Insert and edit images in Writer Part 1

    From The Document Foundation Wiki
    This page is a translated version of the page Videos/Insert and edit images in Writer Part 1 and the translation is 2% complete.
    Outdated translations are marked like this.
    Other languages:

    This page is in work!

    Foreword and topics in part 1

    The video "Insert and edit images in Writer - LibreOffice - part 1" links to this page here, which contains further information.

    Link to the Video

    Link to the Video (in German [DE]):

    Inserting and editing an image in Writer

    Basic information on inserting

    Before inserting images, go to the View ▸ Images and Charts menu.

    The menu item should be marked so that you can see the images after inserting them.

    If the menu item is not selected, you will only see a frame with a label such as ImageX after inserting, then you should click on the menu item so that the picture becomes visible.

    The menu item functions as a toggle switch.

    You can insert images in different ways.

    However, this can also lead to different results.

    You can find out how to find out in which file format images are created in the Writer document in the following section Analysing a document.

    Analysing a document

    Figure 1 - Warning message
    Figure 2 - ZIP Startwindow

    Why are LibreOffice Writer ODT documents analysed?

    The analysis provides information on how Writer handles internally inserted images.

    In this example, the document "Anlage 1 - Einfügen über die Einfügefunktion.odt" was used.

    It is basically an empty document (and we will soon see that it does not actually exist) in which three images have been inserted (JPG, PNG and WEBP) according to the specifications of Insert an image using the insert function.

    ODT documents created in Writer can be analysed.

    To do this, change the extend of the file (but please only with a copy of the document) from ODT to ZIP.

    The file is then called "Anlage 1 - Einfügen über die Einfügefunktion.zip".

    You will receive a warning message (Figure 1).

    Click Yes to make the change.

    Note pin.svg

    Note:
    The insertion of images and the examination of documents in ZIP format was carried out under Windows 10. In other operating systems, this may differ from this description here.

    The ZIP file format is a compression format.

    To be able to examine the file, you need a programme that can open ZIP files.

    For example, the author uses the programme 7-ZIP.

    Right-click on the ZIP file in the file manager, select 7-Zip in the context menu and then Open.

    The 7-Zip programme window opens (Figure 2).

    Figure 3 - ZIP Picturewindow
    Figure 4 - "File manager" dialog - 3 files

    You will now see the contents of the file, which consists of folders and files.

    The three previously inserted pictures can be found in the Pictures folder in the programme window.

    Double-click on the Pictures folder to see the contents of the folder (Figure 3).

    All three pictures are now displayed.

    Now simply select all the pictures, right-click on them and select Copy to… from the context menu.

    In the "Copy" dialog, select a folder in which you want to save the images.

    You can now view the images individually in the file manager, for example (Figure 4).

    The three pasted images are listed with the file names specified by Writer as

    • 11000000000000064000000388A173660.jpg
    • 10000001000000D4000000C74442505C.png
    • 1000000000000569000002B3C84FD685.png (before WEBP).

    Even if you insert images from your computer, the existing image names are not transferred to Writer, but are given their own names by Writer, as listed above.

    Insert an image using the insert function

    Select Insert ▸ Image… from the menu or click on the "Insert Image" icon in the "Standard" toolbar.

    The "Insert Image" dialog will then open, allowing you to select and insert an image, usually from a folder on your computer.

    This is the recommended procedure so that you can easily insert an image in your Writer document.

    The respective image is then inserted in the format (JPG, PNG) in which it is available.

    An exception is a WEBP image that has been converted into a PNG.

    Insert an image by "Copy and Past" or "Drag and Drop"

    If you use this type of image insertion, the source from which the images are taken plays a major role.

    For example, if you copy images from the Internet, you should insert them using the Edit ▸ Paste Special ▸ Paste Special… menu.

    If you insert images directly, you must always be aware that you may introduce any unwanted formatting.

    Note pin.svg

    Note:
    With most images on the Internet, you can save the image to your computer by right-clicking on the image and selecting Save image as… from the context menu. You can then proceed according to Insert an image using the insert function.

    For the following four options, compare the procedure with Analysing a document.

    1. For attachment 2: The procedure for inserting an image using „Copy and Paste“ and "Drag and Drop" results in the following behaviour. A test file "Anlage 2 - Einfügen mit KopierenEinfügen und ZiehenAblegen.zip" was also created for this example. When analysing two saved images from the ODT file, only one image of the two pasted images appears in the ZIP file, as it is the same image. It is present in the document with the file name "10000000000000E1000000817455C6FE.png", i.e. a PNG file.
    2. Regarding Appendix 3: If you use the „Copy and Paste“ procedure to insert an image, you will receive a PNG file ("10000000000000E100000000817455C6FE.png").
    3. Regarding Attachment 4: If you use the „Drag and Drop“ method to insert an image, you will receive a BMP file. In relation to the test file „Anlage 4 - Einfügen mit ZiehenAblegen.zip“, this is "10000000000000E1000000817455C6FE.bmp", Figure 5.
    4. Regarding Attachment 5: If you paste an image copied from the Internet using the Edit ▸ Paste content ▸ Paste content… menu, you will still receive a PNG file, Figure 6.

    The ODT documents (Appendix) Anlage 1 to 5 can be downloaded here:
    Zu Kurzanleitungen und Themenbücher

    Insert Image

    ″Insert Image″ dialog
    Bild_015k.JPG

    Open Writer and the file "Lorem ipsum V63". ( File download from - Used working documents - )

    Place the cursor somewhere in the middle of the text.

    Now select the "Insert Image" icon in the "Standard" toolbar. 202007 LOHB Insert Image Icon.png

    Alternatively you can use the Insert ▸ Image menu.

    In the dialog ″Insert Image″ select the image file Bild_015k.JPG and click Open.

    The image is now displayed in the document.

    Image: Position and size

    In the sidebar under Properties, you can select ″Position and Size″ the ″Height″ and ″Width″ of the image.

    To ensure that the proportions are retained, place a check mark at "Keep Ratio Of Pic.png".

    At ″Width″ enter 5.00 cm.

    The image is immediately adjusted in dimensions.

    The value for ″Height″ no longer needs to be entered, since you have set the check mark for ″Maintain aspect ratio″.

    Left-click and hold the image and first drag it further down towards the center.

    Set Wrap for the image

    Right-click on the image to see the Context menu.

    In the Context menu, choose for the image "Wrap Parallel" off.

    Right-click on the image again and select Properties… ( F4 ).

    In the "Image" dialog in the "Wrap" tab, enter 0.50 cm for "Spacing" and click OK.

    General information on anchoring and positioning

    Set anchorage for the image

    Left-click on the image and drag it further down towards the center.

    Now right-click on the image.

    In the context menu that appears, move the cursor to Anchor.

    Another context menu shows the anchoring as To Paragraph.

    If this is not the default setting, click on it.

    Forankring og virkning

    Grøn tekst fra denne LO-Online Hjælp
    Blå tekst fra denne OO-kilde

    Til side

    Forankrer det valgte element på den aktuelle side.
    En grafik, der er forankret "Til side" er for altid knyttet til en bestemt side. Den flytter sig ikke, når du tilføjer eller sletterr tekst eller anden grafik. Denne metode er nyttig, når grafikken ikke behøver at være tilknyttet visuelt til et bestemt stykke tekst. Den bruges ofte under production af nyhedsbreve eller andre dokumenter, der ikke er meget layout-intensive.

    Anchoring to the page is often used, for example, on page 1 of a book.

    The image then usually takes up the entire page.

    Note pin.svg

    Example:
    When anchoring images to the page, keep in mind that they can no longer "wander" other pages. So if you have an image anchored to page 5, you can insert or remove as much text want in front of that page, but the image will remain fixed to page 5. This can even mean that if you remove a lot of text in front of it, you'll only have 4 pages left, for example, but the image will still be anchored to page 5 and will probably just disappear.

    Til afsnit

    Forankrer det valgte element til det aktuelle afsnit.
    Grafikken tilknyttes til et afsnit og flyttes sammen med afsnittet. Den kan placeres i marginen eller et andet sted. Denne metode er nyttig som et alternativ til en tabel til at placere ikoner i et afsnit.

    Til tegn

    Forankrer det valgte element til et tegn.
    Grafikken tilknyttes til et tegn, men ses ikke i tekstsekvensen. Den flyttes sammen med afsnittet, men kan være placeret i marginen eller et andet sted. Denne metode ligner forankring til et afsnit, men kan ikke bruges til tegne-objekter.

    Som tegn

    Forankrer det valgte element som et tegn i den aktuelle tekst. Hvis højden af det valgte element er større end den aktuelle skriftstørrelse, forøges højden på den linje, der indeholder elementet. For at centrere et billede på en HTML-side, indsætter du billedet, forankrer det "som tegn" og centrerer derefter afsnittet.
    Grafikken placeres i dokumentet, som ethvert andet tegn, og derfor påvirker højden på tekstlinjen og linjeskiftet. Grafikken flyttes sammen med afsnittet som du tilføjer eller sletter tekst foran afsnittet. Denne metode er nyttig til at holde skærmbilledet i rækkefølge i en procedure eller til at tilføje et lille ikon i en rækkefølge i en sætning.

    Inserting images - different techniques

    Presetting the anchorage - as of version 7.1

    The anchoring for inserting images can be preset from LibreOffice version 7.1.

    Select Tools ▸ Options ▸ LibreOffice Writer ▸ Formatting Aids from the menu.

    For "Image|Anchor" you can select: "To Pragraph", "To Character" or "As Character".

    Move image with caption frame in text

    If you insert a picture, it is treated as a frame ("Graphics" Frame Style).

    If you now add a caption, the image is given an outer caption frame ("Frame" Frame Style).

    You then have a frame within a frame.

    If you want to move the image to a different position, you must grab the outer caption frame and drag it (not the image).

    The prerequisite is the anchorage "To Paragraph" or "To Character".

    Compress the image

    Compressing an image serves to reduce the file size.

    A file size of approx. 100 kB is normally quite sufficient.

    Since you have already selected the smaller version of the image Image_015_k when inserting it, no additional compression is required.

    Look at it anyway.

    Right-click on the image and choose Compress….

    In the appearing dialog "Compress Image", the values for width, height and resolution are displayed.

    In the dialog below the centre the size of the image file is shown in "kB".

    Click Cancel.

    Remember to save your document.

    See also:

    Rotate the image

    Cursor shape

    With the image selected, right-click on the image and choose Rotate or Flip.

    Or select the "Rotate" icon on the "Image" toolbar.

    The four corners of the image now each have a orange dot.

    Move the cursor to one of these points.

    The cursor shape changes to a three-quarter circle line with end arrows.

    Click and hold the point and drag it clockwise or counterclockwise.

    When the desired angle for the image is reached, release the mouse button.

    Another way to rotate the image is in the sidebar under Properties.

    If the image is selected, you can rotate it in the sidebar in the lower area under Position and size ▸ Rotation, specify the angle in degrees.

    Alternatively, hold the blue dot over the rotary wheel and turn clockwise or counterclockwise.

    When the desired angle for the image is reached, release the mouse button.

    At 0 degrees, the image is back in the position it was inserted.

    Caption the image

    Note pin.svg

    Note:
    The image will be limited to the width to the Page margins when inserted, depending on the size of the image. With a page width of 21 cm and a margin of 2 cm each, the maximum width of the image is 17 cm. You should not add the caption until you have resized the image for your purposes.

    Right-click on the image again and select Insert caption….

    In the dialog "Insert caption" enter a caption for the image at "Caption"

    There at "Properties/Category", you can select a term for the category, e.g. "Drawing" or "Figure".

    In "Preview", you can see how the label looks as a whole.

    When you are satisfied, click OK.

    The image has now been given an additional frame.

    And according to the pre-selection, the inscription is located at the bottom edge.

    You can also change or add to the caption later.

    The prerequisite is that the frame of the image is not selected.

    Simply click in the label text and edit the label.

    Crop an image

    If you want to crop an image, right-click inside the image and select Crop.

    You can now click and hold the points with the left mouse button and drag them into the image.

    If the section is as desired, then simply click somewhere next to the image so that the image is unselected.

    The cropped image does not need to be saved.

    Only the cropped image is visible, but the entire image remains in the document.

    The cropped image can be enlarged again using the Crop function.

    Further image editing options

    In the context menu, select further image editing options.

    If you click with the right mouse button on an image in the document, you have access to the Menu selection for the image even more possibilities of image editing.

    Edit with external tool

    Click with the right mouse button on the image and select Edit with external tool.

    An image editing program opens that has been defined in the operating system with the file type of the image.

    If you do not have a suitable image editing program, you can download a program from the Internet.

    Here are a few examples of image processing programs

    Paint.NET, IrfanView, Gimp, (descriptions can be found in Wikipedia)

    In this way, you can edit the image with an image editing program (tool) for your purposes.

    Put image file in the Background

    Right-click on the image and choose Wrap ▸ In Background} from the context menu.

    The image is now in the background, which means that when you write your text now, you write it over the image.

    Insert a transparent image as Watermark on all pages in Writer

    "Page Style: DefaultPage Style" dialog, Area tab, Image Button
    "Transparency" tab

    Open a blank Writer document.

    Choose View ▸ Sidebar from the menu or press Ctrl + F5.

    In the sidebar under "Styles" select "Page Styles".

    Right-click on the "Default page style".

    Choose Modify….

    In the "Page Style: DefaultPage Style" dialog, select the Area tab, then Image button.

    Select an image or import an image, button Add / Import.

    The "Add Image" dialog appears.

    Select an image and click Open.

    If you are importing, enter a "Name" for the new image or leave the entry.

    In "Options" select for example "Stretched".

    In the "Transparency" tab choose the Transparency: 80%, (e.g.).

    Click on OK.

    All pages will now have an image as a Watermark, three pages.

    Customize the Frame style "Graphics" for Border and Caption

    Tools ▸ Options ▸ LibreOffice Writer ▸ AutoCaption Dialog

    You are writing a document and want to insert graphics.

    The graphics shall have a border.

    And the graphic shall have a caption.

    To achieve the desired result, three things must be met:

    A. The border for graphics must be adjusted.
    B. The "Options" menu must be adjusted.
    C. After adjusting A. and B., the document must be saved as a Document template.

    _____________________________________

    A. Customizing the Frame style for graphics.

    Right click on the Frame style for Graphics and click Modify.

    7432EN Writer Sidebar FrameStylesGrapficsModify.png

    In the "Frame Style: Graphics" dialog, select the desired Border and click OK.

    B. Choose the Tools ▸ Options ▸ LibreOffice Writer ▸ AutoCaption menu.

    Place a check mark next to "LibreOffice Writer Image."

    Select a Category, make the desired settings and click OK.

    You can now test by inserting an image.

    7432EN Writer Image WithFrameAndCaption.png

    C. Choose File ▸ Templates ▸ Save as Template... from the menu.

    7432EN Writer Menu FileTemplatesSaveAsTemplate.png

    In the "Save As Template" dialog that opens, enter a name, select a "Template Category" and checkmark at "Set as default template".

    7432EN Writer Dialog SaveAsTemplate.png

    When you restart Writer, the result should look like in the test.

    What should I be aware of when inserting a picture?

    See the themes in English AskLibreOffice-sites:

    Check Preferences

    View and Print settings

    To see images and diagrams in the view or to print them as well, check the following settings:

    View ▸ Images and Charts menu.

    Tools ▸ Options ▸ LibreOffice Writer ▸ View menu, there at View ▸ Images and objekts dialog

    Tools ▸ Options ▸ LibreOffice Writer ▸ Print menu, there at Contents ▸ Images and Objekts dialog

    File ▸ Print… menu, in the dialog "Print", "LibreOffice Writer" tab, there at Contents ▸ Images and other graphic objekts

    Image quality settings

    If you print the document or export it as PDF, pay attention to the settings for the image quality.

    • In the menu Tools ▸ Options ▸ LibreOffice ▸ Print, there at "Reduce Bitmaps".
    • The setting for PDFs in the menu File ▸ Export as ▸ Export PDF, there at "Images".

    Inserting an image into a Writer table

    Image in Table

    You can also insert an image into the cell of a Writer table.

    Place the cursor in the cell of a Writer table.

    Click on the "Insert Image..." icon in the "Standard" toolbar.

    In the "Insert Image" dialog, select the image you want to insert.

    Click the Open button.

    The image will be inserted into the cell.

    Right-click on the image and choose "Anchor" and "As Character".

    This will automatically adjust the cell to fit the image.

    Further Informations

    Anchorage of objects

    Inserting and editing images in Writer

    Used working documents

    Used Pictures

    Bild_001_k to Bild_034_k.jpg and GIF_001_k.gif

    Downloadable document for the video

    in German [DE]

    FAQs about images

    Writer/FAQ

    Calc/FAQ/Layout

    Draw/FAQ

    Copyright and license status of media

    Please be sure to note the license status of media.

    The huge variety of media (images, videos and audios) on the Internet can usually be accessed by clicking on them.

    However, these media are subject to copyright protection and registered licenses and possibly personality rights.

    Warning

     The takeover of foreign media for the purpose of publication is proven with punishment.
    

    Documentation / Manuals

    Here you will find the Documentation / Manuals:

    Any questions?

    For questions on this topic go to:

    Get Involved

    Join us today and help us to make it even better!

    LibreOffice is Free Software and is made available free of charge.

    Your donation, which is purely optional, supports our worldwide community.

    If you like the software, please consider a Donation.