- The Navigator is easily activated with F5 or from the sidebar.
- Allows you to move between headers, tables, images, notes, and more.
- It can be customized and anchored to different areas of the interface.
- It incorporates useful functions such as reminders, outline control and recent navigation.
Many users LibreOffice Writer They wonder how to access the navigation menu to navigate efficiently through a long document. Although this feature has been around for a long time, it's not always intuitive to activate or understand all the options it offers. In fact, in most available guides, the information is scattered, poorly explained, or focused from an overly technical perspective.
This article is designed to help you understand, step by step and clearly, how to use the navigation menu LibreOffice Writer. You'll learn everything from how to activate it to how to get the most out of it with Tricks useful and advanced features.
What is the LibreOffice Navigator?
El Navigator It is a tool integrated into LibreOffice Writer that allows you to quickly view and jump between different sections of a document. It is especially useful in long documents, as it shows a structured view of elements such as tables, images, headers, hyperlinks, notes, frames and more.
Ways to open the Browser
You have several ways to access the Navigator from LibreOffice:
- Keyboard: press F5 directly to open or close the Browser.
- From the sidebar: Click the Navigator icon in the right sidebar of the document.
- Best menu: Go to View > Browser.
If you prefer to always have it in sight, you can attach it to one side of the window. Drag it from the title bar to the desired edge of the interface and it will dock there.
What you can do with the Navigator
Once opened, the Navigator displays a list of categories. Each category represents a type of document element. Clicking the + Next to each category, you can expand it and see the items contained within it.
The available actions are as follows:
- double click on an item to jump directly to its location.
- Rearrange titles and its sections by dragging them into the Navigator.
- Delete items (such as images or tables) from the panel itself.
- insert elements from other open documents.
Browse function
At the bottom of the Navigator you will see a section called Navigate. From there, you can select the type of element you want to scroll through (images, bookmarks, headings, etc.). Once chosen, you can use the arrows Previous y Next to jump through those elements in the order they appear in the document.
Use the page jump function
Another very useful tool is the checkbox Page number. There you can directly type the page number you want to go to and press IntroThis option allows you to move more quickly through long documents.
View and control of the document outline
The Navigator also allows you to view the structure of the document according to the heading levelsYou can filter the number of levels you view, for example, showing only the top-level headings for a more concise view or all levels if you want more detail.
Additionally, you can do the following:
- Ascend or descend a heading within the outline.
- Move up or down entire sections of the document with its subtitles included
- set reminders to return to certain points in the document later.
Other tools available in the Navigator
The Navigator offers many other little-known but very powerful features:
- Schema control: You can configure how the Navigator follows the document outline based on the cursor position.
- Insert elements as a hyperlink, link, or copyIf you're working with large documents or multiple documents, you can insert parts of one into another by simply dragging from the Navigator.
- View open documents: In the drop-down list you can switch between open documents and view their contents in the Navigator.
- Show or hide lists from the Browser with the corresponding button.
Quick Actions from the Navigator
Right-clicking on any element of the Navigator displays a dialog box. contextual menu with many useful options: rename, edit properties, delete, among others.
Customizing the display
From the Navigator you can also:
- Order alphabetically the elements within a category.
- Expand or collapse all categories at once.
- View the number of items in a category just by hovering over it with the mouse.
Browse recent content
The category Recency allows you to quickly return to where the cursor last was. This is very useful when you're editing multiple sections at once.
Repeat searches quickly
If you previously used the search bar or the search and replace box, you can use the option Repeat search in the Browser to continue searching for that same term without having to type it again.
Jump between different selections
When you have selected multiple items at once, for example using Ctrl + click, you can use the option Selection in the Navigator to easily jump from one to another.
Review of table formulas
If your document has many formulas in tables, the Navigator will allow you to go directly to each formula or even filter out those that have errors using the option Wrong table formula.
How it integrates with other bars and menus
The Navigator is part of the LibreOffice work environment, along with the menu bar, the Standard and Formatting toolbars, the sidebar, the horizontal and vertical rulers, the text area, and the status bar.
The combination of all these tools enables efficient navigation and more visual and intuitive content editing.
Additional keyboard shortcuts
In addition to the classic F5LibreOffice allows many keyboard shortcuts to enhance productivity. For example:
- Alt + underlined letter in the menus to activate them without a mouse.
- Alt + Space to access the window menu.
- CTRL+Q to quickly close LibreOffice.
Controlling these combinations will allow you to work more fluidly, especially in long documents or when you need to make many changes.
Mastering the Navigator in LibreOffice Writer completely transforms the experience of editing and formatting documents. Not only does it allow you to quickly move between different text elements, but it also facilitates advanced organization, review, and editing tasks. Although it may seem like a complex tool at first, with a little practice, it becomes an indispensable ally for any writer, editor, or student working with long or structured documents.
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