Chapter 4: DESKTOP PUBLISHING (DTP).

1.0 Introduction

 Publishing is the process of producing publications such as newspapers, cards, pamphlets, pictures,
calendars, books, etc. that has special text and graphical layouts & designs.

 Traditionally, publishing involved drawing and writing manually on wooden or metallic boards. The
artwork would then be painted with ink and pressed on papers to produce a printout. Today, the art
of publishing makes use of Personal computers & small printers that are able to print high-quality
text and graphics. All the publishing processes can be done on a desk in the office or at home.

1.1 Definition of Desktop Publishing

 Desktop publishing refers to the process of producing publications by designing their text and
graphics layout using special desktop publishing software installed on personal computers. The text
and graphical objects can then be inserted, edited, formatted and printed.

Examples of desktop publishers;

 Adobe PageMaker
 Adobe Photoshop - mainly used for editing & formatting photographs.
 Adobe illustrator - used for creating complex freehand artwork such as drawings & logos.
 CorelDraw.
 Microsoft Publisher.
 Ventura.
 Harvard graphic.

Difference between a desktop publisher and a word processor.

 A DTP software gives the user more tools and control of the page layout, text manipulation and
graphic design than a word processor.

 However, today’s word processors have been incorporated with text and graphic formatting and
editing tools, e.g., you can design a full publication in Microsoft Word by using the available Drawing
and Picture tools, create columns, etc.

1.2 Purpose of Desktop publishing software

 DTP programs give the typesetter (the person designing publications) a lot of control on:

(a). Graphic design:

 Using DTP software, a typesetter can create and edit very complex text & graphical objects of high
quality.
 For example, the software provides the user with rulers & ruler guides that can be used to place an
object in the correct position within the publication.

(b). Page layout design:

 With a desktop publisher, the user can design a page layout by setting consistent (constant)
picture and object locations, divide a page into a number of columns, and also create layers.
  Layering is the arrangement of objects on top of each other with the one on top being on the first
layer.
(c). Printing:
 To produce any publications, they must be printed. Therefore, DTP software helps the user to
prepare artwork (i.e., publications that are ready for printing).

1.3 Types of Desktop publishing software

 There are 2 main types of DTP software:

1). Graphical based:

 They are specifically developed for editing & formatting graphic objects like pictures.

Examples;

 Adobe Photoshop. - Harvard graphic.

 CorelDraw.
 Graphic-based desktop publishers have superior capabilities for handling images such as setting
resolution, brightness, contrast, cropping, and filling the images with colour.

2). Layout based:

 They are specifically developed to create different page layout designs for text and pictures.

Examples;

 Adobe PageMaker.
 Microsoft Publisher.

1.5 Designing a publication

 Different publications have different design layouts and formatting.

Types of publications

 There are several types of publications that can be produced using DTP software. They include:

(a). Cards:

 They may be for special occasions such as weddings, graduations, harambee, and for
congratulations.

(b). Certificates:

 These are types of publications used to show completion of courses and special events.

Note. Certificates are very sensitive, and must be designed to discourage any type of duplication or
counterfeits.

(c). Newspapers, Magazines, Pamphlets and Newsletters:

 They contain news targeting a group of people.

(d). Books:

 Are bulky publications with many pages that are bound together.

(e). Calendars:

 They are used to show dates. They are also used by companies to advertise their products.

(f). Notices, Brochures, Posters / Advertisement, and Catalogues.

1.5 Features of DTP software.

1. Text can be entered directly into a DTP publication. Alternatively, the text can be entered into a
Word processor and then copied into the DTP document.
 Graphics can be created in a separate program, then incorporated into a Desktop publishing
program.
 A Scanner can also be used to copy images, such as photographs and drawings, into a Desktop
publishing document. A Scanner is a device that reads text and images into a document.

2. A DTP program gives you more control over the graphics in a publication. You can:
 move - change the position of a graphic on a page,
 size - make a graphic larger or smaller,
 Rotate - turn or spin a graphic, and
 Crop - trim part of a graphic.
3. Has a wide range of Fonts & print sizes that can be merged with useful symbols, such as arrows and
stars.
4. Has Columns of various widths, in which the text is fitted automatically using sensible hyphenation.
The columns can also be reorganization automatically.
5. Enables Scaling and cropping of publications so as to fit the available space.
6. Page numbers can be inserted.
7. Enables production of multiple page documents.

Steps in using a DTP System.

1. Prepare your text and illustrations with a Word processor or a Graphics package.
Alternatively, use a Scanner to input text and graphics from other sources.

2. Using the DTP program, develop the format of each page.

Your screen becomes an electronic paste board with rulers, column guides and other page design
aids.

3. Copy the text and illustrations into the page format you have designed in the DTP program.
The DTP program will automatically move the excess text to another column or page and also help
size and place illustrations and headings.

4. Format the pages on the screen to look the way you want them, then store them electronically on
your hard disk. If necessary, print them on a Laser Printer to produce the finished printed material.

Printing terminologies used in DTP.

i. Ranner – the main headline across the top of the page.

ii. Cross head – a small heading used to break up text into easily readable sections.
iii. Bullet – solid dot printed before pieces of text in order to add an emphasis.
iv. Footer – a line of text at the bottom of each page giving the publications title, author’s name, etc.
v. Masthead – details of the person involved in printing the publication.
vi. WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) – this means that, the presentation on the screen is
exactly what you will get from the Printer.

vii. Jigging – moving text around by means of DTP software.

Review Questions.

1. (a). What is Desktop publishing?

(b). Why is a desktop publisher preferred in designing documents than a word processor?
2. Give three examples of desktop publishing software available in the market today.
3. (a). What is layering?
(b). Why is layering a very useful feature in a desktop publisher.
4. Mention the three main purposes of a desktop publishing software.
5. List TWO areas of DTP application.
6. State FIVE features of a Desktop publisher.

DESKTOP PUBLISHING USING MICROSOFT PUBLISHER

Why use Publisher instead of Word for creating fact sheets, brochures, posters,newsletters, etc.?
 While both Word and Publisher can create documents that seem fairly similar at first glance, the
underlying structure of each is markedly different.
 Word treats a document as a continuous flow of characters, which have to be formatted “in-line”.
 Publisher is “object-oriented”, meaning that it treats a document as a collection of separate and
distinct objects which can be moved, edited, or deleted completely independent of any other
objects in the document. Images can also be placed outside of the document page area to be used
as a parking space.

Getting Started with Microsoft Publisher 2003

Starting Publisher 2003
1. From the start menu, point to programs, Microsoft office, and then click Microsoft office
Publisher.
2. Choose design templates or click New to design from scratch.
3. On file menu, click Page setup, select publication type and orientation.
4. On Arrange menu, click Layout Guides, Set margins and other properties.
5. Click OK button.

Templates
 Templates: Publisher has many pre-formatted templates, which allow you to get your
publication completed with minimal formatting work. Unfortunately, these templates give your
publication a ‘canned’ or ‘synthetic’ look and feel.
ACTIVITY
 Let’s open Publisher & explore one of the Newsletter templates available in Publisher. (Top
Notches template) After you open this template, what do you like about the template?
Creating a Calendar
To Create a Calendar:
1. Open Microsoft Publisher by double clicking the icon on the desktop or finding it under the start menu.
2. Click on Calendars from the main window or the list on the left. A selection of pre‐designed templates
appears for you to choose from.
3. Click on one of the pre‐designed templates that you like. It will appear at the top of the area on the right
side of the page.
4. You can either stick with the default design choices that are part of the template, or you can customize
them by clicking the downward pointing arrow to the right of a design section and choosing any of the
options provided by clicking on it.
5. Click on the Set Calendar Dates button and choose the period of time that you would like your calendar
to cover.
6. Click on Create at the bottom to create your calendar.

Now that you have made your basic calendar selections, it is time to further customize the publication.

Customizing a Publication
Working with Frames
 Each publication is composed of different frames, such as text frames, picture frames, table
frames, and shape/object frames. Click on different areas of the calendar to identify the different
frames. Handles, little circles on the corners and sides of the frame will appear. The handles help
show which frame you have selected. They are also used in resizing frames.

Moving Frames

To move a picture frame, To move a text frame,

1. Click on the picture. 1. Click on the text frame.
2. When your cursor turns into a four 2. Rest your cursor near the border of the
directional arrow, click and drag the text frame. When your cursor turns into a four
picture frame to the desired directional arrow, click and drag the text frame to
the desired location.
Resizing Frames
To resize a picture frame,
To resize a text frame,
1. Click on the picture.
1. Click on the text frame.
2. Rest your cursor on a corner handle.
2. Rest your cursor on one of the handles.
When your cursor turns into a diagonal line
When your cursor turns into a line with arrows
with arrows on the ends, click and drag
on the ends, click and drag inwards or outwards
inwards at a diagonal to make it smaller or
to resize the text area.
outwards at a diagonal to make it larger.
Using corner handles to resize pictures allows
you to keep the picture’s proportions.
Deleting Frames
1. Right click on the frame that you would
like to delete.
2. Select Delete Object from the list of
choices.
Creating a Business Card
1. Open Microsoft Publisher by double clicking the icon on the desktop or finding it under the start menu.
2. Click on Publications for Print then Business Cards, and finally Accent Box Business Card.
3. In the personal information form that opens, enter your own
contact information and click on OK. (If you accidentally
close your personal information and you want to edit it
further, click on the Edit Menu and Personal Information
to retrieve the form.)
4. In the task pane on the left side of the window, you are given
different options you can adjust. As you click on the
different steps at the top of the task pane, the options
change on the lower part of the task pane.
5. Click on Business Card Options.
a. Choose to Include a logo.
b. Choose the traditional Landscape orientation
c. Choose to have Multiple copies per sheet
6. Click on Publication Designs.
a. Leave the selected Accent Box.
b. Click on Color Schemes and select the desired
color scheme.
7. Click on Font Schemes and select the desired font scheme.

Now that you have completed the Business Card

Wizard, you can customize the business card.
Change the format or insert additional clip art, if
you wish.
To adjust the logo,
Double click on the picture portion and use the clip
art gallery to find a different picture.
Click in the text portion and type your
organization’s name.
Formatting Text

1. Click in a text frame.

2. Begin typing.
3. Click and drag over the text you typed to select it for formatting changes.
4. Use the Formatting Toolbar or click on Format 􀃆 Font to make the changes
Blank Document:
 Blank Document: To get away from a canned look you would want to start a new document from scratch.
To start from scratch, you would go to “File” on the tool bar in Publisher and select
“New…”

 After selecting “New…” you will be able to choose what type of document you want. I’m going to choose
“Flyers” since it is most like a fact sheet.

Once you choose “Flyers”, choose “Letter (Portrait) 8.5 x 11”

under the “Blank Sizes” since this is the standard size of paper
and standard orientation.
Now you have a blank document to get started creating a fact sheet.

ACTIVITY
 Start a new blank document from scratch under the “Flyers” type. You can choose whichever
page orientation and size you prefer from the blank sizes.
 Page Insertion & Navigation:
 After you have started a new document, you may want to add additional pages and then navigate
between pages to edit. To see how many pages are in your document, look in the bottom left
hand area of your screen. If you have only one page in your document, the icon will look like the
following figure.

 If your document has more than one page, it could look like the example below. You will know
what page you are on in the document because it will be yellowgold in color

a. If you only have one page in your document, but you know you need 4 pages total, you will need
to insert pages into the document. To insert pages, click on the “Insert” on the toolbar at the top
of your screen and select “Page…” You will then get an Insert Page message box. With this
message box, you can:

 choose how many pages you want to insert

 where you want to insert the pages
 and additional options

Once you have inserted the pages and in the location

you wanted them, you use your cursor to select “OK”.
 b. To navigate to a page, move your cursor to the page icon located in the bottom left hand area of
your screen. By moving your cursor to any of the pages in the icon and clicking one, you will
automatically navigate to that page in your document.
ACTIVITY

Let’s now insert pages into our blank

document to have 4 pages total and save it on
our desktop as “PublisherTest”.

Warning: always save your work

NOTE:
 You can also zoom in on your document, so that it appears bigger. (It does not actually change
size - it just appears bigger on your screen, so that you can more easily position frames and
soon). Using the F9 key will have the same magnifying effect or you can hold down the “Ctrl” key
on your keyboard and move the wheel on your mouse up or down to zoom in and out
respectively.
The figure below shows an illustration of Publisher 2003 application window.

Menu bar
Horizontal rule bar

Vertical rule bar

Paste board
Tool box
Printable area

Master Pages
a) The Pasteboard

 The Pasteboard is the large blank area surrounding the page. This is where text and graphical
objects are placed before arranging them neatly on the printable area.

Note. You can move text and graphics to the Pasteboard until you need them again.

b) The Printable area

 This is the area that looks like a page surrounded (enclosed) by margins on the pasteboard. Any
object or text that is intended for printing should be placed on the printable area.

c) The Toolbox
 It contains a set of buttons that represent the various tools that can be used to create and
manipulate publications.

d) Rulers
 Each publication window has a horizontal ruler that extends along the top & a vertical ruler that
extends along the left borders of the window.

 Rulers are used when you want to position text & graphics accurately on the page. They help the
user to create ruler guides & measure an object size manually.

e) Menu bar
 It is a pull-down menu at the top of the screen.

f) Scroll bars
 They are used for moving vertically and horizontally on the publication.

g) Master page
 Also called the document master, is a page used to design a common layout to be applied in all
the other pages of a publication.

 A master page normally contains basic design elements such as headers and footers, page
numbers, & layout guides (i.e., column guides, ruler guides, & margin guides) that are common to
all pages in your publication.

Note.
 Master pages are important especially when creating a publication that has several pages
such as a book or a project report. It ensures that there is consistency among all the pages in
the publication.
 ToolBox:
Now that you know how to navigate between pages, you want to start adding text and pictures to your
document. The Publisher ToolBox allows you to select these different tools. The toolbox is located on the far
left side of your screen. Below is a list of each icon located on the ToolBox:

Select objects

Text box

Insert table
Insert wordArt

Picture Frame
Line

Arrow

Oval

Rectangle
Auto shapes
Bookmark

Design Gallery Object

Item From Content Library

Setting up a Publication
 To set up a Publication in Publisher:
1. On view menu, click master page.
2. Use the edit Master pages tool bar (A.2) to design a master page.
3. Click close master view to switch back to foreground pages.

Fig.A.2: Master pages in publisher

Text Box:
 Since Publisher treats everything as an object instead of a continuous flow of characters, you need to
use text boxes to insert any text you want in your document.

a. Inserting a Text Box:

 To insert a Text Box in your document, you would select the Text Box icon located in the ToolBox.
You would only need to click on the icon once.You would then move your cursor to the document you
are working on.

Note: If you have selected the Text Box, your cursor will change to a “cross hairs” when the cursor is on
the document.

 Now you can insert your Text Box in the desired location…. By going to the desired location on the
page of the document and left clicking you can insert a Text Box. Once the Text Box has been inserted,
you can type in the text you want. You can also format the text: font, size, color, bold, italicized, and
underlined. When you want to type text in a Text Box, you click on the Text Box and it will become
selected with circles at the corners and center points. Text boxes in your document can be all sizes,
with different types of fonts, character sizes, and colors

 Publisher allows you fine control over how your text appears. The Font Selection box shows you
font choices available on your computer and what each font will look like. But that’s not all. From the
Format menu, you can select any number of different formatting options, including borders, colors,
indenting, and fancy initial letters and so on.

b. Adjusting a Text Box Size:

 If a Text Box is selected, you can make a Text Box taller, shorter, wider, or narrower by moving your
cursor to one of the corners until it becomes a double arrow ( ). Holding down the left mouse
button you can drag to re-adjust the size of the Text Box.

c. Moving a Text Box:

 If you decide you want to change the layout of your document and you need to move a Text Box, you
can do that in Publisher since the Text Box is an object. To move a Text Box to a new location in your
document, make sure the Text Box is selected. Then move your cursor to any of the Text Box borders
until you get a 4-way arrow ( ). While holding down the left button on your mouse, you can drag
the entire Text Box to the new location.

Note: A Text Box is selected when it has circles at the corners and midpoints of the box (see example in a)

d. Paste Special into Text Boxes:

 If you already have text in another location or document that you want to paste into your Publisher
document, but do not want to paste in the formatting, font style, font size, etc., then you would use
the “paste special” option. The “paste special” option is located under the Edit on the menu bar.
After you have copied the text you want to paste into your Publisher document, place your cursor in
the Text Box the text is to be pasted into. Go to Edit on the menu bar and select “paste special”. Then
select “Unformatted Text” if you want the pasted text to look like the rest of the text in your
document.

If the text you want to paste into a Text Box is longer than the size of the Text Box, you will get the following
message in Publisher:
  You should NEVER select “Yes” because Publisher will randomly put the overflow text into
some other Text Box anywhere in your document that has the room needed for the overflow
text. You should always choose “No”. You can then fix the overflow text by using the Link tool
that is available in Publisher.

Editing text and graphical objects

 Editing text in publication
 Deleting text and text objects

You may want to delete some text or entire text object

To delete text in publisher
i. Click the text tool and highlight text.
ii. Press Delete or Back space key.

Copying and moving a block of text

To copy or move a block of text in publisher:
i. Select the block of text
ii. On the edit menu, click copy or cut
iii. Click where you want to paste the text.
iv. From Edit menu, click paste.

Checking for spelling

To spell check a publication in publisher:
i. On the tools menu, Point to spelling, then click spelling
ii. In the check spelling dialog box, mark check all stories.
iii. Replace or Ignore the misspelled words.
iv. Click OK to close spelling check complete message box.

Find and replace

To search for word or phrase in publisher:
i. On the Edit menu, click Replace to display dialog box
 ii. In the Find What box, type the word(s) to be searched
iii. In the Replace with box to type the word(s) to replace the found word(s)
iv. Click Find next or Replace/Replace all button.

Editing a publication Layout

To edit a publication Layout in PageMaker or publisher
i. Switch to the master pages
ii. Make the necessary changes, and then switch back to foreground pages

Editing Graphical objects

Graphical objects are clip arts and pictures. You edit object attributes such as size, position, colour
and brightness.

To edit object attributes in publisher:

i. Select the object.
ii. Display picture toolbar
iii. Adjust the required attributes.

Formatting a publication
 Formatting refers to applying special effects or attributes to the layout, text and graphical
objects.

Text Formatting
To format text in publisher:
i. Highlight the text to format.
ii. On the formatting toolbar, Choose font style, size and other attributes.

Superscript and subscript

To format text to superscript or subscript:
i. Highlight the text.
ii. On the Format menu, mark the superscript or subscript.
iii. In the dialog box click superscript or subscript, and then click ok.

Paragraph and page formatting

 Paragraph formatting involves aligning text, identing, adding column guides, inserting headers
and footers.

Inserting column guides

By default, a page is made up of one column.
To create more than one column in publisher:
i. On the Arrange menu, click Layout guides,
ii. In the dialog box, enter number of columns required, and then click Ok.
 Headers and footers
Headers are lines of text, page numbers or dates that appear at the top of every page.
Footers on the other hand, appear at the bottom of every page.
To insert Headers and Footers in Publisher:
i. Switch to master pages.
ii. On the View menu, click on headers and footers,
iii. To insert page numbers, click Page numbers from the Insert menu.
iv. To insert text, create text frame then type in the text.

To add text using text frame tool in publisher:

i. Click tool marked A on the tool box.
ii. on an empty area on the pasteboard or printable area, drag to define the text block.
iii. Type the text.

Resizing and moving text objects

Text may not fit in the defined text frame. Publisher displays A… below the text frame.
To resize the text block in PageMaker or publisher:
i. Click the text block using the pointer tool.
ii. Position the pointer on the selection handle and drag to resize.

To move the text blocks in Publisher:

i. Click the text block using the pointer tool.
ii. Position the pointer tool on the object and hold down the left mouse button.
iii. Drag the object to a new position.

e. Linking Text Boxes:

 If your Publisher document has predetermined Text Box sizes that cannot change in shape and
size as in a newsletter, you might have text that is too long for one Text Box and needs to go
(overflow) into another Text Box. To have the extra text go (overflow) into another Text Box, you
can cut and paste, but an easier tool available in Publisher is to link the text boxes. By choosing
the link tool as you add more text, it will link over to the other linked Text Box.

To link text boxes:

i. First select the Text Box you want to link from.

ii. Then click on the Link icon located on the menu bar
iii. Then move your cursor over the Text Box you want to link to. Once your cursor is over this other
Text Box, the cursor will look like a pitcher that is slightly tipped with letters flowing out like
 water. Left-click your mouse inside of this other Text Box and your text that is too long in length
for the original Text Box will link over to this other Text Box.

Note: As you type or paste in more text in the original Text Box, Publisher will auto adjust and link the
additional text to the other Text Box(s).

f. Hyphenation:
 This is the use of hyphens to join words (e.g. Jack-of-all- trades, well-read) and to separate
syllables of a single word on multiple lines. Whether you type in text or paste text, Publisher will
default to hyphenating the text if it needs to go onto multiple lines. You will likely want to turn
off the hyphenation when you are creating your document. To turn it off:
i. First you will need to select the text—not the Text Box.
ii. Then go to Tools on the menu bar, click on “Language” and select “Hyphenation”.
iii. When you click on “Hyphenation” on the menu, you will get a message box.
(See example below.)

 Uncheck “Automatically hyphenate this story” and select “OK”. It will turn off the hyphenation
for the selected text.
Note: You will have to turn off the hyphenation for each text document in your Publisher document.

g. Picture Frame: Working with a picture or image in Publisher is much the same as working with a
Text Box. The Picture Frame icon is the one meant to look like a landscape.

a) Inserting a Picture or Image:

 When you want to insert a picture or image in your Publisher document, you click on the
Picture Frame icon in the ToolBox. You will
then get a dropdown list to choose from.

i. Clip Art:
 Microsoft has a large library of Clip Art. This
clip art is free and copyright free so you can
use it in any publication.

ii. Picture from File:

 Publisher also allows you to insert pictures
from other locations such as your desktop or a
shared drive.

iii. Empty Picture Frame:

  You can insert an empty picture frame as a holding place if you plan on inserting a
picture/image later.

iv. From Scanner or Camera…:

 You can scan in or upload a picture/image and then insert it in your Publisher document.

 To insert a picture or image, you would only need to

click on the Picture Frame icon once in the ToolBox and
then chose one of the 4 options listed in the dropdown
list. If you chose “Clip Art”, you will be able to search for
a picture/image. If you find a picture/image you want,
simply click on it. Publisher will default to putting the
picture/image in the center of page in the document
you are working on. If you do not find a picture/image you like, type in a new search word
until you find a picture/image that fits your needs.
 If you chose “Picture from File”
or “Empty Picture Frame”, your
cursor will change to a cross
hairs when the cursor is placed
over the document. For inserting
“Picture from File”: when you
click on the document, you will
be able to choose whichever
picture you want from whatever
location it is on your computer
(e.g., desktop, My Pictures, or
shared drive).

 For inserting “Empty

Picture Frame”: when you click on the document, it will place a picture/image placeholder in
whatever location you click.

b) Adjusting the Picture/Image Size:

 If a picture/image is selected, you can make it larger or smaller by moving your cursor to one of the
corners of the picture/image until it becomes a double arrow ( ). Holding down the left mouse
button you can drag to readjust the size of the picture/image.
Warning: If you do not resize the picture/image from the corner, it will distort the picture/image.

c) Moving a Picture/Image:
 If you decide you want to change the layout of your document and you need to move a picture/image,
you can do that in Publisher since the picture/image is an object. To move a picture/image to a new
location in your document, make sure the picture/image is selected. Then move your cursor to any of
the picture/image borders until you get a 4-way arrow
( ). Holding down the left button on your mouse, you can drag the entire picture/image to the
new location.

ACTIVITY
Now let’s try inserting a couple of pictures/images on a page from clip art and pictures on your
computer, and moving them around in relation to each other. Also try resizing the images by using
corners vs. sides.
d) Layering a Picture/Image:
 Publisher ships with more than 5,000 clip art images and photographs. As discussed earlier, you can
insert any of these into your publication. However, for an even more dramatic and creative look, why
not "layer" two or more images?
If you place two images on top of each other, the second image you insert will obscure the first. However,
you can achieve really eye-catching results by deciding which of the images should be on top.

 Here we have two graphics, an ambulance and an EMT with a patient, but the ambulance is partially
obscuring the people, making the graphic unusable. What you need to do is to send the ambulance
image to the back, so that the image with people can be on top. Select the ambulance image by
clicking on it. Click on the "Bring to Front" located on the tool bar at the top of your screen. When you
click on this icon, you will get a dropdown list.

 Depending on which image you have selected and where you

want it to appear in the layer, will determine which of these
options to choose. In this case since you selected the
ambulance and you want it to be behind the image with the
people, you would choose “Send Backward”.

 What you need to do is to send the ambulance image to the back, so that the image with people can
be on top. Select the ambulance image by clicking on it.
Click on the "Bring to Front" located on the tool bar at
the top of your screen. When you click on this icon, you
will get a dropdown list. Depending on which image
you have selected and where you want it to appear in
the layer, will determine which of these options to
choose. In this case since you selected the ambulance
and you want it to be behind the image with the
people, you would choose “Send Backward”.

And suddenly your graphic takes on a whole new clarity!

Before After
Note: when you use the "Send to Back" or "Bring to Front" tools, the top graphic becomes "transparent" and
does NOT totally obscure the graphic beneath it.
 There is another way to find the “Bring to Front” if the icon was not on your toolbar at the top of
the screen. If you select one of the images and click with the right mouse button, you will get a
popup menu. This menu is "context sensitive" meaning that it knows where you are, and what
you are busy working on, and shows you commands which are relevant to the task at hand.

 For example, say you were to

click on the image with the
people, and then right click with
your mouse. You would then get
a popup menu of all of the
options available for the image.
If you wanted to bring the
image with the people to the
front of the layer, you would go
to “Order” which would bring
up the same options as the
“Bring to Front” icon. In this
case you would choose “Bring
Forward” to layer the image
with the people over the ambulance.

Note: If you place a Text Box on top of a picture, it won´t automatically become transparent. In that case, to
allow the picture behind to show through, press the Ctrl + T keys simultaneously or use the “Order” on the
popup menu
e) Rotating Objects:
 You can also rotate images (as well as text boxes) by placing your cursor over the (located at the
top of your image) until you get a black circle around it. Then hold down the left mouse button
and rotate the image any direction you need.

f) Grouping/Ungrouping Objects:
 Often when you insert multiple objects (whether images and/or text boxes) you might want
some of these objects to adjusted, moved, or rotated together as though it was one object. To do
this, you would want to “Group” objects.
 To group two or more objects:
 Select one object by clicking on it. You would only need to click on
the object once. When you want to select an object, you click on it
and it will become selected with circles at the corners and
center points.

 While the first object is selected, hold down the “Ctrl” key on
your keyboard and move your cursor over the other object
you want to group and select it. When you have 2 or more
objects selected, each object will have the circles at the
corners and center points.

 At that time an icon should appear on your monitor that looks

like two overlapping squares with dots outside of the squares.
If you hover your cursor over that icon, it will say “Group
Objects”.

 If you click on the icon, all of the objects that had

been selected will be “grouped” into one object that
can later be ungrouped if needed. Also, each object
will no longer have circles at the corners and center
points—instead there will be one set.

 The icon will then change to two overlapping

squares with dots at each corner. Once the objects
are grouped, they can be adjusted, moved, or
rotated together as though it was one object

To ungroup two or more objects:

 To ungroup objects, hover over the icon shown in the previous step and it will say “Ungroup
Objects”. By clicking on it, the objects will be ungrouped and will no longer be editable as a single
object.

g) Transparency:
 Sometimes you will find an image you want to use, but the background color is too dark or you
do not want the image to have a background color. In these cases, you will want to make the
background transparent. You can create a transparent area in most images, but not all. Select the
picture that you want to create transparent areas in.
On the Picture toolbar, click the Set Transparent Color icon

 After you click the icon, your cursor will change shape to look like a little eyedropper. In the
image, move your eyedropper cursor and click the area you want to make transparent.

 In the following example, we wanted to get rid of the black background to add text boxes around
the transparent areas in the image.

Before After
ii. Cropping Images:
 There are times when for the purposes of your publication, you need to crop an image.
Publisher has some basic photo editing capabilities that allow you to crop an image to a
rectangular or square shape. You will find the Crop icon located on the Picture toolbar.

 First select the image you want to crop by clicking on it with your cursor.
 Then move your cursor to the Picture toolbox and click on
the Crop icon. After you click on the Crop icon the circles on
the selected image will go away and there will be dark
black lines around the image. If you put your cursor on
one of the midpoint black lines, the cursor will look like a “T”.
If you put your cursor on one of the corner black lines, the
cursor will look like an “L”.

 When you move your cursor to the corner or side you

want to crop from, hold down the left button on your
mouse and move in the direction you want to crop. You
can crop from multiple directions. When you are done
cropping an image, move your cursor outside of the image
and click. The dark black lines will go away.

Note: You can un-crop any image you have cropped using this method. If you want to remove the
cropping on an image, just click on the image and then the Crop icon. Then move your cursor to the
areas of the image you want to un-crop and holding down the left mouse button, drag it out, down, or
up.

h) Washing out an Image:

 There are times when you want a hint of an image so that it does not overpower your
message. In these cases, you can use the “washout” option.

i. First select the image you want to washout by clicking on it with your cursor.
ii. Then move your cursor to the Picture toolbox and click on the Format Picture icon.
  After clicking on the icon, a Format Picture box will pop
up. Go to the Picture tab and under Image control and
change the Color from “Automatic” to“Washout”. Then
click “OK”. (see example directly to right).

Note: You can use these same steps to make an image grayscale or black&white Working with
text and graphical objects

ACTIVITY

i. Try inserting two or more pictures/images on one page, and layering them.
ii. Then try rotating an image or Text Box.
iii. Try to group and then ungroup several objects.
iv. Find an image you can use transparency on and make an area transparent.

EXTRA CREDIT:

 Crop the right side of an image

a. Wrap Text:
 One of the really powerful features of Publisher is its ability to "wrap text" around another
object. For example, if you have some text in a frame, and you wish to place a picture in the
middle of it, Publisher allows you to do so – and simply moves the text aside to allow space
for the graphic.

 Now watch what happens to the text when

you insert a picture/image.

 You can see by the example

 the Text Box extends under the picture/image; however, the picture/image does not cover any of the
text. Publisher automatically wraps the text around the picture/image.
ACTIVITY
Let’s wrap some text. Feel free to add whatever text you want and insert whatever picture you want.

b. AutoShapes:
 It is easy to insert ready-made shapes (auto shapes)
into your document. Select the AutoShapes icon located
on the ToolBox. As you do so, the toolbar expands to
show you all the shapes from which you can choose.

 If you choose Lines you will get some basic line shapes
to choose from. Once you have made your selection, the
cross hairs will appear again. Click and drag on your
document to "draw" the shape.

ACTIVITY
Let’s insert some AutoShapes in our document: draw a line or arrow, a block arrow, a callout
As a bonus, add some text in the call out shape.

c. Inserting a picture in an object:

 Publisher allows you to insert a picture in an AutoShape or a vector image*.
i. First insert the AutoShape or vector image you want to insert a picture into.
ii. Then double left click the shape/image with your cursor and a Format AutoShape message box
will appear. (See example to right)
iii. Go to the “Colors and Lines” tab and click on
“Color” under the “Fill”. You will get a dropdown
box that will have several options. Choose “Fill
Effects …” and a new message box (called Fill
Effects) will appear.
iv. On the Fill Effects message box, go to the “Picture”
tab and click on the “Select Picture…” button. At
that time you can navigate to the location that has
the picture you want to insert. Select the picture
and then click on the “Insert” button.
v. After you click on the “Insert” button that box will
go away and then you will have to click “OK” on the
“Fill Effects” message box. That will take you to the
“Format AutoShape” message box and then you
should click “OK”. Your shape will then have a picture in it.
ACTIVITY
Let’s insert a vector image of our state in our document and insert a picture in it.

d. Importing text from a Word Processor

 Other than typing you can also import text from a word processor file.
To Import text in Publisher:
i. On the File menu, click Import Word Document.
ii. In the dialogue box of figure A.3, select the file then click ok.
iii. The text is pasted onto the printable area.

Fig. A.3: Import a word Processor Document.

e. Printing:
 After inserting and formatting all of your text, images, and shapes you might be finished.
When you are ready for a proof or your proof has been given the ok, you will need to
print your document. Publisher has a few different options than Word for printing its
documents.

 First you would click on “File” located on the toolbar at the top of your screen and then
choose “Print…” After choosing “Print…”, you will get a message box. (See image below)

 You should print out a copy of the document for proofing. To do that select the printer you
want to print to and then select “Print”.