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This chapter is from the book

Format the Text

On the page you just created, let’s do a little formatting. First of all, you don’t like the text so close to the edge, do you? It is disturbing to have text crowd the edge like that.

  1. Select all the text. (There is probably a “Select All” command in the Edit menu.)
  2. Find the button or menu command that says something like “Block Quote” or “Indent Right.” Click the button or choose the command.

Looks better already, doesn’t it? Now let’s format some of that text. Would you like some text bigger, italic, or bold? You can do that. Do you want to use another typeface? Don’t do that. (We’ll talk more about fonts later.)

  1. Select that headline you typed.
  2. Look either in the toolbar across the top of the page or in the menus for the command that says something like “Largest” or “Heading 1.” Choose it. This command makes the entire paragraph larger, whether you selected the entire paragraph or not.
  3. Find a word in the paragraph that you want to make bold. Select the word. Find a button with a “B” on it in the ruler, or find the “Bold” command in the menu. Click the button or choose the command. This command makes just the selected characters bold.
  4. Find a word that you want italic. I’ll bet you know how to make it italic, yes?
  5. Let’s make the first word or two in the second paragraph larger and bolder:
    • Select the text. Make it bold.
    • While that text is still selected, find the button or command that says something like +1 or has an UpArrow. This command makes just the selected text larger (remember, the “Largest” command you used earlier made the entire paragraph largest).

Paragraph vs. Break

When you hit Return or Enter at the end of a line, most software will issue a “Paragraph” command and it makes a space between the lines. If you don’t want a space between the lines, use the “Break” code. One of the following keystroke combinations will give you a Break instead of a Paragraph: On a Mac, try Shift-Return, Option-Return, or Command-Return. On a PC, try Shift-Enter, Alt-Enter, or Control-Enter. On the opposite page, we used a Break to prevent the quote from having space between the lines.

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