Bright Ideas Blog » Microsoft Word

These Clips Are Made for Croppin’

Charlie Woller — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 15:44:33 +0000

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:

Click on View on the menu bar.
Pull down to Toolbars.
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:

Double click the picture.
In the Format Picture dialog box, click the Layout tab.
Click the icon for Square wrapping style.
Select one of the four options for horizontal alignment.
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:

Click on View on the menu bar.
Pull down to Toolbars.
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.

Just in case…

Charlie Woller — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 19:09:47 +0000

Ever need to convert a large block of text from upper case to lower case or vice versa? It’s a piece of cake. Just follow the directions below.

Microsoft Word 2003 and earlier

Select the text that you want to change.
Click on Format on the menu bar.
Pull down and click on Change Case…
Select one of the five options.
Click the OK button.

Microsoft Office Word 2007

Select the text that you want to change.
Click on the Home tab.
In the Font group click Change Case.
Select one of the five options.

Microsoft Publisher

Click on Edit on the menu bar.
Pull down and click on Edit Story in Microsoft Word.
Select the text that you want to change.
Click on Format on the menu bar.
Pull down and click on Change Case…
Select one of the five options.
Click the OK button.
Click on File on the menu bar.
Pull down and click on Close & Return to [your publication name].

The elusive pilcrow

Charlie Woller — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:27:33 +0000

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:

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

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

Click “Tools” on the menu bar.
Pull down and click on “Options.”
Click the “View” tab.
Check the box next to “Paragraph marks.”
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.

Tyrannosaurus Thesaurus

Mia Haber — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 23:39:00 +0000

What’s another word for… ?

If you are like many bulletin and newsletter editors, you sometimes have to write your own articles. Sometimes, inspiration is lacking. Have your ever used the same word too many times in a paragraph?

In the old days, you could go to the thesaurus and look up a word. The thesaurus would give you a nice list of words that mean about the same thing. And if you didn’t know what those other words meant, you could look them up in a dictionary. Now that you have a computer on your desk, you probably don’t keep a dictionary or thesaurus handy.

Here is how to make Microsoft Office, serve as your reference:

Type a word into either Microsoft Word or Publisher. Hold down the Alt key while you click one time on the word in question. The “Research” Task Pane will open on the left edge of your screen.

In this Task Pane, you will see:

dictionary, including pronunciation, and where to divide the word for hyphenation

thesaurus, listing of words with similar meanings

translation, a quick translation of a word into Spanish, Polish, Greek, or several other languages (for instance, I just found out that the Spanish word for “dictionary” is “diccionario”. )

Of course, if you have any problems, you could look that up, too.

“Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”

Charlie Woller — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:46:31 +0000

So Santa called to his nine reindeer.

In the world of typography there are three dashes commonly in use:

1. The Hyphen (-)

Use a hyphen to form a single idea from two or more words or to avoid ambiguity.

Examples:

The speaker will address the concerns of small-business owners.

He recovered his wits. He re-covered the chair.

To insert a hyphen, tap the hyphen key on the keyboard.

2. The en dash (–)

Use an en dash to connect inclusive items.

Examples:

January–December

Monday–Friday

To insert an en dash, hold down the ALT key AND on the numeric keypad (to the right of the main keyboard) type the numbers 0150. (Note: the NUM LOCK light must be on. If the NUM LOCK light is off, tap the NUM LOCK key once.)

3. The em dash (—)

Use an em dash to indicate an abrupt change in thought. An em dash functions in much the same way as a colon or a set of parentheses.

Examples:

You are the friend—the only friend—who stood by my side.

I wish you would—oh, never mind!

To insert an em dash, hold down the ALT key AND on the numeric keypad (to the right of the main keyboard) type the numbers 0151. (Note: the NUM LOCK light must be on. If the NUM LOCK light is off, tap the NUM LOCK key once.)

Please consult the manual for your specific program for detailed instructions on inserting special characters.

By the way, how many spaces should you use before and after a hyphen, en dash or em dash? The general rule of thumb is none, although some style manuals specify a hair space before and after an en dash or an em dash.

You’re special!

Charlie Woller — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:11:01 +0000

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:

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

Watermarks

Tracie Peters — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:43:22 +0000

There are a lot of excellent methods to gaining attention to important articles. Some of them have been hinted at in prior blogs, including graphics, special characters, and adding color. There is one method that seems to vex many editors (and with good reason!) and this is adding watermarks.

Watermarks are the graphics that show lightly behind your articles. For example, if I were writing about a married couples retreat, I could put a graphic of a pair of rings behind the article. Watermarks can be used in any article you print, however I do have some cautions against their use.

Make sure the graphic you use is not too complicated. Graphics with text or writing it them won’t turn out well.
Color the graphic very light, so it is still easy to read the text on top of it.
The graphic should have relevance to the article.
Less is more – use one or two per page.

The method I use for adding a watermark is to add the graphic you are using after the article is written.

Insert the graphic. The graphic will move the text over or cover it entirely – that’s OK! It will be fixed in a moment.
Recolor the graphic so it is much lighter. 20% or less is usually a good benchmark; however you will still want to “eye it up”. Printing it out when you’re done is also a very good test.
Change the order so the graphic is sent to back (Send to Back). If you are using Publisher, InDesign or Quark and do not see the graphic behind your text box, make sure the text box does not have a fill (including a white fill, which is still opaque).

To read this article with a watermark, click here.

Special Characters

Charlie Woller — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 15:11:17 +0000

Q: What are special characters?

A: Special characters are characters which cannot be typed with a single keystroke. Generally, a modifier or “helper” key such as the ALT key must be used when typing special characters. An example of a special character is the letter “ñ” in the Spanish word “señor.” The wavy accent mark over the “ñ” is called a tilde.

Q: Do I need special software to insert special characters in my publication?

A: No, special software is not required. There is an easy way to insert special characters.

Q: How do I insert special characters in my publication?

A: Verify that the NUM LOCK light on the keyboard is on. If the NUM LOCK light is off, tap the NUM LOCK key once.

Look up the special character in the chart below. Hold down the ALT key AND on the numeric keypad (to the right of the main keyboard) type the four-digit code next to the character you want. Don’t release the ALT key until you have typed the complete four-digit code. For example, to type an “ñ” hold down the ALT key and type 0241 on the numeric keypad.

Note: when you insert a cross, the font which you are using will determine the exact appearance of the cross. Some fonts may make the cross appear more like a dagger. Highlight the cross and change the font if you’re not satisfied with its appearance.

Click here to download a copy of the chart which you can print. (Note: Adobe® Acrobat® Reader® is required. Please visit www.adobe.com to download the latest version of Adobe® Acrobat® Reader® if necessary).

Other special characters can be inserted by using the Windows Character Map accessory or by clicking on the Insert menu in Microsoft Publisher or Word and selecting Symbol… Please consult the manual for your specific program for detailed instructions.

For more information about inserting special characters not included in the chart above, do a Google search using the keywords “special characters.”

Graphics: for best results….

dhoover — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:50:35 +0000

What do frozen pizza and LPi’s Art and Media Portal have in common?

Not a thing–unless you count the phrase “For best results…”.

Do your graphics look blurry? Is the text hard to read? Are there “jagged” edges that looked smooth when you saw it on screen? Chances are, the graphic was copied and pasted from the web.

Web graphics are “dumbed down”–their quality is reduced–for display. This allows a webpage to load quickly, showing the page to you faster. However, this means that the “display” images on the web don’t have the quality needed to print clearly when transferred to paper!

“For best results” is one of those phrases seldom thought about–except when it isn’t followed. Just like an overcooked pizza, low-resolution graphics can still be used–they’re just not as tasteful (tasty?). The result of a less than proper graphic will be blurry, the edges jagged, any text almost illegible.

So…why go with less than optimal results if you can avoid it? With this thought in mind, here is a simple “For best Results”.

Following these directions will help avoid blurriness, difficult-to-read-text, and other pitfalls found when using graphic art.

When you have logged onto the AMp and selected the graphic you would like, please do the following.

1) Left-click the download button located below the graphic (or to the right of the graphic in the “expanded view”.

2) Choose to “save” the graphic to your Desktop, your My Pictures file, or some other location you find easy to access.

3) Open your publication (in Word, Publisher, Quark, Indesign, etc.) and go to the page where you would like the graphic. (From here on in, the steps are different, depending on the program you use.)

4) Place the graphic according to your particular program. for instance:

–In the various versions of MS Publisher, and MS word (pre-2007): choose the Insert command from the menu (Insert–>picture–>from file) to browse to the graphic, and double-click on the graphic to select it and place it on the page.

–In MS Word 2007: Click the Insert command, and select the Picture Icon from the Ribbon Menu. Browse to the graphic and double click to place it on the page.

(If you use Quark, Indesign, or other program to create your document, please speak to your tech support representative for additional assistance.)

This method will make certain you have a high-resolution graphic, with the proper color information. (CMYK vs. RGB–a topic for another post.)

******************************************************************

It should be noted that there is an exception to this rule, as with most rules. If you need a TEXT file from the AMp (scripture readings, verses, etc.) you can copy and paste the text information, because the text does not need to be “dumbed down” to display on the webpage. (Again, please feel free to contact your tech support representative for more details, as formatting issues may occur.)

Please be advised that some files are stored on the AMp as both a Graphic (text as art) and a TXT (text as…well….text) file. Your tech support rep can help you identify which is which as needed.

Place an ad in your own publication

Mia Haber — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:06:33 +0000

LPi’s new Seek and Find (SeekandFind.com) makes it possible to feature any of your advertisers, right in the pages of your bulletin or newsletter.

You can now choose one of the actual ads from the ad grid page of your publication for a spotlight article. You can actually place an ad in your bulletin!

Use Seek and Find to locate your most current publication. The publication will open as a PDF file, right in your Browser window. Navigate to the ad page. Find the advertisement that you want to feature. Zoom in on the ad until it fills as much of your computer’s screen as possible. You should still be able to see the whole ad.

Press the “Print Screen” key on your keyboard. (You may have to hold the Shift key as you press Print Screen depending on the layout of your particular keyboard. In the keyboard example to the right, you would have to hold the Shift key and press Print Screen at the same time.) This will take a picture of whatever is showing on your monitor and place it on the Clipboard.

Open the document in which you want to place the advertisement (in MS Publisher or Word 2002 or better). Navigate to the page in the document where you want the article to appear. From the Edit menu, choose Paste. You will see the copy of your screen appear on the page. It is a now a graphic for you to edit.

Use the Crop button on the Picture Toolbar to remove the portion of the screen that is not a part of the ad.

Use caution: The advertisement will not be high resolution. That means you should limit the size of the ad to about the same size that the ad would be on your printed ad page.

Advertiser support makes it possible for LPi to provide a variety of products and services to your community. It just makes sense to say “thank you” to the sponsors of your publication.