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Microsoft Publisher 2000

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Quick Studies August 2001 • Vol.12 Issue 8	Add To My Personal Library
Microsoft Publisher 2000 Working With Wizards

• Desktop Publishing
• Beginner
• 2000 for Win9x

Microsoft Publisher templates make you more productive with less effort because they come with text objects preformatted for typeface, type style, point size, and alignment. Graphic placeholders (special boxes reserved for graphics) and preset page margins also simplify constructing a document. Users create publications by replacing boilerplate text and graphics with personalized content instead of designing an entirely new layout.

When you open a template, you automatically work with a copy. The original template is untouched so you can reuse it. All documents created with the same template have a similar appearance.

It's easy to design good-looking projects with Publisher because this application combines templates with user-friendly Design Wizards, providing automated, interactive step-by-step instructions for page layout tasks. The Wizard options appear at startup in a Publications By Wizard catalog, which consists of several project types, such as Newsletters, Brochures, Calendars, Labels, and Business Forms.

Preview thumbnail representations of Microsoft Publisher templates before launching the Publication Wizard.

Templates & Wizards

To view template options for a particular Wizard type, such as Flyers, open Publisher, and you'll see the Microsoft Publisher Catalog. Click the Publications By Wizard tab if it's not already selected. Click the Flyers category. You'll see seven flyer subcategories: Informational, Special Offer, Sale, Event, Fundraiser, Announcement, and Special Paper. To view thumbnail representations of flyers in a particular subcategory, click a subcategory name, such as Event, and click the down arrow in the Event Flyers window to scroll through the thumbnails. To preview all Flyer options, click Flyers in the Wizards window.

To create a new flyer, such as a Sports Event Flyer, either double-click the Sports Event template in the preview window or click the template once to select it and click Start Wizard. Publisher launches the Flyer Wizard, letting you create a Sports Event Flyer. You'll work through a list of tasks that show up under the Flyer Wizard bar in the upper-left corner of the screen. Choices include Design, Color Scheme, Graphic, Tear-Offs, Customer Address, and Personal Information. You can complete these tasks in any order.

Click Design to choose another design layout for this publication. Click Color Scheme to select a color scheme for the project. The current color scheme is highlighted. To preview other options, click them one at a time. If the Zoom window on the Standard toolbar reads 33% or less, you can see your entire flyer on-screen at once, giving you a better sense of how your color scheme selection affects your document's appearance. For output to black and white printers, choose either Black & Gray or Black & White.

Options in the Flyer Wizard window at the left have either a diamond or a not-available symbol (a circle with a line running through it). For example, click either the Graphic or Tear Offs option in the Flyer Wizard window. A Publisher message tells you that neither of these options can be modified in the currently open design.

Select Customer Address in the Flyer Wizard window to add placeholders for sender and customer address. If you click the Yes radio button, Publisher adds a second page to this flyer. The new page contains two placeholders: one for your return address and the other for the customer's mailing address. With this option enabled, your Flyer becomes a mailer, suitable for postal delivery.

To customize the personal information that Publisher inserts in this publication, click the Personal Information option and make your selections. You can choose one of four pre-existing personal information sets (Primary, Secondary, Other Organization, or Home/Family) by clicking the radio button for the set you want. To reconfigure an information set, select it from the list and click the Update button. The Personal Information dialog box displays. Enter information for this set in the appropriate boxes, completing fields for Name, Address, Phone, Organization Name, and others. Choose a color scheme for this information set and click the Update button. To place a component from this information set in the open Flyer, click Insert Component, then choose the item you want to insert. A box with that item appears in the document. Click, hold, and drag the box to a new location, if necessary.

After completing all Wizard tasks, temporarily hide the Wizard pane by clicking the Hide Wizard button on the status bar in the lower-left corner of the screen. Now personalize the contents of this Sports Event Flyer template.

by Carol S. Holzberg, Ph.D.

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