Microsoft Publisher 2010: 10 Best New Features in Microsoft Publisher 2010

Microsoft Publisher is a powerful desktop publishing application used by small business owners to design creative and effective publications for print. Microsoft Publisher 2010 comes with an array of features designed to create, personalize and share a wide range of professional quality publications and marketing materials.Publisher 2010 adds Office ribbon, lots of enhancements to the core documents workspace, great picture enhancement, cool typography features and an integrated Print and Print Preview experience. With the new add-ins Publisher 2010 sets new standard for publishing industry. Publisher can be used to create newsletters, brochures, greeting cards, or e-mail newsletters, and deliver quality results without any graphic design experience. Let’s delve into the 10 Best new features in Microsoft Publisher 2010.

1. Improved Workspace

The template layout are preserved automatically when substituting, cropping, or otherwise manipulating images in a template. When an object is selected the outline can be seen only by hovering the mouse over the object. The page margin guides appear when you drag the edge of an object near them. The automatic alignment guides that appear only when it is relevant.

2. Better Preview options

In Publisher 2010, new visual page navigation that comes with nice sized page/spread thumbnail preview. Now you can preview the built-in templates with your brand elements and selected font schemes and color schemes applied

Now users can reuse content from galleries of built-in and online building blocks such as the page stories, sidebars, advertisements and calenders.

4.  Photo-editing tools

In Publisher 2010 users can now insert or replace photos while preserving the layout of the publication or template. Before finalizing the layout you can preview the changes — pan, zoom or crop to make it picture-perfect. Moreover, you can also tweak the color and brightness, choose from library of picture caption layouts or changes the shapes of the photos, all from the Publisher. Here’s an elaboration of the picture technology improvements.

Cropping: Users can crop images into non-rectangular shapes, rotate and resize them, and preview the images without finalizing the desired size, shape, and location.

Replacing pictures: Users will be able to replace pictures by drag-and-drop, swap two pictures in a single operation, and paste pictures copied outside from Publisher into a placeholder in Publisher.

Using picture placeholders: Users can easily maintain placeholder dimensions while inserting a picture. For example, pictures either too small or too large for a placeholder are automatically resized.

Add captions: Users can now add captions to their pictures from a gallery of caption designs and layouts, and make changes easily.

5. Tools for adding sophistication to fonts

Publisher 2010 has a new set of tools that allows you to transform ordinary text into fine typography.  There is an array of options that include stylistic sets, stylistic alternates, true small caps, ligatures, number styles, and more that are available in many OpenType fonts. It allows full support for your creative flourish on the publications.

6. Improved Print dialog

Publisher 2010 replaces the old print dialog, the old print preview and the old print setup dialog with new Print Back Stage.  Now you can preview the page to be printed from without a print preview.

7. Communicate with confidence

Publishers 2010 makes it a snap to eleminate errors. The new Microsoft Backstage view gives you centralized access to info about your publication including the Design Checker that will review the publication automatically for mistakes, identifying common desktop, commercial print, email problems and also to fix them before distribution.

8. Wider access to templates and building blocks

To create professional-looking pages users can use templates and insert building blocks of content (for instance, mastheads, borders, and graphics) to create professional looking pages. Publishers 2010 makes it easier for users to access the Publishers online community that receives pre-built templates and building blocks and share the ones they create. Further, you share your publications or save a copy of your publication in PDF or XPS format version of your publication, or save a copy of your publication in your choice of several image formats, such as jpeg, for easy printing and sharing. It requires no add-ins.  In Publishers 2010, you can view and download high-quality templates created by business and Publishers without leaving Publisher(hosted on the Office Web site).

9.  Object alignment

Publisher 2010 adds visual alignment guides that makes it easier than ever to align objects to other objects or text, but users can determine where they wanna place their objects. The alignment feature also includes the ability to offset-align an object.  The visual layout guidance offers a suggested location for a new object before you place it.

10. Catalog merge

This is one the most productive addition to Publisher 2010. With the new Publishers you can allow users to merge text and images from a database(such as Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, or Microsoft Outlook). The users will be able to initiate merge at any point while making the publications.