A Guide to QuarkXPress 2022

Importing a picture

To import a picture, do one of the following:

• Choose File > Import.

• Select the Picture Content tool , select a picture box, and then choose File > Import.

• Select the Picture Content tool , select a picture box, and then paste a picture from the clipboard.

• Drag a picture file from the file system onto a picture box.

• Drag a picture file from the file system onto a page.

• Drag a picture from another application onto a picture box.

• Press Command/Ctrl and drag a picture file from the file system onto a text box, a no-content box, an empty picture box, or a box that contains a picture.

• Press Command/Ctrl and drag a picture from another application onto a text box, a no-content box, an empty picture box, or a box that contains a picture.

If you drag content onto a box that already contains text or a picture, QuarkXPress creates a new box for the dragged content. To replace the contents of the box instead, press Command/Ctrl while dragging the content to the box. To always create a new box for dragged-in content, press Option/Alt while dragging.

When you import a picture, the image is imported at full size, with the origin (upper-left corner) in the upper-left corner of the box's bounding box. With the Picture Content tool selected, the picture's full image displays beyond the box boundary.

You may need to resize or reposition a picture after you import it to make it fit properly within its box.

• Choose File > Import.

• Drag a picture file from the file system onto a picture component. If the component contains a picture, press Command/Ctrl to replace it.

• Drag a picture from another application onto a picture component. If the component contains a picture, press Command/Ctrl to replace it.

• Drag a picture file from the file system onto a text component and press Command/Ctrl to make the component accept the picture.

• Drag a picture from another application onto a text component and press Command/Ctrl to make the component accept the picture.

Stock Images

QuarkXPress has a Stock Images Palette for users to search and use high resolution royalty-free images available on multiple online platforms like Unsplash, and Pexels. Users can add these images to the layout by simply drag and drop, and simultaneously downloading them locally. For future reference, users can add images from the Stock Images Palette to the Favorites collection.

Using Stock Images

Add Images

Enter the search keyword as per the requirements and browse for the desired images; the same can be selected, dragged, and dropped into the picture box.

This will also download images locally for future use. User can also simply select the picture box and double-click on the image in Stock Images Palette, which installs the image into the selected box. 

Favorite Images 

The image palette also allows tagging images as favorites for quick and easy access whenever needed. While hovering the cursor over the images, a heart-shaped icon appears to add the respective image to the favorite collection. Below the search bar, the heart-shaped icon on left shows the number of images in the favorite collections. To remove image(s) from favorites, click on the heart-shaped icon over the image and the count will reduce. 

Image Attributes 

On hovering the mouse over an image will show multiple icons for info, favorites, etc. On clicking the Info icon, the “Photo Information” dialog appears which contains information about the photographer, photographers’ profile, and various image-related information. In addition, users can visit a photographer's profile page by clicking on the links available in the same dialog box. This helps in avoiding any copyright infringement and in the approval of using the image without any modifications.

Image Download Location

User can change the default download location by selecting Download Options in Stock Image Palette Options and setting the custom location. 

By default, all images are downloaded at user/Pictures/Pexles OR user/Pictures/Unsplash folders respectively, as per the image source selected while adding into the layout. 

Images that are downloaded once from the Stock Images Palette will be saved in the system when the user drags and drops the same image from Stock Images Palette, the image already downloaded gets installed on the layout.

Creating and Managing Stock Image Collections

Create and manage custom collections of images from Unsplash and Pexels, and add all related images. Also, edit the names of collections, and remove collections when no longer desired.

Adding/Deleting Images to/from Collections

An image may be added to multiple collections. Likewise, images may be deleted from one or more collections if no longer required. Created collections may be selected from the palette so that images within that collection will be displayed only in the palette.

Adding Images to Favorites from Collections

An image can be added to Favorites directly from a Collection by clicking the Favorites icon. Add to Collection icon turns Green when an image is added in the Collection and the Favorites icon turns to Red when the image is added to the Favorites.

Attributing Images

Include the photographer’s name within the layout, ensuring proper attribution. Open the Info dialog, and click on the Copy icon next to the photographer’s name, which copies it to the clipboard.

Spring Loading on Cursor

QuarkXPress supports "spring loading" of images and text on the cursor. This allows you to select multiple files (picture or text) at one time, and then place them into the layout one after the other - either into existing boxes, or creating new boxes dynamically - without needing to return to the Import dialog.

• In the import dialog, you can select multiple images or text or combination of images and text files to import.

• The cursor will change to show you a thumbnail of the next file to place, and a counter showing how many more files are waiting on the cursor to place; allowing you to click onto the document page and place them as desired.

• You can import into an existing box by clicking on it, or create a new box - which will be created according to the image size for pictures, or between the margins for text boxes - by clicking onto an empty area of the page.

• You can drag and drop files onto document canvas to spring load the files onto the cursor.

• You can replace the image/text by pressing the Command+Shift or Ctrl+Shift and click on the box.

• You can cycle through the images/text by using the arrow keys in the keyboard.

• The user may append to existing text box content by using Cmd+Shift or Ctrl+Shift key and click in between the story, the story will flow from the clicked location.

• User may add additional items to spring-loaded cursor by selecting additional files in the import dialog.

• You can have different spring-loaded cursor for different layout or project.

• When you drag and drop a text file to a QuarkXPress layout, a new text box will be created automatically and it will always fit within the page margins.

• When the user drops into a box irrespective of whether it has any existing content or not, it will create a new box above existing box and image/text will be placed in it. It will not replace the existing content.

• When the user drops the image into other box types (none/text), it will create a new box and place the text/image in the newly created box.

• User can remove spring-loaded items from the cursor by the Escape key.

• You can undo and redo the placement of images and text dropped through spring loading cursor.

   

  The thumbnail preview is only available for images in this version of QuarkXPress.

   

  In case you want to use the legacy Drag and Drop behavior, you need to press the Shift key while dragging the image/ text file. 

Spring Loading Progress Bar

While dragging and dropping text files and images to the QuarkXPress layout, a spring loading progress bar is displayed for the files which are getting loaded into the cursor. Once the files are loaded into the cursor, the user can drop into the layout or selected box. 

Moving pictures

You can move pictures inside their boxes with:

• the Picture Content tool

• the Measurements palette

With the Picture Content tool selected, you can click any part of an image, regardless of its position in its box. You can also nudge a picture in its box by using the arrow keys. 

Resizing pictures

You can scale pictures to make them larger or smaller using:

• the Picture Content tool

• the Measurements palette

• the Style menu

After importing a picture into a box, you can choose Fit Box to Picture and Scale Picture to Box from the context menu (or Style menu). Press the Shift key while resizing a picture with the Picture Content tool to resize the picture proportionately.

You can scale pictures to make them larger or smaller by clicking and dragging the round picture handles on the corners and sides of the picture. Press the Shift key while resizing a picture to resize the picture proportionately. Press Shift+Option/Shift+Alt while dragging a corner handle to resize the picture proportionately from the center. You can also scale pictures using the Style menu, the Measurements palette, or the context menu.

To scale a picture proportionally so that its largest dimension fits inside the picture component, choose Scale Picture to Box from the context menu or Style menu. To scale a picture proportionally so that it completely fills the picture component, choose Scale Picture to Fill Box from the context menu or Style menu.

Cropping pictures

If you only want a portion of your image to display, you can manually crop it by adjusting the size of the box.

Rotating and skewing pictures

Rotating a picture sets it at a different angle within the box, while skewing a picture applies a slanted look to it.

To rotate a picture, select the Picture Content tool and move the mouse over one of the picture's corner handles. A Rotation pointer displays according to the selected corner. Drag the pointer to rotate the picture. You can also enter rotate values for a picture in the Picture Angle field of the Measurements palette (Home tab).

To skew a picture, enter a value in the Picture Skew field of the Measurements palette (Home tab).

To rotate a picture, move the mouse over one of the picture's corner handles. A Rotation pointer displays according to the selected corner. Drag the pointer to rotate the picture. You can also enter rotate values for a picture in the Picture Angle field of the Measurements palette (Home/Classic tab).

To skew a picture, enter a value in the Picture Skew field of the Measurements palette (Home/Classic tab).

Coloring and shading pictures

You can apply color and shade values to the shadows and middle tones of black-and-white and grayscale pictures using the Colors palette (Window > Colors), (Style > Picture), the Measurements palette, or the Style menu. You can also apply color to the picture background and the box background.

• To apply color to a black-and-white or grayscale picture, select the Picture Color icon and click a color name.

• To apply color to the background of a black-and-white or grayscale picture, select the Picture Background Color icon and click a color name.

Flipping pictures

You can flip the contents of a picture box from left to right and from top to bottom using the Style menu (Style > Flip Horizontal or Style > Flip Vertical) or the Home tab of the Measurements palette (click the flip horizontal icon or the flip vertical icon ).

Listing, verifying status of, and updating pictures

The Usage feature (Utilities menu) lets you keep track of all your imported pictures. To use this feature, choose Utilities > Usage, then click Pictures to display the Pictures pane.

The Show button displays the selected picture in the layout.

The Update button lets you relink to another image or update the missing and modified pictures. To update modified pictures without a confirmation alert, Option+click/Alt+click the Update button.

Specifying background colors for pictures

To increase your design options with pictures, you can modify box color, picture color, and picture background color. See "Coloring and shading pictures" for more information.

• For gray pixels, the picture color and picture background color are mixed.

• If you specify different opacities for the picture color or picture background color, the colors will interact with each other and the box color.

Maintaining picture attributes

When you import a picture into a picture box — whether or not the picture box already contains a picture — you can retain all picture attributes. For example, if an empty picture box in a template specifies that the picture should be scaled 50% and rotated 90 degrees, you can import a new picture and those attributes are automatically applied.

To import a picture and retain the attributes specified for the box and/or the existing picture, check Maintain Picture Attributes in the Import dialog box (File menu).

To import a picture and retain the attributes specified for the component and/or the existing picture, check Maintain Picture Attributes in the Import dialog box (File menu).

Editing the raster image

You can edit imported raster images right in QuarkXPress . The options that are enabled depend on the color mode of the image. For instance, Invert will only be available for 1 Bit images.

To edit the raster image of the imported picture in QuarkXPress :

1. Select the image you want to edit.

2. Display the Image Editing palette (Window > Image Editing).

   

3. Edit the image using the controls on the palette. As you apply effects to the selected image, you will see the effects immediately in the layout. The effects you have applied to the image will be listed on the palette. You can rearrange the order in which the effects are applied (on Windows by dragging them into position and on Mac OS using the up/down arrows next to the applied effects) as well as delete any you do not want.

   

The picture effects are applied as non-destructive effects and will be applied upon output. You can save the picture with or without the picture effects applied. (File > Export Picture).

Using the Picture Export Options palette, select the applied picture effects you want to save with the picture and specify the following attributes:

• Maximum Resolution

• Pictue Box Bleed

• Color Mode

• Format

You can also choose to Overwrite Original Picture and Link Layout to New Picture.

Creating clipping paths

To create or assign a clipping path, choose Item > Clipping on Windows, and then choose an option from the Type drop-down menu, or use the Clipping tab on the Measurements palette on Mac OS X:

• Choose Item to crop an image to the box boundaries. Choosing Item does not create a clipping path; it simply crops the picture to its box.

• Choose Item to crop an image to the picture component boundaries. Choosing Item does not create a clipping path; it simply crops the picture to its picture component.

• Choose Embedded Path to clip a picture around a path already embedded in the picture file. Choose a path from the Path drop-down menu if the picture file contains more than one embedded path.

• Choose Alpha Channel to clip a picture around an alpha channel already embedded in a picture file. Choose an alpha channel from the Alpha drop-down menu if the picture file contains more than one embedded alpha channel. Note that using a clipping path around an alpha channel will create a hard edge rather than a blended effect. If you want a semi-opaque blend, use an alpha mask. (See "Working with alpha masks.")

• Choose Non-White Areas to create a clipping path based on the picture's subject. Depending on the image and the value in the Threshold field, the clipping path will outline a non-white figure within a larger white or near-white image (or vice versa). The Non-White Areas option works best when the unwanted parts of the image are much lighter than the subject itself (or vice versa).

• Choose Picture Bounds to clip a picture around the rectangular "canvas area" of the imported picture file. This includes any white background areas saved with the original picture file. Enter values in the Top, Left, Bottom, and Right fields to determine the outset of the clipping path from the picture's boundaries. Positive values increase the outset, and negative values decrease the outset.

Using embedded clipping paths

You can use image-editing applications to embed paths and alpha channels in an image. If a picture storing this information is imported into QuarkXPress, you can access the path and channel information using the Clipping tab of the Measurements palette on.

TIFFs and PSDs can have embedded paths and alpha channels. EPS, BMP, JPEG, and PICT files can only have embedded paths.

Manipulating clipping paths

After you apply a clipping path, choose Item > Edit > Clipping Path to enable clipping path editing. Then choose one of the following tools: The Select Point tool , the Add Point tool , the Remove Point tool , and the Convert Point tool . For more information, see "Tools."

You can also manipulate clipping paths with the controls in the Measurements palette. To change a point from one type to another, use one of the following three buttons:

• Symmetrical Point : A symmetrical point connects two curved lines to form a continuous curve. The result is similar to a smooth point, but the curve handles always rest on a straight line through the point and are always equidistant from the point.

• Smooth Point : A smooth point connects two curved lines to form a continuous curve. The curve handles always rest on a straight line through the point, but they can be distanced independently.

• Corner Point : A corner point connects two straight lines, a straight line and a curved line, or two noncontinuous curved lines. With curved lines, the corner point's curve handles can be manipulated independently, usually to form a sharp transition between the two segments.

To change the character of a line segment, use one of the following buttons:

• Straight Segment : Makes the active segment straight.

• Curved Segment : Makes the active segment curved.

Creating special effects with clipping paths

Various options in the Clipping tab let you invert a clipping path or specify whether a picture is clipped using outside edges only, or whether the picture is contained within its box. You can create special effects such as making visible regions transparent and transparent regions visible, allowing holes within a path, cropping the picture to the edges of the picture box, or removing portions of the clipping path that fall outside the box borders.

Preparing PSD files

When you're preparing pictures in Photoshop for use with Advanced Image Control, you need to keep a few things in mind:

• You do not need to save the image in another file format, which means that you don't have to flatten the layers.

• Create alpha channels or clipping paths for any contours that you might want to wrap text around.

• Create channels for areas where you might want to apply a different spot color or varnish.

• Advanced Image Control cannot read layer information for certain images — including those that use layer effects. The composite image is used instead.

Working with PSD layers

Experimenting with layers allows you to see different images within the context of the entire layout. In addition, you can modify the opacity of a layer and try different blend modes — such as dissolve, lighten, and difference — to see how these effects work with the rest of a design.

You can use the Layers pane of the Advanced Image Control palette to show, hide, blend, and change the opacity of layers within PSD pictures. The Advanced Image Control palette displays information about how the picture file was created, but does not allow you to make fundamental changes to the picture file:

• You cannot create, name, copy, duplicate, align, reposition, delete, or merge layers using the Layers pane.

• If there are no layers in the PSD file, the Advanced Image Control palette shows only the background layer.

Working with PSD channels

Photoshop channels store color information about images. By default, grayscale and indexed color images have one channel, RGB images have three channels, and CMYK images have four channels. These are referred to collectively as the default channels. You can use the Channels pane of the Advanced Image Control palette to show and hide all channels, to change the color and ink solidity of a selected spot-color channel or alpha channel, and to assign spot colors to selected indexed colors. For example, you might assign special effects such as varnishes, embossing, and die cuts to channels.

Working with PSD paths

You can also use PSD Import to choose among embedded paths for specifying clipping and runaround. The Paths pane in the Advanced Image Control palette provides convenient access to the clipping-path and text-runaround functions in QuarkXPress

Using the Paths pane, you can select different clipping paths to use for text runaround contours. To select a text runaround contour, click the empty box in the first column. The Text Runaround icon displays and the text wraps around the contours of the clipping path.

You also can use the Paths pane to control the display of an image by selecting a clipping path you created in Photoshop. To select a clipping path, click in the empty box in the second column. The Clipping Path icon displays and the area of the picture within the selected clipping path displays.

You can reverse any changes you make to paths in PSD Import. The paths will revert to their original state as they were created in the imported PSD file. To do this, choose Revert Path or Revert All Paths from the Advanced Image Control palette or context menu.

Printing PSD pictures

When you print a layout using Advanced Image Control, you can specify the layers, channels, and paths within each PSD picture to print. Since the eye icon in the Advanced Image Control palette controls both display and printing, pictures print as they display.