Working with text boxes

Click in the text box that reads Click to add text, Click to add an outline, or a similar notation.

Type or paste your text in the text box.

These text boxes are known as AutoLayout text boxes. See also “Creating bulleted and numbered lists” on page 65.

1. Using text boxes created from the text box tool

In Normal View:

1. Click on the Text icon on the Drawing toolbar. If the toolbar with the text icon is not visible, choose View > Toolbars > Drawing.

2. Click and drag to draw a box for the text on the slide. Do not worry about the vertical size and position—the text box will expand if needed as you type. To reposition the text box to a different part of the slide, see “Moving a text box” on page 51; to change the horizontal size, see “Resizing a text box” on page 51.

3. Release the mouse button when finished. The cursor appears in the text box, which is now in edit mode (gray hashed border with green resizing handles shown in Figure 34).

4. Type or paste your text in the text box.

5. Click outside the text box to deselect it.

1. Moving a text box

In Normal view, notice how the pointer changes from an arrow to an I-beam as you move it over the text in a text box.

1. Click when the pointer becomes an I-beam. The text box is now in edit mode, with a gray border and green resizing handles.

2. Move the I-beam (or pointer) over the gray border. Notice how it changes shape, becoming a four-headed arrow (or a similar shape depending on the operating system and user’s settings).

3. When the four-headed arrow appears, click and drag to move the text box. An empty dashed-line box shows where your text box will be placed.

4. Release the mouse button when the text box is in the desired position.

1. Resizing a text box

In Normal view, when the green resizing handles are displayed, move the I-beam (or pointer) over any handle. Notice how the pointer changes shape, indicating in what direction the text box will be resized. The corner handles change the two dimensions of the text area simultaneously while the four handles in the middle of the sides modify only one of the dimensions.

When the two-headed arrow is displayed, click and drag to resize the text box.

OOo also provides a different type of text box which resizes horizontally to automatically fit the text as it is inserted. To insert an auto-resizing text box, click on the Icon in the text toolbar (see Figure 34) and then click on the place in the slide where you want the first letter of the text to appear. If the text toolbar is not visible, choose View > Toolbars > Text.

For more accurate control over the shape, size and position of the text box, instead of using the mouse, use the Position and Size dialog. Select the text box, then press F4 or select Format > Position and Size from the menu bar. The use of this dialog is explained in Chapter 2.

1. Deleting a text box

1. Click the text once to display the gray border and green resizing handles of the text box.

2. Position the pointer anywhere on the gray border so that it becomes either a four-headed or two-headed arrow.

3. Click once. The gray border disappears, leaving only the green resizing handles.

4. Press Delete.