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From...
Newsletters made easy in Word 97
September 30, 1998
Web posted at: 1:45 PM EDT
by the TipWorld staff
(IDG) -- If you'd like to create a simple newsletter or spruce up a report, Word 97 has features that let you do it quickly and easily. Try these tips for working with text, objects, pull quotes, sidebars, and borders.
An odd column
Creating columns in Word is a snap. You just choose Format, Columns. When the Columns dialog box opens, you can select from one, two, or three columns. You'll notice that you can also choose a small column at the left or a small column at the right.
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If you like, you can set the column size yourself. All you have to do is deselect Equal Column Width and then set the size of each of your columns. After you finish setting up the columns, click OK to close the dialog box and save your changes.
Spaced out
Sometimes you may find that increasing the line spacing in a Word document will vastly improve its readability. To do this quickly, right-click the paragraph you want to modify. When the menu opens, choose Paragraph. In the Paragraph dialog box, click the down arrow under the "Line spacing" list box to expand the list. Select "1.5 Lines" and click OK to close the dialog box.
Shady characters
You can also make your text -- particularly headlines and subheads -- stand out by producing shadowed characters. Choose Format, Font and click the Font tab. Select the Shadow check box, then click OK. While you're at it, you might want to try some of the other special effects such as Outline, Emboss, and Engrave.
Wrap it up
Text wrapping in Word 97 is much better than in previous versions. For example, you can now wrap text around nonrectangular objects. To check this out, choose Insert, Picture, Clip Art and choose a picture (try to find a triangular one). Size the picture and move it into place. Now right-click the picture and choose Format Picture. When the Format Picture dialog box opens, choose the Wrapping tab and then click the image labeled Tight. Next, drop down to the next row and click the image labeled Both Sides. Click OK. The text should now wrap around your new object.
Anchors aweigh
When you insert an object into a paragraph, you may want to make sure that the object stays with its paragraph. To do this, position the object where you want it. Now right-click the object and choose Format Picture. Click the Wrapping tab and set the desired wrapping for your object. Next, click the Position tab, then select the Lock Anchor check box and the Move With Text check box. Click OK.
Pull them aside
If you're producing a newsletter, you can make it look more professional by including sidebars and pull quotes. A sidebar is a great way to expand on a particular topic in your main article. You can use a pull quote to draw attention to an important point in your article and grab the reader's interest.
To produce either a sidebar or a pull quote, choose Insert, Text Box. Now use your mouse to draw the box. Don't worry about size and position right now; you can change both later. Enter the desired text into the text box. With the text box selected, choose Format, Text Box. When the Format Text Box dialog box opens, click the Wrapping tab. Select the type of wrapping you'd like to use and click OK. Now you can use the mouse to drag the box into position and set the final size.
You can see right through it
Word 97 also lets you produce some special effects using the text box feature. Let's say you've placed a picture in your document and you'd like to let part of a pull quote overlap part of the picture. The only problem is that by default the text box will hide the picture.
Go ahead and create a text box (Insert, Text Box) and move it over a portion of your picture. Now choose Format, Text Box and click the Colors and Lines tab. Select the check box labeled Semitransparent and then click OK. Now the picture will show through the text box, but the portion of the picture under the text box will appear lighter than the uncovered portion.
Bordering on artwork
If you want to add decoration to your document, you can apply a border to the entire page. Word also provides some artwork for your border. Let's say you want to write a letter to some fellow animal lovers -- so a border of cats would look nice. Choose Format, Borders and Shading. When the Borders and Shading dialog box opens, click the Page Border tab. Now locate the list box labeled Art and click the arrow at the right side of the list box to expand the list. Select the artwork you want to use (in this case, the cats), then click OK to close the dialog box and record your selections.Word will now automatically switch to Page Layout view (unless you're already there), and your border selection will appear.