Changing OLE object properties via the ribbon tab

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Changing OLE object properties via the ribbon tab

Numerous properties of OLE objects can be changed directly via the buttons of the contextual ribbon tab OLE object.

ribbon_tab_ole_object_a

The contextual ribbon tab "OLE object", left section

ribbon_tab_ole_object_b

The contextual ribbon tab "OLE object", right section

This ribbon tab appears automatically when you select an OLE object. It contains the following buttons (from left to right):

New object: This option allows you to insert a new object into the document and different object types are available.

OLE object: You can Edit, Open or permanently Convert the selected object here.

Edit link: If you have created an OLE object from a file and enabled the option Link, you can edit this link to the source file. For more information, see Editing links to OLE objects.

Cropping: You can enable/disable crop mode via this button. In this mode, additional handles appear on the borders of the object. Drag these handles with the mouse to crop the object accordingly. To exit the mode, click on the button again. You can also use the button's small arrow to select a cropping from different shapes or to remove the cropping.

See also the next section ("Picture tab" in the dialog box).

Brightness, Contrast, Saturation: Drag the slider or click on picture_slide_control_plus  and picture_slide_control_minus to change the respective values for the object. For more information, see also the next section ("Picture tab").

Recolor picture: This option provides a list of predefined variations of the object – for example, other color modes (grayscale, black/white, etc.) and variations where the object was colored. For more information, see also the next section ("Picture tab").

AutoShape effects (not included in SoftMaker FreeOffice): Here, you can apply effects such as shadows, reflections, etc. This option largely corresponds to the options of the tabs Shadow, 3D and Effects of the dialog box "Object properties". For more information, see next section.

Fill color: The fill can be changed here. For more information, see Object properties, Fill tab. However, this function is not supported by all OLE applications.

Line color, Line thickness: These options allow you to apply border lines. For more information, see Object properties, Lines tab.

Text wrapping: This option determines how the body text that surrounds the object should behave. For more information, see Object properties, Layout tab.

Bring to front, Send to back: These options arrange the order of overlapping object frames. For more information, see Changing the order of frames.

Align objects: This option allows you to align or evenly distribute two or more object frames. For more information, see Aligning and distributing frames.

Group: This option allows you to combine several selected objects into one unit, which can then be treated like a single object. For more information, see Grouping frames.

Duplicate: This option creates an immediate copy of the selected object.

Convert: This option converts an object frame into an object included in the body text and vice versa.

Width, Height: These options change the size of the object. For more information, see Changing position and size of OLE objects.

Many (but not all) of these functions and some additional options can be found in the dialog box Object properties, which you can access, for example, via the context menu. For more information, see the next section.