Desktop Publishing Revised Notes
Desktop Publishing Revised Notes
PART ONE
LESSON ONE
Lesson Objectives
By the end of the lesson the learner should be able to:
a) Define publishing, desktop publishing
b) List the advantages of computerized DTP over traditional Publishing
c) List examples of DTP packages
d) Describe the use of the listed DTP packages
e) Explain the purpose of DTP software
f) Differentiate between DTP and Word Processing
Introduction to DTP
Publishing is the process of producing publications such as newspapers, cards, pamphlets, pictures,
calendars, books, etc that has special text and graphical layouts and designs.
Traditionally, publishing involved drawing and writing manually on wooden or metallic boards. The artwork
would then be painted with ink and pressed on papers to produce a printout. Today, the art of publishing
makes use of Personal computers and small printers that are able to print high-quality text and graphics. All
the publishing processes can be done on a desk in the office or at home.
(c) Printing
To produce any publications, they must be printed. Therefore, DTP software helps the user to prepare artwork
(i.e., publications that are ready for printing).
LESSON TWO
Lesson Objectives
By the end of the lesson the learner should be able to:
a) Classify DTP software
b) List types of publications
c) Explain features of DTP software
d) Describe DTP printing terminologies
Layout based:
They are specifically developed to create different page layout designs for text and pictures. These programs
allow a user to create publications with consistent layouts for both text and graphics. The layout for each page
is designed independently. This makes it easy for a page to be adjusted to accommodate more text or improve
the layout design. Tools with limited ability to manipulate graphics are also included. Examples of such
programs are given below;
Adobe PageMaker
Microsoft Publisher.
Designing a publication
Different publications have different design layouts and formatting. There are several types of publications
that can be produced using DTP software. They include:
i) Cards:
They may be for special occasions such as weddings, graduations, harambee, and for congratulations.
ii) Certificates:
These are types of publications used to show completion of courses and special events. Note. Certificates are
very sensitive, and must be designed to discourage any type of duplication or counterfeits.
v) Calendars:
They are used to show dates. They are also used by companies to advertise their products.
Horizontal
ruler
Vertical
ruler
Task pane
Toolbox
Page thumbnail
The Pasteboard
The Pasteboard is the large blank area surrounding the page. This is where text and graphical objects are
placed before arranging them neatly on the printable area.
Note. You can move text and graphics to the Pasteboard until you need them again.
The Toolbox
It contains a set of buttons that represent the various tools that can be used to create and manipulate
publications.
Picture tool
Tool Purpose
Pointer tool Select, move, and resize blocks of text and graphical objects.
Text tool Type and select text.
Rotating tool Rotate selected graphics or text blocks.
Cropping tool Trim imported graphics.
Line Draw straight lines in any direction.
Constrained tool Draw vertical or horizontal lines.
Rectangle Draw rectangles and squares.
Ellipse Draw circular objects
Ellipse frame create a circular or oval placeholder for text and graphics
Polygon Helps to draw basic polygons such as triangle, pentagons, stars, etc
Hand Scroll the page
Zoom (magnifier) Magnify or reduce an area of the page.
Palettes
Palette
It is a shortcut toolbar (or a strip) that contains text and paragraph formatting command buttons and
list boxes. It enables the user to assign attributes to text and graphical objects.
It is a small window that contains the tools which can be used to add and change text & graphics
attributes in a publication.
Colour palette
Can be used to apply colours or view the kind of colour applied to the selected text or object. Colour palettes
in Microsoft Publisher are displayed depending on the selected item
Control palette
It is a shortcut toolbar (or a strip) that contains text & paragraph formatting command buttons and list boxes.
It enables the user to assign attributes to text and graphical objects. In Microsoft Publisher, it is known as the
formatting toolbar.
Pointer
This is a position pointer on the screen & its shape depends on what you are doing.
An Arrow ( ) – to point & select objects.
An (І) beam – to write and edit text.
A Cross-hair cursor ( ) – to draw.
Menu bar
It is a pull-down menu at the top of the screen.
Comparison between DTP software & Word processor software application window
Both have a title bar, menu bar and scroll bars.
Word processing software has a Status bar; DTP software has no Status bar.
DTP software has its printable work area centered on a pasteboard.
LESSON FOUR
Lesson objectives
By the end of the lesson the learner should be able to:
a) Define a master page
b) Explain the how the letters ‘L’ and ‘R’ are used to identify the master pages
c) Describe how non-printing guides are used in creating publications
d) List the non-printing guides used in publications
e) Change the measurements on the ruler
Margin Guides
Margin guides are very important because; they define the printable area of your publication.
Review Questions.
1. Identify four common features in word processing and desktop publishing software.
LESSON FIVE
Lesson Objectives
By the end of the lesson, the learner should be able to:
a) Describe ways in which text is entered into a publication
b) Explain the use of a text frame/object
c) Explain the difference between using a pointer and text tools
d) Describe what is a story with regard to text creation in DTP programs
e) Edit text created using a DTP program
A text frame/object defines the space you want the text to occupy. It confines the text to the area you’ve
selected.
When a text tool is selected, the pointer changes into an I-Beam. It is inserted in the publication by either
clicking on the surface of the publication or dragging on a rectangular area.
Note: A text object can be moved from one place to another or manipulated by the use of a pointer tool
(pointer cursor in object mode).
When the text is selected using the Text tool, you can type, edit or change the text attributes, e.g., Bold,
Underline, etc.
The Pointer tool is used to select a text block. This method is used if you want to:
Move the text block.
Change the size of the text block.
Delete the text block.
Editing a publication
The term editing means, making changes to a publication. To edit a story, you must place a text cursor in the
text area you want to deal with.
Note: Before editing the publication, you must open it in the story window. Desktop Publishers defines each
text block as a story. A Story is a collection of text that DTP program recognizes as a single unit for editing
purposes. A story may range from just single letter or several hundreds of pages of text.
Formatting a Publication
Formatting refers to applying special attributes to text, graphical objects and pages in order to make them
attractive and appealing to the eye.
Formatting may include; changing font size, bolding, changing text colour, adjusting picture brightness and
contrast, and formatting columns on the page.
Text formatting
To format text in your publication, use the commands in the Type menu or the Control palette/ Formatting
toolbar.
The contents of the Control palette vary depending on which tool is selected from the toolbar.
There are 2 types of control palette modes:
Object mode
Selecting a graphical object in object view, enables you to apply attributes related to the object such as
rotating, moving, resizing, etc. This is also true if the user selects the object pointer.
Text mode
The Text mode can be selected by clicking the Character view or Paragraph view button. There are 2 types of
Text modes:
i) Character view.
ii) Paragraph view.
Character view is when the T tool on the control palette is selected. This means that, you can apply character
attributes such as font type, size, or style (bold, italic or regular) to the selected text.
Paragraph view is when you select a paragraph, and then click the ¶ button below the T tool on the control
palette. This means that, you can apply paragraph styles, select alignment options, and other paragraph
attributes.
Kerning of characters
Kerning refers to fixing of particular pairs of letters that are too close or too far apart from each other.
Drop cap
Drop cap refers to text formatting where the first character in a line is bigger and drops down to occupy the
space in the next lines.
Setting indents
Indents are used to set temporary left and right margins for the paragraph. They move text inwards from the
right & left edges of a margin.
LESSON SEVEN
Lesson Objectives
By the end of the lesson, the learner should be able to:
a) Explain what is page formatting
b) Describe the non-printing guides used in page formatting
c) Describe how headers and footers are used in publications
d) List the attributes which can be changed in page formatting
e) Apply page formatting attributes to pages in a publication
f) Explain the importance of page numbering
Page formatting
This refers to formatting the whole page. It may include setting column guides, page numbering, adding
headers and footers, etc.
Working with Non-printing guides & rulers
Nonprinting guides are lines that help the user to position objects on a page, but do not appear in print.
There are 3 kinds of nonprinting guides:
i) Margin guides,
ii) Column guides, and
iii) Ruler guides.
Margins
Margins are defined in the Document Setup dialog box when you first create a publication, and are applied to
the Document Master page.
To change the Document Master margins use the File - Document Setup command.
Column guides
Column guides are non-printing lines that serve as boundaries for text you place within them.
A column is the area between the margins. Columns control the flow of text in text blocks that you place
automatically and also help position text and graphics.
Ruler guides
Ruler guides are non-printing lines that help you align items or objects on a page accurately. However, they
don't control the flow of text.
COLUMN GUIDES
Column guides help the user to divide a large page into columns that make the publication look more
organized.
Columns are mostly used in designing large publications, newspapers, and journals.
Page numbering
To print page numbers in a publication, add a page-number marker (a special character) that keeps track of
the order of pages in the publication and ensures that each page is numbered correctly at all times.
Review Questions.
1. (a). What are non-printing guides?
(b). Give three non-printing guides used in PageMaker.
2. Explain how you would:
i) Create different columns on the same page.
ii) Lock column guides to avoid accidental moving from the current position.
iii) What does the term Gutter mean in relation to column setting?
3. Differentiate between margin guides and column guides.
LESSON EIGHT
Lesson Objectives
By the end of the lesson, the learner should be able to:
i) Define a graphic object
ii) Explain the importance of using graphical objects in publications
iii) Differentiate between the use of graphic and text tools
iv) Describe each of the tools used in graphics manipulation
v) Differentiate between inserting, copying and drawing a graphical object
vi) Format and edit different kinds of objects by changing or modifying some of their attributes
Reshaping a polygon
Once a user draws a polygon, he/she can change it to another shape such as a triangle, pentagon, hexagon, or
even a star.
Rotating an object
Rotating an object means changing the angular placement of the object. To rotate an object it must be
selected/highlighted.
Locking objects
You can lock individual objects in place in order to help preserve the design of your pages through all the
stages of production.
You can change the attributes of a locked object provided the change does not affect the object’s size or
position. For example, you can change a colour or fill applied to a locked object.
Review Questions
1. (a). What is a Text frame?
(b). How would you convert a rectangular shape into a text frame so that you can place text in it.
2. Give three methods that are used to transform an object.
3. Explain how you would:
i) Draw a hexagon.
ii) Rotate a triangle by 30 degrees.
iii) Lock an object in order to preserve your publication design.
iv) Import a graphic from another file into the publication using the Place command.
v) Group objects so that you can manipulate them as a unit.
4. (a). What is Text wrap?
(b) Give three ways you can wrap text on an object.
(c) Explain the concept of wrapping text around objects.
5. Define the following:
i) Cropping.
ii) Object grouping.
iii) Line stroke.
iv) Artwork.
6. Explain why you would need to lock margins or objects in a publication.
7. Differentiate between Fill and stroke.
LESSON NINE
Lesson Objectives
By the end of the lesson, the learner should be able to:
a) Define what is printing
b) Identify attributes which can be changed in the print dialog box
c) Print a publication