This is a page for Microsoft Publisher users.

Keyboard shortcuts
Page layout programs like Publisher are used to format text and pictures into legible and appealing looking documents. Accomplished users save time by using keyboard shortcuts for their most often used actions. Here are some keyboard shortcuts for some of the most often used text formatting options:

Ctrl+B for bold text
Ctrl+U for underline
Ctrl+I for italic
Ctrl+= for superscript
Ctrl+Shift+= for subscript
Ctrl+Shift+K for small caps
Ctrl+Spacebar removes all style formats from the highlighted text
Ctrl+Shift+f accesses the font menu, arrow keys select, and enter changes the selected text to that font
Ctrl+Shift+P accesses the font size menu, arrow keys select size, and enter enables the change
Ctrl+Shift+> increases the font size by a half point
Ctrl+Shift+< decreases the font size by a half point

Work in CMYK colour space, rather than RGB

Page sizes
You can create a new document or change a current document to any page size you require. To do this, go to File/Page Setup and under option 'Choose a Publication Layout' select Special Size. Under the option "Choose a Publication Size' select Custom. You can then type in the actual dimensions of the final printed piece you want, and make sure the orientation is correct. When you have finished just click 'OK' and start work in the custom sized document.

The nudge option
For a high degree of accuracy when positioning objects on a page use the nudge option. To do this, select the object you wish to move and use Alt+Arrow key (up, down, right, left) and your object will move one pixel for each keystroke. Use Arrange-->Nudge to change the increment of movement.

Absolute positioning
The most accurate way of positioning an object is to go to Format-->Size And Position and use numerical values to position and size objects. This is the best way to make sure things will look correct when the job is printed. Trying to position objects by eye on your monitor can be deceiving because of the relatively large size of the pixels it uses to display objects. It's preferable to do the math and type in the numbers when you want your design elements to be positioned exactly.

Printing with bleeds
If you want to print a Publisher file with bleeds. Set up your document at the correct finished size, eg. 210 x 297 for A4. DO NOT make the page size bigger than you want the finished job to appear. If you have graphics or coloured areas which you want to print right to the edge, simply drag them off the edge of the page by 2-3 mm. Make sure they bleed right off the page and not just to the edge.
To print with bleeds, go to the print dialogue box and selected 'Advanced Print Settings'.
Under 'Graphics' select 'Print full resolution graphics'
Under 'Fonts' select 'Use only publication fonts'
Under 'Printers Marks' select 'Crop marks'
Under 'Bleeds' select 'Allow Bleeds' and 'Bleed marks'
If you are saving a postscript file, prior to distilling a PDF file, you need to select all the above settings.
IF you are sending us the Publisher file, you can leave it all to us.
We do not charge extra to print documents with bleeds.

Grouping elements
Sometime when you have placed some items in a certain configuration you may want to group them so all those items can be moved as one item. To select all the items you want to group as one hold down the shift key and click on each one. To group them together go to Arrange-->Group Objects or (Ctrl+Shift+G). The items will then be locked together in their relative positions. This is especially useful when you want to duplicate this configuration to be used somewhere else in your document; copy and paste the group to another page and the entire group of items can then be used on another page.

Automatic wrapping
Don't press Enter (return) at the end of each line, only at the end of a paragraph. Publisher will wrap the text automatically if you just type away. This will save you time if you decide to change your type size later because you won't have to go back and take out the extra Enter commands. If you need to make a line end shorter than a full line, use Shift-Enter, called a soft return.

One space, or two?
Instead of putting two spaces after each sentence, just put one. This is a standard in the industry and is the practice recommended in the Australian Style Guide. 

Putting elements background
Publisher uses foreground and background layers. Most of your work will be in the foreground, this is the default unless you set it to be in the background. If you want to use images or text in the background: choose View-->Go To Background. This will allow you to work in the background of the publication.

Always print a hard copy
It's easy to miss mistakes in your document when you have only ever seen it displayed on the screen. It is an important part of proofing your job to print the document out and look at it. Check for spelling errors, spacing problems, inconsistencies, and design problems. If your project is going to be folded then fold the printout to see if the elements on the page are positioned correctly on the panels and to see if there are any problems with folding it the way you are planning to.

Alignment and spacing
When you have printed out your document, check the alignment of frames, text, pictures and captions on the hardcopy, as things can look slightly different when printed out than on screen. Also check spacing between headings, paragraphs, and pictures. The alignment and spacing should be consistent throughout your publication.

Spelling and punctuation
Don't forget to check your spelling, punctuation and grammar. Run the spell checker; select Tools-->Spelling-->Check Spelling. It's a good idea to have someone else look at it too. Another set of eyes often see something you've been looking at and missing.