How to Design Attractive Flyers and Documents
with Microsoft Word (2003)

QuickTips:

1. WHITE SPACE around your text makes it easier for people to read your flyer's content. Try not to jam too much into one area.

2. In the same vein, don't place your BORDER too close to the text. If it's hard to read, people will ignore it. (See more about borders below.)

3. A catchy HEADLINE draws people in better than a boring headline. For good headline ideas, get the excellent book Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples.

4. SUBHEADINGS make your flyer text easier to read (breaks text into more manageable chunks) and allow people to scan your flyer for pertinent points. Folks should be able to scan your headline and subheads and know what your flyer is trying to tell them.

5. Make sure you "ASK FOR THE SALE." If you want people to call you, make sure you say, "Call so-and-so at XXX-XXX-XXXX" or "Call XXX-XXX-XXXX to register before (date) for your early bird discount." Know what you'd like your reader to do... and ask them to do it.

6. If your flyer is announcing a class or workshop, make sure all of your CONTACT INFORMATION is included. Also, the time, place, and cost should be easy to find on the flyer.

7. UNDO - Learn how to use the "undo" function. If you make a mistake and want to revert to what you had before you made the mistake (or chose a color you didn't like, or placed a border that didn't work, etc.), click on Edit, Undo. You can undo quite a few previous actions by hitting "undo" over and over. Stop undoing when you get back to where you want to be... so you can start over.

8. TOOLBARS - To use Word for flyers, make sure you have the right toolbars open (so your shortcuts - represented by those little graphical icons - are visible and handy): Go to View; Toolbars; and make sure these are checked: Standard, Formatting, Drawing, Picture, Reviewing and PDF Maker.

9. PRINT LAYOUT - It's easiest to see what your finished flyer will look like if you're viewing it in "Print Layout." On the top line, click on View, then Print Layout.

10. AUTOCORRECT OPTIONS - Choose these "Autocorrect" options at Tools, Autocorrect Options, Autoformat: Check "replace straight quotes with curly quotes" and "replace hyphens (--) with dash." I like to UNcheck automatic bullet and number lists, because they pop up when I don't need 'em. I can always add a number or bullet list quickly using the icons on my toolbar instead.

11. I've been seeing good deals on Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007. For around $100, you can install Office 2007 software on up to 3 computers in your household. Includes Word, Excel, Powerpoint and One Note. Works with XP or Vista. The 2010 version is now out, so I expect even better bargains will be appearing on the 2007 version.

  
(1) Set Your Page Margins:

To set your top, bottom, right and left margins so that you have enough space for a border outside your text, go to:

File (it's on the top line)

Page Setup (from the drop-down menu)

I like to use a minimum of 1" for margins, even up to 1.25 inches, depending on how much text I have.

In Page Setup, you can change your header and footer settings to 0 inches if you don't need page numbering, or a title across the top of all the pages, or a copyright notice on the bottom of all the pages. For a one-page flyer, try 1 to 1.25 inches for your margin, with no headers and footers.

(2) Make a Simple Border:

For a simple border around your page (and not around your text box), go to:

1. File

2. Page Setup

3. Layout

4. Click on Page Borders button. This gives you a border around your page, not just the text box. Click on Borders to set a border around a text box or a graphic.

5. Click on Box (or shadow box or 3-D box)

6. Choose the Style you want (plain border, dashed, dotted, zig-zag, double line, shaded line, etc. Choose these from the drop-down menu).

7. Choose the Color you want (a) from the drop down box... or (b) click on More Line Colors to see additional colors

8. Click on the Shading tab if you'd like to add shading between, over or under lines of text. You can use this feature to create spacers between blocks of text. You can also overwrite the shading with text. Just choose a font color that will stand out against the shaded background. It appears like a line or you can give it a pattern by clicking on the Pattern Style drop-down menu.

(3) Choose Your Fonts:

You can type all your text first... and then change the fonts from whatever is set as your "default" font (often Times New Roman) or you can enter text and change it as you go along.

To change fonts within a document or flyer, select the text you want to change and click on:

1. Format

2. Font

3. Choose a strong, bold headline font for the main heading. You could use this same font in smaller type or in italics for your subheads.
   
   Type your headline. If you want to make it look fancier, you could format it with WordArt: Select your headline text, click on Insert, Picture, WordArt and choose the WordArt shape and color you like. The Edit WordArt Text box pops up where you can change the font style and size to fit your flyer. If you right click on your WordArt text, a box pops up that lets you do even more.

4. For the main text of your flyer, choose an easy-to-read font. A "serif" font such as Times New Roman works well if there is lots to read. If you don't have a lot of text, a sans-serif font such as Arial or Futura works well.
   
   Try not to use more than 2-3 different fonts within one flyer or document. If you want text to stand out, you could use the italics and bold options for variety. Don't underline too much either - just a single word here and there - otherwise your text will be too hard to read. If you like fancy fonts, they're okay for short headings, but not for blocks of text.

5. Start with an 11 or 12 point size until you see how much space it all takes up. You can always select the text and go back to Format, Font to change the size or bolding/italics, etc. Your toolbar should show the font names and sizes in drop-down menus, which makes changing your font types and sizes even quicker and easier. Make sure your "Formatting" tool bar is checked to access this feature.
   
   You'll notice some fancier font options for embossing, outlining, underlining, color, etc. Play with these to see what looks good. You can even have different colors for the text and underlining.

6. Embed your fonts if you're planning to email your flyer or make a PDF file of your flyer. Not everyone has the same fonts on their computer and if you don't embed your fonts when you send your flyer to someone else, it could end up looking very different. Go to Tools, Options, click on the Save tab, and choose Embed True Type Fonts. Save your changes.
    

(4) Format Your Paragraphs:

You can make things easier on yourself by setting up your paragraph formatting ahead of time. Just make sure you first place your curser somewhere in the text you wish to format.
 

1. Set your paragraph alignment by clicking on:
   Format
   Paragraph
   General: Alignment
   From the Alignment drop-down box, choose Left, Right, Center or Justified.

2. Set your indentations next
   Format
   Paragraph
   Indentation
   For equal indentations to set off a paragraph within a larger section of text, use the left and right indentations, making sure the numbers are equal.
   
   For First Line Indent, choose .2 inches to start with and see how it looks. This will indent ONLY the first line of each paragraph.

3. Set line spacing next
   Format
   Paragraph
   Line spacing
   You can set your spacing between lines to single space, 1.5 lines of spacing or double space. There's also a "custom" option that lets you be even more exact. You can use "at least" or "exactly" and set your line points in relation to the points of your font size. Don't be afraid to play with this, because it's easy to change. The aim is to make it easy for people to read your flyer.

4. Set paragraph spacing
   Format
   Paragraph
   Spacing
   You can set paragraph spacing for the entire document or for just 1-2 paragraphs at a time using the Spacing drop-down menus. Using this option helps you create a more professional-looking document than if you just hit "enter" twice for paragraph spacing.
   
   You can create more white space above and below your text using the two menus "Above" and "Below." They show increments of 6 points, but you can type in any number you wish, if you want less or more than 6, 12, or 18 points between paragraphs.
   
   Choose points based on your font size. If you're using 12 point Times New Roman, 12 point spacing is close to double spacing, except you don't have to hit enter twice. For most print documents, double spacing or 12 points between paragraphs looks excessive. But if you don't have much text, 12 points between paragraphs helps you to stretch things out.

Alt Key Symbols Mug Tutorial by newradiance
Keep your symbols for copyright, trademark, French accents and more at your fingertips.
 

(5) Adding Graphics and Photos:

Here are a few tips for placing and editing your graphics and for wrapping your text around the graphics.
 

1. Insert your graphic:
   At the top of the screen, click on:
   Insert
   Picture (drop-down menu)
   Choose what you'll insert from another drop-down menu. For simplicity here, let's just look at Clip Art.
   (Hopefully, the graphic "Files on Your Computer" are stored in your "My Pictures" files, making them easy to find by going to Insert, Picture, From File, My Pictures. Your pictures downloaded from the Microsoft.com online clip art gallery could also be in a subfile of My Pictures called Microsoft Clip Organizer.)

2. Okay, so we're back at:
   Insert
   Picture
   Clip Art
   In the menu area to the right of your text area, you'll see a "Search" box. Enter the keyword for the clipart graphic you need for your flyer (candle, nurse, lighthouse, Christmas, happy people, etc.) and select "All Collections" and "All Media File Types" for the most numerous results. If you know you just want a photo, click on the drop-down arrow and uncheck everything except "Photographs." If you just want clipart (no movies, sounds or photos), uncheck everything except clipart. Click on the Search button.
   
   A number of graphics choices will appear and you just click on the one(s) you want and they'll be placed on your flyer. See how to move them below.

3. Resize your graphic:
   The original picture will most likely be too large for your flyer, and you can easily resize it by left clicking on it, and pulling IN from one of the corners. Or you can click on the picture, then RIGHT click on it and a box called "Format Picture" opens. Click on the size tab and specify in inches the desired height and width for your picture.

4. Rotate your graphic:
   In this same section of Format Picture (right click on the graphic), you can rotate your graphic by entering the number of degrees you'd like the picture to turn. If you'd like it rotated to the left, make sure to place a minus sign (-) before the number of degrees.

5. Move your graphic:
   To move your pictures on the page, left click the picture, hold it down with the mouse while dragging it to where you'd like it placed.

6. Format your graphic:
   
   Change a color graphic to grayscale by right clicking on the graphic, then click on the Picture tab. At the Image Control drop-down menu you can play with Color, by choosing automatic, grayscale, black and white or washout. You can increase brightness and contrast here, too.
   
   Want a background behind some text in your flyer? Try the "Washout" option in the color section of Image Control. Just place it behind your text: Format, Picture, Layout, and check the "behind text" option.
   
   You can also crop the picture on this section of Format Picture... or use the "Crop Tool" on your toolbar... it looks like two diagonal XXs. Click on the graphic and then on the crop tool and drag in the sides or corners to give your picture the look you want. You can remove sections of the background and other people and things you don't want showing in your graphic. If you can't find the exact graphic you want in clip art, quite often you can crop elements OUT OF a graphic to get what you need.

7. Make a border for your graphic:
   Right click the graphic. Click on "Borders and Shading" on the drop-down menu. Click on the "Borders" tab and check "Box." Choose the type of border you'd like: single line, double line, dotted line, zigzag, etc. and choose the color and width of the line from the drop-down menus.

8. Wrap text around your graphic:
   Right click your picture, click the Layout tab, and choose how you'd like your text to wrap around your picture. If you want white space on the sides of the graphic, choose the first option "In Line With Text." This puts your first line of text at the bottom right of the graphic (the default that Microsoft Word gives for this option).
   
   If you want your text to start higher up beside your picture, choose "Square" or "Tight." You can also type text on top of the graphic - just make sure that "behind text" is selected in the "Wrapping Styles" section

9. Rotate/flip your graphics:
   Is your photo facing the wrong way into the text? A photo placed on the left of the page should look toward the right - drawing the reader's eye INTO the text. A photo placed on the right should be looking into the text toward the left. If you need your photo in a specific place for the design, but the eyes/face are looking in the wrong direction, you can flip the photo horizontally.
   
   Make sure your Drawing toolbar has the pyramid-looking icons (flipping tools). If it doesn't, go to View, Toolbars, Customize, Drawing... scroll down for the rotate and flip choices and DRAG them to the toolbar (along with any other nifty shortcuts that caught your eye. They save going to Format, Picture... etc.)
   
   Flip your photo by left clicking on it, then clicking on the back-to-back pyramid-looking things on the toolbar (one gray, one purple). Your photo should now be looking in the direction you need.
    

(6) Convert your flyer to PDF for emailing to your clients and prospects:

Word comes with a built-in PDF Maker, so you don't need the full Adobe Acrobat program to convert your files to PDF.

Save your file, make sure your fonts are embedded (see above), click on Acrobat on the top of your screen, then on Convert to Adobe PDF.

I usually save my PDF files to the desktop to start with and move or delete them later. Make sure the name of the file and location are correct and click "Save."

If you don't want anyone else to be able to change or alter your PDF document, click on File, Document Security, select Standard Security from the drop-down menu and check (1) No Changing the Document (2) No Content Copying and (3) No Adding or Changing. Uncheck Print, since you'll want folks to be able to print your flyer. Save your changes.