folder, you can also use DejaVu to designate default folders for those actions. That way, whenever you choose the File ⇒ Open, File ⇒ Save, File ⇒ Import, or File ⇒ Export commands, the resulting dialog will already be directed to your chosen default folder for that action. To assign default folders, choose Edit ⇒ Preferences and click the Default Path pane.
In contrast to most other programs, QuarkXPress documents often rely on external files that have been imported and linked. For example, when you import a picture, QuarkXPress inserts a preview of the picture on your page and remembers where the original picture file is. It then grabs that picture file whenever you export or print the QuarkXPress document. This feature can be tremendously handy for at least two reasons. First, picture files can be enormous, so by not including them inside your QuarkXPress document, your document doesn’t balloon to an unworkable file size. Equally important, if you edit the picture file after importing it into a QuarkXPress page, the updated version of the picture is used when printing or exporting the document.
Therefore, before you create a new QuarkXPress project, it’s smart to create a new project folder to hold it. A handy naming convention for the folder might be as follows: client name-project name-year-month, which would look like this:
petstumes-2017 catalog-16-11
You can then create a folder inside that folder for linked pictures, which keeps them handy for your project. You may also want to create a folder for files related to the project, such as the original word processing files given to you, notes about the project, and other files related to your project but that aren’t necessary for printing it.
Understanding Projects versus Layouts
Back in QuarkXPress 7, Quark changed the way files are structured. Previously, QuarkXPress documents were similar to those by other applications: Each document had one page size and orientation. But in QuarkXPress 7 and beyond, you no longer have “documents.” Instead, QuarkXPress creates what it calls a project that can include multiple layouts. (You can think of a layout as what was previously a document.)
Each layout can be a different size and orientation (portrait or landscape), so you can keep different parts of a project or campaign together. For example, a client’s business card, letterhead, and envelope can each be a layout within the same project. Or, for another example, a restaurant’s menu, table tents, happy-hour specials, and signage can each be a layout within one project.
A QuarkXPress project can contain two types of layouts: print and digital. This allows you to use one project to create content for various media – such as print, PDF, ePub, native apps, Kindle books, and HTML5 publications.
By grouping them together like this, QuarkXPress also lets you share content among these layouts. For example, the colors and fonts can be consistent across those layouts, and you can even use QuarkXPress’s Synchronization features to ensure that if you change, say, an address or phone number on one layout, that address or phone number changes on all of them. (See Chapter 7 for more on synchronization.)
Because of this fantastic capability, every project has at least one layout. Each layout has its own name (similar to how documents in other applications have their own names), and you can add new layouts to the open project by choosing Layout ⇒ New.
Creating a new project
To create a new project, follow these steps:
1. Click Project in the Create panel of the Welcome screen that appears when no projects are open, or choose File ⇒ New ⇒ Project.
Either way, the dialog box shown in Figure 1-2 appears.
2. Enter a name for your layout in the Layout Name field.
As explained previously, a project can have multiple layouts, and each layout can have a different name. At the moment, you’re entering a name for the first layout in your project.
3. In the Layout Type drop-down menu, select the type of layout you want.
If you intend to print the layout you design, choose Print. If you intend your layout to be viewed onscreen, perhaps as a fixed-layout e-book or reflowing e-book, an HTML5 publication, or an app, choose Digital. (If in doubt, choose Print – you can always convert it to Digital later, as explained in Chapter 17.)
4. Select the Single Layout Mode check box if you think you won’t be adding any further layouts to this project.
Selecting this check box hides the layout’s name (Layout 1) from the project, which simplifies filenames if you export your layout as a PDF or other digital document. As you learn in Chapter 17, when you export your layout to PDF or other formats, the new file is named Project_Layout, using the project and layout names you assigned to them. (The project name is the same as the name of your file when you save it.) When in Single Layout Mode, the name of the exported file is simply the project name, which is the name of the QuarkXPress file on your computer.
5. In the Page box, type a width and height for your layout or choose a preset size from the Size pop-up menu.
6. For Orientation, select a button indicating whether you want your page to be Portrait (tall) or Landscape (wide).
7. In the Page Count field, enter how many pages you think you’ll need.
Don’t worry: You can add and remove pages later.
8. If your layout will have left and right pages (as in a magazine), select the Facing Pages check box.
This setting enables you to have different margins and Master Pages for the left- and right-facing pages. If you know that your layout will require having odd page numbers (1, 3, 5, and so on) on the left-facing pages, select the Allow Odd Pages on Left check box. Normally,
