Fit text in a text box

If you type or import more text than the text box can hold, Microsoft Publisher stores the extra text in the overflow area, where you can't see it. Here are some ways to make the text fit into the text box.

Fit text automatically

1. Select the text box.
2. On the Format menu, point to AutoFit Text, and then click None.

Fit text manually

Here are some ways to fit text in a text box manually:

• Change the size or font of the text
• Delete text
• Increase the size of a table row or column
• Increase the size of the entire table
• Increase the size of the text box
• Reduce the line spacing

  How?

  To change the spacing between all text characters, you need to adjust tracking.

  To change the spacing between two specific text characters, you need to adjust kerning.

  Adjust tracking 

  1. Select the paragraphs you want to change.
  2. On the Format menu, click Character Spacing.
  3. On the Character Spacing dialog box, under Tracking, do one of the following:
     • To adjust tracking automatically, click one of the preset spacing options.
     • To adjust tracking manually, click Custom, and then enter a percentage between 0.1% and 600% in the By this amount box.

  Adjust kerning

  1. Select the two characters you want to change.
  2. On the Format menu, click Character Spacing.
  3. Under Kerning, click Expand or Condense to adjust spacing, and then enter a percentage between 0.1% and 600% in the By this amount box.

  Change the point size at which automatic kerning begins

  By default, Microsoft Publisher automatically kerns text pairs sized at 14 points or higher. Text below 12 points usually doesn't need to be kerned.

  1. On the Format menu, click Character Spacing.
  2. Under Automatic pair kerning, enter a size from .5 to 999.5 points.

     Publisher will kern text pairs in any font size equal to or greater than the size you type.

• Reduce the size of the text box margin

  How?

  1. Select the text box.
  2. On the Format menu, click Text Box.
  3. In the Format Text Box dialog box, click the Text Box tab.
  4. Under Margins, enter the settings for the margins.

• Flow text into another text box

  How?

  When you connect text boxes, text that won't fit into the first text box flows into the next text box. A chain of connected text boxes, also known as a story, can span multiple pages.

  Use connected boxes to:

  • Continue a story in another text box
  • Create columns of different widths
  • Move text from the overflow area into another box
  1. If needed, create a new text box.

     How?

     1. On the Objects toolbar, click Text Box or Vertical Text Box .
     2. In your publication, point to where you want one corner of the text to appear, and then drag diagonally until you have the box size you want.
  2. Click in the text box you want as the first text box in the story.
  3. On the Connect Boxes toolbar, click Create Text Box Link .

     The mouse pointer changes to a pitcher .

  4. Click in the text box you want as the next in the story.

     This text box is now connected to the first box and any text in the overflow area now appears in the next box.

  5. To connect more text boxes to the story, repeat steps 3 and 4.