Text Options

PageMaker offers options for creating special effects with text. A drop cap can be used to distinguish the beginning of a paragraph. Reverse text can be used to emphasize text such as a heading or label.

Using Drop Caps

You can quickly and easily enhance the appearance of a document by adding interesting design elements to text such as drop caps. A drop cap is a large initial character, often used at the beginning of a paragraph. In PageMaker, you can define how many lines of text will wrap around the drop cap. PageMaker automatically inserts the necessary information to create the drop cap.

If you edit the lines around a drop cap, you may have to delete the tabs and line breaks PageMaker inserted to create the drop cap and insert new ones yourself. Because of this, it is better to create your drop cap after all editing is completed.
NOTE: You cannot create drop caps in paragraphs with Top of Caps leading (see Working with Leading) or when the first character is a graphic, tab, space, bullet, or a similar character.

Creating Drop Caps

1. From the Toolbox, select the Text tool

2. Click the insertion point anywhere in the paragraph you want to begin with a drop cap

   

3. From the Utilities menu, select Plug-ins » Drop cap…
   The Drop cap dialog box opens.
   

4. In the Size text box, specify the number of lines to wrap around the drop cap

5. OPTIONAL: To view the drop cap without leaving the dialog box, click APPLY

6. OPTIONAL: To move to other paragraphs and continue adding drop caps, click PREV or NEXT

7. When you are finished, click OK

Removing Drop Caps

1. From the Toolbox, select the Text tool

2. Select the paragraph(s) with drop caps you want to remove

3. From the Utilities menu, select Plug-ins » Drop cap…
   The Drop cap dialog box opens.

4. Click REMOVE

5. Click OK

Editing Drop Cap Characters

NOTE: It may be easier to remove the drop cap and reapply than to edit.

1. With the Text tool, highlight the drop cap character
   Only the top-half of the character may be highlighted.
   HINT: To view the entire drop cap character click the PREVIOUS SIZE (Refresh) button in the upper right corner of the window.
   

2. Type a new character

3. Select the rest of the word and type the new characters

Using Reverse Text

Instead of the usual black text on white background, you might want to emphasize a portion of your document by using reverse text (e.g., white text on black). The process of creating reverse text is a simple one, requiring two main steps: creating the black background and changing the type style to reverse. New users of reverse text often run into problems because they forget to make the background black first, resulting in unreadable white text on a white background. If you create the background and then place the reverse text on top of it, you will find the process easier.

Creating a Block of Reverse Text

1. From the Toolbox, select the Drawing tool for the shape of the background you want to create (e.g., circle, rectangle, polygon)

2. Draw the background shape

3. With the shape still selected, from the Element menu, select Fill » Solid.
   NOTE: You can place reverse text over a background that is less than 100 percent colored, but you will have to evaluate the readability of the text and adjust the shading appropriately.

4. To insert text, from the Toolbox, select the Text tool

5. Draw a text box on top of the background shape you have created

6. From the Type menu, select Type Style » Reverse

7. Begin typing your text
   Your text should appear white over the background.
   NOTE: You can change existing text to reverse text by creating a background, moving the text over the background, selecting the text, and changing it to reverse.