Microsoft Publisher

Microsoft Publisher is a desktop publishing program used to design, layout, and create
text and picture-rich publications such as:

• Greeting Cards – invitations, Holiday cards or posters

• Calendars – for family, school, work or hobby
• Books – photo albums, yearbooks, addresses or brochures

Publisher 2016 desktop icon

Publisher offers excellent control over certain aspects of your publication. The
application makes it easy to work with documents in a variety of sizes and shapes. It also
contains a great deal of tools to assist the user in arranging and aligning text, images, and
other objects within the page margins.

Publisher 2016 Welcome Page

Open Publisher 2016 from your computer desktop or laptop. On the Welcome page,
note the various popular templates available. Choose on a template you would like to utilize
to see its details. You can click “Create” to open a document in this particular style. For this
class, create a Blank 8.5’’ x 11” document.

Publisher 2016 Welcome Page

Microsoft Publisher Interface

The user interface shows the tools and menus in an organized manner. The Ribbon,
Quick Access Toolbar, File Menu and other key parts of Publisher will be discussed below.

A. The Ribbon

The ribbon is shown on top of the Microsoft Publisher, and it offers all Publisher tools
arranged into three separate parts:

• Tabs – represent a general activity area

 • Groups – show related tools (commands) together
• Commands – buttons, expandable menus, or boxes that show tools and other related
information
Click the various Tabs. In the illustration below, look at how the Groups and Commands
are altered based on the chosen Tab.

Design of the Ribbon and its Parts

B. Quick Access Toolbar

The Quick Access Toolbar is one of the main parts in Microsoft Publisher and other
Offices located near at the top-left corner of the window which gives you a quick access
to features which are mostly utilized, like the Save, Undo and Redo features.

The user can point the mouse arrow to each icon to check the name and the
function of the features. You can also tailor-fit the commands in the toolbar to your liking
by clicking on the black arrow placed at the end of the toolbar.

To remove any alterations you made to your document or file, you can use the Undo
command. For instance, type your name in the blank document, then click the Undo
button found in the Quick Access toolbar (the arrow pointing towards the left). This will
erase your previous action on the document, as Undo keeps track of your actions in a
sequential manner. When you accidentally changed or removed something in your file,
you can click the Undo command right away so you can return to the previous state. On
that note, it is important to save your work early and save often.

Quick Across Toolbars & “Undo” Button

Steps on how we add tools on Quick Access Toolbar

Step 1. Click the icon for “Customize Quick Access Toolbar.”

Step 2. After clicking the icon, choose which of the tool/s to add in the Quick Access Toolbar.

The icon of the chosen tool will appear at the Quick Access Toolbar.

C. File Menu

File Menu offers actions at the file level. You may click on the green “File” tab to
the far left of the tabs to see how it works. After clicking on it, you will see the “backstage”
area of the program. Here, you can create a New document, Open any file previously
created, Save your file, Save As a separate file from your current one, Print your
document, and other available options like Share, Export, etc. To exit this area, you may
click on the arrow on the top left corner to go back to your file.
D. Title Bar, Help Menu, Window Display Options

The Title Bar indicates the program’s name which is currently open and the name
of your current document (topmost bar in the program window.) A new document has a
temporary title, Publication1, until you “Save As” with a different name. To the far right on
the Title Bar is the Help Menu and Ribbon Display options.

The Help Menu has articles about using the software. If you are not sure how to
certain command or action performs or the its location in the interface, you may click on
the question mark symbol to look for articles for Help or search for specific topics.

The Window Display Options show different buttons like Minimize (reduces
window to the size of the taskbar button), Restore (makes window smaller for manual
resizing or full screen), and Close (closes window and program) buttons. You make look at
those features on the top-right portion of the Publisher program window.

Title Bar, Help Menu & Ribbon Display Options

E. Publisher Organization Tools

Microsoft Publisher offers various tools and commands to assist you in creating your
publication. Here are a few of them:

Baselines are used to line up your text properly using horizontal lines. To show
Baselines:

1. Click the View Tab

2. Look in the “Show” group
3. Check box next to “Baselines”

Baselines will not be printed with your document. To hide Baselines, uncheck
Baselines box.

Boundaries are dashed borders that are dark blue in color that show around the
objects in your publication. It helps to align those objects or view the text in a textbox.

Rulers assist the user in lining up text, images, and other objects. It is located on
the left and on top of the publication. When you select an object in your document, a white
space will show on the rulers pointing to the location of the object.

Guides are thin lines which assist you in aligning objects. There are two types of
guides:
 • Margin guides are blue lines that mark
the edges, or margins, of a printable
area; they are automatically created
when page margins are set.
• Customizable guides are green lines that
can be added anywhere in a publication.

To add them:

1. Left-click and hold the horizontal or

vertical ruler
View Tab and Baselines shown in Document
2. Drag the mouse to the publication
3. Release to add the guide to a location

The guide will be placed, and it can be moved at any time by clicking and dragging it.

Page Navigation is a pane to the left that displays an image of each page in the
publication.

Scratch Area is the gray area outside the white page area. It shows objects or
portions of objects situated just outside the boundaries of the page; don’t worry, anything you
put in this area will not be included in printing your publication. You can think of it like a
space to hold your ideas, text, images and objects while you look where and how to place
them in your publication.

Diagram of Organization Tools in Publisher

 Templates/Publications in Microsoft Publisher
Templates are simply publications built into Microsoft Publisher 2016 for you to use.
These templates already have design elements added to them such as color schemes,
backgrounds, graphics, images, and even areas for text. When you select a template, it is
nearly ready-to-use. All you have to do is customize it to make it your own.

Finding a Template

Step 1. Simply open your Microsoft Publisher application then click “Built-in.” If a blank
template is created, click on the File tab in the Ribbon, then click New in the column
on the left side of the window.

Step 2. Click on the category (Advertisements, Award Certificates, Banners, Brochures,

Business Cards, etc.) that you want to use.

Step 3. Pick one of the existing templates under the category you chose then click “Create.”
 Kinds of Publications / Templates
A. Brochures

A brochure is an advertising product made up of a single or multi-page folded paper

that contains the services of features of a company. This piece of paper can be folded
several times to create separate pages, or contains several pages stapled together.
Brochures are more commonly used for advertising multiple products or services for a
company. It typically contains more images than words.

B. Certificates

A certificate is a document containing a certified statement, especially as to the

truth of something. Specifically, it is a document certifying that one has fulfilled the
requirements of and may practice in a given field.
C. Flyers

Flyers can be useful to disseminate information, call attention to special offers or sales,
alert people to fundraisers or other events, or just to make special announcements.

D. Invitations

An invitation is a written request for inviting someone to go somewhere or to do

something.
E. Newsletter

A newsletter is a form of publication material meant to feature articles and pictures

about a certain organization, meant to be read by subscribers. Companies use newsletters
to send subscribers new company, product, and service information. They are likely to be
distributed to customers or within a company, to schools, or to a certain community.
Newsletters are used as a communication material meant to serve information similarly
indicated in a brochure or pamphlet.

F. Program

A program is a thin book or a piece of paper that gives information about a concert,
sports game, event/activity, etc.
G. Signs

A sign is a piece of paper, wood, etc., with words or pictures on it that gives
information about something. It is also an effective and affordable way to draw customers to
your business, especially when you create them yourself.

Saving a File in Microsoft Publisher

To make sure you do not lose your work on a document, you should save your work
early and save often. Let’s start by saving the document you have opened in Publisher 2016:

Step 1. Click the File Button near the Tabs.

Step 2. Click Save. This option is for saving or naming a file for the first time. You may create
a different version of saving a file by clicking “Save As.”

Step 3. Click Browse. Choose the location where the file will be saved, then change the file
name.
Step 4. Click Save