Create brochures, flyers, newsletters and more with Serif PagePlus SE, a powerful, yet user-friendly desktop publishing package that's completely free
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reating eye-catching newsletters, brochures and posters is best done with a desktop publishing package, and Serif PagePlus SE strikes the perfect balance between simplicity and functionality. You'll need to register the program before you using it - this can be done online when prompted.
The Startup Wizard enables you to create a document from scratch or use an existing template (called "design"). The step-by-step guide below introduces you to the basics of setting up your first publication.
Step-by-step:
Set up your first document
1. CHOOSE A TEMPLATE
The simplest way to start a publication is with a design (click Use downloaded designs or download more for free) - pick from a selection of business cards, brochures, greeting cards and more.
2. START FROM SCRATCH
Alternatively, pick a blank canvas - you'll find all sizes are catered for, covering everything from regular A4 and A5 to posters, booklets, folded cards and more besides.
3. SET UP YOUR MASTER PAGE
If you're working with a multi-page document, make sure the Studio bar is visible on the right-hand page, then select the Pages tab and double-click Master 1.
4. PICK BASIC ELEMENTS
Everything placed on the Master Page will be replicated across your document, enabling you to set up common elements like columns, headers, footers and so on.
5. SET UP FRAMES
The bulk of your page will be made up of frames containing text (such as headers or body copy) - use the Standard Frame tool to drag them into place.
6. ADD ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS
The Picture tool icon enables you to import images directly into your document; also experiment with the QuickShapes tool when creating logos.
You'll see a lot of work goes into setting up the basic page structure, with headers, footers, plus boxes (known as frames) into which you place your text. Once you've created your first text frame using the Standard Frame Tool, you'll discover you can resize it by clicking on the drag handles on each side of the frame to move it to its new position. Just click and drag on another part of the frame itself to move it around.
Put it in place
Getting your text frames lined up precisely can be a difficult art - if you click and drag on the rulers above and to the left of the page, you'll see you can set up guides to help you line up your frames more precisely. Make things even easier by choosing Arrange > Snapping - you'll see that as your frames are resized they "click" into the correct place according to your guides.
If you've set up a grid with two or more columns, you'll probably want text to flow from one frame into the next. To do this, get your frames lined up as you want them, then import your text into the first column (right-click the first column and choose Edit Story to type it yourself, or Import Text to import the text).
If the text is too long to fit, you'll see an autoflow dialog appear - click Yes and PagePlus will detect what it thinks is the next frame and let you choose whether or not to flow the text into that box by linking them. You can also do this manually - select the frame containing the text and click the red plus icon that appears beneath it. Your pointer will change to a fill bucket - just click this on the frame you wish to text to flow into.
Working with images
To place images into your document, choose Insert > Picture > From File. Once your picture has been selected, click and drag on your publication where you'd like the picture to go, and at what size you'd like it to be displayed on the page.
Although you can place frames so they don't get in each other's way, it's possible to insert a picture over a frame or two of text, then align the text to flow (or "wrap") neatly around it. Right-click the image and choose Wrap Settings, or select Picture Transparency first for irregular shaped objects to remove the background colour first.
EXPERT TIP
It's worth experimenting with the various options on offer to see exactly what can be done - select Format > Text Style, for example, to discover how to set up different styles for body copy, headers, captions and so on - all of which simplifies and speeds up the styling of text in the future.
Step-by-step:
Golden rules for desktop publishing
1. BE PREPARED
It's a good idea to prepare your text and images outside of PagePlus, so all you have to do is import them. Save your text as plain text, and make sure your images are roughly the correct size at 300 dots per inch.
2. LESS IS MORE
There's a smorgasbord of options in PagePlus, but don't fall into the trap of over-elaborating your layout. Start by restricting the number of columns of text used on each page - a maximum of four (and preferably three) columns for A4 publications.
3. PICK THE RIGHT FONTS
A similar word of warning when picking fonts - use different weights and styles of the same font, or another member of the same family (such as Arial Black and Arial Narrow) where possible to prevent the page looking cluttered.
4. CREATE PAGE FURNITURE
Create an extra master page on which you can store regular items like boxes or step-by-step guides. These can then be copied from the master page (select the element and press [Ctrl] + [C]) on to your page (select the page and press [Ctrl] + [V]) when required.
