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Introduction to Microsoft Publisher 2003

What is Microsoft Publisher?

Microsoft® Publisher is a full-featured desktop publishing program that helps you design and publish professional print and Web-based materials with ease. Using Publisher's familiar interface, you can precisely lay out blocks of text, graphics, calendars, order forms, and more, while Publisher's many built-in designs help you to quickly create a professional publication in a matter of minutes.

What's new in Publisher 2003?

Publisher 2003 includes additional publication types and designs, which you can print, publish to the Web, or distribute via e-mail. These options are available from the task pane, which makes it easy to get started immediately. Other enhancements for increasing efficiency include a new page sorter, which lets you use shortcut menus and drag-and-drop functionality to rename, insert, delete, and rearrange pages, and the new Find and Replace task pane, which lets you quickly search and replace text throughout the publication.

Enhanced formatting options and layout features let you design publications with more precision and flexibility; for instance, you can apply multiple master pages to a single publication to control several page designs at once, and widow and orphan control let you control the flow of text between linked text boxes. The Design Checker and Graphics Manager automatically check the status of your publication prior to distribution, so you can quickly catch and fix problems you might not have noticed.

The Easy Web Site Builder automatically creates a custom web site based on the site goals you define, and added Web page types give you more pre-built design options for specific types of pages. A new Web editing environment called Web mode provides options specific to Web pages, ensuring your publications are optimized for the Web. In addition, new e-mail wizards help you design publications specifically for e-mail distribution.

Publisher's commercial printing features have been extended to include composite CMYK Postscript output and enhanced color controls, which let you manage the inks in your publications. And advanced settings for separations are available from the Print dialog.

Also for business users, the new Mail and Catalog Merge Wizard lets you include information in your publications from a variety of data sources, such as a database or spreadsheet.

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