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COMPUTER TER 3
Working with publication objects

Inserting an object
When you place an item such as text a picture or another item on a publication page you are
actually inserting an object that is surrounded by a frame Being able to insert, delete, or move
these object frames and manage their border and color attributes means that you can give
your publication pages a customized look as you control the overall layout of individual
pages.

Object

A text box picture or other item inserted onto a publication page.

You can work with a number of different object types in a publication and format and size
their frame borders. The most straightforward way to insert an object (and its frame) into a
publication is to use the Objects toolbar (which appears on the left side of the Publisher
window).
To insert an object, follow these steps:
1. Click an object tool on the Objects toolbar (such as the Text Box tool).
2. Place the mouse pointer on the page where you want to place the new object. The mouse
pointer becomes a crosshair (see Figure 6.1).
3. Click and drag to create the object (you determine the height and width of the frame around the
object).
The new object appears on your page. Your next action depends on the type of object you
created. If you used the Text Box tool to create the object frame, you now type the text you
want to place in the text box. If you used the Picture Frame tool, the
Insert Clip Art dialog box appears, enabling you to insert your choice of pictures.

After you have the object on the page, a number of options are available to you. You can size
the frame around the object, move the object, delete the object, or group the object with other
objects on the page. These object manipulations are covered in the balance of this lesson.

Removing an object from a publication page is very straightforward. Select the object that
you want to delete and then press the Delete key. This removes the object from the
publication.

Text in Overflow Icon If you see an icon below a text box that contains an A followed by
an ellipse, this is the Text in Overflow icon. This means that there is more text associated
with the text box but that it cannot be shown in the box until you increase the size of the text
box.
 Sizing an object frame
You can change the width and height (or both) of an object's frame on a publication page.
Changing the size of the object frame is accomplished using the sizing handles that
appear on the selected object.

Moving An Object
Publisher also enables you to move your objects on your publication pages. Any
selected frame can be moved using the mouse.

Follow these steps to move an object:

1. Click anywhere on an object to select it.

2. Place the mouse pointer on any of the border edges surrounding the object (do
not place the mouse pointer on the sizing handles). A Move pointer appears.

3. Drag the object to a new position on the page.

Snapping Objects to Grid and Ruler Guides Another way you can position objects with
more accuracy is to turn on the Snap to Guides feature (select Arrange, point at Snap, and
then select To Guides), Objects then snap to the nearest grid line guides. For more about
guides, see Lesson 5, "Working with Existing Publications."

You might find that you want to fine-tune the position of an object in reference to other
objects on a page. This can be done using the Nudge feature.
1. Click anywhere on an object to select it.
2. Select the Arrange menu, and then point at Nudge.
3. The Nudge menu appears. Select Up, Down, Left, or Right to "nudge" the object in that
direction.

Copying An Object

You can also copy objects and place multiple occurrences of the same object on a page or
copy an object to another page in your publication. This enables you to easily place repeating
design elements on a page or within an entire publication.

To copy an object, follow these steps:

1. Click an object to select it.
2. Select the Edit menu, and then select Copy (or press Ctrl+C).
3. Select the page from the status bar on which you want to place the copy of the object or remain
on the current page.
4. Select the Edit menu, and then select Paste (or press Ctrl+V).

If you want to move the object from the current page to another page in the publication,
select the Edit menu and select Cut, and then proceed with steps 3 and 4.
Quickly Copy and Paste Using the Toolbar You can also copy, cut, and paste using the toolbar.
Click the Copy or the Cut button, and then select the Paste button after moving to the
appropriate page

Grouping Objects

After you have objects placed on a page, you might want to adjust the overall positioning of
all the objects in relation to the top or bottom of the page or some other special element on
the page (such as a large banner heading). Moving each of the frames individually can be
time-consuming and frustrating, especially if you have the objects currently positioned
exactly where you would like them to be in relation to each other.

The solution to this problem is to group the objects and then move them together as one unit.
This enables you to fine-tune the layout of the page without moving each object individually.

To group objects, follow these steps:

1. Select the first object that will be in the group by clicking it.

2. Hold down the Ctrl or Shift key and select additional objects. A Group Objects icon
appears at the bottom of the selected group.

You can now move the entire group of objects by placing the mouse on the group frame and
dragging it to a new position. You could also delete all the selected objects at once or copy
the objects and then paste them on another page in your publication. When you have finished
manipulating the grouped objects, click anywhere outside the group to deselect it.

If you want to group the objects on a more permanent basis (to keep them together as a
group), select the objects to be part of the group and select Arrange, then Group Objects. A
group frame will appear around the objects. Even when you click outside of these grouped
objects to deselect them, the group remains intact. Click any object in the group and all the
objects are selected. Selecting the Ungroup Objects command on the Arrange menu
ungroups the objects in a selected group
Select the object by clicking on it. The frame around the object will a and sizing handles
appear on the border of the frame. To change the frame size, select one of the options
discussed in the following list:

Change the Width To change the width of the object frame, place the mouse pointer on
one of the sizing handles on either the left or right vertical border of the frame. The
mouse pointer changes to a Resize pointer. Drag to change the width of the object.

Change the Height To change the height of the object frame, place the mouse pointer on
one of the sizing handles on either the top or bottom horizontal border of the frame. Drag
to change the height of the object using the Resize pointer.

Change the Width and Height To change the width and height of the object frame
simultaneously and maintain the current width and height ratio, place the mouse pointer
on any of the diagonal sizing handles (handles positioned where the vertical and
horizontal border meet in a corner) and drag to change the overall size of the object.

Zoom Out When Sizing an Object If you have zoomed in on a object to place text or some
other item in it, you might want to zoom out to the Whole Page view when you size your
frame. Select View, point at Zoom, and then select Whole Page to switch to the Whole Page
view. Now you can size the object's frame in relation to other objects on the page.

If you require more exacting measurements for the height and width of a particular frame
than you can attain with the mouse, you can also specify these measurements in the Size and
Position dialog box. Follow these steps to specify an exact set of measurements for an object
frame.

1. Right-click on an object such as a text box.

2. On the shortcut menu, select Format Text Box (if you are working with a picture frame,
select Format Picture).

3. Select the Size tab on the dialog box

4. Use the click arrows in the Size and Rotate area of the tab or type a new width in the
Width box.

5. Use the click arrows or enter a new height in the Height box.

6. If you want to change the scale of the object width and height, use the Height and Width
percentage spinner boxes in the Scale area.

7. When you have completed entering your settings, click OK to close the dialog box.

Arranging Objects in Layers

 You might find occasion to layer several objects on top of each other in a stack. For instance,
you might decide to place a text object on top of a picture to produce an eye-catching heading
for a publication. You can layer a number of objects using the layering commands on the
Arrange menu.

To layer frames, follow these steps:

1. Drag an object onto another object to form a layer. For instance, drag a text box onto a
picture frame.

2. The text in the text box seems to disappear. With the Text box still selected, click the
Arrange menu, point at Order, and then click Bring to Front. The text box is placed on top
of the Picture frame.

With some practice, you can layer several objects into complex arrangements on your
publication pages. Understanding the layering commands on the Order menu (a submenu of
the Arrange menu) will help you work with the objects that you have layered.

Bring to Front This moves the currently selected object to the top of the stack of objects
you have layered.
Send to Back This moves the currently selected object to the bottom of the stack.
Bring Forward This moves the currently selected object up one position in the stack.
For instance, if the object is the second object in the layer of the stacks, this moves the
object to the first position, or the top of the stack.
Send Backward This moves the currently selected object down one position in the stack.
For instance, an object in the second layer of the stack would be moved to the third layer.

Make Your Frame Stack One Group After you have layered several object and have them
positioned and stacked appropriately, make the object a permanent group (select Arrange,
then Group Objects). This prevents you from inadvertently disturbing the stack when you
are working on the other elements on the publication page.

Adding Border and Colors to Object Frames

When you place an object on a publication page, the border around the object is transparent
(you can't see the frame) and does not have a border. You can only see the border when you
actually select the object. You can add borders to your objects and also place shading and
background colors on any object you've created.
To add borders and background color to an object, follow these steps:
1. Right-click on the object you want to place the border around
2. On the shortcut menu, select Format Object (where "object" is the name of the object, such as
Picture or Text Box).
3. On the Format dialog box that appears, select the Colors and Lines tab (see Figure 6.5).
4. Use the Line Color, Style, and Weight drop-down lists to select the color, style, and thickness
of the line for the border respectively.
5. To add a background color to the object (most useful on text boxes), click the Fill Color drop-
down list and select the color for the object's fill color.
6. When you have made your selections, click OK.

You can also set custom borders for an object on the Colors and Lines tab. Use the preset
buttons under the Preview box. This allows you to place a border line under an object or to
the right or left, without placing a border all around the object's frame.