Misalignment of the items on a page can make your publication look sloppy and amateurish. By using Publisher’s arranging tools, you can produce a professional-looking publication whose objects are precisely placed for maximum design impact. Use the margin guides to specify the amount of space between your content and the edge of the page; use the grid guides to line up objects either horizontally or vertically; use the baseline guides so that the lines of text align horizontally across the page even if they’re in different text boxes; and use the ruler guides to align each object to a specific measurement.
With your publication open in Publisher, choose Layout Guides from the Arrange menu to display the Layout Guides dialog box.
On the Margin Guides tab, set the margins you want for the page.
On the Grid Guides tab, select the number of column guides and row guides you want, and set the spacing (the distance from the guide with which an object will align) for both column guides and row guides.
On the Baseline Guides tab, specify the spacing for the baseline of your text—that is, the imaginary nonprinting line the text sits on—and set the offset distance that you want between the first baseline and the top margin guide.
Point to Snap on the Arrange menu, and choose To Guides from the submenu.
On the View menu, make sure that the Boundaries And Guides item is selected, and, if you want the baseline guides to be displayed, make sure the Baseline Guides item is selected.
Drag or resize an object in your document, and note the way it aligns with the grid guidelines.
- Point to the horizontal ruler, and drag out a horizontal ruler guide to the location you want, as shown on the vertical ruler. Drag out and position as many horizontal ruler guides as you want.
- Point to the vertical ruler, and drag out a vertical ruler guide to the location you want, as shown on the horizontal ruler. Drag out and position as many vertical ruler guides as you want.
- Point to Snap on the Arrange menu, and choose To Ruler Marks from the submenu.
- Move or resize an object so that its boundaries snap to a horizontal or a vertical ruler guide, or to the intersection of a horizontal and a vertical guide.
Tip
To be able to align text to the baseline guide, you must set the paragraph formatting to use the baseline guides. The easiest way to do this is to create a style that includes alignment to the baseline guides. Click the Styles button on the Formatting toolbar, and, in the Styles task pane that appears, choose New Style to create the new style.
Try This!
Point to Toolbars on the View menu, and choose Measurement from the submenu. Click to select an object, and note the information about its position, dimensions, and font characteristics. Point to Nudge on the Arrange menu, and drag the top of the submenu so that it becomes a floating toolbar. Move the selected object by clicking the Nudge buttons.