This week’s hint and tip is on Publisher basics tables. We have previously done a couple of some other basics in Publisher, so decided to do another along this series. Inserting tables in a publication is a really useful feature as it gives a different way to display your information. We are going to go through in more detail now on how to use this feature in Publisher below.

Where to find it and the options

This option is found on the Insert Tab and on the Ribbon there will be a button called ‘Table’. It is also found on the Home Tab too.

Once you click on this button, you have two options to choose from. You can either hover over the boxes to choose how big you want your table or you can click on the option at the bottom to type in the number of columns and rows you want.

Inserting and editing the table

To insert a table, you choose one of the options mentioned above and decide how big you want your table. Once you have either clicked on the box or clicked OK, your table should then have been inserted into your publication.

Once the table has been inserted, you are given two extra tabs at the top: Table Design and Table Layout. Both of these tabs have options along them for editing your table.

The video below shows you how you can use this feature to then insert it in a publication. Inserting tables is great way of being able to display information in a different way in your publications.

Take a look below at the video to find out more and then try it out on your own computer!

We hope you have enjoyed this hint and tip on Publisher basics tables. Why not take a look at our previous video hint and tip on how to sort worksheets in Excel using a macro?

The post Publisher Basics Tables – how to insert a table in a publication appeared first on JPL IT Training Ltd.

This week’s hint and tip is on Publisher useful features. In this hint and tip we are covering how to change character spacing and how to easily select multiple objects in one go. These are all not necessarily covered in our courses so we decided to do a hint and tip on them. We are going to go through them now below.

Character Spacing

This button is found on the Home Tab in the Font gallery. This option allows you alter the spacing that is placed in between characters in words. This can be useful for when you are creating publications and want the text to look a little bit different. It can also be useful for text where the font is a bit more elaborate as it can make it easier to read. To use this option, select the text you want to alter the character spacing of and click on the button. This will then bring up a list of the options you can choose from. When you select an option it will then apply it to the text you selected.

Selecting multiple objects in one go

This option isn’t a button on a ribbon, it is more of a mouse technique that you can use. If you wanted to select multiple objects, the normal route would be using the Ctrl key and clicking on them. In Publisher you are able to click and drag over the items that you want selected and it will do so. You have to make sure you start your ‘clicking and dragging’ before the object and after it to ensure it is selected.

The video below shows you how to use both of these little useful features in your Publisher publications. These features might appear small but there will come times where they might just be what you need!

Take a look below at the video to find out more and then try them out on your own computer!

We hope you have enjoyed this hint and tip on Publisher useful features. Why not take a look at our previous video hint and tip on features on the view tab in Word?

The post Publisher Useful Features – have you used either of these before? appeared first on JPL IT Training Ltd.

This week’s hint and tip follows the series that we have been doing on basics in the Microsoft Office packages. This week is looking at inserting pictures in Publisher.

Inserting a Picture

Firstly, make sure that you have your publication open that you want to insert a picture in to. If you don’t have one open yet, make sure you have a blank publication open. From here go to the Insert Tab at the top and on the Ribbon there will be a button called ‘Pictures’.

Once you click on this button, a window will appear. Here you can navigate through your filing system to locate the picture that you want to insert into your publication. Once you find the image, select it and click on the ‘Insert’ button. This will then insert your picture into your publication for you.

Editing a Picture

Once the picture has been inserted you will notice that an extra Tab has appeared at the end called Format. This is found under a heading of ‘Picture Tools’. This tab only appears when you have a picture selected.

This Tab has lots of formatting tools that you can use on your picture, some being adjusting tools, picture styles and picture effects. The Wrap Text button is very useful as it allows you to set how text will wrap around the picture in your publication. As well as wrap text, there is a ‘Rotate Objects’ button. This option can be very useful especially if the picture is the wrong way around.

Moving and Re-sizing a Picture

To move the picture, select it, the cursor will change to a white arrow plus a cross. This is the moving option. Now click and drag and it will allow you to move the picture to where you want it to be in the publication.

To re-size the picture, just use the white handles (the white dots) positioned around the outside of the picture. The white handles in the corners will re-size in 2 directions at once. Whereas the handles in the middle of the outside lines will only re-size in 1 direction; ‘vertically’ or ‘horizontally’.

This was our Publisher basics pictures hint and tip and we hope you liked it! Have you seen our previous Publisher basics hint and tip on inserting text boxes?

The post Publisher Basics Pictures – inserting a picture, learn how here appeared first on JPL IT Training Ltd.

This week’s hint and tip follows the series that we have been doing on basics in the Microsoft Office packages. This week is looking at inserting text boxes in Publisher.

Firstly, make sure that you have your publication open that you want to insert a text box in to or if you don’t have one yet, make sure you have a blank publication open. From here go to the Insert Tab at the top and on the Ribbon there will be a button called ‘Draw Text Box’.

Once you click on this button your cursor will change to a cross like + which tells you that you are in ‘drawing mode’ for inserting your text box. Position your mouse on the publication page and while clicking and holding down on the left hand button of your mouse, drag the cursor down and across on the page. You should see the text box being drawn as you click and drag (as seen in the screen shot to the right).

Once you have drawn the text box to the size you require (don’t worry if you aren’t sure exactly how big you want it, you can re-size it later) let go of the button on your mouse and it will insert the text box in to your publication for you (as seen to the right). From here you can now type in the text that you want in it.

Moving and Re-sizing

To move the text box, click on the outside line of the text box itself when the cursor changes from being just the white arrow to the white arrow plus a cross. This is the moving option and if you now click and drag with this arrow & cross cursor it will allow you to move the text box to where you want it to be in the publication.

To re-size the text box, just the white handles (the white dots) positioned around the outside of the text box. The white handles in the corners will re-size in 2 directions at once whereas the handles in the middle of the outside lines will only re-size in 1 direction: ‘vertically’ or ‘horizontally’.

This was our Publisher basics text boxes hint and tip and we hope you liked it! Why not take a look at our previous hint and tip on watermarks in Word?

The post Publisher Basics Text Boxes – how to insert a text box in a publication appeared first on JPL IT Training Ltd.

Publisher is a package that can sometimes be forgotten about or overlooked, with Word being most people’s first point of call for creating documents. However, sometimes Publisher comes up on top in comparison to Word and can often be easier to use for certain documents!

Here we are going to take you through some of the Publisher page sizes, publication types and templates that you can utilise to save you time and make your life a lot easier!

Page Sizes

When you first open up Publisher, the screen looks like the screen shot below. This screen will list any recent files that you have opened down the left hand side and then give you a number of options on the rest of the screen.

The most common options that are used are the ‘blank A4 (portrait)’ or the ‘blank A4 (landscape)’ but there is also the option to choose from other blank page sizes.

Under this option you can select the blank page size that you require from the selection given.

Templates

In this area you can also scroll down to have a look at the Publication Type section. Under here there are a variety of ‘blank templates’ that you can utilise to make creating your document easier (see below).

These blank document templates and sizes are really useful for saving you time when creating your documents from scratch. However, in Publisher there are also a whole bank of templates that you can use if you need a bit of inspiration for your documents!

These templates can then be personalised and edited to meet your requirements and can save a lot of time if they look similar to what you were aiming to create yourself. To get to this part of Publisher, you firstly click on to the ‘Built-In’ heading on the opening screen. This will bring up a variety of template ‘groups’ that you can choose from. As you scroll through you will be able to see the vast variety you can choose from.

So even though Word is a very powerful Microsoft Office package, Publisher can sometimes stand head and shoulders above in the more creative side.

So next time you are thinking of creating a newsletter or business card, why not give Publisher a go?

You might also like to read our previous post on Excel Symbol Meanings.

The post Publisher page sizes – using page sizes & publication types for your work appeared first on JPL IT Training Ltd.