Make horizontal Section dividers thicker, more visible

Discuss the word processor
Post Reply
mrk4372
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Mar 20, 2021 1:56 pm

Make horizontal Section dividers thicker, more visible

Post by mrk4372 »

Despite reading a chapter on "Sections" in the Writer manual I can't adjust the appearance of Section divider lines (thin hozizontal lines that mark the start/end points of a Section). I'd like to make the lines much thicker to make them easier to see. Can anyone point towards a solution?
OpenOffice 4.1.9 on Windows 7
User avatar
RoryOF
Moderator
Posts: 34586
Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2009 9:30 pm
Location: Ireland

Re: Section Dividers in Writer

Post by RoryOF »

/Tools /Options /OpenOffice : Appearance and change the colour for "Section boundaries" to something you find more obvious. I cannot suggest how to increase the line weight, but a colour change may help.

(Options is under Preferences on a Mac)
Apache OpenOffice 4.1.15 on Xubuntu 22.04.4 LTS
JeJe
Volunteer
Posts: 2764
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2016 2:40 pm

Re: Section Dividers in Writer

Post by JeJe »

You could edit the first paragraph of the section to have a thick top border only... or have a thick bottom border for the last paragraph of the section. Or you could insert a horizontal ruler at the top or end of each section. Or change the background color of alternate sections to make them distinct from one another.
Windows 10, Openoffice 4.1.11, LibreOffice 7.4.0.3 (x64)
User avatar
RoryOF
Moderator
Posts: 34586
Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2009 9:30 pm
Location: Ireland

Re: Section Dividers in Writer

Post by RoryOF »

I use Sections as an assist in Editing. Each Chapter of a long text I put in a Section with a different background colour from the Section/Chapter before and after it, to indicate to me that I have transitioned to a different Chapter. I do not print such background shadings in the final printout.
Apache OpenOffice 4.1.15 on Xubuntu 22.04.4 LTS
User avatar
RoryOF
Moderator
Posts: 34586
Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2009 9:30 pm
Location: Ireland

Re: Section Dividers in Writer

Post by RoryOF »

The probability is that if the Section dividing line were increased in weight, this increase in weight would show also on page, column separations. I think a colour change and a page background change is as much as one can hope for.
Apache OpenOffice 4.1.15 on Xubuntu 22.04.4 LTS
JeJe
Volunteer
Posts: 2764
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2016 2:40 pm

Re: Section Dividers in Writer

Post by JeJe »

Another alternative, though probably not a very good one, would be to use frames instead of sections. You can set the borders however you like - but it would be fiddly and frames can't run over more than one page.
Windows 10, Openoffice 4.1.11, LibreOffice 7.4.0.3 (x64)
User avatar
RoryOF
Moderator
Posts: 34586
Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2009 9:30 pm
Location: Ireland

Re: Section Dividers in Writer

Post by RoryOF »

Another alternative would be to use a Master Document, although I think a different coloured background to each Section is the simplest method.
Apache OpenOffice 4.1.15 on Xubuntu 22.04.4 LTS
JeJe
Volunteer
Posts: 2764
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2016 2:40 pm

Re: Section Dividers in Writer

Post by JeJe »

Windows 10, Openoffice 4.1.11, LibreOffice 7.4.0.3 (x64)
Post Reply