An introduction to MS Publisher

University of Brighton

Using Publisher

Simon Whiffin

Simon Whiffin Created November 2008 Updated October 2013

Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 3

Getting started ......................................................................................................................................... 3

Poster Presentation Template ............................................................................................................. 4

The Publisher Screen Layout .................................................................................................................... 7

Lining everything up ................................................................................................................................. 9

Formatting the text ................................................................................................................................ 10

Changing the font type ...................................................................................................................... 10

Changing the font colour ................................................................................................................... 10

Inserting Shapes ..................................................................................................................................... 12

Inserting text inside the shape ........................................................................................................... 12

Formatting the shape ......................................................................................................................... 12

Inserting Images ..................................................................................................................................... 14

Inserting an image in the foreground ................................................................................................ 14

Clip art ................................................................................................................................................ 15

Setting an image as the background .................................................................................................. 16

Submitting your work ............................................................................................................................ 19

What makes a successful pamphlet? ..................................................................................................... 20

White Space ....................................................................................................................................... 20

Avoid headings set all in capital letters ............................................................................................. 20

Two font maximum ............................................................................................................................ 20

Two to Three Colours maximum ........................................................................................................ 20

Important ........................................................................................................................................... 20


Introduction Publisher is Microsoft’s version of a desktop publishing application that allows you to create documents

that require complex formatting such as flyers, brochures, newsletters and handouts.

Getting started When you open Microsoft Publisher you will be presented with the following screen

Your next step is to select the type of design you want to create. For instance to create a tri-fold

Brochure choose Brochures and then select a style for your pamphlet from a list of different Brochure

styles


To select a brochure style either double click the style you want or click once and then click the Create

button displayed in the bottom right hand corner of the Publisher window

Poster Presentation Template

Posters tend to be A0 size which is 84.1cm wide by 118.9cm high, which is equivalent to 25 sheets of A4

paper laid out in a 5 X 5 grid. By default there isn’t a template in publisher to do this so we need to

create one.

Step One

When you open publisher you are prompted to select the template you want to use. As we


need to create our template click the “More Blank Page Sizes” option

Step Two: Next select “Create new page size” option


Step three: once you have clicked the “Create new page size” option you can then set the

template size using the “Create New Page” Size dialogue box

Give the template a new e.g. “A0PosterTemplate”. Now set the width and height to 84.1cm and

118.9cm respectively. This will produce a portrait poster but if you want the poster presented in

landscape style then simply reverse the height and width setting. Finally click OK. you will now see the

new template to left of the “Create new page size” option.

To use the template simply double click the Icon


The Publisher Screen Layout On the left hand side of the screen is displayed the format

Publication Task Pane. This allows you to change the style of

your pamphlet by adjusting the Colour Scheme or the font

scheme. If you want to hide the task pane click the close (X)

button in the top right hand corner

By default the brochure design has two pages. To switch

between the two pages Click which is at the bottom of

the Publisher window.


Each brochure consists of a series of different boxes which either contain text or images. The design I

have chosen is this one.

Although this layout is set out already I can change any aspect I want.


Lining everything up To the top and left hand side of your template you should see two rulers but if they aren’t visible select

the View tab and then check the Rulers tickbox

When the rulers are visible this will allow you to line up the objects (e.g. Textbox, Shapes etc) on your

poster with the help of guidelines. Pre-set guidelines can be added to the document or you can add

horizontal and vertical guidelines where ever you need them. To display guidelines select the “Page

Design” tab and then click the “Guides” icon

Either select one of the pre-set layouts or to add a horizontal or vertical guide use the options at the

bottom of the Guides menu. By default horizontal or vertical guide are inserted in the middle of the

document. To re-position a vertical guide hover your cursor over the new guideline when your cursor

changes to either two horizontal arrows pointing in opposite directions you can then drag the line by

holding down the mouse button. In the case of a horizontal guideline you will see an arrow pointing up

and one pointing down when hovering the cursor over the guideline.

Tick this box to see the

rulers


Formatting the text

Changing the font type

Just as you would do in

Microsoft Word to change

the font type from say Arial to Verdana highlight the text to be changed and change the font type using

he font toolbar

Changing the font colour

Highlight the text you want to change and then click the font

colour button on the toolbar

Drop Caps

A drop cap is a large initial character, often used at the beginning of

a paragraph in newspapers. To insert a drop cap at the beginning of

a paragraph that you have already typed begin by highlighting the

first letter to which you wish to apply the drop cap. Then select

Drop cap from the format menu to display the Drop Cap Dialogue

box

TIP

Avoid using more

than two different

font types in your

design


You can either chose a default style or create your own style. Here I have changed the font style and

colour. You can also change the position of the drop cap, the size of the letter and the number of letters

to which the drop cap style is applied. When you have finished designing your drop cap click apply and

then OK to see the style applied.


Inserting Shapes

Inserting text inside the shape

Right mouse click inside the Shape and select Add Text from the pop up menu.

Formatting the shape

Setting border width: select the Drawing Tools tab and then click shape outline.

To change the size of the border choose “Weight” from the Shape Outline menu.

Changing border colour: this can be done from the Shape outline menu. To change the colour

select the colour you want from the colour pallet displayed on the Shape Outline menu.

Alternatively you can set the colour to match another colour you have already used say from a

picture. Here’s a link to a short clip showing how to do this (no commentary though) Sampling

Colour.

This is an example of a rounded textbox. To

add a shape like this select the Insert tab,

click Shapes button and select the shape you

want.

https://media.brighton.ac.uk/CRS/samplingColourPublisher_-_20131007_122349_29.mp4

https://media.brighton.ac.uk/CRS/samplingColourPublisher_-_20131007_122349_29.mp4


Inserting Images You can either insert images to appear in the foreground or set an image as the background upon which

you can enter text.

Inserting an image in the foreground

Click on the picture you want to replace

to automatically display the picture

toolbar. To change the picture, click the

first button the toolbar. Find where you have saved the picture you want to insert. When you have

located the image double click the picture and this will insert it into your design

Let’s assume that I want to replace

this image with one of my own


Clip art

If you don’t have any images or are concerned about using images sourced from google then try using

Clip art, which is Microsoft’s database of open source (i.e. copyright free) images. The Clip art icon is

located on the Insert menu bar. Trying searching on subjects like Medicine, Nursing to view images

tagged with those descriptions.


Setting an image as the background

First insert the image you want as the background into your design as described above.

This is the image I want to set as

the background


I want to position the image on the right hand

side of the page. Do this by clicking on the image

and dragging it across to the right hand side of

the page. However, you will notice that the text

is now hidden by the image.

To reveal the text we need to send

the image to the back so that it sits

behind the boxes which contain the

text. To do this click, Arrange on the

toolbar at the top of your screen

and select Order and the then click

Send to back.


We can now see the text sitting on top of our image

but you will notice that the background image is

partially obscured by the textboxes. This is because

the background colour of the textboxes is set to

white. To resolve this click onto the textbox and

then select Text Box from the format menu. This will

display the Format Text Box dialogue box.


Click the arrow next to the box

where the colour is display, select

No Fill and finally click OK.

Submitting your work In order to upload your pamphlet to turnitin you will have to save it as a PDF file but leave this until you

have finished the pamphlet. To save in PDF format click the File Menu and then select “Save and Send”

if you’re using Publisher 2010. (If you’re using an earlier version of publisher select “Save As” and then

change the file type to PDF). When you’ve clicked on Save and Send you’ll see a button entitled “Create

PDF/XPS document” click that button and then click “Create PDF/XPS” to save your pamphlet as a PDF

file.


What makes a successful pamphlet?

White Space

It’s tempting to try and squeeze as much information as you can into a small space but a sea of text is

difficult to read. Leaving space between your information can actually guide the reader to the important

bits

Avoid headings set all in capital letters

Our eyes and brain are conditioned to identify lower case letters and words. We also read words by the

shape of the word text written all in capital letters makes most words look the same.

Two font maximum

Using too many font types will make your pamphlet look “busy” and detract from the content.

Two to Three Colours maximum

Selective use of colour will enhance your pamphlet. Coloured borders, bullets and blocks serve to draw

attention to specific details.

Avoid colours that not appealing to the eye. For example, bright yellow on a white background.

Important

Be very careful about using Trust/PCT/NHS logos in your pamphlet. You will almost certainly need

consent of the Trust to do so. If you have any doubts then speak to a member of the module team

such as Tina Attoe or Erika Thorne

An introduction to MS Publisher

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