All versions of PageStream
Macintosh specific problems
Amiga specific problems

All versions of PageStream

The screen did not redraw correctly

It is possible for the screen not to be correctly updated at all times. You can force a window redraw with the Redraw Window script. If you have not changed the defaults, you can just press F10 to do this.

Converting a text block to a path results in a black box

You do not have TextFX installed. You cannot convert text to paths in PageStream without this extension.

Converting a border illustration to a path results in an outlined box

You cannot convert borders to paths. This is a limitation of the Borders extension.

Shape fills print as radial fills

You are printing in non-PostScript mode. Shape fills are only available when printing to PostScript. In any case, they always display as radial fills on screen.

I tried to open a PageStream document, but it does not show up in the File Selector

Only documents that PageStream can directly open will be shown in the File Selector, unless the Show all Files in File Selector option is checked in the Files tab of the Preferences dialog box. This problem usually happens when trying to open documents coming from other platforms.

When I rotate a box with a gradient fill, the gradient fill does not get rotated

This is a known problem. Unfortunately, the many fill options offered by PageStream make this tricky to work as expected. Use the Line & Fill dialog box to manually rotate the gradient for now.

EPS graphics get printed in low resolution or as crossed boxes

You are printing to a non-PostScript printer. EPS graphics can only be printed to PostScript printers.

Macintosh specific problems

Graphics do not get printed with the screen type specified in Line & Fill

Screens cannot be used with non-PostScript printers with the Macintosh version of PageStream. They only print to PostScript printers.

Text formatted with certain bold fonts does not print in PostScript mode

This typically happens when printing with fonts containing no designed bold style to PostScript printers. The problem is that MacOS applies a "fake" bold style to the text, but PageStream does not offer an applied bold style because of its low quality and tries to send a nonexistent designed bold font to the printer. You can avoid that problem by using designed bold styles instead.

Amiga specific problems

Objects are too tall or too short

If your objects are half as tall as they should be, you need to change your display resolution. Choose the System Preferences command from the File menu. Change the Display DPI to X:65 Y:55 for most NTSC monitors (North America), or X:65 Y:70 for most PAL monitors (other continents).

If your objects are twice as tall as they should be, you probably have it set to X:65 Y:55 (NTSC) or X:65 Y:70 (PAL) when it should be set to X:65 Y:27 (NTSC) or X:65 Y:35 (PAL).

To set the Display DPI accurately, you should measure the size of your screen display with a ruler (in inches). Divide this by the display size in pixels to calculate the horizontal and vertical Display DPI. (i.e., 640 pixels / 9.5 inches = 67 dpi)

Requesters don't fit on the screen

Are some requesters and the toolbox too large to fit on your Workbench screen? PageStream requires a screen size of at least 640 x 281 pixels for its interface. This is larger than the normal NTSC HiRes screen size of 640x200 or the PAL HiRes screen size of 640x256. If you attempt to use one of these small screen modes on a custom screen, PageStream will automatically create an autoscrolling virtual screen of the minimum size so that you can see the entire interface. If you choose to run the program on the Workbench or an existing public screen, however, there is nothing PageStream can do to make its interface fit, so some requesters will be cut off.

You should never use PageStream on the Workbench or an existing public screen smaller than 640x281.

Compugraphic fonts don't work

If you cannot get your Compugraphic Intellifonts to display, you are probably missing the Fonts:_Bullet/plugin.types file. This file is included with AmigaDOS and is required by PageStream's Compugraphic font engine. If you have removed it from your hard drive to save space, you must reinstall it from your AmigaDOS disks to use Compugraphic Intellifonts with PageStream4.

Edit palette font

Is the font used in your Edit palette (and other palette scrolling lists) the same font as used in requesters (Topaz 8)? It should be the SoftLogik 8 font, which is a thin version of Topaz 8. If you don't have this and the other two sizes of the SoftLogik font available, the PageStream4 interface will not look as good as it should.

These three fonts are stored in the SoftLogik:Fonts directory. This must be be assigned with the following command in your S:User-Startup file for the fonts to be available to AmigaDOS and PageStream4:

assign Fonts: SoftLogik:Fonts add

Some symptoms of not having this assign are:

PageStream won't load all the way

If the program doesn't load further than the About requester (the requester with the PageStream4 picture in it), then you probably don't have enough memory to load PageStream4. The only solution is to add more memory or remove background utilities.

Note: the ADDASSIGN public domain utility has been found to cause problems loading PageStream4. If you have this utility, remove it before using PageStream4.

Shift selecting menu command doesn't open requester

Some PageStream menu commands open a requester if you select the command while holding down a Shift key. This feature does not work with all the options in the popular MagicMenu utility. If you try to Shift select a menu command that should open a requester when Shift selected, and the requester does not open, you must change your Pop Up Menu option in the MagicMenu configuration requester from Smart select to either Intuition compatible or Sticky mouse button.

Preferences aren't loaded when started from a shell

If you run PageStream4 from a Shell (CLI), you must change to the PageStream4 directory before running the program. i.e.,

Don't do this:

> PageStream:PageStream4 [Return]

Do this instead:

> cd PageStream: [Return]
> PageStream4 [Return]

Can't use the Navigator for 15-30 seconds after loading

If you cannot use the Navigator after the tip appears when you first start PageStream4, and are using the public domain QMouse or MultiCX utilities, you should disable them. On some systems, these utilities have been found to cause delays when using PageStream4 and BME2.

Some users have found that by turning Show Date, Show Time or Show Memory on with the Screen command allows them to continue using these utilities.

Mouse pointer hotspot is in wrong position

This problem is common with certain third party graphic boards such as the Retina and EGS boards. It is not a problem with PageStream. You should report the problem to the board manufacturer.

If you use an old version of CyberGraphX and have this problem in 16 bit graphics modes, you should update your system to the latest version.

Font names are different than other programs

Your fonts contain font names, typeface names and style names. i.e.,

Many program use the font name, but PageStream uses the typeface and style names because of its enhanced Font requester. Unfortunately, some people have designed fonts with incorrect typeface and style names. They probably didn't notice this error because their programs didn't use these names. Agfa brand fonts are notorious for incorrect style names.

For example, Agfa's "Revue Light" has a style name of Normal instead of Light, and "Revue Shadow" has a style name of ExtraBold.

These problems can't be avoided by PageStream because the fonts are the problem. You can fix the fonts with a font editor such as TypeSmith.

Closing a window didn't redraw the window beneath it

If you have a Retina graphic board, your problem is due to a bug in the Retina software. Add the following line to your PageStream:PageStream4.prefs file with a text editor:

REFRESH SIMPLE

This will turn off smart refreshing and will solve your problem. Screen refreshes will be a bit slower, but this is the only solution since the Retina software does not support smart refreshes.

PageLiner won't load all the way

Is the public domain screen blank ASwarm installed? This program is known to conflict with PageLiner. We recommend removing ASwarm.

The text in HHV is unreadable or much too small

Choose Screen Preferences from the File menu and enter proper DPI values for your monitor.

Changes in the Edit Palette did not have any effect

Amiga users must press Return twice in text gadgets of the Edit Palette: once for entering the value in the gadget and once to apply the whole changes. Alternatively, you can click on the Apply button to the left of the Edit Palette to apply the changes immediately.

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