This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Using WordArt
WordArt provides you with the ability to create interesting text effects within your Office application documents. WordArt boxes can be used on PowerPoint slides or as graphic elements in a Word document or an Excel worksheet. A WordArt object can be created from existing text or you can create a blank WordArt object and then type the required text directly in the WordArt frame.
The WordArt command is on the Ribbon's Insert tab. It is available in Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Publisher, and Outlook when you are creating new Outlook items such as emails, contacts, and appointments.
Inserting a WordArt object into a document is really just a matter of selecting the WordArt command and then selecting one of the WordArt styles from the WordArt gallery. If you are formatting existing text as WordArt, select the text before accessing the gallery. Figure 4.19 shows the WordArt gallery.
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Figure 4.19 The WordArt gallery.
If you formatted selected text as WordArt, your existing text will appear in the WordArt frame and be formatted with the selected WordArt style. A new WordArt box will contain the placeholder text "Your text here," which you can replace with your own text.
You can move the WordArt in the document as needed and size the WordArt box if required. When the WordArt box is selected, the Drawing Tools Format tab appears on the Ribbon. You can change the style of the WordArt box (or frame) by using the shape styles and shape-related commands (such as Shape Fill and Shape Outline) in the Shape Styles group.
The commands that actually affect the way the WordArt text looks are found in the WordArt Styles group. You can change the WordArt style that you have assigned to the selected WordArt by using the WordArt Styles gallery. The gallery provides styles that incorporate interesting effects such as bevel and reflection.
The Text Fill and Text Outline commands enable you to control the fill for the WordArt text characters and the outline of the characters, respectively. The really cool part of using WordArt, however, lies in the different text effects that you can apply to the WordArt via the Text Effects command. Figure 4.20 shows the Text Effects gallery, including the Transform gallery.
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Figure 4.20 The Text Effects gallery.
The Text Effects gallery enables you to apply a number of different effects to the WordArt text, including Show, Reflection, Glow, and 3-D Rotation. For those of you who lament the loss of the old WordArt utility that operated as a rather clunky add-on to the Office applications prior to the release of Office 2007, you will find that the Transform gallery provides you with all the different text-warping effects that were available in the original WordArt utility.
In terms of working with the WordArt object, the other Format tab command groups enable you to manipulate the text direction and alignment and how the object is positioned in relation to existing text in the Office document. Office 2010 (as did Office 2007) integrates WordArt into the Office applications themselves and enables you to edit and manipulate the WordArt object as you would any other graphic object such as pictures, SmartArt graphics, or clip art.