About Dawn Douglas Expertise I can answer most questions about Microsoft Publisher.
Experience I have been using Microsoft Publisher for 11 years. I started with Adobe InDesign and Pagemaker. I like Microsoft Publisher for it's ease of use.
Education/Credentials I am self taught in Microsoft Publisher. I learned by doing.
Question QUESTION: Hi can you please help me?
I have just started to use publisher 2002.
I created a form containing text boxes and auto shape boxes with outlines. When I group these items then select format object to position them, and click ok. All of the boxes are outlined.
After clicking format object, there is a tick box that says "draw border inside frame" whether this is ticked or unticked, the boxes always end up with an outline!
Can you offer an explanation or tell me how to stop this happening?
Kind regards
Ian
ANSWER: Hi Ian,
Are you saying you do not want the text boxes and the autoshapes to have an outline?
If that is what you would like to do, follow these steps:
Re-arrange your form exactly how you want the boxes and autoshapes to be positioned in your document. You may group them if you like to get your relative positions correct. Once the objects are all placed on your form the way you like, ungroup them all.
Now this part is important.
With your finger on the left mouse key drag a box over the entire form and release. Every object on your form should now be selected. Go to the format menu and select "object." Now at the bottom you should see that the box that says "draw border inside frame" is darkened.
On the "color and lines" tab go to "line" and select "no line." This will remove all outlines from your objects.
If you want some box to have outlines and some not, select the individual object and go back to the format menu and select your line color and size.
I hope this answers your question.
Very Respectfully,
Dawn
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thanks Dawn,
the forms I design have quite literally dozens of both text boxes and auto shapes with and without outlines.
When I group them to allow them to be all repositioned on the page, the process eithr results in them all having outlines, or if I select no line, all of them have no outlines. Ideally, I want to be able move the group and for each item to retain the outline status set earlier.
P:resently I have to go through all of the objects after formating them and reset the desired outline condition.
Is there anything more I can do?
Thanks once again for your help
Ian
ANSWER: Hello Ian,
I see. I created a form with text boxes and autoshapes, and selected the ones I wanted to have without oultines, grouped them all together and my format was retained.
Are you using Publisher 2000 or 2003? I am using Microsoft Publisher 2003 and I tried several different variation of the situation you described and I am not having that problem.
The only other suggestion I can think of is to segregate your groups. Group the boxes together that you want to retain an outline and group the other boxes that you do not want to retain an outline. Save the document as a template if it's a form you use over and over again.
If possible, can you sent me one of your forms in a zip file and I can have a better example of what you are attempting to do. Perhaps I am not understanding your situation completely.
Sorry I couldn't be of more assistance.
Very respectfully,
Dawn
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Hi Dawn,
I have been using publisher 2000 for a number of years without any problems. I have just upgraded this and started to use office XP which includes publisher 2002, which I must say is much improved. If you have ever used 2002, it looks almost identical to 2003. Maybe the issue I have found was corrected in the later version!
I can send you one of my files but your form only gives me an option to add an image format, I am a website designer so for convenience have put a copy of a form I created on my webserver at www.websiteslive.co.uk/dawn or if you have an e-mail address I can forward it to that. The form I have supplied is an A5 invoice layout set 2 up on an A4 sheet. The version on the left is how the form should look, the version on the right is a copy that has simply been grouped, then accessed using the format menu!
I would welcome your views though I am beginning to believe this is just a program issue.
Kind regards
Ian
Answer Hi Ian,
I did receive your file. I played with the grouping, grouping your header data, invoice data, etc... into different groups to see if I would get the effect you are getting. I had no problem. When I grouped them, they maintained the shape and setting they originally had. I didn't experience the boxes that didn't have outlines, suddenly having outlines. I did it for separate boxes as well as grouping the entire form. I didn't have that problem.
It may be something in the version of publisher you have that is causing you the problem. In addition, you might want to increase your memory. When I was working with large projects on occasion Publisher would "freak out" and start half printing things and placing lines where they didn't belong. I discovered it was a problem with my resource memory.
