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Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!pad-thai.aktis.com!pad-thai.aktis.com!not-for-mail From: "Geof Peters (TRUTH)" <TRUTH@corral.uwyo.edu> Newsgroups: bit.listserv.pagemakr,alt.aldus.pagemaker,alt.answers,news.answers Subject: Pagemaker Frequently Asked Questions, part 2/2 Supersedes: <pagemaker-faq/part2_740980807@GZA.COM> Followup-To: poster Date: 6 Aug 1993 00:00:28 -0400 Organization: none Lines: 507 Sender: faqserv@GZA.COM Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu Expires: 1 Oct 1993 04:00:20 GMT Message-ID: <pagemaker-faq/part2_744609620@GZA.COM> References: <pagemaker-faq/part1_744609620@GZA.COM> NNTP-Posting-Host: pad-thai.aktis.com 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 in part one or FTP to the site listed in the header below. X-Last-Updated: 1993/05/13 Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu bit.listserv.pagemakr:1108 alt.aldus.pagemaker:576 alt.answers:664 news.answers:11073 Archive-name: pagemaker-faq/part2 Last-modified: 1993/05/10 Version: 26 This is part two of the Frequently Asked Questions listing for the Pagemaker Bitnet Listserv. This file can be retrieved in its entirity along with other Pagemaker related documents via anonymous FTP at Wuarchive.Wustl.Edu in the doc/misc/pagemakr directory. Please see part one of the FAQ for more information. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 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 4.x adds the advantage of being able to rotate text at 90 degree increments. Unfortunately, Pagemaker 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, 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. Luckily, Pagemaker 5.0 has greater rotation abilities. --> 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 assitance 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 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? --------------------------------------------------------------------- + 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 appliction 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 useage 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.) --> 20. 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). 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. 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 (I think) it will 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. --> 21. How do I convert from one 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, there is not a great deal of hope (the good 'old "getting the E back into the EPS" problem.) 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. --> 22. How do I import Wordperfect Equations? --------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 so it is mainly guesswork to position the equation in your Pagemaker document. --> 30. 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 qustion #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. --> 31. How can I obtain public domain fonts? --------------------------------------------------------------------- There are many places offering public domain fonts. The ones listed under question 6 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?). --> 32. 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. 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. --> 33. 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. --> 34. 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. 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. --> 35. 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. The important thing is not to use them simultaneously. Though the documentation says these two technologies are compatible, that isn't always the case and results can be unpredictable when you print a publication. --> 40. How do I get rid of Unrecoverable Application Errors? (UAEs) --------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. Windows 3.1 does claim to have ceased UAE's when in actuality they are just "System Errors" now. (When the computer locks up, its all the same to me!) But you will notice less of a frequency. 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. 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) I, personally, had trouble with Norton Desktop on a 386SX. The number of UAE's drastically increased. V) 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.) VI) Give up ATM 2.0. There are some people who feel that it is buggy. I leave that decision to you. 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. --> 41. 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. --> 42. I can only see 27 fonts on my font listing. How can I see more? --------------------------------------------------------------------- You are limited to seeing 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). --> 43. I am having trouble printing to my Postscript printer. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 postcript printer setup, but I can't guarantee that it is the same as the hint for 3.0. --> 44. 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 new PostScript driver (3.5.3) 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 regretably not * for the Imperial sizes.) It also adds some more printer descriptions * and speeds the printing of compressed bitmaps slightly --> 45. When I switch back to PM 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 cancelling. This * forces windows to remap the palette. You can do this easily by control * clicking one of the items in the color palette window. --> 50. 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". --> 51. 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 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. --> 52. 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. --> 53. I am trying to install PM, but it keeps asking for Disk 1. --------------------------------------------------------------------- There is a bug with certain System 7's when you are attempting to install Pagemaker. 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!