QuarkXPress 8: The New Tools Palette
Quark updated the Tools palette in QuarkXPress 8, with new icons, fewer tools, and a more intuitive layout. Below is an explanation of how the new Tools palette works, courtesy of X-Ray magazine. (This is an excerpt from “QuarkXPress 8: a Suite Response“.)
DID YOU BORROW MY TOOLS?
Now, about that tool palette…. The first time I saw the new tool palette, I felt like a kindergartner with a box of oversized sidewalk chalk — but this design is part of Quark’s new iconography plan for QuarkXPress 8 (that extends all the way to the application icon and document-representation icons). Gone are the delicate (and, admittedly, hard to decipher) tiny tools and in their place are large icons that you can see from across the room. Not that this is bad, mind you, it’s just different — and it took time for me to come to appreciate it.
When you look at the tool palette it’s hard to miss that something’s missing. In fact, lots of things are missing. As it turns out, missing isn’t exactly the proper term. They’re consolidated.
Let’s first peruse a summary of the streamlining concept when applied to the tool palette, and then we’ll delve into the new behaviors of the tools.
Figure 9a and 9bThe before and after shot of the tool palette are both shown here.
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Item tool: Starting at the top, there is a tool that closely resembles the item tool, and you’ll find that this tool has maintained its functionality, if not its look. Double-clicking with the item tool now works more intelligently. For example, you can double-click a text box to switch to the text content tool for text editing, or double-click a picture box to import a file or modify the box. Preferences let you control what happens when you double click a box. | |
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Text content tool: Use the text content tool to edit text or to draw a rectangular text box and immediately switch to text-editing mode.Text linking and unlinking tools: Use the text linking tool to flow text between boxes. Use the text unlinking tool to break the flow of text between boxes. Note: The content tool has been replaced by the text content tool and picture content tool. Note: The tools in the text on a path group no longer exist. Instead of drawing a text path, draw a line, and then double click it with the text content tool. |
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Picture content tool: Use the picture content tool to work with pictures in picture boxes, or to draw a rectangular picture box and immediately import a picture. | |
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Rectangular box tool: Use the rectangular box tool to create rectangular boxes that accept both text and pictures.Oval box tool: Use the oval box tool to create oval-shaped boxes. Press SHIFT to create circular boxes that accept both text and pictures. Starburst tool: Use the starburst tool to create star-shaped boxes that accept both text and pictures. Composition Zones tool: Use the composition zones tool to create composition zones items. |
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Line tool: Use the line tool to create straight lines at any angle.Note: The tools in the line tools group of previous versions have been replaced by the line tool and the tools in the Bézier tool group. Note: The orthogonal line tool has been removed. You create orthogonal lines (and lines at 45° angles) by pressing SHIFT before drawing. |
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Bézier pen tool: Use the Bézier Pen tool to draw and edit Bézier lines and boxes. Modifier keys (SHIFT, OPTION, COMMAND, and so on) make it easy for you to add, remove, and convert the points of the Bézier lines without having to switch tools. Add point tool: Use the add point tool to add a point to a Bézier line or box segment. Add a point to an existing path by clicking the path with the Bézier pen tool. Remove point tool: Use the remove point tool to delete a point from a Bézier line or box segment. Remove a point by clicking it with the Bézier pen tool. Convert point tool: Use the convert point tool to convert a Bézier point or line segment to a different type. Convert a point or line segment by pressing OPTION and then clicking (Mac) or pressing ALT then clicking (Windows) with the Bézier pen tool. Scissors tool: Use the scissors tool to cut a box or line segment by adding Bézier points. Select point tool: Use the select point tool to select a Bézier point. Freehand drawing tool: Use the freehand drawing tool to draw a line with a continuous motion. |
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Table tool: Use the table tool to create tables. | |
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Zoom tool: Use the zoom tool to zoom in on the layout. Press OPTION (Mac) or ALT (Windows) and click to zoom out. Pan tool: Use the pan tool to scroll the layout in any direction. |
Table 1 (and Figures 10 a through h) The new tool palette is larger, more intuitive, and shorter. So where did everything go? Think consolidate.
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.
Could you explain how changing the palette that I’ve been used to for 20 years is “more intuitive”?
Sure! “Intuitive” refers to how well a person with no experience with a tool is able to use it. Quark’s goal with the entire interface update was to make its parts more easily accessible — and that means two things: reducing the number of steps necessary for all users to perform a task; and making it easier to find its myriad features. How’s that?
But it’s not “easier”. OK, so I’ve been using Quark for two decades now… I’m not a luddite by any means, but the popup menus are not “fewer steps” to follow. To get from the text to to the link and unlink tool, for instance; they just hide what used to be in plain sight.
Apart from that I find the colour palette which Quark chose for these to be dull and over-fuzzy. It’s not very attractive.
Worse though is the set of palettes on the right hand side of the screen. These are at least 33% wider than the ones in all previous versions of Quark, and can’t be re-sized as far as I can tell. Screen space is at a premium when I’m travelling with my MacBook.
All in all I’m disappointed by these “improvements”.
When I open a file from an older version of Quark and I make changes, then save them. The next time I open the file and make changes I get a message that the file is locked and I save those changes.
I combed preferences looking for a solution, but have found none. I make changes to files several times in a day and can’t put up with this.
Michael: I got curious about your observation that the palettes are “33% wider” than previously, so I measured them. The new ones are two pixels narrower, by my measurement (251 pixels vs 253 pixels).
As far as the linking tools go, you can always move them into a first-level position by just Control-clicking them. To move them back, Control-click them again.
Are you sure this isn’t just a question of being comfortable with the old design?
Oops. I forgot to mention that my measurements were for QuarkXPress 8 and QuarkXPress 7, respectively.
Debra: I don’t have a solution for you, but I’ve heard of this before. I assume that you’re working on the file on your hard drive, not across a network, right? That has been known to cause problems.
Also, it seems that having QuarkXPress 6 running while you’re using QuarkXPress 7 can sometimes cause this problem.
I found some discussions in the Quark Forums about this:
http://forums.quark.com/p/7599/31950.aspx#31950
http://forums.quark.com/p/19141/76340.aspx#76340
http://forums.quark.com/p/7266/30499.aspx#30499
http://forums.quark.com/p/6993/29251.aspx#29251
If you search for “locked” in the search field of the Forums, you may find what you’re looking for.
Debra: I don’t have a solution for you, but I’ve heard of this before. I assume that you’re working on the file on your hard drive, not across a network, right? That has been known to cause problems.
Jay, I wasn’t talking about the width of the Tools palette, which is the same width. I was talking about the palette to the right, that has Page Layout and so on in it. It can now be made no narrower than 224 pixels, while in Quark 7 it can be made as narrow as 154 pixels. That’s a 31% difference. That reduces my visible work area. And… why?
I know I can move the linking tools into first position “just by” control-clicking them. I don’t believe that this is more logical; I don’t believe that it’s a necessary change; I don’t believe it’s more ergonomic either. For twenty years I’ve just clicked on them. I’m 45, and I like new software and new things. But not change for no reason. What is the benefit to me of having them moved? What was wrong with my being comfortable with the old design? What’s so “good” about the new one?
Ah, I see what you mean by “first-level position”. Interesting. Well, that’s something. :-)
I see what you mean about the width of the Page Layout palette, etc. I was indeed measuring that group in my earlier comment, but I didn’t try to minimize the width before measuring. I just used the default width, which is about the same in both v.7 and v.8.
I think it depends on which palettes you have attached to the palette group. I noticed that when I removed the Lists palette from the group, I could narrow the palette more than when it’s attached. (!)
With the default palette group of Page Layout/Style Sheets/Colors/Layers, I measured these widths:
v.7: 198
v.8: 224
So indeed, the v.7 palette group appears to be able to appear narrower by a bit (13%?).
You were able to narrow your palette group even further in v.7. Which palettes were you including in that group?
I’m also a 20 year Quark user and not too happy with 8. Simply activating it and updating to 8.01 was a 3 day nightmare. The tool pallets look like they were designed for school kids, why have one green tool?
… anyway I can’t currently made pdf or PS files. If I wait about half an hour eventually I get the helpful error message “cannot make PDF”
I’m having to export back to V7 to make PS files prior to distilling.
Anyone have any ideas?
Wow, Matt! Something is extremely wrong there. Much like you, I’ve been using QuarkXPress since version 2. I’ve upgraded each time, and my upgrade to version 8 went without a hitch. It took a few minutes, and I was up and running.
I’m also successfully outputting PDFs (quickly, I may add!). Have you tried using Quark’s free technical support phone service? There must be a corrupted file or permissions setting somewhere.
All these text tool changes in 8 are a real pain. Maybe I just don’t know where to find them but here’s what I’m looking for…at least so far:
1. How do I make a freehand text tine in Quark 8?
2. In the old version (7) I could make a variety of box shapes. Now its just a square, circle and starburst. What the heck!
3. I don’t get the Bézier pen tool at all
4. The old version had Xpert tools (which I didn’t like either)…How do I equally align a set of boxes now?
NEED HELP FITTING PICTURES TO COLUMN WIDTH
I’m another dedicated “mature” QuarkXPress user, and my big frustration with 8.2 at the moment is trying to resize picture boxes, which used to be easy using command-control-shift-drag. The box used to stay where it was except for the two sides I was moving. Now the whole dang thing is moving except for the center point, so I cannot scale the image to line up with anything without a lot of measuring and goofing around. I looked in Quark8 for an anchoring system like Photoshop provides, but found none. The workaround I am using is to make a box the Width of the column, import the image, resize the image to fit the box, then make the Height percentage the same as the Width, then resize the box to fit the image. Too complicated!
NEED HELP MAKING FACING MASTER PAGES in Quark 8.2
Somehow I managed to have facing pages in my document but I cannot get a facing master page which I need in order to place the running feet and folios. Where is the designation for Facing Pages?
Hey Susan, is it possible you’re also holding down the Option key when you’re resizing your picture box? The Option key tells Quark to resize from the center of the item.
When I try what you described here, it works as advertised. (scales from the opposite corner or side) When I add the Option key, it scales from the center…
BTW, you don’t have to add the Control key. You can just hold down Command-Shift and drag any anchor point.
Susan: if you have facing pages in your document, I *think* you must also have facing pages in your master pages. That’s just how QuarkXPress works.
I can’t imagine how your document could have one without the other. It’s part of the definition of the Layout when you create it. To see what I mean, create a new Layout or Project, and you’ll see the “facing pages” checkbox in the New Layout/Project dialog box.
You can also add the ability to use Facing Pages by choosing Layout> Layout Properties and then enabling the Facing Pages checkbox in the dialog that appears.
I hope this helps…
Finnaly, quark is great, viva quark 8, quark7 was disaster, this is something else, congratulations to programers, i even dont see save progress on hundred pages heavy document!!!
I too have been using Quark over 20 years. Jay, have you responded to Angela’s questions?
Specifically:
2. In the old version (7) I could make a variety of box shapes. Now its just a square, circle and starburst. What the heck!
3. I don’t get the Bézier pen tool at all
4. The old version had Xpert tools (which I didn’t like either)…How do I equally align a set of boxes now?
I’ve been designing with shaped boxes for decades. If QXP8 in their greater wisdom have decided to eliminate that feature I’m cooked along years’ worth of client work.
Hi Merrilyn. To simplify the tool box, Quark re-thought how they work together. So, for the “box shapes” they simplified it to a rectangle, circle and starburst. Try this: create a rectangle box, then look in the Classic tab of the Measurements palette. There, you’ll see a “Box Corner Radius” control. This gives you all the corner shapes you had before.
The Bezier pen tool works just like Illustrator’s now. Marc Horne has a helpful video tutorial on using the Pen tool here: http://8.quark.com/learn_more.html
XPert Tools is gone. Quark included many of its features in QuarkXPress 8. Are you not finding what you need in the Space/Align tab of the Measurements palette?
Susan: When you set-up a document with facing pages, the “double-page” view is not in the master window. All you have to do is grab the single master page that is there and drag one to the left side and one to the right side and you will have facing pages.
My measurements palette has disappeared. Can someone help me find it?
My pallettes in Quark 8 seem to disappear at odd times as well, yet it shows they are open in the drop down menu under WINDOW. What’s going on here?
Cindeebee & Annette: this happens to me as well! I seem to remember that hiding and then showing QuarkXPress will get them to appear again, or maybe it was creating a new document that got them to appear again…
Anyone else have some facts on this?
Thanks for so many solutions & feedback on the Quark issues. So, on Quark 8.1, did they fix the “Resolution Independent” feature they said they’d fix? The WYSIWYG feature – when a page set at 100%-Actual Size actually appeared as 100%-Actual Size. In Quark 7.2, we must set & reset each page’s zoom size to 138% many times to view its true 100%-Actual Size. And, 138% is not on the pull down list, so must be set manually each time. Quark was fast when it was WYSIWYG, but now it’s not & those added steps slow down production time. And they no longer match Photoshop images set at 100%, because PS, & most other apps are now Resolution Independent. Do you have any info on that? Thank you! RM
RM: I think you’re running into the old “hold a ruler up to the screen and adjust the view percentage until it matches” situation. (Which has been a problem in the Mac version of Photoshop for a zillion years.)
My tech person at Quark tells me that they haven’t changed anything related to this, ever. The problem arises from this historical reality: whereas displays formerly had 72 pixels per inch, now they have a wide range of pixel densities. So… an inch is almost never displayed as an inch. The same problem exists in InDesign, Word, and other programs on Macs.
The Windows versions of these apps doesn’t have this problem, and Quark hopes to fix XPress so that the Mac version behaves like the Windows version (again, a problem that Adobe and Microsoft share), but they can’t say when the change will happen.
I wouldn’t hold my breath…
One thing you may want to try is to use an XTension that lets you define view percentages and recall them. Badia’s FullMeasure does this, and perhaps with enough encouragement they’ll release a free subset that does only this: http://www.badiasoftware.com
Jay, I read your comments and replies as a bit overly enthusiastic but I see the direction you’re coming form. Having said that, I do not agree with your enthusiasm. Quark 8.15 (latest at this point) is still an un-mitigated disaster. The way new picture tool works is in NO way an improvement or intuitive. Screen is prone to sudden and inexplicable delays and failures to follow the mouse direction. Even boxes now waste time to redraw themselves. Libraries don’t remember position and sizing they were in. No visual cues which were the irreplaceable cues your command’s will execute (blink-at-drag-redraw…) A NIGHTMARE of miss-directed and clueless programming blunder called job Jacket Manager (and all of the processes it affects). And on and on… I could go into discussion with you what that means but you don’t really seem like a person who needs other’s opinion or would accept it, if it disses Quark. So, I won’t (too much more). But, it saddens me when I see someone with an experience as great as yours waste their time saving the reputation of a beached whale instead of working in its aquarium, trying to teach it new, better and improved tricks. But, Quark’s reputation was NEVER to listen and ALWAYS the arrogance. So, with sadness, I see it slipping more and more into mediocrity with every attempt to make their program look more like competitor’s and emulate it’s function and design. That is a tell-tale sign of lack of direction, inspiration and ideas. And of an end to an era. Oh yes, another sign is a staggering lack of quality Xtensions, years after QXP 8 release. VERY telling, at least to me.
Well, I don’t have or see the problems that Slobodan has with QuarkXpress 8 (except that I agree that Library positions are not memorized). I’ve been using QXP since version 3, and feel that this version is a welcome improvement over previous versions. Sure, I had to expend a little more time to learn the changes to the tools palette, but I do feel comfortable with QXP 8.15 (with the addition of some Badia Xtensions). I use InDesign as well, and feel both programs are very good and valid tools (…much better than my days of using a T-square, ruling pen, etc…yes, I’m that young). :-)
Overall, I’m happy with the release of QXP 8. Thanks to the posters here for their questions, and to Jay for explaining and helping with issues et al.
Ivor
Slobodan: I’m simply not having the problems you’re describing. Yes, it took me a few minutes to learn how to most efficiently use the new tool arrangement and its new, creative features, but then I had a great time recording my QuarkXPress 8 Essential Training video for Lynda.com. If you think I’m in the pocket of Quark, you’re far from the truth. Over the years, I’ve given them nothing but grief (when deserved).
I do agree that the Job Jackets feature is overly complex. Way overly complex. Almost unusably complex. And yes, the XTension market has shrunk considerably from its heyday in the 1990s. One could argue that this is because Quark has incorporated many of the best ideas from previous XTensions, or that the current financial environment is keeping companies from buying XTensions, or [possibly] that the market has diminished. I don’t know the answer.
As far as accepting others’ opinions or comments that disrespect Quark, believe me I’ve heard more than you can imagine. And all of it is just “information” that helps me navigate this complex ecosystem we call Design and Publishing. I am extremely angry at Quark for many things they’ve done — both past and present — and they know it. I’m equally angry at Adobe for their arrogance and disrespect for the profitability and necessary efficiency of their customers — and they know it.
But so what? These companies are going to do what they are going to do. I’ve given Quark suggestions (at their request) since before version 4. And they ignored my suggestions completely up until version 8. They don’t pay me to give them advice, so why should I bother “swimming in their Aquarium”?
Jay, I appreciate your insights, you are a professional who has a lot in his pocket. Having made a tirade upstairs, I should explain myself. I work in a mother of fast-paced environment and am responsible of hand-crafting (due to machine-un-replicable quality of our catalog) staggering number of pages with my design team on daily basis. We do notice, I am proud and sad to say, when Quark tool has a fraction-of-a-second shorter delay. our process has led us to expect PROMPT response from apps. We run top-of-the-line machines and keep up-to-date on software. So, when I said that it is sluggish, it is sluggish in that context. We just don’t have the benefit of spare time, almost all the time. So, with introduction of Quark 8, we’re witnessing the switching pains, re-learning and that’s OK. However, we’re also feeling painfully every fraction of a second we lost (again) to Quark UI. The same happened with the switch from 4 to 6. I’m sure we all remember the CRISP response it had, compared to this.
As far as your quite correct statement about Quark’s direction, yes, you are right. They will do what they want. But there are few companies who had such an honor to have users IN LOVE with them, just to push them away with greed and one bad step after another. And, by all means no, no free advice. The last advice I gave them was when they showed up with two poorly trained customer service pups to receive our numerous complaints about ver. 6 here, in MN. The pups tried to apply the crowd pumping tactic of throwing free tee shirts into the crowd. Some fell to the floor, bouncing of frozen faces. My advice was: change the profession guys, you’ve been taken for a ride, as well as all of us here, in front of you. Few tee shirts won’t fix that. One laughed, the other seemed to ponder…the laughing one suggested I don’t like Quark… I told him that I probably liked Quark more than he ever did, before he ever knew about it. And that gives me the perspective no free tee shirt can wipe off. That wiped off the smile of the remaining face.
The following were the years of Quark Customer Service overseas fiasco…once I spent hours trying to establish a common base with…Jenny from…Madras or wherever. Yes, those were the days…So, when I hear Quark cheer these days, I look behind me, just to make sure the semi isn’t about to run me over.
Been using q8 for a month or so and keep finding real issues with changes which used to be intuitive with the older versions. In 8.1 you cannot group objects and scale, it sometimes does or it doesn’t not logic. Ive been using this for 20 years and even a client commented how this programme looked like a bitch to use. If this was a $70 microsoft office suit fair enough but a $1000 dollar software app, thats just rediculous. Maybe its time we all moved over to adobe indesign for good.
Hi, the measurements palette has disappeared. I can’t retrieve it from the Window menu (F9) does not work. Help me please! (Quark7.02 – Mac OS 10.4.11) Thanks!
Heavy user of 7 on a mac. Just getting started on 8. I like using control to zoom then control option to zoom out. Can I set that up in 8.
In Q8 you have to push Z then you have to mouse to Activate another tool.
Help
Help with scale,
Started using Quark in 1990… Just updated to Quark 8.1.6…. The main hang-up I have is the scale function…. Why can’t I scale in the direction I want? No matter what point I drag from it always scales from the center out and up? Is this a preference I can choose to turn off? can it be fixed?
I just noticed a comment above…. I was used to holding down the (shift + Option + Command) to scale several items at once…. if I dropped off the (option key) it works as I needed it to.
Thanks anyway.
We use two different lines in our publication. One horiz double 3pt line, one vertical .3 line. We set the defaults on our templates for just that publication to what we needed in the old version for the two line tools. Now you’re telling me, for every vertical line (assuming I change the default to match my horiz size) I have to change it? Come on Quark!!! Less is not always better!
Becki: I’m not sure of exactly what you’re describing, but I don’t think Quark removed any functionality from the tools. Is it possible you’re not looking in the right place? Please explain a bit further and I’ll see if I can point you to the right solution in QuarkXPress.
Jay, when I bought Quark XPress 9 it used to show me a notification box about color profile…it mentioned that I should change it from Color LCD to Quark color something.
The problem is: After I changed the color profile the icons on the Tools Palette are grey. When I bring the cursor above the icons they show; its working but I cant see the actual picture frame icon or Text box…..its all grey.
How can I fix that?
P.S. I tried removing the whole application and reinstalling it.