FAQs - Certificates

GLOBE Certificates

GLOBE Certificates are provided through a template power point file and a word document containing the title and associated text for all certificate types.

The GLOBE Community Support Team has recorded a demonstration video on how to work with and customize the GLOBE Certificate Template as well as how to do a mail merge to be able to produce many certificates at once from a list of names. Visit https://youtu.be/m1bXnBIpU5M

You can also follow along with the steps presented below.

-- visit the GLOBE.gov website
-- mouse over "Do GLOBE"
-- mouse over "Research & Resources"
-- click on "Teaching Resources"
-- click on "Recognition Resources"
-- click on "GLOBE Certificate Template Power Point.pptx" to download
-- save the file on your computer
-- click on "GLOBE Certificate Template Text.docx" to download
-- save the file on your computer
-- open the previously downloaded files in your office software of choice
-- (this tutorial will use Google Drive https://drive.google.com)
-- fill out the certificate according to its type, using the template text file as a guide
-- be sure to add the participants name
-- remove any parts you don't want to use (ex: the optional additional signature line)
-- be sure to add in a text box and fill out the date
-- save the certificate as a PDF file
-- open the PDF certificate file
-- enjoy your new GLOBE Certificate

Bulk Creation of GLOBE Certificates

Workshops usually have certificates that need to be filled out for each of the participants. In large workshops, filling out each one of these certificates can be unwieldy. The following instructions show how to make the task of filling out and saving certificates manageable. To see a demonstration of how to do the following steps visit the following URL: https://youtu.be/m1bXnBIpU5M

  1. Download an image of the certificate

    • Your power point program should have an 'Export' option in the 'File' menu

    • Save your image as the file type 'PNG'

  2. Visit https://drive.google.com

  3. Click on “New”

  4. Click on “Google Sheets”

  5. In the first row of the first column of the spreadsheet insert the word “Name”. This first column is known as a column header and will be used later in this tutorial

  6. Fill in the remaining rows of the first column with participant names

  7. Click on “File”

  8. Click on “Rename…” to give the spreadsheet a name

  9. Click on “File”

  10. Mouse over “Download as”

  11. Click on “Microsoft Excel” (.xlsx) to download the file to your computer

  12. Download LibreOffice (https://www.libreoffice.org/download/)

  13. Go through the installer answering “Next” and “Yes” to the prompts

  14. Open LibreOffice

  15. Click on “Writer Document” in the “Create” section of the sidebar

  16. Click on the “Page” icon in the sidebar to open it

  17. Set the “Orientation” dropdown to “Landscape”

  18. Set the “Margins” dropdown to “None”

  19. Click on the “Page” icon again in the sidebar to close it

  20. Set text to the appropriate font and size for the certificate

  21. Click on the “File” menu

  22. Mouse over the “Wizards” submenu

  23. Click on “Address Data Source…”

  24. Click on the option “Other external data source”

  25. Click on “Next”

  26. Click on “Settings”

  27. Set the “Database type” dropdown to “Spreadsheet”

  28. Click on “Next”

  29. Click on “Browse…”

  30. Select the .xlsx spreadsheet downloaded from Google Sheets

  31. Click on “Finish”

  32. Click on “Field Assignment”

  33. Set the “First name” dropdown to “Name” where Name is the column header we set up in the first row earlier in Google Sheets

  34. Click on “Ok”

  35. Set the “Address book name” to a sensible name like Meeting x participants

  36. Click on “Finish” (Answer “Yes” to the prompt if there is one)

  37. Click on “View”

  38. Click on “Data Sources”

  39. In the navigation window that appears

    1. Click on the “+” icon next to the name of participants

    2. Click on the “+” icon next to “Tables”

    3. Click on “Sheet1”

    4. On the right side of the navigation window click and drag the “Name” column onto the center of the document

  40. Using icons in the toolbar

    1. Set text to be centered - “Center Horizontally” icon

    2. Set line spacing dropdown to “Fixed” - “Set Line Spacing” icon

    3. Click on “Insert Image” and select the image of the certificate

  41. Right click on the image of the certificate

  42. Select “Properties”

  43. Click on the “Wrap” tab

  44. Click on “Through”

  45. Check the “In background” box in the “Options:” section

  46. Click “Ok”

  47. Click in the gray area outside the document to deselect the image (The green boxes at the corner of the image will go away)

  48. Click in the area directly to the left of <Name>

  49. Press “Enter” a few times to move the <Name> down the document to where you want names to appear on the certificate

  50. Add a few spaces before <Name> if necessary to align the name to the center of the certificates name area

  51. Click on “File”

  52. Click on “Print…”

  53. Answer “Yes” to the prompt

  54. Select “File” in the “Output” section

  55. Select “Save as individual documents”

  56. Select an appropriate folder on your computer from the “Path” section using the “...” button

  57. Set the “File format” dropdown to “PDF - Portable Document Format”

  58. Click on “Ok”

  59. All participants will now have a PDF certificate with their name on it saved to the folder that was selected in the “Path” section