Editing Content After it is Checked Out

New Styles

The old styles we had are still available to use (see below), but with this version of the web site we've added lot of new styles to help you layout your content and give you more options for formatting your text.

Open the Styles Pane – Office 2007

There's a very small graphic that looks a bit like an arrow that will turn yellow when you click on it that opens the Styles pane in Word 2007.

Unlike Word 2003, the styles are presented as straight text and not how the text will actually look once you choose a style for your text.

Open the Styles and Formatting Pane – Office 2003

Macintosh Users: Go to the View menu and select Formatting Palette. Click on the arrow next to Styles to see the style choices.

PC Users: Click on the AA graphic next to Normal to call up the Styles and Formatting Task Pane.

Using Styles

Style Types

There are two different levels of styles – Paragraph-level styles and character-level styles. To tell the difference, look to the right of the style name. The backwards P paragraph symbol indicates a paragraph style. The "a" symbol indicates a character style. What's the difference, you ask? Good question.

Paragraph-level styles apply to the entire paragraph, not to a word or a phrase or a sentence within a paragraph. To apply a style to a paragraph, simply click inside a paragraph and click on the style you wish to use. Most styles will be paragraph styles.

Character-level styles apply only to the text (be it a word, phrase, or sentence) that you select/highlight. The character styles are:

• Added (white text on green background)
• CAPS (converts text to all caps)
• Highlight (black text on a yellow background)
• Hyperlink (occurs automatically when you type a URL or an email address)

Paragraph Styles for Creating Columns

Right away you will see some new styles with a background color, if you are using Office 2003. Office 2007 does not have this feature.

These styles enable you to divide the content area of your page into columns without using tables.

Each column will need to start with a "start" column style and end with the * END COLUMN style.

So, let's say you want the content area of your page split into two even columns, like this page. First, use the style

-- anything you type in this paragraph will NOT appear on your web page.

Then type in the text you want to appear in the left-hand column. End the Column with the style

Then immediately use the style

Enter the text you want to appear in the right-hand column. End the Column with the style

If you want your page to consist of three even columns, like this page, first use the style

Then type in the text you want to appear in the left-hand column. End the Column with the style

Then immediately use the style

Then type in the text you want to appear in the middle column. End the Column with the style

Then immediately use the style

Enter the text you want to appear in the right-hand column. End the Column with the style

Now, let's say you want to split the content on your page so it looks like it has a left-hand content area and a right-hand sidebar, like this page. Start with the style

Then type in the text you want to appear in the left-hand column. End the Column with the style

Then immediately use the style

Enter the text you want to appear in the right-hand column. End the Column with the style

Error, Notice, Success Styles

There are 3 new styles that will indent your text and provide them with red, yellow, and green backgrounds. These are styles that, like others you have used, will apply to the entire paragraph, for example,

The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog in the ERROR example.

Here's some normal text to break things up.

The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog in the NOTICE example.

Here's some normal text to break things up.

The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog in the SUCCESS example.

Sample doc

Web page showing what all the options look like.

Download the above word doc.

Straight Quotes vs. Smart Quotes

Be sure to configure word to use Straight Quotes instead of Smart (curly) Quotes, as the Smart Quotes turn into weird characters on the web page. Here's how:

Office 2007

Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Word Options.

Click Proofing, and then click AutoCorrect Options.

In the AutoCorrect dialog box, do the following:

Click the AutoFormat As You Type tab, and under Replace as you type, clear the "Straight quotes" with “smart quotes” check box.

Click the AutoFormat tab, and under Replace, clear the "Straight quotes" with “smart quotes” check box.

Office 2003

From the Tools menu, click AutoCorrect, and then click the AutoFormat As You Type tab.

Under Replace as you type, clear the "Straight quotes" with "smart quotes" check box and then click OK.

Formatting Text

The College of Communication uses Microsoft Word to edit web content.

Macintosh Users: Go to the View menu and select Formatting Palette. Click on the arrow next to Styles to see the style choices.

PC Users: Click on the AA graphic next to Normal to call up the Styles and Formatting Task Pane.

Use the following styles in the Styles and Formatting Pane to format your text:

Text Type	Style to Use	Tips
Regular text	Normal	Use only one carriage return at the end of a paragraph. While this looks ugly in the word document, the web page will be fine. Use Shift-Enter if you do NOT want a space between lines. If you are pasting content in from another Word, paste as Text only, then use the formatting and styles provided. Refrain from using ALL CAPS, as this is harder for users to read, plus it looks like you are shouting at the reader.
Bold, Italic	Bold, Italic	Use the Bold and/or Italic buttons per usual.
Blockquotes	BlockquoteLeft BlockquoteRight	Use the Blockquote to highlight specific quotes in your content. The Blockquote text will be Blue, 16 points, and aligned right or left depending upon which style you choose. Normal text will flow around a blockquote on the web page, but you will not see this in the Word document.
Bullets	Bullet List –	Use this style, not the Bulleted list icon provided by MS Word.
Numbered Lists	Number List	Use this style, not the Numbered list icon provided by MS Word.
Headings	Heading 1 Heading 2 Heading 3	Use Headings the same way you would indent items in an Outline. This actually helps visually impaired users.
Images	Image Left Image Right	While you will not see this in the Word document, the final web page will have the text wrapping around the image. To insert an image, go to Insert – Image From File and apply this style to just that paragraph. Learn more about adding Alt-Text to images below (PC only).
Images with Captions	LeftBox Right Box	If you want an image to have a caption, apply this style to the paragraph with the image per above then press Shift-Enter for a line break and type the caption. Please note that the image must be 250 pixels wide in order for this to work.

Additional Tips

• At the end of a paragraph, press "Return" once only. Otherwise, the web page will show too much space.

• Press Shift and Enter for a Line break – meaning there will be no space between two lines of text.

About Images

Resize images in an application like Photoshop before inserting into word.

Make the images (either JPG or GIF) 96 dpi for best results.

Inserting Images

Go to the Insert menu and select Picture -> from file. Browse to the image and click OK.

Format the paragraph the image is in per the Styles and Formatting table above. While the text won't wrap around the image in Word, the web page will wrap on the web page.

Adding Alt-Text to Images – PC only

The University of Texas at Austin as a state agency must follow a series of Accessibility Guidelines to ensure that all websites are usable by the visually impaired and those with other disabilities. Part of this includes adding Alt-Text to images, so screen readers can tell those who are visually impaired what is going on in an image. Here's how to do this in MS Word.

Double click on the image to call up the Image Properties Dialog Box. Click on the Web tab.

Enter text that describes the image in the text box provided and click OK. If you are on a Macintosh, and need to insert an image, please contact the webmaster for alt text assistance. Be sure to include the content ID number of the document in question.