OpenOffice: Creating an organization chart - a guide

You can create an organization chart in OpenOffice with various programs. The drawing program Draw is just as suitable for this as the spreadsheet Calc or the word processor Writer.

Create an organization chart with OpenOffice Calc

The easiest way to quickly create an organization chart in OpenOffice is with the Calc spreadsheet. Especially since later changes in Calc can be made very easily.

• First, you should consider how wide the respective organization chart boxes should be and set the column width accordingly. So that you can better display the lines later, it is cheaper to place the boxes over two or more columns.
• To redefine the column widths, click on the small gray rectangle on the far left between the rows and columns. The entire worksheet should then be selected. Then right-click on a column header. In the context menu, select the "Column width" option and then enter the desired value.
• Finally you determine the length of the boxes - how many cells or rows you need. It is beneficial to plan an upper and a lower empty line for a comfortable distance from the edge.

Create the organization chart boxes in OpenOffice Calc

You can easily create the organization chart boxes by simply adding a border to the corresponding cells.

• To do this, mark the respective cells and go to the "Properties" menu, which you can find on the far right if you have activated the "Sidebar" under "View", in the "Cell appearance" area.
• You can then click on the "cell border" and select the outer frame.
• If necessary, modify the "Line type of the border" and the border color. If necessary, add color to the organization chart boxes.

The connecting lines of the organization chart

You can easily create the lines of the organization chart in OpenOffice Calc with a little trick.

• You mark the cells where you want to insert a line.
• Then go back to the "cell border" as described above.
• Now simply select an upper or a lower frame line.
• Do this accordingly with the vertical lines and, if necessary, even diagonally starting lines are available.
• Alternatively, you can also use the Gallery and the drawing function.

Create an organization chart with the Draw drawing program

Alternatively, we can also create a small organization chart using OpenOffice Draw.

• The individual elements for your organization chart can be found on the far right under "Properties" in the "Insert objects" area.
• Click on the required shape and then draw on your sheet with the mouse.
• To put your text in the respective diagram form, click briefly in the corresponding form.
• You will also find the connecting lines under "Insert objects". With the so-called direct connectors, you can display a wide variety of lines.

The next vacation is comeing soon for sure. In the next practical tip, you will read how to create a vacation plan with OpenOffice.