[Issue] Font Shadow colors

[inga]

On Window XP, OO 2.4.1

I can't find a way to set font shadow colors in Impress.

I've occasionally found the function useful in PowerPoint but can't find an equivalent in Impress.

(However, I did find that Impress does outline fonts, which PPT doesn't do, except through WordArt.)

Is there any way to set font shadow colors?

[acknak]

No, you can't change the shadow color.

You can workaround this by making your own shadow: just copy the text, change the text color, and stack the two copies--shadow underneath and slightly offset.

See Issue 47519: Shadow color always black
You can register there and add your vote (up to two) or comment.

[inga]

Thanks for the suggestions, acknak.

[LADYSIMULAR]

I am wondering. If by shadowing the text, you mean to have the outline a different shade, like you do with the shadow behind text boxes, for instance, I know you can just choose what ever color you want that outline (shadow?) to be by picking that as your text color, and then select the shadow (!?!) button and TA DAAH!!! You have an outlined text in whatever color your want the border to be....and if you go to the Options menu on the Tools menu and look under the OpenOffice.org/Colors, you can add and edit any color you want to your palette.

Conversely, you can choose whatever color you'd like the center/shadow(!?!?!) to be....(you begin to see the confusion here) and can have some control over the outline area with the background behind the text becoming the outline color and the chosen text color becoming the outline-ee. (pardon the department of redundancy department in all of this but it helps some....well it helps me, anyway) As with all things computer, there is always some niggling little issue that is difficult to put a name to and no matter what you do, it will confuse people because of the context in which they are speaking. OR, you could be married to a nuclear physicist and attempt to get an answer from him that is coming from MR LEFT BRAIN, to me, a musician (and only slightly artsy fartsy....AAAAHAHA HAHAHAHA and REALLY RIGHT BRAIN GIRL, and it gets very.....innnterressting just how confused two people can become trying to work this sort of thing out and DO this for 2 hours, only to find out they are agreeing, and have been since about the first 30 seconds!!!

SO, as I draw my waxing philosophical (aagghmmm) to an end, if you are looking for a way to make the background text a different color from the ...front..ground ...of the text, here, somewhere up there, is another option to try that may be easier if you aren't doing anything particularly, ya know, 'fancy'. If, all this has actually been moot because what you wanted to know is if you can have an actual offset shadow, forgive me, I am so sorry to have taken your time, I grovel in your general direction, and I hope you at least laughed somewhere in there.
Thank you,
Ladysimular

[inga]

Ladysimular,

I appreciate your reply.

First of all, you've convinced me that there's a lot more to learn about Impress than I suspected. I'll have to experiment with your suggestions. And, yes, they help, even though they won't give that sharp 3-D effect that an off-set shadow does.

As for your discursion into right-brain and left-brain communication, I can identify. Loved that bit about a two-hour discussion that ends with discovering that there was agreement in the first 30 seconds. Yup, know what it feels like!!

[inga]

Okay, Ladysimular,

I confess I can't figure out what you're writing about in the first couple paragraphs. Could you give more specific instructions, please?

Thanx.

[LADYSIMULAR]

I confess I can't figure out what you're writing about in the first couple paragraphs. Could you give more specific instructions, please?

Several Days ago:

First I would just like to say that it took me a while but I finally DID realize that you are, in fact, the same person who asked the original question, which put what I needed to tell you in a COMPLETELY different light! So, once I realized my original response had actually CONFUSED you even further, i had to rolfmao!!!

There! I feel much better now. On to assisting you in a meaningful and maybe even legible way.....

Having said all that, I apologize for taking so long to respond to your question. Things just WILL NOT stop happening in the "real world" .....

More recently (like now):

OK....even MORE time has passed because this keeps growing and growing into a more complicated response. I wanted to let you know:

(a) that I have not forgotten or abandoned you and

(b) I WILL attempt to provide you, and others, with a solid, easy to follow response to how this, and other fun color stuff can be done because.....

(c) I think it would be good to tell you more about how the entire color 'thing' works and what you can do to manipulate it, primarily because it looks like I have to go back to the dawn of time and move forward to get this answer right ANYway, so I might as well throw in what little more info I have on the whole color subject and maybe save you time. ....&/OR open new vistas in creativity you never knew you had.....

RIGHT

BOTTOM LINE: I'm just going to have to write this up on something I can upload as an example and make it easier on all of us. K? K!

Meaning, this is a response telling you I haven't responded and still can't respond but that I WILL respond in the (hopefully) near future.

Helpful.

I SHALL RETURN!!!!

[inga]

Thanks for the reply, Ladysimular.

I'm looking forward to your lesson.

[fzimmerman]

The original post was a few years old, but confusing as the answer was, I was able to figure it out. I thought I should post it in clear directions for others who may still have the same question.

The trick is: DO NOT USE the Font Shadowing button. Use the Area Shadow instead. You have much more control that way.
(Obviously this will only work on a text area that has NONE as the background color.)

1. Insert your text area, type some text.
2. Now click out of the area and just select the whole frame.
3. Right-click and choose Area.
4. On the dialog that pops up, make sure "Fill" is set to None.
5. Click on the Shadow tab.
6. Check "Use Shadow", then choose direction, color, distance, transparency, etc.
7. Click OK.
8. Done!

[acknak]

Fascinating. I had no idea it would work that way. That's so not-obvious it could be considered a bug--"It's not a bug, it's a feature!"

Well, anyway, that's a very useful feature; thanks for posting it!

[KirkWard]

What do you do if you only want to shadow one character, selected from the Insert >> Special Characters fonts?