OpenOffice.Org Writer - Portrait and Landscape in Same Document

Have you ever wanted to created an OpenOffice.org Writer file in portrait mode and wanted to insert a page in landscape? Microsoft Office offers this feature, but does OpenOffice.org? While not directly offered through a menu option, OpenOffice.org does offer a way to accomplish this often needed option. Openoffice.org accomplishes this task through the use of styles. So, let's get started.

Create Page Style

While there are many different built in page styles offered by OpenOffice.org, unfortunately a style for inserted a page in landscape orientation is not available. So we will need to create one, using the styles and formatting feature of OpenOffice.org Writer. From the Format menu, select Styles and Formatting (F11) or use the Styles and Formatting icon on the Formatting toolbar (first icon). Click the Page Styles icon (one with the page on it - next to last). You will see a list of various pre-defined page styles. We need to create a new one, so right click in the list window and choose New...

We will name this style landscape, so on the Organizer tab enter Landscape for the name. Now we want to make sure that pages beyond the one we desire to set to landscape are set back to the default, so select "Default" for the next style.

The page tab is where we set the page orientation and modify margins. So, select the Page tab. To make the page landscape, select landscape for orientation. Optionally, we can modify the page margins by setting these as desired. If you desire a header and/or footer, the options for these are on the header and footer tabs respectively. Feel free to look through the many other options available through the tabs. When done, click OK.

Applying Page Style

Let us go ahead and insert a landscape oriented page, by setting a break. From the Insert menu, select Manual Break... We will set the break to a page by selecting Page break for type. Don't forget to select the style from the style dropdown menu. Choose Landscape and click OK. This will cause a new page to be inserted, in landscape orientation.

Using this page style, you will be able to keep all pages as the default portrait orientation, while being able to selectively set those individual pages you desire as landscape orientation.

Save Page Style

It seems as though OpenOffice.org has its own built in page styles and these are the one loaded when you open OpenOffice.org Writer. We will need to create a template we can use over and over again. From the File menu, Select Save As... Type in the name Landscape and choose the file format "ODF Text Document Template (.ott) and save in the template folder.

Using Page Style

To use the newly created and saved template, open the Styles and Formatting (File >Styles and Formatting) and click the New Style from Selection icon (last icon) and select Load Styles... On the left hand side choose "My Templates" and Landscape in the right hand side. Place a checkmark in the Pages checkbox and click OK. The style should now show in the Styles and Formatting box when you select the pages icon (fourth from left).

Note: You will need to complete this last step each time you use OpenOffice.org and wish to use this style.