F2 Desktop Publishing
F2 Desktop Publishing
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.
Adobe PageMaker
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In this notes, we will use the MS - publisher 2013 as a guide to demonstrate the basic features of a
desktop publishing software
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.
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. 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
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and pictures.
Examples;
- Adobe PageMaker.
- Microsoft Publisher.
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.
Starting Ms-publisher
Like the other applications discussed earlier, Ms Publisher application Window has a title bar, menu
bar, toolbars and status bar. The window looks like the figure shown below.
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Setting up a Publication
Sometimes, it is necessary to change the setup options of a publication e.g. page size, margins,
orientation etc.ele to design page layouts and graphics that are
If you are creating a publication that will have several pages such as a book or a project report, it
is important that you layout a common layout foundation for all pages for the sake of consistency
and cohesiveness.
These pages used to design a common layout to be applied in the other pages of the publication
are called master pages or a document master.You can create, modify, and delete objects on
master pages just like any other objects, but you must do so from the master pages themselves.
The document master applies to all pages in the publication until you' specify otherwise, and
cannot be renamed or removed from the publication.
2. The Master Page toolbar will appear. Click on Add Master Page (see Figure 73).
3. The New Master Page window will appear. Click on OK (see Figure 74).
Note: Check the Two-page master box to create a two-page master page.
4. A new master page will be created.
- Once you complete setting up your publication layout, it is important you save it before you start
entering text and graphics.
1. To save the publication for the first time, from the File menu, click Save As or click the Save button
on the toolbar.
2. In the Save As dialog box, specify the name of the file and the storage location of your publication
then click Save button
3. To save changes made to a publication, from the File menu, click Save
- If the rulers are not displayed, click the View menu, then select the rulers checkbox to display them.
To hide the rulers, uncheck the check box.
Editing a Publication
The term edit means making changes to a publication. In most cases, editing would include the
process of correcting spelling mistakes, replacing words etc
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Find
1. Click the Find option in the Editing group on the Home tab or press Ctrl + F. This will open the
find and replace window at the right of your publication as shown in step 2
2. Enter a word which you want to search in the search box. Click find next. Publisher searches for
the text you entered and highlights the word in the document.
Replace
Click the Replace option in the Editing group on the Home tab or press Ctrl + H to launch the Find
and Replace dialog window as shown above
Type a word which you want to search and a word which would like to replace with in the Find and
Replace navigation window as above
Click Replace button available on Find and Replace navigation menu and you will see
first occurrence of the searched word would be replaced with the replace with word. Clicking again
on Replace button would replace next occurrence of the searched word. If you will click Replace
All button then it would replace all the found words in one go. You can also use Find Next button
just to search the next occurence and later you can use Replace button to replace the found word.
Spell Checking
Publisher automatically checks for spelling mistakes as you type. However, it’s a good idea to run
the Spellchecker tool as the final step when finishing your publication. When run,
the Spellchecker tool will check your entire publication for spelling & grammar errors, and allow
you to insert the corrections.
Design Checking
The design checker can be used to find potential design and layout problems in your publication,
and provides options to fix them. It is a good idea to run this tool before sending your publication
to a printer.
3. The Design Checker will appear to the right of your publication. Click a checkbox to run
the following checks
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a. Run general design checks: Checks for design problems like empty text boxes
b. Run commercial design checks: Checks for problems that may impact printing
your publication at a commercial printing business (e.g. pictures in RGB mode)
c. Run web site checks: Checks for problems that may impact your web site publication (e.g.
pictures without alternative text)
d. Run e-mail checks (current page only): Checks for problems that may cause gaps in
the message when it is viewed in certain e-mail viewers (e.g. text that contains
a hyphenation)
4. To fix an item, hover over it and click the dropdown arrow
5. A dropdown menu will appear. Click one of the following options:
a. Go to this Item: Selects the item on your document
b. Fix: Place Text on a New Page: Fixes the selected error using the suggested method
c. Never Run this Check Again: Removes the selected error from the design checker search
d. Explain… Opens up a Help article with more information on the selected error
6. Continue addressing errors found by the design checker until they have been addressed.
7. To close the design checker, click on Close Design Checker
Formatting a Publication
This refers to applying special attributes to text, graphical objects and pages in order to make them
attractive and appealing to the eye. Therefore, formatting may include things like font sizing, bolding,
changing text colour, adjusting picture brightness and contrast and formatting columns on the page
When working with publications in Publisher, you will need to insert a text box to be able to type
your text. Text boxes can be inserted to contain your information, which will make it easier to
adjust the spacing and positioning of your text during development.
Formatting Text
Character and paragraph formatting commands are found on the Home tab of the Ribbon. To apply
any of the formatting options, first select the text and then click the button for the option(s) that
you want to apply
Inserting Graphics
The use of graphics will enhance your publications and allow you to provide the reader with
additional information in the form of a visual aid. The following will explain how to insert pictures
and shapes to you publication.
Insert Pictures
The Online Pictures tool provides access to online picture resources such as Microsoft
Clipart and Bing Image Search. The following explains how to insert online pictures into your Publisher
publication from a variety of internet sources.
1. Under the Insert tab, click on the Online Pictures button (see Figure 50).
2. The Insert Pictures window will open. In the search box next to Bing Image Search, type a word or
phrase that describes the desired image (see Figure 51).
3. Press Enter.
4. A list of your search results will appear. Select the desired picture you wish to add and click
the insert button (see Figure 52).
5. The picture will be added to your publication
Inserting Shapes
The following explains how to insert a variety of predefined shapes into your Publisher publication.
You can modify shapes in a number of ways. The following describes some of the ways that shapes
can be changed:
Resizing a Shape
Click on the shape. The sizing handles will appear around the border of the shape (see Figure 35).
To resize the shape, place your mouse over one of the sizing handles, click and drag.
Note: The sizing handle at the top of the shape allows you to rotate it
Reshaping
After clicking on a shape, the shaping handles will appear (along with the sizing handles) as
yellow squares. A two-dimensional shape can be altered by clicking and dragging the yellow
squares to alter a certain aspect of the shape.
Adding Headers/Footers
Editing the header/footer of your publication will allow you to place text that repeats every page
(e.g. adding an issue number to the bottom of your page).
Save as a PDF
Saving your file as a PDF will ensure that your printed or viewed file retains the formatting
you intended, and is useful if you wish to send your publication to a commercial printer.