Re: [libreoffice-users] Draw problems

Regina,
Thank you very much for your suggestions.  They are very helpful, 
especially the suggestion to use the "Selection" box in the Draw export 
dialog.  I have no idea why I have not noticed that option before.  I 
tried it and it works.  I will definitely put your suggestions in my 
Computer Notes document for future reference.

Toward the end of your response, you describe a process to copy-paste a 
Draw figure into a Writer document.  I have never tried that, but how 
does that differ from an OLE object?  One thing I would expect is that 
changes to the figure would not be reflected in the target document, 
they would have to be copy-pasted again.

To answer some of your other questions,

1. I do not use the latest LO version.  I usually wait until x.x.5(+)
   is released and then stick with that stable version until the next
   release reaches x.y.5(+).  That said, I do have version 4.1.5 in the
   wings, but I have yet to re-package it for Slackware Linux and I
   have not had a really good reason to upgrade from 3.6.7.2 yet. 
   Eventually, I will try it.
2. Yes, my document is in Writer.
3. I have more than one reason to use the OLE object rather than
   inserting a file.  First, is that the OLE process maintains my
   document in one file.  When copying it, I don't have to remember to
   copy the figure files as well.  Second, the figure version tracks
   the document version.  By that, I mean that when I create a new
   document version, I still keep the old version(s) for historical
   reasons.  If I use the external file insertion process, then when I
   change a figure for a new version, the back versions will also
   change.  That is not what I need.  Third, I do believe that when a
   figure file is inserted, the path to that file is maintained in the
   document.  That is problematic if I change the directory structure,
   such as renaming a directory or copying the directory to another
   higher directory.  Then that link will break.  Using OLE prevents
   those negative effects. Fourth, is that the OLE object is easier to
   change while not going outside the Writer document to do other
   processes. Popping back and forth, is easy.  However, there are
   problems with Draw OLE that have been around for a long time, at
   least as old as LO, if not OO.  One is this rendering error. 
   Another is that the OLE version of Draw has a subset of commands
   from the stand-alone version of Draw.  One that comes to mind is
   Zoom. The stand-alone version of Draw supports Zoom, the OLE version
   does not for some reason.  I do miss zoom while editing an OLE
   figure when I need to position a point at an exact location and it
   keeps jumping around when I move the mouse.  Using Grid Snap should
   help this, but sometimes a point needs to be off-grid and then the
   lack of being able to zoom in to exactly position the point then
   zoom back out, is very frustrating.
4. No, I have not checked if this problem has a bug report. However, as
   I said, this problem has been around for years and I am surprised
   there wouldn't be a report by someone else in all that time.  If
   there is one and it hasn't been fixed in all these years, then the
   devs must not think this bug is important.
5. In 1:1 scale, my objects vary in size, but they are around 2" high x
   7" wide.
6. My Draw "document" is letter size by the look of it.  However, in
   OLE mode, the size is whatever is defined by the Writer frame that
   contains the object.  I usually drag the frames (object and
   Figure/caption) to the size I need to contain the figure.
7. The only reason I use jpeg or png files is that they seem to be
   widely supported and they render well with good resolution. If I
   have a choice,  usually use jpeg for photos and png for graphics.  I
   am not sure of the other formats and I have not done much
   experimenting.  I do know that I stay away from EPS (Encapsulated
   PostScript) files like the plague.  I once used EPS files for some
   figures and it brought LO to its knees.  It took minutes to scroll
   to the end of the document.  I would guess that the LO rendering
   engine for EPS is not very efficient.  Once I discovered that the
   same figure in JPEG did not slow LO down (and the file was smaller),
   I began using jpeg and blacklisted EPS.

Now, all this said, after I sent my original message, I had the need to 
print the figures and they printed just fine!  So, it looks like the 
problem is with the LO video renderer, since the errors only show up in 
the document and in Print Preview, while the actual print looks fine.  
That makes this problem an annoying bug for me, but not a show-stopper 
as I implied in my message.

Thanks again and take care.
Girvin Herr



On 05/09/2014 04:33 PM, Regina Henschel wrote:
> Hi Girvin,
>
> Girvin Herr schrieb:
> > Greetings,
> > I am using Linux LO 3.6.7.2.  I see that Draw still has problems
> > rendering drawings correctly as an embedded object.
>
> Any chance to use a more recent version? Many bugs have been fixed in 
> the meantime.
>
> > I am editing small graphics figures in my document using Draw. These
> > figures contain a graphical outline of an item using lines, boxes and
> > circles as well as other details such as text, dimension arrows and 
> > lines.
>
> Do you use Writer as target?
>
> > These figures are inserted as "objects" in my document, along with the
> > "figure" frame and title.
>
> Do you have a special reason for using an OLE object instead of the 
> drawing format? Because of the hangling of rulers and page margins in 
> OLE objects I find it more precise to use the drawing format.
>
>   The problem is that although the graphics
> > look perfect while in Draw, when I click outside the embedded draw
> > object to return to the document, parts of the figure are not rendered
> > properly in relation to the other graphics in the figure, such as boxes
> > and circles.  For example, the lines, arrows and text of the dimensions
> > are offset vertically about 3/8" (by the "ruler") below the boxes, lines
> > and circles of the item.  That will not do.
>
> Have you checked, whether there is a bug report about such problems?
>
>   The horizontal relationship
> > seems correct.  The error is only in the vertical plane.  I used the
> > print preview to verify these rendering errors are going to be printed
> > and they are.
>
> What is the size of the original draw document? How large is the 
> target area? Do you draw in 1:1 scaling?
>
> > Then I tried using Draw in stand-alone mode (not as an embedded object)
> > to export the figure as a jpeg or png file
>
> That is the way I usually work. But why you are using raster graphic 
> instead of vector graphic?
>
>  and inserting that file into
> > the document.  I changed the Draw page margins to the 2" by 7.5" figure
> > in order to exclude all but the figure.  However, these export functions
> > only allow full page saves,
>
> You can select the figure and check the option "Selection" in the 
> export dialog.
>
>  not the small 2" high by 7.5" wide figure I
> > need.  When inserting the file into the document, I get a lot of white
> > space and my figure is tiny.
>
> You have to change the page size, not the margins, see (2) below.
>
>  Changing the height and width parameters in
> > the Draw export window has strange effects and does not alter the full
> > page export.  Also the export width and height values interact with each
> > other and do not allow specific settings.  That is a moot point, since
> > they don't seem to work as expected anyway.
>
> Width and height are bound together to keep ratio and are not intended 
> to crop the drawing. If you get a wrong widths after setting dpi, 
> simply set it again. Sometimes the dialog does not refresh correctly.
>
> > It certainly looks like I cannot get what I reliably need from Draw.
>
> You can, but not the way you try it.
>
> > What I need to do should not be this difficult and frustrating.  Worst
> > case, I guess I could print the Draw figure, and use Xsane to scan and
> > save the area I need to insert into my document.  But that is silly and
> > time consuming.  Does anyone have a better solution?
>
> (1) Add a temporarily borderless, white-filled rectangle behind the 
> figure, which is a little bit larger than the figure. The rectangle in 
> background helps, that hairlines along the edges does not disappear. 
> Then mark rectangle and figure together. In the export dialog check 
> "Selection". Set dpi suitable for printing (300 dpi) or screen (72-96 
> dpi).
>
> or
>
> (2) Define a new Draw document with a page size, which fits to your 
> figure. Mark the figure, copy it to clipboard and paste it into the 
> new document. Export the new drawing to .svg format or .wmf format, or 
> in case of LibreOffice as target .svm format works as well.
>
> Insert it into the target document via Insert > Picture.
>
>
> or
>
> (3) Group the figure and copy and paste that group into Writer as 
> drawing format.
>
> or
>
> (4) Group the figure and drag it into the Gallery. In Writer open the 
> Gallery and pull the figure from there.
>
>
> If you feel only "printing" would help, then do not print, but export 
> to .pdf and use the capture feature of the pdf-reader. That works e.g. 
> nice for charts in Calc in that old LibeOffice versions.
>
> Kind regards
> Regina


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