How to Copy and Paste from Word into a Personalizable PDF Printable Invitation, Announcement, or Card

By Jan K., The Proofer

© Copyright 2008

The illustration to the right is only one of the many personalizable PDF printables that you can use for copying and pasting from Word. The instructions provided below are the same for any PDF personalizable printable.

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The tutorial will help you to use PDF personalizable printables in a whole new way! Now you can be as creative as you wish, using all of Microsoft Word's features for fonts, font sizes, and font colors to make your invitations, announcements, and cards as unique as you!

If you really aren't too familiar with PDF files (which open in Adobe Reader), then here are some helpful answers to the most often-asked questions:

Frequently Asked Questions about PDF Free Printables

Moms Break (along with Print Me Free and other Moms Break operated free printable websites) now offer invitations, announcements, cards, and other paper-based printable projects that you can personalize before you print!

With the newer versions of Adobe Reader, you can now be creative in a whole new way! You can write the text you want, then change the font (that is, what the typeface looks like), font size (how big or small the letters are), and the font color (pick any color from an entire color palette) in a word processing program (such as Microsoft Word), and then paste that text into the PDF before you print it!

This tutorial will guide you, step-by-step, using illustrations of an actual computer screen (mine!), through the process of creating text for your PDF printable, copying it, and then pasting it in the PDF printable.

These instructions are based on Microsoft Word 2003. You may need to adjust these instructions to apply to other word processing software and newer versions of Word.

The example shown to the left is merely for purposes of providing the step-by-step instructions for how to copy text from a Word document and paste into a PDF personalizable printable. Use these instructions for any PDF printable that can be personalized.

This tutor will feature the "Little Princess Birthday Party Invitation" from Moms Break. To get this printable, go to:

• Little Princess Birthday Party Invitation

Download the PDF personalizable printable of your choice from Moms Break, Print Me Free, or any other Moms Break operated free printable website, such as this Princess Birthday Party Invitation (shown to the left as the blank PDF printable, the blue areas only show blue before personalizing, the blue does not show up when printed).

If you are unsure about how downloading PDF printables, then review this helpful tutorial:

• Download a PDF Free Printable from Mom's Break

(The basic steps are similar to those that you will follow when downloading from the new directory of printables for Moms Break and Print Me Free.)

If you need help with the basics of personalizing a PDF printable, go to:

• How to Personalize Free Printables Using Adobe Reader

If you missed downloading the Standard Invitation inserts (available as a Word document so that you can just put in your specific party information, and used for the example instructions here), here is the download link:

• Free Copy and Paste Standard Invitation Inserts

(This opens as a new window for you convenience, download and save to your computer for future use.)

This page offers four versions of a "standard" invitation insert (such as "Date, Time, Place" etc.). The instructions below will assist you with using these inserts to copy and paste into the PDF printable.

See Step 18 for even more invitation inserts that you can personalize, copy, and paste into the PDF printable.

Invitation to: Sandra’s Birthday Party!

Date: Saturday 11th

Start Time:    1:00    Until:   4:00

Place: 123 Hometown Dr.

Phone: 333-555-4444

RSVP requested no later than: Wednesday 8th

Special Message: Sandra loves the color pink and likes to collect carousel horses.

The personalized Little Princess Birthday Invitation, shown in Step 1, uses Insert 4. This is what the plain insert looks like:

Invitation to:

Date:

Start Time:                    Until:

Place:

Phone:

RSVP requested no later than:

Special Message:

Now, look at the illustration on the left. The plain insert, shown above, was changed to a different font, font size, and font color. The steps below will guide you through making these changes before you copy and paste into the PDF printable.

The "font" is the style of type, or the way the word looks. Your word processing program comes with numerous fonts that you can use to create your own "look" to the words that you type.

First, you need to "block highlight" the text in order to change the font.

1. Position the cursor (the blinking line) directly in front of the word "Invitation" and click the mouse.
2. Now, hold down the mouse button, and drag the mouse so that all of the text is "block highlighted" (that is, there is a thick black box around the text, and the text is shown in white).

See the illustration to the left for what block highlighting looks like. Note that in the Word doc (that you downloaded from Moms Break or from the link in Step 3), the text under "Insert 4" has been block highlighted.

Note pop-up that says "Toolbar Options"

On the toolbar, find the field that shows the current font, which in this example is Times New Roman. If you do not see the field on your toolbar, then it is just "hidden" from view. Move the cursor slowly over any small "down arrow" that you see on the toolbar, looking for the one that shows the pop-up "Toolbar Options" (as in the illustration to the left).

Click on that down arrow to reveal more toolbar options, and to find the font field.

You can also add the "Formatting" toolbar. See Step 7.

Another way to show the font field is to click on View (top row of the toolbar, to the left), click on Toolbars, and then click on Formatting.

The Formatting toolbar will be added to the top rows of your screen.

Select the font you want to use.

You can scroll through all of the available fonts. When you see a font you think that you'd like to use, just click on that font name. The text that has been highlighted will change to that font.

If you don't like that font, then simply block highlight the text again, and try another font.

Repeat until you find a font that you like.

Now, you can change the font size!

Block highlight the text that you want to make a different font size (see Step 5 for help with block highlighting). As you can see to the left, some text is outlined in black. This is the text that will change when you select a new font size.

On the toolbar, look for the field that has a number in it (very likely "12" which is the default font size for Microsoft Word).

Click on the small down arrow to the right of the number, and a drop-down list of numbers will appear (as you see to the left). The higher the number, the larger the font size. Change the font size as you desire (and if you make it too big or too small you can always change it again, using the same steps).

Changing the font color is just as easy! You can pick one of the standard colors that are available, or you can make you own "custom color"!

Block highlight the text that you want to change, using the same step as for changing the font and font size.

On the toolbar, you should see a capital A (it is likely black, although if you've recently changed font colors, it may be a color other than black). Click the small down arrow to the right to reveal the color palette (as shown to the left).

When you click on any of the colors, the block-highlighted text will automatically change to that color.

If you don't see a color that you like, then you can find more color options by clicking on "More Colors" on the palette menu.

Now you have a new palette, as shown to the left.

Click on any of the hexagons, and the block-highlighted text will change to that color.

You can get even more creative with colors, but clicking on the Custom tab on the pop-up window.

Using the Custom palette is just a little tricky. First, you must click on the four-side marker that appears in the "spectrum" of colors (here, it is in the green part of the spectrum). Then, you must move the small black arrow that is to the right of the separate bar of color. Move it up for lighter shades, move it down for darker shades of the color marked by the four-sided marker.

When you've got a color that you like, click the OK button at the top right of the pop-up window. The text that is block-highlighted will change to the new color.

Using the Custom color palette is a little more involved, but once you learn how, it is fun to make your own special colors!

OK. You've changed the font, the font size, and the font color---now it is time to "copy and paste" from the Word document into the PDF printable! Ready?

Here we go:

Using the same step as in Step 5, block highlight the text.

There are three options to "copy" the text.

1. While the text is block-highlighted, click on Edit on the toolbar, and then click on Copy (as shown to the left).

See Step 14 for the next option for copying the text.

Option 2. While the text is block-highlighted, right click on the text and click on Copy (as shown to the left).

Option 3. While the text is block-highlighted, hold down the Ctrl key ("Control" key) and hit the C key (letter C on the keyboard). Be sure to hit the C key while you are holding down the Ctrl key. It will seem that nothing has happened, but the text has been copied.

Well, you've gotten this far, and now you are ready to paste the copied text into the PDF printable!

Whew! It's been a workout, hasn't it? But you're just about done and once you know how to do this, you'll really enjoy using free printables!

Now, open the PDF printable (in Adobe Reader).

Position the cursor in the personalizable area where you want the copied text to appear.

You may see the pop-up, Write Your Own Card, as shown to the left.

With the cursor in the area where you want to paste the text, click on the word Edit on the toolbar, and then click on Paste.

Now, the text that you copied from the Word document has been pasted into the PDF printable!

WOW!!! You've done it! You've changed the font, the font size, the font color, and you've copied it in Word and pasted it into the PDF printable! Amazing! Pat yourself on the back for a job well done!

You can now "tweak" the text in the PDF file. You can position the cursor after a line, or before a line and hit the Enter key to add line spaces, you can change the text (just "block highlight" one or more words and retype them as you need to). You can add text, you can delete text. The only thing you can't do is change the font, font size, or font color. To do so, you must go back to your Word document, change it there, and then re-paste the revised text into the PDF printable.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

You now have skills and tools at your disposal to create cards, announcements, invitations, stationery, and just about anything else that you can think of that you want to print using the PDF personalizable printables from Moms Break, Print Me Free, Military Printables, and any other Moms Break affiliated free printables website.

Get more inserts, available as a Word document that you can use to put in your specific party information:

• Copy and Paste Invitation Inserts

(This opens as a new window for you convenience, download and save to your computer for future use.)

There's lots more you can do with PDF personalizable printables, now that you are learning new computer skills!

For more ideas, see below.

Review an illustrated tutorial for creating a Word document template for a free printable:

• How to Use PDF Free Printables as Computer Printer Stationery

You can also insert photos into the Word document and then print the Word document using a blank PDF printable as "stationery." If you've never inserted photos (or clipart) into a Word document before, get helpful illustrated instructions in the following tutorial:

• Inserting a Photo (Picture) into a Word Document Template

If you need more help with Word, please go to another free tutorial:

• Working with Word...It's Easier Than You Think!

If you have other questions about using Mom's Break PDF free printables, go to:

• Frequently Asked Questions about Using Mom's Break PDF Free Printables

For other, more general questions about using Adobe Reader or any of the other Mom's Break free printables, go to:

• Tutorials for Mom's Break Free Printables