Before

After

Take a look at the pie charts, flow charts and thermometer images on [...]]]> The Summer, 2010, issue of Bright Ideas magazine includes several pieces of clip art that were created for you to crop. Check out the award ribbons on page 17. You can crop this clip to use only one of the colored ribbons.

Before

After

Take a look at the pie charts, flow charts and thermometer images on page 21. You can crop these clips, too, and use only the one you need.

All these clips can be retrieved on LPi’s Art & Media Portal by typing the code beneath the clip, e.g., su1013bi_4c, in the “Quick Search” box and clicking the “Search” button. Don’t forget to download the clip and save it to the “My Pictures” folder on your computer.

Follow the directions below to crop these pictures.

Microsoft Word 2003 and earlier

Select the picture that you want to crop.

When you select the picture, the Picture toolbar appears.

If the Picture toolbar does not appear, do the following:

1. Click on View on the menu bar.
2. Pull down to Toolbars.
3. Slide to the right and click on Picture.

On the Picture toolbar, select the Crop tool.

Point at one of the crop marks surrounding the picture.

If no crop marks appear, do the following:

1. Double click the picture.
2. In the Format Picture dialog box, click the Layout tab.
3. Click the icon for Square wrapping style.
4. Select one of the four options for horizontal alignment.
5. Click the OK button.

To crop the picture, do one of the following:

• To crop one side of the picture, drag the center crop mark on that side.
• To crop evenly on two sides at once, hold down the CTRL key as you drag a center crop mark.
• To crop all four sides simultaneously and maintain the proportions of the picture, hold down the CTRL+SHIFT keys as you drag a corner crop mark.
• To outcrop (or add white space) around a picture, drag a crop mark outward from the center of the picture.

Microsoft Office Word 2007

Select the picture that you want to crop.

Under Picture Tools, on the Format tab, in the Size group, click Crop.

Point at one of the crop marks surrounding the picture.

To crop the picture, do one of the following:

• To crop one side of the picture, drag the center crop mark on that side.
• To crop evenly on two sides at once, hold down the CTRL key as you drag a center crop mark.
• To crop all four sides simultaneously and maintain the proportions of the picture, hold down the CTRL+SHIFT keys as you drag a corner crop mark.
• To outcrop (or add white space) around a picture, drag a crop mark outward from the center of the picture.

Microsoft Publisher 2003

Select the picture that you want to crop.

When you select the picture, the Picture toolbar appears.

If the Picture toolbar does not appear, do the following:

1. Click on View on the menu bar.
2. Pull down to Toolbars.
3. Slide to the right and click on Picture.

On the Picture toolbar, select the Crop tool.

Point at one of the crop marks surrounding the picture.

To crop the picture, do one of the following:

• To crop one side of the picture, drag the center crop mark on that side.
• To crop evenly on two sides at once, hold down the CTRL key as you drag a center crop mark.
• To crop all four sides simultaneously and maintain the proportions of the picture, hold down the CTRL+SHIFT keys as you drag a corner crop mark.
• To outcrop (or add white space) around a picture, drag a crop mark outward from the center of the picture.

Microsoft Publisher 2010

Select the picture that you want to crop.

Under Picture Tools, on the Format tab, in the Crop group, click Crop.

Point at one of the crop marks surrounding the picture.

To crop the picture, do one of the following:

• To crop one side of the picture, drag the center crop mark on that side.
• To crop evenly on two sides at once, hold down the CTRL key as you drag a center crop mark.
• To crop all four sides simultaneously and maintain the proportions of the picture, hold down the CTRL+SHIFT keys as you drag a corner crop mark.
• To outcrop (or add white space) around a picture, drag a crop mark outward from the center of the picture.

Please consult the manual or help feature for your specific program for more information about cropping pictures.

There are times when this feature can be distracting like for instance, when a word or name that you use is not in Publisher’s built in dictionary. There [...]]]> Ever notice how Microsoft Publisher underlines words that you have misspelled? Of course we know this as spelling check and it’s a great feature and a valuable time saver. 

There are times when this feature can be distracting like for instance, when a word or name that you use is not in Publisher’s built in dictionary. There is an easy way to eliminate this from happening in current and future bulletins or other documents you create, just try these steps below: 

1. Click “Tools” on the Menu Bar
2. Look for “Spelling” move the cursor over the word and click on “Spelling” from the secondary window 
3. The “Check Spelling” dialog box will open.
4. Find the button marked “Add” and click it 

That’s all you need to do! 

You may notice that the Spelling Check may find the next word or name it suspects is incorrect. If it is another proper name you wish to add to the dictionary, simply click the “Add” button again and continue until all names are added.

Unfortunately, Publisher can’t automatically recognize the language you are typing. You have to manually [...]]]> If you are the editor of a bilingual publication, it can be annoying to see one of the languages coming up with red underlines that indicate misspelled words. There are many editors who prepare the bulletin in two languages, but speak only one.

Unfortunately, Publisher can’t automatically recognize the language you are typing. You have to manually select the language you are using.

Once you select the correct language, you will have access to the spelling dictionary for that language. That means only the words that are misspelled in Spanish will come up with the red underline. This is a great way to  minimize typos in a language you don’t speak.

Here is how to set the language in Publisher 2007.

1.  Highlight the text that is not English. (I would recommend you put English and Spanish into separate text frames.)

2.  From the Tools menu, choose Language, then choose Set Language.

3.  In the Language dialog box, choose Spanish. You can choose from different dialects of Spanish, such as Spanish (Mexico) or Spanish (Guatemala).

4.  Click OK.

You may now type in Spanish and use the Spanish spell check dictionary.

If you don’t see pilcrows at the ends of the paragraphs [...]]]> Have you seen the elusive pilcrow? It’s not a rare tropical bird or exotic flower. The pilcrow is a typographical character commonly used to indicate the end of a paragraph. It looks like this ¶ (the actual size and shape depend on the typeface you’re using).

If you don’t see pilcrows at the ends of the paragraphs in your document, you may need to turn on the display of special characters (also called formatting marks).

To turn on the display of special characters in Microsoft Publisher, do the following:

1. Click “View” on the menu.
2. Pull down and click on “Special Characters.”

To turn on the display of formatting marks in Microsoft Word, do the following:

1. Click “Tools” on the menu bar.
2. Pull down and click on “Options.”
3. Click the “View” tab.
4. Check the box next to “Paragraph marks.”
5. Click the OK button.

In Word 2007, click the “Show/Hide ¶” button in the Paragraph group on the Home tab.

To hide the pilcrows, just reverse the directions above.

When you turn on the display of special characters or formatting marks, you may also see other strange characters or marks. A chart listing the most common appears below.

Why would you want to view the pilcrow and its cousins? Viewing special characters or formatting marks can help you troubleshoot documents with problems. As Suzanne Barnhill and Dave Rado, two Microsoft MVPs, recommend, it’s a good policy to proofread your document twice: once, with special characters or formatting marks hidden, for content; and the second time with special characters or formatting marks displayed so that you can check for extra spaces, tabs, etc.

For more information about the pilcrow and other formatting marks, click here.

…but when readers encounter spelling errors, they take facts and ideas less seriously.

The last questions [...]]]> I awlyas thgouht slpeling was ipmorantt. Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch sudty at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae.

…but when readers encounter spelling errors, they take facts and ideas less seriously.

The last questions you should ask yourself before sending LPi your publication are…

Did you PROOFREAD your document?

1. Did you check your spelling?

2. Did you check your grammar?

3. Did you check your punctuation?

Sometimes we can omit, add, or transpose letters, leave out an apostrophe, or forget the s in a possessive form. By printing a final hard copy of your publication, you can usually catch these typographical errors when proofreading.

Sometimes we have errors because of words sounding or looking alike, e.g., using “their” when you intend “there” or “they’re;” using “too” for “to;” confusing “principal” with “principle,” or “stationary” with “stationery.”  (NOTE: This kind of error will not be caught by a spell checker!)

To help avoid spelling errors look up a word anytime you are in doubt and these days, most desktop publishing programs have a dictionary, a thesaurus and spell checkers built into the programs. The first thing you should do when you type anything into a computer is spell check it. Just remember, spell checkers are not totally accurate. You may need a dictionary. When all of the words in a sentence are spelled correctly, use a grammar checker. Grammar checkers are not as good as spell checkers but still use them.

You should check for accuracy and correctness because it makes it easier for someone to understand you. When you use correct grammar, you make it easier for people to understand your ideas.

Now that you have thoroughly checked the spelling, grammar and punctuation of each and every sentence of your bulletin, printed and proof-read the entire document, you can now submit your bulletin with complete confidence.

The Paste Special feature comes in handy when you’re trying to move information from one document [...]]]> You’re special, and my co-workers and I want you to know it. And because you’re special, we want you to know about a special feature available in Microsoft applications like Word, Excel, Publisher and PowerPoint. The feature is called “Paste Special.”

The Paste Special feature comes in handy when you’re trying to move information from one document to another. Paste Special allows you to insert the contents of the Windows clipboard into your document in a variety of formats.

Here’s an example of how you can use the Paste Special feature:

1. Highlight and copy a table in a Microsoft Word document or a range of cells in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
2. Open your Microsoft Publisher document.
3. Go Edit > Paste Special…
4. Highlight one of the suggested formats such as “Picture (Windows Metafile).”
5. Click OK.

If you follow the steps in this example, Publisher will insert the contents of the clipboard as an image. Experiment with the various formats. See which one works best for you.

When plain copy/paste just doesn’t do the job, try Paste Special. You may very well find that the solution you are looking for is a single click away!

It might be a drawer, or a hall closet, or a garage.  But somewhere in life, we have a pile of “random stuff” we might need.  And every once in awhile, we actually go back to that location, and get the “whatchamacallit” we need to fix the “whosits” over there.

Your publications are no [...]]]> We all have one.

It might be a drawer, or a hall closet, or a garage.  But somewhere in life, we have a pile of “random stuff” we might need.  And every once in awhile, we actually go back to that location, and get the “whatchamacallit” we need to fix the “whosits” over there.

Your publications are no different.

Sure, you certainly want to keep graphics in a separate file…but what about that paragraph of information you plug in to your document 15 times a year? What about that neat logo you designed using shapes?  And that piece of simple-but-really-nice clip art you spent 4 hours looking for–you don’t want to lose that, do you?  Well…of course not–and most programs allow you to keep such pieces in a scratch area outside the image of the page…

This is something you may not wish to do to your regular publication or publication template, however.  Just like a real life drawer, every digital piece you add to a file makes it heavier (more kb or mb) and thus slower.

It would be far better to keep the clutter in one place.  Just name a blank publication “Junkdrawer”, and copy things to it that you would like to save for the future.  Every time the file (junkdrawer) gets slow and cumbersome (2-10mb depending on your computers speed) just create a new “Junkdrawer” File.  Anytime you need the images/copy/borders/ideas, just open your junkdrawer, and copy in whatever you need.

Your document file stays clean, your copy runs fast, and all the “junk-you-might-need-someday” is tucked away for future use.