QuarkXpress 4 tips, page 2
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Never use faux styles
Automatic page numbering
Use the correct PPD when exporting to PDF
Switch between master and normal pages
Corrupted image preview
Grab paragraph style attributes
Alternate between Actual Size view and 200% view
View percentage box
Don't put images into a separate folder when
collecting for output
Related links
Never use the type styles on the Measurements palette, such as "bold", "italic", and "shadow". I have no idea why Quark still has this horrible feature, and it's one of the surest signs of an amateur user. When you apply a faux style to a font, you're basically telling Quark to take control and modify the font's appearance... this means you're not actually using the font. A faux bold, for example, may or may not use the actual bold version of the font. What you see is rarely what you get when printing. No matter how you look at it, it's just a BAD idea. Always select the correct bold or italic version of the font from the font menu. Don't even get me started about the ugly "shadow" style...
Simply place the "current page" character on a master page, and all pages connected to that master page will have automatic, consecutive page numbers. Type Command-3 to insert the character (it will appear as "<#>" on the master page).
Use the correct PPD when exporting to PDF
Using the correct PPD file when exporting your PDF from QuarkXpress will often clear up many problems you may be having. If you installed the Acrobat software correctly, the PPD file should already be installed on your system (System Folder > Extensions > Printer Descriptions > Acrobat Distiller). If it isn't, you can download the latest version from Adobe. After installing it, set QuarkXpress's PDF preferences to use the Acrobat Distiller PPD (make sure no windows are open so that the setting is applied globally).
For more information, read Adobe's Recommendations for Creating PDF Files from QuarkXPress 4.x Documents in Mac OS.
Switch between master and normal pages
Use Shift-F10 to switch between Master page and normal page view. Use Option-F10 to switch between multiple master pages (it acts like a "page down" function, but only for master pages). [Contributed by Peter Hodson]
A corrupted image preview is often responsible for causing problems (unable to open a document, crashing the application after opening, etc.). Try this: Instead of double-clicking the document, open it directly from QuarkXpress, and make sure you hold down the command key as you click the "open" button. This will force QuarkXpress to recreate the previews for all imported graphics (the original scale and rotation of the images will be preserved).
Grab paragraph style attributes
For documents that have one or two pages of text that do not require style sheets, there is a quick way to "grab" the style attributes from one paragraph and apply it to another. Place the cursor anywhere in the paragraph that you want to change, and then option-shift-click anywhere in the paragraph that you want to "grab".
Alternate between Actual Size view and 200% view
Use the shortcut command-option-click to alternate between Actual Size view and 200% view.
Use the shortcut control-v to highlight the small view percentage box in the lower left corner of a document's window, and enter a preferred percentage.
Don't put images into a separate folder when Collecting for Output
Unless you have your QuarkXpress document specifically linked to the images inside the "images" folder, opening that document on another computer will show those images as missing, and the user will have to manually point to the images inside the "images" folder. It's better to keep all your images and logos in the same directory as your QuarkXpress document.
If you want to separate your images from your QuarkXpress document for the purpose of presentation (such as a CD-ROM), then simply place ALL of your elements, including your QuarkXpress documents inside one folder called "images", and then place an alias of your QuarkXpress document outside the folder.
Related links:
Quark
User Training
Quark Technical
support (Technotes, Techtips and the Knowledge Base)
QuarkXpress
Tutorials (About.com)
QuarkXpress
message board (Desktop Publishing magazine)
QuarkXpress
tips page (Digital Training and Design)
Production
artist survival guide (Fontsite.com)
Frank Romano's QuarkXpress
tips pages (The site is poorly designed, so a directory link is
provided here... click on the pages that have numbers at the end of the
name; for example, "qxstips4.html")
QuarkXpress
Tutorials (Sketchpad.net)
The Xpressobar
Use British spelling in your searches