Microsoft Publisher 2013 is a desktop publisher included with Microsoft Office 2013. The program is designed for novice users, allowing easy access to a large amount of editing tools. You’ll be able to design publications such as cards, magazines, menus, and posters. This free trial version will require you to stay logged into your Microsoft account.
Features
The canvas is where you can upload multiple pictures and arrange them by dragging them. New in this update you can now easily swap in pictures by dragging the new one over the old one and releasing the mouse.
This action uses clearly visible icons and a pink highlight, making it easy to avoid accidental swaps. Another handy new feature is the Apply to Background command. By right clicking on a picture you can Fill or Tile a single image to the entire canvas.
Compared to the 2010 version, the program is better integrated with the rest of Office. The program even includes tools, panes, and formatting found in Word and PowerPoint. The most useful tool taken from the rest of Office 2013 is the ability to pull images from multiple sites such as Flickr or Facebook.
You can even search through these sites, local images, and Office.com’s clip art within a single dialogue box. The clip art available is already plentiful and having an extra tool to locate more images across the web makes it even faster to find the right image. The only draw back is that you cannot access new online images if you become disconnected.
Usability
The interface is streamlined and very easy to understand. The majority of commands are controlled with the tool bar, corresponding hotkeys, or editing menus brought up by right clicking. The biggest design improvement is the addition of the right hand column Scratch Area which contains all of your images.
Unlike the 2010 version, images will no longer simply be dumped on the canvas. Instead you can easily drag and drop images between the scratch and canvas, allowing you better control of your final publication.
Quality
The layout is clean and avoids any unused space or clutter. The program generally functions quickly, even when you add in many large and detailed images. You can still edit clip art from Office.com and other sites that you have already downloaded even if you become disconnected from the web. When you are connected your work will automatically be saved to cloud storage.
Conclusion
Microsoft Publisher 2013 is a powerful tool to construct various printings and publications. The ability to quickly gather images from Office.com and other image sites will make it easier to find just the right image. The new Scratch Area is a welcome addition to help organize all of these pictures. This trial will give you a taste of Microsoft Publisher 2013’s great upgrades.
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