OpenOffice.org Writer: Quick Divider Lines Using 4 Simple Keystrokes
Every once in a while, you just need a horizontal line in your document to create a visual break of one thing to another… maybe you need to separate a page “headline” from the body of the document or separate different topics from one another in a single document.
Really, there is an unlimited number of possible reasons for wanting that divider line. The question is how do we most efficiently get it?
Four keystrokes will create that divider line from left to right margin – no menus, dialog boxes or holding down a single key until you’ve moved across the width of the document.
Obviously the trick is in which 4 keystrokes you use.
Here are the key combinations I found and the results of each set:
Give them a try – they are one of the easiest things you’ll ever learn to do, when it comes to polishing the look of your documents beyond the usual text formatting stuff.
~ April
That’s really cool. I will use those often for scheduling.
I agree with Clark Grundler — its a great tip . . . . but I can’t get it to work with my OO Writer! What am I missing?? You type 3 hyphens, or equal signs, etc, then press ENTER (i.e., the 4th keystroke)?
All I get is the 3 characters and a line-break!!
John,
After reading your question, I tried it. It does work, just as you described it. Could it be that the OpenOffice version you’re using is out of date? I don’t know which version April is using, but mine is 3.3.
Sorry, this doesn’t work for me either. Could this be “font” specific”? My version of Open Office is 3.3. When in enter — I get —.
I hope someone can answer this. I’ve tried it now on two different machines, and it’s worked fine. I’ve found a couple sites offering the same tip, but neither mentioned any exclusions.
Not sure if it’s version dependent, but the keystrokes have to be the first thing on the line.