Linux Dummies 9th

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Part III: Getting Things Done
This toolbar allows you to click buttons and expand drop-down lists that
represent standard presentation software functions, such as arrow styles,
colors, line styles, and other formatting instructions.
Directly below the Line and Filling toolbar in a default OpenOffice.org setup
are the rulers. These items mark out the margins and tabs, for example,
of your picture in the measuring system of your choice. To change which
system you want to use, right-click the ruler and change the measurements
to your preferences.
Click in that big white space and start doodling. You can also access a formatting
pop-up menu by right-clicking.
If you prefer to deface other pictures, you can choose File➪Open to select
any standard graphics file format (such as BMP or JPG) to work with. When
the file opens in Draw, you can use all the standard Draw tools to modify the
picture.
Beneath the document window is a Drawing bar, which allows you to select
lines, arrows, shapes, and more for your drawing-creation needs. Most of
these buttons have downward-pointing arrows, which allow you to see the
full range of features they offer.
Working with Draw files
At first glance, OpenOffice.org Draw appears to offer the most limited support
of file types. When you use the Save As dialog box, the only file formats
in which you can save a document are
✓ OpenDocument Drawing (ODG) format: The OpenOffice.org proposed
standard for graphics files
✓ OpenOffice.org 1.0 Drawing (SXD) format: The older OpenOffice.org
graphics format
✓ StarDraw 3.0 (SDD) format: The older Sun StarDraw format
✓ StarDraw 5.0 (SDA) format: The newer Sun StarDraw format
That’s not much to work with, especially when you’re dealing with picture
files. Fortunately, Draw has a few tricks up its sleeve. You can save images to
a format other than the standard formats by choosing File➪Export.
This produces a host of supported graphics formats: BMP, EMF, EPS, GIF,
JPEG, MET, PBM, PCT, PGM, PNG, PPM, RAS, SVG, SWF (Flash), TIFF, WMF,
and XPM. That should satisfy any computer artist.