ROVIN'
AND RAVIN' WITH MIKE
Way back in the ‘50s, when we first started hearing about the "electric brain," computers held the promise of incredible scientific and mathematical advances—far out there somewhere. Then, the computer began to move into schools, offices, and homes—not necessarily in that order. For many of us, the computer has become a salt mine, where we dig deep and put in our time every day. But, there is another side to the monitor screen. The computer has opened up all kinds of creativity and sheer play that amazes me even as I take part in it every day.
I recently bought a program to help me create a two-fold brochure. That is, an 8.5" x 11" piece of paper (the standard "typing" paper, not that anyone types anymore), printed on both sides, which, folded twice, yields six separate panels which can advertise a sale, describe services in an office, or outline a political platform. If you are a teacher, such a brochure can be an attention-getting way of presenting your course objectives or discipline rules. If you raise and sell exotic plants, dogs, cats or birds, a two-fold brochure can help educate your customers and sell your stock.
But, within twenty-four hours and just by hitting the wrong keys, I found that I did not need such a program. To help you get more use and fun out of your computer, I want to show you how to use the standard software that comes with a computer to create a two-fold brochure, as well as some ways that you can use such a brochure created with Word for Windows.
First, click on the "File" menu and select "Page Setup." Then, select "Paper Size." You’ll notice a choice of "Portrait" or "Landscape," and you may not even have realized that you are in an art gallery. But, these are printer’s terms. Portrait means that the 8.5" X 11" sheet is aligned so that it is 11 inches vertically. Click on landscape, however, and look at the change. You are now in a format in which the paper has been rotated 90 degrees, 11 inches wide by 8.5 inches high.
Click on "Format," and choose "Columns." Select three columns, and you have just created the format for your first two-fold brochure. A format is a good thing, but what are you going to put into it? Well, you are having a yard sale, developing a Sunday school program, planning a meeting of baseball card collectors. Maybe you are wanting a different kind of Christmas letter or invitation… or maybe you are sitting there, trying to write a column and out of the dark, a big ol’ hairy Maine coon cat lands in your lap. Over in the corner, a delicate little Manx cat sniffs in disgust.
It occurred to me that, hey, cats have a sometimes paradoxically relaxing effect, and I thought about, for fun, advertising my cats as therapists, not just any therapists, but Clinical Animal Therapy Specialists (CATS). There is a lot of movement in a relationship with cats, so perhaps they are in fact Kinesthetic Animal Therapy Specialists (KATS). Lady, or Dr. Lady, the Manx, is obviously in charge, while Dr. Max, the Maine coon, is the associate therapist. Since I clean the litter box of the "therapists," I can list myself as custodial engineer. All I need is a trademark.
At the bottom of the "Word" screen, there is a blue "A" tilted on its side. Click there, you get "Word Art," and maybe I should leave you alone for a few hours, because "Word Art" is one of the most fascinating features of "Word" for me. You can create trademark-style lettering, in a range of colors, shading, sizes, and fonts. The more you play with "Word Art," the more you will learn about it. Once you insert it into your "Word" document, you can size it with the typical Windows drag and click method.
So, it is now two hours later, and you have decided what to do with the "Word Art" (which, by the way, you can use in any format, landscape or portrait, three columns, two or one). Now, let’s take a deep breath and orient ourselves. You eventually want to end up with six panels, on two sides of a sheet. How do you print on two sides of a sheet? Simple. Just print on one side, then turn the paper over. So, on one side, you are going to print these three panels/columns: 2 – 6 – 1. On the other, you are going to print panels/columns 3 – 4 – 5.
To complete an appealing brochure, you have to think about the content in that brochure but also about how it is going to look. You have two elements to deal with, the format of the type as well as any graphics/illustrations to use. Again in "Word for Windows," go to the "Format" menu, and choose "Font." Now, the sound you hear in the background is Gutenberg, the father of Western printing, spinning merrily in his grave, as you and I, casual dabblers in the great art of printing, are offered millions of choices of type fonts, sizes, styles (italic, bold), and colors. How were the great books of the western world ever printed without such options? Sometimes at the office, I get so distracted by options for print that I can hardly produce the letter or article.
As for the graphics, you have at least four choices. If you have extra money to spend, there is the scanner (to input any photographs or other images) or the digital camera (if you choose to spend as much for a camera as you spent for your computer system). Or, there are images on the Internet or images that are already available on your computer.
Veteran readers (or, rovers and ravers?) know that if you are on the Internet and find an image you like (a map, a cartoon, a photo), just click on the right button on the mouse, and choose "Save as" and choose how you want to save it.
Once you are composing a document, click on "Insert," and name your poison. You can insert images from your scanner, your digital camera—or your filed images from the Internet or the "clip art" that your computer came with. As you rove through these files of material, check out the "Screen Beans," wonderful little two-dimensional figures that communicate a five or six dimensional message, and leave you raving for more.
Now, all that is left is—the information that you will put into your brochure. If you are indeed involved with pets, log onto an Internet search engine, such as Google, and look for a file labeled "FAQ" (frequently asked questions). To get you started, here are a couple of likely Web sites about pets--
By this point, I have a format, an assortment of fonts for the text, a variety of options for graphics, so what do I need now? Just the specific way that this all fits into my life, either as a joke about my cats, a brochure to sell cats if I were breeding them, or whatever else.
The computer gives us certain templates, certain basic patterns for our creativity, but our creativity is what it is all about. Anyone with some spare bucks can buy a computer, and, especially in Worth County, Georgia, log onto our freenet, but what we do with those options is up to us. This time around, we have created a bi-fold brochure, and the possibilities of that format are endless.
Till next time, take care of yourself and your equipment, use your own good mind and whatever "electric brain" the computer and the Internet (especially our own Peanut.org) may allow us, and keep your feet dry and your heart—and brochures--full of noble thoughts.
You can meet my pets, Dory and his pals, Lady and Max.
Rovin' on the Internet: Online Adventures