Create branded templates for your business from scratch in Publisher

Applies to
Microsoft® Office Publisher 2003

If you regularly create publications such as a newsletters, monthly catalogs, or informational e-mail for your customers, you might find it efficient to create reusable templates for these publications, instead of recreating them every time you want to send out an updated version. When you create a template, you do all the work of planning and creating the layout and design for your publication once. You can then reuse this publication design as many times as you need it. Templates enable you to quickly create new issues or editions of a publication by starting with a standard design that already contains all of the reusable elements that you want.

Templates also make it easy to maintain consistent quality and design throughout your publications. If you have established a distinct brand identity for your business and you want your business publications to convey this identity in a consistent and professional way, consider developing branded templates for the publications you produce the most.

With Publisher, you can create a template from any publication. In this article, we will look at what you need to do to create a template when you want to start from scratch.

Create templates for Publisher

Define your publication

The way to start your template is to open a blank publication.

ShowHow?

  1. Start Publisher.
  2. In the New Publication task pane, under New, click Blank Print Publication or Blank Web Publication depending on which type of publication you want the template for.

After you have a blank page, you will need to set it up so that it's the size and orientation you want. This process will differ depending on whether your template is for a print publication or a Web publication.

ShowSet up the page for a Web publication

Web publications are not really dependent on set dimensions. When viewed in a browser, a Web page will scroll horizontally if there is content that runs beyond the screen. When you set up your Web page, you want to make sure that your width is appropriate for resolution of your viewer's computer screens to avoid the need for horizontal scrolling.

To set up your Web page for standard widths, do the following:

  1. On the File menu, click Page Setup.
  2. Click the Layout tab.
  3. In the Publication type list, select Web page.
  4. Under Page size, do one of the following:
    • Select Narrow (640x480 display) for a page that can be viewed on a low-resolution screen without horizontal scrolling.
    • Select Standard (800x600 display) for a page that can be viewed on a high-resolution screen without horizontal scrolling.

The height of the publication is 4806 pixels in either case. Height is important only to make sure you don't run out of room vertically. Users will scroll down as much as necessary.

You can also set up a custom sized page if you intend your Web publication to be viewed on high-resolution screens and want it to be wider. To set up a custom Web page, do the following:

  1. On the File menu, click Page Setup, and then click the Layout tab.
  2. In the Publication type list, select Custom.
  3. Under Page size, type the measurements you want in the Width and Height boxes.

ShowSet up the page for a print publication

  1. On the File menu, click Page Setup.
  2. Click the Layout tab.
  3. Under Publication type, select the publication type you want.
  4. Some publication types require you to select more options. If you are making a template for one of these publication types, you may have to select further options under Page size and Printing options.
  5. Click OK.

Decide which elements are reusable

When you create a template you need to decide early in the process what you want it to contain. Your template should have all the elements you need to create the publication except for the unique content like the text and pictures that are specific to this edition.

Use the following guidelines for things to include in your template:

  • Include empty text boxes if the publications you create from the template will typically have several columns or pages of linked text boxes. Having pre-existing linked text boxes will make it quicker to insert large amounts of text.
  • Include elements that don't change, or change very little, from edition to edition. For example, if the template is for a monthly newsletter, you will want to have things like the banner and masthead in the template. These typically remain standard for a newsletter. Even if you need to change the issue number and date in these elements, it is easier to do that than to recreate them for each issue.
  • Include at least one page of every different type of page you may need. For example, if the publications you create from the template typically have pages for text, pages for graphic elements, a cover page, an introduction page, or a back cover with mailer information, make sure that each of these page types is in the template. You will avoid having to insert them later.
  • Include the headers, footers, and page numbers you will use. Headers and footers are always created on a master page. You should also create your page numbers on a master page, even though you can add them to any page in a publication.

In addition to the considerations above, when you create your template, make sure to include as appropriate the items that are more fully addressed in the following sections:

Create your master pages

Master pages provide the underlying structure for your publication. They are page-specific templates within the publication that contain repeating design elements like headers, footers, and page numbers. In Publisher 2003 you can create as many master pages as you need for as many variations of the page layout as your publication uses.

You will want to create in the template all the master pages you want to use in the publications create from the template.

ShowCreate a master page

  1. On the View menu, click Master Page.
  2. In the Edit Master Pages task pane, click New Master Page.
  3. In the New Master Page dialog box, do any of the following:
    • In the Page ID (1 character) box, type a single-character identifier for your new master page. This can be any single Unicode character.
    • In the Description box, type a brief description of your new master page.

 Note   Only 40 characters will display in the Edit Master Pages task pane.

  • If you want your new master page to be a two-page spread, select Two-page master.

 Note   This option is not available if you are working on a Web publication.

  1. Click OK.

ShowEdit a master page

  1. On the View menu, click Master Page.
  2. In the Edit Master Pages task pane, click the arrow next to the master page you want to edit, and then click Edit.
  3. Edit the page as desired.
  4. To see the updated publication pages, click View publication pages, and then navigate to a page to which the master page is applied.

For more information about using master pages, see the article Get the most out of multiple master pages.

Set up layout guides

Layout guides, which comprise margin guides (margin guides: Guides on the top, bottom, left, and right sides of a page that are used to define its margins. Most contents of a page are within the margin guides.), column guides (column guides: Vertical guides that are used to divide a publication page into two or more columns.), row guides (row guides: Horizontal guides that are used to divide a page into two or more sections to help structure the layout of the page.), ruler guides (ruler guide: A non-printing horizontal or vertical guide that you can align to any point on a ruler.), and baseline guides (baseline guides: Guides to which lines of text can be aligned to provide a uniform appearance between columns  of text.), are non-printing guides that are an important means of structuring the design of your publication.

Layout guides are the key to a good design and also the key to making a template work as smoothly as possible. If all the structure of the publication is defined in the template by the layout guides, then creating a publication from the template is a simple matter of adding content to the structure.

All layout guides, except ruler guides, apply only to a master page. When you create or edit layout guides while viewing a publication page, the guides are adjusted on the master page that is applied to the current publication page.

ShowSet up margin guides

  1. On the Arrange menu, click Layout Guides.
  2. Click the Margin Guides tab.
  3. Under Margin Guides, type the margin values that you want for Left, Right, Top, and Bottom.
  4. Click OK.

ShowSet up column and row guides

  1. On the Arrange menu, click Layout Guides.
  2. Click the Grid Guides tab.
  3. Under Column Guides, type or select the number of columns you want, and then type or select the spacing value (gutter amount) you want.
  4. Under Row Guides, type or select the number of rows you want, and then type or select the spacing value (gutter amount) you want.
  5. If you want a centerline guide for your gutters, select Add center guide between columns and rows.

ShowSet up baseline guides

  1. On the Arrange menu, click Layout Guides.
  2. Click the Baseline Guides tab.
  3. Under Horizontal Baseline, do the following:
    • In the Spacing box, type or select a value for the amount of spacing between each baseline.
    • In the Offset box, type or select a value for the amount of spacing between the top margin and the first baseline guide.

 Notes 

ShowSet up ruler guides

You can create ruler guides on any page in your publication. Ruler guides that are created on a publication page are only visible on that page. Ruler guides that are created on a master page are visible on every page to which that master page is applied. However, you can only move a master page ruler guide on the master page where it was created.

  1. Do one of the following:
    • To create a horizontal guide, position the mouse pointer over the horizontal ruler until you see the pointer change to Double-headed arrow.
    • To create a vertical guide, position the mouse pointer over the vertical ruler until you see the pointer change to Resize pointer (double-headed arrow).
  2. Drag the pointer until the new guide is where you want it.

 Notes 

  • If the Snap to Ruler Marks command is turned on, the ruler guide will snap to a ruler mark.
  • If the Snap to Objects command is turned on, the guide will snap to an object.

If some pages require different margins or a different number of columns than others, you can create different master pages to use as needed. The combination of layout guides and multiple master pages gives you a great deal of flexibility in designing a template that will meet all your needs.

Create placeholders for graphic elements

In some cases, you know that you will always have a picture with set dimensions on a specific page in each edition of your publication. However, it will always be a different picture. For example, you may have a monthly catalog that features one item in the catalog as a large picture on the cover. The picture is always in the same place and is sized at 5 inches wide and 6 inches tall. To have your template hold a place for that graphic when you don't know what it will be, insert an empty picture frame that you can replace in each edition with the picture you want.

ShowHow?

  1. On the Objects toolbar, click Picture Frame Button image, and then click Empty Picture Frame.
  2. In your publication, drag the mouse diagonally until you have the size picture frame you want.

 Note   When you first drag the mouse, the empty picture frame will be locked in ratio as a square. After you have created the empty picture frame, you can resize it to the dimensions you want.

After inserting and sizing the empty picture frame, you can apply formatting to it as if it were a picture. The formatting you apply will be inherited by the pictures you use in its place. For example, if you give the empty picture frame a border and set a wrapping style for it in the Format Picture dialog box, the picture you replace it with when you are working on the publication will have the same border and wrapping style.

ShowApply formatting to an empty picture frame

You can format the empty picture frame in any of the following ways:

ShowRecolor the picture

  1. Select the picture you want to recolor.
  2. On the Picture toolbar, click Format Picture Button image.
  3. Click the Picture tab.
  4. Click Recolor the empty picture frame.
  5. In the Recolor Picture dialog box, click the arrow next to Color, and then click the color you want or do one of the following:
    • To use a shade or tint, click Fill Effects, and then select the options you want.
    • To see more color choices, click More Colors, and then select the options you want.
  6. Click OK twice.

 Note   You will not see the effect of recoloring the empty picture frame. However, when you replace it with a picture, the picture will show the effect of recoloring, unless the picture you use is in Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) (EPS: A graphic file format that is created using the PostScript page description language. EPS graphics are meant to be printed to PostScript compatible printers.) format. Recolor does not apply to EPS pictures.

ShowAdd a border

  1. Select the empty picture frame.
  2. On the Formatting toolbar, click Line/Border Style Button art, and then do one of the following:
    • To select a predefined line weight, click one of the lines on theLine/Border Style menu.
    • To add a border of any color, width, or style, click More Colors, and then, in the Colors and Lines tab of the Format Picture dialog box, define the border style you want.

 Note   To apply a color to a predefined border, click Line Color Button image on the Formatting toolbar, and then click the color you want.

ShowAdd a shadow

  1. Select the empty picture frame.
  2. On the Formatting toolbar, click Shadow Style Button image, and then click the shadow style you want.

You can modify the shadow in any of the following ways:

ShowChange the distance of the shadow from the picture frame

  1. Select the empty picture frame.
  2. On the Formatting toolbar, click Shadow Style Button image, and then click Shadow Settings.
  3. On the Shadow Settings toolbar, click any of the four Nudge Shadow buttons . Each time you click Nudge Shadow, the shadow moves 1 point farther from or nearer to the object.

ShowChange the color and transparency

  1. Select the empty picture frame.
  2. On the Formatting toolbar, click Shadow Style Button image, and then click Shadow Settings.
  3. On the Shadow Settings toolbar, click the arrow next to Shadow Color Button image, and then do one of the following:
    • To use a predefined color, click the color you want from the palette.
    • To see more colors, click More Shadow Colors, and then click the Standard tab or the Custom tab.
    • To change the shadow color so that you can see through it, click Semitransparent Shadow.

 Note   The shadow uses the same border style and weight as the picture, but uses the shadow color. However, the border is never transparent. If you have a heavy border for the picture, the semitransparent shadow will have also have a heavy opaque border. If you want to have a transparent shadow, it is best to use no border for the picture or a border that is 0.2 points weight or less.

ShowChange color style

You can set the empty picture frame to render the picture grayscale, black and white, or washed out as for a watermark (watermark: A semi-transparent image often used for letters and business cards. In currency, a watermark is visible when you hold a bill up to the light.).

  1. Select the empty picture frame.
  2. On the Picture toolbar, click Color, and then do one of the following:
    • To render the picture as only shades of gray, click Grayscale.
    • To make the picture a stark contrast of black and white, click Black and White.
    • To make the picture a pale background, such as a watermark, click Washout.

When you are working in a publication that was generated from the template, the picture you use to replace the empty picture frame will have all the formatting you applied to the empty picture frame.

 Note   Limit the kinds of formatting you apply to the empty picture frame to things you don't need to see to adjust. For example, changing the brightness or contrast of a picture is something you can only do when looking at a visible picture.

Create style sheets

Using text styles in Publisher is a quick way to apply the formatting you use for body text, headlines, subheadings, titles, captions, footnotes, and other text elements in your publication. A text style is a set of formatting characteristics that you can apply to text on a paragraph-by-paragraph basis. A style contains all text formatting information: font and font size, font color, indents, character and line spacing, tabs, and special formatting, such as numbered lists.

When you start with a new blank publication, the only style available is Normal. You can use it as the basis for other styles, modify it, or create a new style from scratch.

ShowCreate a style based on existing formatted text.

This is a more visual, though slower, method of creating the styles you want. You can create a few text boxes, format the text as you want it using the settings in the Font, Character Spacing, Paragraph, Bullets and Numbering, and Horizontal Rules dialog boxes. Then, you can save the formatting as a style when you have the text how you want it.

  1. Select the text that contains the formatting you want to include in your style.
  2. On the Formatting toolbar, click the Style box Style box.
  3. Type over the existing style name to create the name for the new style.
  4. Press ENTER.
  5. In the Create Style By Example dialog box, make sure that the name and formatting are correct, and then click OK.

ShowCreate a new style from scratch

Creating a style from scratch may be the quickest way to define the styles you want. Also, it gives you the ability to base styles on pre-existing styles. This makes defining the file even quicker.

ShowCreate a new style that is based on no style

  1. On the Format menu, click Styles and Formatting.
  2. In the Styles and Formatting task pane, click Create new style.
  3. In the New Style dialog box, type a name for the style in the Enter a new style name box.
  4. In the Style based on list, select [no style].
  5. In the Style for the following paragraph list, select the style you want to apply the a new paragraph that is created after you press ENTER when typing text in a text box. Typically, if this is a body text style, you will want to use the same style for following paragraphs. If it is a headline or subhead style, you will want a body type style to follow.
  6. Under Click to change, click the formatting you want to define for the style starting with Font and going to each in turn.

As you define each aspect of the style, you will see how the formatting looks under Sample.

  1. When you have applied all the formatting you want, click OK.

Publisher will add the new style under Pick formatting to apply in the Styles and Formatting task pane.

ShowCreate a new style that is based on an existing style

When a style is based on another style, the formatting that it styles share in common with its parent style is updated when the style it is based on is modified.

  1. On the Format menu, click Styles and Formatting.
  2. In the Styles and Formatting task pane, click Create new style.
  3. In the New Style dialog box, type a name for the style in the Enter a new style name box.
  4. In the Style based on list, select the style you want to base the new style on. For example, if you are creating a style for bulleted text, you will likely want it to use most of the same formatting as your body text style.
  5. In the Style for the following paragraph list, select the style you want to apply the a new paragraph that is created after you press ENTER when typing text in a text box. Typically, if this is a body text style, you will want to use the same style for following paragraphs. If it is a headline or subhead style, you will want a body type style to follow.
  6. Under Click to change, click the formatting you want to define for the style. Because you are basing this style on a pre-existing style, you only need to change the formatting for those things in which the new style differs. For example, if you are creating a bulleted list style based on your body text style, you will likely only need to make formatting changes for Bullets and Numbering.

As you define each aspect of the style, you will see how the formatting looks under Sample.

  1. When you have applied all the formatting you want, click OK.

Publisher will add the new style under Pick formatting to apply in the Styles and Formatting task pane.

 Tip   You may find that defining just a few basic styles on which to base all your other styles is best. Much of the text in your publication will be either some kind of text used in the main body or text used in headings and subheads. Nearly every other style will be a variation on these two.

Save the publication as a template

To create the template, you have to save the publication differently than you would a typical publication.

ShowSave the publication as a template

  1. On the File menu, click Save As.
  2. In the File name box, type a name for the template.
  3. In the Save as type box, click Publisher Template.

The destination folder changes to Templates. You need to save your template in this folder if you want it to appear in the Preview Gallery of the New Publication task pane later.

  1. Click Save.

ShowModify the properties to create a category for your template

Publisher saves your templates in a folder that is shared with other Office applications. In the template publication you can set the properties for the template so it will display in the New Publication task pane under the category you assign to it.

To assign a category to your template, do the following:

  1. On the File menu, click Properties.
  2. In the publication name Properties dialog box, click the Summary tab.
  3. In the Category box, type a category name.
  4. Click OK.

When you open a new publication, you will see your template listed in its own category in the New Publication task pane, under New from design, under Templates.

Once you have saved the publication as a template, you can open it as a new publication in the New Publication task pane. A template publication opens as an untitled copy, so the original is never changed. If you assigned a category to the template, you have to restart Publisher before the template will display in the assigned category.

ShowOpen a saved template

  1. On the File menu, click New.
  2. In the New Publication task pane, under New from a design, click Templates. If you saved the template in its own category, click the category.
  3. In the Preview Gallery, click the template you want.

 Tip   Even though the instructions to save the publication as a template are here at the end of the article, you should save it early in the process to avoid losing any work if, for any reason, your system or Publisher should crash. As long as the publication remains open, any changes and saves that you make after saving the publication as a template will be saved to the template. However, once you have closed the template, you can only reopen it as an untitled copy. After that.

Revise the template

It is perhaps inevitable that you'll want to make changes to your template after you have used it a few times. If you want to incorporate these changes into your template design, you can simply open the template (it will open as an untitled copy), make the changes you want, and then save it gains as a template.

If you save it with the same name as the original template, Publisher will overwrite the original. If you want to keep the original, you can save the revised template with a new name that reflects that it is a revised version.

 
 
Applies to:
Publisher 2003