Home → MediaPlus Advertising → Classified Ad Entry → Ad Formatting
The Classified Advertising module’s text editor has a variety of formatting options. Basic features are available in the Text Info area of the Ad | Order tab, and more advanced features are provided in the Ad | Text tab. This Knowledge Book page consists of basic instructions on how to use these features.
• General Editing – cut, copy and paste text by first selecting it, then click on the icons described in the attached document
• Zoom Factor – the zoom control is located at the bottom, left-hand corner of the Text Screen in the Ad | Text tab. To change the perceived size of the ad, highlight the default value (300%) and type in a value between 50% and 400%. Alternately, you may highlight the value, right-click the mouse, and select from the list of values that appears. Note: this setting does not change the actual size of the ad. To view the ad as it will actually appear, set the zoom factor to 100%.
• Find Function – to search for a text string within the ad, click on the Find icon (flashlight). A window entitled Find will appear. Type the text you wish to search for in the Find what field, and click on the Find Next button.
• Paragraph Style – to change the style of a paragraph, or the entire ad, select the text you wish to change, and click on the Search icon adjacent to the Style box located under the editing icons (default NORMAL). A window entitled Searching will appear. Select the desired style, and click on the OK button to apply it to the selected text.
• Text Alignment – select the text you wish to align, and click on the corresponding Text Alignment icon. In the Ad | Order tab, these are located along the left margin of the Text Info. area. In the Ad | Text tab, the icons are centered above the Text Screen. Alternately, you may adjust the text margins by dragging the margin/indent markers just as you would in a Word document.
• Horizontal Scaling – select the text you wish to scale in the Ad | Text tab Text Screen. Change the value in the Scaling Control box, labeled with a % sign, by clicking on the up and down arrows, or by highlighting the entry and typing in the desired value.
• Character Formatting – select the text you wish to format, and then click on the Character Formatting icon which corresponds to the desired effect. The icons are available in both the Ad | Order and Ad | Text screens, and are described in the attached document.
• Changing Point Size and Leading – to change the point size, select the text, and change the value in the Point Size box by clicking on the up and down arrows, or by highlighting the entry and typing in the desired value. The Point Size box is located above the Text Info. screen in the Ad | Order tab, and above the Text Screen in the Ad | Text tab. In both screens, it is adjacent to a field that displays the font style, and above the Leading box. To change the leading value, click on the up and down arrows, or highlight the entry and type in the desired value. Note: the leading can never be smaller than the point size.
• Changing the Text Font – select the text that you wish to change, and click on the down-arrow adjacent to the Font Style field. Then select the font style you wish to apply. Note: currently, the only font style used is Helvetica LT Narrow.
• Inverting Ad Text – place the cursor inside the ad, and click on the Invert Ad icon. The icon is a black square located above the Font Style field. Adjacent is an icon composed of black rectangles that allows you to invert only a selected paragraph. Alternatively, the ad text, or selected parts can be inverted by reversing the Text and Para. settings (see Shading Ad Text and Background).
• Shading Ad Text and Background – select the text you wish to format. Above the Text Screen are two adjacent fields labeled Text. To change the text color, click on the Search icon adjacent to the right-hand field (default BLACK), and select the desired text color. To change the percent of shading for that color, click on the up and down arrows adjacent to the left-hand Text field, or highlight the entry and type in the desired value. Similarly, the paragraph color (default WHITE) and shading can be adjusted by changing the entries in the Para. fields.
• Adding Bullets – select the paragraph that you want to bullet, and click on the Bullet icon, located above the Font Style field. You may select the type of bullet by clicking on the down-arrow adjacent to the Bullet field, which is located to the right of the character formatting icons.
• Inserting a Telephone Number – to insert the client’s telephone number into the ad, position the cursor where the number is to start, and then click on the Telephone icon located above the Text Screen.
• Adding a Frame – to add a frame to the ad, click on the Search icon adjacent to the Frame field, and select a frame style from the drop-down menu.
• Semi-Display Ad Formats – to select a specific ad format (e.g. yard sale ads), click on the Search icon adjacent to the Format field, and make the appropriate selection. To change only the ad width, click on the up and down arrows adjacent to the Width field.
• Inserting Images into Semi-Display Ads – see Inserting Logos & Graphics.
• Inserting Attention Getters – click on the Attention Getter icon (eyeballs) located under the Miscellaneous heading. The New Today logo will automatically appear with the first insertion of the ad. Additional attention getters will be available in the future.