When QuarkXPress opens documents, there are two types of possible warnings that inform the user of differences between internal QuarkXPress settings and the contents of the document. These warnings appear when the XPress Preferences differ from the document's settings and when the document contains foreign language hyphenation.
In both cases, SpeedOpen can be useful to avoid these messages. SpeedOpen adds a submenu to the Utilities menu that contains the two items Settings… and Hyphenation language…. The first item enables you to define a default behaviour for differing preferences, the second item lets you set the hyphenation language in your document to the language of your QuarkXPress version.
The following paragraphs give a detailed description of these two features.
1. XPress Preferences
Some settings of QuarkXPress are stored in the current document as well as in a special file, the "XPress Preferences" file, that is located in the QuarkXPress folder. These settings include:
Kerning and tracking tables
Hyphenation exceptions
custom frames
The settings stored in the preferences file are used as defaults for new documents. Thus, you don't have to enter, for instance, standard hyphenation exceptions for each document you create.
If you make changes to these settings, older documents can not be brought up to date automatically. Therefore, it may happen that the settings in the document do not match the settings stored in the preferences file. In such a case, QuarkXPress shows a dialog that offers two possibilities:
• Use XPress preferences: The settings in the document are replaced by the settings in the preferences file. The appearance of the document may change.
• Keep document settings: QuarkXPress uses the settings stored in the document. The document remains unchanged, but changes to these settings only affect the document and are not stored in the preferences file.
The "SpeedOpen-Settings" dialog
SpeedOpen offers you the ability to specify a default behaviour for the case of different settings. The command Utilities:SpeedOpen:Settings… opens a dialog that shows three options:
Keep Document Settings
Use XPress Preferences
Show Dialog.
The option Keep Document Settings is, for example, recommended for service bureaus, where many documents from different sources and with different settings are opened. In such a case, it is most important that the documents and their appearance remain unchanged. The preferences file is not necessarily used.
The option Use XPress Preferences is suitable, if you work with documents only that you created yourself. Your documents could, for example, use a common set of hyphenation exceptions. If you add a new exception during the work with one of your documents, this exception is also stored in the preferences file. The next time you open another document, the preferences and the new exceptions are applied to this document automatically.
The option Show Dialog is equivalent to the standard QuarkXPress behaviour.
The two options Max. display time (sec.) and Beep on activation specify, how SpeedOpen signals that it suppressed the differing preferences dialog. If you specify a maximum display time between 1 and 60 seconds, SpeedOpen opens an information window showing the active setting used to open the given document. This window is closed when the maximum display time is over or when the display of the document is completed. Pressing the option key while the window is displayed keeps it open until the key is released.
If a maximum display time of 0 seconds is entered, no window is displayed.
The option Beep on activation produces a beep, when SpeedOpen becomes active.
The check box Show XTension Icon on Startup specifies, whether the SpeedOpen icon appears when QuarkXPress is started.
2. Hyphenation language
When QuarkXPress opens a document that contains text with a hyphenation language other then the language of your QuarkXPress version, it displays a warning. To avoid this message during the further work with the document, you can use SpeedOpen to set the hyphenation language of the document to the language of your QuarkXPress version. This is done by selecting the menu item Utilities:SpeedOpen:Hyphenation language… and confirming the command.
SpeedOpen is Freeware
You may copy and distribute SpeedOpen as long as you do not change, add or remove parts of the program, and as long as you don't charge any fee for the distribution.
SpeedOpen is Copyright 1993, CART·Computer+Grafik, Neuss, Germany.
CART·Computer+Grafik also develops custom-built XTensions that fit your needs. If you have any problem in or around QuarkXPress that can be solved with XTensions or stand-alone applications, we would be pleased to help you.
If you have questions, suggestions or criticisms, please contact:
