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     *** DesignGeek ***
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Tips and techniques for the digital designer

In this issue:
-- Quark 6.1 Projects vs. Layouts
-- InDesign CS Easter Eggs
-- New Panther is Available (10.3.4)
-- Great PostScript Error Reference

Issue 21, 5/27/04
Written by Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepcion
... for her clients, colleagues, random contacts and interested subscribers
 
© 2004 Seneca Design & Training, Inc.


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Quark 6.1 Projects vs. Layouts
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The first concept new Quark 6.1 users need to get their heads around is this program's unique (as far as I know) ability to combine multiple client projects in one file.

The file that you create in 6.1 by going to "File -> New" is called a Project (a project can contain multiple projects?) which doesn't help. :-)

Anyway ... if you can train yourself to think "project = file" and "layout = publication" (or "layout = document") it might help set things straight in your head. A Project (file) starts out with at least one Layout (publication, document); and you can add additional Layouts (publications, documents) to it. You don't have to, but you can.

So you go to the File -> New menu, because you want to create a new ... errr... Quark thingie, and what you should choose here is a New Project (it replaces the old "New Document").

The New Project dialog is titled "New Project," (okay, good) but what you're actually setting up in the dialog has nothing to do with the Project per se. Instead, you're setting up the specs for your first, default Layout. There's even a field where you're invited to enter the name of the Layout (by default, it's called "Layout 1").

Many people replace that with their own Layout name ("Acme Brochure"), thinking they're naming the file (the Project), but they're not. The file (Project) is still unnamed and unsaved. It's called "Project 1" until you save it and name it.

If you think about it, that's how it always worked (and how it works in other layout programs). In a New Document dialog, you're not really setting up the specs of the New Document ... its margins, trim size, etc. ... you're actually setting up the specs of the default Master Page. The document page you're presented with when you click OK is simply the first page based on that Master which you just set up. It's just that you weren't prompted to name the Master Page in the New Document dialog.

So in Quark 6.1's New Project dialog, you're setting up the default Layout's default Master Page. You can give the Layout a name if you want, but like any other program, you'll have to change the default Master name later, assuming you want to do so.

Still with me? Hope so.

To name the actual Project (the file you just created), you need to choose File -> Save, and then replace the default filename, "Project 1" with whatever you'd like to name the file.

The title bar of every Quark 6 document shows both the Project Name and the active Layout name separated by a colon. Here's what you might see:

-- If you didn't name anything yet, you'll see "Project 1: Layout 1"
-- If you named the Layout but haven't saved the Project yet, it'll be "Project 1: Acme Brochure."
-- If you've saved the Project (file) using the same name that you gave the Layout (nothing wrong with that), you'll see "Acme Brochure: Acme Brochure".
-- If you save the Project but didn't give the Layout a name, you'll see 'Acme Brochure: Layout 1"
-- If you save and name the Project, name the default Layout, and use the Layout menu to create and name a second Layout, you'll see "Acme Brochure: English Layout" (if that's what you named your Layout) when the first Layout is active, and "Acme Brochure: French Layout" when the other Layout is active.

You create and name new Layouts, and rename existing ones, in the Layout menu.

To locate a Quark 6 file in your Finder or in My Documents (Windows), look for the Project name, not the Layout name. Layout names are only accessible within the Project.

As I said, you don't have to create more than one Layout in a Project if you don't want to. But it's nice to know it's there. Each Layout maintains its own document setup (trim size, orientation, margins), Master Pages, Font/Picture Usage, Preferences, Hyphenation exceptions, Trap settings, and more.

But multiple Layouts in the same Project (you can have up to 25) share the same Project-specific things: Colors, Style Sheets, Lists, H&Js, and more; and you can use that cool Synchronize Text feature between them. You can mix Print-based and Web-based Layouts in the same Project if you like.

I wish that you choose among or select multiple Layouts when you Print, Export to PDF, check spelling or run a Find/Change, but you can't. Maybe in version 7?

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InDesign Easter Eggs
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These work on Mac or Windows in InDesign 2.X or CS:

Bounce: Choose "About InDesign" from the menu, and when the splash screen comes up, type BOUNCE.

SVG: Same as above, but instead of typing BOUNCE, type SVG (Adobe's interesting vector/web image format)

Rainbow: Choose Stroke Styles from the Stroke palette menu, and create a new striped stroke. It doesn't matter what it looks like, just make sure to name it "Rainbow." Apply the stroke to an object.

Feet: Create another stroke, but this time choose a Dashed style for it, and name it "Feet." Apply it to an object.

Thanks to Sandee Cohen (InDesign author extraordinaire) for letting us InDesign listserv subscribers learn about the last two!
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New Panther is Available (10.3.4)
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If you're running Mac OS X Panther, your Software Update should catch this, but if not:

About the Mac OS X v10.3.4 Update
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25764>;

You can download it from there if you want, and you can also read the various things it fixes, including the latest OS X Security issues.

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Great PostScript Error References
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Multiple layouts, transparency support, embedded vectors, PDF workflows ... whatever the newest bell or whistle or workflow paradigm may be, it all comes down to PostScript in the end.

If you've ever wondered what those cryptic error messages mean ("dictstackunderflow" ???) when Distiller balks, or when you open a flaky EPS in Illustrator, or that your printer spits out at you, here's a great reference:

About PostScript Errors
<http://www.quite.com/ps/errors.htm>

(Courtesy of Quite Software, developers of PDF utilities Quite Imposing and Quite a Box of Tricks.)

Not only does it include background information, but it lists a number of common errors and what they mean, giving you a clue as to how to fix them.

And on that same topic, one of the best books on PostScript is out of print, but the author has made it available free for the downloading as a PDF document:

Thinking in PostScript, by Glenn Reid (Addison-Wesley)
http://www.rightbrain.com/

(Click on the link "Books" at the top of the page, then scroll down when you get there.)



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READY FOR SOME INDESIGN TRAINING?

Adobe Certified Expert Anne-Marie's been doing so much InDesign training lately, she's starting to forget her QuarkXPress keyboard shortcuts. Recent ID training clients include McDougal Littell, Two by Four Design, Magnet Street, Chicago Tribune, Herman Adler Design, and the American Library Association.

For a surprisingly affordable fee, you'll find that one or two-days of on-site InDesign training will save you weeks of wonky files and flailing around in palette madness.

And if you're nervous about making the switch, she's your expert. Anne-Marie will lead you gently into the new world with useful Quark-to-InDesign and PageMaker-to-InDesign techniques and handouts; providing one-on-one time even with large training groups; and supporting each student with her legendary three years of 24/7 follow-up assistance, included with every training engagement.

Call or e-mail Anne-Marie today for a rough training quote (or just a brochure to ruminate over): 312-946-1100, amarie@senecadesign.com

 

CHICAGOANS: TAKE A SEMINAR FROM HERGEEKNESS!
 
*Marketing Your Creative Services Online*
*Professional Layout Techniques*
Mac Design Conference and Expo - June 2-4, 2004
Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, Illinois
I'm doing two seminars at the Mac Design Conference. "Marketing Your Creative Services Online" is about how use e-mail, online forums, and your web site to find new clients for your creative services. I'll have lots of insider tips and down-to-earth how-to's that don't require a lot of money or programmer-type abilities. The other seminar, "Professional Layout Techniques," will help non-designers and newbie designers alike get a handle on successful ways to lay out publications for print and web.
Details and registration:
<http://www.macdesignconference.com>

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DesignGeek is a free bimonthly publication written by Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepcion, a cross-media designer and authorized Adobe and Quark training provider. She owns Seneca Design & Training, Inc. in Chicago, Illinois (http://www.senecadesign.com/).

To subscribe to DesignGeek or read archived issues, go to its home on Seneca's site: http://www.senecadesign.com/designgeek/subscribe.html

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Contact Seneca by phone at 312-946-1100 or e-mail at info@senecadesign.com

Copyright 2004 by Seneca Design & Training, Inc.
Please forward without cutting. Please contact Seneca for reprint permissions. We don't guarantee accuracy of articles. Company or product names mentioned in DesignGeek may be registered trademarks, we use the names in an editorial fashion with no intention of infringement.
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