Computer E-Learning

Welcome to the Microsoft Publisher 2013 Essentials workshop. Publisher is a desktop publishing tool and a flexible and powerful authoring software. It goes well beyond what you can produce with word processing software like Word. This course will help you learn to produce high-quality publications for both personal and business use.

This module gets you your first taste of Publisher. We’ll learn how to open the application, as well as how to open recent and other files. Then you’ll learn how to create a new publication, either from a template or from a blank page.

In this module, we’ll introduce you to the Publisher 2013 interface, which uses the Ribbon from the previous version of Publisher. You’ll get a closer look at the Ribbon, as well as the Page Navigation pane and the Status bar. You’ll also learn how to manage your Microsoft account right from a new item above the Ribbon. This module helps you learn how to set up your business information to use in your publications. You’ll also learn how to save and close files.

In this module, you’ll start creating a publication. You’ll learn how to insert pictures, text, and hyperlinks. You’ll also learn about Page parts, a shortcut to creating the most common types of content in a publication. We’ll also add that business information you set up in Module Three. Finally, you’ll learn how to add pages to your publication.

In this module, you’ll learn how to use pictures in your publication. You’ll learn how to add more than one picture at a time and use the scratch area as a holding spot while you work on your page design. You’ll also learn how to add a picture placeholder, in case you don’t have or can’t find the picture you want and you don’t want it to hold up your page design work. This module explains how to swap pictures. You’ll also learn about the Picture Tools tab and how to add a picture caption. Finally, you’ll learn how to resize, move, and delete a picture.

This module explains how to select, edit and delete text. You’ll learn about the cut, copy and paste commands, as well as the Office Clipboard to help you reuse items. This module also explains how to use undo and redo. The last lesson looks at how to find and replace text in your publication.

In this module, you’ll start enhancing your publication by changing the fonts. First, we’ll look at the font face and size. You’ll learn about changing font color, as well as using the Color dialog box, which is used in many different contexts throughout Publisher. You’ll learn about the font enhancements, like bold and italics. Then we’ll look at the Font Dialog, where you can change many aspects of your text at once, including special typography changes. Finally, you’ll learn how to clear all formatting from text, if you want to start fresh with different options.

This module focuses on your paragraph formatting. You’ll learn how to change line and paragraph spacing and set the alignment. You’ll also learn how to indent text. You’ll learn about bullets and numbering, including the dialog box where you can create new bullet or numbering styles. Then we’ll look at the Paragraph dialog box, where you can change many aspects of your paragraph formatting at once. Finally, we’ll learn how to use styles to simplify formatting your publications.

In this module, you’ll learn how to enhance your publication with different types of objects. First, we’ll look at how to draw different types of shapes – both standard and freeform. Then you’ll learn about the tools on the Drawing Tools tab. You’ll learn how to use the Shape Fill and Outline tools and how to align and distribute objects. This module shows you how to insert a table, as well as how to link text boxes.

The real power of Publisher lies in the ability to do so many different things with your pages. In this module, you’ll learn how to use color and font schemes. You’ll also learn how to choose a background for your pages. We’ll look at the page setup options, including margins, orientation, and page size. You’ll also learn how to add headers and footers to your pages. We’ll close the module with a lesson on how to move, rename, and delete pages from your publication.

This module looks at preparing your publication for print. First, you’ll learn about the spell checking tools. You’ll learn how to preview and print a test copy of the publication. You’ll also learn about options for sharing your publication via email either as HTML text in a message body or as an attachment. Then, you’ll prepare the publication for professional printing either at a photo center or at a commercial printer.

Although this workshop is coming to a close, we hope that your journey to improve your Publisher skills is just beginning. Please take a moment to review and update your action plan. This will be a key tool to guide your progress in the days, weeks, months, and years to come. We wish you the best of luck on the rest of your travels!