Graphics Tutrioal Part 1

[unishaidersha]

choosing a graphic starts off as a simple exercise: On the Insert menu, you click Picture. That's when things can start to seem complicated. What does "From File" mean? What's the difference between Clip Art and a New Drawing? This lesson aims to demystify that menu, first by describing the two major categories of images that Word can accommodate—pictures and drawing objects—and then by delving into the specifics of each type.

In the Picture: The Picture submenu.

[IMG]http://i639.***********.com/albums/uu119/unojonesishere/ZA060496961033.gif[/IMG]

There are two basic types of graphics that you can use to enhance your documents.

Pictures are graphics that were created elsewhere and that you bring into your document. For example, you might have used a scanner or digital camera to create an image, or procured some electronic clip art. These are at the top of the Picture submenu.

Drawing objects, which we will sometimes refer to simply as drawings, are graphics that you generate from within Word, as opposed to creating them elsewhere and bringing them into your document. Examples are AutoShapes, drawings that you create from scratch using the New Drawing command, diagrams, curves, lines, and other shapes.

The type of graphic you choose to insert is limited only by your purpose and your preference.

* Some types of graphics, such as clip art, have a two-dimensional or drawn effect that can look attractive as a logo, border, or accent.
* A photographic image might be preferable in some instances.
* Diagrams and organization charts can convey critical information in a business or academic document.
* WordArt creates high-impact text.

Once you get beyond the Picture submenu, the way you insert and manipulate different types of graphics may vary slightly, depending on whether it's a drawing or a picture, as well as other graphic-specific attributes. Specifics will be covered in later lessons.

In the Picture: (1)The top three commands on the submenu are for pictures, which exist independent of your document.

(2) The lower five commands are for drawing objects, which you generate from within Word.

[IMG]http://i639.***********.com/albums/uu119/unojonesishere/ZA060497101033.gif[/IMG]

Imagine that you're creating a casual memo to distribute to your coworkers. Maybe you want to insert your company logo, a scanned photograph from your last vacation, or even just a fun piece of clip art to support a point and create interest. Images like these are created independently of your document, and they live on your hard disk, a company server, or on the World Wide Web. Some examples of these file types are bitmaps (.bmp), JPEGs (.jpg), GIF files (.gif), Windows Metafiles (.wmf), TIFF files (.tif), Enhanced Metafiles (.emf), and Portable Network Graphics files (.png).

For the purposes of this lesson, it's not critical to know much more about the technicalities of each file type. The main thing to remember is that when you insert a clip art image, an image "from file," or an image "from scanner or camera," you'll likely be inserting an image in one of these formats.

In the Picture: A document with pictures.
(1) A picture created with Microsoft Paint.
(2) A piece of clip art.
(3) A photograph.

[IMG]http://i639.***********.com/albums/uu119/unojonesishere/ZA060497261033.gif[/IMG]

You're working on that same memo and decide that you want to add a diagram, an organization chart, or maybe even just a simple shape.

In Word, you can create all of these types of graphics from within your document. These types of graphics are called drawing objects, or drawings, and they differ from pictures in a couple of key ways:

* Drawing objects do not exist independently of the document; they aren't separate files with separate file extensions. Rather, you generate them as you're working in your document, and when you save the document, the drawing objects are folded into the document's file format.
* Drawing objects don't look like photographic images; they usually have a flat, two-dimensional appearance.

Inserting a drawing object also begins by clicking Picture on the Insert menu. Types of drawings include AutoShapes, diagrams, organization charts, curves, lines, and WordArt.

You can use the Drawing toolbar to insert some drawing objects, but mainly you'll use it to change a drawing once it's inserted. The toolbar appears automatically when you insert a drawing; you can also display it by pointing to Toolbars on the View menu, and then clicking Drawing.

In the Picture: A document with drawings.
(1) An AutoShape.
(2) A diagram.
(3) An organization chart.

[IMG]http://i639.***********.com/albums/uu119/unojonesishere/ZA060497281033.gif[/IMG]

Another concept to become familiar with before you embark on actually inserting drawings is the drawing canvas. This is a frame-like environment that helps you insert and arrange a drawing or drawings in your document; it's especially useful when your drawing consists of several shapes.

The drawing canvas also provides a boundary between your drawing and the rest of your document. By default, the drawing canvas has no border or background, but you can apply formatting to the drawing canvas as you would to any drawing object.

When you insert a drawing, Word places it on the drawing canvas by default. By contrast, the default behavior when you insert a picture is to embed the file into the document without using the drawing canvas. Of course, you can work around this default behavior: If you don't like using the drawing canvas, you can turn it off; if you want to use the drawing canvas to help position pictures, you can place pictures on it (click in the drawing canvas and then insert the picture).

Note Diagrams (including organization charts) are automatically placed on a type of drawing canvas.

You can use the Drawing Canvas toolbar to change the drawing canvas itself. If the toolbar does not appear automatically when you insert a drawing, just right-click the canvas and select Show Drawing Canvas Toolbar.

In the Picture: The drawing canvas appears when you want to insert a drawing.

[IMG]http://i639.***********.com/albums/uu119/unojonesishere/ZA060497311033.gif[/IMG]

Inserting any type of graphic begins in the same place: the Picture submenu, which is located on the Insert menu. After that, the particulars of graphic insertion may vary depending on exactly what type of picture or drawing you have. In some cases, for example with AutoShapes, you may even be creating the graphic from scratch. But it isn't difficult, and this lesson shows you how.

In the Picture: The Picture submenu.

[IMG]http://i639.***********.com/albums/uu119/unojonesishere/ZA060496961033-1.gif[/IMG]

To be continued..................