Desktop Publishing lecture notes

In the Publisher Introduction class and document, we discussed several

ways of creating publications with layouts that includes objects and
frames. We learned that these objects and the frames that
encompassed them came in different flavors (text frames, picture
frames, table frames, etc.), but that essentially they all were
manipulated in the same ways. In this class, we will cover more tools
for including your own objects and creating customized layouts.

Publisher's Tools, Part II

Recall that the buttons running down the left-hand side of the screen
are object tools which allow us to create frames. Since we covered the
first six tools in the previous class, we'll discuss most of the rest here.
(The others are for developing web pages using Publisher.) Keep in
mind that should you accidentally draw an object that you don't want,
select it (so that the object's frame or handles are visible) and press
the <Delete> button on your keyboard or choose the Delete Object
command from the Edit menu.

Line [and Arrow] Tool

The Line Tool allows you to draw lines. As with other tools, create lines
by first clicking on the Line Tool button, and then positioning the cursor
(now in the form of a crosshair) on the page where you want to begin
drawing. Click and hold to lay down one endpoint of the line; wherever
you now drag the mouse, a line stretches out to meet the crosshair.
Position this crosshair to indicate where the other endpoint of the line
should go and release the mouse button. Your newly formed line has
handles at both ends; as before, this indicates that the line can be
deleted, copied, or moved, as well as formatted. To draw "straight"
lines (at some increment of 45 degrees), hold the <Shift> key down as
you drag out the line. Although you can add arrowheads to a line in
either version of Publisher, Publisher XP adds an Arrow Tool to the
lineup on the left of the screen; it works the same way the Line Tool
does.

Oval Tool

To draw an oval, select the Oval Tool, then click and drag to draw in the
same way you did with the Line Tool. The resulting object will have
many more handles than the Line Tool produced, for more flexibility in
resizing the oval. Holding down <Shift> as you drag will constrain the
shape to be a perfect circle.

Box [Rectangle] Tool

Just as you did above, select the tool, then click and drag inside your
document window. Like ovals, rectangle objects have both corner
handles and side handles. To draw perfect squares with this tool, hold
down the <Shift> key while you draw.

Custom Shapes [AutoShapes] Tool

While the creative person can make some pretty impressive pictures
just using graphic tools like those above, the rest of us will be glad to
know that Publisher provides more graphic tools for other interesting
shapes. The Custom Shapes [AutoShapes] Tool allows you to draw
arrows, chevrons and even lightning bolts in the same way we drew
ovals and boxes.

To begin drawing, click on the shape you want to draw (from the menu
on the toolbar) and then position your cursor on the page where you
want to start drawing. You will notice the pointer has become the
familiar crosshair; draw by dragging as we did with the other tools. The
<Shift> key once again constrains your drawings. Some shapes may
have a new handle: a gray (2000) or yellow (XP) diamond that lets you
reposition or redraw part of the shape. For example, a callout bubble
can be adjusted so that the words are coming from the right side
instead of the left. Publisher XP offers options in addition to those
available directly from the toolbar; by choosing the More AutoShapes
command, you can access a list of additional choices in the Task Pane.

Formatting Objects
Once you have created drawing objects with the tools above, you can
change their color, borders and shadows, for example. Click on the
object to select it, and then choose a button on the far right of the

formatting toolbar. The paint bucket icon represents the Fill Color ,
which allows you to specify the shade to fill the outline of your object.
Your colors may be limited to the color scheme at first, but you can
choose More Colors for more options:

The Line Color button allows you to specify a different color for the
border of the object, and the Line/Border Style button next to it
allows you to create different styles and thicknesses of borders and
lines. Publisher XP has added buttons to easily access formatting
options for arrows, shadows, and 3D styles. Most of these options are
also available in Publisher 2000; they just don't have their own
buttons. For a full list of formatting options, consult the Format menu
, or right-click on an object and choose the shortcut menu command to
Change Object (2000) or Format AutoShape (XP).
Publisher XP users can access all elements of an object's formatting in
a six-tabbed dialog box, rather than selecting each element separately.
Note that not all the tabs will be active for every objectthis is
another way in which Publisher displays its sensitivity to context. XP
users can also access the six-tabbed formatting box by simply doubleclicking on the object.
Adding Text to Shapes
Publisher XP permits the addition of text to an AutoShape without
requiring you to create a text frame first (as in Publisher 2000). Simply
begin typing once a shape is selected to add text to it. To make
adjustments to the text contained in the shape, use the six-tabbed
formatting box and choose the Text Box tab .

Special Objects
Besides creating your own text and graphics objects with the tools we
have used thus far, you can also insert objects you have created with
other programs that support Microsoft's Object Linking and Embedding
(OLE) technology. To insert an OLE object (even audio and video clips!)
into your document, choose Object from the Insert menu . Select the
program that will create (or already has created) the kind of file you
want to insert, and indicate whether you want to Create New object
or Create from File , if you've already made the file. You will be
prompted to create a new object or locate a file whose contents you
want to insert into the document. You can also click the Link box to

have a link maintained between the original file and the one embedded
in your publication so that Publisher will automatically update to reflect
any changes in the linked file.
Depending on the type of object you want to insert, you may find the
Paste Special command more straightforward. If you want to paste a
table or a picture into Publisher, for example, choose the Copy
command from the Edit menu in the program in which the table or
picture exists. Then in Publisher, select the Paste Special command
from the Edit menu and select the appropriate option. This feature
may also offer the option to paste the file as a link, so that your
Publisher document will be updated with any changes to the external
file.

Manipulating Objects
We learned several ways of manipulating objects and their frames in
the Introduction class. Here we discuss several other important ways to
manage objects that are used in Publisher, as well as other layout
programs.

Ordering (Layering)
One important consideration when working with objects in most
programs is the concept of layering. Every object you create occupies a
separate layer, so as you create objects, you are creating new layers
on top of older layers. Often you may want part of an object to obscure
part of another, but other times you will want to maneuver them so
that both are visible. For this we will need the Arrange menu . Notice
the second section of this menu has four commands: Bring to Front ,
Bring Forward , Send Backward , and Send to Back . To reorder
the objects' layers in your publication, first click on the object you want
to manipulate. This should bring up the object's handles to indicate you
have selected it. Now you can click on the Arrange menu and then
one of the four layering commands to reposition it. Bring to Front will
bring the selected object to the topmost layer, regardless of how long
ago it was created. Conversely, Send to Back will send the selected
object to the back of all objects on the page. You can also move the
objects forward or backward one layer at a time with Bring Forward
and Send Backward , respectively.

Grouping

Another useful tool in drawing programs is the ability to treat several

objects as one in order to move them around easily, for example. To
group several objects, you must first select them. Make an initial
selection by clicking on an object, then hold down the <Shift> key
while you click on additional objects to select them as well. If all the
objects you want to select are near each other, you can also click and
drag a marquee around all the objects you want to select. At this point,
you should see an icon appear that will allow you to group the objects
(the upper image is 2000's and the lower is XP's). Clicking the icon will
group the objects. Alternatively, you may select Group Objects from
the Arrange menu. Once the objects have been grouped, you'll see
that the individual object's handles have been replaced by handles for
the entire group. Pressing Delete will delete all of the selected objects;
choosing Copy will copy all of the selected objects; dragging one object
moves them all as a group, etc.

To ungroup the objects, click on the grouping icon, or select Ungroup

Objects from the Arrange menu. By the way, if you just want to work
with a group of objects for a moment, you need not group them: when
you have multiple objects selected (and you can see each individual
set of handles), any command you apply will affect them all (clicking
and dragging, for example, will move all the objects at once). The
downside of this technique is that as soon as you click on any one
object within the group, the temporarily-grouped selection will
disappear.

Lining Up and Nudging Objects

To line up several objects easily, you can select them using the
<Shift>-clicking technique and then choose the Align Objects
command from the Arrange menu. (This command will be grayed out
unless you have at least 2 objects selected.) If you are working in XP,
you will also have the option to Distribute selected objects. If you
want to move just one object at a time, you can choose the Nudge
command to move the selection just a little bit at a time (an especially
handy command if you don't want to zoom in to a 200% or more view).

You can also nudge objects by holding down the <Alt> key and
pressing one of the arrow keys.

Rotating and Flipping Objects

You might want your address text frame turned on its side or your
lightning bolt graphic rotated 45 degrees. This is possible through the
Rotate/Flip submenu of the Arrange menu. Choosing Rotate Left
will rotate a selected object 90 degrees counterclockwise, while
selecting Rotate Right will spin the object 90 degrees clockwise.
Choosing Custom Rotate or Free Rotate allows you to choose some
other degree of rotation. XP users can also click and drag the circular
green cursor for an object to rotate it. In addition, to flip an object
along its X or Y axis to mirror it, choose either the Flip Vertically or
Flip Horizontally command from the Rotate/Flip submenu.

Using Guides

You can also use guides to help you line up objects. In addition to
margin guides, you can also create column guides, for example. You
can add such guides by choosing a command for either horizontal or
vertical guides from the Ruler Guides submenu of the Arrange
menu. Hold down <Shift> and drag to move the guide into position. If
you prefer, you can also add guides by holding the <Shift> key and
dragging a ruler guide from one of the ruler bars onto the document
window. You can rid yourself of all these guides by selecting Clear All
Ruler Guides or by dragging guides one by one off the page.
If you need evenly spaced guides, such those that organize columns on
your page, then you will probably want to choose Layout Guides from
the Arrange menu. Here you can specify margin guides as well as
evenly spaced row and column guides. These guides will now appear
on every page of your publication. To make it easy to align objects with

your guides, you can turn on the Snap to Guides option. In 2000,
choose Snap to Guides from the Tools menu. In XP, choose To
Guides from the Snap submenu of the Arrange menu.

Picture Display Options

If you have several pictures in your publication, you may notice that
Publisher slows down significantly when you're manipulating those
pictures. To speed up your work, you can choose display options that
allow you to work with the images but don't slow down Publisher as
much. From the View menu, select the Picture Display ( Pictures in
XP) option. Either the Fast resize and zoom or Hide pictures option
should speed up your work. Changing the display options here changes
the way images look on the screen without affecting their print quality.

The Design Gallery

Instead of creating complex designs from scratch, you can find them in
the Publisher Design Gallery. From the Insert menu , select Design
Gallery Object , then choose a category of design and you can
browse ready-made objects that you can insert into your own
document, such as Mastheads and Sidebars. Click on a design you like,
and then click on the Insert Object button to insert the design.

Saving Your Own Design

Now that we know how to make our own groups of objects like those
we inserted into our documents by means of the Design Gallery tool,
we can enter our own great designs into the Design Gallery for later
use. After grouping objects with the Group Objects command, select
the Insert menu and then choose the Add Selection to Design
Gallery command. Now you can use the nifty logo you made in any
Publisher document!

Text Formatting and Styles

Basic Formatting
Just as you've learned in our Microsoft Word classes and documents,
you can easily format the font, font size, font style (bold, italic and/or
underlined) and alignment of any text you select by using the
Formatting toolbar or commands available from the Format menu. (If
you need a refresher, see our Word: Basic Formatting document.)
Because Publisher is a layout program rather than a word-processing
program (like Word), it offers even more options for formatting your
text.

Font Schemes
Publisher XP offers an array of Font Schemes, a fast way to update the
fonts in your publication without going to the trouble of selecting each
text box. They're accessible from the Font Schemes option on the
Format menu. The choices will appear in the Task Pane; for each
scheme, there's usually a major and a minor font. Major fonts are used
for headings and titles, while minor fonts are applied to regular text. To
apply a font scheme, select it and click on it, or choose Apply Scheme
from the drop-down arrow next to the scheme name. You can also
choose to Duplicate Scheme; this is a good idea if you want to make a
variation on a default scheme, such as adding italics to the major font.
Then you can adjust the duplicated scheme by making the desired
changes in your publication and choosing the command to Update
Scheme to Match Current Publication from the drop-down arrow. You
can also rename or delete schemes as necessary.

AutoFit
You may find yourself struggling to fit text into a text boxperhaps a
title just isn't quite big enough to stretch across the whole page, or a
story is a little too big to fit in the available space. AutoFit can solve

both problems. First, resize the text box to the desired capacity. Next,
position your cursor inside the textbox, and from the Format menu
select the AutoFit Text submenu. If the text is too small to take up the
space inside the text box (as in the case of a title or heading), select
Best Fit . If there is too much text for the available space (and you
don't want to make the remainder of the story flow into another text
box), select Shrink Text on Overflow . No matter which of these
options you select, whenever you resize the text box containing the
AutoFitted text, the font size of the selected text will automatically be
resized to fill the text box. If you no longer want this feature to change
your font size, select the None option from the AutoFit Text submenu
on the Format menu.

Character Spacing
Sometimes you'll want to add special effects to some of your text, such
as stretching out a headline across a page. Rather than simply using
AutoFit to set the font size, you can also use character spacing to
change the appearance of your text. First, select the text you want to
adjust, then from the Format menu select Character Spacing . In the
dialog box that appears, you have a number of options. To shrink or
stretch text, alter its Scaling settings (either by typing a number into
the field or by using the up and down arrows). To adjust the spacing for
a large block of text, such as a paragraph, adjust the Tracking of the
text. To work on the spacing between only two characters, select
Kerning instead. Generally speaking, you'll probably want to leave the
automatic pair kerning setting on, since taking it off may make the
characters of your text squish too close together to be legible.
Normally, text below 12 pt does not need kerning adjustments.

As you work, Publisher will display a sample of your settings at the

bottom of the dialog box. To see what these changes would look like in
your publication, press the Apply button. You can make further
adjustments as needed, and when you're finished, press OK to accept
them. If you want these options to be available without the hassle of a

dialog box, you can Show Toolbar to display a toolbar with the
options for both character and line spacing. Move the toolbar out of the
way by clicking on the gray rectangle at its right (2000) or on top (XP).
The options on the toolbar let you reposition the text box, using the x
(horizontal position) and y (vertical position) coordinate settings, adjust
its width and height, the angle of rotation, tracking, scaling, kerning,
and line spacing, respectively. (Note: 2000 users will see a toolbar that
is long rather than tall, but the options are in the same order.)

Line Spacing

You can also adjust the spacing between lines (like setting double
spacing) as well as the amount of space before and after paragraphs
by choosing the Line Spacing command from the Format menu.
While the option to set spacing Between lines is available from the
toolbar above, you can only set spacing before and after paragraphs in
the line spacing dialog box. Pressing Show Toolbar in this dialog box
has the same effect as in the Character Spacing dialog.

Indents and Lists

If you're working with a bulleted or numbered list, or if you want to set

up indents at specific locations in your stories, you can use the
Indents and Lists command from the Format menu. To change the
way Publisher is automatically indenting your bulleted or numbered
text, choose the appropriate option. Publisher will display the list type's
default settings, which you can then change. You can also set the
indent options for normal (not bulleted or numbered) text by choosing
the Normal option under Indent Settings . From the Preset dropdown menu under the Indents section, you can alter a number of
indent types (such as hanging indents, quotations, or first line indents),
or even set up a Custom indent. In addition, you can select a text
alignment from the Alignment drop-down menu at the bottom of the
dialog box. (These options are also available as buttons on the
Formatting toolbar.) Finally, the Line Spacing button is a shortcut to
the Line Spacing dialog box.

Format Painter
Once you've formatted one story completely, you may wish that you
could "paste" the special formatting onto several other stories. You can
do so with the Format Painter. First, select the text whose formatting
you want to "copy." Then click on the Format Painter icon in the
Standard toolbar and select the text onto which you want to "paste"
the formatting, and Publisher will transfer the formatting attributes. To

paste formatting onto several stories, double-click on the Format

Painter icon instead of single-clicking; now everything you select will
be changed to the formatting you "copied." To turn the Format Painter
off, click its icon on the toolbar again.

Styles

If you will need to use the same set of formatting attributes several
times in your publication (perhaps because you want all of your
headings to look alike, for example) then you may want to create a
Style instead of relying on the Format Painter. Styles are collections of
formatting features saved with a name that you choose; you can then
select the Style you need from the Style drop-down menu in the
Formatting toolbar. Any selected text will then be reformatted to match
the specified Style; if no text is selected, your paragraph will be
reformatted.

To create Styles, choose Text Style from the Format menu. In the
dialog box, choose the option to Create a new style. In the Create
New Style dialog box that now appears, you can type in a name for
your style, then set formatting attributes for the text using the five

buttons below the Style's name. Publisher will display a preview of the
formatting settings you've made on the right side of the dialog box.
Once you're happy with your settings, press OK. You can continue
creating as many Styles as you'd like for your publication. When you're
finished creating Styles, click the Close button. All of your Styles will
now appear as options in the Style drop-down menu on the Formatting
toolbar; you can simply select them to apply the formatting settings to
your text.
If you later decide that you want to make further adjustments to a
Style, simply return to the Text Style dialog box by choosing that
command from the Format menu, select the Style you want to alter,
and click the option to Change this style. Once you make a change
to a Style in the dialog box, all the text formatting in that Style in your
document will automatically be updated. In this dialog box, you can
also rename or delete styles as necessary (although you won't be able
to delete default styles that Publisher creates). Best of all, if you have
set up Styles for a Microsoft Word document, for example, you can
import them into Publisher by choosing the option to Import new
styles. You can then browse your files for the document whose Styles
you want to copy (hint: you may have to choose a different file format
in the Files of type drop-down menu in order to see your Word files).
Publisher will then convert the Styles and import them into the list that
displays in the Text Style dialog; you can easily delete any Styles that
won't be necessary for your Publisher document while in this dialog.
When you're finished, press Close to return to your document window;
you will now be able to select the imported styles from the Style dropdown menu on the Formatting toolbar.

Publisher XP users will see a slight difference in the presentation of

these options: the command from the Format menu is called Styles
and Formatting, and the list of styles displays in the Task Pane rather
than in a separate dialog box. Beneath the list of styles, you'll see
options to display All Styles or just those Styles in use, a button that
allows you to choose a document from which to import styles, and a
button that will set up a new style, if desired. You can see the
attributes of each style simply by looking at the examples listed in the
Task Pane. To change any attributes of a style, click on the drop-down
arrow next to the name of the style and select the Modify command to
access formatting options. To apply a style to a story, select the story
and then click on the name of the style in the Task Pane. In case of
disaster, the first Style listed is usually Clear Formatting, which
returns your selection to the default text settings. When copying or
moving text, Publisher XP will often display a Paste icon next to the

selection; clicking on the drop-down arrow next to the icon will provide
you with the choice of copying the text and formatting into the
selection, or simply the text.

Drop Caps

To create an oversized beginning letter for your story like those in fairy
tales, choose the Drop Cap command from the Format menu. On the
Drop Cap tab that initially appears, you can select from a variety of
drop cap styles that will apply to the first letter of your story. To see
how your story will look with a particular style, select it and press the
Apply button. Shop around (try scrolling to the right) until you find the
option you like best, then press OK when you're done. If you are
looking for some fancier options, you may want to look at the Custom
Drop Cap tab. Here you can set the height of the drop cap, the size of
the letters (in line height), and even how many letters should be in the
drop cap format. You can set your own font, font style, and color, too.

Should you decide later that you don't want the text to be in drop cap
format, go to the Format menu. You'll now see a command that says

Change Drop Cap. In the Drop Cap dialog box, press the Remove
button to eliminate any drop caps in your current story.

Working with Text and Shapes

If you are working with Publisher 2000 and you want to place text
"inside" a shape, then you will have to go through several steps to get
your text to fit. You will need to create both an object frame (for the
circle) and a text frame in which to type your text; then you'll need to
adjust the text frame's fill color by choosing No Fill from the Fill Color
dialog box (available from the Format menu). You still may need to
complete some adjustments to get the text properly lined up with the
circle (try using AutoFit to help you as you work). If you need to move
the object and text, you'll have to group them first.

Publisher XP makes the process less messy, since you can simply begin
typing once you click and drag out an AutoShape in your publication.
The text will automatically be added in a text frame associated with
the shape, and the two are linked together so that any changes you
make to the AutoShape will automatically cause an adjustment to the
text frame. You can also use AutoFit here to make Publisher do the
work of resizing your text.

Mail Merge
If you're creating certain types of publications, Publisher will offer you
the option of adding a space for your customers' mailing addresses.
You can then import a data source you've already created or make up a
Publisher address list using options from the Mail Merge menu in
Publisher 2000; Publisher XP users can select the Mail Merge Wizard
option from the Mail Merge submenu of the Tools menu. For more
information on using a Mail Merge, see the document Word XP/2000
Merging. While the Mail Merge feature can be a handy time-saving
device if you're printing out a small number of brochures, keep in mind
that you'll have to print each brochure (or at least one page of it) on
your printer rather than being able to photocopy them. Depending on
the cost of your printer's toner cartridge compared to that of your
photocopier, you may find it more cost-effective to perform a Mail
Merge onto labels and simply photocopy your Publisher document.

Creating a Template
Once you've done all the work of creating a publication with the
appropriate layout and image elements, you may want to save it for
future work. If, for example, you publish a monthly newsletter, then it
would be helpful to be able to simply enter new content in the layout
you've set up. When you save a publication as a template, you can
create a new document based on that template without affecting the
original document (i.e., last month's newsletter). To save your
publication as a template, choose Save As from the File menu. In the
Save as Type drop-down menu at the bottom of the dialog box, select
Publication Template. Publisher will automatically locate the
Templates folder on your computer, and when you press Save, you'll
save your publication into that folder. When you're ready to use the
template to create a new publication, choose the New command from
the File menu. In Publisher 2000, look at the bottom of the Catalog
dialog box for the Templates button, then click it. In Publisher XP,
choose the From Template option under the New category on the
Task Pane. In both cases, you can then select the template you created
from the Templates folder, where it was saved.

The Background/Master Page

For elements that you want repeated on each page, such as page
numbers or logos, you'll need to use Publisher's Background (in 2000)
or Master Page (in XP). To work on the background, go to the View
menu and choose Go To Background (2000) or Master Page (XP).
Objects you create here will appear on every page unless you indicate
otherwise. You can get back to working on page-specific items by
returning to the View menu and choosing Go To Foreground (2000)
or re-selecting Master Page (XP). You can use the Background/Master
Page for things like...

Page Numbers: Although it's possible to place page numbers

outside the Background/Master Page, to make sure that your
page numbers show up in a uniform position, you'll want to
create them in the Background/Master Page. Go to the
Background/Master Page and create a text frame where you want
to place the page numbers. Then from the Insert menu, select
Page Numbers. Publisher will insert a pound sign (#) to indicate
the placement of the number; when you return to the
Foreground/regular view, you will see that the pound sign has
been converted to the appropriate page number. Folks who are
comfortable with headers and footers from Microsoft Word may

want to use XP's options for Header and Footer, available from
the View menu.
Watermarks: Perhaps you are interested in putting some sort of
text (like "DRAFT" or "TOP SECRET") or a light-gray logo in the
background. To do so, go to the Background/Master Page and
create a text frame or picture frame (even, perhaps, a WordArt
frame) with the desired text or logo. You likely want to be able to
read the text in the rest of your publication over the watermark,
so you'll probably need to change your text or image color to
gray. Use the options on the Formatting toolbar to adjust the
coloring of the watermark object. In addition, you may need to
set the fill color of your text box to No Fill. To make the
watermark object stretch across the entire publication, use the
resizing handles for the object and rotate or flip it as needed.
Hiding Background Objects on Certain Pages: It might be
the case that you want recurring headers, page numbers or
watermarks on some pages, but not on others. Not to worry: it is
simple to suppress Background/Master Page objects for individual
pages. Simply go to the page where you want to suppress the
Background objects, click on the

View menu, and choose Ignore Background (2000) or Ignore

Master Page (XP). No Background/Master Page objects will
display for this page. To return them to view, select this option
again. Note: ignoring the Background/Master Page is an all-ornothing proposition. You can't maintain the watermark while you
hide page numbers, for example.

MS Publisher ships with over five thousand clipart images and photographs. You can insert any of
these into your publication.
However, for an even more dramatic and creative look, why not "layer" two or more images?
If you plave two images on top of each other, the second image will obscure the first. However,
you can achieve really eye-catching results by deciding which of the images should be on top.
Like this...

Here we have two graphics, a quill pen and a letter, but

the letter is obscuring the pen, making the graphic
unusable.
Notice that the Letter graphic is selected. What we need
to do is to send it to the back, so that the quill can be on
top.
Click on the "Send to Back" tool on the top toolbar which
looks like this:

And suddenly your graphic takes on a whole new clarity!

Notice, when you use the "Send to Back" or "Bring to
Front" tools, the top graphic becomes "transparent" and
does NOT totally obscure the graphic beneath it)
If you place a text box on top of a picture, it wont
automatically become transparent. In that case, to allow
the picture behind to show through, press the Ctrl + T
keys simultaneously.

MICROSOFT PUBLISHER 2000

STARTING MICROSOFT PUBLISHER

1.
2.
3.

1.
2.
3.

4.

Move your pointer over and up to

(or down to) Microsoft Publisher
4.
Click on Microsoft Publisher.

5.

Click on Start Button

Move your pointer up to programs.

MICROSOFT PUBLISHER CATALOG

6.

5.
The first window that opens is the Microsoft Publisher Catalog. The
Publisher Catalog is a visual directory of publication designs. It appears each
time you start Publisher 2000. You can use the catalog to open an existing
publication or to create a new one.

Clicking on the
Publications by
Wizard tab allows you
to personalize
publications by using
wizards.
Clicking on the
Publications by
Design tab allows you
to create a set of
publications (letterhead,
business cards,
brochure) with a
common theme.

Clicking on the Blank

Publications tab allows
you to create a
publication from
scratch.
Clicking on the
Existing Files button
allows you to work on a
publication you have
already started.

CREATE A QUICK PUBLICATION

7.

6.

8.

Click on the
Publications by
Wizard tab.

9.

7.
Click on Quick
Publications in
the Wizard
pane.

10.

8.
In the pane on the
right, scroll down
until you find the
Borders Quick

Publication. Click
on the publication.
11.

9.
Click on the
Start Wizard
button.

12.

10.

13.

11.
The next window that
opens allows you to change
your personal information.
Since you are not working on
your own computer, click on
the Cancel button. When
you create a Publisher
document on your own
computer, you can take the
time to complete this
personal information.

14.

12.

When the following window opens, click on the OK button.

The next steps will take you through the Wizard.

a. a. Read the introduction in the Quick Publication Wizard pane.
b. b. Click on the Next button located at the bottom of the pane.
c. c. The next wizard pane allows you to pick the color scheme for your
publication. Click on the Next button. You can always change the color
scheme later.
d. d. The next wizard pane allows you to pick the layout for your
publication. Read through the list of possible layouts. Select sidebar
heading, picture at bottom and click on the Finish button at the bottom
of the pane.

THE PUBLISHER WINDOW

2.

13.

Find each of the following components in the Publisher window.

Wizard
Office Assistant

Toolbars

Show/Hide Wizard
Page Icon
Wizard Options
THE TOOLBARS
3.

14.

ScreenTips

Publication in main window

When you move your pointer on top of any button on the toolbars, a small box
appears with the name of each button. The box is called a ScreenTip.

4.

ScreenT

15.
The Menu Bar contains a list of menus that will help you create, edit, and
format publications.

As you click on each menu, additional options appear. Each option can show
more choices, depending on what you are doing in Publisher 2000. If a menu
option looks faded (is grayed out), the option is not currently available to you, but
it will be available for other activities. The options that are displayed when you
click on a button are those that were recently used. To view all available options
on that menu, hold your pointer over the list for a couple of seconds or click on
the double arrow ( ) at the bottom of the list.
5.

16.
The Standard toolbar contains buttons that give you quick access
to Publisher 2000's most commonly used functions, such as opening,
saving, and printing.

The buttons on this toolbar allow you to:

Create a new publication

Format the Painter

Open an existing publication

Undo a change you made

Save a publication

Redo an undo

Print a publication

Bring selection to the front

Cut selection

Send selection to the back

Copy selection

Rotate selection

Paste selection

Show/Hide special
characters

Change
magnification,
zoom in and out

Move your pointer over each button. A ScreenTip should appear

displaying the button name. The name gives you a clue as to the function.
6.

17.
The Formatting Toolbar contains buttons that change depending on what
type of frame is selected.
When a frame containing text is selected the following buttons should appear on
the formatting toolbar:

Click on a frame in your document that contains text. Check the formatting
toolbar to see what buttons appear. Move your pointer over the buttons to review
their names. The buttons on this version of the formatting toolbar allow you to:
Change the Style

Indent text to the left

Change the type of Font

Indent text to the right

Change the font size

Decrease font size

Make the text bold

Increase font size

Make the text italics

Change fill color

Underline the text

Change line color

Align left

Change font color

Center

Change line or border style

Align right

Change text frame properties

Justify

Rotate selection to the left

Add numbered list

Rotate selection to the right

Add bullets

When a frame containing a picture is selected, the following buttons should

appear on the formatting toolbar.

Click on a frame in your document that contains a picture. Check the formatting
toolbar to see what buttons appear. Move your pointer over the buttons to review
their names. The buttons on this version of the formatting toolbar allow you to:

7.

Crop the picture

Change line or border style

Edit irregular wrap points

Change frame properties

Wrap text to frame

Rotate to the left

Wrap text to picture

Rotate to the right

Change fill color

Flip horizontally

Change line color

Flip vertically

18.
The Objects toolbar, located on the left side of the screen, contains
buttons that help you create frames, place objects, and format for the web.
Move your pointer over each button. A ScreenTip should appear displaying the
button name. The name gives you a clue as to the function.

Pointer
Tool
Table Frame
Tool

Text Frame Tool

WordArt Frame

Picture Frame
Clip Gallery Tool
Line Tool

Oval

Rectangle
Custom

ASKING FOR HELP YOUR OFFICE ASSISTANT

8.

19.
Microsoft Publisher 2000 has an extensive help system and can quickly
find answers to questions as you work. Publisher 2000 has an office assistant that
can answer questions, give you helpful tips, and display alerts that help you
improve your productivity. Whatever your task, the office assistant can help you.

9.

20.
Find your office assistant. The default
office assistant is the paper clip (Clippit).
If your office assistant is not present,
you can click the help button
on Standard Toolbar and your office
assistant will appear.

10.

21.
Click on the office assistant. Click in the space where the phrase Type
your question here, and then click Search is located. Type your question and
click on the Search button. What appears next is a list of options. Click on your
choice or click on the see more option at the bottom. A help window will open
giving you step-by-step instructions for completing the task.

11.

22.

You can change your Office Assistant by:

Right mouse click on the office assistant
Move your pointer down to Choose Assistant
Click on Choose Assistant
Click on the Next or Back buttons to view
the available assistants.

Click OK once you find an assistant you like or

click Cancel to keep the current assistant.

SAVING YOUR PUBLICATION

12.

13.

23.
To save your publication for the first time,
you need to:

Click on the File button on the menu bar

Move your pointer down to Save As

Click on Save As..

24.
The next window that opens allows you to determine where to
save your publication. Save your file on the hard drive (C:) or in your
folder under userbhs on Edison (H:).

Hard Drive of the

computer you are
currently using

Building and Server:

BHS Edison
BJHS Edison
Bent Carver
Stevenson
Morse
Server for BHS users
Oakland
Fermi
Located in the
technology offices Irving Bell
Sheridan Marconi

14.

25.
Once you have decided where to save your publication, you will
need to type in the name of your publication in the File name: box and
click the Save button.

15.

26.
Periodically,
your office assistant
will remind you that
it is time to save
your publication.
When it is time to
save, the dialog box
at the right will
appear.

16.

27.
You need to
click yes if you want
to save the
publication or click
No if you do not
want to save at this
time.

MODIFYING YOUR PUBLICATION

17.

28.

Change the Heading

Highlight (click and drag your mouse over) the word Heading.

18.

Type in Art Club.

29.

19.

20.

21.

Change the message.

Highlight the text Place your message here. For maximum impact, use
two or three sentences.
Type in Tuesdays and hit the enter button
Type in 2:30 p.m. and hit the enter button.
Type in Room 153 and hit the enter button.

30.

Change the font.

A list of the fonts available on your computer should appear. Notice that
the list gives you a preview of what that font looks like. Scroll down until you
find a font you like. Click on the font of your choice.

31.

Highlight the text you want to change.

Click on the down arrow next to the current font.

Change the alignment of the text

Highlight the text.

Click on one of the alignment buttons.

32.

Change the font color:

Highlight the text.

Click on the Font Color button on the formatting toolbar.
The menu that opens allows you to:

 Pick a color from the

current color scheme
Pick a different color
scheme
Pick a color from the color
palette (More Colors..)
Pick a Fill Effect

22.

33.

Change the frame fill color:

Select a frame by clicking anywhere on or in the frame.

Click on the Fill Color button on the formatting toolbar.
The menu that opens allows you to:
Select No Fill
Pick a color from the
current color scheme
Pick a different color
scheme
Pick a color from the color
palette (More Colors..)
Pick a Fill Effect

23.

34.

Change the border style:

Select a frame by clicking anywhere on or in the frame.

Click on the Line/Border Style button on the formatting toolbar.

24.

The menu that opens allows you to select from various preset line and
border styles

The More Styles selection gives you two options. Click on the
Line Border tab to change the line thickness and color. Click on the
BorderArt tab to use a design as your border. The BorderArt window
is shown below:

35.

Resizing a frame:

25.

36.

26.

Click on the frame with the message regarding the meeting day,
time, and location.
Notice that a thin gray line defines the boundaries of the frame and
that a black square is displayed at each corner and half way along
each side. These black squares are called selection handles.
When you position your pointer over a
selection handle, your pointer changes to
the resize pointer.
Once the resize pointer is displayed,
you can click and drag the frame to a
different size.
Resize the message frame.
Moving a frame:

Click on the frame with the message regarding the meeting day,
time, and location.
Position your pointer over the gray
frame outline. The pointer should change
to the move pointer.
When your pointer changes to the move
pointer, you can click and drag the frame to
a different location. You can even drag the
frame to the gray work area surrounding
your publication.
Move the message frame so that it is centered vertically on the
right side of the document.

37.

Changing a picture:

Right mouse click on the picture frame.

Move your pointer up to Change Picture.
Move your pointer over to Picture.
Move your pointer over to Clip Art.
Click on Clip Art.

The Insert Clip Art window should open. The clip art is organized
into several different categories. You could pick a category and
browse through the clip art in that category. The clip art window allows
you to search for clip art. Type art in the Search for clips box and hit
the enter key.

Scroll through the clip art.

Click on the clip you want to
insert into your publication.
When you click on the clip,
another window opens giving
you the option to 1) insert the

clip, 2) preview the clip, 3)

add the clip to your favorites,
or 4) find similar clips. Click
on the Insert Clip icon.

The Clip Art window does

not close once you insert a
clip. To close the window,
click on the X in the upper
right hand corner of the
window.

27.

38.

28.

Add a frame:

Find the Objects Toolbar on the left.

Find and click on the icon
for the Clip Gallery Tool.
Move your pointer to your
where you want to insert a
new frame on your
publication.

Click and draw a box forming

the outline of the new frame.
The Insert Clip Art window
will open automatically when
you release your mouse
button.
Select another graphic to
add to your publication.
Follow the same
procedure when adding a text
frame, table frame, WordArt
frame, picture frame, and the
various shapes.

29.

39.

Editing the Border:

Click on the blue, yellow, and

orange border in your
publication.
Notice that a button
appears along the bottom of
the publication.
Move your pointer over
the button and you will see
that this is a wizard button.

Click on the wizard button and

a Borders Creation Wizard
window opens.
This window gives you
different options for borders in
this design.
Click on the options and
notice how the border
changes.

You can make additional

changes to the border by right
mouse clicking anywhere on
the border.
When the window opens,
move your mouse down to
Change Rectangle.
Another window opens
giving you the option of
changing the fill color, the line

color, the line/border style, or

adding a shadow.
Experiment with these
options.

PERSONALIZED CERTIFICATES WITH MAIL MERGE

Part 1: Create an Excel Document
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

12.

1.
Start Microsoft Excel.
2.
In Cell A1 type FirstName.
3.
In Cell B1 type LastName.
4.
In Cell C1 type Date.
5.
In Cell D1 type Hours.
6.
In Cell E1 type Activity.
7.
Type in the first name, last name, date, hours, and activity
for each participant.
8.
Save the document to your hard drive or to your folder on
Edison.
9.
Before you close Excel, notice that the first row of your
spreadsheet contains the headings for each column.
10.
Also notice that this Excel
document contains three
sheets and your data is
found on sheet 1 unless
you switched sheets. You
should be able to see tabs
for each sheet in the lower
left hand corner of the
window. You will need to
remember which sheet
contains your information.
11.
Close Excel.

Part II: Design a Certificate

13.
14.

12.
Start Publisher.
13.
Under the Publications by Wizard tab, select Award
Certificates.

15.
16.
17.

14.
Notice you can select a certificate for printing on plain paper
or on special paper. Scroll through the possible designs and select
one you like.
15.
Customize the certificate if necessary.
16.
Save the blank certificate to your hard drive or your folder
on Edison.

Part III: Mail Merge

18.
19.
20.

17.
18.
19.

Open your blank certificate.

Click on Mail Merge on the menu bar.

21.

Move your pointer down to Open Data Source. Click on Open Data
Source.

22.

20.
The next window wants to know what type of data source
you will be using. Since we created our data source in Excel you
will need to click on the second option Merge information from
another type of file.

23.

21.
The next window that opens wants to know where to look
for your data source. You need to do three things at this window.
You will need to select Microsoft Excel (*.xls) in the Files of type:
box.

24.

22.
Now you need to select the drive or folder where you saved
your data source. Once you have found your data file, you need to
click on the file and then click open.

25.

23.

26.

After you open your data

source file, your office
assistant will want to know
if you want to use the
entries in the first row of
your data as filed names.

If you followed in the

directions in Mail Merge
Part I, then you need to
click on Yes.
27.

28.

29.

24.
The next window
that opens wants to know
the name of the sheet or
table that contains the
information you want to
merge. If you followed
the directions in Part I you
should enter sheet1.
Click on the OK button.
25.
The next window
that opens has a list of the
field names you can insert
into your certificate.

26.
Highlight the area where you want to insert the participants
name.

30.

27.
Click on FirstName in the Insert Fields window and then
click on the Insert button. Notice that <<FirstName>> appears on
the certificate.

31.

28.
Press the space bar to insert a space between the first and
last names of the participant.
29.
Click on LastName in the Insert Fields window and click on
the Insert button.
30.
Continue to insert the other fields in the appropriate
locations on the certificate.
31.
The picture below shows what the example certificate would
look like once all the fields have been inserted into the publication.
You can close the Insert Fields window.

32.
33.
34.

35.

32.
Now you are ready to merge the information. Click on Mail
Merge on the menu bar. Move the pointer down to Merge and
click.

36.

33.
The window that opens next allows you to preview each
merged document. The arrows on this window allow you to move
through the merged documents one document at a time or to skip
to the beginning or end of the list.

37.

34.
The last step would be to print the merged documents.
Click on File on the menu bar. Move your pointer down to Print
Merge. Select the printer and click OK.

MORE HELP AND IDEAS ONLINE TUTORIALS

Microsoft Publisher 2000 In and Out of the Classroom
http://www.microsoft.com/education/tutorial/classroom/pub2k/default.asp
Table of Contents
Introduction

Whats in this book

New for 2000

Getting Your Bearings

Learn how desktop publishing can be used across the curriculum.

Start Publisher and begin a new publication.
Create a one-page publication with the Quick Publication Wizard.
Use the Office Assistant to get help.
Replace text and pictures.
Save, print, and close a publication.

Creating a Calendar

Identify school, community, and personal use of a calendar.

Use the Calendar Wizard to create a monthly calendar.
Customize your calendar with text and Clip Art.
Add photographs to your calendar.
Save and print your calendar.
Publish your calendar on the World Wide Web.

Creating a Newsletter

Understand the general layout of a newsletter.

Use the Newsletter Wizard to create a two-page layout.
Use the design gallery to enhance the newsletter layout.
Insert a text file and clip art into existing frames.
Review and edit existing text, including checking your spelling.
Add a "drop cap" to a story to add visual interest.
Add or delete extra pages.
Convert your newsletter to a Web page.

Promoting a School Organization

Understand the types of materials used in marketing.
Understand the general layout of a brochure.
Create a set of promotional materials using Publication by Design
Wizards:
Create a brochure.
Create a letterhead and envelope.
Create a Thank You card.

Publicizing an Event
Use the Postcard Wizard to create an invitation appropriate for an
event.

Create an achievement certificate for special donors.

Use the Mail Merge feature to generate the names for the certificates.
Create a catalog.
Create, print, and assemble your banner.
Publish your invitation on the Web.

Creating on the Web

Understand the mechanics involved in planning and developing both
and individual and a school/class Web site.
Use the Web Site Wizard to develop different types of pages and
customize them to meet individual needs.
Insert a Directory of Related Links page.
Insert Clip Art on your Web pages and modify text elements of the
Web page.
Add publications that you already created, such as the newsletter, to
your Web site.
Insert hot links to the Internet.
Preview your Web page.

Download Lessons
This part of the lesson has links to the Microsoft Word versions of the other
lessons. You can download a lesson in version formatted for printing. Please
note Microsoft Corporation retains sole ownership of all published In and Out
of the Classroom materials. Microsoft grants permission for educational
institutions and Microsoft OEMS and Solution Partners to reproduce these
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