Basic tasks in Publisher 2010

Here are some basic tasks that you can do to help you learn how to use Microsoft Publisher 2010.

What is Publisher?

Microsoft Publisher 2010 helps you create professional-looking publications quickly and easily. With Publisher, you can create, design, and publish professional marketing and communication materials for print, and for mail or e-mail merges.

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Find and apply a template

Publisher 2010 allows you to apply built-in templates, to apply your own custom templates, and to search from a variety of templates available on Office.com. Office.com provides a wide selection of popular Publisher templates, including newsletters and flyers.

To find and apply a template in Publisher 2010, do the following:

1. On the File tab, click New.

2. Under Available Templates, do one of the following:

   • To use a template that you already have installed, click My Templates, click the template that you want, and then click Create.

   • To use one of the pre-built templates installed in Publisher, under Most Popular or More Templates, click the category that you want, click the template that you want, and then click Create.

   • To find and apply a template on Office.com, under Most Popular or More Templates, click the category that you want, click the template that you want, and then click Download.

Note:  You can also search for templates on Office.com from within Publisher. In the Search for templates box, type one or more search terms, and then click the arrow button to search.

For more information about how to apply a template, see Get Started - Create a publication.

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Create a new publication

1. Click the File tab, and then click New.

2. Under Available Templates, click a blank publication template, and then click Create.

   Note:  If you do not see a blank template that is the size you want, click More Blank Page Sizes.

For more information about how to create a publication, see Get Started - Create a publication.

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Open a publication

1. Click the File tab, and then click Open.

2. In the left pane of the Open Publication dialog box, click the drive or folder that contains the file that you want.

3. In the right pane of the Open Publication dialog box, open the folder that contains the publication that you want.

4. Click the file that you want and then click Open.

For more information about how to create a publication, see.

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Save a publication

By default, Publisher saves a file in a default working folder. If you want, you can specify a different location.

• Click the File tab, and then click Save.

  Notes:  If you are saving a file for the first time, do the following:

  1. In the Save As dialog box, in the File name box type a name for your publication.

  2. Click Save.

For more information about how to save a publication, see Save a file.

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Insert a text box

1. On the Insert tab, click Draw Text Box .

2. In your publication, point to where you want one corner of the text box to appear, and then drag diagonally until you have the text box size you want.

3. Click inside the text box and type your text.

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Insert and crop images

Insert a picture

1. On the Insert tab, in the Illustrations group, click Picture.

2. In the left pane of the Insert Picture dialog box, click the folder that contains the picture that you want.

3. In the right pane of the Insert Picture dialog box, open the folder that contains the picture that you want.

4. Click the picture and then click Insert.

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Crop a picture

1. Select the picture that you want to crop.

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

   Note:  If you do not see the Picture Tools or Format tabs, make sure that you have selected the picture. You might have to double-click the picture to get the Format tab to appear.

3. Position the cropping handle over an edge or corner.

4. Do one of the following:

   • To crop one side, drag the center handle on that side.

   • To crop evenly on two sides at once, hold down CTRL as you drag a center handle.

   • To crop all four sides simultaneously and maintain the proportions of your picture, hold down CTRL+SHIFT while you drag a corner handle.

For more information about how to crop a picture, see Cropping pictures.

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Insert a Building Block

Building blocks are reusable pieces of content such as business information, headings, calendars, borders, and advertisements that are stored in galleries. Publisher 2010 has a variety of built-in building blocks for you to choose from or you can download a building block from Office.com.

To insert a built-in building block, do the following:

1. In the Page Navigation pane, select the page in your publication where you want to insert the building block.

2. On the Insert tab, in the Building Blocks group, click the appropriate building block gallery.

3. Scroll to find a building block, or click the More <gallery name> to open the Building Block Library dialog box.

4. Click the building block that you want to insert.

For more information about how to use building blocks, see Building Blocks.

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Print your publication

1. Click the File tab, and then click Print.

2. In the Print section, enter the number of copies to print in Copies of print job box.

3. In the Printer section, make sure that the correct printer is selected.

   Note:  The properties for your default printer automatically appear.

4. In the Settings section, do the following:

   • Make sure that the correct range of pages or sections is selected.

   • Select the format for imposing your pages on the sheet.

   • Set the paper size.

   • Set whether to print on one side of the sheet or paper or both.

   • If your printer is capable of color printing, choose if you want to print color or grayscale.

5. Click the Print button when you are ready to print.

For more information about how to print a publication, see Print.

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