Here are some ways to keep your peace of mind this holiday:
Set up an e-mail reminder to stretch during the day. Add one of our yoga images to the Outlook appointment for inspiration.
Start a journal with some beautiful journal page templates for Word. Better to vent your frustrations on the page than to your spouse, kids, or co-workers (although maybe a little less satisfying).
Walk, jog, take an exercise class…just get moving. Plan it out and write it down in this Exercise planner template.
Make shopping easier with a holiday budget planner, grocery list template, and gift shopping list template.
Save some money - make your own gift tags and cards this year.
Breathe.
Here come the holidays!
-Sheila
Get your Halloween groove on and plan a party. We’ve got templates and illustrations that will make putting together your party invitations, menu, etc. quick and fun.
Steps for making your own flyer, menu, place card, or gift certificate:
Here’s a new set of Halloween party templates we just published. They use free illustrations from the Clip Art site – to find them search for style 1450.
New Halloween Templates Design set
1. Download any of the templates above or find a different Halloween template on Office Online.
2. Edit the text in the template, save, and print.
Optional: Change the images in the template – you can find more Halloween illustrations on the clip art site.
Here’s a tip for adding images to templates in Word: Draw a text box first, and then paste your image into that text box. You can move the image freely around the document when you do this. When you’ve got the image placed, remove the text box background and outline color.
--Sheila
We've been getting a little press today for a new plug-in available for Word and PowerPoint 2007 that enables you to search Fotolia's stock photos and add them directly to your documents.
We think this type of add-in helps our users be more productive. Why not give it a try and tell us what you think!
--Nancy
Check out our new and fabulous Holiday Image Collection pages - we've redesigned them so they'll be easier to use and we have added even more categories to choose from. They are chock full of photos, illustrations and clip art to fit anything you might need for your holiday work and home projects - and best of all - they're free! Start out with Autumn and have fun.
Combine your resources from the Office Online library of Clip Art Images and Office Online Newsletter Templates to create great newsletters quickly and easily.
Here are few keyword searches you might consider when customizing content:
And here are just a few of the most popular Newsletter Templates downloads:
Using Word? Office Online Products
Word 2007 Help and How-To offers the following resource links:
Adding pictures, shapes, WordArt, or clip art Clip art |
Clip Organizer |
WordArt Using Publisher? Office Online Products Publisher 2007 Help and How-to has abundant help resources for managing those graphics. Be sure to bookmark these helpful links:
Adding or deleting graphics or objects
Formatting graphics or objects
Arranging graphics or objects
Additional recommended reading includes: Create a newsletter to keep in touch with customers, Make Clip Art look original in Publisher and Steps to a simple, effective, black-and-white newsletter.
--Aaron
This is an excerpt from an entry recently posted on the Templates blog, It gives one in-depth example, that while Templates are often intended to use as-is, many are also a starting point for original expression, and here’s how this was done, with Clip Art.
A community submitted customization example:
Click these links to find a list of submitted animated PowerPoint templates and discover some interesting things happening -- (from the quiet Animated Snowflakes slide to this audio-tracked Self-Running, Animated Presentation). ***
Here you will find the animated countdown calendars that have utilized the Clip Art library of images. And here’s how one Community submitter turned this into something new, twice.
*** Note: you may made need to change the website’s Community Filter setting to see some of the following. Here is a review of what those settings mean:
[Strict]- Allows only templates created by Microsoft or its partners to be displayed.
[Moderate]- Allows Microsoft and partner templates, plus templates from established community members to be displayed.
[Unfiltered]- All templates are displayed, even from non-established community members.
- Version 1: same template, now a 12 point business presentation.
- Version 2: same template, now an animated memory game.
- How-to edit (from simplest to advanced):
- To edit characters:
- Right-click characters to Format Picture or Edit (add) Text.
- If you select Format Picture, choose FILL (from the pop-up dialog box, left menu) and hit the radio button for “Picture or texture fill”
- Hit the FILE button to get images from your hard drive, or click CLIP ART to get images you have downloaded from Office Online Clip Art & Media.
Here are some animated, clear-background styles to consider:
- Tinker with Offset size to focus your image. And explore the dialog box for additional image effects.
- Note: The video instructions previously located --> here <-- are offline at this time.
- To edit clickable button graphics:
- Ctrl-click to select multiple shapes and change style all at once.
- Edit size to contain more text, or (as above) Format Picture to fill with clip art such as calendars, clocks, etc.
- To create a completely new background:
- Duplicate slide #1. On the new #2 slide (your future background), delete characters and buttons, leaving one each of a rectangular shape where the 15 “open door” images appear.
- In each of the 15 shapes, right-click to Format Picture to update your “closed door” image, and then tweak to fit.
- Now right-click the #2 slide’s Background Image and replace with a texture or image that ties-in visually with the 15 doors.
- Save the current #2 slide as a jpg. This is your new scene for slide #1.
Note – This is a good time to edit the jpg in image software to add special details, like shutters, roofs, etc…
- Returning to slide #1, replace its background with the new #2 jpg.
- Replace the 15 “open door” images on slide #1 using the same right-click Format Picture method.
Note - The steps outlined above keep the “open” and “close” images directly above each other. If needed, move the Character shapes directly over these too, if they contain edge-to-edge photos.
- Optional: In the video, the “open door” shapes are given a Soft Edge effect at the very end, to help them blend a bit better on appearance.
- Note: The video instructions previously located --> here <-- are offline at this time.
- To change animation and sounds:
- You can change animation timing, order of operations, visual effects, and special effect sounds by accessing Animations from the top menu and selecting Custom Animations from the ribbon.
- To create a new animated series of events: Draw a shape, this will be a #Button, and add effects to it from the Custom Animation menu such as Disappear.
- Right click the #Button name, which is now listed in Custom Animation. Select Timing. From the dialog box hit the Trigger button and select the radio button for “Start effect on click of:” and find the name of your #Button. Hit OK. (This creates a tab named Trigger in your list).
- Click on another shape in your scene (for example the dog character), and in the Custom Animation window, add an effect to Appear. Use the drop down to have it Appear only With Previous action.
- Now that its name appears listed in the Custom Animation window, drag the name of this shape beneath the On Click action of #Button.
- Proceed with other shapes in the desired chain of events, adding timing and sound effects as needed.
Note – With the On Click of Button #1, the character and “open door’ image appear then disappear after 3 seconds, looping the Button to Appear again on the visible screen.
- Note: The video instructions previously located --> here <-- are offline at this time.
How can you extend this example? For additional exploration of Clip Art, Templates, and animation with image-masking: see also (Team effort fundraiser goals presentation and 10 Question Test for Pop Quiz).
For more Clip Art resources see Clip art tips and articles and the Office Online Discussion Group - Discussions in Clip Art and Media.
-- Aaron
Have you considered Clip Art library content for your Outlook signatures? A quick step to this feature would be the Email signature template from the Office Online Templates library. This template contains professional layouts you can copy and customize within Outlook, with two of these layouts designed for both image and text. (For additional instructional assistance see also the Office Online Products section of Signatures tutorials -- including Change your e-mail signature and Create and include a signature in outgoing messages).
To personalize these signature layouts with Clip Art, here are a few helpful key words to download the perfect image to fit your career: Industry, Symbols, and Characters.
Also note, that if during your search you like a particular style, try searching by that Style number when linked from the clip description. Here are just a few:
#1280,
#1541,
#1443, and
#487.
And finally, a different option for the Outlook signature is closing with an Electronic E-mail Business Card that really integrates text and background.
See this article on Office Online Products for assistance: Add or edit an image for an Electronic Business Card. And, among the keyword searches previously mentioned, consider a general background image to stylize this card.
-- Aaron
Background and ideas:
A previous blog entry discusses Word 2007’s ability to turn downloaded clip art into editable content. Building on this idea exponentially extends Office Online Clip Art library content. Grouped and stylized to your own devices, clip art customizes to fit business document color-schemes, or arranges and overlaps within animation storyboards, and on and on.
Again, some good styles (with uncomplicated line and shape) are #1450, #1434, or #1255. Much of Style #1450 appears in the following templates: Aquatic animals, Farm animals, Forest animals, Christmas, and Halloween. And has founds its way into Word themes for the Summer Santa correspondence set.
For this example, here is one page from the Farm animals coloring book:
The scene:
 |
 |
 |
| Flowers |
A tree |
And various shapes drawn in Word |
The cast:
 |
 |
 |
 |
| One frog… |
Two frog…! |
A boisterous fowl |
And 1 awed snail |
Note: The video instructions previously located --> here <-- are offline at this time.
- Import clip art into a new Word 2007 document.
- Right click on your selected clip. Choose to Edit Picture, and this will show the image highlighted inside a dotted-line bounding box.
- Click and drag the mouse inside this box from one corner to the other to capture the most pieces of the art initially possible.
- On the Ribbon Format tab, change the Shape fill to White, and the Line color to Black.
- This will reveal shapes in the art you might have missed. Keeping all your original shapes selected, Control-click to gather any of the remaining shapes.
- Repeat step 4-5 until you’ve gathered all the visible shapes.
- With all shapes still selected, right click Grouping - Group.
- Copy or Cut your grouped image outside of the bounding box. Delete the bounding box and unwanted images inside of it. (Note: a stray bounding box can cause headaches by pushing around other objects).
- Optional: Right click to Ungroup your art, and re-group it into smaller sets. (Note: Overlapping objects may take practice. Lost objects may have gone behind a larger one. Be prepared to backtrack).
- You can now arrange your art within the overall document Use the Format tab in the Ribbon to Arrange shapes/groups with Bring to Front, Send Backward, etc.
Final suggestions:
Have fun! Play with Word 2007 styles to create text, color variation, stage placement, or texture and photographic elements.
-- Aaron
Our May 7th blog entry (Got the presentation blahs? Use Office images to add some spice to your PowerPoint presentations) describes how to add background images from the Office Online Clip Art collections.
Combine this with the June 1, 2009 entry announcing the Office Online Create a Spark PowerPoint contest (deadline June 26, 2009 11:59 PST), and here’s your chance to use those resulting presentations to inspire and motivate a community.
Here are just a few additional image ideas from the Microsoft’s Office Online Clip Art library using key words searches :
To find more great ways to make a great impression and explore the possibilities of PowerPoint, see the Office Online Help and How-to section.
--Aaron
Have you created a wonderful PowerPoint presentation that others find motivational or inspiring? Now's your opportunity to share it with others. Submit your entries to the Office Online "Create a Spark PowerPoint contest." Winners will be promoted online the week of July 6th.
Just think how inspiring it would be to see your work promoted on our site.
--Nancy
If your standard PowerPoint background has you (and your audience) yawning, consider adding a little pizzazz with background images from the Office Online Clip Art & Media collection.
For an immediate visual upgrade, add a background image
1. First, check out these background images on Office Online and download one you like – we have lots of new illustrations in styles ranging from funky and modern to slick and professional.
2. Then, add the picture as a background:
- In PowerPoint, click the slide that you want to add a background picture to.
To select multiple slides, click a slide, and then press and hold CTRL while you click the other slides.
- On the Design tab, in the Background group, click Background Styles, and then click Format Background.
- Click Fill, and then click Picture or texture fill.
- Do one of the following:
- To insert a picture from a file, click File, and then locate and double-click the picture that you want to insert.
- To paste a picture that you copied, click Clipboard.
- To use clip art as a background picture, click Clip Art, and then scroll to find the image you downloaded or in the Search text box, type a word or phrase that describes the clip that you want, or type all or part of the file name of the clip.
- Do one of the following:
- To use the picture as a background for the slides that you selected, click Close.
- To use the picture as a background for all of the slides in your presentation, click Apply to All.
Notes
- To adjust a picture's relative lightness (brightness) or the difference between its darkest and lightest areas (contrast), in the Format Background dialog box, click the Picture pane, and then choose the options that you want.
- To have text appear on top of the picture, add a text box. On the Insert tab in the Text group, click Text Box, and then drag to make it the size that you want. Enter your text in text box.
Let me know if you have any trouble with these steps – if you do others might as well and I can update them super quick with your suggestions.
--Sheila
Everybody around here has been busy working on new partnerships so that you will have access to more images, and this blog has been a little neglected as a result. I thought I’d just write this post to see if I can get some quick feedback from you. Please respond in the comments section below to any or all of these questions:
- What types of posts do you find most useful here?
- Do you need to know how-to work with images in your documents?
- Do you need to know specifics for specific programs (for example, Word vs. PowerPoint)
- Are you interested in learning about new content available to you?
- How do you use our images and what’s your biggest stumbling block when you do use them?
- Do you use our images for your work documents or personal, or both?
- What types of images do you use most?
- What do you want to see more of?
- Got any specific suggestions for how you’d most like to see us use this blog?
- What other blogs do you read?
- Any other comments?
Thanks for providing feedback.
--Nancy
We introduce our newest partner NVTOfficeClips available on the Microsoft Office Online Clip Art & Media website.
This selection is full of tessellated backgrounds, ferocious wildlife, auspicious icons, extreme sports, and enough screen-candy to blast your projects into a new world of ultra-cool exotica. And this is just the start of what NVTOfficeClips has to offer. Select the image below to see a selection of free NVTOfficeClips available on our website.
And don't forget about this new icon 
which represents higher resolution and more variety of available images. Clicking the icon takes you to NVTOfficeClips, where you can choose a higher resolution suiting your project's needs, and browse for other images if you feel like it. (Read more about this in our Higher Resolution / More Variety blog entry).
To see more free photography, illustration, sounds, and animations, for work and for play, select here to view our gallery of Clip Art & Media partners.
Higher Resolution and More Variety of Clip Art
A new icon has appeared on some of the Clip Art and Media site images representing higher resolution and more variety of available images.
Images displaying this icon are available for purchase at a higher resolution from a partner site. Clicking the icon takes you to the partner site, where you can choose a higher resolution suiting your project's needs, and browse for other images if you feel like it.
If you don't need a high resolution image for your project, you can still download the basic resolution version for free from the Clip Art and Media site; all you have to do is click the selection basket checkbox:
Why would I want to buy a high resolution image?
Look at the dimensions on the image you selected; will it fit in your project? Will you need to make the image bigger?
If the answer is yes, you might want to consider a higher resolution: the more you stretch a raster file (i.e. a jpg or png), the more image quality will be degraded; the image will become blurry, pixilated, and will not print out nicely:
We've created a new space for people to share opinions and inspiration. Check out the Clip Art and Media facebook page --- a place to talk about the work you love, to show off the work you do with Clip Art and Media, and to become part of new directions in the Microsoft Clip Art Media collection.
We hope this to be user-driven site, organic and ever-changing, and hope you will take this opportunity to create and add content. If you’re a user of facebook – please “Become a Fan” of the Clip Art and Media page and help spread the word!
