You may have seen it. That attention demands a big capital letter at the top of a block of text.
That's a drop cap .
A drop cap is the first letter of a paragraph and is much larger in size than the regular text that follows. It also doubles as an initial.
Look at the old cap below. Notice how 'Unfolds' to cover the few lines that follow the first. Yes, drop sockets have been around for over 2,000 years. This image is over 550 years old..
Today, desktop publishing uses all caps. Websites a little less, because rendering them on different screens is a problem. Even then, you can use cascading style sheets with HTML. WordPress even has a drop caps plugin.
But how do you create a drop limit in Microsoft Word? There are some creative ways you can format or insert caps in MS Word to enhance the text. And they are all easy to kill..
Insert a flip cover with the dedicated drop cover button in Microsoft Word 2016. The ease of inserting a flip cover makes it a 2-click process.
Select the first character of a paragraph that you want to style with a cap.
Go to the Ribbon> Insert tongue. From Text group, click the button for Cap . The dropdown menu has three options for three types of caps.
Down: Create a cap that fits the length of your paragraph.
In margin: Insert a protective cover along the paragraph but place it outside the paragraph in the margin.
None: Use this to remove a drop cap by selecting it again.
The drop cap “drops” three lines by default.
You can change the default options for the lower bound before inserting the lower bound. Select Drop Cap Options from the dropdown menu. As you can see in the graphic below, the options give you control over the font's lower bound, how many lines of normal text the letter will fall, and the distance from the text on the right side of the letter.
Click OK To finish the look of the cap.
A text box wraps around the lid. Click just outside the drop down cap to reveal the cross. Select the text box and drag any of the handles to change the look of the drop cap on the fly.
For example, drag the center handle to the right to change the space between the drop cap and the rest of the paragraph. Or, drag the bottom center handle to resize the span covered by the flip cover.
You can also right-click the text box and use the menu to go back to the options.
Small image files can also be embedded as uppercase. They are visually more striking than text caps because they are more intricate and colorful than fonts. You can create your own graphics file or use those available from Microsoft.
One of the subtle changes in Microsoft Word 2016 10 New Features in Microsoft Office 2016 to Boost Productivity 10 New Features in Microsoft Office 2016 to Boost Productivity Microsoft Office 2016 gets new features all the time. They are available first to Office Insiders and Office 365 subscribers. We show you the best new features in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook and how... Read More en Photos Online which is a new avatar of the old Clipart from Office 2013. The old Clip Art had a nice collection of alphabetic graphics, but you can expand your sources using the included Bing image search.
Please note that image files may be limited by user permissions. Use the Bing search box to limit your search to Creative Commons What is Creative Commons, and should I use it? What is Creative Commons, and should I use it? Creative Commons is a set of licenses that automatically gives you permission to do various things, like reuse and distribute content. Let's find out more about this and how to use it. Read More By default, the Bing powered images provided are licensed by Creative Commons through which you can use, share or modify the images for both personal and commercial purposes.
Once you've added a chosen image as a drop boundary in your document, drag the corner handles to resize the font around the surrounding text. Keeping the CHANGE key pressed while dragging handles, preserves the aspect ratio of the letter.
But, I often find this to be extremely limiting. Stick to true type fonts.
Use Text Wrapping to control how the image and text looks.
Select the letter of the image, and then click Format About Image Tools menu. Select Text wrap in the Organize Group and experiment with the options if necessary. The default value On the line with text usually works fine.
You can do the same with a right click on the image and choose the options under Text Wrap (the little bow icon).
Slightly modify the appearance by aligning horizontally with the Text> Text Wrapping> More Layout Options .
Before we read some of the capitalization do's and don'ts in the next section, let's look at some of the other stylistic tweaks you can try on capitalization.
Text formatting features How to style fonts in Microsoft Word to make your text stand out How to style fonts in Microsoft Word to make your text stand out Well-formatted text can grab your reader's attention and help flow through your document. Here's how to add that finishing touch in Microsoft Word. Read More For example, you can change the color, size, or add a text effect to highlight the first alphabet.
You can also use more than one letter for your cap.. Place the cursor next to the capital letter and type the following letters. But that doesn't look so good..
Caps can be visually enhanced by using fancy fonts. For example, Vivaldi or Old English text , both should be in the list of installed fonts on your system.
There are many gorgeous, high-quality fonts available on the web. Want Gorgeous Free Fonts? Here are 25+ sites where you'll find them Do you want to have beautiful free fonts? Here are over 25 sites where you'll find them. Instead of reading through hundreds of fonts, here are a few sites to help you keep up with all the new fonts you'll want to use in your next design. Read more. Select a font that goes with the theme of your document.
Google for “Drop Cap Fonts”. Some sites keep a small selection of all caps fonts on their line. I found some at Dafont.com and 1001fonts.com.
If your text is arranged in 2 or 3 columns, try placing a boundary with the first paragraph in each column.
How to Create Your Own Resume How to Create a Resume Template Using Microsoft Word How to Create a Resume Template Using Microsoft Word Your resume can be the difference between interviewing for your dream job or never hearing from the employer again:use these tips to make sure It's the best it can be. Read more ? Perhaps, there is a case for using a cap to show your creative side.
Tempted to throw in a drop cap here and there? Please remember these points...
Subtle use of caps can really help enhance your documents. We've talked about its use in Microsoft Word, but uppercase and lowercase can be a part of every type of document you write or design. You can use caps to cover a cover in Microsoft Word How to easily create an attractive cover in Microsoft Word How to create an attractive cover in Microsoft Word Do you believe in first impressions? The cover page is the first thing people will see of your Word document. Here's how you can make that first impression a great one. Read more . That's a lot of impact for a single letter.
Designer and illustrator Jessica Hische has this fancy project called Daily Drop Cap, where she posts a stylized drop cap for general use in any web document. She can also check her lettering class on Skillshare and understand how to create a single beautiful letter..
Do you wear caps? What creative use have you found for them in your Microsoft Word document or elsewhere?
