Tag: QuarkXPress 9

Drag Selections from Photoshop to QuarkXPress

TipNo Comments

In QuarkXPress 8 and higher, you can drag just about any kind of graphic or text file onto a page, from anywhere you can normally drag a file — the desktop, Adobe Bridge, Extensis Portfolio, iMedia Browser, etc. You can even drag text directly from inside a Word document onto a layout page, or even a selection of an image from inside Photoshop onto a page in QuarkXPress.

Now, I don’t recommend dragging Photoshop selections into a layout destined for print, because dragging a selection from Photoshop creates an embedded, 72dpi picture in QuarkXPress. But it’s a useful trick to know in several situations, such as when you’re mocking up a Web app, or when creating a Web page in the Web space in QuarkXPress.

Unfortunately, once you’ve dragged your selection into QuarkXPress, you can’t just drag that selection back into Photoshop, but you can copy and paste it: get the Picture Content tool from the Tools palette (you can also double-click on the picture to switch to the Picture Content tool, or in later versions of QuarkXPress, press the R key on your keyboard):

PictureContentTool-QXP9

Copy the picture box content (Edit> Copy or Command/Ctrl-C), and then switch to Photoshop. Create a new, empty Photoshop document (just press Command/Ctrl-N: the new Photoshop document will automatically have the exact dimensions as your copied picture), and then paste it in (Edit> Paste or Command/Ctrl-V).

A more flexible way to export this picture or ANY picture on a QuarkXPress page is to choose File> Save Picture.

File>SavePicture>SelectedPicture

You can then choose the file format and other attributes for your new image file — optionally including any image areas that you cropped out in QuarkXPress! The result is a new image file containing what was inside your QuarkXPress picture box:

Picture_Export_Options_dialog

Note: your selection in Photoshop must be rectangular to drag it into QuarkXPress. A non-rectangular selection results in an empty picture box in QuarkXPress.

 

Use QuarkXPress Libraries to Share Pictures

Tip1 Comment

QuarkXPress’s Library feature lets you store often-used objects for later use.

One tricky way to use a Library is as a container for graphics you’re providing for someone who is helping you lay out pages — perhaps your logos, head shots, or other standard items. This is clever because the user of that Library doesn’t need the high-resolution files — when they drag the pictures from your Library onto their pages, XPress remembers the links to your original files and the pictures will print at full resolution back on your computer.

To create a Library, just choose File> New> Library…

You can then populate the Library with pictures by first importing them into picture boxes in QuarkXPress and then dragging those picture boxes into the Library. If you drag them one at a time, they can be dragged out again one at a time. If you drag a bunch in at once, they’ll stay clustered as one item in the Library and will appear in their same relative positions to each other when you drag them back out onto the page.

If you have a whole bunch of pictures to add to a library, one  quick way to import them into picture boxes is to use the ImageGrid feature in QuarkXPress 9 and above (Utilities> ImageGrid…).

ImageGrid_Dialog

 

When you point ImageGrid to a folder of picture files, it will create picture boxes on your QuarkXPress page and import all those pictures into them. (It will even create new pages if necessary!) Then, you can simply drag those picture boxes into the Library.

FREE eSeminar: QuarkXPress 9 Productivity Features

eSeminar, How-to, QuarkXPress 9No Comments

On Thursday, May 9, Quark is presenting a live eSeminar highlighting several of the new productivity-enhancing features in QuarkXPress 9.

Details and registration information is below. Note that you can watch a recording of the event later if you register now!

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esem-qxp9_prod-13-05-09

Select an Entire URL with One Double-click

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QuarkXPress 8 and above selects an entire URL when you double-click any part of it, such as www.planetquark.com/category/learn/tip/.

The entire text is selected and ready to be copied or formatted the way you like it!

BigPicture: the Best Picture Manager

QuarkXPress 9, XTensions2 Comments

Badia Software’s BigPicture ($59.99, or $14.99/month) is an XTension for QuarkXPress 9/8/7/6/5/4 or a plug-in for InDesign CS6/5/4/3 that lists all the pictures in a project, and shows all the vital information about them (color model, format, file size, effective resolution, compression, scaling, angle, date modified, fonts, colors, etc.).

In addition, BigPicture can select all the pictures in a document that match specific criteria (for example, all RGB images). Its interface shows image thumbnails and the location of each picture in the document as well as its location on your hard drive (you can click to reveal it in the Finder). You can save a report of all this info as well.

You can directly edit a picture using any appropriate application, and BigPicture will update the picture in the layout as soon as you save the image. You can rename a picture file from within BigPicture, and BigPicture updates the link. (You can even batch-rename pictures using logical operators such as “Picture name does not contain”, or “Picture name ends with”.)

You can search for missing pictures and have BigPicture automatically link to files it finds, update all modified pictures in one step, unlink all pictures, relink pictures in a different folder (great for swapping high-res and low-res pictures), and replace any picture while maintaining original transformations such as scaling and cropping.

Notably, a trial version can now be used for unlimited time, although some features are not available until you purchase a subscription or the full version.