The Most Common Mistakes Among Users Of QuarkXPress

If you have recently started using QuarkXPress, you may find yourself making some of the errors outlined in this article. Take a second to read through our top beginner pitfalls and spare yourself a little frustration in getting to grips with your new software.

The New Project dialogue window (which appears automatically whenever a new project is created) is often completely ignored by many QuarkXPress users, even if the settings are not the right ones for the project they are about to create. The settings you see are left over from the last project created: if the new project needs different settings, go ahead and change them.

Where does the page actually end? A lot of inexperienced QuarkXPress users mistake the margin guides for the edge of the page. Margin guides should be set when creating the new project and are used to align text and image boxes. These items should be placed on the guides: there is no need to leave any extra space.

Another common error is excessive use of ruler guides. These are created by dragging either the vertical or horizontal ruler onto the page and can be used to align elements using Quark's handy snap-to-guides features. Snapping two elements to the same guide ensures that their edges are aligned. This is a great feature when used in moderation. However, a lot of users create so many guides that it becomes difficult to see which guide relates to which element on the page. In general, guides are quicker to use but measurements are more accurate.

Incorrect use of guides is another basic error frequently encounter among QuarkXPress users. A typical scenario is where you want to create a new element and align it with something that's already on the page. So you drag a guide onto the page and align it with the existing element. Then you create your second element and snap it to the guide. This means that only the first element is actually aligned with the guide. Remember, the snap is what makes guides useful. So dragging a guide and aligning it to the edge of a box by eye won't do. You need to go back to the first element and ensure that it too is snapped onto the guide.

The automatic text box feature in QuarkXPress can be activated when creating a new project: you just click on the check-box marked "Automatic Text Box". It allows us to go into something approaching word processing mode. It should be used when creating multi-page documents consisting mainly of text such as a report or book.

Many new users assume that all this feature does is to automatically create a text box on the page for you, saving you the trouble of doing so yourself, not realising that the text box created in this way has one other special property. When it becomes filled with text, QuarkXPress automatically creates a new page containing another automatic text box linked to the box on the first page. So if you are creating a single page brochure or advert, an automatic text box is a liability since, if it becomes filled with text for any reason (for example, when you are experimenting with typefaces and font sizes), you end up with an extra page being created.

Another simple error new QuarkXPress users tend to make, is clicking on the text box tool then trying to edit text. This one is not so serious since it's a non-starter: the only thing you can do with the text box tool is create text boxes. The correct tool for editing text is the Content tool, the second tool on the QuarkXPress toolbar.

You will also often see new users attempting to edit text or move a picture inside a picture box when the Item tool is highlighted. This is a non-starter since the contents of a box can only be edited with the content tool. Admittedly, most users will eventually realise this if only through trial and error.

Another common Item/Content tool error is that new users will often insist on selecting the Item tool when resizing a box: in fact, resizing works fine regardless of whether the Content or Item tool is selected.

QuarkXPress novices also tend to create far more text boxes than they need to. The worst error people will make is to create a separate box for each different style of text. In actual fact, you can put as many different formats as you like in a single Quark text box. You only need separate text boxes for items which have no direct relation to each other within the layout or which require conflicting text box attributes. So if some of your text is spans two columns and another bit spans one column, you will clearly need to boxes.

Focusing on the box rather than the content is another basic error made by inexperienced QuarkXPress users. Unless the user specifies otherwise, QuarkXPress text and picture boxes do not print. Only their contents will actually print. However, many users insist on carefully vertically centering the text within a box forgetting that, to all intents and purposes, there is no box there. The solution to this one is F7 (a shortcut for View - Guides) which hides margin and ruler guides as well as the frame normally shown around text and picture boxes.

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The writer of this article is a developer and trainer with Macresource Computer Solutions, an independent computer training company offering QuarkXPress training courses in London and throughout the UK. Don't reprint the same version as everyone else. Get your own unique content QuarkXPress article here.

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