XState™ - "The electronic bookmarker for every QuarkXPress user"
Markzware
3337 S. Bristol Suite 87
Santa Ana, CA 92704
AppleLink: Markzware
Voice:1-800-300-3532
Fax: 1-714-241-3874
ABOUT XSTATE
XState™ is a unique and powerful QuarkXPress XTension designed exclusively for the Macintosh that keeps track of the Documents you were working on at the time you quit QuarkXPress and automatically reopens them in your very next session!
XState magically repositions each Document to its original screen location and window size, conveniently scrolls the Document to the page number you were last on and will even reset the blinking edit cursor to the exact point in your text where you were last typing! You simply run QuarkXPress and XState will recreate the original “state” of your previous session making you ready to go! In other words, XState makes you feel like you never even left QuarkXPress at all”!
XState also keeps track of the folders you frequently use for the elements of a Document such as when you do a Get Picture, Get Text, Save Text or Save Page as EPS and so forth. When you are ready to perform a specific function, XState conveniently provides instant access to the folder last used for that activity.
XState also clocks the amount of time you spend working on each Document during a session of QuarkXPress and maintains a grand total time for each Document throughout all sessions.
XState also allows you to group multiple Documents into individual Projects so that combinations or “sets” of Documents of your choice can be opened and closed quickly and easily, with a grand total time kept separately for each Project. XState likewise allows you to group multiple Libraries into “sets” that you can selectively bring up or put away at will.
Simply stated, XState keeps you organized without you even trying!
INSTALLING XSTATE
Copy XState from your master disk into your QuarkXPress application folder and run QuarkXPress in the usual manner. Note that XState will create a Preferences file in the Preferences Folder in your System Folder (saved uniquely for QuarkXPress 3.11, 3.2 and 3.3). This Preferences file will contain various parameters regarding your particular setup of XState, as well as the lists of your last used Documents and Libraries. If you wish, you may trash the Preferences file at any time to start again from scratch.
For QuarkXPress 3.2 and above, you may also copy the XState™ Help file into the QuarkXPress application folder and access it via the Balloon Help menu.
IMPORTANT NOTE: To be effective, XState™ needs to load before most other XTensions and for this reason its name begins with a period. Since XTensions are basically loaded alphabetically this name should not be changed. Furthermore, for QuarkXPress 3.3, it is best to place XState™ in the XTensions folder which will guarantee the proper loading sequence.
HOW XSTATE WORKS
Whenever you close a Document, XState goes to work by “recording” the following attributes that will be restored the next time you reopen this same Document.
1) Screen location
2) Window size
3) Document view scale
4) Scroll bars settings
5) Current page number
6) Text selection ranges in all Text boxes
7) Current selected object(s)
8) Date and time of closing the Document
9) Length of time the Document was active
10) Accumulated total Document time
Screen location and window size are always remembered, but object and text selections will only be recorded at the time of actually Saving the Document.
Whenever you reopen a Document, XState will restore it to its original “state” by repositioning the window on the screen to the exact same location it was when you last closed the Document and resizing the window to its original dimensions. The Document will also be scrolled to the same page number you last left off.
Whenever you save a Document, XState records the exact cursor position or text range (highlighted characters) for each text box. This means that when you reopen the Document you need only click on the desired text box to begin editing the text as the original cursor position or selected text for the text box will be restored. Likewise, if you had saved a Document with a specific box selected, it will also become reselected when you reopen the Document.
XState also remembers the amount of time you spent working on a Document so that whenever the Document is open on the screen you can easily view the total accumulated time, as explained later.
LAST USED DOCUMENTS
Whenever you open a Document, XState will add its name to a pop-up menu attached to the item “Open...” under the File menu.
For QuarkXPress 3.2 there will be an additional menu item for your last used Libraries.
The first item “Open...” can be selected to open your Documents in the usual manner (or you can press command-O). The second item “Document Folders” is for an additional pop-up menu that gives you quick access to the folders from which your Documents have been opened. The remaining items will comprise the list of your last used Documents.
Opening a Document: To reopen a Document simply select its name from the menu. If the Document is already open then its window will be brought to the front. If the Document cannot be found (perhaps it has been renamed or moved to a different folder) then you will be asked if you would like to locate it. When a Document is opened, its name will then appear at the top of the list with the date and time of its opening.
Removing a Document: Select the name while holding down the shift key. Use both the shift and command keys to remove all names starting from the selected item on, or a consective "group" from a specific volume if "Show Volume Name" is set as the menu preference. Include the option key to always force removal from a specific volume.
Closing a Document: Whenever you close a Document, its “last used” date and time will be updated and its name will be moved to the top of the menu list. However, its name can be removed by holding down the shift key while clicking the Document’s close box. All currently open Documents can be closed as a group by clicking any close box while holding down either the command or option keys. You may also include the shift key to remove the entire group of names.
DOCUMENT STATUS MARKS
The Documents (and Libraries) on the last used menus will have various marks to the left of their names that represent their current “status”:
√ signifies that the Document is the frontmost Document.
• means the Document is currently open.
* means the Document was open during the current session.
◊ means the Document was open during your very last session.
No mark means no recent activity.
Document titles shown in italics will mean they cannot be readily located on your disk drive and you’ll be asked to find it upon selecting it.
LAST USED LIBRARIES
Whenever you open a Library, XState will add its name to a pop-up menu attached to the item “Library...” under the Utilities menu, or for QuarkXPress 3.2 on the “Open...” pop-up under the File menu.
The first item “Library...” can be selected to open your Libraries in the usual manner (or for QuarkXPress 3.2 you can press command-O). The second item “Library Folders” is an additional pop-up menu that gives you quick access to the folders from which your Libraries have been opened. The remaining items will comprise the list of your last used Libraries (with “status marks”).
Opening a Library: To reopen a Library simply select its name from the menu. If the Library is already open then its palette will be brought to the front. If the Library cannot be found (perhaps it has been renamed or moved to a different folder) then you will be asked if you would like to locate it. When a Library is opened, its name will then appear at the top of the menu list with the date and time of its opening.
Removing a Library: Select the name while holding down the shift key. Use both the shift and command keys to remove all names starting from the selected item on, or a consective "group" from a specific volume if "Show Volume Name" is set as the menu preference. Include the option key to always force removal from a specific volume.
Closing a Library: Whenever you close a Library, its “last used” date and time will be updated and its name will be moved to the top of the menu list. However, its name can be removed by holding down the shift key while clicking the Library palette’s close box. All currently open Libraries can be closed as a group by clicking any Library’s close box while holding down either the command or option keys. You may also include the shift key to remove the entire group of names from the list.
XSTATE™ PREFERENCES
There are several preferences from which you can choose for customizing your “last used” menus by selecting “XState™ Preferences...” from the XState™ menu.
You can set how you would like to view your Documents, Libraries, Dictionaries, Projects, Library Sets on their “last used” menus. They can be sorted and shown by Date or by Title, with their source volume name and a limit to the number of items can be set. Additionally, the handle for XPress Prefs conflicts can be set.
LAST USED FOLDERS
XState remembers several folders that you frequently use:
1) Open Document
2) Save Document as
3) Get Text/Picture
4) Save Text
5) Save Page as EPSF
6) Collect for Output (QuarkXPress 3.2)
7) Auxiliary Dictionary
8) Open/Create Library
9) Open/Create Project
10) Open/Create Library Set
Document Folders: When you open a Document, the folder from which it came will be added to the “Document Folders” pop-up menu.
Selecting a folder from this menu is equivalent to selecting “Open...” except the Open dialog will present you with the chosen folder allowing you to quickly locate the desired Document contained in that folder.
Default Folder: A folder name that is underlined signifies it is the default folder. For example, selecting “Open...” (or pressing command-O) will “point to” this folder when the Open dialog appears.
Removing a Folder: Select the name while holding down the shift key. Use both the shift and command keys to remove all names starting from the selected item on. Include the option key to always force removal from a specific volume.
Including the Volume Name: Check the Volume Name box using Menus Preferences under the XState™ menu.
Limiting Number of Menu Items: Enter the desired amount.
Save as Folders: The folder you choose when performing a “Save as...” will be added to the pop-up menu attached to the “Save as...” item under the File menu.
Selecting the item “Save as...” (command-option-S in QuarkXPress 3.2) will offer the underlined default folder for the Save as. The folder chosen for the actual Save as will also be appended to the Document folders menu and vice versa.
Get Text Folders: The folder you choose when performing a “Get Text...” will be appended to the pop-up menu attached to the “Get Text...” item under the File menu.
Selecting the first item “Get Text...” (command-E) will present the underlined default Get Text folder.
Selecting one of the folders from the menu is equivalent to selecting “Get Text...” except you will be presented with this folder when the Get Text dialog appears allowing you to quickly locate the desired location. Note that the folder from which the actual imported text file is chosen will also be appended to the Save Text folders menu and vice versa.
Get Picture Folders: The source folder of an imported image will be appended to the “Get Picture...” pop-up attached to the File menu.
If a picture box already contains an image, selecting “Get Picture...” (command-E) will present the source folder.
When reimporting an image XState will also restore the original offset, scale, skew, and rotation attributes of the picture box. This allows you, for example,to substitute a hi-res replacement image without losing the vital parameters that were set using a lo-res image.
Save Text Folders: The folders used for “Save Text...” will likewise be remembered and appended to the Get Text folder menu.
Save Page as EPSF Folders: The folder last used for “Save Page as EPS...” will be recorded.
Collect for Output Folders: For QuarkXPress 3.2 an additional folder is remembered for “Collect for Output”.
Library Folders: The folder last used for opening or creating a Library will be remembered allowing instant access to the same folder when ready to open or create another new Library.
Auxiliary Folders: The folder last used for creating or setting an Auxiliary Dictionary will be recorded.
Project Folders: The folder last used for creating an XState Project will be recorded.
Library Set Folders: The folder last used for creating a Library Set will be recorded.
DOCUMENT TIME & BACKUP MENU
XState will clock the amount of time you work on each Document. Clocking only occurs, of course, when the Document is the frontmost Document. The time can be viewed by pressing the shift key while clicking the Document’s title bar and holding down the mouse button in which case a special pop-menu will appear.
This special pop-up contains:
• List of Projects Document is in
• Document time for this session
• Accumulated total time
• Date and time stamp
• Backup Documents
• Window placement (QuarkXPress 3.2 only)
• Currently active Documents
Projects: The item “Projects” provides an additional pop-up menu that will show a list of the Projects the current Document is in (as explained later). Selecting a Project from this menu will open it.
This Session/Total Time: The item “This Session” will show the total time spent working on the Document during the current QuarkXPress session while the item “Total Time” will show the accumulated total time for the Document throughout all sessions.
Edit Time Dialog: Selecting either “This Session” or “Total Time” will bring up the Edit Time dialog which will allow you to modify the minutes of the current session or the total accumulated time.
Time Stamp: Choosing the item “Time Stamp”, which will be active only when a text box is currently selected, will insert the Document title plus the current date and time into the selected text box. Holding down the command key while selecting "Time Stamp" will also include your "Chooser" name.
Backups List: This pop-up menu will show a list of any backup Documents whose titles begin with the same characters as the current Document and reside in the same folder, or in the designated backup folder in QuarkXPress 3.2, listed in order of their last modified dates (which is not the same as their “last used” dates). To reopen one of the backup Documents simply select it from the menu.
Windows Pop-up: For QuarkXPress 3.2 and above, the items “Stack Documents” and “Tile Documents” can be selected to automatically reposition your Document windows.
Selecting either item is the same as selecting it from the Windows pop-up under the View menu. You can then immediately “Undo Stack or Tile” and all of the Document windows will be restored to their original positions and sizes. Clicking the Document window’s title bar with the shift key held down to get the Time & Backup pop-up menu will also offer this “Undo” feature. However, performing any activity other then reselecting the original stack or tile menu item will disable the undo function.
At the bottom of the Windows pop-up menu will be a list of all currently open Documents. Selecting one of them will bring its window to the front which is a convenient way to switch between Documents.
XSTATE PROJECTS
A Project will be comprised of the Documents of your choice that you would like to group together into a single “job”. You can elect to automatically open any or all of these Documents when you reopen the Project.
XState will clock the amount of time you spend working on each Document in the Project and give you a grand total time for the entire Project. This information can then be saved to a text file and imported into other applications to generate reports.
THE PROJECT PALETTE
To create a Project select “New Project...” from the XState™ menu and you will be asked to give your new Project a title. If you wish you may add documents from your disk drives before creating the Project.
Adding a Document to the Project
Whenever you have a Document open on the screen, and it is the frontmost Document, you can then add it to your Project. This is done by selecting “Add Document to Project” from the XState™ menu. The Document’s name will then appear on your Project palette.
You can repeat this process as desired to add other Documents to your Project. If you have added more than one Document and the Preferences sort is set to “No Sort”, you may drag the titles to different rows to reorganize your list.
Removing a Document from the Project
To remove a Document from the Project, bring it to the front and select “Remove from Project” from the XState™ menu. You can also remove a Document by holding down the shift key and double-clicking its title on the Project palette. All Documents can be removed by selecting “Remove All Documents”.
Clocking a Document
Whenever a Document in the Project is the frontmost window, clocking will occur and will be displayed on the Project palette.
Turning off the Clock
The box on the Document row in the Clock icon column can be unchecked in order to turn off the clocking of the Document. Checking the box will once again enable clocking to occur.
Editing Document Time
The Document’s session time and/or total time can be edited by double-clicking either box on the Project palette to bring up the Edit Time dialog (or you can shift-click the Document window’s title bar). Entering a session time greater than the current total will automatically adjust the total to be equal to the new session time.
Closing a Document
When you close a Document, its status will be updated on the palette. The * mark signifies the Document was open during this session, but is now closed, evidenced by the title and times being displayed in italics.
Opening a Document
To open a Document, simply double-click its title. If the Document cannot be found you will be asked to locate it.
Closing a Project
If you hold down the command key while clicking the palette close box, all of the currently open Project Documents will be put away. Use the control key to close only the Project and leave its active Documents on the screen.
Auto-Opening Documents
When you open a Project, all of the Documents that were checked in the Document icon column will also be reopened.
You can uncheck this auto-open box to prevent a Document from automatically reopening.
A Document will also automatically reopen if it was still open or “last active” when you closed the Project even though its auto-open box was not checked.
Note that auto-opening and auto-closing Documents can be overriden by using the Project Preferences, as explained later.
Cycling through Documents
Clicking on the small Document icon will cycle through Project Document windows Command-clicking the icon will reverse revolve the windows. Includind the shift key cycles through all active documents (or use option-command-shift W to cycle through all active Documents).
Reports
A Project Report can be generated by clicking the Report icon on the Project palette (assuming you have added at least one Document) and then the Save Report dialog will appear:
Checking the “Include Header” box will add the Project name plus the date and time to the Report.
Checking the “Include Project Info” box (enabled only if data exists) will insert the data from the Project Info Edit dialog into the Report.
The resulting file will be a text file containing the list of Document titles along with their session and total times, as well as the grand totals for the entire Project. This text file can then be imported into your other applications as desired, or you can use “Get Text...” and bring the file into a QuarkXPress Document. The data within the Report file will be separated by tabs which allows you to format the titles and times into columns.
Project Info
Clicking the Project icon will bring up the Project Info Edit dialog. This serves the purpose of allowing you to enter additional information about your Project. Whatever you type in is up to you, but the data can also be included in a Report text file, as previously explained.
Find Project Document
Clicking the Find icon will bring up the Find Project Document dialog which will allow you to search for certain Documents in the Project. Type in a comparison string then select the whole word and ignore case radio buttons for the desired search criteria.
The currently open Documents contained in the Project starting with the frontmost Project Document will be searched for a match based on the criteria.
To find again: Hold down the command key when clicking the find icon to locate the next occurrence of the word. In this case, a “revolving” search will be performed. For example, if a match is found in a Document which is not the frontmost Document, its window will be brought to the front.
To find the next closed Document: Hold down both the option and command keys when clicking the find icon to cause the search to continue on closed Project Documents if no match is found on the open Documents.
To search closed Documents only: Hold down the option key when clicking the find icon to search only the currently closed Project Documents.
Note that the above keystrokes can also be applied when clicking OK on the Find Document dialog.
OPENING PROJECTS
When selecting “Open Project...” from the XState™ pop-up menu you can locate the desired Project and a Document list will appear similar to the Project palette.
At this time you may check the Document icon column boxes to selectively choose which Documents you want to open before hitting the OK button. Or, you may double-click an individual Document title and only that particular Document will be opened.
Unchecking the “Document List” box will prevent the list from being displayed. Checking the "Open Checked" box will open only checked Documents (which will override their “last opened” status).
You can open Projects directly from the current Document by holding down the shift key while clicking the Document window’s title bar in which case the Time & Backup pop-up menu will appear.
If the Document has been added to a Project, you can open or switch to that Project by selecting it from the “Projects” pop-up menu. If the Project cannot be found you will be asked to locate it.
You can detach the Document from a Project by selecting the Project’s name from the menu while holding down the command key. Of course, switching Projects may cause your current Documents to first be closed before the new Project appears.
MULTIPLE PROJECTS
You can have more than one project active at the same time. However, it is usually a much safer practice to limit your work to one project at a time, or to at least avoid having the same documents shared by other active projects as this can result in a time conflicts.
The frontmost project will always display the current date and time at the top left portion of the palette while the other projects on the screen will have their document titles and times grayed out. To make a project become active, click on the palette to bring it to the front. When the project is made active, its first companion document will also be brought to the front. Likewise, whenever you click on a document to make it active, its companion project will be also brought to the front. You can prevent this document or project “switching” by holding down the command key when clicking on either a document or project palette.
PROJECT PREFERENCES
Select “Project Preferences...” from the XState™ menu to customize your Project.
Important Note: The Project Preferences offer several different parameters that when combined result in varying effects. It is important to understand how these parameters can be applied in order to avoid unwanted conflicts.
Auto-Open Checked Documents: Selecting this box will automatically open all Documents that were checked in the Document icon column when the Project is opened. Deselecting this box will prevent them from reopening. (Command-period can also be used to cancel the opening of Documents).
Auto-Open Last Active Documents: Checking this box will cause any Document to automatically reopen when you open the Project if in fact the Document was open when you last closed the Project, regardless of whether or not it was checked on the Project palette.
Auto-Add Documents: Selecting this box will automatically add newly opened or created Documents to the Project. Since you might often open Documents merely to view or inspect them, it is sometimes best to leave this box unchecked to avoid adding unwanted Documents.
Replace Document when Save as: Checking this box will cause the original Document title on the Project palette, when doing a Save as, to be replaced by the new Document title and prevent the new title from being added to the Project. However, if this box is deselected, and the Auto-Add box is selected, then the new title, of course, will be added.
Close Documents when Close Project: Checking this box will force all open Project Documents to automatically close when you close the Project. If any of the Documents require saving, of course, you will first be prompted before the Document is put away.
Add Documents To: If “As Added” is selected you can choose between adding new Documents to the top or to the bottom of the list. (You may also drag a Document title to a different row as desired).
Sort By: You can choose the order you want to display the Document titles by selecting the appropriate radio button.
Match Document's Actual Time: Because a Document may have been opened without the Project being open (or was opened inside another Project), and XState will always clock the lone Document, the times displayed on the Project palette may not equal the actual time you’ve spent working on this Document. Therefore, checking this box will force the session and total times to always exactly match the Document’s current times (as viewed on its Time & Backup menu).
Zero Session Times: Checking this box will cause all Documents to start with a session time of 0:00 when the Project is opened.
Zero Time when Save as: Checking this box will cause a new Saved as Document to start with a session and total time of 0:00.
Hide Time Boxes: Checking this box will hide the time and total boxes and the Clock, Report, Project Info and Find icons making them inaccessible as a security measure. Clocking may still occur, but will not be displayed.
Set as Defaults: Checking this box will save the Preferences as the default parameters to apply to New Projects. The defaults can also be set by selecting “Project Preferences...” when there is no Project open.
LIBRARY SETS
XState allows you to group multiple Libraries into a single “set” for quick and easy opening or closing.
The “Open Library Set...” pop-up menu will offer your last used Library Sets and Library Sets folders.
Creating a Library Set: A Library Set can be created by first opening the desired Libraries and selecting “Save Library Set...” from the XState™ menu.
Opening a Library Set: A Library Set can be reopened by simply selecting its name from the last used Library Sets pop-up menu (or by using the Library Set folders) in which case all of the Libraries from that Set will be opened. When selecting “Open Library Set...” from the XState™ pop-up menu you can also choose the desired Libraries.
Check the Library icon column boxes to selectively choose which Libraries you want to open before hitting the OK button. Or, double-click an individual title and only that particular Library will open.
Unchecking the “Library List” box will prevent a list from being displayed.
In addition, you can choose whether or not you want to close the currently active Libraries or leave them on the screen (which is how you would go about merging Libraries into a larger Set).
Closing a Library Set: Selecting “Close Library Set” will first ask you to save the Library Set. Holding down the command key will avoid the prompt. You can also close all Libraries by clicking any Library palette’s close box while holding down the command key.
NOTES ON XPRESS PREFERENCES
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If you discover you are opening multiple Documents where the preferences do not match the current “XPress Preferences”, you may hold down the option key while the Documents are opening to prevent further prompts from QuarkXPress. This will automatically force a default for each Document of “Keep Document Settings”. Or, you can set the default using the XState™ Preferences.
XSTATE KEYSTROKE FUNCTIONS
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SHIFT KEY:
• while selecting a document, library, project, library set or folder from
its “last used” menu removes its name.
• + command while selecting a document, library, project or library
set from its “last used” menu removes its name and all names
below it. This will also remove a consecutive“group” of items
from the same volume if “Show Volume Name” is set as the
menu preference.
• + command + option while selecting a folder removes a “group” of
consecutive folders from the same volume.
• while closing a document, library, project or library set removes its name
from its “last used” menu.
• + click document title bar displays Time & Backup pop-up menu.
• double-click title row on the project palette removes document
from the project.
COMMAND KEY:
• + shift key while selecting a document, library, project, library set
or folder from its “last used” menu removes its name and all names below it.
• + shift + option while selecting a document, library, project or library
set from its “last used” menu removes its name and all names
below it. This will also remove a consecutive“group” of items
from the same volume if “Show Volume Name” is set as the
menu preference.
• click any document’s close box closes all documents.
• click any library’s close box closes all libraries.
• click project palette’s close box also closes all project documents.
• double-click title row on palette closes project document.
• click project palette’s close box also closes all project documents.
• while opening project prevents documents from opening.
• + period aborts opening documents when open project.
• while opening library set keeps current libraries on the screen.
• while selecting “Close Library Sets” avoids Save prompt.
• while QuarkXPress is loading prevents automatically opening last
active documents (or use command-.)
• while clicking Find icon to “search again” uses open project documents
on a “revolving” basis.
• + option key while clicking Find icon to “search again” examines
open project documents then continues with closed documents
if no match has been found.
• + option + shift W cycles through document windows.
OPTION KEY:
• click close box closes all (same as command-click close box).
• + shift + command while selecting a menu item removes a
consecutive“group” of items from the same volume.
• while clicking Find icon to “search again” examines closed project
documents only.
• + command key while clicking Find icon to “search again” examines
open project documents then continues with closed documents
if no match has been found.
• + command + shift W cycles through document windows.
CONTROL KEY:
• click project palette’s close box only closes the project and leaves
all of its active documents on the screen.
• while opening document forces QuarkXPress “Use Document Settings”
