OpenOffice.org OpenOffice - 3.3 User Manual download pdf (Page 114)

To distribute text evenly, select the Evenly distribute contents to all columns

option in the Settings area. Deselect this option if you want to distribute text

newspaper-style.

Tip

Choose View > Nonprinting Characters (or press Ctrl+F10) to

display end of paragraph markers (¶). Often, unexpected behavior of

columns is due to extra paragraphs that are normally invisible to the

user but are taking up space.

Using frames for page layout

Frames can be very useful when producing a newsletter or other layout-intensive

documents. Frames can contain text, tables, multiple columns, pictures, and other

objects.

Use frames when you need to:

• Position something in a particular place on a page, for example, a logo or a

“stop press” news box in one corner of a page.

• Allow text on one page to continue on another page, somewhere more distant

than the next one, by linking the content of one frame to another so the

contents flow between them as you edit the text.

• Wrap text around an object, such as a photograph.

Because OpenOffice.org does not allow you to define page styles with recurring

frames, consider doing some quick sketches of the basic page layouts you need,

indicating the approximate positions of different frames and their purposes. Try to

keep the number of different page layouts as low as possible in order to avoid chaos

in your design.

Pay special attention to the positioning of frames. Many of the predefined styles

default to a center alignment. Although centering all frames looks reasonably good in

most cases, itis rarely the best choice.

One of the most visually effective ways to position a frame is to align its left margin

with that of the paragraph above it. To achieve this effect, insert the frame in a blank

paragraph of the same style as the paragraph above. Then, select Insert > Frame >

Type > Position > Horizontal > From Left to position the frame exactly where you

want it.

You also should think about the type of wrap and the spacing between the frame and

text. Instead of cramming a frame close to the text, use the Wrap tab to place some

white space between them.

You can format frames individually or define and apply frame styles—see Chapter 7

(Working with Styles).

Example: Using a frame to center text on a page

Although you can center text horizontally as part of a paragraph style or by using

manual formatting, those methods do not work for vertical centering. To center text

vertically, you need to place the text in a frame, anchor the frame to a page or a

paragraph, and then center the frame vertically on the page. See “Anchoring frames”

on page 117.

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