1. WHY WON'T THAT EPS PRINT?
2. USING LIBRARIES
3. MANY USES FOR PAGEMAKER'S EPS FILTER
4. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
5. SCRIPTING
6. UTILITIES/UPDATES
7. HINTS
8. SOURCES OF INFORMATION
9. LAST WORD
1. WHY WON'T THAT EPS PRINT?
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James Therrien gave an interesting explanation of why EPS files sometimes won't print, in the Quark TechNews for July 26.
It's the reason why a QuarkXPress document may bring up a message of "Page could contain EPS pictures which include Binary data", but the explanation shows how it could as easily cause problems with printing from any program either via Windows or via a Windows network, which is increasingly common in Mac-based systems.
He explains how the choice in the print dialog box to print postscript data as either ASCII or binary will write the data in either format for raster graphics such as TIFF, JPEG, etc.
In XPress there's another option of 'Clean 8-Bit', which sends the picture information in a combination of binary numbers and ASCII characters.
"The binary option is the most compact so the PostScript job spools faster, reduces network traffic and takes less time to print. However, sending binary information to some Windows printers and across some Windows-based networks can cause problems. For example, some binary number combinations can be misinterpreted by the printer as a command to terminate printing.
"If that happens, you send the job, but get no error message and no output either.
"If you change the Data Type to ASCII (or Clean 8-bit), the job will print...in most cases. [FYI, Clean 8-bit is binary, but the sequences that could be misinterpreted as commands are written with ASCII characters instead. So you get the best of both worlds; i.e. compact, fast printing, free of conflicting code]. And this is where that QuarkXPress alert message comes into play...
"When you select ASCII or Clean 8-bit, QuarkXPress converts the raster data to which it has access into the data type you've chosen. However, remember that QuarkXPress does not have access to the data inside EPS files, so it sends EPS data to the printer unchanged. Hence an EPS could contain binary sequences that could cause a problem. QuarkXPress uses this alert message to warn you that it can't change the data type inside the EPS files in your document.
"If problems persist with images, you can try resaving them from their creator application with ASCII data instead of binary data."
2. USING LIBRARIES
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There has been some correspondence in a couple of email lists on the use of libraries, with writers describing them as invaluable in newspaper production. Libraries, they suggest, such as are available in XPress, PageMaker and InDesign, are able to contain all the bits and pieces needed from issue to issue, and can be more useful than keeping unordered things on the pasteboard of a template.
They also ensure that you are going back to at least a second generation creation rather than reusing elements from issue to issue, which is one of the most common causes of file corruption.
Libraries are likely to become even more useful with InDesign as they can be used cross platform and across networks, though it still seems as if they can be opened by only one user at a time, and we're not too sure whether the library we saw in a beta version updated in quite the way it should when an item was added or updated on another machine. However it does open the possibility of libraries being used as a means of organising content for pages or sections, especially since links to original graphics and text files can be retained within the library and when copied out to a new file.
If you are using a DTP program that doesn't have libraries you can simulate one by keeping needed items in organised template files.
3. MANY USES FOR PAGEMAKER'S EPS FILTER
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Olav Martin Kvern pointed out on the PageMakr List that if you place an EPS you can display the filter option box and choose to let PageMaker's internal RIP create a new preview from any EPS... and do lots of other clever things.
He points out that if you choose the 'Always Generate Preview' option, you'll create a new preview image which will usually be better than the previews generated by any drawing program and which means you can opt for having a smaller file without a preview when you save from those programs.
High resolution previews can also be exported from PM, via File>Export>Graphic while the EPS is selected, useful for getting an image for printing on non-PostScript printers ...or for editing in Photoshop.
Olav points out: "You can generate a preview for any EPS file--even ones you write yourself with a word processor. This opens the door to lots of fun stuff, as shown in my "Desktop Science" column "Rocking the Foundation," which you can find archived at:
<http://www.adobe.com/products/adobemag/archive/autm97na.html> and select "Rocking the Foundation".
The url above will probably be broken in your email. It should be all one line with no spaces.
Watch your resolution setting in this filter -- it is a major cause of those complaints on "why is my PageMaker file so huge". There will be times when you want a good looking preview despite the file size cost, and other times when you want to reduce the resolution setting in the filter to get a small file.
4. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
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Alan Richardson in Australia writes: "Thanks for your newsletter -- I have just started in the newspaper industry and reckon it's great. Anyway - I am the production person for a small local newspaper, and we will be sending our issue down to the printer on zip disk. The only problem is that they have a different font list to us. Is there a program or plugin for PageMaker 6.5 that will cover this problem? I have heard of a program called Magpie for Quark, is it available for PM6.5?"
We replied: The later version of the Save for Service Provider Plug-in for PM will collect fonts and can be used to save these to a disk along with the file and any linked graphics.
You may also like to look at the possibility of using PDF files which will ensure there is no rerunning of text which can happen even when you have the same fonts.
Remember that you will need to have the tracking values file (which the S4SP plugin packages up with the other files) and there can also be problems if there have been any changes at either end to the user hyphenation dictionaries.
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Phuong Diep wrote: "Hopefully you can help me: I wanted to import Excel documents into PageMaker 6.0 but was unable to. Is there a reason why? How can I resolve this? Is it because my Excel worksheet is too extensive (it's several pages long)? Currently, I'm using a newer version of Excel (Excel 97); so I had to saved my Excel worksheet as Excel 3.0. Is this correct?"
We replied: Adobe introduced a new spreadsheet filter for PageMaker 6.5 to overcome problems, so I would assume you are right in saying that you would have to save as an earlier version to be compatible with PM6.
There are also problems with multiple page spreadsheets as, if you import as text, PageMaker is limited to 40 columns (the max number of tabs), and, if you import as a graphic, there cannot be multi-page graphics for import into PM.
A solution we have used for some problem spreadsheets is to print from Excel to an Acrobat PDF (but this is restricted to import in PM6.5), so you may like to try printing each page to an EPS file (for which you will need a postscript printer driver installed, even if you have no postscript printer).
Many spreadsheet-sourced EPS graphics run into the problem of the right hand end being cut off -- an answer to this is to install the printer driver for a much higher resolution printer (such as an imagesetter). This then allows the selection of a higher dpi setting in the compose-to-printer selection of the page setup dialog.
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Dirk Dittert wrote from Denmark in reply to an item in Format 26 about printing pages in booklet form: "Yes! There is a program called FinePrint available. It is specialized on printing several pages on one sheet (Windows). The new version is supposed to have a something like a 'print-as-booklet' feature."
We replied saying we'd include the comment in the next issue and Dirk replied: "Wow! That was fast! And I always thought that this list is not very personal (as a reader you are just a number of the over 900 readers). Thank you for your answer. It helps me believe in the original spirit of the internet."
He had also looked up the source of Fine Print (They were previously called Single Track Software): <http://www.fineprint.com/>. There's a demo version available.
Adrian at Ninefish Trombone in New Zealand wrote that ClickBook might be an answer and sent us a report from I-Us "I can recommend ClickBook wholeheartedly to anyone who wants more flexibility when it comes time to print" claims Daniel Will-Harris, author of Clickbook: print your own books. ClickBook "transforms your single-sided documents into professional booklets and brochures. A powerful yet easy-to-use printing utility, ClickBook lets you create customized brochures, greeting cards, address books, catalogs, and more. <http://bluesquirrel.com/> There are versions for Windows and Mac but the demos are currently only for Windows (about 1.3MB).
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Richard Hunt of Calcaria Software Services, Tadcaster, UK, writes: "Mike Koewler is right about PagePlus doing many things more quickly and easily than programs like PageMaker or Quark at a fraction of the cost. I provide on-site training services for PagePlus, and for many smaller businesses, it is a cost effective solution. Using the output guidelines on my web site, almost anyone can produce something which looks good - and at the end of the day, your reader does not really care what software you use to put your publication together."
The Calcaria site is at <http://www.calcaria.co.uk>
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Our item last issue on waxers brought this comment from Judy Bay: "Yes, they're still needed! Our big one died & the boss didn't think we needed to buy another one. I made do with scotch tape for a long time, then found some Jiffy adhesive wax sticks. For tiny patches they're ok, but the wax is very gooey, and I usually end up spreading the glops with my fingernail. We often get jobs that are camera-ready with change, sometimes it's quicker to redo the whole thing new. Sometimes tape works, and sometimes we really need the wax."
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Dr Mary Sullivan Esseff wrote: " I have files in PageMaker 4.0 (Macintosh platform) that won't open in PM 6 unless I hook up my laptop (which has an old version of PM 4.01 on it) to the network. I can't open PM 4.01 because it asks me to locate PM 4.01 RSRC. Do you know what that is? Is there a converter that I can download that will allow me to open PM 4.x files without having PM 4.01 on the network?
"I never upgraded to PM 5.0, but skipped from 4.01 to 6.0. I'm running Mac 8.5 on a PowerPC clone."
We replied: In theory, PM4 files should just open in PM6 on the same platform, though you have to open them from the Open command in the file menu of PM. There's a converter on the Adobe site but this is for version 3 files. Has anyone else seen this problem?
5. SCRIPTING
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Ricardo Montiel in Argentina answered our scripting problem from Format 27 about PageMaker's supposed LenList script function:
"I don't know if I missing the point... but I have never heard about the LenList function. I use the following functions to find
the number of characters => lenLen(var)
the number of items (or values) in a list => len(var)
var could be, as usual, a text selection (user input) or the reply for a get command (script input)"
Ricardo gives examples and we'll be happy to forward his full comments to anyone interested (email tends to distort script lines which is why we always send even tiny scripts as zipped or stuffed files, so tell us if you are on Mac or Win).
He also points out that there are some tricky problems in the use of lenLen because PM automatically adds quote marks to the selected text and the lenLen function counts the quote marks, so it is necessary to subtract them from the returned number.
Ricardo pointed us to Vladimir's scripting site <http://www.oz.net/~vsamarsk/PageMakerScripting.htm>, which we thought we knew well, but obviously where we've missed a few things, and the list of functions there which has a number not referred to either in Hans Hansen's book PageMaker Scripting, or in PageMaker's online help.
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We've started a scripting page for InDesign on the Worsley Press web site. It doesn't have much there yet -- just a one page summary of information available on the Adobe website in several documents -- but it will be expanded when InDesign is launched (which is now said to be in September).
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The AppleScript Sourcebook run by Bill Cheeseman is at <http://www.AppleScriptSourcebook.com/> and is an essential visiting place for anyone looking into AppleScripting.
6. UTILITIES/UPDATES
====================
Adobe has expanded its "collections", the sets of software that give lower cost access to a range of programs likely to appeal to particular industries. The Publishing Collection, as expected, will now include PageMaker Plus, in addition to Illustrator and Photoshop and Acrobat (at US$999), while the new "Design Collection" will be the similar collection based around InDesign at US$1299 (Details at <http://www.adobe.com/products/designcoll/main.html>. Others are the Web Collection and Dynamic Media Collection.
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Mac: 8.6 Font Manager Update (and bugfix) is at <http://www.info.apple.com/support/downloads.html>. It fixes (and prevents) the font problems both PM and QXP have been having with Mac OS 8.6. You may also like to check the Macfixit site: <http://www.macfixit.com>
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There are new versions of Acrobat Reader 4.0 that include the "Search" plug-ins, which make available for Macintosh and Windows users the advanced searching functions released previously for Unix.
As well as from Adobe, the new versions are available from PDFzone.com <http://www.pdfzone.com/> in several languages: Mac versions are .bin (5259 kb) or .hqx (7136 kb) files and the Windows versions are .exe files (6334 kb).
"Reader with Search" adds two plug-ins that allow one to search a collection of indexed PDF files on a CD-ROM or a local file system. These indexes must be created with Acrobat Catalog, part of the full commercial Acrobat program.
This does not provide the ability to search PDF files across the Internet; however, an author can create an index and provide that for downloading along with a set of PDF files.
7. HINTS
========
In Quark XPress you can select to the end of the story even if it's overflow (invisible) text with Shift-Command-Option-down arrow (Mac) or Shift-Ctrl-Alt-down arrow/Ctrl-Shift-End (Win). The nearest equivalent in PageMaker is Shift-Ctrl-PageDown on either platform but this selects only to the end of the current text block unless you do it in Story Editor.
QXP users can also get the free Selector xtension from Markzware at <http://www.markzware.com/>. This is just one of more than 30 free QXP Xtensions at this site.
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When you are setting up styles in most programs you have the option of having that style "based on" another style. It may take slightly longer to think through such settings but it really comes into its own when you need to change something such as the typeface for text. If you organised your styles well, such a change in the "Body text" setting will be reflected in all the other styles which use the same typeface.
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In PageMaker, delete styles via the menu commands Type>Define styles... rather than from the flyout menu in the styles palette. It may also be a good idea to do a diagnostic recompose both before and after this (see the shortcuts menu for details on this). Also there is a remove unused styles script in the text section of the script palette which can be used.
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To combine files in PageMaker, make the first file a Book publication and include the second. Then use the Build Booklet plugin with a layout setting of none. It will create a new file with the pages from both old files. But beware that styles in the two publications must be identical; it's not a bad idea to copy styles from one to the other to make sure.
8. SOURCES OF INFORMATION
=========================
Karin at Callas Software pointed out that their url in Format 26 wasn't right (though it does get you through). The correct url is: <http://www.callas.de>
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A useful source of Quark Xtensions and other info:
For example, their Tip of the Week when we visited was one which applies equally to QXP and PM: "Some of my text is not following the Style Sheet, its name in the palette has a +... after it. How can I make it behave?
If you need to get rid of local formatting and you don't have any xtensions to do complex manipulations, try this handy trick:
Change the definition to grab all the strays in, then change the definition back."
9. LAST WORD
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David Ogilvy, retired founder of advertising firm Ogilvy & Mather, who died last month, was a copywriter who had a large influence on the publishing industry as a whole. One of his most famous quotes, "The consumer isn't a moron; she is your wife."
Gordon Woolf
The Worsley Press
Hastings, Australia.
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