A Guide to QuarkXPress 2022

Installing XTensions modules

QuarkXPress ships with a default set of XTensions modules. You can also install additional XTensions software developed by Quark or by third-party companies.

macOS

QuarkXPress is released as an “App Bundle” for macOS. In order to make this possible, all of the supporting folders, including the default XTensions, have been moved inside the self-contained app bundle. QuarkXPress will load third party XTensions from the following two locations:

• ~/Library/Application Support/Quark/QuarkXPress <version>/XTensions

• /Library/Application Support/Quark/QuarkXPress <version>/XTensions

If the XTension is placed in the main library path, it will be available to all the users on that Mac. If deployed in the user’s library path, the XTension will only be available to that particular user. If the same XTension exists in both of these locations, then the one in the user’s library location will get the preference.

Windows

To install XTensions modules on Windows, place them in the XTensions folder within your application folder. Newly installed XTensions modules will load the next time you launch.

Enabling and disabling XTensions modules

You might want to disable XTensions modules if you are short on memory or for troubleshooting purposes. To enable or disable an XTensions module, first choose Utilities > XTensions Manager to display the XTensions Manager dialog box.

To enable a module, check the box next to its name in the Enable column. To disable a module, uncheck its box. The change takes effect the next time you launch the application.

Working with XTensions sets (Windows only)

If you find that you frequently enable and disable particular groups of XTensions modules, you can create an XTensions set that makes it easy to switch between these groups.

To create an XTensions group, first display the XTensions Manager dialog box (Utilities menu) and enable the XTensions modules you want in the group. Then click Save As and enter a name for the group. When you want to switch to this group, simply display the XTensions Manager dialog box and choose the group's name from the Set drop-down menu.

You can also import and export XTensions sets with the Import and Export buttons, for situations where you want to share them with other users.

Box Tools submenu

This topic describes the AppleScript scripts available through the Box Tools submenu of the Scripts menu when Script XTensions software is installed.

• Use Add Crop Marks to place crop marks around the selected box.

• Use Easy Banner to create a "banner" (text box) in the top-left corner of a selected box; you specify the text in the banner.

• Use Make Caption Box to create a caption box (text box) below the selected box.

• Use Shrink or Grow at Center to resize a box from the box's center, rather than from its origin (the 0,0 coordinates).

Grid submenu

This topic describes the AppleScript scripts available through the Grid submenu of the Scripts menu when Script XTensions software is installed.

Use By Dividing a Box to create a grid of boxes based on the dimensions of the selected box.

Images submenu

This topic describes the AppleScript scripts available through the Images submenu of the Scripts menu when Script XTensions software is installed.

• Use Contents to PICT File to save the PICT preview of the selected picture to a file.

• Use Copy to Folder to save a copy of the picture in the selected picture box to a specified folder.

• Use Fldr to Select PBoxes to import picture files from a specified folder into selected picture boxes. Pictures are imported in alphabetical order.

Picture Box submenu

This topic describes the AppleScript scripts available through the Picture Box submenu of the Scripts menu when Script XTensions software is installed.

• Use Crop Marks & Name to place crop marks around the active picture box and enter the name of the picture file into a text box below the picture box.

• Use Place Name to enter the name of a picture into a text box below the picture box that contains the picture.

• Use Set All Bkgnd None to change the background color of every picture box in the layout to None.

• Use Set All Bkgnd to change the background of every picture box in the layout to a specified color and shade.

Saving submenu

This topic describes the AppleScript scripts available through the Saving submenu of the Scripts menu when Script XTensions software is installed.

Use Each Page as EPS to save each page of the layout as an individual EPS file with a color TIFF preview.

• To save the pages of the active layout as EPS files, click Active.

• To save the pages of a layout in a different project, click Choose to display the Choose a File dialog box, navigate to the target project, and then click Choose. The script saves the pages of whichever layout was active when the project was last saved.

Special submenu

This topic describes the AppleScript scripts available through the Special submenu of the Scripts menu when Script XTensions software is installed.

• Use Move to Scripts Folder to copy or move a selected AppleScript script to a selected folder within the "Scripts" folder.

• Use Open Apple Events Scripting PDF to open "A Guide to Apple Events Scripting.pdf." This PDF file contains detailed information about writing AppleScript scripts for QuarkXPress.

• Use Open QuarkXPress Folders to open specified folders within the QuarkXPress folder.

Stories submenu

This topic describes the AppleScript scripts available through the Stories submenu of the Scripts menu when Script XTensions software is installed.

• Use Link Selected Text Boxes to link selected text boxes. The text chain order is based on the stacking order of the text boxes.

• To or From XPress Tags converts the text in the selected box to "XPress Tags" codes, or from "XPress Tags" codes to formatted text (the text is formatted using "XPress Tags" codes). This script requires that the "XPress Tags" Filter be loaded.

• Unlink Selected Boxes breaks the links between selected text boxes while retaining the position of the text in the text chain.

Tables submenu

This topic describes the AppleScript scripts available through the Tables submenu of the Scripts menu when Script XTensions software is installed.

• Use Row or Column Color to apply a specified color and shade to every other row or column in a table.

Typography submenu

This topic describes the AppleScript scripts available through the Typography submenu of the Scripts menu when Script XTensions software is installed.

• Use Baseline Grid +1pt to increase the size of the baseline grid (the space between gridlines) by 1 point.

• Use Baseline Grid –1pt to decrease the size of the baseline grid (the space between gridlines) by 1 point.

• Use Columns & Gutter Width to set the columns and gutter width (space between columns) for a selected text box.

• Use Make Fractions to convert all instances of numbers on either side of a slash (for example, ½) into formatted fractions.

• Use Set Textbox Insets to specify the text box inset values for each side of the selected text box.