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OpenOffice Impress User Guide
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Working with templates

All documents in OpenOffice.org (OOo) are based on templates. However, Impress is a little different from other OOo components, in that it starts with the Presentation Wizard unless you have elected to turn the Wizard off.

When you choose File > New > Presentation from the menu bar, if the Presentation Wizard is active, the Wizard offers several choices for a new presentation, one of which is From template.

If you have turned the Presentation Wizard off, when you start a new presentation by choosing File > New > Presentation from the menu bar, OOo uses the default presentation template. If you have not defined your own default template, OOo uses an in­built blank template supplied with the program.

  1. Using templates supplied with OOo

OOo comes with five presentation templates. Two are in the Presentations folder and three are in the Presentation backgrounds folder. The difference between them is that “Presentation” templates include a series of slides with sample titles and topics, while “Presentation background” templates have only backgrounds and background objects. Both types have predefined presentation and graphics styles.

You can create a new presentation from a previously saved presentation template by choosing File > New > Templates and Documents from the menu bar. This opens the Templates and Documents – Templates window. To open a new presentation based on a template, double-click that template’s name in the list.

  1. Using templates from other sources

If you have created your own templates, or imported templates from another location, they are probably stored in the My Templates folder in the Templates and Documents – Templates window. Templates installed using the Extension Manager may be installed in their own folders. You can use them in the same way as the templates installed with OOo.

See page 47 for information on importing templates into OOo.

      1. Installing templates using the Extension Manager

The Package Manager was introduced in OOo 2.0.4 and renamed the Extension Manager in OOo 2.1. This feature provides an easy way to install collections of templates, graphics, macros, or other add-ins that have been “packaged” into files with a .OXT extension.

  1. After you download a package, select Tools > Extension Manager from the menu bar. In the Extension Manager dialog (Figure 29), click Add.

Frame190

  • A file browser window opens. Find and select the package of templates you want to install and click Open.

  • On the Extension Manager dialog (Figure 30), select the package you just added and click Enable.

    Frame191

    The slide masters from the templates will now appear in the list of Available Master Pages in the Tasks Pane (Figure 19).

    1. Setting a default template

    You can set a custom presentation template to be the default template. You can reset the default later if you choose.

        1. Setting a custom template as the default

    You can set any template to be the default, as long as it is in one of the folders displayed in the Template Management window.

    To set a custom template as the default:

    1. From the main menu, choose File > Templates > Organize. The Template Management window (Figure 33) opens.

    2. In the box on the left, double-click the folder containing the template that you want to set as the default, then select the template.

    3. Click the Commands button.

    4. From the drop-down menu, choose Set As Default Template. The next time that you create a document by choosing File > New, the document will be created from this template.

    Frame192

      1. Resetting the default to OOo’s in-built Default template

    To re-enable OOo’s Default presentation background template as the default:

    1. From the main menu, choose File > Templates > Organize. The Template Management window (Figure 33) opens.

    2. In the box on the left, click the Presentation Backgrounds folder.

    3. Click the Commands button.

    4. From the drop-down menu, choose Reset Default Template.

    1. Creating your own templates

    To create a template from a presentation:

    1. Open the presentation that you want to use for a template.

    2. From the main menu, choose File > Templates > Save. The Templates window opens (see Figure 17).

  • In the New template field, type a name for the new template.

  • In the Categories list, click the folder in which you want to store the template. This is usually the My Templates folder, unless you have created other folders.

    To learn more about template folders, see “Organizing templates” on page 46.

  • Click OK. OOo saves the new template and the Templates window closes.

    Frame193

    1. Modifying a template

    You can edit a template’s styles and content, and then, if you wish, you can reapply the template’s styles to documents that were created from that template.

    Note

    You can only reapply styles. You cannot reapply content.

    To edit a template:

    1. From the main menu, choose File > Templates > Edit. A standard file browser window opens.

  • Find and select the template that you want to edit, and then click Open. The selected template opens in Impress.

  • Edit the template just as you would any other presentation. To save your changes, choose File > Save from the main menu.

    The next time that you open a document that was created from the changed template, the following message appears.

    Frame194

    Click Yes to apply the template’s changed styles to the document. Click No if you never want to apply the template’s changed styles to the document. Whichever option you choose, the message box closes and the document opens in OOo.

    Caution

    If you choose No in the message box shown in Figure 31, that message will not appear again the next time you open the document after changing the template it is based on. You will not get another chance to update the styles from the template, although you can use the macro given in the Note below to re-enable this feature.

    Note

    Automatic updating from a template did not work in OOo2.0.2. This bug was fixed in OOo 2.0.3. To re-enable updating in files created using OOo 2.0.2:

    1. Use Tools > Macros > Organize Macros > OpenOffice.org Basic. Select the document from the list, click the +, and select Standard. If Standard has a + beside it, click that and select a module.

    2. Name the macro. For example, you could call it FixDocument. If the Edit button is active, click it. If the Edit button is not active, click New, type a module name in the pop-up dialog, and click OK.

    3. In the Basic window, enter the following:

    Sub FixDocument

    TemplateName = ThisComponent.DocumentInfo.Template

    if TemplateName <> "" then

    ThisComponent.DocumentInfo.Template = TemplateName

    end if

    End Sub

  • Click the Run BASIC icon, then close the Basic window.

  • Save the document.

    Next time you open this document, the update from template feature will be restored.

    1. Organizing templates

    OOo can only use templates that are in OOo template folders. You can, however, create new OOo template folders and use them to organize your templates. For example, you might have separate template folders for templates for different purposes or projects. You can also import and export templates.

    To begin, choose File > Templates > Organize from the main menu. The Template Management window (Figure 33) opens.

    Note

    All the actions made by the Commands button in the Template Management window can be made as well by right-clicking on the templates or the folders.

        1. Creating a template folder

    To create a template folder:

    1. In the Template Management window, click any folder.

    2. Click the Commands button.

    3. From the drop-down menu, choose New. A new folder called Untitled appears.

    4. Type a name for the new folder, and then press the Enter key. OOo saves the folder with the name that you entered.

      1. Deleting a template folder

    You cannot delete the template folders supplied with OOo or installed using the Extension Manager; you can only delete folders that you have created.

    To delete a template folder that you have created:

    1. In the Template Management window, click the folder that you want to delete.

    2. Click the Commands button.

    3. From the drop-down menu, choose Delete. A dialog appears and asks you to confirm the delete. Click Yes.

      1. Moving a template

    To move a template from one template folder to another template folder:

    1. In the Template Management window, double-click the folder that contains the template you want to move. A list of all the templates contained in that folder appears underneath the folder name.

    2. Click the template that you want to move and drag it to the desired folder. If you do not have the authority to delete templates from the source folder, this action copies the template instead of moving it.

      1. Deleting a template

    You cannot delete the templates supplied with OOo or installed using the Extension Manager; you can only delete templates that you have created.

    To delete a template:

    1. In the Template Management window, double-click the folder that contains the template you want to delete. A list of all the templates contained in that folder appears underneath the folder name.

    2. Click the template that you want to delete.

    3. Click the Commands button.

    4. From the drop-down menu, choose Delete. A dialog appears and asks you to confirm the deletion. Click Yes.

      1. Importing a template

    If the template that you want to use is in a different location, you must import it into an OOo template folder.

    To import a template into a template folder from another location on your computer:

    1. In the Template Management window, click the folder into which you want to import the template.

    2. Click the Commands button. From the drop-down menu, choose Import Template. A standard file browser window opens.

    3. Find and select the template that you want to import and click Open. The file browser window closes and the template appears in the selected template folder.

      1. Exporting a template

    To export a template from a template folder to another location:

    1. In the Template Management window, double-click the folder that contains the template you want to export. A list of all the templates contained in that folder appears underneath the folder name.

    2. Click the template that you want to export.

    3. Click the Commands button.

    4. From the drop-down menu, choose Export Template. The Save As window opens.

    5. Find the folder into which you want to export the template and click Save. OOo exports the template to the selected folder, and the Save As window closes.


  • OpenOffice Impress User Guide
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      Published under the terms of the GNU General Public License Design by Interspire