QUARKXPRESS FILES WINDOWS

QUARKXPRESS FILES WINDOWS

Other InDesign-inspired interface enhancements include color outlines to indicate an objectвЂ™s layer, the ability to open several windows for the same document (or, in QuarkвЂ™s case, to create multiple document views as well as multiple document panes), a lock function that lets you lock the attributes and position of objects independently, control over whether picture attributes such as rotation and scaling are maintained when you substitute a new picture (finally!), the addition of a color-proof preview mode, dockable palettes, and palette sets (analogous to InDesignвЂ™s workspaces) for saving different interface configurations. Here, the ad is in its own zone (indicated by the light blue highlighting), so itвЂ™s accessible to designers while a writer works on the editorial content. The new Composition Zone feature makes parts of a layout available for editing by other XPress users. (However, XPress 7 did mess up the transparency in a few imported Photoshop files tested for this review.) This feature augments the Photoshop effects capability introduced in version 6.5вЂ™s Vista plug-in. XPress also now can apply effects filters to alpha channels, so you can adjust an imported imageвЂ™s transparency in all kinds of ways. (InDesign just puts a colored rectangle in the place of the missing character.) And you can now align objects relative to the pageвЂ™s boundaries, not just to the selected itemsвЂ™ boundaries. This allows you to see the text, though youвЂ™ll still need the missing font to print it correctly.

If characters are missing from the current font, the new Font Fallback feature substitutes the same characters in a different font on screen. This approximates InDesign CS2вЂ™s object styles, which allow consistent formatting of objects. And XPress 7 now lets you decide whether to synchronize just the content, just the box attributes, or both. ) now manages graphics and shapes, not just text, across a project, so changes to one instance are reflected in all. QuarkXPress 7 introduces several other features that most users will appreciate. And the new palettes (right) provide quick access to common functions. You can now open the same document in multiple windows, making it easier to compare items within your layouts. Quark has not announced when it will offer a QPS version thatвЂ™s compatible with XPress 7. YouвЂ™ll have to track them manually or use a tool such as QPS (Quark Publishing System). Workgroups in which multiple users edit the same document typically need to track changes, which the composition zone feature does not do. The File menu option used to share job jackets. And to make a composition zone accessible to other users, you need to use the Layout menu, Whereas it might make sense to simply double-click on a zone to edit it, in fact you have to access that part of the page via the Item menu. Moreover, some people might find the feature counterintuitive as currently implemented. This feature reduces the need to move large page files around, but it restricts what each user can do to the separate area. Think of it as a frame stored in a separate file that an external user can access and manipulate. The other major unique new feature in QuarkXPress 7 is the composition zone, which lets you specify an area of a layout that you can use in multiple documents, or that another user can work on simultaneously. And the enhanced Measurements palette (bottom) makes it easier to access QuarkXPress 7вЂ™s features without delving into dialog boxes. InDesign-inspired features such as transparency and drop shadows expand creative options, such as the duotone background and drop-shadow logo used here. And in fact Quark expects that highly skilled production staff and vendors will likely provide these tickets, often writing them directly in XML-which limits this featureвЂ™s use to large organizations with programming-savvy production staff. But that process is also less than intuitive, because the user interface assumes knowledge of XML data structures. Quark acknowledges that the feature works best if you have QuarkXPress create a job jacket based on an existing layout, rather than trying to create a job jacket from scratch.

Unfortunately, the process of creating job jackets is unintuitive. Job ticket, a production manager can ensure that any changes in the master ticket apply to all documents using it the master automatically updates all documents and overrides changes contrary to the common styles.

Job tickets canвЂ™t restrict designers from defining new styles or using forbidden fonts or colors. You can then check future documents against this standard for violations.

Quarkxpress files