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D is for Drop Cap in Word

Drop Caps refers to making the first letter of the paragraph bigger and fancier so that it will stand out.

It is used in novels for the first paragraph of each chapter. It is also used in the first paragraph of a magazine or newspaper article. As shown below.












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1. Type the paragraph you want the drop cap in.

2. Click anywhere inside the paragraph.

3. Click on INSERT tab from the ribbon.


4. Click on Drop Cap icon in the Text selection. [Second last section on the Insert tab]





The following menu appears as a drop down list of the different types of Drop Cap


Select which type of Drop Caps you would like. The pictures help describe what will happen.

Dropped will put some of the text below the letter.

In margin will not have any text below it.

This is also how you remove it if you don't like it but selecting None

Click on Dropped or In margin



The first letter is now bigger and the paragraph looks a little fancier, as shown at the top of this blog.

But the letter isn't that fancy.

Change the font
If you would like the letter to stand out more, then change the font type. 

1. Highlight the letter.

2.The mini tool bar appears. If it does not appear, right-click over the letter.
   A contextual menu appears with the mini tool bar on the top as shown above.

3. Click on the drop down arrow beside the Font name. Move your mouse over the different fonts.
    It shows you how the letter will appear if you select that Font. This is called Live Formatting. 

Or: Use the Ribbon way

2. Click on the Home tab. Select the drop down list beside the font name in the Font section. 

3. Click on the arrow beside the Font Name on the ribbon. The Live Formatting still works. 
    The letter changes as you select different Fonts. 


Change/Fix the size 
In the example below, I choose another font but the new font is too big. I need to decrease the size of the font. 
1. Highlight the Drop Cap letter by double clicking over the letter.


2.The mini tool bar appears. If it does not appear click the right mouse button. 
   A contextual menu appears with the mini tool bar on the top. 

3. Click on the drop down arrow beside the Font size. Move your mouse over the different numbers.
    It shows you how the letter will appear if you select that number. This is called Live Formatting. 

Note: You can also change the Font by using the Ribbon using the same steps as listed above.


Other changes available
If you want the letter to include more than 3 lines or have a bigger distance from the text or select the other type of Drop Cap then:

1. Click on the Insert tab if it is not already the default tab.

2. Select Drop Cap Options this time. The last item on the list.
   The following window appears.
3. Click on In Margins to change the Drop Cap layout.

4. Click on the Lines to drop to increase or decrease how many lines appear beside the big first letter of the paragraph now. The default is 3.

5. Increase the Distance from text if you would like some space between the big letter and the rest of the text. 

6. Click on OK to make the changes. 

3 comments:

  1. Do you happen to know if this works/ stays once the manuscript is uploaded to sites like Amazon and Smashwords? I'd love to do this in book chapters.

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    Replies
    1. I don't know but that is a really good question. Many books do have drop caps so they should. Are you printing or using ebooks for Kindle?
      I am going to publish ebooks. Looking into what company.

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    2. Thanks for stopping by twice!!

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