Shadow Boxes - PageMaker

Shadow Boxes:

A shadow box, such as the one shown below, 

 

is actually made up of two boxes – the one in the front contains the text, and the box in the back has a solid fill. You can either manually draw two boxes or you can draw one box and copy it with the clipboard. The second process may actually be a better one, as this results in the boxes having the same size. To start with, draw a box with a paper fill. Copy this box to the Clipboard and then paste it. It is now on top of the first box, slightly offset to the right and down. Fill the second box, that is the one on top, with a solid black (for more details on Fill and Strokes click  Using Strokes and Fills in PageMaker). If necessary, reposition the second box and send it behind the first one. You can now group these items, using the command, Element > Group 

or by simply using keyboard shortcut Ctrl + G, after selecting the two boxes and the text object, using the Pointer Tool from the Tool Box, so that they do not move independent of each other.

Using Character Map Accessory and Changing the Stacking Order of Objects in PageMaker

Using Character Map Accessory:

Windows comes with an accessory calledCharacter Map that lets you insert specialcharacters. Most of these characters will be from symbol fonts, such as Singwinds, Symbol and Zapf Dingbats. Under Windows, click the Start button > Programme > Accessories > System Tools >Character Map. From the Font list, select the desired font. Click the symbol you want. Choose theSelect button, and then click the Copy command to place the character on the Clipboard. Close or minimize Character Map and return to PageMaker. Paste the symbol in the desired location.

Changing the Stacking Order of Objects:

Whenever you draw an object that overlaps another object, the last one drawn is placed on top. This stacking effect can cause some objects to seemingly disappear. To stacking order of the object can be changed. To do this,select it and choose one of the Bring or Sendoptions on the Element > Arrange Menu.

Bring to Front places the object on the top of the stack, while Send to Backplaces it on the bottom. To move an object one layer at a time, use the Bring Forward or Send Backward commands. Each of these has keyboard shortcuts: