Chapter 4
Blank Publications
If you want Publisher to start with a blank publication, rather than the list of templates, each time you start the program, do the following. Click the File tab and then click Options. Click the General tab (Publisher Options dialog box) and then remove the check mark in the Show the New template gallery when starting Publisher check box.
Newspaper Formats
Besides broadsheet, other formats include the Berliner format, which commonly is 18.5 by 12.4inches, and the tabloid size, which commonly is 17 by 11 inches. The number of columns varies, but these smaller formats may have combinations of 4, 5, or 6 columns. The front page typically contains fewer columns in order to present articles in a larger font size.
BTW
Advances in desktop publishing, combined with the convenience and quality of desktop printers, have created a surge in the popularity of programs such as Microsoft Publisher 2010. Businesses that used programs such as Adobe InDesign and QuarkXpress are switching to Publisher because of the Windows intuitive commands, the more than 3,000 templates, the easy learning curve, and the integration with other Office applications.
Color Changes
The scheme colors automatically apply to the standard publication objects. Any objects filled with colors not contained in the scheme retain the color when you change the color scheme.
Color Palette
If your color palette contains fewer colors than shown in this book, your computer may be using a different color setting. To check your setting, click the Start button on the Windows 7 taskbar and then type adjust screen resolution. Click Adjust Screen Resolution in the search list and then click the Advanced settings link. Click the Colors box arrow on the Monitor tab, and then click True Color (32 bit).
Scaling
The term, scaling, when it applies to graphics, means changing the vertical or horizontal size of the graphic by a percentage. Scaling can create interesting graphic effects. Caricature drawings and intentionally distorted photographs routinely use scaling. When used for resizing, scaling is appropriate to make a graphic fit in tight places.
Contrast and Brightness
You can increase the contrast or brightness of a graphic. Contrast is the saturation or intensity of the color — the higher the contrast percentage, the more intense the color. Brightness is the amount of black or white added to the color — the higher the brightness percentage, the more white is added.
Cropping vs. Resizing
Cropping is different from resizing. Both techniques reduce the overall size of the graphic display; however, with cropping you eliminate part of the graphic from the display while maintaining the size of the objects in the picture. With resizing, the entire graphic becomes smaller or larger. For additional editing possibilities, you can resize a cropped graphic or crop a resized graphic. If you want to undo a cropping effect, you can click the Reset Picture button (Picture Tools Format tab | Adjust group).
Photo Editing
Although Publisher provides some photo editing capabilities that allow you to crop a picture to rectangular and irregular shapes, it is not a photo-editing program. You cannot crop a shape, WordArt object, or an animated graphic or movie. To crop an animated GIF, use an animated GIF editing program and then insert the file again.
Recoloring
Most pictures imported into Publisher can be recolored. This procedure does not apply to pictures that are in Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) format, however. EPS graphics are designed to print to PostScript-compatible printers and cannot be recolored.
Ungrouping Graphics
If you want to edit a graphic further, many clip art graphics can be separated into parts, or ungrouped. Then you can delete the parts you do not want. First, select the graphic. Then, press ctrl+shift+g to ungroup. If Publisher displays a dialog box containing a message about converting an imported picture, click the Yes button. Below the graphic, click the Ungroup Objects button. Each part of the graphic becomes a separate piece that can be edited or deleted.
Shapes
Determining what shape to use with pictures is an important decision. Consider the choice of shape that will work with your picture. If your picture is square, you can insert it into a circle, but you may lose some of the edges or your picture may be distorted slightly. If your picture is rectangular, however, an oval shape may be interesting and aesthetically pleasing. If you want to focus on the center of your picture, a star shape may help direct the viewer’s attention.
Shape Styles Gallery
Publisher provides a Shape Styles gallery (Drawing Tools Format tab | Insert Shapes group) that allows you change the look of the shape to a more visually appealing style. These visual styles will appear with the outlines and fills from the current color scheme.
Border Art
If you are adding a shape outline to a rectangle, text box, or the entire page, BorderArtoffers a wide variety of graphical borders, such as hearts, apples, balloons, or decorative shapes, such as squares and triangles. To use BorderArt, click the BorderArt button on the Colors and Lines tab (Format AutoShape dialog box).
Trapping
When a publication is printed by a professional printer using spot colors or process colors, Publisher creates a trap, or small overlap, where the colors of the shape meet the color of the printed page. The amount of overlap varies between printers. If the printed page is white, trapping is not a problem; however, if a background object or color is on the page around the shape, the colors will trap depending on the kind of separations you print. The borders around a shape filled with color will trap to the fill color, if necessary.
Building Block Categories
In the Create New Building Block dialog box, you cannot change the Gallery list, but you can enter a new category and save your graphic to that new category. Once you click the OK button, the new category will appear each time you access the Building Block Library.
The Ribbon and Text Boxes
As soon as you draw a text box using the DrawText Box button on the Home tab, the Ribbon changes to display the Text Box Tools Format tab.
WordArt Spelling
Keep in mind that WordArt objects are drawing objects; they are not Publisher text. Thus, if you misspell the contents of a WordArt object and then check the publication, Publisher will not flag the misspelled word(s) in the WordArt text.