Want just a single font from the Serif font collections? Use the Windows Control Panel to install them individually. Look in the Serif/Fonts folder on the PagePlus 5 CD.
To fast-move an object, click and drag quickly to move the object's bounding box -- not the object itself. To move the object with full display, click and pause a moment before dragging.
There are no good or bad typefaces, only appropriate and inappropriate ones.
/JThere aren't many shopping days left before Christmas.
Use the Portfolio to store template objects -- for example, basic one-, two-, and three-column frames -- so you don't have to create new ones each time.
If you have many objects together in one area, it may take several clicks before you get the right one selected. Look for the eight black boxes (handles) that surround an object to make sure the right one is selected.
Every typeface, like every human face, has a character all its own.
Interested in Web publishing? Check out the QuickTour, "Creating a Web Site," and the PagePlus Companion chapter, "Designing for the World Wide Web."
/J"Push" will get a person almost everywhere -- except through a door marked "Pull."
Double-click on the Link button of the selected frame to import text from your word-processor, or select the Text tool and click inside the frame to start typing.
For a few quick and handy symbols, try the following: Ctrl+Alt+8 for a bullet, Ctrl+Alt+T for a trademark symbol, Ctrl+Alt+C for Copyright.
Make sure that inside pages reflect the covers of a brochure.
/JNo network or e-mail? Try "sneakernet" -- i.e., transferring electronic information by physically carrying a disk from one PC to another. "Snail mail" is actual paper in the actual mail.
Use your co-workers and family as a second pair of design eyes.
The smaller the ad, the greater the need for simplicity and attention to detail.
Not satisfied with the quality of photos in your publications? Try the Photo Optimizer. Simply pick the best-looking printout from the array; PagePlus does the rest.
/J"If a hole is in the wrong place, then no amount of digging is going to put it in the right place." -- Edward de Bono.
"Reverse" is the typographer's term for white text on a black background. First draw a box (using one of the Box tools) and make it black (or a tint). Then place some text over the box. Now make the text white.
Double-click on PagePlus text to load the text into WritePlus.
/JPagePlus is a great way to create a personalized Valentine Card for your One True Love!
Take a look at a PagePlus frame on your page... Those dotted lines inside are left and right margins, and top and bottom margins ("column blinds"). You can adjust them by dragging them with your mouse.
One way of lining up objects is to place "ruler guides" on the page. You can create a ruler guide by clicking on either ruler. When snapping is on (click the Snapping button), objects automatically snap to ruler guides.
To create a file for a service bureau or printer, first install a PostScript printer driver using the Windows Control Panel. Then print your publication (using this driver) to File. The bureau does NOT need PagePlus, only the ability to output a PostScript file on a PC disk.
Use the crop tool to create effects like semi-circles and two-color text.
If snapping is on and you are creating, moving, or resizing an object, it will automatically jump (or "snap") to the nearest guide line or grid dot.
"Tint" is the typographer's term for a shade of a color (often a shade of black to make a gray). A tint is a percentage of color where 0% would be no color (usually white) and 100% would be a solid color (such as black).
To change the number of columns in a frame, use the shortcuts on the ChangeBar. To change the width of a column, just drag it with the mouse -- easy!
/J"If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there." -- Lewis Carroll.
For the latest Serif DTP product info, samples, and tips, check out the Serif and PagePlus Web sites. To visit anytime, choose either item from the Help menu. To set periodic access, use Tools/Preferences/General.
To step through the pages in your publication, click on the direction arrows on the Page area on the HintLine toolbar. Double-click to jump to the first or last page.
Beware power outages and brown-outs! Save Your Work! (AutoSave does this automatically for you -- is it on? Check Tools/Preferences/General.)
For folded documents, leave extra space in the center for staples by having a larger gutter.
Want to maximize your screen area for a quick print preview? Click the Print Preview button on the HintLine toolbar. This turns off the display of guides, frames, menus, and so on to give you a true representation of your publication.
PagePlus has integrated word-processing tools so you don't have to leave PagePlus if you don't want to. WritePlus is a simple story editor with search, spelling, and more. Double-click on text with the Text tool to start WritePlus.
You can LINK frames together to control text flow in PagePlus. Click on the Link button of the selected frame to display the Link/Unlink cursor. Click the Textflow cursor over another frame to link, or over a blank area to unlink.
Check to see if you got some free Web space with your Internet account. If so, why not create your own amazing Home page with PagePlus?
Organize each page around a single, dominant visual element such as a big picture or a big headline.
PagePlus can link many frames together to control how text flows in your publication. Each sequence of frames has its own text file, called a "story." You can have many stories in PagePlus and choose between them using the Text Manager on the Tools menu.
Almost every part of a frame can be clicked on and dragged to resize or move (be careful -- watch the mouse): columns, gutters, and the overall size. You can get some very unusual effects!
Did you know? In Europe the standard paper size is A4 (about 8.25" x 11.8") instead of Letter (8.5" x 11"). The equivalent of 5.5" x 8.5" (Letter folded in half) is A5, and the equivalent of 11" x 17" (two Letter pages) is A3.
/JThe first 90 percent of the task takes 90 percent of the time, the last 10 percent takes the other 90 percent.
Suggested Rule of Thumb for fonts: a maximum of four per publication or three for a single-page publication.
Use the ChangeBar's Size & Position tab for super-precise positioning and rotation.
To rotate in 45-degree multiples, hold down the Shift key while rotating. If you want an exact rotation angle, use the ChangeBar. Double-click with the Rotate tool to unrotate an object, or to rotate it again.
"Letterspacing" (or "tracking") is the typographer's term for adjusting the space between all characters in a paragraph of text. Less space between characters is "tighter" and more space is "looser."
Use PageHints to remind you of things in your publication.
/JTo cure hiccups, put your fingers in your ears and drink a glass of water. If you only have two hands, get a friend to feed you the water.
Moving a ruler also moves its "zero point" or origin. To keep the zero point in the same place, hold down the Shift key when you move the ruler.
"Crop" is the typographer's term for trimming away the unwanted parts of a picture. In PagePlus you can use the Crop tool to crop lines, boxes, and text too! To crop using the object's wrap outline, turn wrapping on and check "Crop object to outline" in the Wrap Settings dialog.
Numbers in most fonts take up a fixed space so that you can align them more easily. Sometimes you will need a comma/period space (Ctrl+Alt+,) and a digit space (Ctrl+Alt+1) in order to get a series of numbers aligned just right.
If you're not sure what typefaces and images you've used in your publication, choose Tools/Fonts and Pictures. This is especially helpful if you need to copy the publication and its resources to another PC (in another office, for example).
For Typographer's quotes (instead of " and ') make sure you switch on the "Smart Quotes" option. They look much better (except when you use a typewriter-like font such as Courier).
An En dash -- named because it's the length of an N -- is slightly longer than a hyphen and is used with compound words such as 'state-of-the-art.' The shortcut is Ctrl+Alt+N.
To draw amazing, wacky shapes in Paper Publishing mode: Start with a rectangle, use Layout/Wrap Settings... to turn "Crop to wrap outline" on, then use the Pointer tool to adjust the object's outline to any shape!
If you've edited a story and it's now too long or too short for its frame sequence, use the ChangeBar's AutoFit button to fit the story precisely into the available frames.
Before printing your publication or publishing your Web site, it's a good idea to use the PagePlus Layout Checker Wizard. This examines each page for any layout problems you might have missed...
Use a sans serif font when creating headlines, subheads, pull-quotes, captions, etc. Use serif fonts when creating blocks of text or when using small pointsizes.
"Font" vs. "typeface": Typeface refers to a family, and font refers to the varying faces within that family (such as regular, bold, italic, and bold-italic).
The most important articles need the largest headlines.
Double-click on the ruler intersection to move your rulers to a selected object. Double-click again to put the rulers back in their original position.
Another way of lining up objects is to use the dot grid. When snapping is on (click the Snapping button), objects automatically snap to grid dots. Double-click the Snapping button both to turn on the dot grid (check "Display grid dots") and adjust the spacing between dots.
Don't get confused between white and clear fill... even though they look the same on your page! But white is opaque and hides any object underneath, while clear is transparent and objects underneath show through.
If you're designing business stationery, don't forget to add the area code to your phone number. And don't forget to check ALL the phone numbers!
/JGolden Rule of the Arts and Sciences (GRASS): Whoever has the gold, makes the rules.
White space is like money -- you can never have enough of it!
Remember to type using a SINGLE space after a period or semi-colon, except for the rare case when you are trying to imitate a typewriter.
To prevent a word being hyphenated, set a hyphenation point (Ctrl+'-') before the first character of the word.
Use bold, outline, italics, underlining, and small caps sparingly -- they tend to reduce legibility.
"Gutter" is the space between columns.
Have you REGISTERED yet? Support, low-cost upgrades, the usual stuff... But we'd REALLY appreciate it (I mean, you do agree that this is one GREAT package, right?!)
Remember to watch the cursor for clues... Crop or resize a picture for example, and watch what the cursor does. It will change its shape depending on what it thinks you are trying to do!
Typographer's fixed spaces are called "em" and "en" spaces (Ctrl+Alt+M and Ctrl+Alt+N).
Using a named "style" is a quick way to change how text and graphics look. And if you change the style later, ALL the objects using that style automatically change!
If you can't read the text that you are typing on the page, double-click with the Text tool to bring up WritePlus, the text editor.
The best part of developing PagePlus is seeing what YOU, our customer, is doing with it! Please send us copies of your Club/Society Newsletter, honey jar labels, greeting cards, direct mail pieces, corporate stationery, or whatever...
Be careful with NARROW columns: it is very difficult to achieve good-looking text spacing. The narrower the column, the smaller your text size needs to be.
TIME spent checking your work saves MONEY later. Check and double-check. Don't forget that the Layout Checker and Proof Reader can help you... "He who proof-reads longest laughs loudest." -- Unknown DTP Guru.
Zoom in (using one of the Zoom buttons on the HintLine toolbar) for fine alignment work.
Typography is to the reader as tone of voice is to the listener.
Analyze good design around you; keep a file for inspiration. Resist the temptation to copy, but "borrowing" good ideas is a time-honored tradition!
Layperson's definition of "leading": spacing between lines of text.
Want more fonts and clip-art? Call us for details!
If you want an exact copy of a text-block or graphic, just hold down the Ctrl key while dragging the object to where you want the copy to be.
Next to headlines, captions are the most widely read part of a publication.
Even the smallest offending detail can sabotage a good design.
"Ragged" text is the typographer's term for text that is not justified. Align Left (or Ragged Right because all the right-hand line ends don't line up) is the most common text setting.
Text Wrap means text flowing around a shape. There's "regular" wrap (around a rectangular shape) and "irregular" wrap (around any shape). You can adjust the wrap outline by clicking and dragging. PagePlus also lets you wrap text INSIDE a shape!
PagePlus can import from your own word processor, or you can use the built-in features of WritePlus. Just double-click on a frame...
/JLord Falkland's Rule: When it is not necessary to make a decision, it is necessary not to make a decision.
"Justified" text is when the text fits exactly in your column width, so that EVERY line lines up on both the left AND right. (You might need to switch Hyphenation on.)
For great books on DTP and design, check out your bookstore for stuff by Roger Parker and Daniel Will-Harris...
Clicking on the rulers creates guidelines for accurate layout.
Once you've created your publication design, why not save the file as a TEMPLATE for later modifications? (See the Save As... options.)
When printing or copying at a local company: remember to specify the paper color, size, and weight (thickness) that you want.
When laying out a page, start with the grid -- i.e. headline space, text frame(s), columns, and guides -- before adding the content (the actual text and pictures).
You can find out what an interface button does by resting the mouse pointer over it for a moment. A Tool Tip will pop up to help you...
Do you want to use a logo (or other image) as a "watermark" or background? You'll need to reduce the intensity of the colors by changing the picture's shade (tint) percent value.
An effective logo will be recognized, not read. Make one with LogoPlus.
Shift-click to add (or remove) objects to (from) a multiple selection.
Objects, Objects, Objects. Everything on your page is an "object." PagePlus has text, frames, draw graphics (lines, boxes and ovals), LogoPlus art, and pictures.
/JIf you use too much yellow and black, your page will look like a bee.
You can create ruler guides by clicking (or dragging) on the rulers to help you align objects.
To scroll around the page without using scrollbars, you can use the Hand cursor (click the Panning button on the HintLine toolbar).
Click with the mouse pointer OFF the page to de-select all currently selected objects.
Do you need to print a booklet? Just make up your document in the normal way, and then choose the Booklet option in the Print dialog. This puts two pages on each printer sheet, and automatically sorts out the page order for you...
The Pasteboard is the area surrounding the PagePlus page. You can put any objects on the pasteboard and leave them until you want to move them on to your page. It's named after the traditional pasteboard used by newspaper layout artists for "cutting and pasting" the page together.
"Leading" is the typographer's term for line spacing. In PagePlus you can specify leading as a percent of the text size, or as a fixed value (such as 14 points). The first is the easy way, the second is the traditional way...
"Kerning" is the typographer's term for adjusting the space between two characters so they look better, usually with larger type or particular character combinations (like AV or WA). PagePlus has automatic pair kerning and interactive manual kerning.
"Point" and "pica" are traditional typographer's units of measurement. There are 12 points in a pica, and 72 points in an inch. Many values in PagePlus are specified in points, but you can also change to inches (or centimeters) if you prefer.
"Proofread": to check material for spelling, punctuation, alignment, and other details. Use the PagePlus proofing tools and layout checker... and always proofread important documents manually, too. A wrong phone number can be a costly mistake.
A "Drop Cap" is a big character at the start of an article.
/J"640K should be enough for anybody." --Bill Gates
That's All, Folks! (But you can edit the HINTS.TXT file to add your own -- or take ours away.)
