Working with Large Graphics and Landscape Page Orientation

There are a few options if your pictures are too big to fit into the normal text area of your Word document:

1. Use the Wide Graphic or Drawings style for the paragraph containing the graphic. This aligns the right of the graphic with the right margin of the page, and lets the graphic flow into the wide left margin if needed.
2. Reduce the scale of the graphic (in your printed output only).
3. Reduce the size of the left margin, or
4. Adjust the page orientation for that particular section (by using a different Media Object) so that it uses Landscape layout.

Let's explore the later option – adjusting page orientation. This approach is also particularly useful when you have a really big table, and using a Wide Table style is not enough.

In your printed document, Media objects control the page layout settings (section breaks, margins, etc). Where your topics specify to Insert Break as a section break (you'll find this setting on the document tab of your topic and the setting is normally inherited from a topic template), you must associate a Media object to the topic, which tells Author-it which type of section break to apply in the Word output.

Note: Not all topics insert a break - so not all topics will need a Media object, and most templates specify the media object for you.

To do this you need to create a new Media object, and then apply this new media object to that particular section of your Book. Base the topic that you want to be landscaped on the section template (this template allows you to choose a Media object), or create your own template especially for topics like this. Under the Document tab, ensure that Insert break is selected as section break, and choose your new Landscape section media object under Media.

Note that all further topics will carry on using the same media object (so would also appear as landscape) until another topic inserts a new section break - so you may need to create another section break (ie use the section template again, the chapter template, or create a special template) and associate an appropriate media object so that the page layout reverts to portrait.