Customer Reviews

Microsoft Publisher 2002 [Old Version]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having worked with Aldus and Adobe pagemaker in the high school and college newsroom, I was initally leery when my college graduation gift was a new computer with Publisher loaded in. First, it seemed relatively simplistic compared to the models I had been using and second, if I knew something more confusing, it made little sense to go back.

I quickly became a Microsoft convert and now use the program for every concievable academic, personal and business need imaginable. How I survived for this long previously withhout the program is a medical mystery because I shake my head and cluck my toungue at those people who remain trapped in the past of desktop publishing.

While the formats of the pre-programed options are limited, your personal imagination is expansive, and a hallmark of Microsoft has been the software's inevitable flexbility towards the latter when it would have been easier for them (as many other companies in the early days of the computer revolution) to retain complete control over the program's capabilities and set definite paramaters. From custom projects to color schemes, the user can truly make it "their" publisher.

My only main gripe is that it does not seem to come bundled with many current windows systems.

I own Microsoft Publishing 2000, which I bought several years ago for just [$$$], of which I have always had success. A couple months ago, I bought Microsoft Publisher for [$$$], thinking it would be more improved, up-to-date, and that it would have the same features as Microsoft Publishing 2000, with more. I was wrong.
Microsoft Publishing 2000 had everything: thousands of great ClipArt pictures built-in. Microsoft Publisher had the scantiest selection of ClipArt I have ever seen. I thought to myself, OK, I paid about [$$$] for this program and it can't even offer me good ClipArt? Also, after many tries, I couldn't (and still can't) find how to insert text without outlining it with a visible box, that shows up even when printing. There were many other things that are too numerous to outline here. My point is, if you already have Microsoft Publishing 2000, stick with it, and even if you don't and are considering buying Microsoft Publisher, pay about [$$$] cheaper and get an easier-to-use, amateur-friendly program that makes things simple - Microsoft Publishing 2000.

-AG

Microsoft Publisher has always been one of my favorite programs. Although with upgrades it is now left out of some OFFICE suites, it deserves to be there alongside WORD, EXCEL and POWERPOINT as it is one of the best programs Microsoft has come up with.

Printing brochures,cards, newsletters, etc. as well as importing clip art into documents is simple enough for the novice user; sophisticated enough for any home office or small business.

Everything is straight forward and if you have ever used any of the Office Suite products, then this just follows the norm so you won't be spending any time reading the instructions: you can start creating as soon as you've loaded the program onto your system.

Microsoft has released another new version of Publisher. This program is excellent for those who do not have much knowledge of html or who want to work within preset templates. If you need it done fast and are satisfied with using pre-designed templates where you simply enter your specific data, this is a program you will want to invest in.

If you are the type of person who prefers to create your own web site from scratch or even design your own newsletter from scratch this program is not for you. In working with it I found that it takes more than the common knowledge that many of us have to work within the pre-designed template and still add some of your own coding.

"Since you are limited to templates, there is little that you can do to change the look of the project unless you create your own template," according to Jerry Stanley, Compute! Technician. "So for those who have already made their own template, Publisher can be a great timesaver."
The first project that I tried with Publisher was recreating my website. I already had most of the site done and only wanted a program to simplify changes and make it more professional looking.

To begin the project, I wanted to add additional bullets on the left hand side of the web page I was designing. I tried to write my own code as well as copy and paste Microsoft's code. I was not successful using either technique. I ended up with a second bullet that was actually linked to the same data as the original instead of getting another instance of the bullet. Changing the heading of this bullet also changed the heading of the original bullet.
"Although there is an option available to enter custom code into a project, there isn't an intuitive interface for determining the location of the code," Stanley advised. "Most other HTML editors have a code view as well as a preview view which would let one know where the new code would be placed."
In the end when I simply used what was available and didn't try to add anything that wasn't already part of the program, I was able to create a project that had a very professional look and feel to it in a very short amount of time.

I put together a newsletter for a nonprofit parent education school. Publisher is so easy to use it makes my job a breeze! I love the fact that I can just cut an article for Microsoft Word and paste it into my publication. It's very user friendly. I highly recommend it!