Microsoft Word - 2013 Student Program Template Instructions.docx

STUDENT RECITAL PROGRAM TEMPLATE GUIDE

This document provides a step-by-step formatting guide for using the official USC

Thornton Student Recital Program template, which is editable in Microsoft Word,

Apple Pages, or other compatible word processing software. The following pages

describe the process for editing each section of the program in detail.

CONTENTS

General Guidelines ............................................................................................. 2

Front Cover ........................................................................................................ 3

Program Page .................................................................................................... 4

Texts & Translations ........................................................................................... 6

Program Notes ................................................................................................... 8

About the Artists ................................................................................................. 8

Acknowledgements ............................................................................................ 9

Printing Your Program ...................................................................................... 10

GENERAL GUIDELINES

Number of Pages

In order to print a booklet with no blank pages, the total number of pages in the

program must be a multiple of four (including the front and back covers).

If the content of the program must be formatted such that the total number of

pages is not a multiple of four, blank pages should be added just before the back

cover page. If the Program listing (the first page after the front cover) fits on a single

page, then one blank page may instead be inserted after the front cover.

Deleting Sections

To delete a section (such as Texts & Translations if not needed), first clear the

section of all content in the template. Then, position the cursor at the end of the

page preceding the section you wish to delete. Press the number-pad Del key (fn +

Delete on many laptops) repeatedly until the blank pages are removed.

Font, Formatting, and Layout Changes

The Student Recital Program template has been designed to mirror the official USC

Thornton programs used at our concerts, with some modification to make the

template editable in standard word processing software.

In general, the layout and formatting of the template should not be modified—only

the text content. Avoid the following:

» Changing fonts (acceptable fonts are Helvetica or Arial).

» Changing or ignoring the bold and italics formatting where indicated

» Inserting images, except for headshots

» Adding color to text

» Altering the page size or orientation

FRONT COVER

The front cover contains basic information about the recital. Fill in all placeholder

text with the appropriate information.

If the recital program has a title, that title may be used in place of the large “NAME”

text, and the name of the performer should precede the “instrument” text.

Consult with your recital advisor to determine the appropriate wording for the

degree fulfillment acknowledgement at the bottom of the title page, as this may vary

by program.

A correctly formatted front cover page

The formatting, layout, and components of the cover page should not be altered:

PROGRAM PAGE

The Program page lists all works to be performed on the recital. This page uses text

boxes to keep content aligned and simplify inserting content.

The program listing may span more than one page, as the spacing between each

selection should not be any smaller than that used on the template.

Edit each text box to add the relevant information for each work.

Do not change the

alignment of text

Do not reposition elements

on the page

Do not remove logos

WORKING WITH TEXTBOXES

When resizing textboxes to fit all needed content, the other textboxes may become

misaligned in some versions of Microsoft Word. To correct this, simply scale the

adjacent text box in the opposite direction so that both boxes are the same height.

If you need to move textboxes, select one textbox, hold the Shift key, and then

select the adjacent textbox. Press the up or down arrow on your keyboard to move

the two textboxes simultaneously as needed.

When entering content into the program page, be sure to only change the height of

each textbox, not the width. Composer names or work titles which are too long to

fit on one line should wrap to the next line. Be sure to follow the text formatting in

the template, including use of bold, italics, capitalization, and line breaks.

Select unnecessary textboxes and press Delete to remove them. If you need to list

more works, position the cursor at the end of the Program page, and press Return

until a new blank page appears. Then, copy and paste the template textboxes onto

the new page, repositioning as necessary.

TEXTS & TRANSLATIONS

If the recital repertoire contains no text, this section may be deleted from the

program.

Because the Texts and Translations pages also utilize textboxes for content, the

process of inserting content is essentially identical to that of the Program page.

It is important that each line of the text and its translation are aligned vertically:

Incorrect: composer textbox has been

resized horizontally

Correct: composer name wraps to next

line

Incorrect text alignment

Correct text alignment

For pieces with an English text, the translation textbox should be deleted and the

left textbox extended to span the width of the page:

To add more texts and translation blocks, simply highlight the “Title” text along with

both text boxes, then copy and paste. Highlight these same items and press Delete

to remove unneeded text and translation blocks.

Copy and paste to add new Text and Translation blocks.

PROGRAM NOTES

Insert your program notes for each selection on these pages. You may remove the

Source attribution from notes you have written yourself. Consult with your recital

advisor about the program note writing style used by your department. Be sure that

the text for each note is left justified, as opposed to left aligned.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Content in this section is added exactly as it is in the Program Notes section. Insert

each artist’s bio, again being sure that the text is left justified.

When inserting headshots, be sure to set the image’s wrapping style to Tight and

align its top edge with the top paragraph of the bio. This will cause the text to wrap

around the photo properly.

Incorrect: text block is left aligned

Correct: text block is left justified

Try to resize and crop all headshots to be the same size (approximately 1” wide by

1.5” tall). If this is not possible, resize the headshots so the width is consistent.

Note: be sure to edit the header of this section to reflect how many bios are listed

(either “Artist” or “Artists”).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Use this page to list any special thanks or acknowledgements. Consult with your

recital advisor to see if your program requires any special acknowledgements, such

as listing of departmental donors or sponsors.

Incorrect: image width is inconsistent

Correct: both images are 1 inch wide

PRINTING YOUR PROGRAM

It is strongly recommended that you have your program printed at a commercial

printing center (FedEx, Staples, etc.). Always save your document in PDF format

before delivering it to a printer, as this will ensure that the formatting and layout of

the program is preserved between computers. If you are unfamiliar with exporting

PDF files from your word processor, consult the software’s user manual.

The program template has a page size of 5.5” wide by 8.5” tall. Ask the printing

center staff to print your program in booklet format on landscape-oriented 8.5” by

11” paper (resulting in two pages per sheet). The program should be folded in half,

and stapled along the spine if possible. If desired, you may ask that the cover sheet

be printed on heavier stock. Print the program on white paper—avoid textured or

colored stock.

If you must print the program yourself, you may print in booklet form using the freely

available Adobe Reader software. Keep in mind that you must be able to print

double sided sheets in order to create a booklet. A guide on booklet printing with

Reader may be found online at:

http://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/print-booklets-acrobat-reader.html