No connectors in toolbar

[pilotgeorge]

I need to create a fairly complex flow chart.
I have the draw toobar showing, and easily find the shapes. But there is no connector dropdown. Going through the manuals, it appears that it should be there.
Do I need to install a template or something to activate connectors?

Title Edited. A descriptive title for posts helps others who are searching for solutions and increases the chances of a reply (Hagar, Moderator).

[acknak]

Is your window wide enough to show the whole toolbar? If not, it can be a challenge to find items that are not shown.

If that's not the problem, click the small menu handle at the right end of the toolbar and choose "visible buttons" to see if the connector button is ticked.

[Hagar Delest]

Don't you see them in the toolbar bottom left?

[pilotgeorge]

I have a 21 inch screen, wide enough for all other programs.
I clicked the menu handle, and connectors is not on the list.
Is there a template or something I am supposed to install, in addition to the main program?
It seems like somthing is missing, if connectors are supposed to be available, but they are not on the draw menu list.

[pilotgeorge]

I moved the draw tool bar to the top. I just moved it back to see if location of the tool bar made a difference, but no. The menu option "connectors" is just not there, visible or not.
There has to be something missing from my installation. I just installed the latest version of OO a short while ago, so I have the latest available on the OO.org web site.

[RoryOF]

In /View /Toolbars/ Customise : Toolbars tab is Connectors checked?

[pilotgeorge]

I checked as you say, looking at the draw and flow chart tool bars. There is no "connector" option anywhere. It is completely missing!

[Hagar Delest]

Try to reset your OOo user profile.

[pilotgeorge]

I attempted to do as you say.
I get top roaming, but there is NO openOfgfice.org folder under roaming. The bold is there, but not the rest.
C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Roaming\OpenOffice.org\3\user

Now I am starting to think that something went wrong in the installation. Should I reinstall?

[acknak]

I agree: it sounds like your install is broken.

Unless someone more familiar with Windows (roaming) profiles has some other suggestion, I would try a re-install.

I don't know if you want to try an upgrade to the current version as well, as long as you're messing with it. The version shown in your signature (3.1) is rather out of date at this point.

[pilotgeorge]

I downloaded again the full program. It installs as 3.1.0. Thatis from the OO.org site.
I do now get an OpenOffice.org folder in roaming. I tried saving all the folders, then reopening OO.
All of the above yields what appears to be a perfectly functioning suite of programs [ at least to the extent I played with it], and the ONLY thing missing is the connectors that I really need to create a flow chart.
Is someone on the forum willing to download the same thing I have, install it, and see if connectors is there - there in the flow chart tool bar?

Someone said that ver 3.1 is old. But that is what is on the web site. Has someone loaded the wrong file on the web site? How wouild I get the latest [ stable] version?

[Hagar Delest]

What site have you visited?
Use the button bottom right of this page. Latest version is 3.4.

[pilotgeorge]

I clicked on the button at lower right, and got a completely different page than I was getting.
I downloaded 3.4, and will install it now.
Before doing that, I started a cflow chart in the 3.1 version. Is 3.4 backwards compatable with 3.1 files? I am hoping that I can salvage what I already did.
I just tried going back to the site I thought was Openoffice.org. Now, I get the 3.4 site, not what I was getting before. In error, I must have mistyped "openoffice.org", and got something else - that offered 3.1 - IF what I downloaded really was 3.1, and not some booby-trapped look-a-like.

While here, can I ask another question? [this references 3.1, may not apply to 3.4] When I placed a shape, the nearest cell is highlighted, as if I were working on a spreadsheet. Is thyere a way to turn off that highlighting - it means I have to click somewhere else, then click again on the newly placed shape to asdd text. Rather annoying.

I very much appreciate the help!

[Hagar Delest]

I think that you had not installed a genuine version of OOo.
But I guess that the file format wast still ODF so the files will be compatible, don't worry.

For your question on Calc, please create a dedicated topic in the Calc forum.

[pilotgeorge]

Well, progress of sorts.
Yes, 3.4 opens files created in ver3.1.
In the flowchart toolbar there is a "shape" called "Flowcharts." One of the shapes in the drop-down box says Flowchart:connector
But it isn't what I call a connector, it is an ovoid. It looks like a circle if made as a 1:1 width height ratio, or any shape of ellipse with an aspect ratio <> 1:1
By connector, I mean a line [with or without arrow] that locks on two shapes. If a shape is moved, the connector follows so as to be always connected.
Is that not what OO cfonsiders to be a "connector"? Maybe I'm looking for something that is'nt here.

[Hagar Delest]

It's in the Drawing toolbar, not Flowchart. Have you checked again the 2 screenshots above???

[pilotgeorge]

I am showing three screen shots. It took the three to get the slider in 3 positions to show all options available. As you will see, the option list for drawing toolbar is completely different from yours. Everything seems to work correctly, excert this one issue, so I am inclined to believe that the installation is good.
One thing does bother me. I installed v3.4 OVER 3.1 [ did not remove 3.1]. As I recall, it seems that this toolbar option list is the same, or about the same is in 3.1. could some remnants of 3.1 have corrupted 3.4? That seems to be rather remote, given that this is the only issue. I just do not get this????

[acknak]

Why do your screenshots say "OpenOffice.org Calc"? Are you not working in Draw? File > New > Drawing?

If you are working in Calc, there are no connectors on the Drawing toolbar in Calc. You have to create the graphic in Draw, then copy/paste into Calc.

OOo seems to build a lot of its interface from configuration files. If those files get lost or corrupted, almost anything can happen: I've seen pieces missing, menus missing, text garbled, ... you name it.

When installing, and with OOo for sure, it's always safer to completely remove (uninstall and then delete any leftover files) any previous version, then do a clean install of the new version.

[pilotgeorge]

Your "calc" question is VERY good!
I opened OO, then clicked on spreadsheet. What comes up is openoffice.org Calc
I cannot open a spreadsheet without that calc being there. Is that an indication of a corrupted installation?
Any idea WHY?
I am going to remove everything, then reinstall OO from scratch. We wil lse what that brings.

[floris v]

No. Calc is simply the spreadsheet module of OOo, just like Word is the word processor module of Microsoft Office. But the toolbars in Calc don't offer all possibilities that they offer in for instance Writer, so if you want to draw something with connectors, you need to do that in another module of OOo.

[keme]

... if you want to draw something with connectors, you need to do that in another module of OOo.

And that module is named "OpenOffice.org Draw" in OS links (like desktop icons and the Windows Start menu), and "Drawing" (or that word translated to your language) in the OpenOffice.org control panel.

A spreadsheet is for calculation. Use the drawing tool to make conceptual maps, relationship diagrams, and flowcharts.
You will also find that "Drawing" option in the File - New menu of any open OOo window.

[danhergo]

Just as a comment: 2x versions of Openoffice allowed to perform these flowcharts directly into Calc.Why was that option in Calc OO 3x withdrawn if this module still retains the option of adding diagrams figures but not their connectors?

[overpanic]

Just found this forum thread - I was having the exact same problem. That was a very astute observation regarding "calc".

In my case, I had created a "text" document, and was trying to create a flowchart within it. The flowchart button is readily available under the "draw" toolbar, but like the original poster I didn't appear to have the "connectors" button that was supposed to be there.

Upon opening a new document as a "drawing", the connector button was right there where I expected it to be.

Thanks for your help!

[keme]

While you need Draw or Impress to produce the connectors tool, you can work with connectors in Calc and Writer too if that works better for you. Just make one connector in Draw, cut and paste, and copy at will.
If you regularly use several types of connector in "non-drawing" applications, make a new gallery category and put your connectors there. The gallery is available in all the applications mentioned.

[عڪنـــابيل]

To use CONNECTOR in OpenOffice Calc
1. Create a new OpenOffice Presentation
2. draw a CONNECTOR
3. copy the CONNECTOR
4. go back to OpenOffice Calc
5. past the CONNECTOR.