numbers to be preceded by the word “Note” and followed by a

colon, fill the Before and After fields as shown in Figure 29.

Using sections for page layout 27

Customizing endnotes

If you want the section’s endnotes to appear at the end of the section rather than at the end of the

document, select the Collect at end of section option in the Endnotes area.

To number the current section’s endnotes separately from the other endnotes in the document, and

format the numbering, apply the procedures described above to the Endnotes settings.

Saving a new section

To save a new section so that it appears in your document, click the Insert button. The Insert

Section dialog closes and the new section appears in your document.

Editing and deleting sections

To edit a section, follow these steps:

1) From the Menu Bar, choose Format > Sections. The Edit Sections dialog (Figure 30)

opens.

2) Select the section you want to edit by clicking its name in the list box.

Editing section attributes

To rename the selected section, simply type over its name in the Section name box.

From the Edit Sections dialog, you can also edit the selected section’s link, write-protect, and hide

attributes. To learn how to edit these attributes, see:

“Linking sections” on page 24.

“Write-protecting sections” on page 25.

“Hiding sections” on page 25.

Figure 30: Edit Sections dialog

Using sections for page layout 28

Editing the format of a section

To edit the format of the selected section, click the Options button.

The Options dialog has four tabbed pages: Columns, Indents, Background, and

Footnotes/Endnotes. The use of these pages is described earlier in this topic.

To reset a page to the conditions in place when the dialog opened, click the Reset button.

To save your Options settings and return to the Edit Sections dialog, click OK.

Figure 31: Options dialog for sections

Deleting sections

To delete the selected section, click the Remove button.

Note

Writer will not prompt you to confirm the deletion. To undo a deletion, click the

Cancel button.

Updating links

You can set Writer to update linked sections automatically, and you can also update links manually.

Updating links automatically

To set Writer to update links without prompting you, or to turn off automatic updating, follow these

steps:

1) Choose Tools > Options > LibreOffice Writer > General. The dialog displays general text

document settings.

2) In the Update section of the dialog, under Update links when loading, select one of the

following three options:

Updating links 29

• Select Always if you want Writer to update links automatically, without prompting you,

whenever you open a document that contains links.

• Select On request if you want Writer to prompt you before updating links.

• Select Never if you do not want Writer to update links.

3) Click OK to save your settings. The Options dialog closes.

Updating links manually

A protected section cannot be updated manually. It must first be unprotected.

To update a link manually:

1) Open the document that contains the link.

2) Choose Edit > Links. The Edit Links dialog opens.

3) The list in the Edit Links dialog displays the names of all the files that are linked to the

current document. Click the file that corresponds to the link that you want to update.

4) Click the Update button. The most recently saved contents of the linked file appear in the

current document.

5) To close the Edit Links dialog, click Close.

Figure 32: Edit Links dialog

Updating links 30

Creating headers and footers

Headers are portions of a document that always appear at the top of a page; footers appear at the

bottom of a page. Typically, headers display the title or chapter name of a document.

In LibreOffice, headers are specified by page styles; therefore, when inserted, all the pages with

the same page style will display the same header. The option to make the header/footer on the first

page of a document different is available (see “Defining a different first page for a document” on

page 8). Chapter 7 describes how to format a header as part of the page style formatting. For the

purpose of this example, we will insert a header in the Default pages using manual formatting.

There are two ways to insert a header. The simplest method is to click above the top of the text

area, then when the Header marker appears (Figure 33), click on the +. (To insert a footer, click

below the bottom of the text area to display the Footer marker, and then click on the +.)

Figure 33: Header marker at top of text area

Headers can also be inserted from the Menu Bar by selecting Insert > Header > [Page Style]. The

submenu lists the page styles used in your document. In addition, the submenu includes the entry

All, which activates headers on all the pages of the document regardless of their page style.

For our example, select the Default menu item to activate the headers only on the pages that use

the Default page style. Similarly, to insert a footer, choose Insert > Footer > [Page Style].

Note

The Insert menu can also be used for deleting a preexisting header or footer for a

page style. If that page style has a check mark in front of it, it contains a

header/footer, and clicking on it opens a message box warning about deletion and

asks whether you want to delete the header or footer for that particular page style.

Depending on which option you choose, an area will appear at the top or bottom of the page. In

this area you can enter text and graphics that will appear on every page unless Same content on

first page has been deselected..

Figure 34: A page with a page header

Items such as document titles, chapter titles, and page numbers, which often go into headers and

footers, are best added as fields. That way, if something changes, the headers and footers are all

updated automatically.

Creating headers and footers 31

Fields are covered in Chapter 14, Working with Fields, but one example here may be useful. To

insert the document title into the header on a Default page style:

1) Select File > Properties > Description, enter a title for your document in the Title area,

and click OK to close the dialog.

2) Add a header (Insert > Header > Default).

3) Place the cursor in the header part of the page.

4) Select Insert > Fields > Title. The title should appear on a gray background (which does

not show when printed and can be turned off).

5) To change the title of the document, reselect File > Properties > Description and edit.

Formatting headers and footers

In Writer headers and footers are considered paragraphs and therefore you can format the header

or footer text using the same techniques you use for formatting text in the main body of the

document.

Tip

You can define styles for headers and footers so that you can quickly obtain a

consistent formatting in case you use several page styles. Writer includes three

named header and footer styles: header/footer, left header/footer styles, and right

header/footer styles. All six are identical and are available for the user to modify.

You can format the layout of headers and footers using two different methods. The first method is

to use the Header or Footer markers that appear within headers and footers.

For example, to use the Header marker:

1) Click the top of the page. The blue Header marker will appear.

2) Click the plus sign in the Header marker. The plus sign will change to a down arrow.

3) Click the down arrow.

4) Select Format Header. This opens the Page Style dialog where you can change the

margins, spacing, and height.

5) Click More to open the Border/Background dialog where you can add borders, background

colors, and background images to the header.

You can also format headers and footers by modifying the page style at Format > Page > Header.

Caution

Do not use the Background and Borders tabs on the Page Style dialog to format

headers. Style choices selected from those tabs will apply to the entire page rather

than to the header.

Portrait headers on landscape pages

When you define a header and footer on a landscape page, they will be aligned with the long side

of the page. If your landscape pages are going to be inserted between portrait pages, you might

want the headers and footers to be on the short sides of the landscape pages, so the final printed

product looks like the contents of the landscape pages have been rotated 90 degrees on portrait

pages.

You can set up portrait headers and footers on landscape pages by using a trick involving frames.

These are a bit tedious to set up, but once you have done so, you can copy and paste them to

other landscape pages. This cannot be made part of the landscape page style. In the following

example we want to insert a landscape page into our printed document, to have the same header

and footer, and margins, as our portrait pages. We will use an A4 page size here.

Creating headers and footers 32

To set up portrait headers and footers on landscape pages:

1) Note the margin settings for the portrait page which is the same as the landscape page will

be, that is to say, for a right landscape page, the settings from a right portrait page (see the

table)

We now need to make the landscape right and left margins 1 cm larger than the portrait top

and bottom margins, respectively. This difference allows for the extra space used by the

portrait header and footer (0.5 cm for the height of the header or footer and a 0.5 cm gap

between the header or footer and the main text).

Portrait page (right page) Landscape page (right page)

Top margin 1.5 cm Right margin 2.5 cm

Bottom margin 1.5 cm Left margin 2.5 cm

Left (inner) margin 2.8 cm Top margin 2.8 cm

Right (outer) margin 1.8 cm Bottom margin 1.8 cm

2) We will continue this example setting the frame for the footer. The procedure is the same

for doing the header. Apply these margin settings in the Landscape page style.

3) Copy and paste the footer from the portrait page into a blank paragraph in the text. Paste

or move it into the landscape page. This text will then have the Footer style so the typeface,

font size, and tab settings will match.

Figure 35: Copy the footer, paste, and select it.

4) Select the text you just entere (including the fields)d. Choose Format > Character. On the

Character dialog, choose the Position tab and set Rotation / scaling to 270 degrees

(counterclockwise). Note in the preview pane that the tabs are removed in this process.

Click OK.

Figure 36: Rotating the footer text 270 degrees

5) With the text still selected, choose Insert > Frame. In the Frame dialog, select the Type tab

and enter the width, height, and horizontal and vertical position for the footer. Deselect the

Automatic options in Width and Height if they are selected.

Creating headers and footers 33

• The width is the footer height taken from the Footer page of the portrait page style

dialog.

• The frame height is obtained by simple arithmetic. The A4 page-width is 21cm, minus

the sum of the top and bottom margins of 2.8cm and 1.8cm resulting in a frame height

of 16.4cm.

• The horizontal position is the portrait page bottom margin.

• The vertical position is the landscape page top margin.

Figure 37: Defining the size and position of the footer frame

6) If your footer has a line above the text, as in this book, on the Borders page, select a right

border and specify the line width and spacing to the frame’s contents.

7) Click OK to save these settings. The footer will now appear in the required position and

orientation. Any fields will update.

Because tabs have been removed, insert the cursor in the frame, at the end of the text where the

tab was, and insert as many spaces using the keyboard space bar, as you require for the layout to

match that on the portrait page.

Repeat these steps (using appropriate settings) to set up a portrait header on the landscape page.

Caution

Make sure to return to the paragraph in the document from which you rotated the

text, and return it to 0 degrees, or any text typed in this location will rotate.

Creating headers and footers 34

Figure 38: Footers in place for both page styles

Numbering pages

This section describes techniques to insert page numbers and related information in a document.

Some basic knowledge of page styles, which are fully described in chapters 6 and 7, may be

needed to follow some of the examples given.

Preliminaries: fields

LibreOffice uses fields to manage page numbers. To insert a page number field, position the cursor

where you want to insert the number and choose Insert > Fields > Page Number. The page

number appears with a gray background. The gray background denotes a field; although it is

visible on screen, it is not printed.

Tip

If you wish to turn off the gray background, choose View > Field Shadings (or

press Ctrl+F8).

The page number field always displays the page number for the page where it is placed. If you see

the words “Page number” instead of a number, press Ctrl+F9. This shortcut key toggles LibreOffice

between displaying the Field Name (the variable) and the field’s result (the data in the variable).

Note

For a full introduction to fields, see Chapter 14, Working with Fields.

Numbering pages 35

Preliminaries: insert and format a header

For the purpose of this example, we will insert a header in the Default page style pages using

manual formatting. See “Creating headers and footers” on page 31.

Simple page numbering

The simplest case is to have the page number at the top of every page and nothing more. To do

this, put the cursor on the header and select Insert > Fields > Page Number.

Figure 39: Page number inserted in the header

Now the correct page number appears on every page.

Combining header text and page number

There are a lot of interesting variations that you can apply without further knowledge of page

styles. Here are some suggestions:

• Right-align the header to make the page number appear on the top-right.

• Type the word page before the page number field so the header reads page 1, page 2,

and so on. This also requires using the Page Number field, discussed earlier (page 35).

• Add the document title so the header reads, for example: Peter's Favourite Poems, left

justified, and page x with right justification, where x is the value of the Page Number field.

Consider using a (right-aligned) tab to separate the title from the page number.

• LibreOffice also has a Page Count field (Insert > Fields > Page Count). Using it, you

could, for example, have a header that reads page 2 of 12.

These variations are all illustrated in Figure 40.

Figure 40: Variations on the simple page numbering method

Numbering pages 36

Changing the number format

Many more variations are possible. For example, you can set the page number to display in

Roman numerals. To do that, you can double-click on the page number and select the desired

format; however, a better choice is to specify the format of numbers in the page style as explained

here.

Right-click in the text area of the page and select Page from the context menu.

On the Page page of the Page Style dialog, in the Layout settings section, select i, ii, iii, …. from

the Format drop-down list to use lowercase numerals.

Figure 41: Changing format of page numbers

Numbering the first page something other than 1

Sometimes you may want to start a document with a page number greater than 1. For example,

you may be writing a book, with each chapter in a separate file. Chapter 1 may start with page 1,

but Chapter 2 could begin with page 25 and Chapter 3 with page 51.

Follow these instructions to start the page numbering in a document at a number greater than 1.

(These instructions are for a page number in a footer, but you could use a header instead.)

Tip

Do not set a starting page number that is an even number because you will end up

with a blank page before the first page when you print the file or export it as a PDF.

1) Choose Insert > Footer > [page style] to activate the footer. If the page style already has

footers active, there will be a check mark against its name. In which case click in the footer

area of the page without clicking on the page style. If you do click the checked page style

name, select No in the warning dialog if you do not want to remove any footer text already

in place, or Yes if you do. Click in the footer area.

2) The cursor is now in the footer. To insert the page number, choose Insert > Fields > Page

Number. The page number will be 1.

3) Click in the first paragraph in the text area.

4) Choose Format > Paragraph (or right-click and choose Paragraph from the context

menu), to display the Paragraph dialog.

5) On the Text Flow page, in the Breaks section, select Insert and select Page in the Type

drop-down list. Select With Page Style and the page style you are using for the first page

of the document. Note that you are not inserting a page break, but a break in the page

numbering.

6) The Page number field is now active. Type the page number you want to start with. Click

OK to close the Paragraph dialog.

Numbering pages 37

Numbering pages by chapter

Technical documents often include the chapter number with the page number in the header or

footer. For example, 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, ...; 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, ...

To set up this type of page numbering in LibreOffice, you need to do three things:

1) Ensure that your chapter titles are all identified by the same paragraph style, for example,

the Heading1 style.

2) Use Tools > Outline Numbering to tell LibreOffice what paragraph style you are using for

Level 1 in your outline, and specify “1,2,3” in the Number box.

Figure 42: Specifying paragraph style and numbering for chapter titles

3) Insert the chapter number in your document. To do this:

a) Place the cursor in the header or footer just before the page number you inserted

earlier, and choose Insert > Fields > Other from the Menu Bar.

b) On the Fields dialog (Figure 43), go to the Document page. Select Chapter in the

Type list, Chapter number in the Format list, and 1 in the Level box. Click Insert.

Figure 43: Inserting a chapter number field

Numbering pages 38

c) Type a hyphen or other punctuation between the chapter number and the page

number.

For more information, see “Choosing paragraph styles for outline levels” and “Including chapter or

section information in page headers” in Chapter 7, Working with Styles.

Restarting page numbering

Often you will want to restart the page numbering at 1, for example, on the page following a title

page or a table of contents. In addition, many documents have the front matter (such as the table

of contents) numbered with Roman numerals and the main body of the document numbered in

Arabic numerals, starting with 1.

You can restart page numbering in two ways.

Method 1:

1) Place the cursor in the first paragraph of the new page (be aware a heading is a

paragraph).

2) Choose Format > Paragraph.

3) On the Text Flow page of the Paragraph dialog (Figure 5 on page 10), select Insert in the

Breaks area.

4) In the Type drop-down list, select Page.

5) In the Position drop-down list, select Before or After to position where you want to insert

the page numbering break.

6) Select With Page Style and specify the page style to use.

7) Specify the page number to start from and then click OK. This does not insert a new page.

Method 2:

1) Place the cursor in the first paragraph of the new page.

2) Choose Insert > Manual break.

3) Page break is the default selected on the Insert Break dialog.

Figure 44: Restarting page numbering after a manual page break

4) Choose the required page in the Style drop-down list.

5) Select Change page number.

6) Specify the page number to start from and then click OK. This does insert a new page.

Numbering pages 39

Example: Restart page numbering: a preface

A standard preface has the following properties:

• Page numbers are displayed in Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, …).

• After the preface, the document starts on a Default page.

• The page number resets to 1, and the number format becomes Arabic (1, 2, 3, 4, …).

Resetting the page number requires page breaks.

First, do the preliminary work for the Preface style:

1) Create a new page style and name it Preface.

2) Set its Next Style to Preface because a preface could span multiple pages.

3) Add a header to Preface and insert the Page Number field. Make the page numbers

display as Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, …):

4) Open the page style window for Preface (if not already open) and click the Header tab.

Select Header on under Header.

5) Click the Page tab (Figure 45). Under Layout settings, in the Format drop-down list, set the

format to i, ii, iii, …. Click OK to close the dialog.

After the preface is written, we are ready to restart the page numbering in the main body of the

document to Arabic numerals. Follow these steps:

1) Make an empty paragraph at the very end of the preface.

2) Put the cursor on the blank line.

3) Choose Insert > Manual Break.

4) Select Page break and choose the Default Style.

5) Select the Change page number option and set the new value to 1. Click OK to close the

dialog.

These settings are shown in Figure 44.

Note

You cannot assign an odd page number to a left page or an even page number to

a right page. LibreOffice strongly adheres to the convention that odd page

numbers go on right-hand pages and even page numbers on left-hand pages.

Figure 45: Set page number format to Roman numerals.

Numbering pages 40

This change is also reflected on the Status Bar. The Page section of the status bar now shows the

page number, the sequence number and the total page count (the graphic shows the cursor

location is in Page 1, and that it is the forty-third page of forty-seven in the document).

Figure 46: Page number in the status bar

Problems with restarting page numbering

Restarting page numbering may lead to two problems.

• The Statistics page in the document’s properties (File > Properties) always displays the

total number of pages in the document, which may not be what you want to appear in the

Page Count field.

• When page numbering is restarted, LibreOffice always makes odd-numbered pages to be

on the right and even-numbered pages to be on the left. It does this by inserting a blank

page, if necessary. Sometimes this blank page is not desired, particularly when creating

PDFs or when printing single sided.

Solving the page count problem

Suppose you know exactly how many pages are not to be included in the page count. (You want

one page to be excluded in the page count for the following example.)

Instead of inserting a Page Count field, you can do the following:

1) Position the cursor where you want the page count to appear.

2) Press F2 to open the formula bar, just above the horizontal ruler in the main Writer window

(see Figure 47).

3) After the equal sign, type page–1. If you want to exclude several pages, substitute the

number of excluded pages for 1 in the formula.

4) Press Enter to close the formula bar and insert the resulting field into the document.

Figure 47: Formula bar

If you do not know the total number of pages in advance, then one approach is to create a

bookmark on the last page and then insert a cross reference to it.

To create a bookmark on the last page:

1) Go to the last page (Ctrl+End).

2) Choose Insert > Bookmark.

3) In the Insert Bookmark dialog, type a name for the bookmark, for example LastPage.

4) Click OK.

Numbering pages 41

Figure 48: Inserting a bookmark

To insert a cross-reference to the last page in the header or footer where you want to refer to the

total number of pages:

1) Position the cursor at the desired location—for example after the space added after of in

the header or footer, as in page xx of yy.

2) Choose Insert > Cross-reference.

3) On the Cross-references page of the Fields dialog (Figure 49), select Bookmarks in the

Type column and LastPage in the Selection column. LastPage now appears in the Name

box.

4) In the Insert Reference to box, select As page style. Click Insert.

Note

Do not delete the bookmark at the end of the document. If you do, the cross-

reference will not work.

If a field, such as a cross-reference, does not automatically update, press F9.

Figure 49: Inserting a cross-reference to a bookmark on the last page of a document

Numbering pages 42

Defining borders and backgrounds

You can apply borders and backgrounds to many elements in Writer. Paragraphs, pages, frames,

sections, page styles, paragraph styles, character styles, and frame styles can include both

borders and backgrounds; tables of contents, and indexes can include backgrounds only. Text can

have a border applied, either to individual characters or to selected text.

The dialog pages for borders and backgrounds are similar in each case. To illustrate their use, we

will define a border and background for a text frame.

Tip

Page backgrounds fill only the area within the margins, including the header or

footer (if any). To extend the background color or graphic into the margins, you

need to define a frame of appropriate size and position, anchor it to the page or a

paragraph, and send it to the background. For more about anchoring frames, see

Chapter 8, Working with Graphics.

Adding a border

To begin, select the frame, right-click, and choose Frame from the context menu. Select the

Borders tab.

Figure 50: Frame dialog: Borders page

Borders have three components: where they go, what they look like, and how much space is left

around them.

• Line arrangement specifies where the borders go. Writer provides five default

arrangements but you can just as easily click on the line you want to customize in the User-

defined area to get exactly what you want. Each line can be individually formatted.

• Line specifies what the border looks like: the style, width and color. There are a number of

different styles and colors to choose from. The Line Style, Width and Color will apply to

those borders highlighted by a pair of black arrows in the User-defined thumbnail on the left

hand side of the dialog.

Defining borders and backgrounds 43

• Spacing to contents specifies how much space to leave between the border and the

contents of the element. Spaces can be specified to the left, right, above, and below. Check

Synchronize to have the same spacing for all four sides. This spacing is like a padding and

it is not factored in when calculating the text measurements.

• Shadow style properties always apply to the whole element. A shadow has three

components: where it is, how far from the element it is cast, and what color it is.

Adding color to the background

In the Frame dialog, choose the Background page (Figure 53). Here you can add color, a gradient

or a graphic.

To add color to the background, select from the color grid. You can adjust the transparency of the

color to make any text easier to read.

Adding a gradient to the background

To add a gradient to the background:

1) From the As drop-down list on the Background page, select Gradient. The page now

displays the gradient options (Figure 51), with an example in the preview pane to the right.

2) Select the required gradient from the list.

3) Click OK.

Figure 51: Frame dialog: Background page showing Gradient choices

Adding a graphic to the background

To add a graphic to the background:

1) From the As drop-down list on the Background page, select Graphic. The page now

displays the graphics options, as shown in Figure 52.

2) Click the Browse button. The Find Graphics dialog opens.

Defining borders and backgrounds 44

3) Find the file you want and then click the Open button. The Find Graphics dialog closes and

the selected graphic appears in the preview box on the right-hand side of the Background

page. (If you do not see the graphic, select the Preview option.)

4) To embed the graphic in your document, deselect Link. To link the graphic to the document

but not embed it, select Link. For more about linking graphics, see Chapter 8, Working with

Graphics.

5) In the Type area, choose how you want the background graphic to appear:

a) To position the graphic in a specific location, select Position and then click the

desired location in the position grid.

b) To stretch the graphic to fill the entire background area, select Area.

c) To repeat the graphic across the entire background area, select Tile.

6) In the Transparency area, you can adjust the transparency of the graphic. This adjustment

is often necessary to make any text easier to read.

Figure 52: Graphic options on the Background page of the Frame dialog

Figure 53: Frame dialog: Background page showing color choices

Defining borders and backgrounds 45

Deleting color, gradient or graphics from the background

To delete color, gradient or graphics from the background:

1) From the As drop-down list, select Color.

2) Click No Fill on the color grid.

3) Click OK.

Defining borders and backgrounds 46