Videos/Create and edit Fontwork

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

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

The basis of this description and the video is the Fontwork how-to article in TDF Wiki.

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

Create and edit Fontwork - LibreOffice 7.0

Presentation


The Fontwork-Tool provides text in different fonts with special effects that are different from ordinary text.

From the Fontwork Gallery you can select graphic and artistic text objects to make your documents more attractive.

There is a wide range of pre-defined templates available, and you are sure to find the one that suits your document and adapt it as required.

Fontwork is available in the modules Base, Calc, Draw, Impress and Writer.

The menu navigation is partly different in the modules.

For this description Draw and Writer was used in part.

Fontwork Options

 * Complete management of 3D effects
 * Area with colour gradients, colours, patterns etc.
 * Character size
 * Character spacing etc.

How do I create a Fontwork object?
Display the Fontwork Gallery using one of these commands:


 * Choose the menu
 * In the "Drawing" toolbar choose the "Fontwork" icon (for the toolbar choose the menu
 * In the Fontwork toolbar, select the Fontwork icon (for the toolbar, select the menu to display it).

The Fontwork Gallery dialog is now open, Figure 1.

Select a Fontwork style and click.

Selecting a Fontwork object
Click with the left mouse button on a Fontwork object to select it.

A selected Fontwork object is surrounded by seven squares, called "handles", which allow you to resize it, and a grey dot, Figure 2.

The grey dot allows the letters to slide, cursive Figure 3 and recursive Figure 4.

Write the text for the Fontwork object
Double-click on the Fontwork object.

The existing text is displayed smaller again and the cursor flashes.

You can now replace the text.

Then simply click outside the object and the new text will be displayed.

Use of the "Fontwork" toolbar
Alignment Allows you to change the character orientation, Figure 11.

The alignment in the order of the menu: Left-aligned, centred, right-aligned, word by word Justification, stretched Justification.

Note For text alignment click on the symbols on the left. The effects of text alignment are only visible if the object has two or more lines.

Click on the entry with the last option of the sub-menu Stretched Justification ( Figure 12 ), so that each line of the Fontwork object is filled in completely, as shown in Figure 13.

Tip To create a Fontwork object over multiple lines, press the key for each desired line break, as shown in Figure 14.

 Character spacing Allows you to change the spacing and kerning of characters, Figure 15:.



Select the desired distance.

For custom distances, select "Adjust" in the sub-menu and enter a percentage value: 100% is the normal percentage. Below 100% the distance is reduced, above 100% the distance is increased.

Note normal percentage = selection "normal" = 100%

Use the "Drawing object properties" toolbar
For example, if you click on an existing Fontwork object in Writer, the "Formatting" toolbar is replaced by the [[Media:202010_E15a Writer - Toolbars.png|"Drawing Object Properties" Toolbar]] to display additional font options.

Note The content of this toolbar may vary depending on the LibreOffice module used.



This toolbar ( Figure 16 ) gives you access to advanced functions for customising your Fontwork object.


 * Click on a Fontwork shape. The "Drawing Object Properties" toolbar, and thus offers many alternatives for the appearance, in the Writer module.
 * In the "Drawing Object Properties" toolbar, you have a whole range of tools to customize your object.

Note All these options are the same as for other Writer drawing objects.

Line options


Line options can also be found in the "Drawing Object Properties" toolbar.

The selection contains Line tips, Line style and Line width, Line colour, Fill type selection and the Fill colour, see Figure 17.

Note The tab Line Tips is not discussed here because it is not of interest for a Fontwork shape.



You can also change the line options as follows:


 * Right-click on the Fontwork object for a context menu or
 * select (Ctrl+F5) and select "Properties".

In this example the same text appears in a different colour and line width, see Figure 18.

Warning Only assign line properties to Fontwork objects that have no 3D effects, because the changes are not visible!



Select from the context menu.

The Line Dialog appears, Figure 19.

In the tab "Line" you can make the essential settings.

Fill options
See some examples of fills in Draw with a defined colour, a shadow, with transparency, a bitmap and a gradient, Figure 22.

For the filling, select "Colour", "Gradient", "Hatching", "Bitmap/Image" or "Pattern" from the "Area" context menu and in the "Area" Dialog that opens to fill the letters of the selected object, Figure 23.


 * Click "Enable" at "Shadow" and adjust parameters like angle, distance, colour and transparency to highlight the shadow of the object.
 * At "Transparency" define a percentage degree of transparency that you want to apply to the selected object.
 * With "Shadow|Colour", select from the available colours or add a new "Custom colour…" to the palette. This new colour is then available for all colour selections.
 * Change the available colour gradients according to your wishes.
 * At "Hatching" you can select the available hatching.
 * Select an existing bitmap or import one to make it available.
 * Or select an existing pattern.

Note The Line and Fill tools are also accessible via the Line and Fill toolbar.

To do this select from the menu.

New as of version 7.2 - Sidebar|Properties|Fontwork
[[Media:202110_Draw - Sidebar Fontwork.png|Fontwork panel was added]].

Options for the position of font objects
Ungroup Allows you to separate the selected objects so that you can manage them individually.

Use of the "Format" menu
You can select some of the options described in the previous sections from the menu ( Figure 33 ) to anchor, arrange, mirror horizontally and vertically, rotate and group selected Fontwork objects.

Use of the "Context menu"
You can also right-click on a Fontwork object to get most options in a shortcut menu, Figure 34.

In fact, this context menu provides quick access to tools such as, , and so on.

Note The dialog Caption is rarely used for Fontwork objects and is not discussed here.

On the other hand, the Context menu (like the menu) offers the entry Position and Size, shortcut  (in the modules Draw and Impress).

These open the Dialog Position and Size, Figure 35, in which you can specify exact values for the size and position of the selected Fontwork object.

Using the mouse
When you select a Fontwork object, eight square handles are visible around the object.

Click and drag one of these handles (except the grey dot) to resize the object.

Note if you want to keep the proportions of the object (height/width ratio), hold while you click and drag the handles.

By menu
Once the object is selected, select one of these commands:


 * choose the context menu in Writer or  in Impress
 * Right-click to open the context menu and choose in Draw
 * Press (in Draw or Imprint).

In the tab Position and size:


 * select the tab Position and Size
 * if necessary, check the box "Keep aspect ratio".
 * enter the desired values for the width and height of the object.
 * confirm with.

Note to keep the proportions of the object, select the Keep aspect ratio check box before changing values.

Change the font size of letters
When selecting a Fontwork object, you can hold one of the corner points with the mouse and drag to reduce or enlarge the letters within the Fontwork object.

Move Fontwork object
To move the object within your document:


 * mark the Fontwork object.
 * move the Mouse pointer over the text to see the cursor like this [[File:CurseurDéplacement.png]].
 * click and drag the fontwork to the desired position and release.

Comparison between Fontwork and Microsoft Word © / WordArt ©
The Fontwork tool is similar to the WordArt © used in Microsoft Word ©.

When LibreOffice saves documents in Microsoft Office © format, each Fontwork object is converted to WordArt ©.

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

Documentation / Manuals

Any questions?
For questions on this topic go to:

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