Fun with OpenOffice Draw: Creating Text Boxes, Converting Text to 3D, and Formatting 3D Text
It's been a while since I sat down with some big sheets of paper and my crayons, and just colored. (I had that 64-color set of crayons with the extra-glamorous sharpener on the back....got it for Christmas my sixth birthday, I think, and I LOVED it. Sky Blue was my favorite.)
What I do these days, though, although the old set of crayons is actually on my shelf of cute collectibles along with my Star Trek popup book and a picture my parents the day they met, is to waste many fun hours with Draw.
One of the hidden but dramatic and fun features in Draw is the ability to create and twiddle around and format text in 3D.
Creating the text box
Find the text tool on the Drawing toolbar.
Click it, then move your mouse to the work area and draw a text box.
Immediately type in the text box
Converting the text box to 3D
Click on the text box where the border is, so that you get the green handles as shown. Then right-click on the border between or on the green handles and choose Convert to 3D.
The text will be converted.
Apply a lighter color if it's black so that you can see it better.
Modify the text by dragging one of its handles, so that the proportions are better.
To rotate the text in 3D, click in the middle of the text once; you'll see round red handles as shown and the mouse will change when you position it over a handle.
Drag a handle to move the text in 3D.
Click off the text, then once on again if you want to get the green handles back so that you can resize or re-proportion the text.
Applying standard fills
You can apply colors, but also gradients, hatchings, and bitmaps to the text. Think of it as a shape now, not text (you can't retype it at this point).
Here's a gradient.
Here's a bitmap.
Applying official 3D formatting
To apply 3D formatting, generally you should have a plain color applied, though there's no real cut-and-dried rule. Right-click on the text and choose 3D Effects.
Select from the many options, then click the green Apply checkmark to apply effects.
To export your text so you can make it into a GIF or similar graphic, see this post.
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