Free New Features for QuarkXPress 8!

Mon, Apr 30, 2012

News, XTensions

A good number of people are still using QuarkXPress 8, so I thought I’d point everyone to some FREE XTensions from Quark that really help. You can download them all by clicking here.

Print Selection

This useful (dare I say necessary?) XTension lets you output a selection from a page, rather than the entire page. The selection can be made either by selecting specific items on a page, or by using the new Print Selection tool to drag a marquee around an area of a page.

The selection can then be output to either a printer, an EPS file, or a PDF file. And the selection can be applied to the current page, or any range of pages in the document.

This new tool is terrific for proofing just some text, or just a picture (or three) on a page.

Quick Look Filter

I am WAY excited about Quark’s filter for the Quick Look feature in Mac OS X. It lets you visually flip through your QuarkXPress documents in the Finder, just like you can flip through your albums in iTunes!

Image Exporter

This XTension gives you an easy way to export entire pages in raster image formats, by adding a new item to the File> Export submenu: “Export Pages as Images“.

You choose a scaling percentage, resolution, format (PNG or JPEG), a compression level (for JPEG), Pages or Spreads, and whether to include Guides or Text Grids in the picture.

The XTension also adds a new option during Collect for Output: a 72dpi snapshot of each page. This is tremendously helpful for proofing by your output service provider.

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This post was written by:

- who has written 1452 posts on Planet Quark.

Jay Nelson is the editorial director of PlanetQuark.com, and the editor and publisher of Design Tools Monthly. He’s also the author of the QuarkXPress 8 and QuarkXPress 7 training titles at Lynda.com, as well as the training videos Quark includes in the box with QuarkXPress 7 . In addition, Jay writes regularly for Macworld and Photoshop User magazines and speaks at industry events.

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5 Responses to “Free New Features for QuarkXPress 8!”

  1. Jaka Says:
    2. May 2012 at 1:28 pm

    Hi
    Do these XTensions support QuarkXpress 8.5?
    Regards
    Jaka

  2. Jay Nelson Says:
    2. May 2012 at 5:51 pm

    Yes indeed! I believe they support 8.1 and above (but not 9).

  3. Jaka Says:
    3. May 2012 at 12:07 am

    I use the Print Selection in 8.5.1 on Windows 7 already but not the Image Exporter, because I have some problems with the installation recently. Probably I didn’t install a C++ Runtime Environment – it was no need for it on Mac ;-). Now it works!

    Quick Look Filter is excelent, I used it on my Mac, wich was (saddly) stolen last summer in Czech Republic.

  4. Cormac O'Hanrahan Says:
    3. May 2012 at 2:36 pm

    Thanks Jay, it’s great to see that Quark hasn’t forgotten loyal users who have been trapped in Quark 8 land. Really appreciate it.

    One question though: do these extensions work under Lion (10.7.3)?

  5. Jay Nelson Says:
    14. May 2012 at 10:50 am

    Cormac: they should, but remember that only version 9 is certified for use on Lion. In other words, using QuarkXPress 8 on Lion isn’t recommended.

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