This is a demonstration version of SXetch Pad— the Illustration XTension™ for QuarkXPress®. This XTension will allow you to fully test the features of SXetch Pad, but will not allow saving nor printing of QuarkXPress documents while the XTension is loaded.
Features
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• Draw using Bézier curves
• Convert Type 1 fonts into editable Bézier curves
• Wrap text onto a curve
• One step multi-color blends
• and much more...
System Requirements
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QuarkXPress 3.11 or greater
ATM™ 2.0.2 or greater
Macintosh® II or greater
System Software 6.0.7 or greater
Installation
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To install the demonstration version of SXetch Pad, simply copy the XTension into the same folder containing your QuarkXPress, and launch QuarkXPress. You should see the SXetch tool icon in the QuarkXPress tool palette, near the bottom, after the XTension has loaded.
Use
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SXetch Pad is integrated with QuarkXPress— not only with its functionality, but also with its implementation. Most operations are the same as in Quark. A brief overview of some of the SXetch Pad tools and features is given below. For more information on SXetch Pad, see the Ordering information section below.
To begin a session with SXetch Pad, you must designate an area in which to illustrate, much as you would do before importing a picture into a Quark picture box. First create a new Quark document, select the SXetch tool icon in the Quark Tool palette and draw out a rectangle in which to illustrate.
When this SXetch Box is active, you will see the “Style” menu replaced with the “SXetch” menu. In addition, if Quark’s content tool is also selected, then the “SXetch Pad” palette which contains the tools to illustrate with will appear.
From top left to bottom right, these tools are:
• Selection (Arrow)
• Rotate
• Text
• Rectangle
• Rounded rectangle
• Scissors
• Curve
• Oval
• Polygon
• Line
Most of these tools operate identically to their counterparts in the Quark Tool palette. For example, to draw a rectangle, select the Rectangle tool and select a starting point of the rectangle in the SXetch Box, and drag to its ending point. Once you have created an object, you can set the frame weight and color via the “Frame” command in the “Item” menu. Other object attributes can be set via the “Modify” command in the “Item” much as you would with a Quark box. Additionally, color and shade attributes can be modified from the “SXetch” menu.
There are some differences between corresponding SXetch and Quark tools, as well as additions which are covered here.
The Text tool creates a rectangular object in which text is placed. Text is edited in a movable modal dialog. Selecting the “Apply” button allows you to see the effect of your changes. Selecting the “OK” keeps these changes. When a text object and Text tool are selected at the same time, the cursor will change to an I–beam cursor when placed over the text object. Clicking in the text object will allow you to re–edit the text.
The Scissors tool allows you to cut a curve at an arbitrary point along the curve’s frame. Simply select the curve you wish to cut, and click on the place on the part of the frame you wish to cut. The cursor will be a pair of scissors when over a cuttable area of the curve’s frame.
The Curve tool allows you to create Bézier curves. The exact nature of this tool is beyond the scope of this document to describe completely. Its basic function is to allow you to create arbitrary shapes by creating a smooth curve between points that you designate with the curve tool. When a curve is selected, the “SXetch” menu contains more commands that allow you to manipulate the design of the curve such as wrapping text to a curve, or combining two open curves. The use of this tool, and its additional menu commands, is fully described in the SXetch Pad manual.
The Polygon tool is unlike the QuarkXPress Polygon tool in that it creates regular polygons instead of arbitrary ones. The number of sides in an existing polygon can be set in the “Modify” dialog. You can also set the number of sides in future polygons in the SXetch Pad preferences.
Converting text to a curve is simple. Create and select a text object that has text created with a type 1 font. Select the “Convert to Curve” command in the “Item” menu. The text object will be deleted, and a curve object with the text in Bézier curve form will be created in its place. Each character in the text is Join–ed. In order to edit the curve, you first need to “Split” the character. This command is also in the “Item” menu. Once this is done, you may edit the curve as if you had created it by hand with the Curve tool. The “Convert to Curve” command can also be used to convert other objects into curve objects (i.e. an oval or rectangle).
Wrapping text to a curve is also very simple. Create a text object that has text created with a type 1 font. Create a curve object. Select both the curve and the text objects, and then choose the “Wrap Text to Curve” command in the “SXetch” menu. The text object will disappear, but the text will be drawn along the path of the curve object. To unwrap the text, select the curve object, and choose the “Wrap Text to Curve” command in the “SXetch” menu again.
Filling an object with a blend is easier than you probably imagined. Select the object or objects you wish to fill with a blend (or deselect them all if you wish to fill the background) and select the “Blend” command from the “SXetch” menu’s “Color” sub–menu. A dialog will appear which has a list of Quark colors on the right–hand side, and a scale on the left–hand side. Drag colors from the list onto the scale. A preview of the blend is shown in the bottom left–hand corner, and a choice of blend types is available in a popup menu to the right of the preview.
Ordering information
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For sales or more information, contact:
XChange
P.O. Box 270578
Ft. Collins, CO 80527
800.788.7557
303.229.0620
DataStream Imaging Systems, Inc.
585 W. Main St.
Lexington, KY 40507
606.255.6686
Disclaimers
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QUARK, INC. MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THE ENCLOSED COMPUTER SOFTWARE PACKAGE, ITS MERCHANTABILITY, OR ITS FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. QUARK, INC. DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF THE DISTRIBUTORS, RETAILERS AND DEVELOPERS OF THE ENCLOSED SOFTWARE.
WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL QUARK, INC. BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES IN ANY WAY RELATING TO THE USE OR ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THE ENCLOSED SOFTWARE. QUARK, INC.’S LIABILITY SHALL IN NO EVENT EXCEED THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF THE PURCHASE PRICE/LICENSE FEE ACTUALLY PAID FOR THE USE OF THE ENCLOSED SOFTWARE.
SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND/ OR THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THESE EXCLUSION AND LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO PARTICULAR DEVELOPERS.
QuarkXPress is a registered trademark of Quark, Inc. XTension is a trademark of Quark, Inc. Adobe is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc. ATM is a trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc. Macintosh is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. XChange is a registered trademark of XChange. SXetch Pad is a trademark of DataStream Imaging Systems, Inc. All other company and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
