Office 2007 Bible

Creating Text Boxes Manually

The difference between a placeholder-inserted object and a manually inserted one is most significant with text boxes. Although you might think that a text box would create consistent results, there are actually some significant differences between placeholder text boxes and manually inserted ones.

Here are some of the characteristics of a text placeholder:

• You cannot create new text placeholder boxes on your own, except in Slide Master view.

  Cross-Ref

  You learn how to use Slide Master view to create your own layouts that contain custom text placeholders in Chapter 22.

• If you delete all of the text from a text placeholder, the placeholder instructions return (in Normal view).

• A text placeholder box has a fixed size on the slide, regardless of the amount or size of text that it contains. You can resize it manually, but if you reapply the layout, the placeholder box snaps back to the original size.

• AutoFit is turned on by default in a text placeholder, so that if you type more text than will fit, or resize the frame so that the existing text no longer fits, the text shrinks in size.

• The text that you type in a text placeholder box appears in the Outline pane.

A manual text box, on the other hand, is one that you create yourself using the Text Box tool on the Insert tab. Here are some characteristics of a manual text box:

• You can create a manual text box anywhere, and you can create as many as you like, regardless of the layout.

• If you delete all of the text ...