QuarkXPress 8: The Basics

QuarkXPress is a print publishing application produced by Quark, Inc. Quark, the company, gets its name from the subatomic particle that is the building block for all matter. QuarkXPress made its debut in 1987 as a direct competitor to PageMaker (the dominant print publishing application of the day).

Before the advent of QuarkXPress, type had to be set on expensive typesetting machines. With QuarkXPress came the ability to set professional-looking typography and layouts on the desktop computer. According to Quark, there are more than three million QuarkXPress users worldwide.

What Can You Create With QuarkXPress?

Working with QuarkXPress, the sky—or your imagination—is the limit. You can create newsletters, magazines, posters, flyers, business cards, letterhead, certificates, brochures—anything. You can import myriad picture formats. When you have completed your document, you can “collect” it into a folder with key components such as the layout, images and fonts. And you can export your documents in a Portable Document Format (PDF).

Projects, Layout and Collaboration

QuarkXPress is built around the concept of projects and layouts. You start by creating a project and add layouts to the project as needed. As an example, you could be tasked with creating a newsletter for both print production and for posting on the Internet.

Here’s how you could use QuarkXPress to get the job done: First, you could create a new project called “Newsletter.” Inside the project, you would have two layouts. First, you might create a layout named “Print.” You would complete the layout using the print layout tools found in QuarkXPress such as master pages and style sheets. After the layout is complete, you could duplicate the print layout and convert it into a Web layout; both complex steps could be performed at the same time. Once the layout is a Web layout, you could use the program’s robust Web tools to create HTML pages, image maps and hyperlinks.

You can work on your own projects in QuarkXPress or collaborate with team members over a network. QuarkXPress enables multiple users to collaborate on a single layout. You can divide pages into “composition zones” and share parts of a page over a network to different users. Thus, using composition zones you can distribute different portions of a layout to different users so that they can simultaneously work on a single layout.

Basic Lessons Include:

The QuarkXPress Environment

• Change Views
• Enable Text Greeking
• View Multiple Projects Windows
• Check Measurements
• Create a New Project
• Change a Layout’s Orientation and Margin Guides
• View Palettes
• Create and Use a Palette Set
• Draw and Use a Text Box
• Draw and Use a Picture Box
• Resize and Move Layout Items
• Customize the Zoom Tool
• Change the Zero Point

Text Basics

• Create a Text Content Box
• Work With Overflow Text
• Modify a Text Box
• Apply a Drop Shadow
• Work With Invisibles
• Use Different Text Selection Techniques
• Change Character Attributes
• Use the Glyphs Window to Add a Symbol

Importing Text and Formatting Paragraphs

• Import Text
• Align Paragraphs
• Format Multiple Columns
• Set a First Line Indent
• Add Space After Paragraphs
• Set Leading
• Set Paragraph Rules

Picture Basics

• Import a Picture
• Resize a Picture
• Crop a Picture
• Fit and Center an Image
• Rotate and Skew a Picture
• Resize Both an Item and Content
• Replace One Picture With Another
• Add and Modify a Drop Shadow
• Add a Picture to a Layout
• Bring Items to Front/Forward

Tabs, Frames and Insets

• Set and Move a Tab Stop
• Set a Tab Stop Fill Character
• Set an “Align On” Tab
• Add a Frame to a Text Box
• Control Insets and Justification

Working With Items

• Duplicate an Item
• Step and Repeat Items
• Super Step and Repeat Items
• Space and Align Items
• Group Items
• Lock, Unlock and Resize a Group
• Merge Items to Create New Shapes
• Pass Through a Stack
• Change and Edit a Shape
• Convert a Point
• Draw a Freehand Line
• Change Box Content

Automatic and Manual Text Links

• Work With an Automatic Text Box
• Jump Between Pages
• Use the Page Layout Palette
• Add a Current Box Page Number to a Master Page
• Use Step and Repeat
• Add Ruler Guides to the Page
• Use the Text Linking Tool
• Use the Text UnLinking Tool
• Create Page Jumps

Putting It All Together

• Frame an Item
• Create a Multiple Column Text Box
• Use Find/Change
• Create a Paragraph Style Sheet
• Add Page Guides
• Import an Image
• Create a Text Wrap Around a Picture
• Spell Check a Story
• Collect a File for Output
• Create a PDF

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Book Specifications:

ISBN: 1932733256 | Spiral Bound | 162 pages | Page Size, 8 1/2 x 11 inches
Retail Price: $25.00

See also:

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