letterhead graphics - embedded? linked? file format? vector?

[Thorsten Indra]

Hi there,

I need to create a new letterhead. It should show up on
every correspondence and will be on top and on the left
of the page. In the past I have place a graphic in the
header (if I remember correctly), which was then saved
with each letter - not a very wise use of bytes...

How can this be done more elegantly and efficiently
a) with a vector graphic (ideally one that I can create
and recycle in Photoshop)
b) linked or embedded ?

Can the graphic not be stored with each file, but rather
reside in a separate folder/ file, which my actual word
2002 file draws from?

It all should end up as a standard template for letters.

Having searched the online help, MS and the net, I have
not gotten anywhere far, so any help is appreciated.

Thanks!
Thorsten Indra

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

The way I handle this is to create a template with the graphic linked and
not embedded. That way every document created from the template will also
have a linked graphic. It does greatly reduce the file size. One caveat: in
Word 2002 at least, you need to add the the graphic *before* you save the
template to force Word to create an absolute path in the IncludePicture
field. If you save the template first, Word will (or at least may) create a
relative path, which works fine for the template but then is incorrect for
the documents based on it. If there's a way around this (other than
correcting the path afterward), I don't know what it is.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://www.mvps.org/word

 

[Charles Kenyon]

How can this be done more elegantly and efficiently

a) with a vector graphic (ideally one that I can create
and recycle in Photoshop)
b) linked or embedded ?

Not sure which kind of graphic is most efficient in Word. I tend to use PNG
files when I have a choice, but I'm not sure when or why I developed that
preference.

Linked is good so long as you are either never going to change it or don't
care if your historical documents are messed up. (You could also use
AutoText and AutoText fields the same way, I think.)

I want my historical documents to be able to be printed out years later and
accurately show the document that was originally printed / mailed. I come
close to this where the graphics are stored in a separate document and
embedded in new letters formed from my templates as the letters are created.
--
Take a look at the letterhead tutorials at <URL:
http://addbalance.com/word/download.htm>.
See also <URL: http://home.zebra.net/~sbarnhill/Letterhead.htm>.

The graphics should be placed in your source document and then the anchor
for the graphic should be bookmarked. It can then be copied or linked as a
part of your AutoNew macro. I would recommend putting the parts holder in
your workgroup templates folder. Then when writing your macros have a part
that recovers the workgroup path and incorporates it in your path for the
IncludeText action or field. The following function is used in my macros
that need the workgroup path:

Function WorkGroupPath() As String
' Written by Charles Kenyon
' February 28, 2003
'
' Used by templates menus to set location of templates.
' Returns workgroup tempates path with "\" at the end.
'
' This is needed because if the folder is a network drive rather
' than a folder, it will have the "\" already. If it is a folder,
' it will not have the backslash. This function gives a string
' with the backslash in either case.
'
WorkGroupPath =
Application.Options.DefaultFilePath(wdWorkgroupTemplatesPath)
If Right(WorkGroupPath, 1) <> "\" Then
WorkGroupPath = WorkGroupPath & "\"
End If
End Function

It is designed to handle a workgroup path that is a mapped network drive.

This should give you a bit to chew on for a while.
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory:
<URL: http://www.addbalance.com/word/index.htm>

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide)
<URL: http://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/index.htm>

Word Resources Page
<URL: http://www.addbalance.com/word/wordwebresources.htm>

See also the MVP FAQ: <URL: http://www.mvps.org/word/> which is awesome!
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[Thorsten Indra]

Dear Charles,

thank you very much for your input, that gives me a good
starting point to try out the solution best for me.

Kind Regards,
Thorsten

 

[Thorsten Indra]

Dear Suzanne.

thank you very much for your reply to my question, I will
try using the template approach you suggested.

Kind Regards,
Thorsten