Introduction to Microsoft Publisher platform: Windows XP ref. no: ins068 What is Microsoft Publisher? Microsoft Publisher is a desktop-publishing package that can be used to create a variety of publications, including posters, newsletters and web pages. Publisher has many wizards and templates that allow you to create professional-looking documents quickly and easily. Getting started 1. Click on the Start button towards the bottom left of the screen. 2. Click on each of the following: Programs; Office; Microsoft Office Publisher 2003. When you open Publisher, the New Publication pane opens on the left-hand side of the screen. From this, you can select one of the following options: New from a design this displays the different designs you can have for your publication. Blank Publication this allows you to create a publication from scratch Open a publication select this option to open an existing publication
Creating a publication using a wizard 1. Click on the publication you wish to create from the list under New from a design. 2. Select one of the designs that appear in the main window. Your publication will open, with a list of options on the left hand side. 3. A Personal Information dialogue box will appear. This allows you to add information such as name, address and telephone number to your publication, e.g. if you are creating web pages or business cards. Complete the required boxes and click the OK button, or click Cancel if personal information is not needed in your publication. 4. To format your publication, select from the options on the left hand side, e.g. colour schemes, font schemes. Click once on an item and the publication should automatically update with your chosen option. 5. To close the list of options, click View; Task Pane. The list can be re-opened by clicking View; Task Pane. Creating a publication from a blank page In the New Publication pane, select Blank Print Publication or Blank Web Page. You can then insert text, pictures or other objects to your own design. Objects and frames Everything in a publication (text, pictures, tables etc.) is called an object. Each object must be surrounded by a frame. Frames are used as a guideline to position objects on the page. They appear on the screen as a grey dotted border around the object, but this border does not show up on the printed version. To insert an object in to your publication, you must first insert the corresponding frame from the Objects tool bar on the left of the screen. Inserting text 1. Click the Text Box button on the Objects toolbar on the left hand side of the screen 2. Click on the publication and the text frame will appear. ins068/c.l.napier/may-05 2
3. Type your text into the text box. Inserting pictures 1. Click the Picture Frame button on the Objects toolbar. 2. Select Picture from File. 3. Click once at the point in your publication where you wish to put the picture. 4. The Insert Picture dialogue box will appear to allow you to select where the picture is saved. 5. Click the OK button and the picture will be inserted into the picture frame. Inserting Clip Art 1. Click the Picture Frame button on the Objects toolbar. 2. Select Clip Art. 3. Click at the point in the publication where you wish to insert Clip Art. 4. The Clip Art pane will open to the left of the screen. In the Search for box, type a word or phrase that describes the clip you want. Click the Go button. 5. Click once on a picture to insert it into your publication. 6. Close the Clip Art pane by clicking View; Task Pane. Inserting tables 1. Click the Insert Table button on the Objects toolbar. 2. Click on your publication. 3. The Create Table dialogue box will open. 4. Enter the number of rows and columns that you require and select a table format if needed. 5. Click the OK button. 6. The table will be inserted into the frame. You can enter data into the individual cells of the table. Deleting objects 1. Click once anywhere within the frame to select it. You will see small circles, known as selection handles, appear around the frame. 2. Select Delete Object from the Edit menu. or Press the Delete button on the keyboard. Resizing objects 1. Select the frame. 2. Position the mouse over one of the selection handles. The pointer should change to a double-headed arrow. 3. Hold down the left mouse button and drag the frame inwards to make it smaller and out to make it larger. Note: To change either the height or the width of the object, drag one of the selection handles from the middle of the frame. To resize both the height and the width together, drag one of the corner handles. ins068/c.l.napier/may-05 3
Moving objects 1. Select the frame. 2. Position the mouse anywhere on the frame. The pointer should appear as a cross with four arrows. 3. Hold the left mouse button down and drag the frame to a new position. Inserting a new page 1. Click Page from the Insert menu. 2. Select the number of pages required and click OK. Moving between pages Click on the Page Controls at the bottom of the screen. or 1. Click Edit; Go To Page 2. Enter the number of the page you wish to view. Deleting a page Click Edit; Delete Page. Saving your publication 1. Choose Save As from the File menu. 2. Click in the box next to File Name, and enter a name for your publication. 3. Click on the dropdown menu next to Save In, and choose the C: drive. 4. Choose the Student Temporary Folder and click Open. 5. Click the Save button. 6. To save again, click the Save button. Note: When you have finished using Publisher, copy your file from the Student Temporary Folder to a floppy disk, CD or pen drive and your H: drive. Delete your work from the Student Temporary Folder. Opening an existing publication 1. Click File; Open 2. Click on the dropdown arrow next to Look In and select the location of the file you wish to open. 3. Click on the file. 4. Click Open. ins068/c.l.napier/may-05 4
Starting a new publication Select New from the File menu. The New Publication pane will open to allow you to select a new design. Printing 1. Click File; Print 2. Choose the printer from the drop-down menu next to Name. 3. Select the pages you wish to print if necessary. 4. Enter the number of copies you want to print. 5. Click OK. Exiting Publisher Select Exit from the File menu. Where to go for more help or information You can get further help from your nearest Student IT Helpdesk. Documents are available from the Help Desks or on the web at: http://www.staffs.ac.uk/uniservices/infoservices/documents/ Note about copyright All Microsoft product screenshots and references in this document are used by permission of the Microsoft corporation. ins068/c.l.napier/may-05 5