A Guide to QuarkXPress 2022

Sharing and synchronizing content

To share and synchronize boxes, lines, groups, and content:

1. Display the Content palette (Window menu).

2. Select the items you want to synchronize.

3. Click Add Item in the Content palette. If one item is selected, the Shared Item Properties dialog box displays. If multiple objects are selected, the Share Multiple Items dialog box displays.

   

   If Automatically show selected items in the layout is checked, you can navigate to an item by clicking its name in the list.

   Only the attributes of shared lines can be synchronized.

4. To share the characteristics of a selected item, check Synchronize Box Attributes for that item.

5. To share the text or picture in a selected item, check Synchronize Content for that box. To share both the text or picture and its formatting, click or choose Content and Attributes. To share only the text or picture, click or choose Content Only. See "Understanding synchronization options" for box and content options.

6. Click OK to add the selected items to the Content palette.

   

Understanding synchronization options

When you add items and content to the Content palette, you can choose various synchronization options in the Shared Item Properties dialog box.

• To synchronize the content of the selected text box, text path, or picture box without synchronizing the box or path itself, uncheck Synchronize Box Attributes and check Synchronize Content. Text synchronized in this way must be dragged into a text box or path, and pictures synchronized in this way must be dragged into a picture box.

• You can synchronize the text or picture and its content attributes (such as, formatting for text and scaling, rotation, and effects for pictures) by clicking or choosing Content and Attributes.

• You can synchronize the text or picture while allowing unique content attribute edits by clicking or choosing Content Only. If you do this, the text or picture can be formatted differently in different parts of the project. But if you edit the text or update the picture in one place, that change is made everywhere.

• To synchronize a text box, text path, or picture box and its attributes without synchronizing its contents, check Synchronize Box Attributes and uncheck Synchronize Content. For example, assume you do this with a text or picture box, and then drag out two copies of the box. If you then resize and add a frame to one of the boxes, the other box is automatically resized and acquires the same frame. You may, however, import different content into each box.

To synchronize item attributes, content, and content attributes, check Synchronize Box Attributes and Synchronize Content, and click or choose Content and Attributes. If you synchronize two boxes this way, any change made to one is automatically made to the other, including changes to box size, contents, and formatting.

Placing a synchronized item

To place a synchronized item or group:

1. Select the target entry in the Content palette.

2. Drag the Content palette entry onto the page.

Placing synchronized content

To place synchronized content:

1. Select a text box, text path, or picture box.

2. Select the text or picture content entry in the Content palette and click Insert. Note how the item's resizing handles change to synchronization symbols. You can also drag the text or picture entry from the Content palette to an active text box, text path, or picture box.

You can also drag the text or picture entry from the Content palette to an active text box, text path, or picture box.

Importing content into the shared content library

In addition to importing text or pictures into text or picture boxes, you can import content directly into the Content palette using the Content palette's Import button . However, this button is available only when you select a text content icon or picture content icon in the Content palette.

Understanding Composition Zones

A Composition Zones item is a layout or user-defined area within a layout that can be shared with other QuarkXPress users.

Imagine a layout artist in charge of the QuarkXPress project files for a magazine. The layout artist can use Composition Zones to share content with writers, editors, graphic artists, and remote contributors who also use QuarkXPress.

Using QuarkXPress, the layout artist can "draw out" the area of the project for an ad using the Composition Zones tool and then export that Composition Zones item as a separate file. The resulting file includes the correct specs, and this approach saves steps when the remote ad creator receives the file. The ad creator works in QuarkXPress to add the content and then returns the file — along with necessary graphics and fonts — to the layout artist. The layout artist then places the updated file in the proper folder, and the layout is updated automatically to show the ad. And because the Composition Zones item works just like a QuarkXPress layout, the layout artist can open the file to make changes.

Meanwhile, the layout artist can designate another Composition Zones item for an article on the same page as the ad. The layout artist draws three boxes: One for the headline, one for the body of the article, and one for a picture. Using the Shift key to select all three boxes, the layout artist creates a new Composition Zones file from those three boxes, exports that file, and then notifies the writer that the file is available in the staff's shared network folder. As the writer works with the file and saves each updated version, the updates display in the layout artist's project. And like the advertisement, the article can be edited later in the project.

The scenario above shows the primary uses for Composition Zones, but the feature can accommodate other collaborative workflow issues as well. For example, Composition Zones can be restricted to the project where they are defined, which you might want to do for a number of reasons. Perhaps the layout artist wants to use an ad in more than one place in the project, and the ad might include multiple text and picture boxes. You cannot use the Content palette to synchronize a group of items, but if the layout artist creates a Composition Zones item based on a selection of multiple items, that Composition Zones item becomes synchronized and available for use throughout the project. Maybe the layout artist designates one layout for the printed magazine and another layout in the same project for a digital page that includes the ad. The layout artist can restrict the use of this Composition Zones item to this single project, but the ad can match exactly in print and digital output.

Composition Zones terminology

Composition Zones are unique because they have the characteristics of items when you place them in a layout, but they behave like layouts when you edit their contents.

• Composition Zones item: An item that shows the contents of a layout that exists elsewhere. You can think of a Composition Zones item as a "window" through which you can see the contents of a different layout. The layout shown in a Composition Zones item is called its composition layout (see next definition). Each Composition Zones item gets its content from one (and only one) composition layout.

• Composition layout: A special kind of layout that is used only to provide contents for a Composition Zones item. You can think of a composition layout as the layout that is visible through the "window" of a Composition Zones item. Multiple synchronized Composition Zones items can display the contents of a single composition layout. However, a composition layout can be edited by only one person at a time.

• Original Composition Zones item: The initial layout or user-defined area from which a Composition Zones item was created.

• Placed Composition Zones item: A Composition Zones item that you have positioned in a layout using the Content palette.

• Original host layout: The layout where a Composition Zones item was created.

• Host layout: Any layout into which a Composition Zones item has been placed.

Creating a Composition Zones item

You can use three methods to create a Composition Zones item (and its corresponding composition layout):

• You can select multiple objects and then choose Item > Composition Zones > Create.

• You can designate an entire layout as a Composition Zones item.

• You can select the Composition Zones tool and manually outline the space for your Composition Zones item.

The following topics show all three methods for creating a Composition Zones item, in this case for exclusive use within one project (that is, a single-project composition layout).

Managing multiple pages in a placed Composition Zones item

A composition layout may contain multiple pages. However, a Composition Zones item based on that composition layout can show only one page at a time. To indicate which page to show in a Composition Zones item:

1. Select the Composition Zones item.

2. Click on the Home Tab of the Measurements palette.

3. Page drop-down list is displayed. You can choose any page number by selecting in drop-down list.

   

    

Editing the attributes of a Composition Zones item

To edit the attributes of a Composition Zones item:

1. Select a Composition Zones item.

2. Click on the Home tab of the Measurements palette.

3. Specify positioning, size, alignment, color, opacity, and printing ability.

4. Use the Border, Runaround, and Drop Shadow tabs to make other structural adjustments.

5. Use the Layout tab to navigate between pages, suppress or enable printing, and adjust layout opacity.

Converting a Composition Zones item to a picture

To create an external picture file from a Composition Zones item, choose Item > Composition Zones > Convert to Picture. This creates a picture appropriate for the layout type within which the Compositions Zones was created.

Before you convert a Composition Zones item to a picture, the Composition Zones item displays in the Composition Zones pane of the Usage dialog box (Utilities menu). But when you choose Item > Composition Zones > Convert to Picture, an alert indicates that the Composition Zones item will become unsynchronized. The resulting picture displays in the Picture pane of the Usage dialog box. However, the composition layout remains in the Content palette.

Unsynchronizing a Composition Zones item

When you unsynchronize a Composition Zones item, its composition layout remains available in your project. To unsynchronize a Composition Zones item:

1. Select the Composition Zones item in the layout window.

2. Choose Item > Unsynchronize. The composition layout remains in the Content palette for future use. But subsequent changes to the unsynchronized Composition Zones items in the layout window will not be synchronized.