Desktop Publishing Lesson 1 — Working with Documents

Lesson 1 – Working with Documents2 Objectives  Plan a publication.  Create a new file.  Save, close, and reopen a document.  Change the document view.  Add and edit text.

Lesson 1 – Working with Documents3 Objectives (continued)  Save changes to a file.  Insert a picture.  Check spelling.  Preview and print a document.

Lesson 1 – Working with Documents4 Creating a Desktop Publishing Document  To create an attractive and successful publication, follow these steps: Plan the document. Select a design. Insert the text. Insert the graphics. Prepare the document for publication. Print the document.

Lesson 1 – Working with Documents5 Plan Your Document Well  The planning phase of creating a document is very important.  In this phase, you make decisions about document layout, margins, page orientation, graphic and text positioning, and colors to be used.  You also need to consider who your target audience is during this phase.  Create a mock-up in the planning phase to get an idea of how your final document will look.

Lesson 1 – Working with Documents6 Create a Prototype A prototype is the same thing as a mock-up. It is an example of how the final document should appear. You can create it using software or by simply using a pencil and a piece of paper, but it is important to create one somehow. This figure shows a mock-up of a postcard mailer document.

Lesson 1 – Working with Documents7 Create a New File  Most desktop publishing programs have at least two ways to create a new document: Click the File menu and then click New. Click the New button on the standard toolbar.  A dialog box may appear showing default values for page size, orientation, margins, and so on.  The dialog box may allow you to choose from pre- defined templates for various types of documents.

Lesson 1 – Working with Documents8 Templates Make Life Easier  Templates are pre-defined formats for specific document types.  The figure at the right shows publication types available as templates for one desktop publishing program.  Templates have page sizes and layouts already defined and may have default font and color information as well.

Lesson 1 – Working with Documents9 Samples of Postcard Templates This figure shows a Design Gallery that previews thumbnails of many types of post- card templates defined for this desktop publishing program.

Lesson 1 – Working with Documents10 Save, Close, and Open Documents  Once you have created a document and entered text or graphics, be sure to save the file to disk. Create a folder or save it in a folder with similar documents to make it easy to find. Save often while working in case your computer or network crashes.  When finished working on the document, always be sure to close it.  After a file has been saved and closed, it can be reopened at any time using menu commands or toolbar buttons.

Lesson 1 – Working with Documents11 The Save As Dialog Box This figure shows the Save As dialog box. You can save a file in the default folder shown here or locate some other folder and drive to save it in. Assign a meaningful and descriptive name to make the document easy to find when you want to work on it again. Folder to save in File name to use File type

Lesson 1 – Working with Documents12 Change the Document View  Desktop publishing programs usually allow you to look at your document in several different views. You can see it as it will appear when printed with guides and grids hidden. You can view it with guides and grids visible. You can view it in multi-page format, such as 2-up or 4-up.  Views are usually changed from View menu commands or from toolbar buttons.  You can zoom in or zoom out to better see certain areas of the document or to see an overall view of all elements in the document.

Lesson 1 – Working with Documents13 Typical Document Window This figure shows a typical document window. Note the rulers that are used to position objects, the gridlines used for the same purpose, a scratch area to store objects you are not ready to place, and page navigation buttons to move between pages. Rulers Scratch area Gridlines Page buttons

Lesson 1 – Working with Documents14 Add Text to Your Document  Desktop publishing programs typically use text boxes or frames to contain text.  You usually create these by dragging an area in the document window to contain the text.  Text is then entered into the box using a Text tool.  Text boxes have borders that display when selected. Many have sizing handles that appear around the border to resize the box if needed. Some have a rotation handle that can be used to rotate the box.

Lesson 1 – Working with Documents15 Example of a Text Box This figure shows a typical text box. Note the non-printing border around the box that appears when you select the text box. The sizing handles are the small circles around the border. The insertion point is the vertical bar that shows where the next character will be typed. This box also has a rotation handle. Rotation handle Text box border Insertion point Sizing handles

Lesson 1 – Working with Documents16 Use Undo and Redo Commands  Most desktop publishing programs have an Undo command that can be used to reverse one or more recent actions. Programs that have a drop-down list arrow next to the Undo button allow you to undo multiple actions.  The Redo command can be used to reverse the result of a recent Undo operation.  These commands can usually be found on a toolbar button or on the Edit menu.

Lesson 1 – Working with Documents17 Insert Pictures in Your Document  Desktop publishing programs make it easy to insert graphic images and clip art into your publication.  Some also have tools that allow you to draw shapes (rectangles, circles, polygons) in your document that can be used to frame text or a graphic.  Commands to do this vary by program, but one or more menus will have commands to Insert, Place, or Import an image or shape.

Lesson 1 – Working with Documents18 A Document with an Inserted Graphic Image This figure shows a desktop publishing document that has had a graphic image inserted. Note the similarity in this case to a text box. There is an invisible border around the graphic, with sizing handles on the corners and sides. These can be used to scale the object. Graphic image Sizing handles

Lesson 1 – Working with Documents19 Check Your Spelling  Desktop publishing programs nearly all have some sort of spell checking program to find errors in your document.  Always run the spell checker when your document is finished. Some desktop publishing programs require you to enter a “story-editing” mode to run spell check.  Not all words flagged by a spell checker will be incorrect. It might just be a word that is not in the spell checker’s dictionary, for example.  While spell checkers can find some errors, they are not 100% foolproof. You MUST proofread your document to find misuse of words (threw instead of through, for example).

Lesson 1 – Working with Documents20 Spell Checker Dialog Box This figure shows a typical spell checker dialog box. There are buttons you can click to accept a proposed replacement word, ignore a flagged error, or add a new word to the dictionary. Usually when a word is flagged, multiple choices will be presented for you to choose from, with the most likely choice already selected in the “Change to” box.

Lesson 1 – Working with Documents21 Preview and Print Your Document  When you have added all text and objects to your document (or at any time previously), most desktop publishing programs have some sort of Preview mode that will show how your document will look when printed. Gridlines and guidelines are hidden, as well as any non- printing characters.  Use this mode to be sure that your document is well laid out and that all information is clearly visible.  When you are satisfied that it looks correct, print a copy and examine it very closely, looking for any small errors that you may not have noticed in preview mode.

Lesson 1 – Working with Documents22 Summary  It is a good idea to plan a publication before you create it using your desktop publishing program.  Desktop publishing programs are used to produce printed documents.  You can create a blank publication file or use built-in templates and designs to create a docu- ment that already includes formatting, text, and graphics.  When you save a file, you give it a name and select a storage location.

Lesson 1 – Working with Documents23 Summary (continued)  You can change the way a file is displayed on-screen and toggle screen elements off and on.  In a desktop publishing file, text is inserted in a text box or frame.  You can insert different types of pictures into a desktop publishing file.  Desktop publishing programs come with spell checkers that can help you locate and correct spelling errors.  You can preview and print a publication at any time.