I have used several versions of Microsoft Publisher for many years and have
created booklets, flyers, posters and have used it to create large font signs.
It is an easy program to use since it has many templates to create different
types of projects. I have had people ask me to create a flyer or a poster, saying
they need it now. With MS Publisher it is a snap.
Microsoft Publisher is a desktop publishing program, not a word processor like MS Word. You will notice that all objects (such as text, graphics and pictures, or WordArt) must be placed inside a frame before you can use them in Publisher. If you are working with organizations or churches, they are always creating flyers, brochures or newsletters. Publisher will fit your needs for these tasks. Adobe PageMaker is another publishing software product, but it is very expensive and is used by those that are in the commerical or publishing field.
Chapter 1 gives us an overview for Exploring the Publisher Window. Click the Start button, Programs and then click MS Publisher. You’ll see the task pane on the left side of the screen, which gives you options to select such things as newsletters, brochures, flyers, signs, greeting cards and many other choices. You can select a blank publication, existing or template for your project. The menu bar on top provides the most used commands to create your page. The tool bar displays the standard, formatting, and connect frames below the menu bar. An Objects bar on the left is for working with text, objects, access clip art, and picture objects.
For example: The Microsoft Publisher window opens with new publication page. I will click on Blank Publication and will see the first blank page. Notice the page number you are working with at the bottom near the Start button. If you try clicking, nothing happens. As I said earlier, you must first place all objects in a frame. Just type one letter and you will see all menu and tool bars light up, as well as a text frame to type in. Start typing and if you can not see the text that you were typing, then you must zoom in until it is readable. The text box can also be created by clicking on the left side icon, then dragging it to the blank document and expanding it to fit the page. The tool bar on the left easily selects the clip art, pictures or other objects used in your publication. (Try the icons on the left to see how each is used first). Now you can start the new document and be able to insert clip art and pictures into your newsletters, brochures, and flyers.
Chapter 2 gives you a design strategy before you start creating flyers or posters, by clarifying your purpose, targeting your audience, striking the right tone and creating a layout. A good design doesn’t just happen, it is a stepby- step process. Is your design to educate or entertain, persuade or promote, or to make a quick impression? The fundamental purpose is to communicate. The elements of designing your project are the use of fonts, graphics and color. These are to dress up your publication and make it look good and impress those that will be seeing your poster, flyers, etc. The other chapters are for designing and printing your article, flyers, or posters.
Chapter 5 is devoted to designing for the internet, how to create an effective web site, and how to lay out your web site. This chapter is primarily for learning basic web site guidelines and learning what web sites, web pages, and hyperlinks are, as well as how to organize home pages, topic pages, and subsidiary pages. The home page is the gateway to your site, topic pages are only for a single topic, and subsidiary pages are subsets of the topic pages, which are normally linked to both the home page and topic pages. The main rule for designing a web page is to keep it simple and not a catch-all web page. The use of hyperlinks gives the reader a choice among the topics. More than 10 links per web page or too many images will clutter your page. Downloading and printing time must be considered with your web page design.
The text book “Discovering Microsoft Publisher” that comes with the software has very little information about designing flyers, adding borders, creating brochures or creating newsletters. It assumes that everyone already knows what a flyer or poster looks like and what the newsletter should be. The text book is mainly to give you the basics for creating the best product by guiding you through the process of what you should look for before you begin a project. It will have suggestions on what can be done and what you should not do when creating web pages or flyers, etc.
The MSRP for Microsoft Publisher is $129.95. I have seen it at Fry’s Electronics stores for about $89.00. Requires Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 6, or Windows XP or later. Requires Pentium 133 or higher, Pentium III recommended. RAM requirements range from 32 to 128 MB, depending on the operating system. Requires 180 MB free hard drive space.
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Product Information:Microsoft Publisher 2002 MSRP: $ 129.00 |