Chapter at a Glance
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Cards and calendars can be among the easiest publications to produce. Microsoft Office Publisher 2007 provides dozens of attractive templates from which you can create and personalize these items, perhaps to send to friends or clients. However, if you intend to distribute a lot of them, you might need to do some advance planning. Several of the decisions you need to make before creating cards and calendars for large-scale distribution revolve around the cost, in time and money, of printing the final product.
In this chapter, we discuss issues such as layout, color, paper, printing, and mailing, while showing you how to produce a folded card, a postcard, and three types of calendars. You also learn how to save time when creating a multi-page publication by applying formatting to the underlying master page.
See Also
Do you need only a quick refresher on the topics in this chapter? See the Quick Reference entries in Creating Colorful Cards and Calendars.
Important
Before you can use the practice files in this chapter, you need to install them from the book’s companion CD to their default location. See Using the Book’s CD for more information.
Troubleshooting
Graphics and operating system–related instructions in this book reflect the Windows Vista user interface. If your computer is running Windows XP and you experience trouble following the instructions as written, please refer to the Information for Readers Running Windows XP section at the beginning of this book.
The cards that you buy in a store are usually folded publications with text and graphic elements on all sides. You can print cards that you create in Publisher on both sides of the paper, or you can simulate this effect by printing the content on one side of the paper and then folding it in four. Microsoft Office Publisher 2007 comes with many templates for two types of folded cards: Greeting Cards and Invitation Cards. In addition, five tent-fold templates are available in the Postcards category.
When you choose certain publication types, including Greeting Cards or Invitation Cards, in the Getting Started window, the thumbnails for two kinds of templates appear in the center pane:
Design templates. Templates such as the Thank You type of greeting card or the Party type of invitation card are based on one of the classic Publisher designs, such as Accent Box, Capsules, or Quadrant. When you click one of these templates, the Page Size and Layout settings under Options in the right pane are unavailable, so you cannot change the design.
Layout templates. Templates such as the Birth Announcement type of greeting card or the Birthday Party type of invitation card are based on a layout, such as Frames, Portal, or Radius. When you click one of these templates, the Page Size and Layout settings under Options in the right pane are available, so you can change them.
The Page Size option determines whether your publication will occupy a quarter page or a half page, with the crease on the top or on the side. The Layout option determines which page layout will be applied to the card. You can change the page size and customize the layout after you have created the card, but with so many options to choose from, you can save time by choosing the template that is closest to the effect you want.
If you click a layout template and then change the Page Size option, most of the layout thumbnails in the center pane change to reflect the size you selected. If you change the Layout option, most of the thumbnails change to reflect the layout you selected. In this way, you can get a good idea of the range of possibilities. (A few layout templates are fixed and don’t change when you select a different option.)
Tip
Each time you open a new instance of the Getting Started window, it displays the template thumbnails with the default settings. You can experiment with changes to the color scheme, font scheme, page size, and layout until you find the combination you want.
Every publication, even a blank one, has a color scheme, a font scheme, and a set of information associated with it. You can change these options after you create a publication, but you can save time by specifying all three at the time of creation.
A color scheme consists of eight complementary colors designed to be used for the following elements of a publication:
The Main color is for the text.
The Accent 1 through Accent 5 colors are for objects other than text.
The Hyperlink color is for indicating hyperlinks that have not been clicked.
The Followed Hyperlink color is for indicating visited hyperlinks.
Understanding color schemes can help you create professional-looking publications that use an appropriate balance of color. You are not limited to using the colors in a publication’s color scheme, nor are you limited to using the color schemes that come with Publisher, but because they have been selected by professional designers based on good design principles, using them ensures that your publications will be more pleasing to the eye.
The Color Scheme list in the Customize pane that appears when you select a publication type displays four of the eight colors in each scheme—Accent 1 through Accent 4—to give you an idea of the feeling evoked by that combination of colors. (By default, the Main text color is always black.) When you find the color scheme you want, clicking it changes the color scheme not only of the selected thumbnail but of all the thumbnails in the center pane.
After you create a publication, you can switch to a different color scheme by clicking Color Schemes in the Format Publication task pane. (If the task pane is closed, you can click Color Schemes on the Format menu to open it with the color scheme list displayed.)
Tip
If none of the color schemes is exactly what you are looking for, you can create your own by selecting a starting color scheme (preferably one that is close to what you want), clicking Create New Color Scheme at the bottom of the Color Schemes pane, and then choosing colors in the Create New Color Scheme dialog box. After you save the scheme with a name of your choosing, it appears at the top of the Color Schemes list both in the Format Publication task pane and in the Getting Started window, and you can apply it to any publication in the usual way.
See Also
For information about font schemes, see Choosing a Font Scheme in Chapter 4.
Although working with the eight colors of a harmonious color scheme simplifies the process of designing a publication, you might want to use a larger palette of colors. You can add colors that are not part of the color scheme by selecting the element whose color you want to change and then choosing from the almost infinite spectrum of colors available from the Colors dialog box.
After you use a non-color-scheme color in a publication, it becomes available on all the palettes that appear when you click buttons that apply color—for example, the Font Color button on the Formatting toolbar. The color remains on the palettes associated with the publication—even if you stop using the color or change the color scheme applied to the publication.
Most publications that you create based on Publisher templates will include placeholders for text. The placeholder text might be suggested wording or simply indicate the type of information to insert in that text box. When you create an invitation, Publisher suggests text that is appropriate to the invitation template you choose. You can change the text to your own words, or choose from approximately 150 two-part verses (in 23 occasion-specific categories, including business, personal, and holiday occasions) designed to adorn the cover and interior of a folded card.
In this exercise, you will create a folded card based on a layout template. You will change the color scheme before and after you create the publication, change the verse, apply different colors, and change the stacking order of elements on the page.
Note
USE the FoldedCard publication. This file is located in the DocumentsMicrosoft PressSBS_Publisher2007CardsCalendars folder.
BE SURE TO start Publisher and display the Getting Started window before beginning this exercise.
In the Publication Types list, click Invitation Cards, and then scroll the center pane to get an idea of the range of publications available.
In the category list, click Party, and then in the Party category, click (don’t double-click) the Blends thumbnail.
Notice in the right pane that the Page Size and Layout options are unavailable (gray), indicating that this is a general design template rather than a layout template.
In the category list, click Theme Party, and then in the Theme Party category, click the Picnic thumbnail.
Notice in the right pane that the Page Size and Layout options are available, indicating that this is a layout template.
Under Options in the right pane, click the Page size arrow, and then in the list, click Quarter-page top fold. Then click the Layout arrow, and toward the top of the list, click Juxtaposition.
The preview thumbnail changes as you select each option.
Scroll the center pane, and notice that Publisher has applied your choices to the thumbnails of all templates that do not have a fixed layout.
Under Customize in the right pane, click the Color scheme arrow, and scroll through the list, noting all the different options.
Toward the bottom of the list, click Oriel, and then scroll the center pane.
Publisher has applied the Oriel color scheme to all the templates.
In the Party category, double-click the Blocks thumbnail.
Publisher creates an invitation card divided into four pages (the front of the card, the inside spread, and the back of the card). The publication reflects the Oriel color scheme you selected, but because Blocks is a design template, the publication is a half-page side-fold card instead of the quarter-page top-fold orientation that you selected in step 4. The Format Publication task pane displays options for refining the layout and formatting of the publication.
Tip
Although you cannot change the orientation and size of this design template in the Getting Started window, you can change them after you create the card by clicking Change Page Size in the Format Publication task pane to display the Page Setup dialog box. Be aware however, that the layout of this design is tailored specifically to a vertical half-page card. If you change the orientation or size, you will need to manually adjust the layout to fit your selection.
If you have already saved text in an information set as we did in Chapter 1, your organization name appears on page 1 above the invitation verse, and on page 4.
Troubleshooting
Information inserted from an information set is indicated by a blue dotted underline. The dotted underline is an on-screen indicator, and will not be printed.
The information set does not automatically replace the placeholder text in templates that you download from Microsoft Office Online. To replace or update a placeholder with text or a logo saved in an information set, point to the placeholder, click the smart tag that appears, and then click Update From Business Information Set.
See Also
For information about information sets, see Storing Personal and Company Information in Chapter 1.
On the page sorter, click the Page 2 button to display pages 2 and 3.
In the Format Publication task pane, under Invitation Options, click Select a suggested verse.
The Suggested Verse dialog box opens.
Click the Category arrow and scroll the list of options to see what’s available. Then click General Party, and in the Available messages list, click We’ve worked hard.
Publisher displays the message text that will appear on the front page of the card in the First Message Part window, and the text that will appear inside the card in the Second Message Part window.
Click OK to insert the selected text.
The messages on pages 1 and 3 change to reflect your choice. You can customize the messages and the other text on the card to suit your needs. In this exercise, we will focus on adjusting the color.
Display page 4.
The current color scheme does not coordinate well with the company logo.
In the Format Publication task pane, click Color Schemes, and then click various color schemes, observing the effect on the card to the right.
Notice that the first color in each scheme (Accent 1) is always assigned to the vertical block at the right edge of the card, the second color (Accent 2) is assigned to the middle panel, and the fourth color (Accent 4) is assigned to the left panel.
In the Apply a color scheme list, click Harbor.
Display page 2, and then click Now, let’s party!
On the Formatting toolbar, click the Font Color arrow, and then click More Colors.
The Colors dialog box opens with the Standard color spectrum displayed.
Click OK. Then with the text still selected, on the Standard toolbar, click the Format Painter button once.
Tip
Format Painter is a nifty tool that allows you to copy multiple formatting characteristics from one element to another. To copy formatting to only one element, click the Format Painter button once. To copy formatting to multiple elements, double-click the Format Painter button. The feature will then remain active until you either press the Esc key or click the Format Painter button again.
In the center square, click INVITATION TITLE.
The text changes to the same font, color, and size as the text in the right square.
On the Formatting toolbar, click the Decrease Font Size button three times, and then click a blank area of the publication to see the results.
In the center of the page spread, click the large square containing the invitation details once.
Publisher selects the grouped objects on the page spread.
Click the square a second time.
Publisher selects only the large square, as indicated by the gray handles.
See Also
For information about grouped objects, see Connecting and Grouping Shapes in Chapter 2.
On the Formatting toolbar, click the Line Color arrow.
The dark red color you applied in step 19 from the Colors dialog box appears on the palette below the eight scheme colors.
Click the Dark Red square.
As you can see, the non-color-scheme color is available for use with all color formatting tools.
Click the bottom or right edge of the gray square on page 3 twice to select it (not the heavy black outline). Then on the Formatting toolbar, click the Fill Color arrow, and click the sixth color (Hyperlink) square.
Open the FoldedCard practice file from the DocumentsMicrosoft PressSBS_Publisher2007CardsCalendars folder to see further examples of the types of changes you can make. Use what you have learned about color to enhance the card in various ways. You might also want to use the skills you learned in Chapter 2, to create eye-appeal by adding graphic elements.
