Writer Guide

Working with frame styles
Frames are often used as containers for text or graphics. To provide consistency in
the appearance of frames used for similar purposes, it is a good idea to define styles
for frames. For example, you might want photographs to be enclosed in a frame with
a drop-shadowed border, line drawings in a frame with a plain border, marginal notes
in a frame without a border but with a shaded background, and so on.
Writer provides several predefined frame styles, which you can modify as needed,
and you can define new frame styles. The technique for defining and applying frame
styles is similar to that for other styles.
Tip
There is considerable overlap between the uses of frames and of
sections for some page layout purposes. You may find it useful to take a
look at Chapter 4 (Formatting Pages) for information about the use of
frames and sections.
How frame styles work
When an object is added to Writer, it is automatically enclosed in a frame of a
predetermined type. The frame sets how the object is placed on the page, as well as
how it interacts with other elements in the document. You can edit the frame by
modifying the frame style it uses or by using a manual override when a frame is
added to the document.
Because frames and objects are used together, it sometimes is easy to forget they are
separate elements. In some cases, such as charts, you can edit the frame and object
separately, so the distinction is worth remembering.
Unlike other elements that use styles, frames can be defined only partly by their style
because their use can vary so much. Several elements of frames, such as the anchor
and protected elements, need to be defined manually for individual frames.
You can format a frame manually when you select Insert > Frame. The dialog box
that opens contains all the settings available when frame styles are set up, as well as
some only available when the frame is inserted. As with other styles, the most
efficient way to format frames is in the Styles and Formatting window.
Planning the styles
If you are using a mix of graphics, you may want to define two related styles, one
with a border line for graphics with white backgrounds and one without a border for
all other backgrounds. You also may want to design one or more frames for text only.
Otherwise, the default frame styles (listed in Table 3) cover most users’ needs. The
only significant addition that many users might need is one or more styles for text
frames.
Creating new frame styles
You can access frame settings by selecting New or Modify in the Styles and
Formatting window for a frame style.Creating new frame styles
You can access frame settings by selecting New or Modify in the Styles and
Formatting window for a frame style.
Chapter 7 Working with Styles 219