Administrative Assistant / Secretary: Using Microsoft Publisher

Overview of Microsoft Publisher
Microsoft Publisher is an application used for creating documents with complex formatting, such as brochures, newsletters, flyers, and websites. Publisher allows you to change such things as page size, text, graphics, and border to create professional-looking documents.
The process for creating a document includes adding and positioning blocks of text, adding images and other graphic elements, and then positioning these elements on the page to create a layout.
Like all Microsoft Office applications, Publisher features Command tabs with ribbon bars, along with a page layout area that takes up most of the screen. There are Command tabs for File, Home, Insert, Page Design, Mailings, Review, and View. To the left is a Page Navigation pane that makes it easy to switch between pages in a multipage document. 

Creating a New Document
To create a new blank document in Publisher, start by clicking the File menu and then select NEW. From the Available Templates pane, click BLANK 8.5 × 11. You have the option to select a blank page in a portrait or landscape layout depending on which icon you select. A blank page will be displayed that is ready for you to begin work.

Opening an Existing Document
To open an existing Publisher document from the File menu, click OPEN. Navigate using the Open Publication dialog to find the document and select it. Then, click OPEN. The document will be loaded into Publisher.

Working with Publisher Tools

Rulers and Guides
Microsoft Publisher includes rulers and ruler guides that help you position and align text and graphics in your layout. Rulers appear across the top and left side of the layout pane. Ruler guides are straight lines that can be positioned anywhere on your document to assist with layout; however, they do not print. Ruler guides are often useful to mark where a brochure will fold, so you can balance other design elements on the panels.

Microsoft Publisher features and functions.



To display the rulers and guides, click the View tab and click the checkbox for RULERS and the checkbox for GUIDES.
To position the ruler guides, place your mouse over the guide until the cursor becomes a double-sided arrow. You can then click and drag the mouse to move the guide.

Text and Text Boxes
Working with text in Publisher is similar to working with text in Microsoft Word. The main difference is that all text in your Publisher layout is contained within a text box. The text within a text box can easily be moved and positioned anywhere on the page. Before you begin typing, though, you must first create a text box.
To create a text box, click the Insert tab and then click DRAW TEXT BOX. Then click anywhere on the layout and the text box will appear. In addition, the Text Box Tools tab will appear as a new tab that offers a wide variety of text-related functions (Figure 23-2).
Click inside the text box to begin entering your text. You can also write your text in Microsoft Word and copy and paste it into a text box in Publisher.
After entering your text, you can change the font, font size, color, alignment, and add special effects using the functions available on the Text Box Tools tab. To make changes to a previously created text box, just click the text box. You can then edit the text to make formatting changes from the Text Box Tools tab functions.

Text Box Tools tab in Microsoft Publisher.



Setting Up Columns
Layouts for brochures and newsletters often feature columns of text, just like a newspaper. You can create columns by creating multiple text boxes or by dividing a text box into columns.
To create column guides in your layout, click the Page Design tab, and then click GUIDES. From the list of guides, select the one of the predefined layouts. If none of the predefined layouts are appropriate, you can manually add column guides by clicking either ADD HORIZONTAL RULER GUIDE or ADD VERTICAL RULER GUIDE.
To divide an existing textbox into two columns, click the text box to select it, and then on the Text Box Tools tab, click COLUMNS. Click the number of columns you want from the drop-down list. Figure 23-3 shows a column layout sample.

Adjusting Line and Character Spacing
Publisher allows you to adjust the spacing between lines and paragraphs, as well as between words and characters. The amount of space between lines is called leading. To adjust the space between lines of text, select the text, and then click the Home tab and select the Line Spacing icon in the Paragraph group. You can then select whether you want your lines single-spaced, double-spaced, and so forth.
The amount of space between paragraphs is called paragraph spacing. You can adjust the amount of space before or after a paragraph by selecting the paragraph and then click the Home tab. Click the Line Spacing icon in the Paragraph group, and from the menu select LINE SPACING OPTIONS. The Paragraph dialog box will display. In the Line Spacing section, click the up or down arrows to increase or decrease the amount of space before or after the paragraph.

Microsoft Publisher layout with multiple columns.



The amount of space between characters is called kerning, and the amount of spacing between blocks of text is called tracking. A kerning adjustment is made between two characters within a word. To adjust the kerning, select the two characters you want to kern, and then on the Format tab, click the Character Spacing icon (it looks like a double-sided arrow with AV above it). From the Character Spacing drop-down list, make a selection. Tracking is essentially a kerning adjustment applied to an entire line of text. Select the line of text, and click the Format tab. Then click the Character Spacing icon and make a selection from the drop-down list.

Adding Pages
To add additional blank pages to your document, right-click in the Page Navigation pane and click INSERT BLANK PAGE. A new blank page will be inserted in the Page Navigation pane and a blank layout will display ready for you to begin work.

Using Master Pages
Master pages are templates that save time when creating multipage documents. Information that appears on the master page then also appears on all other pages in the document. The most common reason for using master pages is to include the same layout grid on each page, or to add headers or footers, page numbers, and graphics that appear in the same place on every page, as well as column guides.
To create a master page, click the View tab, and then click MASTER PAGE. The master page layout will be displayed along with the Master Page tab and ribbon bar. Any text, graphics, or other design elements that you place on the master page layout can be applied to all the pages in your document or to specific pages. Figure 23-4 shows a master page set up to repeat on other pages in the document.

Master page in Microsoft Publisher.


Screen shot used with permission from Microsoft.

Working with Graphics
Art and photographs can be inserted into your layout and positioned anywhere on the page. To insert a graphic, click the Insert tab and then click PICTURE. Navigate using the Insert Picture dialog box to the location on your computer where you have stored the graphic. Select the image, and then click the INSERT button. The graphic will then appear in your layout. Click and drag the graphic to position it in your layout.
You can insert clip art, graphic shapes, and WordArt also using the icons available on the Insert tab’s ribbon bar.
To resize a graphic, select the graphic and click and drag one of the sizing handles that surround the image to change the height and width.
Graphics may be copied and pasted between pages just like text. Select the graphic, and then click the Copy icon on the Home tab. Click the page in the Page Navigation pane, and click the Paste icon to paste the graphic onto the new page.

Setting Up Styles
Styles are definitions of the text, font, font style, and alignment settings for a particular type of text in your document. Creating and using styles in your document will allow you to have consistent-looking elements, such as titles, topic headings, and body text.
The easiest way to create a style is to format a particular piece of text exactly the way you want it. Then you highlight the text and click the Styles icon on the Home tab ribbon bar. From the drop-down list, click NEW STYLE. The New Style dialog box will be displayed. Enter a name for the new style. You have the option of setting the style for the next paragraph. This can be useful for the body text in your document, so that you can start a new paragraph and continue with the same style you were using.

Templates in Microsoft Publisher.



To apply a previously defined style or to use one of the standard styles that are available with Publisher, first select the text in your document where you want the style applied, click the Styles icon on the Home tab ribbon bar, and from the drop-down list, click the style you want to apply.

Using Templates
There are a variety of templates available in Publisher that can give you design and layout ideas. You can start with a template and customize it as needed.
To use a template, click the File tab and then click NEW. On the Available Templates pane, select one of the templates listed (Figure 23-5). You can view additional templates by clicking the More Categories folder.
Each template icon will display a wide variety of individual templates within that category. For example, if you click “Flyers,” dozens of sample flyer templates are displayed. Double-click the template you would like to use and it will be downloaded and displayed in the Publisher layout pane.