Monster Media 1994 #2

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Newsgroups: bit.listserv.pagemakr,alt.aldus.pagemaker,alt.answers,news.answers Subject: Pagemaker Frequently Asked Questions posting Followup-To: poster Expires: Fri, May 10 10 1994 00:00:00 GMT Summary: This posting contains a list of Frequently Asked questions for the Pagemaker listserv (bit.listserv.pagemakr). It should be read before anyone posts to this group. Also, please note that there are additional FAQs for this group, see question #8 below. Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu Archive-name: pagemaker-faq/part1 Last-modified: 1994/01/03 Version: 29 January 3, 1994 Welcome! The following is a posting of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list for the PAGEMAKR bitnet list, posted every 6 weeks (or so) on the Pagemaker list. It is also cross-posted with several Usenet groups. Please feel free to pass this posting onto fellow Pagemaker-ers. Hello everyone! Welcome to the PM FAQ posting. There is not much new news since the last FAQ. The two events of note are I) Aldus has released a patch version of Pagemaker 5.0 called 5.0a, and II) Our archive site has changed to tcp_serv.ius.indiana.edu. Please do not try the WUARCHIVE site any more -- although it continues to have the files, it likely will not be updated again. I am also hoping to set-up a "warehouse" of public domain Pagemaker scripts as people write them. If you use a script that you think everyone else could profit from, let me know! Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any comments or corrections. I would prefer it if you would email me directly (keep down my embarrassment :) -- unless you feel it is a grave enough error that it deserves public scrutiny. What is mentioned in here is by no means the end all beat all of the discussion, but rather the beginning. This FAQ has two disclaimers: 1) This document and its support documents are offered to the public domain on the understanding that no resale of this information is undertaken by any recipient of the information. Any reproduction of the information should be complete and entire and provide reference to the original source (ie the PAGEMAKR listserver at INDYCMS.IUPUI.EDU) and the authors. 2) The authors take no responsibility for any errors, omissions or misunderstandings, however induced! Lastly, as a reminder, please use the TAN: (for tangent) prefix in your subject line when posting to the Pagemakr List about something not directly pertaining to PageMaker or the operations of the list. Thank you! Also, if you are posting from Usenet, please keep in mind that this is mainly a listserv and thus your postings are sent to our email mailboxes, so please be careful on what you post. I would like to strongly thank Cindy Stone, Jeff Bone, Monte Olsen, Henry Budgett and Ken Weiss for their help in compiling this posting. I would also like to thank all those members of the list who have also supplied information that has been used in this FAQ. Lastly, thanks goes to our friends at Indiana Univ. for allowing us to use their server as a common storage area and to Greg DeBruyn & Henry again for creating the Macintosh .SEA version of the .ZIP files at tcp_serv. Geof Peters [gwp@cs.purdue.edu & 71532,742 (Compuserve)] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= PAGEMAKER LISTSERV FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Key to Index ------------- * items that have been revised since last posting. + items that have been added since last posting. Index ------ (GENERAL) 1. What exactly is the Pagemaker listserv? How do I subscribe and unsubscribed to the Pagemaker list? 2. What other listservs / newsgroups may be of interest to me? * 3. What is the current versions of Pagemaker? What is new? * What expletives can I use for Pagemaker? 4. Which is better -- Mac or PC Pagemaker? I know how to do it on the Mac, how do I on the PC? (& vice versa) 5. How do I convert Mac to PC Pagemaker files (& vice versa) 6. What is the Table Editor? 7. Are there any FTP locations that have DTP related archives? What recent filters and updates are there available for PM? Where can I get clip-art packages? 8. Is there a list of popular books concerning DTP and/or PM? Is there a list of keyboard shortcuts and Pagemaker tips? Is there a list of Scanning tips? Desktop Publishing tips? Is there a glossary of typesetting terms? Does anyone have a suggestion for a syllabus on PM class? * 9. What are the important Pagemaker-related phone numbers? (PAGEMAKER GENERAL) 10. How do I have a truly fixed spaced document? 11. How can I create drop caps in Pagemaker? 12. My file size for Pagemaker documents keeps increasing -- what causes it and how can I reduce the file size? * 13. My Pagemaker document will not open due to errors. What to do? ****** * My machine crashed during my Pagemaker session. Help! *************** 14. How can I break the links with the files I imported? * 15. How do I rotate text? graphics? 16. Tell me about Aldus Additions. What Additions already exist? 17. How do I set gradient fills on letters? 18. How do I export the text of several (or all) unconnected stories? * 19. Does Pagemaker offer a site license for a network installation? + How do I install PageMaker 5.0 onto a network? * 20. I am experiencing printing woes. Suggestions? * How can I get my crop marks to work in PageMaker 5.0? * The standard fills are not working correctly in PageMaker 5.0? * How can I get WinFax to work with PageMaker 5.0? (IMPORTING / EXPORTING FILES) 30. What is PostScript? What different types of file formats exist? * 31. When I import a graphic I just get a gray box. * How can I compute a PostScript bounding box? 32. How do I convert from one graphic format to another? 33. How do I import Wordperfect Equations? 34. How do I import PageMaker 3.0 documents into PageMaker 5.0? (FONTS, SPECIAL CHARACTERS) 40. What are the different types of fonts available? 41. How can I obtain public domain fonts? 42. How do I use the more bizarre characters? 43. How do I prevent hyphenation on one particular word? 44. How do I keep control of all of these fonts? * 45. What is the difference between Truetype and PostScript fonts? * Which is better for working in Pagemaker and why? (PC SPECIFIC) * 50. How do I get rid of Unrecoverable Application Errors (UAEs) or * General Protection Faults (GPFs)? 51. How can I have a default directory for my Pagemaker data files? * 52. I can only see 27 fonts on my font listing. How can I see more? 53. I am having trouble printing to my PostScript printer. * 54. My EPS graphics are printing upside down! 55. When I switch back to PM my background turns brown or gray. (MAC SPECIFIC) 60. How can I import Word 5 documents? WriteNow 3.0? 61. I am having lots of trouble printing under System 7. 62. How can I speed up this dang Mac? 63. I am trying to install PM 4.x, but it keeps asking for Disk 1. Answers -------- --> 1. What exactly is the Pagemaker listserv? How do I subscribe and unsubscribe to the Pagemaker list? --------------------------------------------------------------------- The PageMakr listserv, dedicated to Pagemaker related topics, was created on Friday, January 26, 1990 and now has over 400 subscribers. The co-listowners are Cindy Stone, Geof Peters, and Jeff Bone. (Their addresses are in question #8). The list includes the discussion of PM on both the Mac and PC platforms. Currently, the list is unmoderated. Thus, everything you post will be seen by all 400+ subscribers. PLEASE DO NOT POST COMMANDS TO PAGEMAKR -- SEND THEM TO THE LISTSERV DIRECTLY! To subscribe to the PageMakr list, you will have to register with the LISTSERV. Here are the addresses of where to post and register. BITNET: Commands go to: LISTSERV@INDYCMS Postings go to: PAGEMAKR@INDYCMS INTERNET: Commands go to: LISTSERV@INDYCMS.IUPUI.EDU Postings go to: PAGEMAKR@INDYCMS.IUPUI.EDU Specifically, to subscribe to the list send a message to LISTSERV@INDYCMS.IUPUI.EDU with a body of SUB PAGEMAKR Joe E. Schmoo This should do it. If you have troubles, send a message of "HELP" to the listserv. If still no go, then contact one of the listowners mentioned in question #8. If you are trying to unsubscribe, send a letter to the listserv just like you did when you subscribed, except send the following line: SIGNOFF PAGEMAKR * If you are on CompuServe, please note that you can still subscribe * to the list. CompuServe, however, charges you for each message *read*. * Thus, you can minimize your costs by only reading messages that * are relevant to your needs. My Compuserve address is 71532,742 -- but * I do not read my mail but once every month or so. --> 2. What other listservs / newsgroups may be of interest to me? --------------------------------------------------------------------- There are several other listservs that may be of interest to the average Desktop Publisher. One is the "sister list" to Pagemaker that is for Quark Express users. To subscribe to this list, please use the precautions that are mentioned in the first question. The addresses for the Quark lists are: BITNET: Commands go to: LISTSERV@IUBVM Postings go to: QUARKXPR@IUBVM INTERNET: Commands go to: LISTSERV@IUBVM.UCS.INDIANA.EDU Postings go to: QUARKXPR@IUBVM.UCS.INDIANA.EDU Laura the DocWoman has suggested another list -- CCNEWS@BITNIC. The description is: "The CCNEWS newsletter is published bi-weekly by EDUCOM, and focuses on issues related to writing, editing, design, and production of computing newsletters and other publications. To subscribe, send an interactive message or mail to LISTSERV@BITNIC containing: SUB CCNEWS FirstName LastName - Institution." For those technical writing members, there are a few listservs dedicated to this subject. The main one is techwr-l at LISTSERV@OSUVM1 (bitnet) or LISTSERV@VM1.UCC.OKSTATE.EDU (internet). The listowner is Eric Ray (ejray@okway.okstate.edu). Two other listservs are COPYEDITING-L@CORNELL.EDU and PAPER-DIST@NYUACF.BITNET. Lovers of Adobe Photoshop also have a Bitnet listserv. The listserv host is LISTSERV@ECNUXA.BITNET (or LISTSERV@BGU.EDU will do too). The list name is PHOTSHOP (notice the missing "o"). Thus send a message to the above listserv with a body of: SUB PHOTSHOP <your real name> Lastly, there is another Bitnet listserv dedicated to DTPing in general. The owner is Michael Ross (mross@antigone.uu.holonet.net) and the list is cross-posted with the Usenet group comp.text.desktop (?). To subscribe, send the following message: SUBSCRIBE DTP-L <Your full name> to LISTSERV@ANTIGONE.COM And for those of you who have Usenet access, you might check out the groups comp.text.*, comp.lang.postscript, comp.sources.postscript, in addition to the bit.listserv.* groups for the listservs mentioned above. Some of you may also have the alt.aldus.* groups. --> 3. What is the current version of Pagemaker? What is new in the latest version? What expletives can I use for Pagemaker? --------------------------------------------------------------------- * The newest and latest Pagemaker 5.0a has been released for both the IBM * and Macintosh platforms. (5.0a is a minor patch release of the main * 5.0 version.) As for the capabilities in the new 5.0 version, I would suggest seeing the January/February 1993 edition of Aldus Magazine. The big items are color separation, a "control palette" to increase your productivity, a multiple document interface, graphics rotation, and Aldus Additions for both the Mac and the PC. There is also a very extensive list of features that was released by Aldus in the archives file (see question #7). If you are curious about more descriptions, post to the list. And just to brighten your day, here are some of the common Pagemaker nicknames: PageMangler, PageMager, RageMaker, PainMaker, PageBreaker, PageBaker (when your system frys), PageForsaker (when you quit and forget that you wanted to save changes), PageMucker, PageFaker, PaceMaker and when you are really frustrated, call it Xpress. (Thanks everyone for the fun!) --> 4. Which is better -- Mac or PC Pagemaker? I know how to do it on the Mac, how do I on the PC? (& vice versa) --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Macintosh and PC versions, for the most part, are very similar. The COMMAND key on the Macintosh (or splat, clover, rugbeater, propeller key) parallels the CONTROL key on the PC. The Mac OPTION key equates to the ALTERNATE key on the PC. As to which version is preferable, faster, exciting, etc., simply keep subscribed to this list and I am sure within a month this very subject will be rehashed. --> 5. How do I convert Mac to PC Pagemaker files (& vice versa) --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Pagemaker files made on a PC and on a Macintosh are compatible if they are made with the same versions of PM. There is a nice description of how to do convert between them in the Reference manual on page 20. You can use a variety of methods to actually transfer the file between the two platforms that include FTPing, Dos Mounter and other utilities, and transferring the file through a Novell PC/Mac network. Henry Budgett strongly suggests MacLink Plus from DataViz as the best of the utilities. --> 6. What is the Table Editor? --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Table Editor is a program will create tables and is packaged with Pagemaker 4.0 and higher. Most agreed that the first version had some serious setbacks. Version 2.1 takes a more spreadsheet-like approach. Any comments on the quality of the latest version (2.1)? --> 7. Are there any FTP locations that have DTP related archives? What recent filters and updates are there available for PM? Where can I get clip-art packages? --------------------------------------------------------------------- FTP (File Transfer Protocol) allows you to "get" and "put" files from remote computers. Certain computers on several of the various, large networks (such as Internet) have opened their archives to the public. The Pagemaker listserv has a great number of support documents (including this FAQ and many other FAQs) that can be obtained via anonymous FTP at * tcp_serv.ius.indiana.edu (149.160.9.5) in the \pagemakr directory. This * site is a bit of a different operating system -- be sure to use "dir" * instead of "ls" to obtain a directory. These files are often collectively referred to as "The Archives" on the list. Please note that the previous archive site (WUARCHIVE) is no longer active. It still has files there, but they are no longer current. Here are some other internet locations that have many files available to the public that are associated with DTP to start you off: Macintosh : SUMEX-AIM.STANFORD.EDU MAC.ARCHIVE.UMICH.EDU Windows (PC) : FTP.CICA.INDIANA.EDU Both : WUARCHIVE.WUSTL.EDU Some other sites that have shareware fonts are: BODE.EE.UALBERTA.CA (/pub/dos/win3/fonts) F.MS.UKY.EDU (/pub/msdos/Windows3/Fonts) NIC.FUNET.FI (/pub/msdos/windows/atm-fonts) SRC.DOC.IC.AC.UK (/ibmpc/windows3/fonts) SWDSRV.EDVZ.UNIVIE.AC.AT (/pc/windows/win3/fonts) Sumex has a Pagemaker 5.0 demonstration program available under the file /info-mac/demo/pagemaker-50.hqx. To run this demonstration, you'll need a Macintosh, System 6.0.7 or later (runs under System 7), a hard drive, a high-density floppy disk drive, and at least 4MB of RAM (5MB under System 7). The demo is 1140k. A color monitor will make the demo more attractive but it is not necessary. (Thanks Jeff Needleman and Henry Budgett!) Mac-archive has a filter pack issued by Aldus and March 1992. These filter packs are for Pagemaker 4.x users. It contains new versions of Aldus Prep, HP3SI523.PPD, APLWIIf1.PDX, APLWIIg1.PDX, RunScript.add, MS Word 4.0 - 5.0 Import.flt, RTF Import.flt, and WordPerfect PC 5.0/5.1 Import.flt. Its location is Mac/utilities/updates/ pmfilterdriverpak.cpt.hqx. Sumex has the filter pack under /info-mac/app/pagemaker-filter-update.hqx. The Word 4.0/5.0 filter is /info-mac/misc/pagemaker-word-50-importer.hqx. Aldus has also released WP 5.1 and Word for Windows 2.0 filters for Pagemaker 4.x users. Lastly, a common question that appears on the list is the question "Where can I get some public domain clipart?" Unfortunately, the answer is not so simple. Through anonymous FTP there are a few P.D. clipart packages (like ARTMART at WUARCHIVE.WUSTL.EDU). Most of them, however, are of extremely poor quality and are bitmapped based (uggh!). One exception to this, however, is the popular site sumex-aim.stanford.edu in the info-mac/art directory. Unfortunately these files are all stored in the Macintosh HQX format. There is an entity called the "OTIS Project" that is designed for art distribution, including some public domain clip art. FTP to sunsite.unc.edu and take a peek in the pub/multimedia/pictures/OTIS directory. Whether or not the art is considered public domain varies, however. Another option is to try the comp.sources.postscript Usenet news group. Additionally, there are literally thousands of GIF pictures at sites across the world; these GIFs are generally higher resolution (including 256 colors) and not the simple line-drawn vector pictures of common clipart packages. My best suggestion is to look at the products you already own. WordPerfect, MS Word, Corel, and many others all come with their own collection of clipart. --> 8. Is there a list of keyboard shortcuts and Pagemaker tips? Is there a list of Scanning tips? Desktop Publishing tips? Is there a list of popular books concerning DTP and/or PM? Is there a glossary of typesetting terms? Does anyone have a suggestion for a syllabus on PM class? --------------------------------------------------------------------- The FAQ you are reading is just one of a number of valuable documents that have been compiled by members of the Pagemakr listserv. There are a number of documents, ranging from job opportunities to scanning tips to Pagemaker and DTPing tips. You are highly encouraged to take a look! Already compiled, there are lists that address the subjects above. Please send mail *directly* to one of the co-listowners listed below (please do not send to the list): GWP@CS.PURDUE.EDU (Geof's internet address) JBONE@DOPIG.UAB.EDU (Jeff's internet address) STONEC@UCS.INDIANA.EDU (Cindy's internet address) STONEC@IUBACS (Cindy's bitnet address) These lists are also available via Anonymous FTP at tcp_serv.ius.indiana.edu under the pagemakr directory. If you can use FTP, it would be *greatly* appreciated if you could use this avenue first. As for the favorite books and magazines, we will give you a general summary below due to demand. These are for the old 4.x versions, but will be updated as soon as 5.0 books become more readily available. (*** = a must!, ** = excellent, * = consider it) *** Pagemaker 4: An Easy Desk Reference by Robin Williams. Austin Twigg. "I use it daily" -- Monte Olsen "Thorough, concise, easy to use" -- Robyn Fizz Many people like this book. A version for 5.0 is being worked on by the author's sister. ** Real World PM 4: Industrial Strength Techniques by Kvern & Roth. "Great style, humor, and insight, ... for people who want to move past a basic level of understanding" -- George Radford ** Desktop Publishing by Design -- Ronnie Shushan & Don Wright. Microsoft. "available in both PM and Quark versions" -- John in Indiana. ** Chicago Manual of Style "a real classic" -- Carol Hewlett. * Methods of Book Design by Hugh Williamson. Yale Univ Press. * Desktop Publishing Skills by Felici & Nace. Addison-Wesley. * The Makeover Book by Roger C. Parker. Ventana Press. * Peachpit press Pagemaker book * Aldus Technotes for PM 4.0, Aldus Corp. Magazines --------- *** Before and After. Tele # 916-784-3880. * Step by Step Electronic design * Aldus Magazine. * TypeWorld (free) * Computer Pictures (free) For more suggestions, write to Cindy, Jeff or myself for an additional list. Lastly, if you have anything to add to this FAQ or any of the other archives please do not hesitate to contact me at gwp@cs.purdue.edu. --> 9. What are the important Pagemaker-related phone numbers? --------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note that Aldus does not have a standard toll-free customer service number unless you purchase one of the premium service policies (i.e.- Premium Plus, Scholastic Plus, Corporate Library, etc.). For regular technical support, there are the following numbers: Macintosh Products: Windows Products: ----------------------------- ------------------------------- PageMaker (206) 628-4501 PageMaker (206) 628-4531 FreeHand (206) 628-4502 Database Ed (206) 628-4535 Persuasion (206) 628-4503 FreeHand (206) 628-4532 PrePrint (206) 628-4505 Persuasion (206) 628-4533 PressWise (206) 628-4527 PhotoStyler (206) 628-4537 Fetch (206) 628-4506 TrapWise (206) 628-4534 PMaker OS/2 (206) 628-4538 (206) 628-2320 Customer Relations / Services Aldus does, however, offer a free 1-800 service for automated voice- mail. That number, available 24 hours a day, is 1-800-288-6832; you must have a touch tone phone in order to use this service. * Lastly, there is a "pay-as-you-go" 900 number that costs $2 a minute * (I think). That million-dollar number is (900) 226-2261. * If you do call the Tech support number and your 30 minutes of support * is up, you can have them charge the call to a credit card for $20 * bucks a call. (gulp). A flat fee for one year of unlimited calls is * also available. Anybody know how much? For those of you in Europe, here are some useful numbers for your neck of the woods: Adobe Systems Europe 31 (20) 6767 661 Adobe Systems UK 44 (81) 547 1900 Aldus UK 44 (31) 220 4747 Apple Computer UK 44 (81) 569 1199 Interleaf UK 44 (81) 948 0094 Micrografx UK 44 (483) 747526 Microsoft UK 44 (734) 391123 NeXT 44 (81) 565 0005 Ventura 44 (753) 505202 --> 10. How do I have a truly fixed spaced document? --------------------------------------------------------------------- If you are trying to create a document with true fixed spaced character, try using Courier with 100% word and character spacing and no tracking. --> 11. How can I create drop caps in Pagemaker? --------------------------------------------------------------------- PageMaker 5.0 supports the Drop Cap capability through the Aldus Additions (under the Utilities menu). You can insert a tab in between the drop cap and the second letter if you are having troubles. For those of you, however, that do not like this Addition or have a pre-4.2 version, you can create drop caps manually. This can be done in one of many different ways; three that are particularly easy are: First, you can cut the letter you wished dropped and place it into a new text block. Then you can resize it and move it to where you wish. Unfortunately, though, this method will not let the subsequent lines wrap around the drop cap without modify the margins. Or second, if you are a Macintosh user, you can use the Scrapbook to convert the capital letter from Pagemaker text to a graphics image. With this method, you can utilize the "text wrap" capability. Be sure to Place the scrapbook file to convert it to a graphics. If you are using System 7, you will have to use ResEdit or DeskZap to change the format for the Scrapbook File to ZSYS, or use the previous version of the Scrapbook. For another method, there are the following steps: 1. Set an indent for the first four lines of a paragraph that is outside the width of the character you plan to use as a drop cap. 2. Format a character separately from the document in the appropriate point size. 3. Click on the character block and drag it into the indented space you set aside at the start of the paragraph. 4. You can then use PM's indent-tabs feature to adjust the paragraph text to run around the drop cap correctly. This method seems to work fairly quickly and allows you to perform the whole operation in PM without needing to use the scrapbook or a graphics program. And finally, to make sure you have enough alternatives, here is a process suggested by Jason Kim that maintains itself after later text re-adjustment. His method splits up your paragraph into four separate paragraphs, each of which have their own style definition: 1. Define a style called "Drop cap" with the big letter subscripted and the subscript position set (via "Options") so that the letter appears to sit on the nth line down. Let's say n=3; then with a pica grid, have it so that your approx. 39-pt capital sinks down to the 36 pi mark. Unfortunately this has the effect of leaving a seemingly blank line at the top of the text box (since the letter there is subscripted so far). 2. Define another style called "Drop cap paragraph, line 1" ("DCPL1") which is set to small caps and force justified. Also turn off tracking -- otherwise the caps tend to bunch up. This paragraph has a left margin > 0, to be adjusted depending on the cap. 3. Define "DCPL2-3," which applies to the other two indented lines. This style is just the body text style force-justified and with the left margin > 0. 4. Finally, "DCPL4-" is just body text unindented. After defining these Styles (using your Body text as a base) you can create the paragraph simply by: 1. Make a hard return after the initial capital, go back and set it to the "Drop cap." style. 2. Set the rest of the paragraph to "DCPL1" and adjust the left margin on the first line. 3. Stick a hard return at the end of the first line and set the rest to "DCPL2-3." Adjust the left margin of lines 2-3. 4. Put in another hard return at the end of line 4 and set the remaining text to "DCPL4-". --> 12. My file size for Pagemaker documents keeps increasing -- what causes it and how can I reduce the file size? --------------------------------------------------------------------- The answer to this question depends on which version of Pagemaker you are using. Before version 4.01, Pagemaker would save your file by appending the changes you have made to the end of the file. Thus, your file steadily gets larger and larger. To circumvent this problem, you can choose the Save As... option and "re-save" your file by replacing itself. This way, it forces a complete, new, resave. For the more recent versions, you can specify in the Preferences Menu which way Pagemaker should save the file. The default method is "Faster". I, personally, would recommend choosing the "Smaller" method though it does take longer to save the file this way. If your file is somehow damaged, you are *much* more likely to recover it if it was saved with the smaller method. Greg DeBruyn has also suggested zooming out on each page before saving. Evidently, Greg experienced larger files (400K for 10 page doc) decreased (to 300K) when each file was zoomed out. I, however, could not reproduce this with either Smaller or Faster saves on the PC. --> 13. My Pagemaker document will not open due to errors. What to do? ****** My machine crashed during my Pagemaker session. Help! *************** --------------------------------------------------------------------- When your Pagemaker doc fails to load due to a corrupted table or "bad record index" or any other various reasons, there are thankfully some alternatives. The first thing to try is to use your backup copy that you have been diligently keeping up-to-date, and make a backup of the backup before opening it. This can not be stressed enough -- back everything up! You didn't make a backup, though, or your backup failed too. Then, if you are able to open the document but it appears to have errors in it, try to recompose the entire document by pressing shift-option and selecting the Hyphenation command from the Type Menu. Pagemaker will * run a diagnostic check on the document and try to repair it. (Some * people insist this is all just hoopla and "mythology, by the way -- * despite it being mentioned in the PM5 manual; nobody is certain if * this is really doing anything!) Pagemaker will respond with one of three messages: One beep -- The document is OK Two beeps -- The document had problems but has been repaired. Three beeps -- The document had problems that could not be repaired. If the document had two beeps, it sometimes helps to repeat the process several times -- sometimes Pagemaker does not get everything on the first or second pass. Ken Kreshtool actually said the Aldus' tech support suggested doing the shift-option-hyphenation procedure any time an old PM document is brought into a newer version. One more thing on this subject -- someone suggested that PM 4.0 for the Mac uses option + spacing instead of shift-option-hyphenation. Can someone verify this? Next, try opening the document as a "Copy" rather than opening the original publication. Many times this corrects the problem. If this fails, open a New document and try Placing the corrupted document into the new one. This way you can at least recover the text. Also try importing the style definitions. If you are working on a PC and the program crashed while you were working on the document, look in your Temp directory for any ~PM4xxxxx.TMP files. If there are any present, rename them to something else and try to pull them up into Pagemaker. If you are working on a Mac, you can find the temp file in a folder titled "[your drive name] recovered items" in the trash. If there is a file there, rename it to something else and attempt to load it into Pagemaker. If all this fails, start praying. You can try copying the file to a new one, and converting it to another platform (PC-MAC), among other things. One good suggestion in preventive medicine is use the Save Smaller option under Preferences. There is more of a chance of recovering the file. Finally, one last suggestion comes from Henry Budgett: for those of you who are working on a Macintosh, you can try a program called "CanOpener" -- it's supposed to be good at recovering files from within files. In the old days of version 1 and 2 (on the Mac) there was a program called The Ripper which brought your data back from the dead! (PM crashed a LOT in those days!) Note: there is a bug in converting 3.0 to 4.0 that occasionally causes corrupted files. --> 14. How can I break the links with the files I imported? --------------------------------------------------------------------- To Unlink a file, simply go to the links selection in the File Menu. (You can also press Command =.) A dialog box appears with the files linked to your publication. Click on the file name you want to unlink and then click on "Unlink" at the bottom of the dialog box. Ta-Da! --> 15. How do I rotate text? graphics? --------------------------------------------------------------------- * Pagemaker 5.0 now supports text and graphics rotations in one-hundreth * degree increments. Please note that the text is also editable in-place * now (i.e., you can use the text tool to modify the text without having * to "unrotate" it). If you have Pagemaker 4.x, you can only rotate text at 90 degree increments. Unfortunately, Pagemaker 4.x will not support the rotation of graphics nor will it rotate text in smaller increments. There is not currently a way to rotate graphics in Pagemaker alone (trying to place the image as an inline graphics will not work.) There is an Aldus Addition for Mac's 4.2, however, that supports rotation of smaller increments. Many of the draw programs will also support both text and graphic rotation -- and you can export the rotations into PM. * David McCullum makes this suggestion regarding rotated and skewed * items in Pagemaker 5.0: "Rotated and/or skewed graphics may look cool, * but your PS printer and your service bureau will hate them. A rotated * TIFF file may cause your page to take forever to print--if it comes * out at all! A better bet may be to use PM5's rotation or skewing * tools to determine the degree of alteration desired, but to then apply * the same amount of alteration in your image editing package and * re-place the resulting file." --> 16. Tell me about Aldus Additions. What Additions already exist? --------------------------------------------------------------------- Aldus has a new policy where they allow outside software vendors to sell add-on features for PageMaker. They are called Aldus Additions and are similar to Quark Extensions. One vendor is Equilibrium, who sells Rotate This! and Import That!. The former will allow the rotation of bitmapped graphics in Pagemaker, the latter will allow the importation of the following file formats: bob, bmp, dr. halo cut, gif, iff/lbm, img (gem), lotus pic, msp type 1, pcp, pcx, pcc, pixare, qdv, raw RGB, rle, tga, and WPG (PC 5.1). The address is: Equilibrium 914 Mission Ave. 2nd floor San Rafael, CA 94901 1-800-524-8651 Dept. EC2 (ordering number) 1-415-332-4343 (support/questions) Another Additions is the PM Pro Kit by EDCO Services. It features type distortion, kerning capabilities, rotate and merge, a pica gauge, and assistance in setting up column guides. They also have a product called PM Tracker. EDCO Address is: EDCO Services, INC. 12410 North Dale Mabry Highway Tampa, FL 33618 1-800-523-TYPE * Aldus also has a whole list of additions that are available for PM 5.0. * Check the original documents that came with PM 5.0. If you are a programmer and would like to create your own Aldus addition, please contact Lisa Wise, Developer Technology Manager, at (206) 343-7692. --> 17. How do I set gradient fills on letters? --------------------------------------------------------------------- In Pagemaker it is easy to create a text box that is filled with an 80% shade of black. It is not so obvious, though, to have letters that are of a percent shade of black. Here is how to do it: Use the define colors in Pagemaker, pick the CMYK model and set all settings to zero except for the black. Move the black to the desired percent setting and then give the color definition a name. Change the text to the desired shade by using the color palette. --> 18. How do I export the text of several (or all) unconnected stories? --------------------------------------------------------------------- If you want to join together a several unconnected stories together into one main story, there is a rather ingenious way to do it. This technique is especially useful if you wish to export a Pagemaker file to an ASCII file. First open up a *new* Pagemaker file and issue the place command. Specify as a file your previous Pagemaker file (make sure your Pagemaker import filter is installed). A list of the stories will appear and then select the ones you want to join together. Keep in mind that you can in turn import the new story into the old file. --> 19. Does Pagemaker offer a site license for a network installation? How do I install PageMaker 5.0 onto a network? --------------------------------------------------------------------- PageMaker 4.x, as are all Aldus products, is network aware, but are not networkable. That is to say that the license prohibits you from loading the application onto a network server However, there is a network license that will allow you to load the software onto the server (it's free), but you will still have to have one copy of the software loaded for every node that plans to run PageMaker in order to legally comply with the license (in other words, ugggh). Please note that there are indeed ways to load a single copy onto a server, resource files onto the local node drive, and use products to monitor usage and licenses (such as Brightwork's Sitelock). However, since this technically violates the letter of the license agreement no one can, in good faith, recommend this practice. (I have heard of other companies, though, approving of such a setup.) * PageMaker 5.0 has a similar policy, but goes out of its way to make sure * you are abiding by it. When PM5 is run, it checks across the LAN to see * if its serial number is in use. If it is, a dialog box pops up and tells * you that you are out of luck. If it is not, then you are fine. Multiple * simultaneous users on a LAN are supported by PM LAN Packs which are * copies of PM5 that give you one set of documentation and one set of * diskettes -- but multiple copies of Disk #2 (one for each license). When * you install a LAN Pack, you designate each Disk 2 to a specific user or * workstation. This gives each installation a unique number. (Much thanks * to David McCullum for making this clear!) --> 20. I am experiencing printing woes. Suggestions? How can I get my crop marks to work in PageMaker 5.0? The standard fills are not working correctly in PageMaker 5.0? How can I get WinFax to work with PageMaker 5.0? --------------------------------------------------------------------- Just about every application has at least a few bugs in it. It appears as though Pagemaker 5.0's bugs are numerous in the printings areas. Numerous people on both Mac and PC platforms have reported printing problems, ranging from total inoperability to extreme slowness. The quickest suggestion I can make is to attempt smaller jobs -- send only 2 or 3 pages and see how it does. * Perhaps most importantly, Pagemaker has released a new patch version * named 5.0a. This should be readily available a number of places * (check where the archives are stored -- question #8). This patch * addresses a few printing problems among other things. Next, call Aldus. First, this keeps them aware of their problems. Secondly, they *should* be the first to know when fixes are available. If you do find out something new, please post to the group so that we can all be up-to-date. Platform Specific -------------------------------------------------- The first thing to check if you are a PC user with a PostScript or HP printer is to verify that you are using Pagemaker's new printer drivers instead of your Windows 3.x drivers. When you get an "old printer driver" warning, this is often the cause. Go to the Control Printer, double click "Printers", choose "Add" and then "Install". Plop the last Pagemaker installation disk in and choose the correct printer. For Macintosh users, please be aware that the PPDs for PageMaker 5.0 are different the for previous versions. Specifically PM 5.0 uses PS Level 2 PPDs. If you get a "Bad Printer Definition File" while printing from PageMaker 4.x and PageMaker 5.0 is also installed on your system, this is likely the problem. Postscript --------------------------------------------------------- One typical problem occurs with PostScript emulating or PostScript generic printers that use Apple Laserwriter series (or some other standard) printer drivers. Typically, the PPD associated with the Laserwriter is highly tuned to that printer and thus may have differences with your actual printer's setup. Most often, there is a disagreement on the amount of virtual memory your printer has -- which can make a great difference in printing speeds and sizes. If you would like more information on how to check/modify this, post * to the list or call Aldus. If this proves to be a common problem, * I will include the instructions of how to update your PPD. HP LaserJets ------------------------------------------------------ * If you are using a DeskJet 1200C/PS color laser, open the PPD file * into a text editor and remove the space at the end of the line that * says "*ColorDevice: True". Then save it and try again. Thanks Brad! * If you are using an HP LaserJet 4 and cannot print rotated items, * are receiving "Print Overflow" errors, or it is taking milleniums to * print, here are a few work-arounds thanks to Gerald Furi. (Aldus and HP * are working on a solution BTW). A) Use the LaserJet III driver -- this * will allow rotated text in closer-to-normal printing times, but at 300 * dpi. B) Use PostScript if your LJ4 supports it. * Geri also remarks that if you are experiencing strange kerning in * rotated text on a LaserJet, that you may be using old PCL drivers. * Call HP at (303) 339-7009. * The 5.0a patch fixes a problem with some LaserJets that would * incorrectly switch between PostScript and PCL modes. Misc Bugs --------------------------------------------------------- One known bug in PageMaker 5.0 is in the crop marks. The image area for crops must equal .875" in addition to selected page size in each dimension. If necessary, create a custom page size and and ignore the error messages. Another bug is with the standard Postscript fills with certain video drivers and non-Postscript printers. The current work around for this known bug is to define a new Tint color of the correct % black you desire. Use this defined color instead of the standard fill. Also experiment with the "Allow PCL Halftoning" selection in the "Colors" submenu for best results. Also, if you are using a FAX program (such as WinFax), be sure that the software (WinFax Administrator) before printing to the FAX modem. Also, FAXes will have a better range of grayscales if the "Allow PCL Halftoning" box in the print menu is not checked. (Thank you Tony * Thomas for the bug reports.) Upgrade to 5.0a if you are still having * trouble with faxing from PM -- it fixes a few bugs. * Pagemaker 5.0 downloads as entire sets instead of a character at a * time, as was done in previous versions. Thus, if you have a typeface * with a bug in one of the more obscure characters, this could also * cause your printer to wander into never-never land. Some Corel fonts * are known to have problems because of this (see question #50). Also, * try setting the "Page Independent" box to on in the PostScript * printer driver dialog box. We will try to keep every one abreast of the situation. Also check later in this FAQ for system-specific printing suggestions (#53, #54, #61). Finally, Bruce Patterson has created a lengthy Printing Help File that can be found in the archives mentioned in #7 earlier. This file is very helpful in tracking down printing problems. --> 30. What is PostScript? What different types of file formats exist? --------------------------------------------------------------------- This question delves into the pros and cons of .EPS, .PCX, .TIF file formats, among others. The two main formats are bitmapped images and PostScript. Bitmapped images are based on pixels while the PostScript images are based on bezier curves. Thus, bitmapped images have poor qualities when expanded to higher resolution than their original size, while PostScript images maintain their definitions when their size is increased. There are many utilities available that will convert between the many different file formats. Regarding PostScript, it is important to remember that PostScript is fundamentally a programming *language* that is used mainly in graphical environments. It also tends to be oriented towards printer/plotter type devices, although Display PostScript allows direct video inter- pretation of a PostScript file. Also, PostScript files are ASCII, allowing them to be transported via email (in most cases). PostScript files are stored in either .EPS or .PS formats. The .PS format is simply a file containing straight PostScript commands. Unless you have Display PostScript (i.e. NeXT), you will not be able to directly display a straight .PS file without a program to interpret it. One such program is GhostScript (which also allows PostScript files to be printed on non-PostScript devices). To compute .PS bounding boxes, see the next question. The Encapsulated PostScript File (.EPS) has the following requirements: I) Specifies that it is an EPS file in the header II) Avoids certain PostScript commands that may cause problems if the file were imported into a graphics application and may add a few additional ones as well to assist in importing III) Include a "BoundingBox" comment to specify its size IV) *May* include a low-resolution bitmapped preview image It is often assumed that an EPS file must have a bitmapped preview image, but occasionally this is seen to be otherwise. This image allows you to see a preview of the PostScript file on machines that cannot directly display a PostScript image. In theory, the bitmap image is used only for display, but a few rare programs actually use the bitmapped image to print the image and not the PostScript commands. UGH! In summary for PostScript, the .PS files tend to be multi-page files intended for direct download to a PostScript output device. The .PS files are often created when you direct your printer output to a file. The .EPS files tend to be one page or smaller images that are meant to be imported as graphic images into an application. The best example of an .EPS file is clipart from a professional company. * If you want more information about PostScript (gulp), you can get * Jonathan Monsarrat's Postscript FAQ through FTP at rtfm.mit.edu * (/pub/usenet) directory. In terms of Pagemaker, it could care less which type of PostScript file it imports. If it is a .EPS image it will display the bitmap image (if present) to assist in positioning. If the image is not present but the BoundingBox command still is, then it should display a gray box the size of the image. If the file is a straight .PS file, PageMaker will display a gray box the size of the page. Note that this .PS file could be several pages long, although only taking up one page in PageMaker (one roundabout way to download a PostScript file to a printer). As for the bitmapped arena, many of the list's subscribers have expressed a preference for the TIFF format over PCX. Scanned images stored as bitmaps generally take less room than a Postscript version. Compressed TIFF images are even smaller, naturally. Another file type commonly used is the GIF format. This format was created by Compuserve and is used mainly for display purposes. The GIF format is compressed so that the image will take a minimal amount of space. JPG or JPEG files are further compressions of GIF files that are commonly found; JPEGs tend to lose a minimal amount of image definition. If you would like some more information on graphic formats, please consult the SCANTIPS.FAQ and SCANTIP2.FAQ files in the archives. --> 31. When I import a graphic I just get a gray box. How can I compute a PostScript bounding box? --------------------------------------------------------------------- As mentioned in the previous question, PostScript graphic files may or may not contain a bitmapped "preview" image. When the PostScript file does not contain a preview image, then Pagemaker will display a gray box of the size given in the Bounding Box comment within the PostScript file. If PM fails to find the Bounding Box line as well, it will likely display a box the size of an entire page. Since the preview image is simply for display purposes, the document will still print just fine. The printer will know what to do with the PostScript image. Having the image or at least a proper bounding box, however, can be very useful in placing the image correctly on the page. If you are importing graphics from another application, check to see if there is an option for including a preview image in the PostScript file. If so, this should solve the problem. If not, then if your PostScript image has a bounding box specifier, then you can position your image according to the gray box. The box should be the smallest rectangle that will completely encompass your image. If by chance the bounding box comment is not included, you can compute it manually fairly easily. This is often a case when importing a PostScript image that was printed to a PostScript file. If you get a gray box the size of an entire page (and you know the image is not * that large), there are several options. First, you can use GhostView to * determine the smallest box that encloses the image (see question #32). * GhostView will give you coordinates on screen. You can then add the * bounding box lines as described later in this question. * There are also a few PostScript programs that will add bounding boxes * for you automatically. See the PostScript FAQ (mentioned above) for * more information. If you do not have GhostView, here is what you can do: (and *many* thanks goes to Chris Dorsey in New Zealand for this explanation!) 1. Print the PostScript file to your printer 2. On the output, draw the smallest box that encloses the image on the page. 3. Using a ruler, measure the (X,Y) coordinates of the bottom left and upper right corners of the box, relative to the bottom left corner of the page. Convert the measurements to points (72 points per inch). You now have LLx (lower left X), LLy (lower left Y), URx (upper right X) and URy (upper right Y) coordinates. +------------------------+ | | |<------URx------> | | +--------+ ^ | | | | | | | | IMAGE | | | | | GOES | | | | | HERE | URy | | | | | | |<-LLx->+--------+ | | | ^ | | | LLy | | | v v | +------------------------+ 4. Edit the PostScript file with a text editor. The file should begin with "%!PS-Adobe-x.x". If the file contains a screen "preview" image, this string will be preceded by 32 "gibberish" characters. **************************************************************** Warning: take great care editing a PostScript file with a screen "preview" image (make a backup copy). The first 32 bytes specify (among other things) the offset and length of the screen image and PostScript script within the file; so the file must remain the same length! Plus, if it has a proper screen image, chances are likely that you do not need to do this procedure. **************************************************************** Insert the following line %!PS-Adobe-2.0 at the start of the file, if an identical line is not already present. Note that case and whitespace are significant, but the version number is not important. Look near the beginning of the file for a line like %%BoundingBox: 0 0 595 842 * Add it if it is not there already (which is fairly likely). Be sure to * add the line before the "%%EndComment" line. Note that case is significant and there must not be any spaces before the ":". The numbers are LLx, LLy, URx, URy. Change them to match the values you measured off the output, eg: %%BoundingBox: 72 72 189 350 5. Save the file. You can now import it into Pagemaker. --> 32. How do I convert from one graphic format to another? --------------------------------------------------------------------- Taking the view as presented in the previous question, there are two realms of graphic formats: PostScript and bitmapped. In the bitmapped realm, there are many public domain programs that convert between the multitudes of bitmapped based graphics (checkout wuarchives). As for going between encapsulated PostScript and straight PostScript, it is not as easy. (the good 'old "getting the E back into the EPS" * problem.) Most of the times, adding a bounding box (question #31) will * do the trick. For those of you who require a bitmap preview image, * there are a few UNIX shell scripts to add the image into your * PostScript file. If you are a PC user, you can run these with PERL or * similar programs. Please see PostScript FAQ for more info. (Thanks * goes to Kevin Grover (grover@isri.unlv.edu) who is quite knowledgeable * on the subject!) To convert from a bitmapped image to a EPS file you can use a tracing program such as Corel TRACE! or Freehand. To go the opposite way (EPS to a bitmapped) there are such programs as GoScript, FreeScript, and Freedom of Press. * GhostScript and GhostView are another software package available for * handling and viewing PostScript files. Amazingly enough -- they are * free and available on both MS-Windows and X-Windows platforms. --> 33. How do I import Wordperfect Equations? --------------------------------------------------------------------- Has anyone tried the new 5.0 import filter? At this point, we know of no easy way to import a Wordperfect Equation. One possibility is to print the equation to a PostScript file and then import this file into Pagemaker. Unfortunately, however, a bitmapped image is not included, thus you will have to manually compute the bounding boxes mentioned in question #31. --> 34. How do I import PageMaker 3.0 documents into PageMaker 5.0? --------------------------------------------------------------------- For the PC, there is a file on CompuServe called PM3PM4.ZIP that will do the conversion. It is, however, almost 2 megabytes compressed. If you do happen to download it, you will get many cheers from fellow list members if you would upload it to an ftp site. Judging by the size, however, it might be viable just to leave a barebones copy of Pagemaker 4.0 on your system for conversions. No word on a Mac version yet -- if you hear about it, please let us know. --> 40. What are the different types of fonts available? --------------------------------------------------------------------- There are many different types of fonts available, some of the more common are PostScript and True Type (see question #35). The former has a large base of public domain fonts, while the second is gaining popularity with the support from Windows 3.1 and System 7. --> 41. How can I obtain public domain fonts? --------------------------------------------------------------------- There are many places offering public domain fonts. The ones listed under question 7 are a few. If you are looking for a specific font, try using archie. There is also a dedicated USENET group just for fonts. One note, however: many places are beginning to frown upon public domain fonts due to the large number of illegally copied typefaces out there (how do you tell the difference between the two?). --> 42. How do I use the more bizarre characters? --------------------------------------------------------------------- On the PC, you can use the Character Map that comes with Windows 3.1. After finding the desired symbol, look at which number you need. Then hold down the ALT key and punch the four/three digit number on your __numeric__ keypad and then let up on the ALT key. If you are using Windows 3.0, look at the character table that came with your font package for the ANSI or ASCII number. Please note that many public domain fonts do not support the extended characters. On the Mac, simply use the Key Caps desk accessory under the Apple Menu to find the desired key combination. Peter Moller also suggests a shareware program called "PopChar". It can be found on the anon. ftp site SUMEX-AIM.STANFORD.EDU. A chart enumerating the complete set of extended characters and the keystrokes required to access them can be found in the "CHARSET.PT4" template in the \PM4\TEMPLATES directory (Pagemaker 4.x). --> 43. How do I prevent hyphenation on one particular word? --------------------------------------------------------------------- One trick is to put a soft hyphenation at the beginning of the word you do not wish to be hyphenated. This can be done by holding down the CTRL key while typing a hyphen. See your manual for other ideas. --> 44. How do I keep control of all of these fonts? --------------------------------------------------------------------- The best answer is not to have "all of these fonts". One of the greatest mistakes a beginning DTPer makes is to use 20 different fonts on one small publication. The best thing to do is keep to a smaller number of fonts that serve your needs best. Plus, Pagemaker's performance decreases *dramatically* with respect to the number of fonts installed in your system. Most publications look best when you use only two or so typefaces. Simpler is usually better when it comes to typefaces. But you really *want* to have all those extra fonts. For the Macintoshers, it helps out a great deal to sort your fonts into different sets of "suitcases". This way you can use only the fonts you need when working on a publication -- this will cut down on the resources you are using and make everything run faster. You can also then include the suitcase you are using when transferring the document to someone else in-house. For the PC, there is no handy inherent solution. I have made multiple copies of certain .INI files and then used a batch file to select between them. *** Keep in mind: the more fonts you have included, the slower your system becomes. For a commercial solution, there is Ares Software's FontMinder. It allows for "packs" similar to the Macintosh suitcase. Their number is 1-800-783-2737. There is one last suggestion for PC users that comes originally from a guy name Bill Gaston (modified for us DTPers): 1. Separate your Win 3.1 fonts categorically by the jobs performed. For example: one for newsletters; one for letters; one for books, etc. 2. Edit the [Ports] section of WIN.INI and add a line that looks like this: LPT1.LET= or LPT1.NWS= or LPT1.BOK= 3. The extension LET would be for assigning fonts for letters and so on. Any abbreviation can be used, and as many multiple lines of the same kind (such as the three examples). 4. From the Control Panel, Printer menu, (a printer should have already been selected and listed as connected to LPT1) use the add button to install the same printer again. Use the Connect menu to assign the newly added printer to LPT1.LET. Now edit WIN.INI again, where you'll find a heading [<printer>,LPT1.LET]. Go to the heading [<printer>,LPT1], copy only the lines that list the fonts you want to use with your new printer entry, and paste them under the [<printer>,LPT1.LET] entry. 5. Renumber them, starting with 1. Add a new line that reads "Softfonts=#" where # is the number of fonts that were copied. When you restart Windows, make the LPT1.LET your default printer, and only the soft fonts you have chosen for it will appear in your font menu. --> 45. What is the difference between Truetype and PostScript fonts? Which is better for working in Pagemaker and why? --------------------------------------------------------------------- With the upgrade to Windows 3.1, Microsoft provides a Type Manager known as Truetype to compete with Adobe Type Manager (ATM) and other font managers. ATM has the advantage of a secure base and a large amount of compatible public domain PostScript fonts. TrueType is marketed by Microsoft to be faster than ATM, but this is *very* debatable. TrueType fonts also breakdown at higher resolutions (making them the bane of printing bureaus). ATM is likely your best bet, if Adobe keeps it act up. Some people have claimed to experience problems using ATM and TrueType simultaneously. The problems range from system crashes to incorrect print-outs. It is not clear how many are actually attributed to having both managers active at once, and how many of those are actually resolvable. My suggestion is to try it out if you need both of them, but just be wary when a problem does arise. If you *do* trace something down to ATM and TT being active at the same time, let us know! * Note also that some fonts (typically public domain and Corel Draw * fonts) cause General Protection faults. See question 50 for a list of * known problematic fonts. --> 50. How do I get rid of Unrecoverable Application Errors (UAEs) or General Protection Faults (GPFs)? --------------------------------------------------------------------- As Monte would say -- "Get a Mac!". See question #3 for more :0 :) There are many other, less expensive ways to cut down on Pagemaker * crashes, first of which is to purchase Windows 3.1 if you are still * using 3.0. You will notice less of a frequency of errors. Other * suggestions include: I) Cut down the number of fonts in your system. Particularly the number of public domain fonts. Many PC DTPer's woes derive from faulty public domain fonts. * Some Corel Draw fonts are also known to cause printing * problems. The font detective Maureen Akins tracked down * these Corel fonts to be problematic: * * CasperOpenFace, Nebraska, NewBrunswick, Paragon, Penguin, * PenguinLight, SwitzerlandCondLight Italic, SwitzerlandLight * (and maybe Geographic Symbols, Common Bullets, and * SwitzerlandNarrow) * * To remove these from your system, you can simply comment * out their entries in the WIN.INI file by placing a * semicolon in front of their entry in the [fonts] section. * Other Corel fonts may cause printing problems as well. * * Aldus and Microsoft also have both said that you can * sometimes reduce problems by making sure the "Page * Independent" box in the PostScript printer driver box * HAS AN "X" in it. II) Try increasing your FILES= number in your config.sys. Microsoft suggests the value of 30. Microsoft also suggests That stacks be set to 9,256 for Dos 3.3 and above. III) If you are using QEMM, spend the time to read the manual. QEMM assumes many things. Also, be wary of Stealth. IV) Set up a permanent swap file. If you have plenty of RAM, then create a very tiny swap file (force it to use the hundreds of dollars you invested.) Other items to be aware of are public domain screen savers, public domain (and commercial!) disk caches and other various apps that run in the background. You can use Dr. Watson also to help you find the offenders (it comes with Windows 3.1). Finally, run your diagnostics program to check your system, as well as execute CHKDSK /F every now and then to clean out lost allocations. --> 51. How can I have a default directory for my Pagemaker data files? --------------------------------------------------------------------- Under Windows 3.1 it is quite easy: simply select the Pagemaker icon and then choose the "Properties" menu under the File Menu. Enter the directory under the Data Directories slot. For Windows 3.0, though, you will need to do some tricking. Again, choose the Properties option. Change the default path to be the desired directory + PM4.EXE. For example: C:\MYFILES\PM4.EXE. After you press "OK", Windows will notify you that it cannot find the executable -- that's ok. If you lose the icon, choose Properties again and specify the real Pagemaker path in the icon menu. Lastly, you will need to verify that Pagemaker's directory is located on your Dos search PATH, which is usually set in your CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT file. --> 52. I can only see 27 fonts on my font listing. How can I see more? --------------------------------------------------------------------- If you are using PageMaker 4.x, you are likely limited to seeing only 27 fonts on the PC due to the screen resolution. Many of the better video drivers will solve this problem when you up to 800x600 or higher resolutions. For the rest of you, though, your only option is to use the Type Specs menu (Control T). * Pagemaker 5.0 no longer has this problem. --> 53. I am having trouble printing to my PostScript printer. --------------------------------------------------------------------- In Windows 3.1 there is an option to download an error handler. If you click this option you can find out where the file is going Here is a neat trick donated by Jeff Bone. Under Windows 3.0, if you choose the Option button while configuring your printer _and_ hold down the Alternate key and the "E" key, you can create a PostScript Error Handler that you can download to your printer. For those of you who have made the change to 3.1, there is an option you can check in the PostScript printer setup, but I can't guarantee that it is the same as the hint for 3.0. Please be sure to read Question 20 as well. --> 54. My EPS graphics are printing upside down! --------------------------------------------------------------------- If you are trying to print .EPS files from Windows 3.1, and they appear fine on the screen but are upside down when printed out, Jeff Bone has this answer: There is a bug in the Windows 3.1 PostScript printer driver (versions 3.5 through 3.52) that causes this. Aldus published a fix for this in their Tech Notes, simply open your WIN.INI file and locate the section pertaining to your printer (i.e.- [ Apple Laserwriter, LPT1]) and add the following line: LandScapeOrient=270 Make sure you add this to the printer section with the printer name and not the section that merely states "PostScript, LPT1" Best way to tell the difference is the fact that the named section will not have any font definitions. Also, be careful when you re-assign ports on your printer or assign the printer to FILE:, you will have to re-edit your WIN.INI to add the above line to the new section. As you can guess, this is not really correcting the problem, it is merely inverting the page so that everything else will rotate and your EPS graphic will stay in the proper place. * The PostScript driver (3.5.3) for Pagemaker 4.0 is available via anonymous FTP from ftp.cica.indiana.edu as the file /pub/pc/win3/drivers/printer/pscrip.exe. This solves the problem for American paper sizes (but regrettably not for the Imperial sizes.) It also adds some more printer descriptions and speeds the printing * of compressed bitmaps slightly. If you are using PageMaker 5.0, it * is not suggested that you use this driver, as PM5 ships with a more * recent version (3.56). --> 55. When I switch back to PM 4.0 my background turns brown or gray. --------------------------------------------------------------------- What is happening here, thanks to Kirk Membry, is that Pagemaker is not remapping the windows palette, causing the background to go to some (usually bland) color. One method in returning to normal colors is to pull up the color modification window and then canceling. This forces windows to remap the palette. You can do this easily by control clicking one of the items in the color palette window. --> 60. How can I import Word 5 documents? WriteNow 3.0? --------------------------------------------------------------------- There is an import filter for Word 5 documents available via anonymous FTP. The location is sumex-aim.stanford.edu and the file location is /info-mac/app/pagemaker-filter-update.hqx. The filter is also available with the upgrade to 4.2a. See question #7 for more information on updates. Also, thanks to Rev, the WriteNow 3.0 filters are at sumex to. They are in the same directory as the Word 5 filters, except with the name "pagemaker-writenow-filters.hqx". --> 61. I am having lots of trouble printing under System 7. --------------------------------------------------------------------- The first thing to check is the version of your printer drivers. The current version is *at least* System 7.0.1 and TuneUp 1.1.1. If you are using an older TuneUp, be sure to upgrade. (Thanks David!) Another thing you should check is your screen saver. Certain screen savers, if they come on during your printing, will cause the printer to forget the rest of your printout. To prevent this, either put the mouse in the "No-Blank" corner or set the screen save interrupt high enough so that it will not interrupt the printout. --> 62. How can I speed up this dang Mac? --------------------------------------------------------------------- In all fairness to Monte and question #40 -- Get a 486! Seriously, a couple of suggestions include: 1. Get rid of those unnecessary fonts! Also, up your Font Cache if you are using ATM and have the memory. 2. Up your Ram Cache in the Memory Control Panel. A good rule of thumb, if you have the memory, is to set the Ram Cache to the size of your System file, otherwise, get as close as you can to half of its size. Do this only after you have removed all of the Fonts and Sounds from the System and put them in their own suitcases, using something like Suitcase or Master Juggler. Doing this, your Mac will not have to read the System information from the disk as often, and will experience a noticeable improvement in speed. 3. If you don't need to work with color in Pagemaker, set your Mac to Black and White or, at a minimum, 4 or 16 colors in the Monitors control panel. The more colors you use (without a separate video board) the slower you Mac works because the CPU spends all that much more time processing information. 4. Rebuilding your desktop file occasionally will help too. It tells how to do this in your Mac manual. --> 63. I am trying to install PM 4.x, but it keeps asking for Disk 1. --------------------------------------------------------------------- There is a bug with certain System 7's when you are attempting to install Pagemaker 4.x. If it continuously asks for Disk 1 (even when you do put it in the disk drive), simply press <Command> - . (That is, the Command key with the period key.) [Thanks Ken Weiss!] The End------------------------------------------------------------- If you have any suggestions / questions you would like to see added to this FAQ, please contact me!