Tech: Publisher/text wrap

Subject: RE: Tech: Publisher/text wrap
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 10 May 08 - 03:14 PM

Stilly -

In Word 2003 and earlier, on the top toolbar Insert|Picture|From File lets you insert a picture. The initial format is "inline" but you can "justify" (Ctl+L puts it at the left, Ctl+R at the right, and Ctl+C in the center. This still leaves no text beside the picture.

In Word 2003 and earlier, you can click on View, click Toolbars, then click "Picture" and you get a single toolbar. In Word 2002 the toolbar would pop up whenever you click on a picture that you've inserted, and disappear when you click off the picture. It may have to be turned on/off manually in Word 2003(?).

There are 14 or so icons on the Picture toolbar, but the one that's really most useful is the one that looks like a "paint bucket." That one gives you what amounts to a "Picture Format" menu with Five tabs.

The Arrange tab has icons to align the picture inline, left, or right, and to flow text over or behind the picture. The advanced button lets you lock the anchor so it doesn't squirt off elsewhere when you edit the rest of the document. (If you "lock anchor" it's almost NEVER necessary to use a text box or a frame in Word.)

The Size tab lets you resize the picture to fit the way you want it.

In Word 2007, there IS NO PICTURE MENU. As best I've been able to figure out, it's necessary to open FIVE separate menus from different submenus (at least one is three levels deep) splattered around different sections of the "main toolbar" (and the separate sections have NO LOGICAL connection to "Pictures" that I can see) to do what was on two tabs of a single menu since ca. 1985 in Word for DOS.

The "Left" and "Right" buttons no longer refer to where the picture goes, but now refer to where the text goes relative to the picture. The same "paintbucket" icon (now pastel and fuzzified) now changes font color and has nothing to do with pictures.(?). All those improvements make it easy for IUEs (Idiots Using Emoticons) perhaps, but impossible to use for anyone who just wants to get a document built to support publishing a book.

(There also is no longer a single "Table" menu, with three separate illogically scattered menu locations needed to convert text to table, convert table to text, or do some formatting of a table. There probably are more "other" menus, but I haven't found all of the functions that used to be on the single Table menu.)

My only reason for my having Office/Word 2007 is that WinXP patches have gradually decreased functionality in my old (Office XP = Word 2002) version, with various functions simply "ceasing to work" or "not working as expected." Thus far, the Office 2003 that Lin has seems unaffected(?) - but she doesn't often use a lot of features that I did.

If an "older" version of Publisher is what's not working, a similar "progressive improvement" might be suspected(?).

A "manual" visit to "Microsoft Update" (it should be on your Start menu) and selecting the "Custom Install" option will let you look at "optional updates" that might include Office patches that you need to keep an Office program like Publisher compatible with new Windows security patches; but Microsoft obvously is NOT CONCERNED if patches break anything prior to Office 2003. (Of course they surely wouldn't crumble the old stuff on purpose.)

John

Subject: RE: Tech: Publisher/text wrap
From: John Hardly
Date: 10 May 08 - 01:37 PM

But Maggie,

Can't I curse and bang something?

Subject: RE: Tech: Publisher/text wrap
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 May 08 - 01:18 PM

John, you have to format the photo, then the text will wrap. This is essentially an html function that is appearing on your document page. Right click the photo and select to position it and that usually takes care of it (in most Word products). I don't use Publisher very often, but you can do this same thing in Word, so I'll tell you how to do it over there. One way or the other you'll end up with your stationary.

In Word you have to use the Insert feature from the top of the page, and if there is text, position your cursor at the beginning of the text so the photo is replaced in relation to that text. Usually the text drops below the photo when the photo is first placed. Then you need to right click the photo and choose "format picture." The dialog box by default comes up on mine comes up on the "picture" tab, but if you go to the "Layout" tab, you can choose "tight" and click the horizontal alignment (below) and then fine tune by clicking on the photo and moving it where you want it to actually sit to refine the position. You can also select "in line with text," but I don't usually use that one and I think it is for actually putting the text in the middle of the paragraph, not on one side or the other.

Publisher will work differently than Word, but this might provide the clues you need. Otherwise, you could make stationary in Word (but redo the page setup so the margins don't block what you're trying to do.)

Maggie

Subject: RE: Tech: Publisher/text wrap
From: John Hardly
Date: 10 May 08 - 01:13 PM

Thanks Joanne,

That did it, though I still don't know what it did. Strange, innit?

Subject: RE: Tech: Publisher/text wrap
From: CupOfTea
Date: 10 May 08 - 12:06 PM

Having been annoyed at various windows programs for years "Publisher is messed up" is a stand alone opinion, yet it could be worse, it could be Word, which makes me nearly homicidal both for XP and for Mac.

I've done extensive work with Publisher, and yer dilemma intrigued me. I found in just creating text box & Importing a couple pictures I had your exact problem, which floored me. What worked for me (which of course means it may not work for you) was:

Arrange; bring to front (both pictures)

Text box; Highlight entre text (control+ A) change size

Then I moved pictures to where I wanted 'em and adjusted the wrap.

Best o'windows luck.

Joanne in Cleveland

Subject: RE: Tech: Publisher/text wrap
From: John Hardly
Date: 10 May 08 - 11:47 AM

That's still not working. I'm figuring that my Publisher is messed up and may need to be uninstalled and reinstalled.

Subject: RE: Tech: Publisher/text wrap
From: Rasener
Date: 10 May 08 - 11:34 AM

You may well have looked at these options

Format, Text Frame Properties, Wrap text

Format, Picture Frame Properties

If not, play around with these 2 options and get back if you still can't solve it.

If that doesn't work, then maybe you can e-mail me the file, without confidential info in it, and I will see if it gives me the same problem.

Subject: RE: Tech: Publisher/text wrap
From: John Hardly
Date: 10 May 08 - 10:56 AM

Yeah, thanks for trying. That's what I've been doing to no effect.

Subject: RE: Tech: Publisher/text wrap
From: eddie1
Date: 10 May 08 - 10:50 AM

Hi John
On the menu bar, go to "Arrange" then downn to "Text Wrap". You can then decide what you want it to do.

Eddie

Subject: Tech: Publisher/text wrap
From: John Hardly
Date: 10 May 08 - 07:39 AM

I use Publisher all the time to make letters with photos in 'em. I was trying to make stationery for my wife this morning and for some reason, I can't get publisher to make a page of lines with 2 photos on it. As soon as I insert the photos the lines move below the photos (instead of beside or around them).

I know it has something to do with "text wrap" but I've tried pushing every button I can find and it doesn't seem to help. It used to just do it without extra commands (probably a default setting to text wrap)

Help?