Circumvent LibreOffice Macros with Templates

Instead of writing LibreOffice macros to change a default behavior, consider customizing the default template.

Creating macros is fun for me. But I agree, automating LibreOffice with macros is daunting, and the recorder is a poor way to begin writing code.¹

Recently I wanted to change the default anchor position of an image. When I insert an image by pasting, I want its anchor is to be "As Character" as opposed to paragraph, which was the current default.

I tried to record the process:

• Paste
• F4 (properties)
• As Character
• OK
• Press Enter

The recorder captured the Paste and Enter keys well. Unfortunately, it choked on the macro's primary element -- applying the As Character property.

But then I wondered, "Can the default anchor position be set to "As Character" in Options?" "No, it cannot," I answered.² "But you can change it in the default template. Here's how:"

• Start LibreOffice Writer. This should present a new, blank document. But if it doesn't, press Ctrl+N.
• Press Alt+2 to open the Styles sidebar.
• Click the Frame Styles icon. (Please see Figure 1, Frame Styles below.)



Figure 1 -- Frame Styles



• Right click on Graphics and choose Edit Style... as shown in Figure 2.



Figure 2 -- Edit Graphics Style



• Choose "Type" on the left. Its icon looks an anchor.
• Under Anchor, click the radio button next to As character.
• Review the other settings and change whatever other defaults that don't make sense to you. I recommend clicking the checkbox to lock Height to Width (aka Aspect Ratio in other applications). Mine was unchecked, and I always found myself clicking it.
• Choose File | Templates | Save as Template as shown in Figure 3. Note this is different from doing File | Save As and then choosing the OTT file type. And yes, you will be saving the image in the template, but it can be removed later.



Figure 3 -- Save as Template Menu Selection



• Enter a name for the template. I entered DEMO for this How-To, but I tend to give my templates more description names that include the paper size, such as "4 x 6 index card" or "5 x 7 greeting card LS."
• Choose a category to enable the Save button.
• Click the checkbox labeled "Set as default template" to ensure that every subsequent new Writer document will be derived from the new template.
• Note that these three choices (Name, Category, Default) can be changed in the Template Manager (Ctrl+Shift+N). The dialog should look similar to the one in Figure 4, below.





Figure 4 -- The Save Template Dialog Box




• Press Ctrl+N to create a new document. Paste an image into it to test the new template. Hopefully³ you'll get the desired result.

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¹ "When the macro recorder is not able to solve a specific problem, the usual solution is to write code using the OpenOffice.org objects. Unfortunately, there is a steep learning curve for the OOo objects."
² Sometimes I gain insight into a problem by splitting myself into student and teacher.
³ I write "Hopefully" because as I repeated these steps to test them, I managed to obliterate my own default template. And I couldn't seem to fix it without restarting Writer.