Hi,

I should have been more specific. I meant in Xara, because I wasn’t sure exactly what Xara did on publish, and what the printer still needed to do. But I found what I wanted in the manual! Shouldn’t try to speed read!

I love Xara DP, and it is easy to forgive its shortcomings, which are few. However, it would be very impractical to be setting baseline grids by hand on very long documents. The attach text to curve is a very handy workaround, and helps a lot.

I’m a very experienced user AND a very lazy user. I don’t look for a feature until I need a feature. Have been a web designer since 1995. This is the first time I’ve needed professional DTP from it. I used to use Quark, but stopped upgrading because I preferred designing webs, and web graphics.

Agree totally re. using bits of many programs. I can’t use ugly programs, so work in ones that make me happy, and keep older versions of others, as do you, to do the tougher tasks. I don’t bother now, but used to finish printed docs in Photoshop, and during the years working in NetObjects Fusion, kept Dreamweaver to do the odd thing Fusion really hated. I still keep Photoimpact because it is good at batch processing graphics. I still plan every web site in Fusion, and many other things, because its site view makes a great mindmap tool, and the structure is printable.

This was never supposed to be a printed document, so I’ve had to make it twice. Annoying. But hey, now I know Xara as a DTP program. Learning is never wasted.

Thanks to all who responded. You’re Xara’s greatest asset, really.




Quote Originally Posted by Artyboots View Post
Hello,

Of course. But I am way behind and it is quicker to struggle on than stop and take screenshots etc. I have a very bad-looking document, at the moment, and I need to fix it.

I am tackling it by immediately altering anything that seems to be annoying Xara. I don't have time to persuade it any more. Bolding anything wrecks baselines, for example. But I have given up worrying. Now I am making sure everything is actually finished, at which point, at 1000% zoom, I will just bite it, and work through the individual lines that need their leading tweaked. I can do it in a 20 page brochure. It's a pain but doable. Couldn't do it in a book - not without going insane.

ANYWAY, on my travels, I found an interesting film on youtube that seemed to help, even if it didnt solve my particular problems. It makes full justification a lot easier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w-BCRIFSlE

Thanks to all who tried to help me. I took out the image Xara didn't like. No time. Spent the day and the doctors for my son.

Fingers crossed.

Web design is so much more forgiving!


Ali