Special Technology Development Program Project Number: STDP-R#-####-FR

Template for Project Summary (Replace with Title)

Subtitle (if applicable)

Project Introduction, Background or Summary

As an agency of the Federal Government, our documents—whether internal or external—should look professional. Consistency is a major part of a professional look. This template creates consistency by using styles. Styles format text, including font type, size, color, spacing between lines and paragraphs, and more. You will create a professional look by using this document’s established styles or editing these styles to format your text.

What was produced?

Styles in Microsoft Word

The styles menu is in the center of the Home ribbon. This document has paragraph styles that apply the style to an entire paragraph. Place your cursor in a paragraph, or highlight multiple paragraphs, and click on one of the styles to apply it. If you use the “paste” function to add text to this template, you likely need to apply styles to all inserted paragraphs.

The Styles menu in this document.

Microsoft support offers guidance on how to update or create styles. You can format existing text, right click an existing style, and select Update (or expand the menu and select Create a Style). A more thorough way is to right-click an existing style and select Modify. This method will update the formatting of your text throughout your document wherever you applied that style.

How were/are the product(s) delivered?

Styles in This Template

The heading directly above uses the Heading 2 style. Use it for subsections that are a part of the topic started by the Heading 1 style before it. The lines below this use the Bullet List style and list the other styles and their purposes.

Normal style – use for all basic text.

Heading 1 style – use to start a new section or topic in your document.

Title and Subtitle styles – used near the top of this document; Subtitle is “based on” Title, meaning changing the Title style may also change the Subtitle style.

Image style – use for the line where you place an image; it provides additional space between the image and the text above it.

Captions style – apply this style to the paragraph below your image to create a caption and byline with extra space after.

STDP Project Number style – used directly below the ISO-Bar (header) for Project Number. It is set in Source Sans Pro to match the font in the ISO-Bar. Arial or Verdana are recommended substitutions if you do not have Source Sans Pro.

Who can be contacted for more information?

Benefits of Styles

In addition to giving your document a consistent, professional look, styles make your document easier to use. You can make changes to formatting quickly and create a table of contents based on styles. Styles also improve document accessibility and navigation (i.e., 508 compliance). Using styles creates an outline that assistive technologies need to correctly order and read a document.

Image Quality

If possible, minimum resolution must be 300 dpi (dots per inch) at 10 inches or 3,000 pixels of widest length or width. If using your phone camera, set image resolution to highest level prior to taking a picture. Image should be roughly 3 Megabytes.

Placing Images in This Template

Add pictures to a document using the Insert ribbon. By default, Word sets the image “in line with text,” which is a text wrap setting. This can make it difficult to move your image, but is also the only text wrap setting that Word has for placing an accessible image (i.e., 508 compliant).

To make your image accessible, place the cursor at the start of a blank line where you want to insert the picture. Images work best between paragraphs. Select the paragraph style Image. On the Insert tab, select Pictures. Choose your image in the dialog box and select Insert. This technique should work for any type of figure.

Type a caption in the line below the picture and apply the Captions style. USDA Forest Service photo by Dominic Cumberland

After inserting the image, place the text cursor on the right side of the image; click or use the arrow keys to position it. Press enter/return and apply the Captions style. Include a caption and byline for your image (see Photography standards for details on writing captions). Press enter/return again and apply the Normal style, then continue typing.

Right click your image and select Edit Alt Text, then type a short description of the image in the box that appears. For more on this process and other accessibility features, see Microsoft’s best practices.

Finalizing Your Document

Your document needs a title. Go to the File menu, select Info, and add a title in the field on the right.

If your columns are uneven, you can balance them in the Layout ribbon. There are two options, both found in the Breaks menu. Place your cursor where you want the second column to start and insert a Column break; or, place your cursor at the end of the second column and insert a Continuous break. Try both to see how they affect the layout. Generally, you have more control over the layout with a Column break.

Lastly, use the Check Accessibility feature on the Review ribbon. Word will show you any errors or warnings and give you tips on how to fix them.