MICROSOFT PUBLISHER 2010 TIPS TRICKS - Clark County School District

TECHNOLOGY & INFORMATION SYSTEMS SERVICES DIVISION USER SUPPORT SERVICES: EMPLOYEE BUSINESS TRAINING MICROSOFT PUBLISHER 2010 TIPS & TRICKS Microsoft Publisher provides you with many options for changing the appearance of your everyday documents. In this workshop we will demonstrate how to use a template, change color schemes, feature colors, and insert text and images. The result is a fresh new look to a previous handout or lesson. TEMPLATES When you launch Publisher, you can choose to start your publication from a blank page, or choose one of the hundreds of templates installed or available from Microsoft’s Online Template library. Find the category of the template type, review the samples, and select your template. The templates provide you information such as page size, number of initial pages, who created the template, and the opportunity to download. After the template is launched, you can begin to add your own information to make the template fit your needs. Publisher Tips & Tricks 10/21/2011 1

TECHNOLOGY & INFORMATION SYSTEMS SERVICES DIVISION USER SUPPORT SERVICES: EMPLOYEE BUSINESS TRAINING COLOR SCHEMES Publisher provides you with a set pallet of color schemes that can be utilized with your publication. Some of the schemes have been carried forward from previous versions of MICROSOFT Publisher, but they have also included the new color pallets from Office 2007. These schemes are found on the Page Design tab. After selecting a color scheme, you can then apply those new color options to various parts of your publication. Select the object and activate the contextual tab. If the object is a shape you can change fill and outline colors and options. Clip Art and pictures allow you to change object styles such as framing, or color options. By using color schemes, we can easily change the colors of our publication to a new scheme in a single click. INSERTING OBJECTS We have made choices on our template and colors, now we can begin inserting our text, pictures, tables and other objects. Text In most publications, the most important feature is the text. By using a template, most text boxes already exist, it is a simple matter of typing the new information, or utilizing the ability to copy and paste text you may already have in another document, like Word. Insert a Text Box To Insert a Text Box: 1. Select Draw Text Box [Home tab, Objects group; or Insert tab, Text group]. A crosshair will appear on your document as you drag the mouse over the page. 2. Click and hold the left mouse button while dragging the crosshair into a box shape in the area you want the text box inserted. A text box is surrounded by handles for resizing and rotating the text box when it is active. 3. Click in the text box to type. Publisher Tips & Tricks 10/21/2011 2

TECHNOLOGY & INFORMATION SYSTEMS SERVICES DIVISION USER SUPPORT SERVICES: EMPLOYEE BUSINESS TRAINING The handles around the text box turn red when the text box has reached the maximum number of characters it will hold. What if all of your text doesn’t fit? No need to worry, in the next section you will see how to link text boxes together. Link Text Boxes When it is not possible to enlarge the size of a text box so that all of the necessary text will fit, it is possible to create a new text box and link them together so that the text flows from one text box to the other. 1. Draw another text box. 2. Click in the text box that currently holds text. 3. Click Create Link [Text Box Tools Format tab, Linking group]. Your mouse changes to the Create Link pitcher mouse. 4. Click in the text box you want the text to flow into. Arrows to the right or left side of a selected text box indicate that it is linked to another text box. Pictures & Clip Art Adding photographs or Clip Art to a publication adds interest and enhances its appearance. Pictures Pictures can be easily inserted into your Publisher projects but you must have access to the electronic copy of the picture. IMPORTANT: You MUST obtain proper permission from the owner of the photograph in accordance with copyright laws; and in the case of CCSD students, the signed media release form from the parent/guardian. To insert a picture into your publication: 1. Click Picture [Insert tab, Illustrations group]. 2. Browse to the picture location, select the picture, and click Insert. 3. Select OK. Publisher Tips & Tricks 10/21/2011 3

TECHNOLOGY & INFORMATION SYSTEMS SERVICES DIVISION USER SUPPORT SERVICES: EMPLOYEE BUSINESS TRAINING Once the picture has been added, we can use the Picture Tools Format contextual tab to adjust the brightness, contrast, color, style, and shape of the picture, as well as add borders and captions Clip Art Clip Art has been utilized for many years to add illustrations to publications. Just as Office has evolved during the years, so has Clip Art. It no longer consists only of cartoons and caricatures; now it also provides stock photos. To search for Clip Art graphics: 1. Select Clip Art [Insert tab, Illustrations group]. The Clip Art task pane displays on the right side of the screen. 2. Type a subject/description of the desired art in the Search for field. 3. Select the appropriate media type by clicking the Results should be drop-down, if necessary. 4. Click Go to display the results. 5. Double-click on the desired graphic in the Clip Art task pane to insert the Clip Art. Now that you have added your graphic, you can enhance it using the Picture Tools Format tab. Shapes Shapes such as rectangles, arrows, lines, callouts, and many more can be inserted into your publication. All enclosed shapes can include text and all text in a shape is actually considered WordArt. After inserting a shape, the Drawing Tools tab is displayed which allows you to change the options of the shape such as the style, color, etc. NOTE: Use the s key while inserting the shape to maintain aspect ratio. Use the c key while inserting to maintain the object’s center position. Publisher Tips & Tricks 10/21/2011 4

TECHNOLOGY & INFORMATION SYSTEMS SERVICES DIVISION USER SUPPORT SERVICES: EMPLOYEE BUSINESS TRAINING To insert a shape, complete the following steps: 1. 2. 3. 4. Click the Shapes drop-down [Insert tab, Illustrations group]. Select the desired shape. Draw the desired shape. Edit the shape using the Drawing Tools tab. Tables Inserting a table can allow you to place text or objects in neat columns and rows with less effort. To insert a table go to the Tables group on the Insert ribbon. From here, you can create a table using the table grid. Hover the mouse over the grid until the desired dimensions are displayed and click once. The table is inserted wherever the cursor is located, or in a blank area of the publication. A table can also be inserted by using the Insert Table command. Once the table has been inserted, you can change its appearance by using the Table Tools Design and Layout contextual tabs. Publisher Tips & Tricks 10/21/2011 5

TECHNOLOGY & INFORMATION SYSTEMS SERVICES DIVISION USER SUPPORT SERVICES: EMPLOYEE BUSINESS TRAINING TEXT WRAP OPTIONS Using the different objects available in Publisher is great, but it is important to understand the Text Wrap options. Text wrapping allows you to take control of how a picture and text interact. Does the text stay above or below, do you want the text to appear next to the object – all of these scenarios can be achieved through text wrapping. Each contextual tab contains an Arrange group. This group houses the Wrap Text command and options. The following table describes the effect of each option. Option In Line with Text Square Tight Through Top and Bottom Behind Text In Front of Text Description The image is treated like text. In other words, like a large single character. The image can be next to text where the text flows around it in a square pattern. Similar to Square except that the text flows around the image’s exact shape. Similar to Tight where the text flows around the image as best it can. Text is placed directly above and below the image. The image is underneath the text. Works especially well when the picture has been washed out so the text can be easily read. The image is on top of the text. Publisher Tips & Tricks 10/21/2011 6

TECHNOLOGY & INFORMATION SYSTEMS SERVICES DIVISION USER SUPPORT SERVICES: EMPLOYEE BUSINESS TRAINING EXTRAS WEBSITES – WORD SEARCH The following websites provide free word search generators. They allow you to provide a pool of words and the website generates the puzzle. r/wordsearch.php http://www.softschools.com/language arts/worksheets/word search maker/ WEBSITES – CROSSWORD PUZZLES The following free websites help you create crossword puzzles for handouts and other publications. It is great for use with vocabulary words, match concepts, and historical facts. http://www.armoredpenguin.com/crossword/ -crossword-puzzle-builders.html Publisher Tips & Tricks 10/21/2011 7

Publisher Tips & Tricks 10/21/2011 1 MICROSOFT PUBLISHER 2010 TIPS & TRICKS Microsoft Publisher provides you with many options for changing the appearance of your everyday documents. In this workshop we will demonstrate how to use a template, change color schemes, feature colors, and insert text and images. The result is a fresh new look to a