====================================================================== PAGEMAKER LISTSERV FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS LIST ====================================================================== 1. INTRODUCTION, WELCOME, AND DISCLAIMER 1.1 Welcome --------------------------------------------------------------------------- January 3, 1994 Welcome! The following is a posting of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list for the PAGEMAKR Bitnet list, posted every 6 weeks (or so) on the PageMaker list. It is also cross-posted with several Usenet groups. Please feel free to pass this posting onto fellow PageMaker-ers. Originally, this list was intended to provide answers for commonly asked questions in the discussion group. I hope that every new subscriber to the list will read this FAQ before posting. Recently, the FAQ has expanded more to be a general help guide for using PageMaker. This FAQ is now distributed in several varieties: WinHelp, Mosaic/HTML, and straight ASCII text. If you would like a hypertexted version of the FAQ, please ftp to one of the FTP sites mentioned in question 3.9. (Note: these may not be ready yet at the time of posting of the text version.) Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any comments or corrections. I would prefer it if you would e-mail me directly (keep down my embarrassment :-) -- unless you feel it is a grave enough error that it deserves public scrutiny. What is mentioned in here is by no means the end to all discussion, but rather the beginning. Lastly, as a reminder to those list members, please use the TAN: (for tangent) prefix in your subject line when posting to the Pagemakr List about something not directly pertaining to PageMaker or the operations of the list. Thank you! Also, if you are posting from Usenet, please keep in mind that this is mainly a listserv and thus your postings are sent directly to our e-mail mailboxes, so please be careful on what you post. 1.2 Latest News --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Many things have changed since the last posting of the FAQ. Perhaps most importantly, Aldus and Adobe have announced their intentions to merge. Many exciting things are just around the corner! Recently we had a contest as to the resulting name of the merged company. Some responses that come to mind are Aldobe, Aldobus, and Waldo-be. I still insist that the name will simply be Adobe ;-). Product wise, Aldus (er... Aldobe) just announced an optimized version of PageMaker for the Power Mac. The list now has a new FTP site that is more amenable to Macintoshes that roam the net. Jeff Bone has graciously set open part of his ftp.dopig.uab.edu FTP site for use by the list. Please see the question 3.9 for more information. The PageMaker 5.0a patch has also been uploaded to the archives. As the previous section has commented, you may notice some changes to the FAQ. It is now done in Rich Text Format and exported to WinHelp, Mosaic's HTML, and straight ASCII text. Finally, I am currently (May 1994) in the midst of conducting a new survey of the PageMakr listserv. I hope that you will send yours in if you have not already. If you need a survey form, please let me know. 1.3 Disclaimers and Acknowledgments --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This FAQ has two disclaimers: 1. This document and its support documents are offered to the public domain on the understanding that no resale of this information is undertaken by any recipient of the information. Any reproduction of the information should be complete and entire and provide reference to the original source (i.e. the PAGEMAKR listserver at INDYCMS.IUPUI.EDU) and the authors. 2. The author takes no responsibility for any errors, omissions or misunderstandings, however induced! The information in this FAQ is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. In no event shall the author of this FAQ or the distributors of this FAQ be liable for any damages whatsoever including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, loss of business profits, or special damages, even if the author has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Aldus, PageMaker and the PageMaker icons are registered trademarks of Aldus Corporation. Adobe and PostScript are trademarks of Adobe Systems. All other products listed in this file are trademarks of their respective companies (Microsoft's Windows, etc.). I would like to strongly thank Cindy Stone, Jeff Bone, Monte Olsen, Henry Budgett and Ken Weiss for their help in compiling this posting. I would also like to thank all those members of the list who have also supplied information that has been used in this FAQ. Lastly, thanks goes to our friends at University of Alabama, Indiana University, and Washington University for allowing us to use their servers for the Archives. Thanks goes to Greg DeBruyn & Henry again for creating the Macintosh .SEA version of the .ZIP files for the Archives. Geof Peters (gwp@cs.purdue.edu) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. INTRODUCTION, WELCOME, AND DISCLAIMER 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS 3. GENERAL QUESTIONS 3.1 What exactly is the Pagemakr listserv? 3.2 How do I subscribe and unsubscribe to the Pagemakr list? 3.3 There is too much mail from the Pagemakr list! Can we split the lists according to platform? 3.4 What other listservs / newsgroups may be of interest to me? 3.5 What is the current version of PageMaker? What is new in the latest version? What expletives can I use for PageMaker? 3.6 I know how to do it on the Mac, how do I on the PC? (& vice versa) Which is better -- Mac or PC PageMaker? 3.7 How do I convert Mac to PC PageMaker files (& vice versa) 3.8 What is the Table Editor? 3.9 Are there any FTP locations that have DTP related archives? What recent filters and updates are there available for PM? What DTP-related items can I access via the World Wide Web? Where can I get clip-art packages? 3.10 Is there a list of keyboard shortcuts and PageMaker tips? Is there a list of Scanning tips? Desktop Publishing tips? Is there a list of popular books concerning DTP and/or PM? Is there a glossary of typesetting terms? Does anyone have a suggestion for a syllabus on PM class? 4. GENERAL PAGEMAKER QUESTIONS 4.1 What are the important PageMaker-related phone numbers? 4.2 How do I have a truly fixed spaced document? 4.3 How can I create drop caps in PageMaker? 4.4 My file size for PageMaker documents keeps increasing -- What causes it and how can I reduce the file size? 4.5 My PageMaker document will not open due to errors. What to do? My machine crashed during my PageMaker session. Help! 4.6 How can I break the links with the files I imported? 4.7 How do I rotate text? graphics? 4.8 Tell me about Aldus Additions. What Additions already exist? 4.9 How do I set gradient fills on letters? 4.10 Does PageMaker offer a site license for a network installation? How do I install PageMaker 5.0 onto a network? 4.11 I am experiencing printing woes. Suggestions? How can I get my crop marks to work in PageMaker 5.0? The standard fills are not working correctly in PageMaker 5.0? 4.12 How can I get WinFax to work with PageMaker 5.0? 5. IMPORTING/EXPORTING FILES 5.1 What is PostScript? What different types of graphic file formats exist? 5.2 When I import a graphic I just get a gray box. How can I compute a PostScript bounding box? 5.3 How do I convert from one graphic format to another? 5.4 How do I import WordPerfect Equations? 5.5 How do I import PageMaker 3.0 documents into PageMaker 5.0? 5.6 How do I export the text of several (or all) unconnected stories? How can I export my PageMaker file to straight ASCII text? 5.7 How can I import documents created in XXXX? (Word, WordPerfect, etc.) 6. FONTS AND SPECIAL CHARACTERS 6.1 What are the different types of fonts available? What is the difference between TrueType and PostScript fonts? Which is better for working in PageMaker and why? 6.2 How can I obtain public domain fonts? 6.3 How do I use the more bizarre characters? 6.4 How do I prevent hyphenation on one particular word? 6.5 How do I keep control of all of these fonts? 7. PC SPECIFIC 7.1 How do I get rid of General Protection Faults (GPFs)? 7.2 How can I have a default directory for my PageMaker data files? 7.3 I can only see 27 fonts on my font listing. How can I see more? 7.4 My EPS graphics are printing upside down! 7.5 When I switch back to PM 4.0 my background turns brown or gray. 8. MACINTOSH SPECIFIC 8.1 How can I speed up this dang Mac? 8.2 I am trying to install PM 4.x, but it keeps asking for Disk 1. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3. General Questions ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 3.1 What exactly is the PageMaker listserv? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The PageMakr listserv, dedicated to PageMaker related topics, was created on Friday, January 26, 1990 and now has over 900 direct subscribers and even more through indirect means. The co-listowners are Cindy Stone, Geof Peters, and Jeff Bone. A "listserv" is an automated mailing list for e-mail. People send messages to the listserv which in turn, distributes the messages to all currently subscribed members. It is a popular method for special interest groups on the Internet. The list includes the discussion of PM on both the Mac and PC platforms. It often wanders into the realm of graphic layout and design in general as well. GWP@CS.PURDUE.EDU (Geof's Internet address) JBONE@DOPIG.UAB.EDU (Jeff's Internet address) STONEC@UCS.INDIANA.EDU (Cindy's Internet address) STONEC@IUBACS (Cindy's Bitnet address) Currently, the list is unmoderated. Thus, everything you post will be seen by all 900+ subscribers. PLEASE DO NOT POST COMMANDS TO PAGEMAKR -- SEND THEM TO THE LISTSERV DIRECTLY! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 3.2 How do I subscribe and unsubscribe to the PageMaker list? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- To subscribe to the PageMakr list, you will have to register with the list server. To do this send a message with the body of: SUBSCRIBE PAGEMAKR to the Internet address LISTSERV@INDYCMS.IUPUI.EDU (or LISTSERV@INDYCMS if you are on a Bitnet location). Please note that the list name does not have the second "e" in PageMaker. This should do it. If you have troubles, send a message of "HELP" to the listserv. If still no go, then contact one of the listowners mentioned in question 3.1. If you are trying to unsubscribe, send a letter to the listserv just like you did when you subscribed, except send the following line: SIGNOFF PAGEMAKR Please, please do not post subscribe or signoff messages (or any other listserv command) to all 900+ subscribers. Commands should only be sent to the LISTSERV@INDYCMS address. Here are the e-mail addresses for the PageMakr list specifically: BITNET: Commands go to: LISTSERV@INDYCMS Postings go to: PAGEMAKR@INDYCMS INTERNET: Commands go to: LISTSERV@INDYCMS.IUPUI.EDU Postings go to: PAGEMAKR@INDYCMS.IUPUI.EDU Messages sent to the list can also be found on Usenet in the bit.listserv.pagemakr forum. The possibility of cross linking the list with alt.aldus.pagemaker is also being examined. If you are on CompuServe, please note that you can still subscribe to the list. CompuServe, however, charges you for each message read. Thus, you can minimize your costs by only reading messages that are relevant to your needs. You might also consider using the Index or Digest format to defray costs. My CompuServe address is 71532,742 -- but I do not read my mail but once every month or so. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 3.3 There is too much mail from the Pagemakr list! Can we split the lists according to platform? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The PageMakr list has grown considerably since its original conception in 1990. Thus, the amount of mail traffic over the list can be somewhat disconcerting for those who do not read their mail daily. There are several options available for direct subscribers: 1. Consider reading the list via the Bitnet link in Usenet. The newsgroup name is bit.listserv.pagemakr. 2. The listserv also has the capability to send you daily "digests" of the messages sent to the list. With the digest format, you receive one message a day that contains a table of contents and then the bodies of all the messages. We highly recommend this method for those people who are overwhelmed by the traffic. To turn on the digest format, send a message to the listserv (listserv@indycms.iupui.edu) with the body of: SET PAGEMAKR DIGEST To turn off the digest, send the same message but with NODIGEST. 3. The third option is to use the Index format. This is similar to the digest method, except that you receive only the subject lines of the messages sent to the list. You must in turn request the desired messages from the listserv. To use the index format, send a message to the listserv (as is done with the digest method) with the command: SET PAGEMAKR INDEX Every month it seems, the question arises of whether or not to split the list into two separate lists according to the platform type (Mac and PC) in hopes of gaining a handle on the amount of messages. Repeatedly, however, the question is followed by an outpouring of people wanting to keep the list together. By democratic vote, the list will be kept together. You can help keep the traffic manageable by using the following prefixes to your messages' subject lines: TAN: Tangent messages: not directly pertaining to PageMaker MAC: MacIntosh Specific Messages WIN: Windows Specific Messages --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 3.4 What other listservs / newsgroups may be of interest to me? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- There are several other listservs that may be of interest to the Desktop Publisher. One is the "sister list" to PageMaker is for Quark Express users. To subscribe to this list, please exercise the same precautions that are mentioned in the previous question. The addresses for the Quark lists are: BITNET: Commands go to: LISTSERV@IUBVM Postings go to: QUARKXPR@IUBVM INTERNET: Commands go to: LISTSERV@IUBVM.UCS.INDIANA.EDU Postings go to: QUARKXPR@IUBVM.UCS.INDIANA.EDU For those technical writing members, there are a few listservs to this subject. The main one is techwr-l at listserv@osuvm1 (Bitnet) or listserv@vm1.ucc.okstate.edu (Internet). The listowner is Eric Ray (ejray@okway.okstate.edu). Two other listservs are copyediting-l@cornell.edu and paper-dist@nyuacf.bitnet. Lovers of Adobe PhotoShop also have a Bitnet listserv. The listserv host is listserv@ecnuxa.bitnet (or listserv@bgu.edu will do too). The list name is PHOTSHOP (notice the missing "o"). Thus send a message to the above listserv with a body of: SUBSCRIBE PHOTSHOP Lastly, there is another Bitnet listserv dedicated to DTPing in general. The owner is Michael Ross (mross@antigone.uu.holonet.net) and the list is cross-posted with the Usenet group comp.text.desktop. To subscribe, send the following message to listserv@antigone.com: SUBSCRIBE DTP-L And for those of you who have Usenet access, you might check out the groups comp.text.*, comp.lang.postscript, comp.sources.postscript, in addition to the bit.listserv.* groups for the listservs mentioned above. Some of you may be interested in the alt.aldus.* and the alt.soft-sys.corel.* groups. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 3.5 What is the current version of PageMaker? What is new in the latest version? What expletives can I use for PageMaker? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The newest and latest PageMaker 5.0a has been released for both the IBM and Macintosh platforms. (5.0a is a minor patch release of the main 5.0 version.) The 5.0a patch can be retrieved from the Archives (question 3.9). A special version of PageMaker has also just been released for Power Macintoshes. PageMaker 5.0 for the Mac needs System 6.0.7 or higher, preferably System 7. (You can get a 6.0.7 upgrade via anonymous FTP from ftp.apple.com by the way.) As for the capabilities in the new 5.0 version, I would suggest seeing the January/February 1993 edition of Aldus Magazine. The big items introduced with 5.0 are color separation, a "control palette" (a bit like a floating toolbar), multiple simultaneously-opened documents, graphics rotation, and Aldus Additions for both the Mac and the PC. There is also a very extensive list of features that was released by Aldus in the Archives (see question 3.9). If you are curious about more descriptions, post to the list. Academic pricing is available from your local dealer in most states, with a school purchase order. Check to see if yours is one of them. If not, call Aldus at 206-628-2320. For a surprise, try finding PM's hidden dedication screen. While PM is running, hold the shift key down, and select About... from the Help menu. And just to brighten your day, here are some of the common PageMaker nicknames: PageMangler, PageMager, RageMaker, PainMaker, PageBreaker, PageBaker (when your system frys), PageForsaker (when you quit and forget that you wanted to save changes), PageMucker, PageFaker (and don't mix the last two), PaceMaker and when you are really frustrated, call it Xpress. (Thanks everyone for the fun!) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 3.6 I know how to do it on the Mac, how do I on the PC? (& vice versa) Which is better -- Mac or PC PageMaker? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Macintosh and PC versions, for the most part, are very similar. The COMMAND key on the Macintosh (or splat, clover, rugbeater, propeller key) parallels the CONTROL key on the PC. The Mac OPTION key equates with the ALTERNATE key on the PC. As to which platform is preferable, faster, exciting, etc., simply keep subscribed to the list and I am sure within a month this very subject will be rehashed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 3.7 How do I convert Mac to PC PageMaker files (& vice versa) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The PageMaker files made on a PC and on a Macintosh are compatible if they are made with the same versions of PM. There is a nice description of how to do convert between them in the PageMaker 5.0 Reference manual on page 20. You can use a variety of methods to actually transfer the file between the two platforms that include FTPing, DOS Mounter and other utilities, and transferring the file through a Novell PC/Mac network. Henry Budgett strongly suggests MacLink Plus from DataViz as the best of the utilities. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 3.8 What is the Table Editor? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Table Editor is a program will create tables and is packaged with PageMaker 4.0 and higher. Most folks agreed that the first version had some serious setbacks. Version 2.1 takes a more spreadsheet-like approach. Any comments on the quality of the latest version (2.1)? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 3.9 Are there any FTP locations that have DTP related archives? What recent filters and updates are there available for PM? What DTP-related items can I access via the World Wide Web? Where can I get clip-art packages? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- FTP (File Transfer Protocol) allows you to "put" and "get" files to and from remote computers. Certain computers on the Internet have opened their archives to the public. The PageMaker listserv has a great number of support documents (including this FAQ and many other FAQs) that can be obtained via anonymous FTP at one of three locations. The files stored at these sites are often collectively referred to as "The Archives" on the list. The sites are (in the suggested order to try): FTP.DOPIG.UAB.EDU (138.26.144.12) info/pagemakr WUARCHIVE.WUSTL.EDU (128.252.135.4) doc/misc/pagemakr TCP_SERV.IUS.INDIANA.EDU (149.160.9.5) pagemakr The tcp_serv site is a bit of a different operating system -- be sure to use "dir" instead of "ls" to obtain a directory. Here are some other Internet locations that have many files available to the public that are associated with DTP to start you off: Macintosh: sumex-aim.stanford.edu mac.archive.umich.edu Windows (PC): ftp.cica.indiana.edu Both: wuarchive.wustl.edu Some other sites that have shareware fonts are: bode.ee.ualberta.ca (/pub/dos/win3/fonts) f.ms.uky.edu (/pub/msdos/Windows3/Fonts) nic.funet.fi (/pub/msdos/windows/atm-fonts) src.doc.ic.ac.uk (/ibmpc/windows3/fonts) swdsrv.edvz.univie.ac.at (/pc/windows/win3/fonts) Sumex has a Macintosh version of a PageMaker 5.0 demonstration program available under the file /info-mac/demo/pagemaker-50.hqx. To run this demonstration, you'll need a Macintosh, System 6.0.7 or later (runs under System 7) and at least 4MB of RAM (5MB under System 7). The demo is 1140k. A color monitor will make the demo more attractive but it is not necessary. (Thanks Jeff Needleman and Henry Budgett!) Check at ftp.dopig.uab.edu for the most recent filter updates. A filter pack issued by Aldus in April 1994 is available and contains several new filters and filter updates. Aldus also has just issued a MS Word 6.0 filter which hopefully will be available at the Archives by the time you read this. My personal homepage has several links to popular DTP related World Wide Web pages. All of the FAQs are available on-line, in addition to an interface to the archive sites. A public domain font browser is also available. My Homepage's URL is "http://www.cs.purdue.edu/people/gwp". Lastly, a common question that appears on the list is the question "Where can I get some public domain clipart?" Unfortunately, the answer is not so simple. Through anonymous FTP there are a few P.D. clipart packages (like ARTMART at wuarchive.wustl.edu). Most of them, however, are of extremely poor quality and are bitmapped based (uggh!). One exception to this, however, is the popular site sumex-aim.stanford.edu in the info-mac/art directory. Most of these files are all stored in the Macintosh HQX format, so may be difficult to use for PC users. There is also an entity called the "OTIS Project" that is designed for art distribution, including some public domain clip art. FTP to sunsite.unc.edu and take a peek in the pub/multimedia/pictures/OTIS directory. Whether or not the art is considered public domain varies, however. Another option is to try the comp.sources.postscript Usenet news group. Additionally, there are literally thousands of GIF pictures at sites across the world; these GIFs are generally higher resolution (including 256 colors) and not the simple line-drawn vector pictures of common clipart packages. My best suggestion is to look at the products you already own. WordPerfect, MS Word, Corel, and many others all come with their own collection of clipart. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 3.10 Is there a list of keyboard shortcuts and PageMaker tips? Is there a list of Scanning tips? Desktop Publishing tips? Is there a list of popular books concerning DTP and/or PM? Is there a glossary of typesetting terms? Does anyone have a suggestion for a syllabus on PM class? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The FAQ you are reading is just one of a number of valuable documents that have been compiled by members of the Pagemakr listserv. There are a number of documents, ranging from job opportunities to scanning tips to PageMaker and DTPing tips. You are highly encouraged to take a look! If you do not have Jeff Bone's Scanning FAQ, then run -- no, sprint -- out to ftp.dopig.uab.edu and grab it. It is a fine piece of work. To receive these valuable documents, please send mail directly to me (please do not send to the list). You can also write to one of the other listowners if I seem to be dead (see question 3.1). These lists are also available via Anonymous FTP in the Archives mentioned in question 3.9. If you can use FTP, it would be greatly appreciated if you could use this avenue first. As for the favorite books and magazines, we will give you a general summary below due to demand. These are for the old 4.x versions, but will be updated as soon as 5.0 books become more readily available. Key: (*** = a must!, ** = excellent, * = consider it) Books: *** PageMaker 4: An Easy Desk Reference by Robin Williams. Austin Twigg. "I use it daily" -- Monte Olsen "Thorough, concise, easy to use" -- Robyn Fizz Many people like this book. A version for 5.0 is being worked on by the author's sister. ** Real World PM 4: Industrial Strength Techniques by Kvern & Roth. "Great style, humor, and insight, ... for people who want to move past a basic level of understanding" -- George Radford ** Desktop Publishing by Design -- Ronnie Shushan & Don Wright. Microsoft. "available in both PM and Quark versions" -- John in Indiana. ** Chicago Manual of Style "a real classic" -- Carol Hewlett. * Methods of Book Design by Hugh Williamson. Yale Univ Press. * Desktop Publishing Skills by Felici & Nace. Addison-Wesley. * The Makeover Book by Roger C. Parker. Ventana Press. * Peachpit press PageMaker book * Aldus Technotes for PM 4.0, Aldus Corp. Magazines: *** Before and After. Tele # 916-784-3880. * Step by Step Electronic design * Aldus Magazine. * TypeWorld (free) * Computer Pictures (free) For more suggestions, write to me for an additional list. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4. General PageMaker Questions ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 4.1 What are the important PageMaker-related phone numbers? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note that Aldus does not have a standard toll-free customer service number unless you purchase one of the premium service policies (i.e.- Premium Plus, Scholastic Plus, Corporate Library, etc.). For regular technical support, there are the following numbers: Macintosh Products: Windows & OS/2 Products: ----------------------------- ------------------------------- PageMaker (206) 628-4501 PageMaker (206) 628-4531 FreeHand (206) 628-4502 Database Ed (206) 628-4535 Persuasion (206) 628-4503 FreeHand (206) 628-4532 PrePrint (206) 628-4505 Persuasion (206) 628-4533 PressWise (206) 628-4527 PhotoStyler (206) 628-4537 Fetch (206) 628-4506 TrapWise (206) 628-4534 PMaker OS/2 (206) 628-4538 Customer Relations / Services (206) 628-2320 Aldus' FAX number (206) 343-3360 Aldus does, however, offer a free 1-800 service for automated voice-mail. That number, available 24 hours a day, is 1-800-288-6832; you must have a touch tone phone in order to use this service. Lastly, there is a "pay-as-you-go" 900 number that costs $2 a minute (I think). That million-dollar number is (900) 226-2261. Aldus' BBS number is 206-623-6984 and uses 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, and no parity (81N). The BBS will accept from 1200bps to 14,400bps speeds. The BBS currently is only used for downloading files, not for product support. If you do call the Tech support number and your 30 minutes of support is up, you can have them charge the call to a credit card for $20 bucks a call. (gulp). A flat fee for one year of unlimited calls is also available. Anybody know how much? For those of you in Europe, here are some useful numbers for your neck of the woods: Adobe Systems Europe 31 (20) 6767 661 Adobe Systems UK 44 (81) 547 1900 Aldus UK 44 (31) 220 4747 Apple Computer UK 44 (81) 569 1199 Interleaf UK 44 (81) 948 0094 Micrografx UK 44 (483) 747526 Microsoft UK 44 (734) 391123 NeXT 44 (81) 565 0005 Ventura 44 (753) 505202 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 4.2 How do I have a truly fixed spaced document? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you are trying to create a document with true fixed spaced character, try using Courier with 100% word and character spacing and no tracking. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 4.3 How can I create drop caps in PageMaker? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- PageMaker 5.0 supports the Drop Cap capability through the Aldus Additions (under the Utilities menu). You can insert a tab in between the drop cap and the second letter if you are having troubles. For those of you, however, that do not like this Addition or have a pre-4.2 version, you can create drop caps manually. This can be done in one of many different ways; four that are particularly easy are: Method #1 --------------------------------------------------------------------- First, you can cut the letter you wished dropped and place it into a new text block. Then you can resize it and move it to where you wish. In order to force subsequent lines to wrap around the drop cap without modify the margins, you can draw a box around the drop cap, set the line width to none and set the text wrap feature on. Be sure to have the drop cap entirely within the wrap border of the box, or else it will wrap itself out of the box! (Thanks goes to Brian Fisk for the invisible box.) Method #2 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Or second, if you are a Macintosh user, you can use the Scrapbook to convert the capital letter from PageMaker text to a graphics image. With this method, you can utilize the "text wrap" capability. Be sure to Place the scrapbook file to convert it to a graphics. If you are using System 7, you will have to use ResEdit or DeskZap to change the format for the Scrapbook File to ZSYS, or use the previous version of the Scrapbook. Method #3 --------------------------------------------------------------------- For another method, there are the following steps: 1. Set an indent for the first four lines of a paragraph that is outside the width of the character you plan to use as a drop cap. 2. Format a character separately from the document in the appropriate point size. 3. Click on the character block and drag it into the indented space you set aside at the start of the paragraph. 4. You can then use PM's indent-tabs feature to adjust the paragraph text to run around the drop cap correctly. This method seems to work fairly quickly and allows you to perform the whole operation in PM without needing to use the scrapbook or a graphics program. Method #4 --------------------------------------------------------------------- And finally, to make sure you have enough alternatives, here is a process suggested by Jason Kim that maintains itself after later text re-adjustment. His method splits up your paragraph into four separate paragraphs, each of which have their own style definition: 1. Define a style called "Drop cap" with the big letter subscripted and the subscript position set (via "Options") so that the letter appears to sit on the n-th line down. Let's say n=3; then with a pica grid, have it so that your approx. 39-pt capital sinks down to the 36 pi mark. Unfortunately this has the effect of leaving a seemingly blank line at the top of the text box (since the letter there is subscripted so far). 2. Define another style called "Drop cap paragraph, line 1" ("DCPL1") which is set to small caps and force justified. Also turn off tracking -- otherwise the caps tend to bunch up. This paragraph has a left margin > 0, to be adjusted depending on the cap. 3. Define "DCPL2-3," which applies to the other two indented lines. This style is just the body text style force-justified and with the left margin > 0. 4. Finally, "DCPL4-" is just body text unindented. After defining these Styles (using your Body text as a base) you can create the paragraph simply by: 1. Make a hard return after the initial capital, go back and set it to the "Drop cap." style. 2. Set the rest of the paragraph to "DCPL1" and adjust the left margin on the first line. 3. Stick a hard return at the end of the first line and set the rest to "DCPL2-3." Adjust the left margin of lines 2-3. 4. Put in another hard return at the end of line 4 and set the remaining text to "DCPL4-". --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 4.4 My file size for PageMaker documents keeps increasing -- what causes it and how can I reduce the file size? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The answer to this question depends on which version of PageMaker you are using. Before version 4.01, PageMaker would save your file by appending the changes you have made to the end of the file. Thus, your file steadily gets larger and larger. To circumvent this problem, you can choose the Save As... option and "re-save" your file by replacing itself. This way, it forces a complete, new, resave. For the more recent versions, you can specify in the Preferences Menu which way PageMaker should save the file. The default method is "Faster". I, personally, would recommend choosing the "Smaller" method though it does take longer to save the file this way. If your file is somehow damaged, you are much more likely to recover it if it was saved with the smaller method. Greg DeBruyn has also suggested zooming out on each page before saving. Evidently, Greg experienced larger files (400K for 10 page doc) decreased (to 300K) when each file was zoomed out. I, however, could not reproduce this with either Smaller or Faster saves on the PC. Lastly, it is surprising how many people do not take full use of PageMaker's link capabilities. If you have a large graphic file, you can elect to not have the actual graphic file be stored internally in you PageMaker documents. Look up "links" in your PageMaker manual. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 4.5 My PageMaker document will not open due to errors. What to do? My machine crashed during my PageMaker session. Help! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- When your PageMaker doc fails to load due to a corrupted table or "bad record index" or any other various reasons, there are thankfully some alternatives. The first thing to try is to use your backup copy that you have been diligently keeping up-to-date, and make a backup of the backup before opening it. This can not be stressed enough -- back everything up! You didn't make a backup, though, or your backup failed too. Then, if you are able to open the document but it appears to have errors in it, try to recompose the entire document by pressing shift-option and selecting the Hyphenation command from the Type Menu. PageMaker will run a diagnostic check on the document and try to repair it. (I should mention that some people insist this is all just hoopla and "mythology" -- despite it being mentioned in the PM5 manual. Nobody is certain if this is really doing anything!) PageMaker will respond to the recomposition with one of three messages: One beep -- The document is OK Two beeps -- The document had problems but has been repaired. Three beeps -- The document had problems that could not be repaired. If the document had two beeps, it sometimes helps to repeat the process several times -- sometimes PageMaker does not get everything on the first or second pass. Ken Kreshtool actually said the Aldus' tech support suggested doing the shift-option-hyphenation procedure any time an old PM document is brought into a newer version. One more thing on this subject -- someone suggested that PM 4.0 for the Mac uses option + spacing instead of shift-option-hyphenation. Can someone verify this? Next, try opening the document as a "Copy" rather than opening the original publication. Many times this corrects the problem. If this fails, open a New document and try Placing the corrupted document into the new one. This way you can at least recover the text. Also try importing the style definitions. If you are working on a PC and the program crashed while you were working on the document, look in your Temp directory for any ~PM4xxxxx.TMP files. If there are any present, rename them to something else and try to pull them up into PageMaker. If you are working on a Mac, you can find the temp file in a folder titled "[your drive name] recovered items" in the trash. If there is a file there, rename it to something else and attempt to load it into PageMaker. If all this fails, start praying. You can try copying the file to a new one, and converting it to another platform (PC-MAC), among other things. You might start looking into some of the expletives mentioned in question 3.5 ;-) One good suggestion in preventive medicine is use the Save Smaller option under Preferences. There is a better chance of recovering the file. Finally, one last suggestion comes from Henry Budgett: for those of you who are working on a Macintosh, you can try a program called "CanOpener" -- it's supposed to be good at recovering files from within files. In the old days of version 1 and 2 (on the Mac) there was a program called The Ripper which brought your data back from the dead! (PM crashed a LOT in those days!) Note: there is a bug in converting 3.0 to 4.0 that occasionally causes corrupted files. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 4.6 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! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 4.7 How do I rotate text? graphics? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- PageMaker 5.0 now supports text and graphics rotations in one-hundredth degree increments. Please note that the text is also editable in-place now (i.e., you can use the text tool to modify the text without having to "unrotate" it). If you have PageMaker 4.x, you can only rotate text at 90 degree increments. Unfortunately, PageMaker 4.x will not support the rotation of graphics nor will it rotate text in smaller increments. Even trying to place the image as an in-line graphic and rotating it will not work. There is an Aldus Addition for Mac's 4.2, 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. David McCullum makes this suggestion regarding rotated and skewed items in PageMaker 5.0: "Rotated and/or skewed graphics may look cool, but your PS printer and your service bureau will hate them. A rotated TIFF file may cause your page to take forever to print--if it comes out at all! A better bet may be to use PM5's rotation or skewing tools to determine the degree of alteration desired, but to then apply the same amount of alteration in your image editing package and re-place the resulting file." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 4.8 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 assistance in setting up column guides. They also have a product called PM Tracker. EDCO's Address is: EDCO Services, INC. 12410 North Dale Mabry Highway Tampa, FL 33618 1-800-523-TYPE Aldus also has a whole list of additions that are available for PM 5.0. Check the original documents that came with PM 5.0. 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 4.9 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. Dan Druliner makes the observation, however, that if you define the CMYK color as a spot color, and print separations, it will come out on a separate layer. Thus, if you are using 5.0 it is best to define the shade as a tint instead. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 4.10 Does PageMaker offer a site license for a network installation? How do I install PageMaker 5.0 onto a network? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- PageMaker 4.x, as are all Aldus products, is network aware, but is not networkable. That is to say that the license prohibits you from loading the application 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 usage 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.) PageMaker 5.0 has a similar policy, but goes out of its way to make sure you are abiding by it. When PM5 is run, it checks across the LAN to see if its serial number is in use. If it is, a dialog box pops up and tells you that you are out of luck. If it is not, then you are fine. Multiple simultaneous users on a LAN are supported by PM LAN Packs which are copies of PM5 that give you one set of documentation and one set of diskettes -- but multiple copies of Disk #2 (one for each license). When you install a LAN Pack, you designate each Disk 2 to a specific user or workstation. This gives each installation a unique number. (Much thanks to David McCullum for making this clear!) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 4.11 I am experiencing printing woes. Suggestions? How can I get my crop marks to work in PageMaker 5.0? The standard fills are not working correctly in PageMaker 5.0? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Just about every application has at least a few bugs in it. It appears as though PageMaker 5.0's bugs are numerous in the printings areas. Numerous people on both Mac and PC platforms have reported printing problems, ranging from total inoperability to extreme slowness. The quickest suggestion I can make is to attempt smaller jobs -- send only 2 or 3 pages and see how it does. Perhaps most importantly, PageMaker has released a new patch version named 5.0a. This should be readily available a number of places (check where the archives are stored -- question 3.9). This patch addresses a few printing problems among other things. Next, call Aldus. First, this keeps them aware of their problems. Secondly, they should be the first to know when fixes are available. If you do find out something new, please post to the group so that we can all be up-to-date. The rest of the solutions are organized by topics: Windows Platform --------------------------------------------------------------------- The first thing to check if you are a PC user with a PostScript or HP printer is to verify that you are using PageMaker's new printer drivers instead of your Windows 3.x drivers. When you get an "old printer driver" warning, this is often the cause. Go to the Control Printer, double click "Printers", choose "Add" and then "Install". Plop the last PageMaker installation disk in and choose the correct printer. For Windows users, try have the PostScript error handler downloaded with the print job -- there is an option for it in the Printer Options dialog boxes. If you are using Windows 3.0 you can still download the error handler (though I can not guarantee that it is similar to 3.1's handler). Choose the Option button while configuring your printer and hold down the Alternate key and the "E" key. This will download the handler. If your graphics are printing upside down from Windows, see question 7.4 Macintosh Platform --------------------------------------------------------------------- For Macintosh users, please be aware that the PPDs for PageMaker 5.0 are different the for previous versions. Specifically PM 5.0 uses PS Level 2 PPDs. If you get a "Bad Printer Definition File" while printing from PageMaker 4.x and PageMaker 5.0 is also installed on your system, this is likely the problem. If you are using the 8.0 version of the LaserWriter driver it is highly suggested that you upgrade it. Version 8.1.1 can be FTP'ed from ftp.apple.com in the directory dts/mac/sys.soft/imaging/laserwriter.8.1. This driver also solves many of the problems of Version 7. If you are using System 7 on the Mac, make sure you are using at least System 7.0.1 and TuneUp 1.1.1. If you are using an older TuneUp, be sure to upgrade. (Thanks David!) Mac users might also try using the Mac system driver rather than Aldus' replacement. To do this, hold the Option key down while choosing Print... from the File menu. (Cmd-Opt-P won't work). Postscript --------------------------------------------------------------------- There is one problem that often occurs with PostScript emulating or PostScript generic printers that use Apple LaserWriter series (or some other standard) printer drivers. Typically, the PPD associated with the Laserwriter is highly tuned to that printer and thus may have differences with your actual printer's setup. Most often, there is a disagreement on the amount of virtual memory your printer has -- which can make a great difference in printing speeds and sizes. If you would like more information on how to check/modify this, contact me, post to the list or call Aldus. If this proves to be a common problem, I will include the instructions of how to update your PPD in future editions of the FAQ. Some bold folks say to multiply the free VM value in your PPD by a tenfold, and then back down from this value when fonts begin to be substituted with Courier. Supposedly, this will increase your chance of a successful print. Others counter that this is treading a dangerous line to the dark side... Jim makes the following interesting tip: If you are using EPS graphics, before printing, select all your EPS graphics and use the command to "send to back" (Ctrl-B or Command-B). When PM encounters an EPS graphic, it clears the RAM deck, allowing the EPS as much printer RAM as possible to handle the EPS - then it redownloads the fonts. By sending the EPS images to the back, they'll get imaged before any of your fonts are downloaded - saving you at least one, or more "clearings of the RAM deck", and another download of your fonts. (Please be sure that this does not change your design however.) Don't rule out contacting your printer manufacturer for more up-to-date PPDs. Furthermore, if your printer supports both PCL and PostScript, be sure to try both methods. Also, you might try forcing the PPD to use Level I code. HP LaserJets --------------------------------------------------------------------- If you are using a DeskJet 1200C/PS color laser, open the PPD file into a text editor and remove the space at the end of the line that says "*ColorDevice: True". Then save it and try again. Thanks Brad! If you are using an HP LaserJet 4 and cannot print rotated items, are receiving "Print Overflow" errors, or it is taking millenniums to print, here are a few solutions/work-arounds: HP suggests that you use an updated driver, version 1.27. Call HP to get an upgrade at (208) 323-2551. (Thanks Ray Van) Use the LaserJet III driver -- this will allow rotated text in closer-to-normal printing times, but at 300 dpi. (Thanks Geri) Use PostScript if your LJ4 supports it. Geri also remarks that if you are experiencing strange kerning in rotated text on a LaserJet, that you may be using old PCL drivers. Call HP at (303) 339-7009 or at (208) 323-2551. The 5.0a patch fixes a problem with some LaserJets that would incorrectly switch between PostScript and PCL modes. (question 3.9) Misc Bugs and Further Suggestions --------------------------------------------------------------------- One known bug in PageMaker 5.0 is in the crop marks. The image area for crops must equal .875" in addition to selected page size in each dimension. If necessary, create a custom page size and ignore the error messages. Another bug is with the standard Postscript fills with certain video drivers and non-Postscript printers. The current work around for this known bug is to define a new Tint color of the correct % black you desire. Use this defined color instead of the standard fill. Also experiment with the "Allow PCL Halftoning" selection in the "Colors" submenu for best results. PageMaker 5.0 downloads as entire sets instead of a character at a time, as was done in previous versions. Thus, if you have a typeface with a bug in one of the more obscure characters, this could also cause your printer to wander into never-never land. Some Corel fonts are known to have problems because of this (see question 7.1). Also, try setting the "Page Independent" box to on in the PostScript printer driver dialog box. 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. Catherine Hampton also found out from an Aldus support rep that adjusting the internal clipboard size may solve some printing problems. To change this, go into File Preferences Other, and increase the value for the "Maximum size of internal bitmap". The default value is 64 and can go as high as 1024K. Finally, Bruce Patterson has created a lengthy Printing Help File that can be found in the Archives (question 3.9). This file is very helpful in tracking down printing problems. We will try to keep every one abreast of the situation. Please post to the list if you discover a work-around to a printing problem you have experienced. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 4.12 How can I get WinFax to work with PageMaker 5.0? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- As you can guess the problems with faxing in PageMaker 5.0 is linked with the printing problems. If you are using a FAX program (such as WinFax), be sure that the software (WinFax Administrator) is running before printing to the FAX modem. Also, FAXes will have a better range of grayscales if the "Allow PCL Halftoning" box in the print menu is not checked. (Thank you Tony Thomas for the bug reports.) Upgrade to 5.0a if you are still having trouble with faxing from PM -- it fixes a few bugs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5. Importing / Exporting Files ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 5.1 What is PostScript? What different types of graphic file formats exist? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This question delves into the pros and cons of .EPS, .PCX, .TIF file formats, among others. The two main graphic formats are bitmapped/raster images (e.g. TIFF and PCX) and vector images (e.g. PostScript). Bitmapped images are based on pixels while the vector images are based on curves and line segments. As a result, bitmapped images have poor qualities when expanded to higher resolution than their original size; typically jagged edges, or jaggies, become more evident when bitmapped images are increased in size. PostScript images, on the other hand, 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 interpretation of a PostScript file. Also, PostScript files are ASCII, allowing them to be transported via e-mail (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). To compute .PS bounding boxes, see the next question. Note also that there is also the DSC (Document Structuring Conventions) format for PostScript that includes EPS files but not all general PostScript files. Please contact Adobe or the PostScript FAQ for more information. The Encapsulated PostScript File (.EPS) has the following requirements: 1. Specifies that it is an EPS file in the header 2. 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 3. Include a "BoundingBox" comment to specify its size 4. May include a low-resolution bitmapped preview image 5. Should be one page long (though not a requirement as far as I know). 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 it is rumored that 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. If you want more information about PostScript (gulp), you can get Jonathan Monsarrat's Postscript FAQ through FTP at rtfm.mit.edu (in the /pub/usenet directory). The Archives (question 3.9)also has some more in depth information about PostScript that is written by Jeff Bone and Chris Dorsey. 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 it should 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 raster 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 (lossy) 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 (question 3.9). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 5.2 When I import a graphic I just get a gray box. How can I compute a PostScript bounding box? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- As mentioned in the previous question (5.1), PostScript graphic files may or may not contain a bitmapped "preview" image. When the PostScript file does not contain a preview image, then PageMaker will display a gray box of the size given in the Bounding Box comment within the PostScript file. If PM fails to find the Bounding Box line as well, it will likely display a box the size of an entire page. Since the preview image is simply for display purposes, the document will still print just fine. The printer will know what to do with the PostScript image. Having the image or at least a proper bounding box, however, can be very useful in placing the image correctly on the page. If you are importing graphics from another application, check to see if there is an option for including a preview image in the PostScript file. If so, this should solve the problem. If not, then if your PostScript image has a bounding box specifier, then you can position your image according to the gray box. The box should be the smallest rectangle that will completely encompass your image. If by chance the bounding box comment is not included, you can compute it manually fairly easily. This is often a case when importing a PostScript image that was printed to a PostScript file. If you get a gray box the size of an entire page (and you know the image is not that large), there are several options. First, you can use GhostView to determine the smallest box that encloses the image (see question 5.3). You can use GhostView to determine the coordinates on screen. Then, just add the bounding box lines as described later in this question. There are also a few PostScript programs that will add bounding boxes for you automatically. See the PostScript FAQ (mentioned in previous question) for more information. If you do not have GhostView, here is what you can do: (and many thanks goes to Chris Dorsey in New Zealand for this tip!) 1. Print the PostScript file to your printer 2. On the output, draw the smallest box that encloses the image on the page. 3. Using a ruler, measure the (X,Y) coordinates of the bottom left and upper right corners of the box, relative to the bottom left corner of the page. Convert the measurements to points (72 points per inch). You now have LLx (lower left X), LLy (lower left Y), URx (upper right X) and URy (upper right Y) coordinates. 4. Edit the PostScript file with a text editor. The file should begin with "%!PS-Adobe-x.x". If the file contains a screen "preview" image, this string will be preceded by 32 "gibberish" characters. Warning: take great care editing a PostScript file with a screen "preview" image (make a backup copy). The first 32 bytes specify (among other things) the offset and length of the screen image and PostScript script within the file; so the file must remain the same length! Plus, if it has a proper screen image, chances are likely that you do not need to do this procedure. 5. Insert the following line: %!PS-Adobe-2.0 EPSF-2.1 at the start of the file, if an identical line is not already present. Note that case and whitespace are significant, but the version number is not important. 6. Look near the beginning of the file for a line like %%BoundingBox: 0 0 595 842 Add it if it is not there already (which is fairly likely). Be sure to add the line before the "%%EndComment" line. Note that case is significant and there must not be any spaces before the ":". The numbers are LLx, LLy, URx, URy. Change them to match the values you measured off the output, e.g.: %%BoundingBox: 72 72 189 350 7. Save the file. You can now import it into PageMaker. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 5.3 How do I convert from one graphic format to another? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Taking the view as presented in the PostScript 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 wuarchive). As for going from straight PostScript to Encapsulated PostScript, the conversion is usually not so cut-and-dry. (The good 'old "getting the E back into the EPS" problem.) Most of the times, simply adding a bounding box (question 5.2) will do the trick. For those of you who require a bitmap preview image, GhostScript and GhostView are collectively a powerful software package for manipulating and viewing PostScript files. GhostScript can be used to create an encapsulated preview image in addition to allowing non-PostScript printers to print PostScript files. Amazingly enough -- they are free and available on both MS-Windows and X-Windows platforms. GhostScript comes with an PS to EPS/EPSI converter; I hope to place this script and several alternatives up on the Archives (question 3.9) soon. (Thanks goes to Kevin Grover (grover@isri.unlv.edu) who is quite knowledgeable on the subject!) SmartArt and Adobe's LaserTalk are also rumored to have the ability to add the preview image to a PostScript file. Can anyone verify this? 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 GhostScript, FreeScript, and Freedom of Press. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 5.4 How do I import WordPerfect Equations? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Has anyone tried the new 5.0 or 6.0 WP import filter to see if it works for equations?) At this point, the WordPerfect filter for PageMaker will not translate WP equations. The current method is to print the equation to a PostScript file and then import this file into PageMaker. Unfortunately, however, if you are using a PC, a bitmapped image is likely not included, thus you will have to manually compute the bounding boxes mentioned in question 5.2. For Mac users, however, Ken Kreshtool points out that the Apple LaserWriter 8.x drivers now have an option to create an EPS file. After choosing the destination to be to a file, the driver will allow you to save the file as in "EPS Mac Enhanced Preview" format. Please note that this method will work for any item. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 5.5 How do I import PageMaker 3.0 documents into PageMaker 5.0? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the PC, there is a file on CompuServe called PM3PM4.ZIP that will do the conversion. It is, however, almost 2 megabytes compressed. If you do happen to download it, you will get many cheers from fellow list members if you would upload it to an FTP site. (Contact me personally if you do have it and I will tell you how to upload it to the Archives.) Judging by the size, however, it might be viable just to leave a barebones copy of PageMaker 4.0 on your system for conversions. No word on a Mac version yet -- if you hear about it, please let us know. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 5.6 How do I export the text of several (or all) unconnected stories? How can I export my PageMaker file to straight ASCII text? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 5.7 How can I import documents created in XXXX? (Word, WordPerfect, etc.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- There is no way that Aldus can keep all of their filters current with the rate at which upgrades are available these days. If you have a document/application that does not have a corresponding filter in PageMaker, consider the following checklist: 1. Do you have the latest version of PageMaker? Aldus releases new filter packs only for the newest versions of PM. 2. Do you have the latest filter pack from Aldus? For example, in the Archives (question 3.9) there is a filter patch for PageMaker 5.0 that includes filters for WordPerfect 5.1 & 6.0, MS Excel, Table Editor, GIF, CGM, and more. Other filter updates are continuously being made available (such as MS Word 6.0) -- check the archives or with the list for their availability. 3. Have you tried exporting the file in the original application in some other form, perhaps as an earlier version? For example, if you do not have the MS Word 6.0 filter, you can save your documents in the RTF format or as Word for Windows 2.0. 4. If there is no filter at all, consider printing to a PostScript file and import that. See question 5.4 for a more complete description. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6. Fonts and Special Characters ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 6.1 What are the different types of fonts available? What is the difference between TrueType and PostScript fonts? Which is better for working in PageMaker and why? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- With Windows 3.1, Microsoft provides a type manager known as TrueType to compete with Adobe Type Manager (ATM) and other font managers. System 7 on the Mac also has TrueType. 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/Aldus keeps it act up. Some people have claimed to experience problems using ATM and TrueType simultaneously. The problems range from system crashes to incorrect print-outs. It is not clear how many are actually attributed to having both managers active at once, and how many of those are actually resolvable. My suggestion is to try it out if you need both of them, but just be wary when a problem does arise. If you do trace something down to ATM and TT being active at the same time, let us know! Note also that some fonts (typically public domain and Corel Draw fonts) cause General Protection faults. See question 7.1 for a list of known problematic fonts. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 6.2 How can I obtain public domain fonts? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- There are many places offering public domain fonts. The ones listed under question 3.9 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 FTP sites 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?). There is also a wonderful World Wide Web site that will allow you to view fonts on-line before downloading them. Contact me personally for more information, or consult the fonts.txt file in the misc. directory in the Archives (question 3.9). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 6.3 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. On the Mac, simply use the Key Caps desk accessory under the Apple Menu to find the desired key combination. Peter Moller also suggests a shareware program called "PopChar". It can be found on the anonymous FTP site sumex-aim.stanford.edu. A chart enumerating the complete set of extended characters and the keystrokes required to access them can be found in the "CHARSET.PT4" template that is installed with PageMaker 4.x in the \PM4\TEMPLATES directory (PageMaker 4.x). Please note that many public domain fonts do not support the extended characters. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 6.4 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 6.5 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. Plus, PageMaker's performance decreases dramatically with respect to the number of fonts installed in your system. 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. Ares' 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 [,LPT1.LET]. Go to the heading [,LPT1], copy only the lines that list the fonts you want to use with your new printer entry, and paste them under the [,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. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7. PC Specific ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 7.1 How do I get rid of General Protection Faults (GPFs)? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- As Monte would say -- "Get a Mac!". See question 3.6 for more :-) There are many other, less expensive ways to cut down on PageMaker crashes, first of which is to purchase Windows 3.1 if by rare chance you are still using 3.0. You will notice less of a frequency of errors. I am a firm believer that GPFs can be virtually eliminated with just a little detective work. If you can consistently reproduce the problem then you should be able to quickly narrow down the source of the problem and contact the appropriate people. Do not assume, however, that since a GPF occurs when working in PageMaker, that the GPF is caused by PageMaker. Just about anything can do it, from fonts to screen savers. Some suggestions in tracking down the source of a GPF include: 1. 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. 2. Some Corel Draw fonts are also known to cause printing problems. The font detective Maureen Akins tracked down these Corel fonts to be problematic: CasperOpenFace, Nebraska, NewBrunswick, Paragon, Penguin, PenguinLight, SwitzerlandCondLight Italic, SwitzerlandLight (and maybe Geographic Symbols, Common Bullets, and SwitzerlandNarrow) To remove these from your system, you can simply comment out their entries in the WIN.INI file by placing a semicolon in front of their entry in the [fonts] section. Other Corel fonts may cause printing problems as well. 3. Aldus and Microsoft also have both said that you can sometimes reduce problems by making sure the "Page Independent" box in the PostScript printer driver box HAS AN "X" in it. 4. 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. 5. If you are using QEMM, spend the time to read the manual. QEMM assumes many things. 6. 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.) 7. 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 (or SCANDISK for you MS-DOS 6.0ers) every now and then to clean out lost allocations. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 7.2 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 and PageMaker 4.x, 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 7.3 I can only see 27 fonts on my font listing. How can I see more? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you are using PageMaker 4.x, you are likely limited to seeing only 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). PageMaker 5.0 no longer has this problem. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 7.4 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 PostScript driver (3.5.3) for PageMaker 4.0 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 regrettably not for the Imperial sizes.) It also adds some more printer descriptions and speeds the printing of compressed bitmaps slightly. If you are using PageMaker 5.0, it is not suggested that you use this driver, as PM5 ships with a more recent version (3.56). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 7.5 When I switch back to PM 4.0 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 canceling. This forces windows to remap the palette. You can do this easily by control clicking one of the items in the color palette window. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8. Macintosh Specific ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 8.1 How can I speed up this dang Mac? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In all fairness to Monte in question 7.1 -- Get a Pentium! 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 8.2 I am trying to install PM 4.x, but it keeps asking for Disk 1. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- There is a bug with certain System 7's when you are attempting to install PageMaker 4.x. If it continuously asks for Disk 1 (even when you do put it in the disk drive), simply press - . (That is, the Command key with the period key.) [Thanks Ken Weiss!] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --> 9. THE END Thank you! I hope that the FAQ has come in handy for you. If you have any suggestions / questions you would like to see added to this FAQ, please contact me (gwp@cs.purdue.edu)! I can not tell you how much I appreciate comments! Geof.