[3.5.3.2/Writer] H2 = underline until right margin?

users
#1

Hello

I use H1 for the document's main title, and H2 for sub-sections.

To make H2 sections more obvious, I'd like to have the text underlined and
have the underline go all the way to the right margin instead of just the
text itself.

I vaguely remember being able to do this with Word, but can LibreOffice
Writer do this too?

Thank you.

#2

Hi :slight_smile:
Yes.

Errr, i am not sure about the variety of underlining and such but there are 10 levels of headings that, by default, are linked together so that if you change the font on one of them that change flows through to the rest so that you can easily keep things consistent.  I'm not sure how smart it is, for example if changing h2 changes h1 or just the ones lower than it (h3, h4 and so on).  It's easy enough to change the default.

There is a chapter about styles and templates in official documentation.  Chapter 3 of the "Getting Started Guide".  There are pre-release and older versions of official documentation on this wiki-page
http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Documentation/Publications
But it is fairly widely distributed already.

Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#3

Thanks for the info. I don't have the time/courage to read the whole document
just for this, though.

Out of band, someone came up with this trick:
[quote]
Set a tab on the right margin and then insert a tab after your text, then
underline the white space after the text.
[/quote]

It works, but it's a bit cumbersome so I ended up copy/pasting the first
title and replaced all the other H2 items.

Thank you.

#4

Gilles wrote:

Hello

I use H1 for the document's main title, and H2 for sub-sections.

To make H2 sections more obvious, I'd like to have the text underlined and
have the underline go all the way to the right margin instead of just the
text itself.

I vaguely remember being able to do this with Word, but can LibreOffice
Writer do this too?

Thank you.

      The User Guides for LO have what you want already. The answer is to use styles.
      Open the Styles and Formatting window (use F11 to do this). When it opens, right click Heading 2 and select Modify. Click the Border tab. You want to create a bottom border by clicking below the gray square in the User defined window. Select the thickness (width) for the line and the color you want to use. If you have a preference as to the type of line used, select that also. Click OK. This should do it.

--Dan

#5

Don't use underline (in "Font effects" tab) but use borders (in, well,
"Borders" tab) instead. Just add bottom border, possibly set width, style and
spacing and you are done.

Please note that border will underline whole header box, not line of text
(check with long headings of two or more lines of text). Perhaps this is
something you want anyway, but you should be aware of difference.

#6

Gilles wrote:

Thanks for the info. I don't have the time/courage to read the whole document
just for this, though.

Out of band, someone came up with this trick:
[quote]
Set a tab on the right margin and then insert a tab after your text, then
underline the white space after the text.
[/quote]

It works, but it's a bit cumbersome so I ended up copy/pasting the first
title and replaced all the other H2 items.

Thank you.

      Time: let me see ... Chapter 3 is all of 24 pages long. One the top of the second page (Copyright page) is the style you seem to be wanting. Using the F11 key to open the Styles and Formatting window and change Automatic to All Styles at the bottom of it. Then click the Copyright heading. OOoHeading 1 will be highlighter. Right click it and select Modify from the context menu. You now have in front of you a dialog containing all the properties contained in the OOoHeading 1. You have 12 tabs with these properties.
      Now how much time would this take? Not nearly as much time as "reading the whole document for this".
      I do have one advantage over you. I write some of the documents for LO. So, I have taken the time to learn how to do things using styles. I have a copy of the Complete Writer Guide which I use as a reference once in a while. I also look at the properties of a style once in a while to see what they are. I then put this knowledge to work for me. I now have my own personal outline numbering styles based upon the works of others.
      If you are going to be using Writer extensively, you might want to get the Writer Guide as well. It is a good reference "book". Control+H will help you search for specifics so you don't have to read "the whole document" for any particular question.

--Dan

#7

Hi :slight_smile:
Nothing beats personal targetted advice from an expert!   Thanks Dan! :slight_smile:   The Styles chapter scared me too so my RTFM answer was particularly bad, on at least 2 counts.

However when i did eventually get around to reading it i found it enourmously useful and deeply regret not having read it earlier as it would have saved me hours of work and would have pushed me into using LO sooner (again saving me hours of struggling with MSO's lack of finesse with images).

Thanks and regards form
Tom :slight_smile:

#8

Can you not also highlight the H2 text, right click, edit paragraph style and then set the bottom border rather than opening the styles window (less scary for a new user).
steve

#9

Steve Edmonds wrote:

Gilles wrote:

Hello

I use H1 for the document's main title, and H2 for sub-sections.

To make H2 sections more obvious, I'd like to have the text underlined and
have the underline go all the way to the right margin instead of just the
text itself.

I vaguely remember being able to do this with Word, but can LibreOffice
Writer do this too?

Thank you.

     The User Guides for LO have what you want already. The answer is to
use styles.
     Open the Styles and Formatting window (use F11 to do this). When it
opens, right click Heading 2 and select Modify. Click the Border tab. You
want to create a bottom border by clicking below the gray square in the
User defined window. Select the thickness (width) for the line and the
color you want to use. If you have a preference as to the type of line
used, select that also. Click OK. This should do it.

--Dan

Can you not also highlight the H2 text, right click, edit paragraph style
and then set the bottom border rather than opening the styles window (less
scary for a new user).
steve

      Yes you can: it is the same dialog that opens. I have been using F11 to open the Styles and Formatting window since OOo 1.0.3 or before. So, it is no longer scary. And yes, I have made quite a few errors in that time. But, I just change the settings back. No big deal. I have even learned to dock this window on the left side of the OOo, AOO, or LO window.
      They say practice makes perfect. Well, this is not completely true. Practicing doing something the right way will result in remarkable progress though.
      If you are fairly new to LO, then I would definitely recommend your getting the Getting Started Guide. Spend some time in the Writer chapter looking for things that would help you. Practice these things in some spare time. And if you want more detailed information, get the Writer Guide. Then look at specific areas you think you might need. Time then form some more practice. You can do similar things with the other chapters of the Getting Started Guide when you have time.
      I use the Styles and Formatting window extensively changing paragraph and character styles as needed, sometimes several times in one line of text.

--Dan

#10

Thanks for the infos on how to change the styles and formatting. I only use
LO once in a while, so maybe I'll get around to reading its documentation
instead of googling for this type of thing.