How to Add My Own Picture As a New Bullet in Microsoft Publisher 2007

By Filonia LeChat

Updated February 09, 2017

A bulleted list may be ideal when you have short, succinct points, such as a litany of household chores, names of people involved in a project or slogans you’re considering for a campaign. When you create a bulleted list in software such as Microsoft Publisher 2007, you have a standard set of bullet design options such as solid circles and hollow squares. For something a little more creative, use your own pictures as bullets. With a couple of clicks and a little bit of handiwork, you’ll have bullets that really stand out.

Open Publisher 2007, click the Office button and click “Open.” Browse to the Publisher file to add picture bullets into and double-click the file, which opens in the Publisher workspace.

Click the page number icon at the bottom of the Publisher screen to get to the page to add the picture bullets or scroll to it on the open page.

Click the “Insert” tab at the top of the screen and click the “Picture” button directly below it. A browser window opens. Navigate to the picture to use for the bullets and double-click the image, which opens on the Publisher page.

Press and hold down the “Shift” key on the keyboard, click a corner of the picture and drag it to shrink it down to bullet size, which should be equal to or slightly smaller than the text for the bullet.

Drag the picture to the left of the text, leaving room between it and the first letter of the text.

Right-click the picture and select “Copy.” Right-click again and click “Paste,” pasting in a copy of the bullet. Drag that bullet into place to the left of the next text on the page. Repeat the “Paste” process until you have enough picture bullets on the page.

Click the ruler running vertically up the side of the Publisher workspace and drag until you see a faint green line guide on the Publisher page. Pull the guide to the left of where the bullets are and align each one with the guide.

Pull a guide from the ruler running horizontally across the top of the page and drag it to the top of the text box of the first bulleted line. Align the top of the text box and the top of the picture bullet with the guide. Pull additional guides, which do not print on your page or show in electronic versions of your document, and align the rest of the text and bullets on the page.

Tips

Publisher does not offer a way to add your picture bullet into the software program’s memory as a bullet option, which is why you have to select, shrink and place the picture bullets yourself.

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