Drop Cap
A Drop Cap (short for “dropped capital”) stylises the first letter of a paragraph as a large, decorative capital that drops down into the lines of text below. This is a classic typographic technique widely used in newspapers, magazines, novels, and editorial layouts. Incorporating a drop cap is an excellent way to draw the reader’s eye directly to the opening of a body of text, break up intimidating walls of copy, and instantly give your overall layout a highly polished, professional feel.
How to Apply a Drop Cap
Adding a drop cap in Open Publisher is incredibly straightforward and bypasses the need for complex formatting menus:
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Ensure you have typed your paragraph, then right-click anywhere on the desired text box on your canvas.
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From the context menu that appears, select Drop Cap.
Once clicked, the first letter of the selected text box is immediately enlarged and dynamically formatted as a decorative capital. The surrounding text will automatically shift and wrap around the newly sized letter seamlessly. This feature works on any standard text box in your document and is applied instantly with no additional configuration needed.
Tips for Effective Design
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Use Sparingly: Drop caps are most effective when used at the very beginning of an article, a new chapter, or a major section. Applying them to every single paragraph can clutter your page and make the text difficult to read.
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Dynamic Editing: If you decide to rewrite the beginning of your paragraph or delete the first word, Open Publisher automatically applies the drop cap styling to the new first letter, keeping your layout intact without requiring you to reapply the setting.
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