On this flyer, I need to add an arrow to let people know which direction they should go.
I can do this either using Clip Art or Word Shapes.
Let's give it a try using one of Word's ready-made shapes.
First, I need to select the Insert tab, and then click the Shapes command.
A drop-down menu and a list of shapes appear.
As you can see, we have lines, some basic shapes, arrows, flowchart options, some fun
callout bubbles, and stars and banners.
Right now, all I need is an arrow.
There are so many different types of arrows!
Wow!
I want this one!
If I left-click the Notched Arrow icon, the menu disappears and my cursor becomes a crosshair.
Now all I have to do is left-click my mouse and while holding it down, drag it to the
size I want, and then release the left mouse button.
The arrow appears in my document.
That was pretty easy!
As you can see, we're no longer on the Insert tab.
Once I inserted the shape into my document, the Format tab appeared.
This is Word's way of only giving us what we need, when we need it.
I can access this tab whenever my shape is selected.
If I happen to click outside of my shape, the Format tab momentarily disappears.
To get the Format tab back, all I have to do is click on the shape and the Format tab
appears!
Some of the basic things you can do to a shape include resizing, moving, and rotating it.
To resize a shape, first click on the shape, then click on one of the blue sizing handles,
wait for the crosshair to appear, then drag and release your mouse when you see the size
you think will work.
What about moving a shape?
You can click, hold, and drag your left mouse button anywhere on the shape to move it.
To rotate a shape click on the shape, then click on the green rotation handle and hold
it down with the left mouse button.
You have the option to rotate your shape anywhere within a 360 degree angle.
Now, let's see about adding text.
While I'm on the Format tab, all I need to do is click the Edit Text command icon.
This makes the shape active so that I can type text into it.
Let's see: Ballrooms A through Z.
The arrow still looks sort of plain in my document so let's change the way it looks.
There are several things we can do to it.
I've already added the text but the arrow itself could use a little pizazz.
The Format tab is awesome because I can choose from many great formatting options!
Word gives us these great Shape Styles.
I can click the More arrow to see some additional styles.
All I have to do is move my cursor over the icon, and Live Preview shows me what it will
look like in my document.
Here, I like this one.
All I need to do is left-click the one I want, and my arrow appears formatted in the document.
This looks good so far.
If you want to add a fill color to a shape, click the arrow beside the Shape Fill icon.
In the palette that appears, find the one you like and click it.
I think this purple will be nice, it matches my text box.
It looks like I need to change the color of my text so that people can actually see it.
If I highlight my text and go to the Home tab, I can change my font options.
In the text basics lesson we learned how to format text.
I need to change the color, size, and position of my text.
Now you can actually see the text!!
Now all I need to do is click on my shape to return to the Format tab.
I'm happy with the color of the shape outline, but I could change it from here, if I wanted
to.
It works the same way as the Shape Fill.
Now, what if I'm not sure I like this arrow?
Word allows me to change the shape easily, right from the Shape Styles group.
Just left-click the Change Shapes command and choose the one you want.
Hmm...Let's try the right arrow.
Yeah, that looks pretty good!
I can add a little something extra to my shape by dropping a shadow or a 3-D effect.
Let's start by dropping a shadow.
While on the Format tab click on Shadow Effects and hover over the various options on the
menu.
When you decide on an option just left-click it and the selection is made!
I'm going to select this effect because it's simple in style but still adds a little extra
flare to my arrow.
If I really wanted to spice things up I could add a shadow color by selecting Shadow Color
at the bottom of the Shadow Effects menu.
Then all I would have to do is select a color from the color pallete.
That's pretty cool huh?
3-D effects have this way of grabbing our attention and making things seem like they
are popping out at us!
I'm going to add a 3-D effect to my arrow because I want to make sure the people who
read this flyer know which way to go on the day of the event.
To do this, we will remain on the Format tab and select 3-D Effects.
Hover over the options on the menu until you find one that fits your needs.
Word 2007 did a great job by offering this 3-D effect and they also gave us some options
to go with it.
If you look towards the bottom of the menu, you will notice additional options.
You can change the color, depth, direction, lighting, and surface of your 3-D shape.
I'm done with the formatting and now all I need to do is move the arrow where I want
it to appear on my flyer.
Hmmm...Where do you think the arrow should appear?
The alignment of the arrow is a little awkward.
I would like to see it centered.
I can use my alignment options on the Format tab to move my arrow to a precise location.
On the Format tab locate Arrange and select the Align command.
A menu appears and as you can see we can pretty much move our shape anywhere we want but I'm
going to choose the center by left clicking on Align Center.
Perfect!
As you can see we have plenty of options when it comes to formatting a shape.
Have fun!!