Author: Matthias Guenther

Both an engineer and a layout artist, Matthias bridges the gap between technology and people. Before joining Quark, Matthias pioneered print, Web, and multimedia products for multiple German publishing companies. Since 1997 he has played a central role in shaping Quark’s desktop and enterprise software. Starting 2003 Matthias has focused on Quark's interactive and digital publishing solutions. He is an active participant in design and publishing communities and represents Quark in the Ghent PDF Workgroup. Since February 2014 Matthias heads Quark's Desktop Publishing business unit and is therefore responsible for QuarkXPress.

Font Sub Menus on macOS are back (with first update for QuarkXPress 2018)

QuarkXPress 2018No Comments

Yesterday Quark has released the first update for QuarkXPress 2018 on MacOS and Windows.

On MacOS, font sub menus are back now:

Background

We had removed the font submenus due to the new font weight popup, which many designers and production people prefer.

However several of our users reported, that they still prefer the font sub menus as in QuarkXPress 2017 on MacOS.

Therefore we have re-introduced the font sub menus and keeping the new font weight popup, thus giving everybody what they prefer.

What’s new

Watch a 30 seconds video about this – before and after – here:

And of course the font sub menus at the top of the Style menu are back too:

What else is in the update?

Continue reading “Font Sub Menus on macOS are back (with first update for QuarkXPress 2018)”

Matthias Guenther

Both an engineer and a layout artist, Matthias bridges the gap between technology and people.

Before joining Quark, Matthias pioneered print, Web, and multimedia products for multiple German publishing companies. Since 1997 he has played a central role in shaping Quark’s desktop and enterprise software.
Starting 2003 Matthias has focused on Quark’s interactive and digital publishing solutions. He is an active participant in design and publishing communities and represents Quark in the Ghent PDF Workgroup.

Since February 2014 Matthias heads Quark’s Desktop Publishing business unit and is therefore responsible for QuarkXPress.

https://twitter.com/HamburQ

What is a Progressive Web App – and why it can help you

Digital Publishing, QuarkXPress 2018, WebsiteNo Comments

When you publish digitally, probably first two formats come to mind:

  • Native App
  • HTML

Both have advantages and disadvantages. How to overcome the disadvantages?

Progressive Web Apps (PWA)

Progressive Web Apps (PWA) are promising to combine the positive aspects of both, native apps and HTML.

Technically PWA are HTML5, however with a lot of JavaScript. So by definition they work in any modern browser. And typically the HTML5 behaves in such a way, so that the experience is more like an app: On mobile devices you don’t see the browser interface and you get interactive experiences that you know from native apps, slideshows, animations, swipe pages. Also, the experience “adapts” to the device, so are different for small mobile devices and for Desktop computers. Still, one format serves all, as there is no platform-specific code.

Additionally, PWA use “Service Workers”, which give you services like notifications or the ability to “read/work offline”.

Sounds promising.

Hurdles of PWA?

I currently see three hurdles of PWAs:

  1. Monetization
  2. Browser Support
  3. Ease of creation

Ease of creation?

The third point is slowly vanishing.

For example, if you use WordPress, you can create a PWA using the “Progressive” plug-in:

Progressive WordPress (PWA)

If you want to create a PWA out of Print, you can use QuarkXPress 2018 to create a PWA, static or with interactive effects:
Either by creating the design and layout from scratch; by converting a PDF or AI; or by importing an InDesign via IDML Import.

My recent test showed that a PWA (called HTML5 Publication) out of QuarkXPress scored 100 out of 100 possible points in the Lighthouse PWA Score: http://www.planetquark.com/2018/05/31/progressive-web-app-pwa-out-of-quarkxpress-2018/

Browser support?

As Google invented the format, it is obvious that Chrome supports PWA. A recent, very interesting development is, that Apple has started to implement the technology behind PWA (Service Workers) in Safari: https://dev.to/ben/safari-now-supports-service-workers-and-what-that-means-to-me-at-least-3oi7

So soon this won’t be an issue anymore

Monetization

To sell your app or content within the app probably is the last hurdle for PWAs compared to native apps. However if your content is free or you have an existing paywall, then this should not be an issue.

Chances of PWA

Think of publishing a book digitally?

A website will give your readers a rather unexpected experience.

A PDF is not adaptive to the device, especially on smaller screen sizes.

An ebook (ePub) might play well on iOS and MacOS, for Android and Windows there are no got ePub readers yet.

A native app might be costly to develop and restricts you to a certain platform or forces you to maintain several apps.

So a progressive web app might be the best of all worlds. And it is easily created out of WordPress or out of Print and PDF (using QuarkXPress).

Further reads

Matthias Guenther

Both an engineer and a layout artist, Matthias bridges the gap between technology and people.

Before joining Quark, Matthias pioneered print, Web, and multimedia products for multiple German publishing companies. Since 1997 he has played a central role in shaping Quark’s desktop and enterprise software.
Starting 2003 Matthias has focused on Quark’s interactive and digital publishing solutions. He is an active participant in design and publishing communities and represents Quark in the Ghent PDF Workgroup.

Since February 2014 Matthias heads Quark’s Desktop Publishing business unit and is therefore responsible for QuarkXPress.

https://twitter.com/HamburQ

Sort text (paragraphs) in QuarkXPress 2018

How-to, JavaScript, QuarkXPress 2018No Comments

You have text in a text box in QuarkXPress that needs to be sorted?

A list that needs to be in alphabetical order?

In QuarkXPress 2018 it is easy to sort text (paragraphs), using a sample JavaScript:

Sort text in QuarkXPress using a simple JavaScript

  1. Open the JavaScript palette in QuarkXPress 2018 and navigate to “Samples > Typography”
  2. Select the text box that you need sorted
  3. Run the JavaScript “Sort Paragraphs.js”
  4. Enter whether you want the data to be sorted Ascending or Descending
  5. Enter whether you sort text or numbers

Done.

Of course this is undoable.

Remember that this is a script that you can edit and change yourself, should you want to make changes. E.g. you could make a script that doesn’t prompt you about ascending/descending or text/numbers and just runs.

Restrictions

  • As QXML (the text formatting accessible by JavaScript) does not support every construct in text, you will loose features which are not yet supported by QXML such as Callouts, Footnotes, Endnotes, Cross References, Anchors etc. from the selected box.
  • The Script sorts the entire content of the selected text box, not just a selection.

Quick video showing this example

More sample JavaScripts for QuarkXPress on github

Quark has created a page on github to share more sample scripts and to encourage users to share their scripts:

https://github.com/qxpjs

Matthias Guenther

Both an engineer and a layout artist, Matthias bridges the gap between technology and people.

Before joining Quark, Matthias pioneered print, Web, and multimedia products for multiple German publishing companies. Since 1997 he has played a central role in shaping Quark’s desktop and enterprise software.
Starting 2003 Matthias has focused on Quark’s interactive and digital publishing solutions. He is an active participant in design and publishing communities and represents Quark in the Ghent PDF Workgroup.

Since February 2014 Matthias heads Quark’s Desktop Publishing business unit and is therefore responsible for QuarkXPress.

https://twitter.com/HamburQ

How to delete preferences in QuarkXPress

How-to, QuarkXPress 10, QuarkXPress 2015, QuarkXPress 2016, QuarkXPress 2017, QuarkXPress 2018, QuarkXPress 9, Uncategorized, Video TutorialNo Comments

When QuarkXPress behaves erratic, in most cases corrupt preferences are the cause.

Deleting preferences will fix that, as QuarkXPress creates new, fresh preferences upon the next start if it doesn’t find any.

The only thing you will loose is any customization you have done to preferences. Existing documents are not changed and are not affected.

Where to find preferences:

As Apple and Microsoft recommend, by default QuarkXPress stores user-specific files such as preferences in the user folder. Each version of QuarkXPress uses a separate folder, so that different versions of QuarkXPress installed on the same machine do not interfere with each other.

Before deleting preferences, first quit QuarkXPress.

On MacOS

On MacOS / OS X, QuarkXPress stores its preferences in the user Library. Careful, MacOS offers TWO Libraries, a global one and a user one. Preferences are stored in the user library.

Easiest to get to the folder is by going into Finder and choosing:

Go > Go to Folder and then pasting the path in there:

  • For QuarkXPress 2018:
    ~/Library/Preferences/Quark/QuarkXPress 2018/
  • For QuarkXPress 2017:
    ~/Library/Preferences/Quark/QuarkXPress 2017/
  • For QuarkXPress 2016:
    ~/Library/Preferences/Quark/QuarkXPress 2016/
  • For QuarkXPress 2015:
    ~/Library/Preferences/Quark/QuarkXPress 2015/
  • For QuarkXPress 10:
    ~/Library/Preferences/Quark/QuarkXPress 10/
  • For QuarkXPress 9:
    ~/Library/Preferences/Quark/QuarkXPress 9/

(make sure to copy the tilde ~ in the path)

Delete everything in that folder. Restart QuarkXPress.

Please also watch this 30 sec video:

On Windows

On Windows, QuarkXPress stores its preferences in the local app data directory of the user. Though using the same concept, Microsoft did rename the folders in the different versions of Windows.

To find preferences, easiest is to

Press Windows-key and R (for “Run”) and paste the following path in there:

  • For QuarkXPress 2018:
    %localappdata%\Quark\QuarkXPress 2018\
  • For QuarkXPress 2017:
    %localappdata%\Quark\QuarkXPress 2017\
  • For QuarkXPress 2016:
    %localappdata%\Quark\QuarkXPress 2016\
  • For QuarkXPress 2015:
    %localappdata%\Quark\QuarkXPress 2015\
  • For QuarkXPress 10:
    %localappdata%\Quark\QuarkXPress 10\
  • For QuarkXPress 9:
    %localappdata%\Quark\QuarkXPress 9\

(make sure to copy the percent sign % in the path)

Delete everything in that folder. Restart QuarkXPress.

Please also watch this 30 sec video:

Going forward – better than deleting

As you loose all customization, maybe next time it’s a better idea to make a backup of preferences after you have tailored them to your need.

And then – instead of deleting – you replace them with the backup of your preferences.

 

 

Matthias Guenther

Both an engineer and a layout artist, Matthias bridges the gap between technology and people.

Before joining Quark, Matthias pioneered print, Web, and multimedia products for multiple German publishing companies. Since 1997 he has played a central role in shaping Quark’s desktop and enterprise software.
Starting 2003 Matthias has focused on Quark’s interactive and digital publishing solutions. He is an active participant in design and publishing communities and represents Quark in the Ghent PDF Workgroup.

Since February 2014 Matthias heads Quark’s Desktop Publishing business unit and is therefore responsible for QuarkXPress.

https://twitter.com/HamburQ

New Webinar Series for QuarkXPress – Free Tutorials

eSeminar, Learn, QuarkXPress 2018, Video TutorialNo Comments

A few weeks ago Quark has launched a new webinar series about QuarkXPress 2018.

Here are the first three:

Webinar 1 – HTML5 Publications (PWA)

Side note: Often these kind of HTML5 exports are called progressive web apps (PWA).

Topics:

  • See a HTML5 Publication live
  • Quickly convert a Print layout as HTML5 Publication
  • Start a new HTML5 Publication from scratch
  • Add interactivity such as movies, sound, animations, slideshows popups and more
  • Export, host and configure

InDesign users:
Note that with IDML Import in QuarkXPress 2018 you can also create an HTML5 Publication from InDesign by

  1. Creating an IDML file out of InDesign
  2. In QX2018 choose File – New – Project from IDML
  3. Follow the steps shown in the webinar

 

Webinar 2 – Create ebooks (part 1 of 2)

Topics:

  • Which formats for your ebook?
  • Create a new ebook from scratch
  • Reflow vs. fixed-layout ebook
  • Convert print to reflow ebook
  • Convert print to fixed-layout ebook

Please note that the first 10 minutes are theory, live software demo afterwards.

Webinar 3 – Create ebooks (part 2 of 2)

Topics:

  • Add interactivity to your reflow ebook
  • Add interactivity to your fixed-layout epub
  • Add meta data, hyperlinks & table of content
  • How does “Export for Kindle” from “Export to ePub” differ?
  • What are post-processing tools like Sigil and ePubCheck and when do you need them?

Future webinars

We are planning to publish a new webinar every two weeks. Topics include:

  • Creating native Android/iOS apps
  • Create print-ready PDF (PDF/X)
  • Creating tagged PDF
  • Working with OpenType features (typography)
  • Color Fonts (typography)
  • QuarkXPress for beginners (1st document)
  • Image Editing and Image Effects
  • Job Tickets (in details)
  • JavaScript for beginners
  • JavaScript for advanced
  • Color Management
  • Tips & Tricks
  • Troubleshooting
  • and more

Try it yourself – free of charge

As Quark offers a free trial version of QuarkXPress that runs for 7 days and is functionally not restricted, you can try all of this yourself – without any cost:

http://www.quark.com/Products/QuarkXPress/Test_Drive.aspx

 

Matthias Guenther

Both an engineer and a layout artist, Matthias bridges the gap between technology and people.

Before joining Quark, Matthias pioneered print, Web, and multimedia products for multiple German publishing companies. Since 1997 he has played a central role in shaping Quark’s desktop and enterprise software.
Starting 2003 Matthias has focused on Quark’s interactive and digital publishing solutions. He is an active participant in design and publishing communities and represents Quark in the Ghent PDF Workgroup.

Since February 2014 Matthias heads Quark’s Desktop Publishing business unit and is therefore responsible for QuarkXPress.

https://twitter.com/HamburQ