Microsoft Publisher

[woody649]

In my never-ending quest to find a competent but not overwhelming desktop publishing program for doing book-length publications, I took another look at Microsoft Publisher. I have often lamented that Publisher doesn't offer any templates for books. I was wrong.


Publisher does include a book template -- for a cookbook. Does anyone have Publisher? If so, how difficult would it be to adapt that template to an all or mostly text publication, such as a novel, and then save it as a new template?

[annc]

Sorry, I'm Mac-only these days. I hope one of the PC-savvy members comes to your rescue.

[Steve Rindsberg]

Originally Posted by woody649

In my never-ending quest to find a competent but not overwhelming desktop publishing program for doing book-length publications, I took another look at Microsoft Publisher. I have often lamented that Publisher doesn't offer any templates for books. I was wrong.


Publisher does include a book template -- for a cookbook. Does anyone have Publisher? If so, how difficult would it be to adapt that template to an all or mostly text publication, such as a novel, and then save it as a new template?

Anyone who has a Pro-level version of Office (for Windows only, I'm pretty sure) has Publisher. Given the forum's demographics, whether they've opened it, or are even aware that they have it, is another matter. Until you mentioned it the other day, I'd no idea that it was squatting on this computer, in fact.

In theory, you can have it search for additional templates when you start a new document, but it seems to have a rather skewed notion of what constitutes "book" ... use that as your search term and you get a wild assortment of suggestions, only a few of which bear any resemblance to what you and I might consider books.

[woody649]

Originally Posted by Steve Rindsberg

In theory, you can have it search for additional templates when you start a new document, but it seems to have a rather skewed notion of what constitutes "book" ... use that as your search term and you get a wild assortment of suggestions, only a few of which bear any resemblance to what you and I might consider books.

Aye. Therein lies the problem.


Yes, I have MS Office Professional 2019, and Publisher has ONE book template -- for a 4-page cookbook. A friend has Office Pro 2021, and he reports that the 2021 version includes TWO book templates -- both for cookbooks!

[Steve Rindsberg]

>> and he reports that the 2021 version includes TWO book templates -- both for cookbooks!

I think I found two in 2019 by whispering the right search terms in its ear. But still ... no joy there. Unless it's a Joy Of Cooking rewrite you're after. ;-)

[woody649]

I don't need a rewrite. I have my late mother's copy of The Joy of Cooking.


I'm trying to muster the energy and initiative to open that cookbook template and change ... everything ... to make it suitable for use as a general-purpose book template.

[Steve Rindsberg]

Publisher seems to behave a great deal like PowerPoint in some respects, and after having had to fix PowerPoint files based on someone else's templates, I'd be inclined to approach Publisher the same way: start with a blank template and put in what you need rather than try to do corrective surgery. But before you start, choose (or create) a font scheme so that applying the right font becomes more automatic.

[woody649]

I just expended an entire afternoon and most of an evening creating a template for a plan, old-fashioned printed book with a trim size of 5-1/2" x 8-1/2". I will need to test it on an actual book, but I tried it using a novelette that I wrote several years ago and it seems to be workable. Whether or not it will be easier/faster/better than just formatting books in Word remains to be seen.


I will say that it wasn't quite up there with understanding the theory of relativity, but it also wasn't easy. As usual, the "help" available from the Microsoft support forum was totally, completely, hopelessly useless. Thanks be to the deity of your choice for YouTube.

[Steve Rindsberg]

>> As usual, the "help" available from the Microsoft support forum was totally, completely, hopelessly useless.

The help forums that still have MVPs on board are usually pretty good, if you ignore all the "help" from the non-MVP paid drones. MS has screwed up their Answers forums so badly that most of the good people have left. And good luck even FINDING anything resembling a Publisher section there; and if there IS a there there, there don't seem to be any Publisher MVPs any longer. A write-off, that one, I think.