How to Design Reports With Microsoft Publisher

By Amy Dombrower

If you run a business or write papers for school, you may need to create some reports. With Microsoft Publisher, you can design a report from scratch and save it as a template to use later. You can also choose from a variety of available Publisher templates, and then customize them to your needs.

Step 1

Open Microsoft Publisher.

Step 2

Select "Reports" under "Publication Type" on the welcome screen. Select a design, and make any changes you want to the color and font schemes in the "Customize" box. For example, you can enter your contact information that will automatically be placed in the report.

Step 3

Click "Create."

Step 4

Click the "File" menu and select "Save As." Select "Publisher Template" under "Save As Type." You can now access your template at any time under "My Templates" in the welcome screen.

Step 5

Add graphics to your report using the "Object Toolbar," where you'll find tools to add pictures, graphics, text and shapes. It is normally docked on the left side of the screen. To add pictures, click the "Picture Frame" button and draw an empty picture frame on the document. On the Picture toolbar, click "Insert Picture" and select a file to import. You can also use the "Insert" menu to insert a picture from the "Clip Art" task pane or the "Content Library."

Step 6

Add text by clicking the text box button on the Object Toolbar. Click and drag to draw the text box and enter the text you want.

Step 7

Make design changes as needed. Edit text by clicking inside each text box. Move, resize or rotate objects by clicking and dragging them. Change pictures using the Picture toolbar.

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