Articles: QuarkXPress Review

Above: a JPEG (raster image). You can resize images but most of your images should be done in a program like Photoshop before you insert them into a Quark document	QuarkXPress Review by Ginger Rosenkrans

Quark is a page layout program. A page layout is a central gathering place for text, photos, lines, and other graphic elements that compose a page or a series of pages.

Almost everything in Quark is done in boxes—creating rectangles and placing text in a text box created or images in a photo box created. Text can also be placed into a regular or irregularly-shaped text box or along an edge of a bezier text path. A Bezier item is composed of straight or curved line segments connected by points.

Tool Palettes

Item: Selects, resizes, moves, cut/paste, reshapes items and paths

Content (Hand): Imports, inputs text, edits, restyles text and pictures, performs some item tool functions

Rotation: rotates items manually

Zoom: enlarges or reduces document display size

Rectangle text box: creates rectangle text boxes

Rectangle picture box: creates rectangular picture boxes

Rounded corner picture box: creates rounded corner picture boxes

Oval picture box: creates oval picture boxes

Bezier picture box: creates picture boxes composed of anchor pints and line segments

Line: creates straight lines at an angle

Orthogonal tool: creates vertical or horizontal lines

Line text path: creates straight line text paths at any angle

Linking: links text from box to box

Unlinking: unlinks text boxes

Basic Setup

Set page dimensions (File menu>document setup)

Add rulers (view menu>show rulers)

Show guide rules (view menu>show guides. To turn off: view menu>hide guides)

Change inches to picas (edit menu>Preferences/General)

Change view to fit document in window or view actual size (view menu or zoom tool)

Add guide lines (position pointer over ruler. Drag guide rule from ruler to desired location)

Change margin guides (page menu>Display A-Master A. Then, page menu>Master Guides)

Working with Pictures

Create a picture box (Use picture box tool. Press and drag handle to create box)

Resize picture box manually (Choose Item or Content tool, click on picture box, press and drag any handle. For a bezier picture box, turn off Item)

Bezier box: (bezier item is composed of sraight and/or curved line segments that are connected by points. Bezier boxes can be reshaped. Select bezier piture box in picture toolbox

Apply a frame to picture box (Item Menu>Frame)

Reduce or enlarge picture (Item Menu>Modify or you can enter a new measurement in the measurement palette

Delete a picture box (Choose Item or Content tool, click on picture box, press delete key)

Move a picture box (Choose Item tool, press on inside of picture box and then drag in any direction. Pause before dragging to display the picture as it is moved or drag without pausing to display only the outline of the box as it is moved.)

Create a bleed (position any item so part of the item is on the page and part of the item extends onto the pasteboard. Enter width of bleed area you want to print in the Bleed field in the Print dialog box>document folder tab)

Import a picture (Choose item or content tool, click on picture box File menu>Get Picture)

Fit a picture into its box:  Style>Fit picture to box; can adjust as necessary by Item>Modify>Picture> scale across and scale down (be sure in item or content  tool)

Delete picture and keep the picture box (Choose item or content tool, click on picture, press delete)

Rotate picture box (rotation tool, click on box, drag)

Rotate picture (item or content tool, click on picture, measurement palette, positive number to rotate counterclockwise and negative number for clockwise)

Working with text

Create a text box (text box tool, press and drag)

Import text (File menu>Get text)

Type new text (use content tool, type in text box)

Format type: typeface, horizontal scale, leading (note:3 points of leading are automatically used in Quark), kerning, alignment (style menu or measurement palette)

Make type a color (Use content tool, highlight type, Style Menu>Color)

Delete, copy or paste type/text (use content tool, highlight type, Edit menu or use keyboard commands)

Hyphenation (Edit menu>H&Js)

Frame around text (Item or content tool, click on a box, Item menu>Frame. Enter width in width field

Create a drop cap (Style Menu>Formats> check Drop Caps and select number of lines)

Create wraparound text (Format picture box – Item Menu>Runaround. Picture box must be in front.)

Link text boxes (use Link tool. Click on first text box. Dotted frame appears. Then click on second text box)

Rotate text box (Use Item or Content tool, click on text box, enter a number in the rotation field of the measurement palette)

Change number of columns (Use item or content tool, select text box, enter number in Cols field in measurements palette. Or you can go to Item>Modify and click on folder tab and enter a new number of columns in columns field)

Indent first line of a paragraph (content tool, click in a paragraph or press and drag through a series of paragraphs. Style menu>Formats. Enter a number in first line field. Click Apply to preview and OK when done)

Type in reverse (to recolor text, choose content tool, highlight text you want to color, click text color in colors palette, click a color, choose percentage for shade. If you are reversing type, change the type color first and then change the background color so the text will be easy to highlight. Remember when you reverse type, use a bold, sans serif or chunky typeface to enhance legibility, especially if it’s going to be printed on porous paper)

For Bezier: click on bezier tool

Box Modification

Change box size (Item Menu>Modify. Or, measurement palette. Or, drag anchor point to desired location)

Rotate box (Item Menu>Modify. Also can use rotation tool.)

Add background color to box (Item Menu>Modify>Background Color)

Make box transparent (Item Menu, enter None for background Color)

Add frame around box (Item Menu>Frame)

Other

Copy, delete, paste items (Choose Item tool, Edit Menu or sue keyboard commands)

Create a new color (Edit menu>Colors. Select New, select model type. Name color)

Select multiple items (Item or content tool, Shift-click on each item to be selected, start dragging the selection, then hold Shift and continue dragging to constrain the movement to horizontal or vertical axis. Release mouse, then release shift.)

Group Items (Item or Content tool, shift-click on each item in the group OR Position cursor outside all items to be included in the group, then press and drag marquee around them, choose Item Menu>Group)

Ungroup items (Item tool, click on group you want to ungroup, Item Menu>Ungroup)

Printing

Prepare for printing (File Menu>Page Setup. Printer = Generic Color, Options—larger print area)

Create or edit print style (Edit Menu>Print Styles, click on existing print style, then click Edit to modify it or click Duplicate   to edit a copy of it or click new to create a new print style)

Print document (File Menu>Print)

Print crop marks (for camera-ready art—File Menu>Print, check “Registration” “On”