CONTENTS
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2. DRAGGING IN PAGEMAKER SCRIPTS
8. HINTS
2. DRAGGING IN PAGEMAKER SCRIPTS
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Frank Anthony questioned why a PageMaker script in our Autolay set (described in the Autolay.pdf on our web site) wouldn't bring across an ad with a full-page background).
First we had better explain that the script set includes one which takes a filename typed into a frame on a layout and goes to get the ad to put in place of that frame. Basically it opens the PageMaker file, selects everything on the page, groups it, closes the file, returns to the original file and positions the ad exactly where the original frame was.
The problem for Frank turned out to be that his background in the ad was exactly the size of his page.
The original section of the script was:
GetPageRect >> wholepage
DragSelect wholepage
Group
Copy
We achieved the result Frank wanted by changing the first two lines of that to:
GetPageRect >> xLeft, yTop, xRight, yBottom
DragSelect xLeft-1, yTop-1, xRight+1, yBottom+1
The problem is that DragSelect in a script works exactly the same as it does if you do it physically -- and you have to select an area slightly outside the area you expect to find anything. A millimetre or a tenth of an inch will be more than enough.
Frank also asked why we didn't just do a SelectAll. Our logic is that many people making up ads put things on the pasteboard -- either old setting from a revised ad or an idea which was tried and didn't work, but which might be useful in future.
A while ago we saw a single file used for a regular ad of a real estate agent. As the segment for a house was taken from this week's ad, the typesetter placed it on the pasteboard; he'd found quickly from experience that the same house and same wording was likely to turn up in a couple of weeks' time. It looked a mess, but it was an efficient way of working.
8. HINTS
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You may not have a gradient tool in PageMaker but a single greyscale TIFF created in, for example, Photoshop can be kept on a PM template or in a library and stretched to whatever size and shape you want, and have any single palette colour applied. You can vary the density at either end by using the crop tool.
You can use the Build Booklet plugin to combine two or more PageMaker files into one. Create a Book list with all the files included and then, from the first file in your booklist use the Build Booklet plugin with "none" selected as the layout and with the "impose entire booklist" selected. A warning is that you could have layout problems unless the styles in all the files are identical. If there are differences, go through the second and subsequent files, select all text in turn with the text tool and apply "No style".
We've recently realised that even many experienced users overlook the fact that the number of pages in a file, as well as the starting page number, can be set from File>Document Setup. Even for a single page file, it can be quicker to use the page-number shortcut in a folio line on the master page, and set the page number from the Document Setup dialog.
Still annoyed about losing the right-click zoom in and out facility from earlier forms of PageMaker? Well, you can still do it one handed -- by double clicking in the toolbox, on the magnifying glass to zoom in and double clicking the hand to zoom out.
Gordon Woolf
The Worsley Press
Hastings, Australia.
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