Microsoft Word 2003 Tips and How-To's for Easier Flyer Design
Here's a quick tutorial on how to design attractive flyers and documents with Microsoft Word... especially if you don't have Office 2007 yet.
Scroll down to learn the basics of page margins, page borders, font styles, sizes and embedding, paragraph indenting, spacing between lines and paragraphs, inserting graphics, wrapping your text around graphics, resizing, repositioning and rotating graphics... plus the AIDA formula for writing flyers.
QuickTips:
-
White space around your text makes it easier for people to read your flyer's content. Try not to jam too much into one area.
-
BORDER DONT'S: If you place your border too close to the text, it makes it hard to read and people will tend to ignore what you have to say. (See more about borders below.)
-
HEADLINE DO'S: A catchy headline draws people in better than a boring headline. For super headline ideas, try Tested Advertising Methods the renowned classic by John Caples.
-
SUBHEADS: Subheadings make your flyer text easier to read (breaks text into more manageable chunks) and allow people to scan your flyer for pertinent points. Folks should be able to scan your headline and subheads and know what your flyer is trying to tell them.
-
Make sure you "ask for the sale." If you want people to call you, make sure you say, "Call so-and-so at XXX-XXX-XXXX" or "Call XXX-XXX-XXXX to register before (date) for your early bird discount." Know what you'd like your reader to do... and ask them to do it.
-
If your flyer is announcing a class or workshop, make sure all of your contact information is included. Also, the time, place, and cost should be easy to find on the flyer.
-
"UNDO" YOUR MISTAKES - Learn how to use the "undo" function. If you make a mistake and want to revert to what you had before you made the mistake (or chose a color you didn't like, or placed a border that didn't work, etc.), click on Edit, Undo. You can undo quite a few previous actions by hitting "undo" over and over. Stop undoing when you get back to where you want to be... so you can start over.
-
USE THESE TOOLBARS: To use Word for flyers, make sure you have the right toolbars open (so your shortcuts - represented by those little graphical icons - are visible and handy): Go to View; Toolbars; and make sure these are checked: Standard, Formatting, Drawing, Picture, Reviewing and PDF Maker.
-
It's easiest to see what your finished flyer will look like if you're viewing it in "Print Layout." On the top line, click on View, then Print Layout.
-
AUTOCORRECT OPTIONS: Choose these "autocorrect" options at Tools, Autocorrect Options, Autoformat: Check "replace straight quotes with curly quotes" and "replace hyphens (--) with dash." I like to UNcheck automatic bullet and number lists, because they pop up when I don't need 'em. I can always add a number or bullet list quickly using the icons on my toolbar instead.
PS: Don't forget to EMBED YOUR FONTS if you're emailing your flyers (see how below).
PPS: Want a really EASY way to design flyers with Word? Scroll down for the section on TEMPLATES.
===============================
"SISTER" LENSES...
How to Make Keyboard Symbols with the Alt Key
Learn how to make real "bullets" instead of asterisks and é instead of e' at my Squidoo lens for Keyboard Symbols. Plus... copyright, trademark, French accents, smiley face, hearts and more.
Quick Cures for Spelling Amnesia
Its vs. it's; who's vs. whose; their, there, they're; commas and periods before or after quotation marks, etc.
"Virtual" Gifts for Holidays and Special Occasions
Last-minute gifts, gifts for teens and pre-teens, relatives and business colleagues - all virtual.
Latin Words and Sayings
Jazz up your writing with cool Latin words and phrases.
Niche Marketing for Spiritual Entrepreneurs
Home business owners gotta niche.
===============================
Upgrade Your Microsoft Word Software
Amazon has the best prices I've seen for the newest Microsoft Office Home & Student
Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007
Amazon Price: $79.99 (as of 12/19/2009) 
List Price: $149.95
(1) Set Your Page Margins
To set your top, bottom, right and left margins so that you have enough space for a border outside your text, go to:File (it's on the top line)
Page Setup (from the drop-down menu)
I like to use a minimum of 1" for margins, even up to 1.25 inches, depending on how much text I have.
In Page Setup, you can change your header and footer settings to 0 inches if you don't need page numbering, or a title across the top of all the pages, or a copyright notice on the bottom of all the pages. For a one-page flyer, try 1 to 1.25 inches for your margin, with no headers and footers.
(2) Make a Border Around Your Page
For a simple border around your page (and not around your text box), go to:File
Page Setup
Layout
Click on Page Borders button.
This gives you a border around your page, not just the text box. Click on Borders to set a border around a text box or a graphic.
Click on Box (or shadow box or 3-D box)
Choose the Style you want (plain border, dashed, dotted, zig-zag, double line, shaded line, etc. Choose these from the drop-down menu).
Choose the Color you want (a) from the drop down box... or (b) click on More Line Colors to see additional colors.
Click on the Shading tab if you'd like to add shading between, over or under lines of text. You can use this feature to create spacers between blocks of text. You can also overwrite the shading with text. Just choose a font color that will stand out against the shaded background. It appears like a line or you can give it a pattern by clicking on the Pattern Style drop-down menu.
Microsoft Word 2007 How-To Books
Until I update my lens for Word 2007, here are some helpful resources.
Special Edition Using Microsoft Office Word 2007
Avg. Customer Rating: 
Amazon Price: $26.39 (as of 12/18/2009)
List Price: $39.99
Microsoft® Office Word 2007 Step by Step (Step By Step (Microsoft))
Avg. Customer Rating: 
Amazon Price: $16.49 (as of 12/18/2009)
List Price: $24.99
Microsoft Word 2007 Bible
Avg. Customer Rating:
Amazon Price: $20.65 (as of 12/18/2009)
List Price: $39.99
TEMPLATES - Create Flyers the Easy Way
If you find a pre-designed format that works for you... it simplifies everything.
In Word, click on FILE, then NEW.
On the right side of the screen, you'll see a number of options. Click on TEMPLATES ON MICROSOFT.COM.
Scroll down to see all the template options. Click on FLYERS.
Click on the flyer option you'd like to work with, choosing: Event, Marketing, Real Estate or Other.
Then scroll through the numerous possibilities and click on one you'd like to use for your flyer.
You'll be taken to a Download page. Click the DOWNLOAD button and this will open a new Word document, which you can immediately start working with. Just change the template's wording for your own and print.
In time for the holidays
Inexpensive, thoughtful gifts for colleagues and family
(3) Choose and Work with Fonts
You can type all your text first... and then change the fonts from whatever is set as your "default" font (often Times New Roman) or you can enter text and change it as you go along.To change fonts within a document or flyer, select the text you want to change and click on:
Format
Font
Choose a strong, bold headline font for the main heading. You could use this same font in smaller type or in italics for your subheads.
Type your headline. If you want to make it look fancier, you could format it with WordArt: Select your headline text, click on Insert, Picture, WordArt and choose the WordArt shape and color you like. The Edit WordArt Text box pops up where you can change the font style and size to fit your flyer. If you right click on your WordArt text, a box pops up that lets you do even more.
For the main text of your flyer, choose an easy-to-read font. A "serif" font such as Times New Roman works well if there is lots to read. If you don't have a lot of text, a sans-serif font such as Arial or Futura works well.
Try not to use more than 2-3 different fonts within one flyer or document. If you want text to stand out, you could use the italics and bold options for variety. Don't underline too much either - just a single word here and there - otherwise your text will be too hard to read. If you like fancy fonts, they're okay for short headings, but not for blocks of text.
Start with an 11 or 12 point size until you see how much space it all takes up. You can always select the text and go back to Format, Font to change the size or bolding/italics, etc. Your toolbar should show the font names and sizes in drop-down menus, which makes changing your font types and sizes even quicker and easier. Make sure your "Formatting" tool bar is checked to access this feature.
You'll notice some fancier font options for embossing, outlining, underlining, color, etc. Play with these to see what looks good. You can even have different colors for the text and underlining.
(3a) How to EMBED Your Fonts
This is a MUST if you email your flyers as Word documents.
Helpful Tools for Print Publications
Tools That Help You Design Great-Looking Flyers
- Create Your Font Library
- Attractive publications need headline fonts and text fonts that work harmoniously together. Find them here.
- PRINTABLE List of Wingdings Shortcuts
- The "Wingdings" font family is similar to Dingbats and generally comes free with a number of programs, including Microsoft Word. With Wingdings, you can make smiley faces, arrows, astrological symbols, check boxes, hearts, spades, diamonds, clubs, all kinds of bullets and lots more. Get a list of shortcuts for 215 Wingdings with a printable list of 300 Alt Key text symbols for just $1.25.
- Microsoft Clip Art Gallery - FREE Graphics
- You can download (free) clip art, photos, sounds, animated gifs and more at Microsoft's clip art gallery. They're quite easy to place in the "Organizer" section of your "My Pictures" folder.
- Spelling and Grammar Tutorial on Squidoo
- Nothing shoots your image in the foot faster than typos and spelling mistakes in your publicity documents. If you have to stop and think about which spelling to use for THEIR, THERE or THEY'RE; ITS vs IT'S; AFFECT vs. EFFECT; or YOUR vs. YOU'RE... my handy spelling tutorial can help.
(4) Format Your Paragraphs
Set your paragraph alignment by clicking on:
Format
Paragraph
General: Alignment
From the Alignment drop-down box, choose Left, Right, Center or Justified.
Set your indentations next:
Format
Paragraph
Indentation
For equal indentations to set off a paragraph within a larger section of text, use the left and right indentations, making sure the numbers are equal.
For First Line Indent, choose .2 inches to start with and see how it looks. This will indent ONLY the first line of each paragraph.
Set line spacing next:
Format
Paragraph
Line spacing
You can set your spacing between lines to single space, 1.5 lines of spacing or double space. There's also a "custom" option that lets you be even more exact. You can use "at least" or "exactly" and set your line points in relation to the points of your font size. Don't be afraid to play with this, because it's easy to change. The aim is to make it easy for people to read your flyer.
Set paragraph spacing:
Format
Paragraph
Spacing
You can set paragraph spacing for the entire document or for just 1-2 paragraphs at a time using the Spacing drop-down menus. Using this option helps you create a more professional-looking document than if you just hit "enter" twice for paragraph spacing.
You can create more white space above and below your text using the two menus "Above" and "Below." They show increments of 6 points, but you can type in any number you wish, if you want less or more than 6, 12, or 18 points between paragraphs.
Choose points based on your font size. If you're using 12 point Times New Roman, 12 point spacing is close to double spacing, except you don't have to hit enter twice. For most print documents, double spacing or 12 points between paragraphs looks excessive. But if you don't have much text, 12 points between paragraphs helps you to stretch things out.
(5) Working With Graphics and Photos
Here are a few tips for placing and editing your graphics and for wrapping your text around the graphics.INSERT your graphic:
At the top of the screen, click on:
Insert
Picture (drop-down menu)
Choose what you'll insert from another drop-down menu. For simplicity here, let's just look at Clip Art.
(Hopefully, the graphic "Files on Your Computer" are stored in your "My Pictures" files, making them easy to find by going to Insert, Picture, From File, My Pictures. Your pictures downloaded from the Microsoft.com online clip art gallery could also be in a subfile of My Pictures called Microsoft Clip Organizer.)
Okay, so we're back at:
Insert
Picture
Clip Art
In the menu area to the right of your text area, you'll see a "Search" box. Enter the keyword for the clipart graphic you need for your flyer (candle, nurse, lighthouse, Christmas, happy people, etc.) and select "All Collections" and "All Media File Types" for the most numerous results. If you know you just want a photo, click on the drop-down arrow and uncheck everything except "Photographs." If you just want clipart (no movies, sounds or photos), uncheck everything except clipart. Click on the Search button.
A number of graphics choices will appear and you just click on the one(s) you want and they'll be placed on your flyer. See how to move them below.
RESIZE your graphic:
The original picture will most likely be too large for your flyer, and you can easily resize it by left clicking on it, and pulling IN from one of the corners. Or you can click on the picture, then RIGHT click on it and a box called "Format Picture" opens. Click on the size tab and specify in inches the desired height and width for your picture.
ROTATE your graphic:
In this same section of Format Picture (right click on the graphic), you can rotate your graphic by entering the number of degrees you'd like the picture to turn. If you'd like it rotated to the left, make sure to place a minus sign (-) before the number of degrees.
MOVE your graphic:
To move your pictures on the page, left click the picture, hold it down with the mouse while dragging it to where you'd like it placed.
(6) Format Your Graphics and Photos
Convert your picture from color to GRAYSCALE:Change a color graphic to grayscale by right clicking on the graphic, then click on the Picture tab. At the Image Control drop-down menu you can play with Color, by choosing automatic, grayscale, black and white or washout. You can increase brightness and contrast here, too.
CROP your picture:
You can also crop the picture on this section of Format Picture... or use the "Crop Tool" on your toolbar... it looks like two diagonal XXs. Click on the graphic and then on the crop tool and drag in the sides or corners to give your picture the look you want. You can remove sections of the background and other people and things you don't want showing in your graphic.
Make a BORDER for your graphic:
Right click the graphic. Click on "Borders and Shading" on the drop-down menu. Click on the "Borders" tab and check "Box." Choose the type of border you'd like: single line, double line, dotted line, zigzag, etc. and choose the color and width of the line from the drop-down menus.
WRAP TEXT around your graphic:
Right click your picture, click the Layout tab, and choose how you'd like your text to wrap around your picture. If you want white space on the sides of the graphic, choose the first option "In Line With Text." This puts your first line of text at the bottom right of the graphic (the default that Microsoft Word gives for this option).
If you want your text to start higher up beside your picture, choose "Square" or "Tight." You can also type text on top of the graphic - just make sure that "behind text" is selected in the "Wrapping Styles" section.
ROTATE/FLIP your graphics:
Is your photo facing the wrong way into the text? A photo placed on the left of the page should look toward the right - drawing the reader's eye INTO the text. A photo placed on the right should be looking into the text toward the left. If you need your photo in a specific place for the design, but the eyes/face are looking in the wrong direction, you can flip the photo horizontally.
Make sure your Drawing toolbar has the pyramid-looking icons (flipping tools). If it doesn't, go to View, Toolbars, Customize, Drawing... scroll down for the rotate and flip choices and DRAG them to the toolbar (along with any other nifty shortcuts that caught your eye. They save going to Format, Picture, etc.)
Flip your photo by left clicking on it, then clicking on the back-to-back pyramid-looking things on the toolbar (one gray, one purple). Your photo should now be looking in the direction you need.
Please sign my guestbook. Thanks for visiting!
-
Reply
- letevic letevic Jun 3, 2008 @ 7:03 am
- Very good lens and lots of useful information. I'm giving you 5* and favorited it!
-
Reply
- Alags12 Alags12 Apr 18, 2008 @ 12:22 pm
- Wow! Awesome lens. Tons of information. Really superb work. Thanks for your hard effort and for sharing the information. I like this lens and rated 5*. I have bookmarked this lens to come back again. Here a similar stuff about Mcse Bootcamp on Mcse Bootcamp Please visit this site to crab more information about Mcse Bootcamp.
-
Reply
- adamsparker37 adamsparker37 Mar 25, 2008 @ 11:58 am
- Hi, thanks for nice tips. 5 stars goes to you. The flyer design in Microsoft word 2003 gives good print. You know Microsoft provides MCP . MCP stands for Microsoft Certified Professionals. A MCP is a person who has received training in the installation and operation of a particular software or set of softwares. This training is offered by the various MCP training courses that are available in both hard copies as well as soft copies. But it is always preferable to make use of online MCP training because that is where you are exposed to conditions that you may come across while installing or running a particular software program. Thanks for good information. Keep on posting.
-
Reply
- maxy maxy Mar 4, 2008 @ 5:45 am
- Great lens, creative and informative! Please check out my phone card lens!
-
Reply
- Oct 29, 2007 @ 12:31 pm
- 5 stars for you!!
http://www.squidoo.com/robinscollectables/
by BarbaraCasey
I'm an inspirational writer, budding photographer, and "The Tutorial Lady" for spiritual entrepreneurs.
You can reach me at Barbara@newradiance.com....
Explore related pages
How to Make Keyboard Symbols Using the "Alt" Key- When you need to make symbols and letters that aren't on your computer keybo...
Clip Art and Graphics for Crafts, Scrapbooks, Blogs, Web Design
- This lens features the best resources we've found for clip art and craft graphic...
Clip Art Lensography - Pastiche's Graphics Lenses- This Squidoo lensography features Pastiche's lenses featuring clip art collectio...
- How to Make Keyboard Symbols Using the "Alt" Key
- When you need to make symbols and letters that aren't on your computer keybo...
Tutorial: Fix the Most Common Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation Mistakes- QUICK CURES FOR "SPELLING AMNESIA." Nothing shoots your image in the f...
Do It Yourself Design- Computers and Desktop Publishing has put a lot of power within the hands of Smal...
