Troubleshoot using master pages

Microsoft Office Publisher 2003

  1. On the View menu, click Master Page.
  2. In the Edit Master Pages task page, click the arrow next to the two-page master page, and then click Change to Single-page.
  3. When asked if you want to switch to one master page, click Yes.

Changing to a single-page master page will eliminate the left page of the two-page master. Any publication pages to which the left page was applied, will now use the objects from the right page.

ShowAn object on a master page appears on only some of the pages.

Master page objects are always in the background when you view your publication pages. The master page object might be hidden by something on the publication page. If it's hidden by something you want to be able to see through, make that foreground object transparent.

ShowHow?

  1. Right-click the object, and then click Format object type.
  2. Click the Colors and Lines tab.
  3. Under Fill, type or select a transparency percentage or use the Transparency slider to set the amount of transparency you want.
  4. Click OK.

Otherwise, move the object on the publication page so that you can see the master page object behind it.

ShowThe change I made on a master page appears on only some of my pages.

If the master page you have changed is a two-page master, it has facing pages, as a book does. This means it has a left master page and a right master page. You need to make the change to both master pages.

ShowHow?

  1. On the View menu, click Master Page.
  2. In the Edit Master Pages task pane, click the arrow next to the two-page master page you want to change, and then click Edit.
  3. Make the changes you want.

If you have created multiple master pages for the publication, you may have different master pages applied to different publication pages. If you want the changes you made to the master page to apply to other publication pages, you will need to either make the change on the master page used by the other pages or apply the master page you changed to the other pages.

ShowI can't create a two-page master page.

Your publication is likely a Web publication. Web publications only use single pages. You cannot view the publication as two-page spreads, and you cannot create two-page master pages or change single-page master pages to two-page masters.

ShowAll my two-page master pages have been changed to single-page master pages.

You have likely switched from a print publication to a Web publication. Web publications only use single pages and single-page master pages. When you switch to a Web publication from a print publication, Microsoft Publisher changes to single-page view and changes all two-page master pages to single-page master pages.

ShowI have selected Ignore Master for a page, but it still displays a master page item.

You may have a master page object that spans both pages of a two-page master page.

object spanning two-page master page

If you have set the right publication page to Ignore Master, the object will still be visible on it when you view the publication pages because Publisher completely draws objects from the left page, even if you don't have Two-page View selected in the View menu.

master page object drawn from left master page

However, Publisher will print the spread with the object only visible on the left page.

print preview of master page object.

To preview how these pages will print, do the following:

  • On the File menu, click Print Preview.

Note  For best results, you should design master pages independently and not use elements that straddle both pages of a two-page master page.