Note on the font color icons in OpenOffice Writer

To apply color to text in OpenOffice.org Writer, you select the text, then click and hold down on a text color icon, find the color  you want, and click the color. (Note that right now before the color is applied, the color under the A of the font color icon is white.)

That color is applied to the text, of course. Note that now the line under the A font color icon is red, the most recently applied color. Even though no red text is selected.

Now if I select some more text and just click the font color icon, rather than having to bring up the palette and pick the color again, like before, I get the most recently applied font color (the one shown in the line under the font color icon).

Ditto with the highlighting icon and the fill icon.

That is the way it works in Word, I understand, and that's how it now works in Writer 2.3. It does NOT work this way in Calc or Impress/Draw, though I would have to assume that's coming.

I wanted to point that out because I've heard complaints about how the text color icon (or text highlight icon) used to show the color of the currently selected text, not the color that you most recently applied. One could make an argument either way, but apparently the OpenOffice PTB (powers that be) decided to switch it to match Word. I must admit that I like it the new way, myself.

So -- two things here. One, that the OpenOffice folks listened to input from users, and two, that the font colors work this way in 2.3.

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Comments

[margaret]

I don't have the highlighting icon on my tool bar. What do I have to do to be able to see it--thus use it. Thanks

[Solveig]

Hi Margaret,

Click and hold down on the small black triangle at the far right end of the toolbar and choose Visible Buttons. Anything without a checkmark by it can be added by selecting it.

Solveig

[margaret]

Hi Solveig,
Thanks for getting back to me. When I go to Visible Buttons there is no paint brush there. Then I went to customize toolbars and it is not there either. I don't understand.
Thanks, Margaret

[Solveig]

The paintbrush icon is actually on the top toolbar.

[Bob]

Hi Solveig

Is there some way to make text transparent rather than have a color?
thanks in advance.

Bob

[Loryn Ney]

My issue relates, but wasn't addressed directly in the blog.
When I want to type in a different font color, I have to type the sentence, highlight, and then change the color. Word allowed you to click on the font color icon and start typing in that color.

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[sly]

it's kind stupid mechanism or this is a bug in openoffice, I have black font in the document written by my boss and I want to add blue comments in the document. So I select blue font color and I'm writing in black. I have to select what I wrote and then select a color (WTF?). Does anyone know how to write in color I want in a fast way (one click at maximum probably)? ;)

[drklassen]

I second (or would the be third) the comments by sly and Loryn; how do I set the color so that when I begin typing it comes up in that color?!

@Sly, not that if you write one word, then highlight and change the color, then begin typing *right after that* it will be in the new color. It's a very cumbersome workaround but it works.