Setting Text Defaults using Normal.pub
Setting Text Defaults using Normal.pub
by Brian Kvalheim
- Open Publisher to a blank Publication. Go to Format > Styles and Formatting.
- In the Styles and Formatting Task Pane, click on the Normal style drop down
arrow (hover over normal), and choose Modify (see Fig. 1).
Fig. 1: Click the Down Arrow, and then click on Modify...
- In the Modify Style dialog, click on the Font (see Fig. 2) button (or any of
the buttons listed on the right, as they are all available as default setting
options).
Fig. 2: Click Font... to modify the font properties. Other buttons will
modify other attributes.
- Change your preferences in each dialog. In this tutorial, I have decided to
select Arial as my default font. There are numerous other defaults you can
choose from in each category on the Modify Styles dialog, including default tab
settings.
- After selections are made, Click "OK" until you are back to your Publication
window. Next, we need to save your preferences. Go to File > Save As.
- Be sure to change your "Save in" path to C:\Documents and Settings\User
Name\Application Data\Microsoft\Office (see Fig. 3) and change the file name to: normal.pub. (Replace
User Name with the username you use to log on. Note that I made a shortcut to the Office folder in the "My Places"
pane on the left side so that I can quickly access this folder for future normal.pub changes.
This can be done by navigating to the C:\Documents and Settings\User
Name\Application Data\Microsoft\Office folder, then clicking Tools > Add to
"My Places".) Click Save, and close Publisher.
Fig. 3: The Save As dialog. Notice the highlighted icon
on the left.
Tip: If you don't see the C:\Documents and Settings\User Name\Application
Data\Microsoft\Office folder, open My Computer. On the Tools menu, click Folder
Options. On the View tab, under Advanced settings, find a folder called Hidden
files and folders. Click Show hidden files and folders, and then click OK.
Note (Ed): If you are using Windows Vista,
the folder you have to save the file in changes. It is C:\Users\User
Name\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Office (again, replace User Name
with the user name you use to log on).
- Open Publisher to a blank publication. Draw a text box. Your personalized
defaults are now present.
Tip: If you decide you dont want to use the text formatting defaults anymore, go
to C:\Documents and Settings\User Name\Application Data\Microsoft\Office.
Delete the file called normal.pub.
Note (Ed): Only style information is taken from this file. If you insert
objects into this file or change the page size, this will be ignored by
Publisher when creating new documents. (That is to say, that normal.pub does
not work for Publisher in the same way as normal.doc does in Microsoft Word.
Note 2 (Ed): Replace User Name with your user
name.
--
Brian Kvalheim
Microsoft Publisher MVP