Microsoft Publisher Basics

1. How to Insert Text

Either: Do the writing in Word and then copy and paste into Publisher.

Or: Do the writing in Word and then import the document into Publisher by going to the Insert Menu and selecting Object. Choose Create from File and click Browse to locate the document that you want to import.

The advantage of this method is that you can then edit the text in Word (which is a better word processor than Publisher). See the Tutorial on Excel Charts in Publisher to learn about this.

Or: Do the writing within Publisher. You need to select the Text Tool and then draw a Text Box on your page.

Text Button

Text Box

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2. How to Format Text

When you start typing in a text box, you will find it difficult to read the text. Press F9 to zoom in and out, or use the Zoom Control at the bottom of the screen.

To format your text, you need to Select the text that you wish to alter. You will see the text formatting bar will appear:

These buttons allow you to: Change the font and the font size Make text bold, italic and/or underlined Align your text (left, right, centred or full justification) Indent your text and add bulleted or numbered lists Fill the text box with a background colour Change the font colour Add a border to your text box Rotate the text box

To add columns, first select the text frame. Then select Text Frame Properties from the Format Menu. Here, you can select how many columns you want and you can also increase or decrease the Spacing between columns (known as the Gutter Margin)

To delete a text box, select it and then press SHIFT+DELETE on your keyboard.

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3. How to Add WordArt

First Click the WordArt button and draw a box.

Add your text and then click Update Display. You can add several lines of text (press the Enter key between lines. Some of the effects will work better if you have several lines of text.

You will notice that the buttons on the Toolbar have changed. All these buttons will make changes to the WordArt text.

Options available to you include: Changing the colour of the background and foreground Adding shadow effects Adding borders Turning the WordArt on its side Stretching the WordArt to the edges of the frame Making the WordArt bold, italic and/or underlined

Close down the WordArt box when you've finished. Double click the WordArt if you want to re-edit it.

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4. How to Add Graphics

Open the Insert Menu and select Picture. You can either open the Clipart gallery or you can insert a picture of your own.

Once the picture is inserted, you can select it by clicking on it once. Black Selection Handles will appear around the picture:

Re-size the picture by clicking on one of the handles. Hold the Left Mouse Button down and move the mouse.

Hold down the CTRL key when resizing if you want to maintain the proportions of the picture.

To move the picture, move the mouse to one of the edges of the picture (not onto the selection handles) and wait for the Move cursor to appear. Hold down the mouse button and drag the picture.

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5. How to Add Shapes

You have four buttons on the vertical toolbar, which are:

Line Tool Oval Tool Rectangle Tool Custom Shapes

All shapes can be moved and re-sized in the same way as text boxes and images.

Hold down the CTRL key if you want a perfect square or a perfect circle.

When a shape is selected, you can: Fill the shape with a colour Change the line colour Change the line width Rotate or flip the shape

If you Double-Click on a line, you can choose the Line Style and you can turn lines into Arrows.

If you Double-Click on a line surrounding a shape (e.g. the border of a rectangle or an oval) you get the Border Art options.

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6. How to Add Tables

Start by clicking the Table Button on the vertical toolbar and then draw a box for the table.

You can use the Table AutoFormat to create an attractive ready-made table:

Or you can create your own table from scratch. Start by specifying the number of rows and columns you require and click OK.

You can resize the table by clicking and dragging the Selection Handles.

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You can change the background colour and the text colour for each cell. Alternatively, you can select a row or a column, or the whole table:

Rows and columns can be re-sized by moving the mouse to the intersection on the grey bar that appears around the table when it is selected.

Rows and columns can be added by selecting Insert Rows or Columns from the Insert Menu.

To delete a row or column, first select the row or column that you wish to delete. Then select Delete Rows or Columns from the Insert Menu.

If you select more than one cell at a time, you can Merge the cells together. Select Merge Cells from the Table Menu. In the example below, the top row has been merged.

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7. Grouping and Layering

You can group objects by:

Either: hold down SHIFT and click on each object that you want to group.Or: Click the Pointer and drag the selection box around everything you want to group.

Then click the Group button that appears (or select Group Objects from the Arrange Menu).

To ungroup objects, select the group and click the Group button again (or select Ungroup Objects from the Arrange Menu).

If the objects overlap (as in the example above), you can decide which object you want on top. If you want the orange oval to be on top of the green rectangle, you could click on the orange oval and select Send to Back from the Arrange menu.

This is called Layering.

If you have several objects that overlap each other, you can select one and then choose Send Backward or Send Forward from the Arrange Menu:

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8. Numbering Your Publication

1. To add a page number to a Header or Footer you need to select Go to Background from the View Menu (alternatively press CTRL+M):

2. Draw a small text box where you want the number to appear on each page.

3. Select Page Numbers from the Insert Menu.

4. The # sign will be printed out as the correct page number. You can add text to this text frame, if you wish:

5. You can add other information to the Background it will appear on each page that you print out. You can create numerous Headers and Footers in this way. You can add personalised information or the current date/time all from the Insert Menu.

6. When you're finished, press CTRL+M again to return to the foreground or select Go to Foreground from the Insert Menu.

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9. Page Setup

Select Page Setup from the File Menu to change between Landscape and Portrait mode.

You can add Layout Guides to help you create publications such as folding leaflets. Open the Layout Guides dialog box from the Arrange menu.

You can add Ruler Guides to help you work within certain dimensions (e.g. if you are making a CD cover. Move the ruler guides by holding down the SHIFT key and dragging the guides with the rulers as a guide.

You can add a new page by selecting Page from the Insert Menu.

Alternatively, you can press CTRL+SHIFT+N.

To remove a page, select Delete Page from the Edit Menu.

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