Project 3: Brochure
Format Text Boxes

 Title: Jan's Illustrated Computer Literacy 101
Did you want: Working with Words: Word 2007,2010,2013,2016 or españolIcon: Change web

You are not stuck with boring white rectangles for your text boxes. You can use any of the AutoShapes. You can even modify the shape yourself.

Drawing toolbar - Formatting buttonsYou have a lot of formatting choices for your text boxes from the Drawing bar - background color, line color, text color, line style, dashes style, shadow and 3-D effects. Plus, you can still format the text inside with all the normal Font formatting. Surely you can be creative with all these choices!

All these same choices, and a few more,  can be found on the Format Text Box dialog, too.

Dialog- Format Text Box | Colors and Lines


Where you are:
JegsWorks > Lessons > Word97-2003

Before you start...

Project 1: Word BasicsTo subtopics

Project 2: Auto ToolsTo subtopics

Project 3: Brochure
    Linked Text Boxes Subtopics display
    icon-footprintCreate & Link
    icon-footprintFormat
    BrochureTo subtopics
    Summary
    Quiz
    ExercisesTo subtopics

Project 4: ReportTo subtopics

    Search
    Glossary
Icon Step-by-Step 

Step-by-Step: Format Linked Text Boxes

  Icon Step-by-Step

What you will learn:

 to change the AutoShape of a text box
to format colors and lines for a text box
to format text inside a text box 

Start with:  Class disk Icon- Word with blank document, textboxes.doc

Change AutoShape

When you first create a text box, it is always a simple rectangle. You can change that boring shape by applying a different AutoShape with the  Draw  |  Change AutoShape  command.

TipIf you pick a shape first from the AutoShapes menu and then draw it, you have just an AutoShape, not a text box.  To add text to the shape, you must right click and pick  Add Text  from the popup menu.

  1. Text Box - Horizontal ScrollSelect Text Box 1 at the upper left of textboxes.doc.
     
  2. On the Drawing bar select  Draw  |  Change AutoShapes  | Stars and Banners  |  Horizontal Scroll . This is easy!
     
  3. Drag one of the text box handles Handle. The height and width of the text box change. 

    Keyboard tip  To keep the same proportions as you resize the text box, hold the SHIFT key down while you drag a corner handle. 
     
  4. Play with the shape and then undo your changes.

Adjust AutoShape 

  1. Text Box - modified horizonal scrollMove  your pointer over the yellow adjustment handle. The pointer changes to a delta shape Adjustment handle for editing a vector drawing.

    If you don't see the yellow diamond, click on the box border.
     
  2. Drag in various directions. The figure shape changes, but the overall height and width of the figure do not change! Is this not too cool!!??

    For this shape it's the tightness of the scroll and the height of the "paper" that the changes when you drag the yellow diamond. All but the most basic AutoShapes have a yellow diamond handle like this. The effect varies depending on the shape.
     
  3. Apply a different shape to each of the other text boxes. Experiment with changing the sizes. Adjust the shapes with the adjustment handle. Have a little fun!

Format Text Box

  1. Experiment with formatting your text boxes. Make each one different.

    Use all of the formatting tools on the Drawing bar: background color, line color, line style, shadow, 3-D. Try to arrive at an attractive, or at least interesting, combination. 
     
  2. After you have finished formatting the text boxes themselves, format the text inside using the tools on the Formatting bar.

    TipIf you format the text first and then format the text boxes, you may find your text moves into the next text box. Your formatting choices may not work well in a different text box!
      
  3. Preview. Keep in mind that if you print in black and white instead of color, some of your color choices may look the same. This can make text disappear! Make changes, if necessary, so that your print out will be clear.
     
  4. Class diskSave as  textboxes2.doc  in the  word project3  folder of your Class disk.
    Full disk How to handle a full disk

 Problem: Page Setup Grayed Out

When you think you are ready to print, you generally need to check Page Setup. You might have a shock...

  1. Menu - File | Page Setup - grayed out Select a text box and open  File  |  Page Setup . Whoops! It's grayed out! You can't do this now! Why??
     
  2. Click out of the text box and try again . Now you can select  Page Setup  and check the settings. That's all it takes to solve that problem!

    Tip The same problem occurs if an image is selected when you try to view Page Setup.
     
  3. Print Preview.
     
  4. Print icon Print.