How to create a flyer in Microsoft Publisher 2003

Open the Publisher program by clicking on the icon, or selecting it from your “start” menu.

Microsoft Publisher includes pre-designed flyer publications, set up specifically to provide information about special offers. By starting with a pre-designed publication, you can:

• Base your flyer on a publication with a ready-made professional design.
• Replace placeholder text and graphics with your own text and graphics, instead of creating text boxes and picture frames from scratch.
• Reformat the flyer with just the click of a button to include a tear-off coupon, order form, or response form.

Tip:   If you have a lot of information to get out to the public and it does not fit on one flyer, you just may want to go to the brochure option and try one of those designs.

When you create a flyer, you can decide which elements, such as customer address or coupon that you want the flyer to contain. You can also personalize the flyer by choosing the color and font schemes that best reflect your company identity

N.B. - If you have made a mistake in the publication and want to undo it, click-on this button located below the menu bar at the top of the screen. You will undo your last “click.” Try this, if you desire, by clicking-on the circular, blue undo arrow.

Start your flyer

Start Publisher

1. In the New Publication task pane, under New from a design, click Publications for Print, and then click Flyers.  If you are using Publisher 2002, in the New Publication task pane, click Flyers.

2. Under Flyers, click on “Informational”, “Event”, or “Special Offer” etc. whatever is appropriate and fits your needs.

3. Click the preview image for the flyer design you want.

Specify flyer layout and content in the Flyer Options side bar

If there is a graphic already included in the design and you like it under Graphic, click Include.

1. Under Customer address, click Include, or None. Notice the change in the design as you do this.

2.Under Tear-offs, click the coupon or form you want to add.

3. If you next click on the “Publication Designs” option the “Publication Designs” will open .

4. Click Color Schemes, and then choose the color scheme you want.

5. Click Font Schemes, and then choose the font scheme you want.

How to replace the placeholder text

1. Click the placeholder text, and then type.

1. If you have already created a personal information set, your business contact information and logo will automatically replace some of the placeholder text.

2. In most cases, text will resize automatically to fit within the text box.

Repeat as needed for your publication.

1. Control text size in text boxes Click the text box.

2. On the Format menu, point to AutoFit Text, and then click Do Not AutoFit (if you are using Publisher 2002, click None).

Select the text, and then choose a new font size from the Font Size list on the toolbar.

How to replace placeholder pictures:

1. Right-click the placeholder picture, click Change Picture, and then choose the source of the new picture.

Tip:  If you don't see Change Picture when you right-click, click the placeholder picture once until you see the white circles surrounding the picture's frame. Click the picture again until you see gray circles with x's in them surrounding the picture itself, and then right-click the picture.

Or…

To change the image in your flyer you first take the mouse and point somewhere in the image, and Left click. When you Left click you are telling the computer that this is the image you want. Click-on "Insert" in the Menu Bar, and then select Picture, and then Clip Art.

The Insert Clip Art Bar will appear on the left side of your screen.

Type in the type of image you want in the “search for” line. If you like one of the images, all you have to do is move your mouse cursor over the image.

If you right click-on the image that you like you should have a number of choices. For now, we’ll select Insert.

The new image should appear over the old one. To remove the old picture is to click the left mouse button on the old picture (don’t click-on your image), and tap the Delete Key on the keyboard.

Repeat as needed.

How to save and complete the flyer

When the flyer looks the way you want, save the file. You can either click-on File in the Menu Bar and then on “Save”, “Save As”, or you can click-on the little save diskette in the button bar. Either method will bring you to the “Save As” screen below:

Make sure you check the file name. This is the name that it will be saved under. Keep what is on the line, or change it to something more memorable.

(For more information about working with Microsoft Publisher, see Publisher Help at the top of the Bar Menu.)

Microsoft Publisher 2003 was the only one available at the time that I put this together. The steps are pretty much the same in earlier versions. The options Bars may look a little different, but the ideas are the same. The more you experiment the more you learn.

Just remember do not exit the program without saving it…and remember the note at the beginning of this document:

N.B. - If you have made a mistake in the publication and want to undo it, click-on this button located below the menu bar at the top of the screen. You will undo your last “click.” Try this, if you desire, by clicking-on the circular, blue undo arrow.

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