135. Insert Graphics and Other Objects

You can insert graphics and other objects to enhance the slides in your presentation. Graphics can be informative, such as a picture that provides information related to the slide content, or used just to add interest to your slides, such as a design element. You can also insert other objects (just about anything really), such as video and sound or application objects such as Calc spreadsheets and charts. Any application that you run on your system can actually be the host for an object placed on a slide.

Open Insert Graphics Dialog

Select Insert, Graphics from the menu. This opens the Insert Graphics dialog box.

Tip

You can search for open source and free clipart and images on the Web. A good place to start is www.openclipart.org. You can browse for specific clipart on this site or download the entire library.

Insert Graphic

In the Insert Graphics dialog box browse your folders as needed to locate the graphic. Then select the graphic file and then select Open. The graphic is placed on the slide. You can drag the graphic to a new location or size it as needed. Tools for modifying the graphic are available on the Object bar.

Tip

OpenOffice.org allows you to use graphics in a number of different graphic file formats including .bmp, .eps, .gif, .jpg, and .png.

Open Gallery

You can find a number of 3-D graphics, textures, and other graphic objects to add to your slides in the Gallery. Select the Gallery button on the Function bar. The Gallery opens at the top of the workspace.

Drag Graphic from Gallery

Select one of the Gallery categories such as 3D Effects, Bullets, or Rulers. Drag an object from the Gallery to the current slide. After the object is on the slide, you can move and size it as needed.

Tip

You can also drag sounds from the Gallery to your current slide. To see a more descriptive listing of the sounds in the Gallery's Sound category, select the Detailed View button at the top of the Gallery pane.

Tip

To place repeating graphics or other objects such as a text box containing the date, slide show title, or your name, open the master slide (select View, Master, Drawing) and then place items on the master. You can insert fields such as the Date and Author (select Insert, Fields) at the top or bottom of the master slide and add a company logo or other graphic to the master. Remember that objects that you place on the master appear on all the slides in the presentation. Take advantage of the different design objects in the Gallery to build eye-catching master slides.

Insert Spreadsheet

You can place other objects on your slides including charts and spreadsheets. To insert a new spreadsheet on a slide, select the Insert button's arrow on the Main toolbar and then select Spreadsheet from the object list. A new blank spreadsheet is placed as an object on the slide.

Enter Spreadsheet Data

When the spreadsheet object is selected the toolbars provide the tools that you would normally have access to in Calc. Enter data in the spreadsheet as needed. When you click outside the spreadsheet object, the toolbars provide the Impress tools normally available in the Impress workspace.

Tip

You can drag text boxes, images, and other objects off a slide and park these objects in the gray area of the workspace. This allows you to "accumulate" objects for a particular slide and then arrange them as needed or actually move them to a different slide.