desktop publishing lesson 2 — working with text. lesson 2 – working with text2 objectives ...

Desktop Publishing

Lesson 2 — Working with Text

Lesson 2 – Working with Text 2

Objectives

Create a blank document. Work with text boxes. Work with fonts. Align text.


Objectives (continued)

Set indents and tabs and create lists. Adjust spacing. Copy, move, and import text. Control text flow.


Create a Blank DocumentAlthough it varies by program, most desktop publishing programs allow you to create a blank document by clicking the New option on the File menu. InDesign opens a dialogue box that allows you to click on Document under Create New.


Work with Text BoxesText is usually entered into a text box, also called a frame. You usually create the box by clicking on the Capital T in the tool box and then dragging an area within the document window. Click in the text box and the text tool cursor will indicate where to begin typing by blinking. Most text boxes will display some sort of border when selected.

Text box

Type tool


Resize or Position Text Boxes

Once created, a text box can usually be resized by selecting it with the arrow tool and dragging one of the sizing handles. An outline of the new box is usually visible.

Original text box

Outline of new box

You can move a text box by selecting it and dragging its border to a new location.


Working with Fonts

Fonts are typefaces consisting of sets of characters used to enter text.

Select fonts for your publication that are suitable for the project and that add interest to the project. Think audience and purpose!

Do not use too many fonts in any one publication. Limit fonts to 2 to 4, if possible.

There are two basic types of fonts: Serif fonts Sans serif fonts


Modify Font Attributes

You can change the size of the font by specifying how many points the text should be.

You can set various font style attributes to add emphasis to your text. Typical style attributes are italic, bold, and underline.

You can set font effects for decoration or for correct typography. Font effects include superscripts, subscripts, shadows,

and small caps. You can change the color of the font to attract the

reader’s attention to a specific area.


Font Dialog Box

This figure shows the font dialog box at the top of InDesign. You can change the font type, style, effects, color, and sometimes set other attributes.

Font name

Font effects

Sample of selected font

Font Size

Font color – double click open box.


Aligning Text

The method will vary by program, but almost all desktop publishing pro-grams offer some way to set the various text alignment options shown below. This is usually done by selecting the text or the text box and then using menu commands or toolbar buttons to set the alignment you want.


Indenting Text

Desktop publishing programs also offer some way to set the various indent options shown below. This is usually done by selecting the text or the text box and then using menu commands or toolbar buttons to set the indent that you want.


Use Tabs to Align Text Tabs position text at specific horizontal locations in a

frame. Tabs apply to an entire paragraph. The first tab set

deletes all default tab stops to its left. Subsequent tabs delete all default tabs between the tabs set.

Most layout programs have 4 types of tabs: Left – Text is aligned flush with the tab stop. Right – Right edge of text is aligned flush with the

tab stop. Center – Text is spaced evenly to both sides of the

tab stop. Decimal – Text is aligned on a decimal point.

Tabs are set in a dialog box.


Setting Tabs in InDesign

Open the Tabs dialog box Using the Type tool, click in the text frame. Choose Type > Tabs. If the top of the frame is visible, the Tabs

dialog box snaps to the current text frame and matches its width to the current column


Setting Tabs in InDesign

For the first tab, click a tab-alignment button (left, right, center, or decimal) in the Tabs dialog box to specify how text will align to the tab’s position.

Do one of the following: Click a location on the tab ruler to position a new

tab. For subsequent tabs

with different alignments, repeat the steps.


Use Lists to Present Data

InDesign has a list style or format that can be applied to a block of text.

A bulleted list uses bullet symbols to identify each point in the list.

A numbered list uses sequential numbers to identify list items.

Lists usually are formatted with a hanging indent style.


Examples of Lists

The figure below shows two lists. The list on the left is a bulleted list and the one on the right is a numbered list. These lists can be created using pre-defined styles, dialog boxes accessed from a menu, or by toolbar buttons.


Learn to Use Spacing

Documents that have too much text and too many graphic objects on a page look cluttered and are hard to read.

White space is a blank area around text and graphics and is used to separate page objects and give the reader’s eyes a rest.

Proper spacing between text characters and between lines of text can make the document easier to read as well.


Set Character Spacing

There are usually several options that you can set to adjust character spacing. Set the tracking value to adjust the space

between all characters in a text box. Set the kerning value to adjust spacing between

two or more specific characters in a line. Set the leading value to adjust spacing between

lines. Too little leading causes line ascenders and

descenders to collide with the line above or below. Too much leading makes it hard for the reader to

follow the text from line to line.


Copy, Move, and Import Text

Most programs have commands that you can use to relocate, replicate, or remove text. The Copy command copies a section of text to the

Clipboard to use somewhere else in the page. The Cut command removes text from the

document and also stores it on the Clipboard. The Paste command takes the text on the

Clipboard and inserts it into the document at the location of the insertion point.

Programs usually allow you to insert or import text created in some other program.


Control Text Flow

InDesign allows you to connect or link multiple text boxes together, which allows you to control how the text flows in the page.

You can create columns where text flows from the bottom of one column to the top of the next column.

Connected text boxes can be sized and posi-tioned independently of the box(es) that they are connected to.


Summary

When you want to create a publication from scratch, create a blank publication.

You can create new text boxes at any time and delete text boxes that you no longer need.

Apply font formatting to enhance the appearance of a publication and make the text easier to read.

Horizontal alignment controls the position of text relative to the left and right text box margins, and vertical alignment controls the position of text relative to the top and bottom text box margins.


Summary (continued)

Set indents to create temporary margins for a paragraph in a text box.

Set tabs to position text along a single line. Lists are an effective way to communicate

important points of information. Use bulleted lists when order does not matter, and use numbered lists when order does matter.

You can change the spacing between characters, lines, and paragraphs to make your text easier to read and to control the amount of white space in a document.


Summary (continued)

The Clipboard is the easiest way to copy and move text and objects, but you can also insert an entire text file into a text box.

You can control text flow by creating columns within a text box or, in some programs, connecting text boxes.

desktop publishing lesson 2 — working with text. lesson 2 – working with text2 objectives ...

Documents

text boxes text

text slide

text box type tool slide

text tool cursor

tool box

position text boxes

control text flow

font attributes