Any way to have text wrap around an image with Draw (in 2024)?

[wysocki]

I have been trying to find a replacement for MS Publisher. Scribus is too complicated. Google docs are limited, so I thought LibreOffice would help me create my 4 page booklet. But I’ve hit a problem right away with it.

I can’t find any way to create a text box. Then add an image on top of it and have the text wrap around the image. I’ve seen several very old posts from various places saying either it can’t be done, or “Just select the wrap function in the context menu…” My copy of Draw (2024) does not have a Wrap item in the context menu of the image.

So is it even possible to do this simple thing? I’ve used editors 25 years ago that could do this. If not, any recommendations on what I could use to replace MS Publisher?

[EarnestAl]

Draw is for creating drawings. Use Writer for most layout and export to pdf; it does an excellent job for many projects.

In Writer, you are better off using Frames for text as the text within can use styles. Explore with Insert > Frame > Frame interactively, then right click the frame and view the Wrap and anchor options. To insert some dummy text, type, dt or lorem and press F3 immediately after it to invoke Autotext replacement.

Extensions site has some brochure templates, Extensions » Extensions

The Writer guide is a helpful reference when learning, see English documentation | LibreOffice Documentation - LibreOffice User Guides

If you need Crop and Bleed or complex page layouts then look at Scribus

[ajlittoz]

There is a fundamental difference between office suites (like M$ Word or LO writer) and desktop publishing DTP applications (like M$ Publisher ot Scribus).

Office suites are text flow-oriented. This means you don’t care for pages. They are automatically allocated to accommodate your text. Pages don’t exist per se; they are a consequence of the size of your text.

DTP programs are page-oriented. You manually allocate pages from the start and you insert blocks into which you’ll type your text. There is no automatic block overflow management: you must care for “spill-over blocks”, linked blocks into which you text can overflow.

LO Writer is flow-oriented. You can use it for DTP in a limited way but you’ll meet inevitably limits or “discomfort” as this is not its primary target. It depends on how strictly you’re bound to fixed page layout or not.

[Hrbrgr]

@wysocki

Then add an image on top of it and have the text wrap around the image.

Align Text to Shapes in Draw

[wysocki]

@ajlittoz

There is a fundamental difference between office suites (like M$ Word or LO writer) and desktop publishing DTP applications (like M$ Publisher ot Scribus).

Excellent point. I tried writer for this project and failed miserably because of its flow orientation. Draw fit my needs with its DTP approach. But I’m still amazed that it doesn’t have the ability to flow text around an image. Now learning Scribus. Very capable but not very intuitive.

[EarnestAl]

I assumed you wanted a three fold brochure, which can be done in Writer, either by layout or by linked frames.

If you wanted a normal brochure, that is pages folded in half with correct pagination, then in Writer that is done at print time by selecting brochure.