I’m using 3.5.7.5 on Linux Mint 13. Is there an equivalent of M$-Word’s text box in Writer and Calc? I’ve been using the Rectangle button on the Drawing toolbar, but text inside it is not searchable. Another annoyance is that sometimes the rectangles will dislodge (if that’s the right term) and appear at the top of page 1. In other words, they appear to lose their anchoring to where I originally placed them in the document. Help?
Text box with is included in the search function exists in Writer but unfortunately not in Calc.
In Writer Insert > Frame a window opens where you can set all properties of the frame.
There is also in Writer and Calc a text box available from the drawing toolbar but without search function. Look for the icon with the “T”.
Both, the searchable and the non-searchable text box can be anchored: to apage, to a paragraph, to a character or as a character. Default is to the paragraph where your cursor is located when inserting the text box.
I recommend to have a look at the free guides which you can download from http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/documentation/
I don’t know how complicated it is to upgrade LibO when using Linux Mint 13, but the fresh version 4.3.4 is much better. My explanations are based on 4.3.4 but should also match your 3.5.7 version.