by John Sullivan

Lesson 4 - Getting Fancy: Adding "STYLE"

Coloring Backgrounds-

Coloring and shading backgrounds can create visual interest in your document, like in the page on the right. Setting up the page is relatively easy.

• Delete all objects on the page.
• Click on the text symbol on the left side.
• Then, move the cursor over to the area where the box will be. Hold the mouse button and drag it over and down until the box is the appropriate size.
• Add text by typing or Cut and Paste.
• To change the background, click on the "Fill Color" button at the top of the screen.

The drop down box below will come up.

• Select one of the "Scheme Colors" that are shown to fill in the box with a solid color, or select "More Colors" for the entire range of colors.
• Choosing "Fill Effects", to achieve the shading on the page above or other effects, will lead to the window below right.
• Select "Gradients" (#1) for the effect above and select a style.
• The color can be changed just below; two colors can be blended also.
• Select "Apply" at the bottom right to preview the document with the change.
• If you are satisfied, select "OK" to make the change permanent.

If the background does not print, or if you want another change, follow the above steps or right click on the box and select "Change Frame" to bring up the options of changing the fill color or adding a line around the box.

Lines-

Lines can be added to divide articles, columns, or to outline boxes. To place a line around a box, click the quick key at the top of the screen. Select "More Styles" from the drop down box. The screen on the right will pop up. Select the line width, color, and sides for the box.

To insert a line, select the "Line Tool" on the left.

Move the cursor to the point where the line will start, then drag it to the end point. To change the line style, repeat the previous process.

Locking and Unlocking Components-

You can group objects together so that you can expand or contract them uniformly. Hold down the shift key and click on the components that you want locked together. A frame will appear around the selected items, and two separate puzzle pieces will appear at the bottom of the frame. Click on the puzzle icons to lock the items together; the puzzle pieces will join. To unlock, click on the items and then on the locked puzzle pieces; they will separate and unlock the items. Click elsewhere in the document to deselect the items.

Other Options-

Note the "Drawing" tool bar on the left side of the screen. Using the options can add a more unique style to your syllabus.

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