The Gallery LibreOffice

Foreword
The video shows the application ″The Gallery LibreOffice" and links to this page here, which provides further information and details.

This description refers to the LibreOffice 7.0 version on Windows 10.

Basis of this description and the video is the FAQ-Draw in the LibreOffice-Wiki.

Additions to version 7.3 are shown in this color.

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

The Gallery LibreOffice 7.0

Presentation
The Gallery is a library containing objects (pictures or sounds), which you can easily insert into your documents.

It is available in all modules of LibreOffice.

To open the Gallery, open the Sidebar and click on the sidetab "Gallery".

- Differences in Draw and Writer -

Themes
On the top of the Gallery, all available themes bundled with LibreOffice are listed.

Included themes of LibreOffice are:

Objects of the Gallery are gathered by themes,, , , , , , ,  and.

Click on a theme to see its content in the main window of the Gallery.

You can also create your own themes, as much as you need.

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Display
The Gallery can be displayed either as Icon View or Detailed View by clicking on buttons.

Create a new theme with your own files

 * Click or  button at the top of the Gallery.
 * Enter a name for your topic in the "General" tab, e.g. [[Media:202009_LOEN_Gallery Diabox Properties of New Theme General.png|"My Theme"]].
 * Click on the "Files" tab and there on the button.

[[Media:202009_LOEN_Gallery Diabox Select Folder.png|Dialog "Select folder" is open, (Figure right: Select folder for files)]].




 * Browse to directory containing the drawing files you want to add to your theme and then click.
 * Click in the "File Type" combo box to limit to one file type and accept the file list update with.
 * Click the selection arrow on the right at "File type" and select a file type to limit the selection to this file type..
 * Select files you want to add:
 * click to install all files contained in the list,
 * or on specific files you want to add, and then validate with  button.
 * Click when you have done.



Note: You can add or remove drawings at any time later, even from different directories (see below).

Context menu of own Themes
With a right click on a own theme the Context menu with the selection appears:


 * in relation to the previously defined source directory, the theme will be updated with the contents from the directory.
 * the theme is deleted.
 * the theme can be renamed.
 * opens the "Properties of " dialog.

Context menu of own Objects


With a right click on a own object the Context menu with the selection appears:



Add an object to the Gallery
You can only add images to your own themes.

By file selection

 * Right click on theme's name in themes list ("My Theme" for instance) and select in context menu.
 * Click on "Files" tab.
 * Click.
 * Select a directory and the desired file and click.

The object is added to the theme.

By drag & drop
Select an object in your document.

Click + hold the left mouse button on your object for approx. 2 seconds without moving it.

[[Media:202009_LOEN_Cursor other shape.png|The mouse pointer is modified]] and you can now drag the object to the Gallery and drop it to the right of the bottom last object of the topic.

See also "How can I reuse a drawing with the help of the Gallery?"

Remove objects in the Gallery
You can remove images only for your own themes.

To remove an object in a theme:


 * Select the theme where you want to remove an object.
 * Right click on the object and select.
 * Confirm you really want to delete this object by clicking.

Note: The file which object refers to is not deleted, only the object in the Gallery is removed.

Remove a theme in the Gallery
You can remove only for your own themes.

To remove a theme from the Gallery:


 * Click on "Gallery" tab in the sidebar.
 * Right click on the theme you want to remove.
 * Select in context menu.
 * Confirm you really want to delete this theme by clicking.

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How can I reuse a drawing with the help of the Gallery?
The Gallery is a very convenient way to make available to all modules (Draw, Impress, Writer, and so on) some customized objects and more particularly drawings made with Draw, such as logos for instance.

Once your drawings are created, you will add them to a theme of the Gallery and they will instantaneous be available in all modules, to be inserted with a simple drag & drop.

Finalize the drawing
Once the drawing is done:


 * Select all objects belonging to the drawing, with a click and drag surrounding all these objects, or type if there is no other objects on this page.
 * Group these objects with a right click on one and select or select menu  or type.

This first step is not compulsory but it will ease handling of the drawing as a whole when it will be inserted.

Add the drawing to the Gallery
You can add images or drawings only for your own themes.



Show the Gallery

 * Click on the [[Media:202009_LOEN_Sitebar Gallery.png|Tab "Gallery"]] in the sidebar or choose the menu.

Choose a theme where to add the drawing
The Gallery is organized with different themes, which list is displayed at the top of the Gallery:

You can:


 * either click on theme's name where you want to insert your drawing, My theme for instance
 * or create a new empty theme by clicking on button; type its name and validate with.

Note: If you don't have administration rights, you must choose a theme you created and not a bundled one.

Drag the drawing in the Gallery
This is obviously the most sensitive step of the whole procedure.

To let LibreOffice knows that you do not want to move your drawing on your page, but to copy it in the Gallery, a simple drag and drop does not work.

You must proceed as follow:


 * Click once on the drawing to select it.
 * Click + hold the left mouse button on your drawing for approx. 2 seconds without moving it.
 * [[Media:202009_LOEN_Cursor other shape.png|The mouse pointer is modified]], and you can now drag the drawing to the Gallery and drop it to the right of the bottom last object of the topic.


 * Note:


 * If the drawing is simply moved on the page and cannot be dropped in the Gallery, it probably means that you have not wait long enough before moving the mouse.
 * If you cannot drop the drawing in the Gallery, it probably means that you are not allowed to modify this theme. Then choose one of your themes (right click should show several entries if it is a user theme).

Insert a drawing from the Gallery
In the document where you want to insert the drawing:


 * Click on "Gallery" tab in the sidebar or select menu.
 * Select the theme where the drawing has been added.
 * Click + hold + drag the drawing and place it on your document.

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Gallery - in Writer
To insert a Gallery object into the document, right-click on it first.

For the included objects, you can choose between, and  in the context menu.

Select the "Process" object in the "Flowchart" theme.

Context menu - in Writer
If you select, the object will be pasted as an image (texts of objects cannot be edited).

If you choose, the object will be displayed larger in the sidebar.

If you choose and then, the object will be pasted editable.

You can then double-click on object texts, for example, and then edit the text.

Drag & Drop - in Writer
Drag & Drop = drag and drop

An easy way to bring objects from the Gallery onto the sheet is with Drag & Drop.

With the left mouse button click-hold-drag an object from the Gallery onto the sheet and then release the mouse button.

The texts of the objects are editable.

Gallery - in Draw
To insert a Gallery object into the document, right-click it first.

For the supplied objects, you can choose between, and  in the context menu.

Select the "Process" object in the "Flowchart" theme.

Context menu - in Draw
If you choose, the object will be inserted as a metafile as a shape (texts of objects cannot be edited immediately).

Right click on the object and choose "Break" from the context menu.

The metafile is broken up into three shapes.

You can now double-click on the text from the object, for example, and then edit the text.

If you choose, the object will be displayed larger in the sidebar.

If you choose and then, the object will be pasted editable.

You can then double-click on object texts, for example, and then edit the text.

Drag & Drop - in Draw
Drag & Drop = drag and drop

An easy way to bring objects from the Gallery onto the sheet is with Drag & Drop.

With the left mouse button click-hold-drag an object from the Gallery onto the sheet and then release the mouse button.

The texts of the objects are editable.

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Locating the Gallery






The location of your Gallery is specified in.

This path obviously depends on your operating system:


 * On Windows:
 * Before Vista:
 * Vista:
 * 7 or 8:
 * 10:
 * On GNU/Linux:
 * On MacOS:
 * On MacOS:

Note: These directories are hidden; you must set the option from your operating system to be able to see these hidden directories.

Storage of the objects of the Gallery
All graphical objects and sounds which are present in the Gallery can be located anywhere on your hard disk, or a network system, or an external disk, or an USB key.

If you add objects to the Gallery, corresponding files won't be moved nor copied: only the location of each new object will be added as a reference.

Note: In case of a network workgroup, you can have access to a shared theme on a server, but you cannot modify its contents if you have no administration rights.

Define a new location for the Gallery
You may require a new location for the future themes of your Gallery?


 * Select menu, then "Gallery" in "Type" column.
 * Click.


 * In dialog "Edit Paths: Gallery", click.
 * Go to a desired directory on your system and click - or  - depending on your operating system.


 * Check the radio button corresponding to the new path.
 * Validate with.
 * Close the dialog by clicking again.

Note: A restart of all LibreOffice components is required to take into account these new parameters. (bevore: all modules closed)

Warning: Choose a directory where you have Read/Write access.

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To go further
If you want to share your Gallery's theme, an easy way is to create an extension which will facilitate its installation.

Please check this how-to How to create an extension - Application to the creation of a theme for the Gallery for more information.

Add themes through extensions
On LibreOffice extensions website, you can search for extensions providing themes for the Gallery.

Simply install the chosen extension (you can check this entry for details) and restart LibreOffice.

List of keyboard shortcuts in the Gallery
List of keyboard shortcuts in the Gallery

Where are the image galleries from previous LibreOffice versions?
The previous image galleries were moved to extensions.libreoffice.org.

Documentation / Manuals
Here you will find the Documentation / Manuals:

Documentation / Manuals

Any questions?
For questions on this topic go to:

Ask.LibreOffice

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