Troubleshoot using Word to edit text

Microsoft Office Publisher 2003

An object doesn't appear in the right place when I return to Microsoft Publisher.

If you add any pictures, shapes, tables, or drawing objects to a document in Microsoft Word, they will be converted to Publisher objects, and placed in your publication. You might need to re-position them.

In general, it's best to import a Word document that does not include special formatting or objects, and then adjust the formatting and add objects in Publisher.

Or, instead of importing a Word document, you can copy the text from the Word document and paste it into your publication. This might preserve your formatting better than importing.

ShowThere is more text than appears in the text box.

If there is more text than the text box can hold, Publisher stores the extra text in overflow, where you can't see it. If there is text in overflow, a Text in Overflow indicator appears at the lower-right corner of the text box.

overflow indicator

Here are some ways to get your text out of overflow and back into your publication.

  • Enlarge the text box.
  • Reduce the margins.

    ShowHow?

    1. Click the text box to select it.
    2. On the Format menu, click Text Box.
    3. In the Format Text Box dialog box, click the Text Box tab.
    4. Under Text Box Margins, enter the settings for the left, right, top, and bottom margins.
  • Connect the filled text box to another text box. Any extra text is displayed in the other text box.

    ShowHow?

    When you connect text boxes, text that won't fit into the first text box flows into the next text box. A chain of connected text boxes, also known as a story, can span multiple pages.

    Use connected boxes to:

    • Continue a story in another text box.
    • Create columns of different widths.
    • Move text from overflow into another box.
    1. If needed, create a new text box.

      ShowHow?

      1. On the Objects toolbar, click Text Box Button image .
      2. In your publication, point to where you want one corner of the text box to appear, and then drag diagonally until you have the box size you want.
    2. Click in the text box you want as the first text box in the story.
    3. On the Connect Text Boxes toolbar, click Create Text Box Link Button image.

      The mouse pointer changes to a pitcher Mouse pointer.

    4. Click in the text box you want as the next in the story.

      This text box is now connected to the first box and any text in overflow now appears in the next box.

    5. To connect more text boxes to the story, repeat steps 3 and 4.
  • Turn on automatic copyfitting.

    ShowHow?

    1. Click the text box.
    2. On the Format menu, point to AutoFit Text.
    3. Do one of the following:
      • To shrink or expand text to fit in the text box when you resize the box, click Best Fit.
      • To reduce the point size of text until there is no text in overflow, click Shrink Text On Overflow. With this option, the text will not get any larger than its original size if the text box is made larger, but if the text box is made smaller, the text will shrink.