Alternatively select the box and press F2. Activate the button ] on the Options toolbar and then double-click the box to enter text into it. As described in Chapter 2 (Drawing basic shapes) the text is best input as an element in the box. In the next step you can see how to add text to individual boxes. The draft for the example in this chapter should look similar to that in Figure 4. Which replication technique you choose to use is up to you. The spacing of the duplicated object(s) to the original can be input in the placement fields for X and Y axes – note that positive values for X and Y are (relative the original object) to the right and downwards respectively. One can also select an object and use the menu command Edit > Duplicate in order to make copies of one or more boxes (see Figure 3). In Chapter 4 you will find useful the commands for making mirror copies, and the section on styles could also be helpful.

It is sometimes easier to draw only one box per level, to duplicate this box and then move it to the desired position. The exact size (particularly width), position, and color will be fixed later. Individual boxes are placed and dimensioned according to ‘feel’. Watch that the color choices maintain a good contrast between text color and background so that you can easily read the printed diagram.įigure 1: Example of an Organization Chart.Īt the beginning it is useful to prepare a setup page or draft, with snap lines, to assist in drawing the various hierarchies and responsibility paths and typical boxes that you will use in drawing the chart. With a color progression from dark tones to bright, this effect can be reinforced.

The use of different fill colors clearly represents organizational linkages and by drawing rectangles with different heights you can see the various hierarchies. Drawing these charts presents no special problems, however (see Figure 1).

Draw offers no special toolbar for creating organization charts, where individual fields appear as rectangles.

Openoffice draw organizational chart