Rotating text within a table cell

kamild · June 23, 2023, 10:07am

I want to prepare a form that will be saved as a fillable PDF, which is why I’m trying to prepare a document using Draw instead of Writer, which from what I understand does not allow you to export documents in the form of fillable PDFs. The structure of the document is mostly based on a table, and because of the complexity of the form, I chose to insert a table instead of spreading around text boxes and trying to align them.

I was only able to find this topic about it: How can I rotate text in a table in Draw? - English - Ask LibreOffice

It’s from 7 years ago and it claims this feature is not supported, is this still true today? If I right click the cell, choose “Position and size” and try to set the angle in the “Rotation” tab, it seems to be getting ignored. Is this a bug, or do we still have to resort to hacky ways of rotating text, like inserting textboxes?

LibreOffice 7.5.4.2, Windows 10 22H2

ajlittoz · June 23, 2023, 10:18am

Instead of asking for a customisation of a design decision of yours (use a table), edit your question (= modify it; this is not a forum and there is no point at this stage to start a “conversation”) to describe what you want to achieve. A table in Draw is primarily a way to access database records. If your goal is to show some data with fancy format, a table may not be the right tool. With a better understanding of your problem, we can suggest an adequate solution.
While you’re at it, mention OS name, LO version and save format. This may seem irrelevant to you but there are subtle differences between platforms and reult is guaranteed only in native format.

kamild · June 23, 2023, 10:39am

Done, post edited.

ajlittoz · June 23, 2023, 10:42am

Have you ticked the Create PDF form checkbox in File>Export as PDF dialog?

kamild · June 23, 2023, 10:59am

…okay, I don’t know how but the first time I checked Writer, I somehow completely missed the whole “Form” menu, which is why I went straight to Draw after that instead. The form elements are there, and the checkbox you mentioned is there too. Apologies for wasting your time.