Computer Technology Courses

INTRODUCTION to
Microsoft Publisher

Presented by:
Martha Henckell,M.S.A.
Computer Services
Copyright2001 by Computer Services
Southeast Missouri State University

No part of this publication may be used or reproduced in any form without prior written permission of Computer Services.
 Table of Contents
Requirements for MS Publisher ..........................................................1
Starting Publisher ..................................................................... 2
Viewing the Publisher Window ................................................ 2
Defining the Publisher Window ................................................ 2
Getting Started ......................................................................... 4
Publications by Wizard ............................................................. 4
Hiding the Wizard .................................................................... 5
Using the Wizard Window ....................................................... 6
Enlarging the Project View ....................................................... 6
Entering Text in Template text boxes ...................................... 6
Text Overflows ......................................................................... 7
Steps for Adjusting Text Overflows .......................................... 7
Adding Text to Original Text Boxes ......................................... 7
Resizing Text Boxes ................................................................ 8
Deleting Text Inside Text Boxes .............................................. 8
View a Different Page .............................................................. 8
Inserting additional Pages ........................................................ 8
Saving your Publication ........................................................... 8
Printing your Publication .......................................................... 9
Publication by Design .............................................................. 9
Blank Publications ................................................................. 10
Inserting Clip Art .................................................................... 11
Moving Clip Art ....................................................................... 12
Using your Rulers ................................................................... 12
Creating a Text Box ............................................................... 12
Creating a Table .................................................................... 13
Adding Page Numbers ........................................................... 13
Opening Existing Publication Files ......................................... 14
Exercises ............................................................................... 15

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 Microsoft Publisher
Microsoft Publisher allows you to easily and professionally create:

R Newsletters R Signs
R Brochures R Invitations
R Catalogs R Web Sites
R Flyers R Letterhead
R Postcards R Envelopes
R Business Cards R Business Forms
R Greeting Cards R Banners
R Calendars R Advertisements
R Award Certificates R Labels
R Gift Certificates R Programs
R And More

Using a desktop application such as Microsoft’s Publisher is a great way to save

time. It allows you to combine text, graphics, charts, and more to create an
exciting publication.

MS Publisher has 2000 publication templates to get you started right away.
Wizards are available to help create your projects with step-by-step instructions.
Publisher offers more than 40 design sets that allow you to have a consistent look
when creating newsletters to letterhead, catalogs to web sites. Plus, with just a
click of your mouse, you can change the design, color scheme, or layout.

Requirements for running MS Publisher:

To install MS Publisher, you must have 600 mg of free space on your hard drive.
It is also recommended that you have at least 32 mg of Ram. The application
must be installed on a computer with a Pentium 120 or better processor.

If you do not have MS Publisher already installed on your computer and your
computer meets the above requirements, call x4357 to enter a work order for

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installation. Once installed, you will find the Publisher program icon in your
Microsoft Office program group.

Click on the Start button, click on Programs, click on

Microsoft Office, click on Microsoft Publisher.

Viewing the Publisher Window

Figure 1

The Publisher window is much like that of the Microsoft Word window. You
will find similar menus and tools. Publisher does have features that MS Word
does not have and MS Word has features that MS Publisher does not have. MS
Publisher and MS Word are two different types of applications. MS Publisher is
a desktop publishing program while MS Word is a word processing program.

Defining the Parts of the Window:

• Title Bar--Provides the title of file you are working on and the name of the
application you are using.

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 • Menu Bar—Provides the different commands available to use with the
Publisher application.
• Toolbars—buttons for frequently used commands.
• Rulers—Horizontal and vertical rulers to help you measure the size of
objects and place objects in precise locations on the page.
• Workspace page—displays the page you are currently working on.
• Page icons—Used to move from one page to another. Dark denotes page
in use.
• Status bar—Left side of the status bar displays the page icons and, at
times, the Wizard button. The right side of the status bar shows the object
status, which includes the size and position of selected objects.
• Scratch area—surrounds the workspace page and can be used to store
objects.

Microsoft Publisher works with text boxes and graphic boxes.

The graphic box is the box with the picture. The text box is below the graphic
box and all contents are highlighted. When using a template, if you click in a text
box, all contents are highlighted and will be replaced once you begin typing new
text. Text box outlines will not appear when you print.

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Getting Started

When the MS Publisher application is activated, it opens to the MS Publisher

Catalog window:
Figure 2

This Catalog can be used to create new publications or open existing ones. There
are three tabs in this Catalog: Publications by Wizard, Publications by Design,
and Blank Publications. These are each described below.

Publications by Wizard
Publications by type are displayed here. If you need to create a newsletter,
simply click on the newsletter wizard on the left side of the catalog and
newsletter templates will appear on the right. You can scroll through the
different designs until you locate the template you would like to use. Click on the
template of choice then click on the Start Wizard button.

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Once the Wizard has been activated, you will get a screen similar to the following
Figure 3:

Figure 3

The left side of the window provides step-by-step instructions for creating your
project. Options available to you using the Wizard may include:

R Color Scheme R Number of Columns

R Address Placeholder R Printing lay-out choices
R Personal Information R And More depending on
publication type

After making your personal choices using the Wizard, click on the Finish button.
Your window is now split with a different Wizard window that will allow you to
change your previous choices at any time. In addition, it may contain other
options that were not available in the other Wizard window such as inserting
pages. Once you have made your design choices, you are now ready to enter
your data.

You can hide the Wizard at any time by clicking on the Hide
Wizard button at the bottom of the Wizard window. By closing the window, you
will have a larger window to work on your project.

Exercise 1: Create a Publication using Publications by Wizard

Steps:
1. Click on the Publications by Wizard tab.
2. Click on the publication type in the Wizard window.
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 3. Scroll to locate the Design style and click to select it.
4. Click on the Start Wizard button.

Using the Wizard window to change the design. In the Wizard window:
1. Click on the next button
2. Choose the color scheme
3. Choose whether to use a placeholder on your publication
4. Add a tear-off element if necessary
5. Choose whether to add the placeholder’s address
6. Choose to add your primary business information by clicking the
Update button
a. Under the Name text box type, enter organization
b. Under Address text box, enter mailing address
c. Type your phone #, Fax #, and e-mail address under the
appropriate text box
d. Enter your organization or department name
e. Type a tag line or motto in. Example: For all your computing
needs!
f. Type your title or job position in the appropriate text box.
g. Choose a color scheme
h. Click on the update button
i. Click the Finish button

To enlarge the view of your project:

1. Click on View from the menu. Click on Zoom from the drop down menu.
Click on 100% from the sub-menu.
2. Click on the Hide Wizard button.

To enter text in the template’s text box:

1. Click in the text box located below the graphic. All text will be
highlighted. Once you begin typing, the original text will be erased.
2. Type in your information.

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Text Overflows:

Text may not always fit in the text box you have created, causing an overflow of
text. When this occurs, you will need to take steps so the text entered will be
displayed. This can be done by resizing the text box or moving the text to
another text box and connecting the two text boxes.

Text Overflow Button Connect Text Frames Button

Steps for Adjusting Text Overflows:

1. Select the text box with the overflow (handlebars will appear when
selected).
2. Click on the Connect Text Frames Button from the Standard toolbar.
3. Your pointer will change to a pitcher with an arrow on the face of it. Place
your pointer over the text box you wish to connect. This text box can be
located anywhere in your publication.
4. Once the pointer is placed over the new text box, it will turn to a pitcher
pouring out. Click on the text box and the overflow of text will be placed
in the selected text box.

After Connecting Text Boxes, Adding Text to the Original Text Box:

Go to Previous Frame Button

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When you need to edit the contents of a text box that has overflowed you can flip
back and forth between the connected text boxes by clicking on the Go to
Previous Frame Button.

To resize the text box:

1. Place your mouse pointer on a handlebar until it turns to a double-edged

arrow with a box in the center and says resize.
2. Drag the handlebar in or out, depending if you wish to decrease or increase
the box.

Deleting information inside a text box:

1. Select the information by clicking once on it, and then press your delete
key until the information is gone.
2. Or, once selected, choose Edit from the menu; choose Cut from the drop
down menu.

To view a different page:

1. To look at the information on a different page, click on the page icon

located on the status bar.
2. The darkened page on the status bar denotes the page you are viewing.

To insert additional pages:

1. Choose insert from the menu.

2. Choose page… from the drop down menu.
3. From the dialog box, choose the amount of pages to insert, the location of
the page/pages to be inserted, and the type of pages to insert.
4. Click the ok button.

To save your publication:

1. Save your publication by clicking on File, Save, from the menu.

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 2. Give your publication a file name and save it to the proper drive and
directory.

To print your publication:

1. Print your flyer publication by clicking on File, Print from the menu.
2. Choose other specific printing instructions from the Print dialog box.
3. Click the Ok button.

Publications by Design
By clicking on this tab, you will find collections of related publication types that
share design sets. Each master set of related publications can consist of 30 or
greater publication types that are consistent in design. For example, by choosing
the Accent design style, you can have matching business forms, newsletters,
letterhead, etc. Wizards are available to assist you when creating Publications by
Design.

To use Publications by Design, first choose a Design Set by clicking on your

selection in the Design set box located on the left side of your window. Choose a
project type, such as business form, by clicking on your selection on the right
side of your window. After making your selection, click on the Start Wizard
button located on the bottom right corner of the window.

Once the Wizard has been activated, you will get a screen similar to Figure 3 as
shown above. The left side of the window provides step-by-step instructions for
creating your project. Options available to you using the Wizard may include:

R Color Scheme R Number of Columns

R Address Placeholder R Printing lay-out choices
R Personal Information R And More depending on
publication type

After making your personal choices using the Wizard, click on the Finish button.
Your window is now split with a different Wizard window that will allow you to
change your previous choices at any time. In addition, it may contain other
No part of this publication may be used or reproduced in any form without prior written permission of Computer Services.
options that were not available in the other Wizard window such as inserting
pages. Once you have made your design choices, you are now ready to enter
your data.

You can hide the Wizard at any time by clicking on the Hide
Wizard button at the bottom of the Wizard window. By closing the window, you
will have a larger window to work on your project.

Exercise 2: Create a Publication using Publications by Design

Steps:

1. Click on File from the menu, click on New from the drop down menu.
2. In the Catalog, click on the Publications by Design tab.
3. In the Design Sets box, choose your design.
4. Select the type of publication to be created.
5. Click on the Start Wizard button.
6. Use the publication Wizard.
7. Choose the color scheme.
8. Choose whether to include a Logo.
9. Choose printing instructions if available.
10. Choose which personal information to use.
11. Click on the Finish button.

Blank Publications
The third tab is the Blank Publication. If you want to create publications from
scratch, click on this tab. Blank publications allow you to create using the
following styles:

R Full Page R Web Page

R Business Card R Postcard
R Book fold R Side & Top Fold
R Poster R Banner
R And More…

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These pages come set with the page size, orientation, margins, and other settings
you will need to create your own publication.

To begin, click on the blank publication needed. Click on the Create button.
You will have a Quick Publication Wizard appear on the left side of your
window. This Wizard will allow you to choose the design, color scheme, and
layout of your publication.

Exercise 3: Creating a Publication using Blank Publications

Steps:

Page 1—Creating a Quick Publications Page

1. Click on File from the menu.

2. Click on New from the drop down menu.
3. Click on the Blank Publications tab.
4. Click on the style from the Blank Publication window.
5. Click on the Create button located in the bottom right corner of the
Catalog window.
6. Choose Yes to automatically insert pages.
7. Add a design by Design in the Quick Publications Wizard window.
8. Scroll to the design to be used from the Design window and click on
design.
9. From the Quick Publications window, click on the color scheme to select
it.
10. Choose Layout from the Quick Publications window.
11. In the Layout window, choose your layout.

Inserting Clip Art

1. Choose Insert from the menu, choose Picture from the drop down menu,
and choose Clip Art from the sub-menu.
2. In the Search for Clips textbox in the Clip Art catalog, type in your
subject and press your Enter key.
3. Select by clicking on the picture.

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 4. Click on the Insert clip icon from the drop down box. Click on the X to
close the Clip Art catalog.
5. Place your picture in the proper location.

Moving your Clip Art

1. Place your mouse pointer over your clip art.

2. When the arrow becomes 4-way, hold your left mouse button down while
dragging the picture to the appropriate position.
3. Release your mouse button.

Using your Rulers

The status bar provides two types of information regarding your graphics.

The first figure addresses the location of your graphic horizontally and vertically.
The dimensions of the graphic selected are the second figure. As you hold down
the mouse pointer over your graphic, you can see markings horizontally and
vertically on the ruler. Using these markings can assist you in placement of
graphics and other objects in your layout.

Creating a Text Box

1. Click on the Text Frame tool from the Objects

Toolbar located on the left side of the Publisher
window. Your cursor will change to a +.
2. Place the + inside the blue dotted layout guide
where you wish to start your text box.
3. Hold the left mouse button down as you drag the
cursor and draw the text box.
4. Release the mouse button once you have drawn
your box.
5. Click inside the text box just made to begin typing.
6. To better see what you are typing, click on View
from the menu, click on Zoom from the drop down
No part of this publication may menu, clickinon
be used or reproduced 100%.
any form without prior written permission of Computer Services.
Creating a Table

1. Click on the Table Frame Tool from the Objects Toolbar (located just
under the Text Box Tool).
2. Draw a box as you did the Text Box.
3. In the Create Table dialog box, choose the number of rows needed, the
number of columns needed, and Table Format.
4. Click the ok button.
5. Type the table content in each cell.

Add Page Numbers:

To add page numbers without mirrored guides—

1. Click on View from the menu.
2. Click on Go to Background from the drop down menu.
3. Draw a text box where you want the page number to go.
4. Click on Insert from the menu, click on Page Numbers from the drop
down menu.
5. Click on Arrange from the menu, click on layout guides from the drop
down menu.
6. From the dialog box, place a check mark in the Create two backgrounds
with mirrored guides, click the ok button.
7. Click on View from the menu, click on Go to Foreground from the drop
down menu.

To add page numbers to every page with mirrored guides:

(Start in a two-page view)

Follow steps 1-6 above and then—

1. Press and hold the CTRL key and hold the Shift key.

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 2. Place your mouse pointer over the text box just created until it turns into an
arrow with a small box below it.
3. Hold the left mouse button down and drag the copy of the text frame to the
same area on the opposite page.
4. Release the mouse button.

Opening Existing Files

Publications that you have already created and saved can be opened by clicking
on the Existing Files button located on the left bottom corner of the Catalog
window. If you have saved a template, click on the Templates button also
located on the left bottom corner of the Catalog window.

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 Exercises
Exercise 1: Create a flyer using Publications by Wizard

Steps:
1. Click on the Publications by Wizard tab.
2. Click on the Flyers publication type in the Wizard window.
3. Click on the Informational flyer type.
4. Scroll to locate the Marquee Informational Flyer and click on it to select
it.
5. Click on the Start Wizard button.

Use the Wizard window to change the design.

1. Click on the next button
2. Change the color scheme to Tropics
3. Click on the line that will put a placeholder on the flyer
4. Add the Coupon type tear-off element
5. Choose to add the placeholder’s address
6. Choose to add your primary business information by clicking the Update
button
a. Under the Name text box type--SEMO Univ.
b. Under Address type—One University Plaza, Cape Girardeau, MO
63701
c. Type your phone #, Fax #, and e-mail address under the appropriate
text box
d. Enter your organization or department name
e. Type a tag line or motto in. Example: For all your computing
needs!
f. Type your title or job position in the appropriate text box.
g. Choose the Tropics color scheme
h. Click on the update button
i. Click the Finish button
7. Click on View from the menu. Click on Zoom from the drop down menu.
Click on 100% from the sub-menu.
8. Click on the Hide Wizard button.
9. Click on the text box located below the graphic.
10. Type information about your department or the following information: The
Computer Services department consists of Computer Programmers, Data

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 Operators, Network Specialists, Technicians, PC Application Specialists,
and a Supervisor of the Computer Labs.
11. Click on the Logo text box (which says Organization) and type in
Computer Services.
12. Delete the telephone number below the Logo by clicking once on it to
select it, and then press your delete key until the information is gone. (Or
once selected, choose Edit from the menu, choose Cut from the drop down
menu)
13. In the Coupon area, in the Name your item text box, type Free
Computer Service.
14. In the text box below, type 100% off.
15. Look at the information on Page 2 by clicking on the page 2 icon. You
don’t have to make any changes at this time.
16. Save your flyer by clicking on File, Save, from the menu. Save this
publication on c:\mydocuments\flyer
17. Print your flyer publication by clicking on File, Print from the menu.
Choose Current page from the Print dialog box. Click the Ok button.

Exercise 2: Create a Business Card using Publications by Design

Steps:

1. Click on File from the menu, click on New from the drop down menu.
2. In the Catalog, click on the Publications by Design tab.
3. In the Design Sets box, choose Marquee.
4. Select the Marquee Business Card.
5. Click on the Start Wizard button.
6. Use the Business Card Wizard.
7. Keep the Tropics color scheme.
8. Print in Landscape orientation.
9. Choose not to include a Logo.
10. Choose to print your page with several cards tiled on the page.
11. Choose to use Primary Business as your personal information.
12. Click on the Finish button.

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Your card should be finished at this point.

Exercise 3: Creating a Book Fold Publication using Blank Publications

Steps:

Page 1—Creating a Quick Publications Page

1. Click on File from the menu.

2. Click on New from the drop down menu.
3. Click on the Blank Publications tab.
4. Click on the Book Fold style from the Blank Publication window.
5. Click on the Create button located in the bottom right corner of the
Catalog window.
6. Choose Yes to automatically insert pages.
7. Add a design by Design in the Quick Publications Wizard window.
8. Scroll down in the Design window and click on Marquee.
9. From the Quick Publications window, click on color scheme and make
sure Tropics is selected.
10. Choose Layout from the Quick Publications window.
11. In the Layout window, choose Large Picture in the Middle.

Page 2—Inserting Clip Art

1. Click on the Page 2 icon on the Status Bar.
2. Choose Insert from the menu, choose Picture from the drop down menu,
and choose Clip Art from the sub-menu.
3. In the Search for Clips textbox in the Clip Art catalog, type in Frogs
and press your Enter key.
4. Select the first frog by clicking on the picture. Click on the Insert clip
icon from the drop down box. Click on the X to close the Clip Art
catalog.
5. Place your picture, using your rulers, at 5” vertically and 1.75”
horizontally. (Move your picture into place by placing your mouse pointer
over the picture and holding your left mouse button down while dragging
the picture to the appropriate position and then releasing the mouse button.)

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 Page 3—Creating a Text Box
1. Click on the Text Frame tool from the Objects
Toolbar located on the left side of the Publisher
window. Your cursor will change to a +.
2. Place the + inside the blue dotted layout guide top
upper corner. Hold the left mouse button down as
you drag the cursor and draw the text box.
3. Release the mouse button once you have drawn
your box.
4. Click on View from the menu, click on Zoom from
the drop down menu, click on 100%.
5. Click inside the text box just made and enter the
following text: This is page 3.

Page 4—Creating a Table

1. Click on the Page 4 icon located on the status bar.

2. Click on the Table Frame Tool from the Objects Toolbar (located just
under the Text Box Tool).
3. Draw a box as you did the Text Box.
4. In the Create Table dialog box, choose 5 rows, 3 columns, and Table
Format List with Title 1. Click the ok button.

Type the following information in the table created:

SEMO
Student
s
1999 2000

Female 5500 5770

Male 5000 5300

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