LibreOffice-Suite-Draw-6.3/C2/Common-Edit-and-Print-Functions/English

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Visual Cue Narration
Slide: Title Slide Welcome to the spoken tutorial on Common Edit and Print Functions in LibreOffice Draw.
Slide: Learning Objectives In this tutorial, we will learn to:
  • Set margins for the Draw page
  • Insert page numbers, date and time
  • Use Undo and Redo actions
  • Rename a page
  • Print a page
Slide: System Requirements This tutorial is recorded using,


  • Ubuntu Linux OS version 18.04 and
  • LibreOffice Suite version 6.3.5
Switch to Water-Cycle.odg Let’s open our Water-Cycle.odg file which we created earlier in this series.
Slide: Code Files
  • The files used in this tutorial have been provided to you in the Code files link on this tutorial page.
  • Please download and extract the files.
  • Make a copy and then use them for practising.


Slide: Important Note
  • As we work on t his file, remember to press Ctrl + S to save the file frequently.
  • Also remember to click anywhere on the page to deselect a shape after drawing it.


Point towards Page Margins Now, we will set Page Margins for this drawing.
Slide: Page Margins Why are Page Margins necessary?


  • Page Margins determine the space within which the objects will be placed inside a page.
  • This is mainly to print the drawing.
  • With margins we can ensure that there is adequate space on the sides.
  • It prevents any part of the diagram from being cut when we print it.


Cursor on the page. Let us set the Page Margins and then print the WaterCycle drawing.
Only Narration Let’s say the paper size that we want to use to print this diagram is a customised size.
Point towards page margins on the top and left side It has a Width and Height of 20 by 20 centimeters.


It also requires a bottom margin of 1.5 centimeters.

From the Main menu >> select Page>> click Properties To set these measurements, from the Main menu select Page and click on Properties.
Point towards the Page Setup dialog box The Page Setup dialog box appears.
Point towards the Page tab Click on the Page tab if not already selected.
Enter Width = 20, Height =20,

Bottom = 1.5

Under Paper Format, in the Width and Height fields, type the value “20cm” each.


Under Margins, in the Bottom field, type 1.5 centimeters.

Point to the preview of the page displayed on the right side. To the right, we can see a preview of the Draw page.


This preview displays the changes made to the Draw page.

Click OK. Click on the OK button.
Point to the Draw page.


Point to the margins and the spill-over.


Point towards the spill-over

How does the page look now?


The drawing appears to spill out of the page.


This means that a part of the diagram will be cut when it is printed.

Point to the page margins. We need to ensure that the diagram is always within the margins before printing.
Only Narration It is a good practice to set the correct page margins before we begin our drawing.
Only Narration If we missed to do so in the beginning, we can set the correct margins now before printing.
From the Main menu, select Format and click Page. From the Main menu, select Page and click on Properties.
Point to the Page Setup dialog box. The Page Setup dialog box appears.
Click the Format drop-down list and select A4.


Select Landscape

Bottom = 1.0

In the Page tab, under Paper format, click on the Format drop down list and select A4.


Under Orientation, click on the Landscape radio button.


Under Margins, in the Bottom field, type 1.0 centimeter.

Click OK. Then click on the OK button.
Point towards the margins The drawing is now placed correctly within the margins.
Right-click to view the context menu >> click on Properties

>> Page Setup dialog box.

We can also access the Page setup dialog box in another way.


Right-click on the page


In the context menu, click on Properties.

Click Cancel. Let’s click Cancel and exit the dialog box.
Press Ctrl + S to save the file Press Ctrl + S to save the file
Cursor on the page. Now, let us insert page numbers, date, time and the author’s name.
Select the page with the WaterCycle diagram. So, select the page with the WaterCycle diagram first.
Go to the Main menu >>

click Insert >> click Field

Go to the Main menu, select Insert and click on Field.
Point towards list of Fields A list of Fields is displayed.
Move the cursor up and down the list to show the various options. Fields contain values that are automatically generated by Draw.
Only Narration We simply have to insert a Field and the value generated by Draw.
Click on Page number. Let us click on Page number.
Come to the Draw page and point to the box A text box with the number 1 is inserted on the Draw page.
Adjust the size of the text box so that it is small and only the number one is visible. Let’s adjust the size of this text box and make it a little smaller.
Drag the box and place it at the bottom right corner of the page. Now, drag the box and place it at the bottom right corner of the page.
Select page two. Let’s check if the next number has been inserted on page two of this Draw file.
Point that the number is not inserted there. No, it does not show the page number!
Select page one. In Draw, the page number is inserted only in the page where we insert the field.
Cursor on the page.

Return to page 1

Now let’s learn how to change the page number format.


Return to page 1.

Return to page 1 >> Go to Main Menu >>

select Page>> click Properties

Now, right-click on the page and in the Context menu click on Properties.
Page Setup dialog box appears. The Page Setup dialog box appears.
Under Layout settings click drop down against Page numbers In the Page tab, under Layout settings, click on the drop down against Page numbers.
Select option a,b,c.


Click OK.

From the drop down list select a,b,c.


Click on the OK button.

Show the change in page numbers The page numbering has changed from 1, 2, 3 to a, b, c.


Likewise, we can change it to any format as per our requirements.

Press Ctrl + S to save the file Press Ctrl + S to save the file
Only Narration Next, let’s learn how to insert date and time fields.
Go to the Main menu >>

click Insert >> select Field

To do so, again go to the Main menu bar, select Insert and click on Field.
Move the cursor to point the Date (fixed) and Date (variable) In the list of options we can see Date (fixed) and Date (variable).
Then move the cursor over Time (fixed) and Time (variable) options. We can also see Time (fixed) and Time (variable).
Point to Date (fixed) and Time (fixed) options. The Date (fixed) and Time (fixed) options insert the current date and time.


These date and time values will not be updated.

Point to Date (variable) and Time (variable) options. Date (variable) and Time (variable) automatically get updated as and when we update the file.
Click on Time (variable). Let’s insert the Time (variable) here.
Drag the box >>

place it above the page number at the bottom right corner of the page.

Now, drag the box and place it above the page number at the bottom right corner of the page.
Point to the time text box. The time inserted will be updated to the current time whenever we open this Draw file.
Only Narration Let us now enter the author’s name who has created this file.


We shall set the author’s name on page one as “Teacher A”.

Go to the Main menu >>

click Tools >> click Options >>

On page one, go to the Main menu, select Tools and click on Options.
The Options dialog box appears The Options dialog box appears.
Point on LibreOffice


Point on User Data.

In the Options dialog box, on the left side locate LibreOffice.


We can see that User Data is already selected.

Point to the right side of the dialog box where the data fields are displayed. On the right side of the dialog box, we can type any other user data information.
Point to the fields Company, Street, and Title/Position. We can type any detail here as per our requirement.
In the First/Last Name/Initials, enter the text “Teacher”, “A


Point towards the updated field

In the First and Last Name fields, let’s type the text Teacher and A, respectively.


The Initials field gets updated automatically.

Click OK. Click on the OK button.
Go to Main menu >> select Insert


Click Field >> Select Author.

Now, from the Main menu, click on Insert.


Then click on Field and select Author.

Point to the Name Teacher A The text Teacher A is inserted in a text box.
Move and place this just above the Time field at the bottom right corner of the Draw page. Let’s drag this box.


And place it just above the Time field at the bottom right corner of the Draw page.

Only Narration Now, what if we want to remove the fields we inserted in the Draw page?
Press Delete button on the keyboard Simply select the text box and press the Delete key.
Select the field Author Name and delete it. Let’s delete the field Author Name.
Only Narration And what if we want to undo this action?
Text on screen: Press CTRL and Z keys together We can undo any action by pressing CTRL and Z keys together.
Point to show that the field is visible. The action that was last executed, that is the deletion of the Author field, is undone.


The field is visible again!

Point to main menu We can undo or redo actions from the Main menu too.
Click on the Redo icon on the Standard toolbar Click on the Redo icon on the Standard toolbar
Point to show that the field is no longer visible. The Author’s name is no longer visible!
Undo the other actions until the field insertions are also undone. Let’s press the CTRL+Z keys and undo all the field insertions we made.
Slide: Shortcut Keys We can also use shortcut keys from the keyboard for the undo and redo commands.
  • Press the CTRL + Z keys together to undo an action.
  • Press the CTRL + Y keys together to redo an action.
Press Ctrl + S to save the file Press Ctrl + S to save the file.
Slide: Assignment Pause this tutorial and do this assignment.


  • Change the Author’s name
  • Then add two more arrows to the page.
  • Insert a page number and date on page two.
  • Now undo and redo the last five actions.
  • Check if the Undo and Redo options undo all the actions or if some actions cannot be undone.
Select the page with the WaterCycle diagram. Let’s now name page one as “WaterCycleSlide”.
Go to the Pages pane >> Rename Page Select the slide in the Pages pane, right-click and select Rename Page.
The Rename slide dialog box appears. The Rename Slide dialog box appears.
In the Name field, type the name “WaterCycleSlide” >> Click OK. In the Name field, type the name WaterCycleSlide and click on the OK button.
Move the cursor just over the page


In the Pages pane and wait till the name “WaterCycleSlide” appears.

Now, let’s place the cursor over this page.

Can you see the name “WaterCycleSlide” displayed here?

Only Narration It is a good practice to assign a name that is relevant to the page.
Press Ctrl + S to save the file Press Ctrl + S to save the file
Only Narration Next, let’s learn to set the printing options and print the WaterCycle diagram.
In the Main menu >> click Print


Point towards Print dialog box

In the Main menu, click File then select Print.


The Print dialog box appears.

Point towards Print icon on Standard toolbar We can also access the Print dialog box by clicking on the Print icon on the Standard Toolbar.
Point to the right hand side of the Print dialog box >>

Point towards General and LibreOffice Draw Options

The right side of the “Print” dialog box shows 2 tabs:

General and LibreOffice Draw.

Move the cursor to the left side >> point to the print preview area. On the left side, we can see the print preview area.
Point to LibreOffice Draw tab. Let’s look at the options specific to LibreOffice Draw.
Click the LibreOffice Draw tab. Click on the LibreOffice Draw tab.
Check the boxes Page name, Date and Time. Under Contents, let’s check the boxes ‘Page name’ and ‘Date and Time’.


This will print the page name, date and time on the drawing.

Select Original colors


Select Fit to printable page.

Under Color, let us select Original colors.


Under Size, select Fit to printable page.

Just point to the Print button.

Do not click it.

Click on the OK but ton to print the WaterCycle drawing from your computer.
Only Narration If you have configured your printer correctly, then your drawing should begin printing now.
Press Ctrl + S to save the file Let us save all the changes made and close the file.
Only Narration This brings us to the end of this tutorial.

Let us summarise.

Slide: Summary In this tutorial, we have learnt to:
  • Set margins for the Draw page
  • Insert page numbers, date and time
  • Use Undo and Redo actions
  • Rename a page
  • Print a page
Slide: Assignment Here is an assignment for you.
  • In MyPractice.odg file, insert two more pages
  • Set different margins for each page
  • Print the notebook label and the invitation that was created earlier
  • Insert the field Page count in each of these pages and observe what happens.
Slide: About Spoken Tutorial Project
  • The video at the following link summarises the Spoken Tutorial project.
  • Please download and watch it


Slide: Spoken tutorial workshops
  • We conduct workshops using Spoken Tutorials and give certificates.
  • For more details, please contact us.


Slide: Forums Please post your timed queries in this forum.
Slide: Acknowledgement Spoken Tutorial project is funded by Ministry of Education (MoE), Govt. of India
Slide: Thank you This tutorial was originally contributed by DesiCrew Solutions Pvt. Ltd. in 2011


The script for this tutorial was written by Nikita Misal from IIT Bombay.

And this is Madhuri Ganapathi along with the Spoken Tutorial team signing off. Thank you for watching.

Contributors and Content Editors

Madhurig, Nancyvarkey, Pravin1389