INCORPORATING GRAPHIC ITEMS

Transcription

1 INCORPORATING GRAPHIC ITEMS Another frequently requested topic is how to use Excel tables and charts in Word documents. Do you know the differences between linking and embedding? Do you know how to resize Excel charts to get the right fit for your document? Object alignment? Text wrapping? Distance from text? (There may be a small amount of Excel work in this class!) Other graphic items often used in Word Processing will be considered, such as corporate logos, text boxes, and AutoShapes. Time will be spent examining the Drawing Toolbar and how these tools can be used to enhance the documents you produce. Prerequisite: a good working knowledge of Word 97. The notes that are included in this package were based on the Online Help resource available in Word 97. Notes from SANDAG s Technical Workshops are available online at Class Instructor: MELISSA COFFELT Administrative Services Assistant ph. (619) mcof@sandag.org

2 ENHANCING WORD DOCUMENTS WITH GRAPHIC OBJECTS Graphics add impact. They capture the attention of the reader. Graphics also illustrate and clarify written material. They are a powerful element of professional looking presentations. With Word it is possible to incorporate a wide variety of graphic items into the documents you produce. INCORPORATING AN EXCEL CHART INTO A WORD DOCUMENT Word provides several ways to insert Microsoft Excel data into a Word document. In most instances you will want to either Link or Embed a worksheet or chart. The main differences between linking and embedding are where the data is stored and how it is updated after you place it in the document (see Definitions). Create a Linked Chart/Worksheet 1. Open both the Word document and the Microsoft Excel workbook that contains the data you want to create a linked object from. 2. Switch to Microsoft Excel, and then select the entire worksheet, a range of cells, or the chart you want. 3. Click Copy. 4. Switch to the Word document, and then click where you want to insert the linked object. 5. On the Edit menu, click Paste Special. 6. Click Paste link. 7. In the As box, click the option you want. If you're not sure which one to choose, click an option and read the description in the Result box. 8. To display the linked worksheet or chart as an icon, select the Display as icon check box. 9. To prevent the linked worksheet or chart from being displayed as a drawing object that you can position in front of or behind text and other objects, clear the Float over text check box. Create an Embedded Chart/Worksheet 1. Open both the Word document and the Microsoft Excel workbook that contains the data you want to create an embedded object from. 2. Switch to Microsoft Excel, and then select the entire worksheet, a range of cells, or the chart you want. 3. Click Copy. 4. Switch to the Word document, and then click where you want to insert the embedded object. 5. On the Edit menu, click Paste Special. 6. Click Paste. 7. In the As box, click Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object or Microsoft Excel Chart Object. 8. To display the embedded worksheet or chart as an icon select the Display as icon check box. 9. To prevent the embedded worksheet or chart from being displayed as a drawing object that you can position in front of or behind text and other objects, clear the Float over text check box. Definition: Linked Object A linked worksheet or chart is displayed in your document, but its information is stored in the original Microsoft Excel workbook. Whenever you edit the data in Microsoft Excel, Word can automatically update the worksheet or chart in your document. Linking is useful when you want to include information that is maintained independently, such as data collected by a different department, and when you need to keep that information in Word up to date. Because the linked data is stored in another location, linking can also help minimize the file size of your Word document. Definition: Embedded Object An embedded worksheet or chart stores its information directly in the Word document. To edit the embedded object, just double-click it to start Microsoft Excel, make your changes, and then return to Word. You can embed an existing worksheet or chart, or start from scratch by embedding a new, blank worksheet or chart. Because the information is totally contained in one Word document, embedding is useful when you want to distribute an online version of your document to people who won't have access to independently maintained worksheets or charts.

3 The PASTE SPECIAL Dialog Box Inserts or embeds the Clipboard contents at the insertion point in the format you select in the As box. This option pastes or embeds the Clipboard contents, but no link is created. Inserts the Clipboard contents and creates a link to the source file for the data. This option is available only when the Clipboard contents come from an application that supports linking. Be sure to save the source file in the source application before you link it in Word. Describes the effect of selected options. Places the object in the drawing layer, where you can position it in front of or behind text and other objects by using commands on the Draw menu. Clear this check box to place the object inline, in the current paragraph, where it behaves like regular text. This check box is unavailable if you paste an.emf (Enhanced Metafile) graphics file. Displays the linked or embedded object as an icon. To open or edit the object, double-click the icon. The LINKS Dialog Box Lists the names, types, locations, and update settings of the linked source files. Updates the selected links. Opens the selected file in the source application for editing. Changes the source file for the selected link to a different file. Updates data for the selected link when you open the container file and each time new data becomes available. This option is unavailable if the link is locked. Updates data for the selected link only when you click Update Now or when you select the link and press F9. This option is unavailable if the link is locked. Prevents a linked item from being updated. If you lock a link, the Update Now button is unavailable. Breaks the link between the source file and your document. Data for a broken link is no longer updated if the source file changes. After you break a link, it no longer appears in the Links list. Some Tips for Formatting Excel Charts To gain greater consistency and control over the Excel charts you want to include in Word documents, try the following two steps in the creation and formatting of your charts. 1. When Excel gives you the option for placing a new chart, always select the As New Sheet option. 2. Once your new chart is on a page of it s own, use the FILE, PAGE SETUP dialog box to adjust the page orientation and margins. Set these such that the chart is exactly the size you need it to be when pasted into Word.

4 ABOUT WORKING WITH PICTURES IN A DOCUMENT Clip Art To use any of the images in Word s Clip Art Gallery, 1. Select Picture from the Insert menu 2. Click Clip Art, and then click the Clip Art or Pictures tab. 3. Browse the images available, click your selection, then click the Insert button. Formatting Pictures to Work within a Document Once a graphic has been inserted into a document, there are a number of options for changing how it looks, its size and alignment, how text flows around it, etc. Use the Format Picture/Object dialog box to find these options. Other Pictures To include other types of image files such as company logos, scanned pictures, images downloaded from the internet, or elements from graphics editing programs (such as Paintbrush or PhotoShop), 1. Select Picture from the Insert menu 2. Click From File, and then navigate to the folder containing the image you d like to add. 3. Click your selection, then click the Insert button. THE DRAWING TOOLBAR The Drawing toolbar has tools you can use to draw, manipulate, and format all kinds of drawing objects. To display this toolbar, click Drawing on the Standard toolbar. When you click a button on the toolbar that includes a triangular arrow, a menu appears. You can move some of these menus closer to your drawing objects for easier access. If the menu that appears has a solid bar along the top edge, drag the bar to move the menu. AutoShapes You can automatically create a variety of shapes by using the AutoShapes tools on the Drawing toolbar. The AutoShapes menu contains several categories of shapes. In addition to lines, there are basic shapes, block arrows, flowchart elements, stars and banners, and callouts. To draw an AutoShape, click AutoShapes, point to a category, and then click the shape you want. Click the document to add the shape at its default size, or drag it to the size you want. You can change one AutoShape to another. Select the AutoShape you want to change, click Draw on the Drawing toolbar, point to Change AutoShape, and select the new shape. All AutoShapes have sizing handles, and many have one or more adjustment handles. You can drag the handles to change the size or shape of an AutoShape.

5 Text Boxes Think of a text box as an invisible container for the item you want to position. You can use text boxes to keep paragraphs and graphics together, make text flow around other text or graphics, or print side heads and notes in the margins of a document. You can also link text boxes for desktop publishing use; for example, you can flow an article from page 1 to page 4 in a newsletter. You can use the Text Box button on the Drawing toolbar to insert a text box and then type text or add a table or chart. Word inserts the text or item in the text box at the insertion point. To move a text box and its contents, select the text box, and drag it anywhere in the document. You can format a text box just as you format an AutoShape. Select the text box you want to format, click AutoShape on the Format menu, and then select the options you want. It's best to work with text boxes in page layout view so that you can see their actual location on the page. Move and Place Text and Graphics You can move and position graphics - including AutoShapes (drawing objects) and pictures - by dragging them anywhere on a page except in a footnote, an endnote, or a comment. In the same way, you can use text boxes to position text, including tables and charts. If you want to keep text and graphics together, you can put the text in a text box and then group the text box with the graphics using the Group command on the Draw menu of the Drawing toolbar. Layer Text and Graphics You can use the Bring in Front of Text and Send Behind Text commands on the Draw menu to layer text and graphics. To place the selected graphic in front of or behind text, click the Draw menu on the Drawing toolbar, point to Order, and then click Bring in Front of Text or Send Behind Text.