Publisher vs Word

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Hello
As a project manager I have to publish project plans a lot. Each plan will include Visio graphics, Powerpoint slides, Excel spreadsheets, and MS Project charts. Sometimes even PDF files. Powerpoint presentations (rather than a single slide) and MS Project are the real problems. Neither will gracefully go into Word.

Typically I incorporate everything into Word except the Powerpoint presentations and MS Project charts and convert to PDF. Then convert the presentations and Project stuff I need to PDF. Then merge all the PDF files to get a single file.

Would MS Publisher allow me to import all the Word, Powerpoint, and Project stuff into it, resolve the pagination and header/footer problems, and then print?

Anybody’s comments on Publisher would be appreciated.

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Hi,
I have used Publisher with Powerpoint, Word and Excel successfully. Unfortunately there are no import options, you can copy and paste without losing too much of the formatting. I have Visio and had no success using that technique at all. I have to store those drawings in a Visio file.
Hope that this helps a little.

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Thanks for the info.
But, if Publisher doesn’t import well and doesn’t handle all the file types in Office, what is it used for?

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Hi,
It’s mainly a graphics program used to create webpages, logos and typeset newsletters, flyers, posters and other publications. Publisher has the Pantone color codes that you would need to send files to a commercial printer. It is similar to PageMaker. Just doesn’t have as much flexability.
I thought more about your problem. Publisher does have table capabilities that handle the spreadsheets. You could scan the Viso and Project pages and import them as jpegs. The Word and Powerpoint files are copy and paste with minor tweaks to the formatting. Just another thought.

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Publisher extends the power of MS Office applications. Vis-a-vis Word, it has the following additional capabilities that I know of:

1 Stretch and Shrink Fonts
2 Insert Cell Diagonals in Tables
3 Print Bleeds
4 Generate Colour Separations
5 Make newsletter-like story layouts within frames, and linking of “stories”, more easily
6 Better friendliness in choice of design templates, colour schemes, inserting pictures, etc.
7 Easier conversion of publication to Web content

Apart from that, it allows use of Word as the Story Editor, so stories in Word can be flown into a Publisher document with a bit of tweaking.

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Publisher supports OLE of all the products you mentioned. That might help you out a bit

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I use publisher to easily print out flash cards and transparencies. It gives easier control of absolute positioning of graphics, tables, and text on the page. I would have to fight word to get the same results. This way I can get 10 flash cards quickly printed and ready for the next day of school

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you should always use the right tool for the job – and in thise case, the right tool is publisher.

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