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Desktop Publishing help

Help centre

How every part of Desktop Publishing works, from your first flyer to opening .pub files, mail merge and booklets. The same topics as the help in the app, for version 1.1.

Help topics

Getting startedDesktop Publishing lays out flyers, newsletters, posters, cards and certificates on real pages, in millimetres. Everything stays on this PC. Coming from Publisher?Most of what you used in Publisher is here, in a calmer layout. This is where each Publisher tab went. Open a Publisher (.pub) filePRODesktop Publishing opens .pub files from Publisher 98 to Publisher 2019 and Microsoft 365, on this PC, without Publisher. It never uploads them and never changes the .pub file. TemplatesStart from a template or a blank page in File > New. Six templates are free; Desktop Publishing Pro adds the full library, including menus, invitations, a tri-fold brochure, a four-page newsletter, calendars and booklets. Text boxes and linked textText boxes hold rich text. A long story can flow from one box to the next, on the same page or another page. PicturesPictures go into frames. Each frame can fill, fit or stretch its picture, and you can crop and zoom. Tables and shapesTables are for timetables, price lists, calendars and forms. Shapes include boxes, stars, arrows, hearts and bursts. Layers, arrange, group and alignEverything on a page sits in a stack. The Layers tab lists it, top first. Pages, master page and guidesSet the page size, margins and bleed in the Page tab. The master page holds what repeats on every page. Mail mergePROMake certificates, name badges, place cards and address labels from a CSV or Excel list. PDF, pictures, printing and bookletsSave a PDF at the exact page size, export pages as PNG pictures, print, or print a folded booklet. CalendarsPROMake a month calendar, twelve months (one to a page) or a year planner on one page, with England and Wales bank holidays marked. Brand kitPROSave your colours and fonts once and use them in every publication. Saving, recovery and filesPublications save as .m2dp files, with their pictures inside. A recovery copy is kept while you work. Keyboard shortcutsEvery keyboard shortcut in Desktop Publishing 1.1. Press ? or F1 in the app for the same list.

Prefer to watch? The how-to guides show the common jobs step by step.

Frequently asked questions

Is this help in the app too?

Yes. Choose Help in the ··· menu (top right) for the same topics, and press ? or F1 for the keyboard shortcuts.

I used Publisher - where do I start?

See Coming from Publisher?: every Publisher tab, and where it is here. The app shows the same guide the first time it starts.

How do I get help with something not covered here?

Email support@metre2.co.uk - a person reads every message.

Which version is this help for?

Desktop Publishing 1.1. See What's new for what changed.