Tips - Using Publisher

Topics are arranged alphabetically.

Business Cards - setting up your file

1. Open Publisher and click on "More Blank Page Sizes".
2. Scroll down to where it says "Custom".
3. Click on "Create new page size..."
4. In the popup window fill in these numbers: Width:  3.5" and Height:  2"
5. For Margin guides, set all of these to zero (0)
6. When the popup window disappears, look all the way over to the right and click on the little page icon that says "Create"
7. Save your file with a new name like this: Ms. Noll business card

Grids - Adding a column structure using guides

1. Click the Page Design tab.
2. From the Layout group click the Guides drop-down arrow to see the options.
3. Select the desired column structure.
4. You can also drag your own guides using the ruler on the left side of your screen.

png File Creation 

1. Click on the gray area of your Publisher window so you are not selecting any elements
2. Use your mouse and draw an imaginary selection box around all the elements (or hold down the CTRL key and click the letter A once to Select All)
3. Now you should see that all of your elements are selected.
4. Use your mouse and RIGHT click anywhere on your design. 
5. When the drop down menu appears, LEFT click on "Save as Picture..."
6. When the Save As window opens, you will see that by default the computer tries to name your file Picture1. Type over that to give your image a meaningful name that you will recognize.
7. Below that it says "Save as Type". If it does not already say: "PNG Portable Network Graphics Format" you will need to click on that dropdown menu and search for "PNG Portable Network Graphics Format" and select it.
8. Then make sure the flash drive is selected and click the Save button.

Note: You can save your entire document as a png file, but then everything will be in the image, including the white background and you will need to crop it out after inserting it into a new document.

Shapes - Adding a shape

1. Click on the Insert tab
2. From the Illustration group click on shapes to see your options.
3. Click on the shape to select it, then click and drag in your document window to begin drawing that shape. Let go of the mouse to finish the shape.
4. You can resize your shape and color it.

Shapes - Resizing a shape

1. Click once on the shape to select it. A box appears around your shape with little circular handles in the corners, on the top and bottom and on the left and right sides.
2. Click on a side handle to resize the width.
3. Click on a top or bottom handle to resize the height.
4. Click on a corner handle to resize the height and width at the same time 
5. To resize proportionally, click on a corner handle and hold down the Control (Ctrl) key on the keyboard while you drag.

Shapes - Coloring a shape

1. Click on the shape to make the Format tab appear in the ribbon.
2. Then click on the Format tab to select it.
3. In the Shape Styles group you will see a paint bucket (Shape Fill) 
4. Click on the words "Shape Fill" to see color options. If you click on the paint bucket, it will automatically color your shape the color that was last used. You can fill the shape with any color, or a gradient or even a texture or pattern.
5. You can color the outline of the shape a different color than the fill by clicking on shape outline. You can then choose a color and choose a width.

Text - Adding a text box

1. From the Home tab or the Insert tab, click on "Draw Text Box".
2. Click and drag in your document window to begin drawing a text box. You can change the shape and size later. Let go of your mouse to finish the text box.
3. Begin typing. By default, the text will probably use the font Calibri and the size will be 10 points, which will appear very small on your screen. 

Text - Changing font

1. Click on the text box so that you see the circular handles. The mouse cursor will change from an arrow to an I beam. Click and drag across the text that you want to change.
2. When the text is highlighted, look in the Font group on the ribbon and click the arrow next to the font name to see your options for choosing a new font. Click on the font you want from the drop down list.

Text - Changing size

1. Click on the text box so that you see the circular handles. The mouse cursor will change from an arrow to an I beam. Click and drag across the text that you want to change.
2. When the text is highlighted, look in the Font group on the ribbon and click the arrow next to the number to the right of the font. That is the text point size. Select the size you want from the drop down list, or highlight the number and type in the size you want. 

Text - Changing line spacing

1. Click and drag across all of your type to select it.
2. Make sure the "Home" tab is selected
3. Look on the ribbon to find the group called "Paragraph"
4. Select the icon that shows an up and down arrow.
5. In the popup window you will see that by default Publisher puts .6pts of space "After paragraph". Change this setting to 0. 
6. Where it says "Between lines:" change this number to 1.0
7. Hit the "OK" button to make the changes take effect

Text - Linking text blocks - get text to continue to next column

1. If text surpasses the size of the text box it is in, you will see three dots (...) on the text box. 
2. Click on the dots (this tells the computer you will extend the text in a new box).
3. Click in the space where you want text to continue. 
4. Text will appear in a new text box that is the same width as the one it is trailing from.

Text Wrap - Wrapping text around an object (text must be behind the image)

1. Select the image, then click the Format tab that appears on the Ribbon.
2. Select your text box and from the Arrange group on the Ribbon, click on the drop-down arrow to the right of Select Backward to see your options. Click on Send to Back. (Text must be behind the image for text wrap to work, so if you added an image first, then added text, this step is very important.)
3. Now select the object you want your text to wrap around.
4. From the Arrange group, click the Wrap Text drop-down arrow to see the options. 
5. Select the desired wrap option.