Flexible Page Numbering

[gwpriester]

A feature that flew in under the radar and one I am eternally grateful for is now you can start the first page numbering at a specific page.

Previously automatic page numbers started on the first page of the document or book.

So even if I went to page 11, let's say, the first page of the story for a book, and used Insert > Page Number > Start Numbering on Page 11, it automatically started on the first page.

So aside from Master Pages which would make me a happier camper, it would be terrific if text areas for left and right hand pages could be configured separately. Right now Designer Pro X treats the text areas on left and right pages the same. Fine if the text is centered on the page. But if not one page in each spread has to be re-positioned manually.

[Acorn]

On page numbering, I am holding out for Section, Chapter and Page. After all, Magix/Xara claims:

Page & Layout Designer combines all the text and page layout features of typical word processor & DTP packages with the image editing power of Xara's award winning illustration & photo editing tools, to produce a fully integrated, flexible & powerful 'Document Processor'.

Acorn

[gwpriester]

Well yeah. How long have we been begging for master pages like other page layout/publishing applications.

[mwenz]

Well yeah. How long have we been begging for master pages like other page layout/publishing applications.

Xara products are not page/layout applications...That said, CD has master pages and people painstakingly create books with it, too. No idea why anyone would, but hey, no one asked me.

I would much rather have things fixed, add, etc., for print design than have further forays into something it cannot really be.

[gwpriester]

Well Mike for what it's worth. I am laying out Mary's new book (I am estimating 300 pages), and the process with the new page numbering is making the job a whole lot easier. I edited a 60 page section yesterday, and it went really fast and I am very pleased with the typography.

By small adjustments to the tracking settings, it is possible to eliminate widows or extend a widow into a few words that is not at all noticeable to the reader. Some lines where the word spacing is too apparent decreasing the tracking a tick or two brings up a word and tightens up the line. I find this easy to do in Xara. So yes, there are better programs out there for what I am doing, but nobody looking at the final book is going to know or care what program I used. The only thing that matters is the typesetting looks professional. And in my opinion it does.

We are aiming at releasing the book in January so when it is available I will post a link and you can tell me if it looks convincing or not.

[mwenz]

Gary, I'm not saying it cannot be done. And I'm not saying the results cannot be pleasing.

What I am saying is there are simply many options out there that are more efficient and that Xara products will never be that. As well, I am saying that within the scope of what Xara products are, there are long standing issues that need fixed, that there are things that need fleshed out and yet more things that, again within the present scope of what Xara products are, should be added.

[lex]

Xara products are not page/layout applications...

I beg to differ with you. I have totally enjoyed Xara as a substitute for QuarkXPress. It has most of the typographical possibilities of Quark, and much more when compared with the classic Quark version 3.32 for Win 3.1/95, which I still occasionally use in a virtual W2K session under VirtualBox.

As to the left and right pages problem, there are imposition solutions that can be used to alleviate/circumvent it. You can export the Xara file as a PDF and impose the pages with a PDF imposition program, e.g. Montax Imposer (http://www.montax-imposer.com/download), or if you are using the services of a commercial printer, they can impose the pages for you setting gutters and margins, etc.

[gwpriester]

Lex - The problem is we self publish through CreateSpace and from a submitted PDF file. CreateSpace will reject the PDF if the text is not within the acceptable margins. And I am not sure how these publish on demand digital presses work, but the output is what you input to them.

The fix I am suggesting (placement control over left and right hand pages) should not be rocket science to implement.

I was going to publish this next book with Ingram Spark who offer more options including hard cover with dust jacket but I have not heard much good about their support or timing. CreateSpace has been very responsive and easy to work with.

Mike - To quote one of my least favorite Secretaries of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, "You go to war with the Army you have."

[lex]

The problem is we self publish through CreateSpace and from a submitted PDF file.

Dear Gary,

I am not sure why you should not be able to use Montax for this. It supports 1UP-imposition (most other impo programs do not!) and you can reprocess the Xara PDF with different margins for left and right. The result is a normal PDF (with normal pages, crop marks and other additions are not required). I suggest you try their demo.

[gwpriester]

OK. Though to be honest, selecting each left page text block, changing the location in the X Co-ordinate, then checking off Just this Selection has a kind of Zen meditation-like quality to it.