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238 Chapter 12 Designing Your Own Document Templates
Setting Default Styles for Shapes, Tables, and Charts
The default styles for text boxes, shapes, tables, and charts determine what each of
these objects looks like when it first appears on the page (for example, the color, size,
and orientation of the shape that appears when you choose Insert > Shape > [shape]).
You can set default attributes for text boxes, shapes, tables, and graphics by placing
one of each of these items on a page, formatting it the way you want, and then using
the Format menu commands to define these new attributes as the defaults.
Defining Attributes for Text Boxes and Shapes
Setting the default attributes for text boxes and for shapes is very similar. Design text
boxes and shapes just the way you want them, with your preferred fonts, colors,
opacity, shadows, and so on. (Because line length and orientation cannot be defined
within a template, line attributes—such as color, thickness, and opacity—must be set
separately.)
To set default styles for text boxes and shapes:
1 Place a fixed text box and a shape on the page. To read about placing a fixed text box,
see “Creating Callouts, Sidebars, and Highlighted Text” on page 99. To read about
placing drawn objects, see “Adding Shapes, Tables, and Charts” on page 125.
2 Type text into the box and shape and then select the text and set its attributes. To
read about setting text attributes, see “Formatting Text Size and Appearance” on
page 79.
3 Select the text box and the shape, and set attributes for both (for example, fill color
and outline style). To read about setting object properties, see Chapter 7, “Changing
Object Properties.”
4 For the text box and the shape, set text wrapping in the Wrap Inspector. To read about
setting text wrapping, see “Wrapping Text Around an Object” on page 136.
5 Select the shape or text box and choose Format > Advanced > Define Default Shape
Style or Define Default Text Box Style.
6 Delete the text box and shape from the page.