As you may have read, QuarkXPress 2017 on MacOS will be supplied as a single bundle.

What does that mean?

A single bundle is a special “file” on MacOS that appears as one file, though it is really a folder containing many things.

Have a look at QuarkXPress 8 thru 2016 please and how it differs from QuarkXPress 2017. You can see that MacOS lists QuarkXPress 2017 as an “application” (and not a folder) and also doesn’t show the “uncollapse” icon:

What are the advantages of QuarkXPress 2017 being a single bundle?

A few notable advantages are:

• Users can install, relocate, and remove bundles simply by dragging them around in the Finder.
• Bundles are less susceptible to accidental user modifications, such as removal, modification, or renaming of critical resources.
• Bundles are less likely to suffer from permission issues.

What does that mean for you, as a user?

Besides that it is easier to install and will have less issues? Hardly any difference.

Only when you install XTensions (plug-ins) or scripts there is a difference.

Creating Global Preferences

By default, the Preferences folder of QuarkXPress  are stored in the user folder. That’s where they should be and have been for several versions of QuarkXPress.

They reside in a sub folder that is named after the main version, so that they do not clash if you have several versions of QuarkXPress installed.

However sometimes you need to create a global Preferences folder, meaning all users on your Mac will use the same preferences. That can cause issues, still some users prefer that (mostly when they are the only user using the Mac).

With previous versions of QuarkXPress you could create a global preferences folder by creating it inside the application folder of QuarkXPress. This is not possible anymore, so now you need to create a folder called “Preferences” on the same level as the QX2017 bundle (so e.g. in Application folder).

If you do not like having a Preferences folder in Application folder, just create a subfolder “QuarkXPress 2017” and put the application (bundle) and Preferences folder in there.

Installing XTensions

If the XTension (plug-in) you are installing has an installer, then you do not need to worry about this.

If you need to manually install the XTension, then you need to be aware that QuarkXPress 2017 will load third party XTensions from the following two locations:

a) ~/Library/Application Support/Quark/QuarkXPress 2017/XTensions (so “Library” in your User folder)
b) /Library/Application Support/Quark/QuarkXPress 2017/XTensions (the main “Library” folder on your Macintosh folder)

Notes:

• If the XTension is placed in the main Library path, it will be available to all the users on that Mac.
• If deployed in the user’s library path, the XTension will only be available to that particular user.
• If the same XTension exists in both these locations, then the one in User’s Library location will get the preference.

This means that for the first time you can install different XTensions for different users on your Mac.

Installing Scripts

Same is true for Scripts, QuarkXPress 2017 will load scripts from the following two locations:
a) ~/Library/Application Support/Quark/QuarkXPress 2017/XTensions/Scripts
b) /Library/Application Support/Quark/QuarkXPress 2017/XTensions/Scripts

Notes:

• If a script is placed in the main Library path, it will be available to all the users on that Mac.
• If a script is deployed in the user’s library path, the script will only be available to that particular user.
• If the same script exists in both these locations, then the one in User’s Library location will get the preference.

 

“Single Bundle” is a feature provided by MacOS and therefore not possible on Windows.