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About This Site

Maintained by Peter C.S. Adams and Gordon Woolf.

Design philosophy: all information in this web site should be accessible to the intended audience regardless of platform, browser, or size of screen. Graphics are kept to a minimum to reduce download times. If you see a frame or an animated GIF, feel free to flame me mercilessly.

This site uses fully compliant cascading style sheets (CSS). Older browsers should display text in their default fonts, while more recent browsers will all display fully formatted text. (However, the styles sheets will look best viewed in Internet Explorer 4.0 or above.) The site also complies with major accessibility standards.

Colophon

The base font for this page is Trebuchet MS, a free font from Microsoft designed for on-screen readability at small point sizes. The headlines are 32 pt Times bold italic, combining elegance, classical proportions, and compactness.

The logo is variation on the original logo from Aldus PageMaker and depicts Aldus Manutius, a student of Johannes Gutenberg and inventor of italics. This is to echo the roots of desktop publishing, both in the 1450s and the 1980s. The logo uses Courier from ITC to evoke the feel of metal type and Poetica from Adobe Systems to evoke the era of hand lettering.

Made on a Macintosh using Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia DreamWeaver.

Frequently Asked Questions About PageMaker

SECTION 1 -- INTRODUCTION, WELCOME, AND DISCLAIMER

1.1 Welcome

March 1st, 2001

Welcome!

The following is the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list for the PAGEMAKR mailing list. Feel free to pass this file on to fellow PageMaker users. If you are reading this more than three months after the date above, please visit one of the web sites below to check for a more recent version:

<http://www.makingpages.org/pagemaker/pm-faq.html>.

<http://www.worsleypress.com/pm-faq.htm>.

Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any comments or corrections. What is mentioned here is not intended to stop discussion, rather to be the beginning.

Before you use the PAGEMAKR List, and if you don't have time to glance through the whole FAQ, please read sections 3.3 and 3.4.

1.2 Latest News

As of March 2001, the web site of the PageMakr List has changed to <http://www.makingpages.org/>. This site has been set up by list co-owner Peter Adams and at the time of the release of this FAQ is incomplete but growing fast.

The project which started as the complete rewrite of PageMaker, and which was first known by the code name "K2", was released in September 1999 as Adobe InDesign, but is being positioned as a separate program -- a high-end page layout program for magazines, newspapers, etc., with PageMaker remaining the program for the rest of us. Full information on InDesign is available on the Adobe website <http://www.adobe.com>.

At the same time as the initial demonstrations of InDesign, in March 1999, Adobe announced a relaunch of PageMaker 6.5 packaged as PageMaker Plus, with a selection of more than 200 templates, many items of clipart, and, in the Windows edition, a Microsoft Office-type toolbar. This edition of PageMaker is otherwise PageMaker 6.52 but incorporating the latest release of filters and plug-ins for PageMaker 6.5 which were at the end of 1997. These included the long awaited PDF import filter, and a new PDF export filter. A revised in-rip trapping plug-in (to take advantage of PostScript 3) is available.

The current version of PageMaker is therefore still version 6.52 (with a free update patch on the Adobe website for those with 6.5 or 6.51). Adobe staff have reported that there continues to be a PageMaker development team.

A summary of updates and patches is included below. See the Adobe web site for a full list for each platform and going back several versions.

1.3 FAQ changes from last version

February 1, 2001: Many updates are for changed references on the Adobe web site, with deletion of some questions and answers now dealt with in the separate troubleshooting document. It adds answers to some questions such as on forms, and answers some problems seen in recent versions of both Mac and PC operating systems.

September 1, 1999: updates on InDesign and PageMaker Plus; additional answers including the most-asked "how do I start page numbering other than with 1 on the first page?", plus items on "Lorem Ipsum" dummy text, graphics looking good in Photoshop and poor in PM, and a very brief answer on using tables.

The original of the current HTML version replaced three sections in text format as the "master" copy of the FAQ on June 1, 1998, although there was previously an HTML version which was not always kept up to date with changes to the text version.

The last major change to the format of the FAQ was on Nov. 19, 1997: editions prior to that will have more information on early versions of PageMaker.

1.4 Disclaimers and Acknowledgments

This FAQ has two disclaimers:

1. This document is offered to the public domain on the understanding that no sale of this information is undertaken by any recipient without authorization. Any reproduction of the information should be complete and entire and provide reference to the originator (i.e. the PAGEMAKR listserver at LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU) and the author.

2. The author takes no responsibility for any errors, omissions or misunderstandings, however induced! The information is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. In no event shall the author of this FAQ or the distributors of this FAQ be liable for any damages whatsoever including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, loss of business profits, or special damages, even if the author has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Adobe, PageMaker, the PageMaker icons, and PostScript are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems. All other products listed in this file are trademarks of their respective companies (Microsoft's Windows, etc.).

I would like to strongly thank all those members of the list who have helped in compiling the FAQ. In particular my thanks go to Geoff Peters who put together the original FAQ and many of whose original words still exist in this version.

Special thanks also go to founder Cindy Stone whose continued involvement keeps the PAGEMAKR list running free at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis <http://www.iupui.edu/>, list maintainer Holly "LISTSERV Goddess" Stowe for keeping everything running smoothly, and to Peter Adams for registering (and paying for) the new web site <http://www.makingpages.org> for the PAGEMAKR list. Thanks also to Ed Innes of Hypercorp for providing web page space for the list for many years until now.

Finally I emphasise this is a work in progress.

Gordon Woolf <gordon@worsleypress.com>

SECTION 2 -- TABLE OF CONTENTS

An easy way to search is to use your browser's Find command to look for the subject you want.

SECTION 1 -- INTRODUCTION, WELCOME, AND DISCLAIMER

SECTION 2 -- TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION 3 -- GENERAL AND LISTSERV QUESTIONS

SECTION 4 -- IMPORTING/EXPORTING/CONVERTING

SECTION 5 -- CRASHES AND FILE-WON'T-OPEN PROBLEMS

SECTION 6 -- USING PAGEMAKER

SECTION 7 -- PRINTING

SECTION 8 -- FONTS AND SPECIAL CHARACTERS

SECTION 9 -- THE END

SECTION 3 -- GENERAL AND LISTSERV QUESTIONS

3.1 What exactly is the PageMaker listserv?

The PageMakr listserv, dedicated to PageMaker related topics, was created by Cindy Stone on Friday, January 26, 1990 and now has over 1800 direct subscribers and many, many more through indirect means. The original co-listowners were Cindy Stone, Geoff Peters, and Jeff Bone. Subsequently it was transferred to Cindy, Tony Chryselieu and Peter Adams, and with Gordon Woolf more recently replacing Tony. Any queries on the list should go to:

Peter C.S. Adams <adamsp@CS.UMB.EDU>
Gordon Woolf <gordon@worsleypress.com>
or reach both in one go via <pagemakr-request@listserv.iupui.edu>

A "listserv" is an automated mailing list for e-mail. People send messages to the listserv which in turn, distributes the messages to all currently subscribed members. It is a popular method for special interest groups on the Internet.

The list includes the discussion of PM on both the Mac and PC platforms. It often wanders into the realm of graphic layout and design in general.

The list is unmoderated. Thus, everything you post will be seen by all 1800+ subscribers.

3.2 How do I subscribe and unsubscribe to the PageMaker list?

To subscribe to the PageMakr list, you will have to register with the list server. To do this send a message with the body of:

SUBSCRIBE PAGEMAKR <your real name>

to the Internet address:

LISTSERV@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU

Please note that the list name does not have the second "e" in PageMaker.

If you have trouble, send a message of "HELP" to the listserv. If still no go, then contact the listowners mentioned in question 3.1.

On subscribing you will be asked to send an "ok" reply to the automatic acknowledgment from the list within 48 hours. This is to ensure that you are using your correct address and is part of a barrier against spams and other unwanted postings.

You will, by default, receive the DIGEST version -- a single email each day which includes all messages posted in the previous 24 hours.

To receive each individual message as it is posted, send a message to the LISTSERV to: SET PAGEMAKR NODIGEST

This is best coupled with a command SET PAGEMAKR NOACK which ensures you do not receive an acknowledgment of mailing as well as your own message back as one of the hundred or so individual recipients. Multiple commands can be sent in the same message to the LISTSERV, on one line or with a separate line for each. If you change from the digest to individual mailings the listserv will send you a final digest of messages up to the time it makes the change, so you shouldn't miss anything.

To change back to the digest form, the command is

SET PAGEMAKR DIGEST

The command SET PAGEMAKR MIME, in conjunction with DIGEST, makes the individual messages appear as individual attachments, which can be referenced separately. This works well in most, but not all, mail readers.

You can also temporarily stop receiving digests and/or individual messages altogether with a NOMAIL command, and start again with the MAIL command.

If you are trying to unsubscribe, send to the listserv just as you did when you subscribed, except send the following line:
SIGNOFF PAGEMAKR

You will receive a reply asking you to send an "ok" reply within 48 hours.

You can change as often as you like: for example, if you get individual mail and go away for a week, you can change to the digest so you only have seven emails from the list on your return.

Please, please do not post subscribe or signoff messages (or any other listserv command) to all 1800+ subscribers.

Commands go to: LISTSERV@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU

Postings go to: PAGEMAKR@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU

Another basic rule: if you change email addresses/accounts/domains etc., PLEASE use that account to "signoff pagemakr" before the account is gone, and use a new account to subscribe to PageMakr when you're ready to start receiving mail in the new location.

3.3 What should I know before I post a message to the mailing list?

Before posting to the PageMaker mailing list (by sending mail to pagemakr@listserv.iupui.edu), please be sure to follow these guidelines:

1. If the message clearly does not pertain to PageMaker or DTP in general, do not post it.

2. If the message is clearly a public flaming, do not post it.

3. If the message is a binary file, do not post it. (Contact the listowners instead).

4. If the message is a "for sale", or "Wanted to Buy" message, do not post it. If it is a "job available" think carefully whether it should go around the world, keep it very, very short ("more details on request"), use a "TAN: DTP job in city, country" type of subject header, and ask for replies off list.

5. When replying to a Pagemakr list digest, do not include the entire previous digest. (Copy and paste the subject and any bits you want to requote or, if you use the Reply function of your mail program, delete all but the bits you want to requote). Even if replying to a non-digest message, pare the message down to the minimum necessary to get the context.

6. *** If the message is in response to someone who has violated one of the previous 5 rules, do not post it to the entire list. Instead, contact the person personally or write to the listowners.

7. Read this FAQ before posting a question.

8. Blatant sales hype and pitches should not be posted. Low-key notes and press releases are okay if they answer questions asked on the list. Use discretion. Advertising is not allowed; brief mentions of products, services, affiliations are acceptable in signatures (see point 9).

9. Please keep your signature short (5 lines maximum!)

10. **Don't send attachments and please switch off the formatting (HTML) function of your mail program (they all have a "text only" setting)**.

11. Ask yourself if it's necessary to post to the entire list. If you aren't sure, e-mail it privately to the person you're responding to.

12. If in doubt, contact the listowners first.

I apologize if this list sounds too strict. But as you know, mob psychology applies just as easily to the Internet (if not more so) than in real life. There must be some common ground in netiquette that all agree to follow.

3.4 How do I set the Listserv options?
Can we split the lists according to platform?

The amount of mail traffic can be somewhat disconcerting for those who do not read their mail daily. There are several options available for direct subscribers:

1. The listserv default is to send you daily "digests". You receive one message a day that contains a table of contents and then the bodies of all the messages. We recommend this method for those who are overwhelmed by the traffic. To turn on the digest format, send a message to the listserv (listserv@listserv.iupui.edu) with the body of: SET PAGEMAKR DIGEST

To turn off the digest, send the same message but with SET PAGEMAKR MAIL.

2. The second option is to use the Index format. You receive only the subject lines of the messages sent to the list. You must in turn request the desired messages from the listserv. To use the index format, send a message to the listserv with the command: SET PAGEMAKR INDEX

Each time the suggestion has arisen of splitting the list into two according to platform (Mac and PC), there has been an outpouring of people wanting to keep the list together. By democratic vote, the list will be kept together.

You can help keep the traffic manageable by using the following prefixes to your messages' subject lines:

TAN: Tangent messages: not directly pertaining to PageMaker
MAC: Macintosh specific messages
WIN: Windows specific messages
IND: InDesign specific messages (but remember there is a specific InDesign list for the complex questions).

3.5 How can I search the PAGEMAKR List archives?

The Listserv archive search facilities are at:

http://www.listserv.iupui.edu/archives/pagemakr.html

and there is an explanation there of how it works. On the PAGEMAKR List website http://www.makingpages.org/pagemaker/archives.html, there is a link to this site and instructions on how to search the archives by email. Briefly, you send your search request to the listserv address (listserv@listserv.iupui.edu), as:

SEARCH pdf and "vertical line" IN PAGEMAKR SINCE 97/03/31

The "since" part is optional and can limit the search to recent posts. For instance, you sould use

SEARCH * IN PAGEMAKR SINCE YESTERDAY

to come up with all the posts since midnight yesterday.

Searching the archives can be better, and quicker, than asking a question on the list, because you gain the collected wisdom of years of list messages.

3.6 What other mailing lists / newsgroups may be of interest to me?

There are several other listservs that may be of interest to the Desktop Publisher. The one asked about most frequently is the Photoshop List for which the web site is <http://lists.lyris.net/photoshop/>. You'll find many people you already know from the PAGEMAKR List.

There is an InDesign Talk list that you can sign on for at http://www.blueworld.com/blueworld/lists/.

Check the PAGEMAKR List web site for other lists to ensure an up-to-date address.

You will also find many email lists at <http://www.egroups.com>. These range from the active and useful to the other end of the scale. One to consider is <pub-forum@egroups.com> which deals with publishing.

"The Liszt" has over 23,000 listserv, listproc, majordomo and independently managed mailing lists in its directory. <http://www.liszt.com/>

And for those of you who have Usenet access, you might check out the following newsgroups:

General Discussion
-------------------------
comp.text               comp.text.desktop
comp.publish.prepress   misc.industry.printing

Specific DTP products
-------------------------
alt.aldus.pagemaker    
alt.aldus.freehand      alt.corel.graphics
alt.soft-sys.corel.draw alt.soft-sys.corel.misc
comp.text.frame         comp.text.interleaf
comp.text.sgml          comp.text.tex
comp.text.pdf           bit.listserv.pagemakr(see note*)
alt.graphics.photoshop  comp.graphics.apps.photoshop

*bit.listserv.pagemakr was originally linked to the PageMakr List, but, because of the large number of spams and other advertising messages which entered the list via this source, it was separated, and is now little used.

Misc. DTP-related Topics
------------------------- 
alt.binaries.clip-art   alt.graphics
alt.graphics.pixutils   alt.hypertext
comp.fonts              comp.graphics
comp.lang.postscript    comp.sources.postscript
comp.sys.mac.graphics   comp.sys.amiga.graphics
misc.writing            comp.publish.cdrom.*
rec.photo.*

3.7 What is the current version of PageMaker?
What is new in the latest version?
Will it run under Mac OS X or Windows 2000?
What expletives can I use for PageMaker?

The current PageMaker Plus 6.52 has been released for both the Windows 95/98 and Macintosh platforms. (6.52 is a patch release of the main 6.5 version and includes the 6.51 update...click Help>About PageMaker and the dialog will show your current version in small type). One major new release has been a cross-platform converter for the Windows version of PM6.52 to enable this to import Mac PM files. There have also been a number of releases of new and revised filters and patches including a PDF import filter, a PNG import filter, revised PhotoCD, Word97, Spreadsheet and WordPerfect 7 and 8 import filters, EPS font scanner plug-in, postscript files, HTML import filter, build booklet plug-in, Hyperlibrary plug-in (plus scripts), PS error handler, Save for service provider plug-in, tagged text import and export filter, Add Continued line, Expert kerning plug-in, revised automatic layout adjustment rules, PM6.5 import filter, Charset template, QXP import, word counter, library palette update (Mac) and a more easily installed PM3 converter.

One of the latest additions on the Windows platform is a converter for Microsoft Publisher 95 and 97 files.

There's also a new version of the scripting engine (see Vladimir's PM Automation Page, address in Section 3.10).

A few of these are for one platform only and some for particular language versions. There are PM65 update text files for each platform on the Adobe web site.

The last release of PageMaker 6 was 6.01 or the "enhancement pack" as it was called, which was supplied free of charge on CD to all registered owners of 6.0. There was a small charge for the 3.5" disk version.

For those still using PM5 there was a patch which upgraded to 5.0a. This is said to help, particularly, with printing problems, and is on the Adobe website along with the other enhancement pack components.

PM6.5 Windows requires Windows 95/98/NT, at least a 486 with 8MB ram, and at least 26MB disk space, with VGA monitor. A Pentium with 16MB ram and an SVGA display plus a CD-ROM are recommended. PM6 for use with Windows 3.1 requires Win32s files included on the PM installation disks. (The general opinion of list members seems to be that while PM6 will run under Windows 3.1, it is *much* better under Win95. PM6.5 will not work under Windows 3.1X.

PM6.5 on a Mac requires at least a 68030 processor or a Power Macintosh, system 7.1 or later, 6MB RAM (9MB for PowerMac) and 26MB disk space for a minimum install.

If you install an upgrade, you are permitted to keep the previous version on the same computer until you are happy with the new version. From comments on the List this appears to present no problems unless you try to run both at the same time.

Academic pricing is available from your local dealer in most states and in many countries overseas with details of student registration or with a school purchase order. Check to see if yours is one of them. If not, call Adobe or their local distributor.

Will PageMaker run under the latest operating systems? It has been confirmed by several users that it runs under Windows 2000, though there can be problems with printer setup. We have seen references that if the printer is operating under NT4, then an upgrade will still work but that there can be problems with a new install.

As for Mac OS X, we were just seeing first reports as this FAQ was compiled. However, indications were that it will run in "Classic" mode. Statements from Adobe give hope to there being an upgrade to work in "Carbon" mode. Check <http://www.macfixit.com> for current reports on all legacy programs.

And just to brighten your day, here are some of the common PageMaker nicknames: PageMangler, PageMager, RageMaker, PainMaker, PageBreaker, PageBaker (when your system fries), PageForsaker (when you quit and forget that you wanted to save changes), PageMucker, PageFaker (and don't mix the last two), PaceMaker and when you are really frustrated, call it Xpress. (That is a direct lift from Geoff's FAQ which I couldn't resist)

3.8 What about foreign language versions?

There are versions of PageMaker which cover most European languages, being effectively the US version with translated menus and help files.

There is a Middle Eastern version (Hebrew, Arabic, Persian) and two Chinese versions (which handle vertical as well as horizontal text columns), and others. Among places to try (as well as <http://www.adobe.com> are <http://www.fontworld.com> and <http://www.winsoft.fr>. A tip from Jonathan Bressel, who uses the Hebrew version: consider buying a legal, registerable, copy of the English version first, which may give you a substantial discount off the foreign version.

There are also programs which enable Chinese characters to be used within the Windows operating system and these enable horizontal use of those characters in the standard versions of PageMaker.

3.9 What's new in 6.5? Why should I upgrade?

PM6.5 gives the option of using Frames for text and/or graphics if you want to. In particular this gives the ability to do layouts before the actual elements are ready. Layers enable you to work as you would with sheets of acetate on a physical layout and come in useful for multiple versions of a document. Automatic layout adjustment works to preferences you set to adjust layout when changing page orientation, size, or applying a new master page. Improved support of HTML and PDF creation with export to GIF89 and JPEG format. The interface is now more like Photoshop with tabbed dockable palettes and many shortcuts common to Photoshop and Illustrator (although some List members have been upset by these changes). A save for service provider plug-in consolidates jobs and linked files and checks fonts used.

The scripting language has been enhanced to allow questioning of the state of the program - for example the positions of objects (previously this could only be done by a script run externally through Applescript or Windows DDE).

Another important consideration in upgrading are the filters available for imports from other programs -- Word 97/98 and WordPerfect 8 filters are only available for PM6.5.

3.10 Should I upgrade to InDesign?

Former Aldus and Adobe sources indicate that InDesign started out as the rewrite of the old PageMaker code, some of which was so much like spaghetti that no one could see how it worked. However, InDesign has appeared as very much an upmarket product, with abilities that are far above those of PageMaker, especially in its type-handling. It has been designed so that plugins will offer many of the facilities that are built into PageMaker, and some of those facilities are not yet available, or are available only at a relatively high add-on cost.

Users of PageMaker who feel that PageMaker does not meet all their needs for quality output should consider upgrading to InDesign, and Adobe has made some offers of upgrades at a substantial discount. Some others see the file corruption probelsm they suffered under PageMaker as sufficient reason to make the change.

However, the view of many on the PageMaker List seems to be that if PageMaker is meeting all your current needs, then why upgrade to a program which will involve a substantial learning curve, even though in many ways it shows its PageMaker heritage?

While Adobe do not confirm nor deny product developments ahead of firm announcements, it does seem certain that there is a PageMaker development team and that there is likely to be at least one more upgrade to PageMaker. Whether this is basically a fix to the problems caused by operating system development or is a popularised version of InDesign remains to be seen. It does seem certain that PageMaker will be aimed at the in-house publication market.

Many members of the PageMaker List have taken up the special offers to buy InDesign, some have moved over and left the List, and some are using both programs, but it seems that many are still happy with PageMaker as their main tool. Some functions of PageMaker are not yet available in InDesign or are only available with the purchase of additional plug-ins.

3.11 I know how to do it on the Mac, how do I on the PC? (& vice versa)
Which is better -- Mac or PC PageMaker?

The Macintosh and PC versions are almost identical. The COMMAND key on the Macintosh (or splat, clover, rugbeater, propeller key) parallels the CONTROL key on the PC. The Mac OPTION key equates with the ALT key on the PC.

As to which platform is preferable, faster, exciting, etc., simply keep subscribed to the list...

3.12 What other DTP related resources are there on the Internet?

The Internet abounds with information, including many resources relevant to the modern day publisher. First stop for those on the PageMakr List should be the PageMakr Listserv site <http://www.makingpages.org>

The other sure stop on the web should, of course, be Adobe's web site at http://www.adobe.com/ and in particular the "print" section at http://www.adobe.com/print/features/main.html

Adobe's ftp site is ftp.adobe.com

Adobe Systems has added a web-based user forum at http://www.adobe.com/support/main.html

There is also much information from the former online version of the Adobe Magazine at http://www.adobe.com/store/products/adobemag.html

There's a specific Pacific area (SE Asia, Australia and New Zealand etc) at http://www.pacific.adobe.com and other sites around the world.

Other list member suggested places for general DTP info include:
<http://www.publish.com>
<http://www.ideabook.com>

Other useful PageMaker sites are:

<http://home.earthlink.net/~phojo/pagemaker> Christine Hummel's PageMaker Tips & Tricks

<http://www.wcdd.com/dd/ddindex.html> Document Design; Diane Haugen's look at the design side of DTP

<http://www.users.qwest.net/~jmhubbard> List member Jeanne Hubbard's tips site.

<http://www.dtpbylee.com/"> Lee Bennett's DTP/graphic designer's page

<http://www.worsleypress.com/pubprod/> Publication Production info including PM hints and the Format email newsletter (intended for those who produce newspapers, magazines and newsletters).

<http://www.i-us.com> Chris Dickman's useful pages

There are also several PageMaker scripting pages including:

<http://www.svprint.com/pmscripting.html"> Marc Zeedar's PM Scripting page

<http://www.oz.net/~vsamarsk/PageMakerScripting.htm"> Vladimir's Automation Page

<http://www.hhansen.com/pmscripting/index.html> PageMaker Scripting page by Hans Hansen, author of the book of the same name.

Among places where you'll find some useful plug-ins for PageMaker are:

<http://www.borderguys.com> Fraemz, a border maker plug-in

Sadly, Extensis, the makers of the almost indispensable PageTools set of plug-ins, no longer sell or support that product. There may still be retail copies around, and secondhand copies may also be available. It was also part of the Action Pack which was at one time available with PM (a kind of forerunner to the Plus part of PageMaker Plus). The toolbar in PM 6.5 Plus is not considered a satisfactory substitute by most users but it we have seen reports of users running both.

And for those who use QuarkXPress, there's a list you can subscribe to with a message of "subscribe quarkxpr" sent to listserv@listserv.indiana.edu.

3.13 Is there a list of keyboard shortcuts and PageMaker tips?
What books and magazines are available?

The Shortcuts section of the Help file within PageMaker is a good guide to all available shortcuts and includes, for PM6.5, a list of those shortcuts which have changed from previous versions.

If you do not have Jeff Bone's Scanning FAQ, then run to <http://www.infomedia.net/scan/>.

As for the favorite books and magazines, here is a quick summary.

Books:

Real World PageMaker 5: Industrial Strength Techniques by Olav, Kvern, Roth. (PM4 edition is latest for Windows)

"Real World PageMaker 4 (yes, 4) is still one of the best! Most of the suggestions and demonstrations are still applicable to PM5 and PM6." -- Michael Brady

Desktop Publishing by Design -- Ronnie Shushan & Don Wright with Laura Lewis. Microsoft. "subtitled 'Everyone's Guide to PageMaker 6' this is the first book I recommend to anyone looking to learn DTP, typography and PM in one course" -- Jonathan Bressel.

PageMaker Companion -- Robin Williams (PM5 may be latest)

Chicago Manual of Style

Complete PageMaker 6.5 (list member Rick Wallace had some involvement with this following on from his own PageMaker 6 book)

Methods of Book Design by Hugh Williamson. Yale Univ Press.

Desktop Publishing Skills by Felici & Nace. Addison-Wesley.

The Makeover Book by Roger C. Parker. Ventana Press.

Peachpit press PageMaker book

PageMaker Scripting by Hans Hansen. Adobe Press. This book is already out of print but well worth searching for if you are going to look at scripting. Check the addendum and extra scripts on the associated web site.

Getting It Printed by Beach and Kenly

The Design of Books by Adrian Wilson

Newspaper Production using PageMaker 6.5 by Gordon Woolf (Did I really leave my own book out of earlier versions of the FAQ?).

Other suggestions include The Elements of Typographic Style, by Robert Bringhurst (Hartley and Marks), Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors Dictionary and Hart's Rules for Compositors and Readers (both Oxford University Press).

Magazines:

Step by Step Electronic design

Dynamic Graphics Magazine <http://www.dgusa.com>

Design Graphics <http://www.designgraphics.com.au>

Inside PageMaker magazine. <http://www.elementkjournals.com/ipm/>

Adobe Magazine has ceased publication but back issues are available at the Adobe website (see above).

Back to contents section

SECTION 4 -- IMPORTING/EXPORTING/CONVERTING

4.1 How do I get a PMX.X file (fill in version) from a Mac/PC to open in my version of PageMaker on a PC/Mac?

The general rule is: You can't change version AND platform at the same time. BUT, in Dec. 97 Adobe released a cross-platform converter (available on their website) for the Windows version of PageMaker which will convert version 5 or 6.0x Mac files into PC version 6.0 (which can then be opened in PC version 6.0 or 6.5. This is a stand-alone program, so maybe Mac users can get a PC user to install it.

Unless you can make use of that, you must change version on one platform to match the version on the other and then your file should open. For example: A PM5 file from a Mac and you have PM6 on a PC; Open and save in PM6 on a Mac first.

If you have PM6.5 on a PC and you need to open it in PM6 on a Mac, save it first in PM6.5 as a PM6.0 format file. (Going backwards in versions will lose features and is not to be recommended).

Later versions of PM can open files of earlier versions *created on the same platform* back to PM4 and there is a PM3 to PM4 conversion utility available on the Adobe web site.

The "you can't cross versions and platforms at the same time" gotcha also applies to some international versions. For example, you can't swap a file directly from English PC 6.5 to Middle East 6.5 Mac version in one go; you need the English Mac version as a go-between.

4.2 What are the problems when I open a PM file from one platform in the other?

Fonts, fonts and fonts. You need to have the same version of the same font from the same font foundry on both platforms if you want all spacing, line endings etc to be identical. Otherwise you will get font substitutions which may have a major effect on the layout.

Other problems relate to graphic formats. TIFFs are relatively universal (there are differences but PM copes pretty well). With EPS (encapsulated postscript) graphics, you may not get a preview when you transfer but the file should print okay, unless it has fonts specified but not included. PM6.5 creates previews but earlier versions may just show a gray box on screen. If you stick to these graphic formats you will have few problems. PICT and WMF formats are best avoided with files which may need to transfer.

4.3 I got a document file on a Mac disk. I have a PC. Is there any way I can open it?

If possible ask the person sending you the disk to format it as a PC disk on their Mac. The Mac OS has this capability built in. Otherwise there are conversion utilities for the PC that let you read a Mac disk and transfer files to and from it. TransMac is just one and has a shareware version which will open 1.4mb floppies (the full version will open Mac zip disks, CDs and just about any media). MacOpener was also recommended by several Listers.

PageMaker is good at "placing" files (provided you have the correct filter installed) but it sometimes takes a short time from release of a new format until the filter is available (there is now a Word97/Word98 filter but not for older versions of PM). Just about all word processing programs will open files created in the same program on the other platform. Otherwise get the file saved in a format which PM will read (RTF is always a good standby).

A useful hint on the List is the XyWrite filter will often open files which nothing else will. You'll get loads of rubbish as well but the text will be in there somewhere. This even applies to recovering text from corrupt PageMaker files. Similarly the Word option to "Recover Text from Any File" under file type in the Open dialog can be very useful.

If you have to import many files across platforms, you may need a file translation program. Conversions Plus is said to retain all the original formatting and embedded graphics.

With CDs going cross-platform, there is a universal format but this is restricted to 8.3 file names. Windows CDs with long, but not very long, file names will be recognised on Macs, but there is a utility for the Mac which will ensure they can do this. <http://www.tempel.org/joliet>

4.4 A designer gave us an Illustrator/CorelDraw/Freehand graphic as an EPS file which looks good on his output but the words don't look the same in our output.

Make sure whoever is creating the file converts the text to paths (otherwise you'll have to have the same fonts installed on your system).

4.5 I received a file by email but I can't read it.

Check whether your email program is set for BinHex or MIME encoding and whether this is the format the file was sent in. If it received it in the wrong format you can sometimes correct by mailing it to yourself and changing format (or mail program) before downloading again.

4.6 I want to "place" a story from a PM6.5 file as I did with PM6, but it won't let me do it.

There's a PM6.5 filter available on Adobe's web site and included with more recent packs but if it's urgent, just select ALL files in the selection box instead of Importable files. Then when you get the "don't know how to place this file" message, select a PM6 file or PM6 template file.

4.7 I want to place a graphic but PM doesn't seem to support the format.

First check the loaded filters (hold control/option and click Help:About). It could be that when PM was installed that filter wasn't installed: it may be on the PM disks or CD.

If that doesn't work, most major graphics programs (like Photoshop) will open a wide range of formats and save in others. Mac users may need a program like DeBabelizer or the shareware GraphicsConverter while PC users could use Graphics Workshop or LView Pro (both shareware).

PM on a Mac may have trouble placing TIFFs unless Mac Easy Open is turned off from its control panel (system folder).

If there are options on placing a graphic format, a dialog box will come up if you hold the shift key down while selecting the graphic to Place.

If you aren't sure what format a file is in, try opening it (or a copy of it) in a text editor. Most files have some text near the beginning which names the program which created it.

4.8 My file size for PageMaker documents keeps increasing -- what causes it and how can I reduce the file size?

You can specify in the Preferences Menu which way PageMaker should save the file. The default method is "Faster" which appends the recent changes to the end of the file, making it larger. You can compact the file by regularly doing a "Save As..." and saving under the same file name.

The option is to set the preference to the "Smaller" method though it does take longer to save the file this way. If your file is somehow damaged, you are much more likely to recover it if it was saved with the smaller method. A recommendation of many on the List is to always use the Save Smaller option.

Another way of decreasing file size is to use PageMaker's link capabilities. Basically graphic files should not be stored internally in you PageMaker documents. Look up "links" in your PageMaker manual.

Another common explanation of huge file sizes may be that you are placing EPS or PDF files and allowing PageMaker to create a preview with the default size. Hold down shift as you place and change the options for a lower resolution, which will only affect your on-screen preview provided you are printing to a Postscript printer.

4.9 How do I export the text of several (or all) unconnected stories?
How can I export my PageMaker file to straight ASCII text?

If you want to join together several unconnected stories together into one main story, first open up a new PageMaker file and issue the place command. Specify as a file your previous PageMaker file (make sure your PageMaker import filter is installed). A list of the stories will appear. Select the ones you want to join together. From there, you can export the combined story to an ASCII file -- there is an ASCII export filter, just be sure that it has been installed.

To join a group of separate text blocks together, stack them with the one you want first at the bottom. Then select them all (a marquee select will do this). Now change to the text tool, click this where you want the combined story to go and just Paste. There's also a Merge Stories script available at Vladimir's Automation page (see section 3.10).

Another way is to export the file as an HTML file, make sure you don't select "approximate layout" in the options, and then open the resultant file in a word processor.

4.10 How can I have a default directory for my PageMaker data files?

In Windows 95/98 create a shortcut and in the Properties settings enter the directory you want in the Start in. There was a reported problem with this under early versions of Windows 98, in which case the answer may be a one-line script using the DefaultDir command. Under Windows 3.1 select the PageMaker icon and choose the "Properties" menu under the File Menu. Enter the directory under the Data Directories slot.

4.11 What is the Table Editor?

The Table Editor is a program will create tables and was packaged with PageMaker 4.0. For PM5 it was omitted from the Mac version. With PM6 it was back for both platforms, but on the PC, Adobe Table 2.5 was only available for those who use Win95. Others must use Table Editor 2.1. In PM6.5 the version is Table Editor 3.

Most folks agreed that the early versions had some serious setbacks. Later versions are considered usable by many but there are still many limitations.

You can't "place" a .tbl file with Table Editor 3.0 as you could with earlier versions. You can either generate an EPS file in Table Editor and "place" this, or you can bring in a table using the "Insert Object" command (Edit menu). However the latter is not the best way if you intend to send the file to a service bureau.

Other ways of importing table data are dealt with in Section 6 (or will be when the later parts of the FAQ are updated)

4.12 I can't create a PDF. It tells me I need a Postscript printer or it just fails to produce a file.

You don't need a Postscript printer, just the driver software. You'll find it on the PageMaker CD (Do a "custom" install to add a postscript printer but install it to print to FILE. This will let you create a postscript file and distill it in a separate operation. You may need to reinstall PM to have the File>Export...>Adobe PDF... method work correctly.

Older Windows versions of Distiller could choke on a file or folder name with a space in it.

4.13 Where can I get the file of "Lorem Ipsum" dummy text? What is it and why is it useful?

You'll find a version on the PageMaker CD and you may even have installed it on your hard drive. It'll be in Extras\Tutorial\Lesson1 folder, the file is called text.rtf. There is also a version on the PAGEMAKR List website.

The theory is that this mock Latin acts as a placeholder for real text and, in a layout, helps ensure the layout is considered rather than the words. It has been used virtually unaltered for centuries -- longer than any real language would stay the same. A version also exists with a wordcount embedded.

4.14 A graphic looked good in Photoshop but looks very different in PageMaker. Why?

In general, trust Photoshop. There is a different "color engine" in the two programs and CMYK pictures especially can take on a strange hue in PageMaker. They should print from PageMaker the way they look in Photoshop. You may also have the Graphics display setting in Preferences as Standard rather than High Resolution; the former is better for speed of screen redraws -- in Windows use Control-Shift as you place a graphic or as the screen redraws to temporarily display in high resolution (Command-Shift and any view selection on the Mac). But for first-time combinations of platemaker and/or printer, always ask for a color proof.

Adobe has a number of technical documents on this, as they have on many of the points in this FAQ.

Back to contents section

SECTION 5 -- CRASHES AND FILE-WON'T-OPEN PROBLEMS

5.1 Most of this section is now replaced by the "Troubleshooting Damaged PageMaker Documents" file which you'll find at the following address:

<http://www.makingpages.org/pagemaker/tspmdoc.html>.

Run to get it NOW, before you have problems.

5.2 How can I lessen my chances of a document crash?

Here are some preventive-medicine suggestions (these are covered in the troubleshooting document referenced above):

1. Update to the latest version (6.52, 6.01, 5.0a) but on a Mac turn off ALL inits first and also try updating without anti-virus software active.

2. In Preferences, make sure "Save smaller" is checked.

3. Try to keep files small--30 pages or so. Divide longer projects into shorter files. Use the "Book" feature, if appropriate.

4. Be careful to be consistent when you apply styles in Word for documents you will be importing into PM. Don't create two different styles with the same name. Have styles already defined in PM for any styles you will import from Word files.

5. When typing directly into PM, always assign what you type to one of your styles.

6. Never click-create a text block in PM without typing something, a space, at least. THEN you can delete it.

7. If you see Imported file names (marked with a * or a disk icon), change any text using them to a PM style and delete the imported style. Save As.

8. Never keep using and revising a file. Make a template so that you go back to starting with a copy of that as the new original.

9. Keep backups. And the more complex a file, keep more frequent backups. It's Murphy's Law in reverse that if you have a recent backup, it's unlikely anything will go wrong.

10. If you do a lot of swapping between applications, reboot when you have a break to guard against memory fragmentation.

Several people have noted that wrong names in drop-down menus are a first sign of memory problems. So if you see Colors where Frames should be, for example, it's time to reboot.

5.3 I'm getting too many crashes, bombs, Type 11 faults on my Mac or Illegal operation messages on my PC. What do I do?

On either try using a lower resolution or fewer colours. Reduce the number of fonts.

On the Mac try rebuilding the desktop (your Mac manual tells how) and using fewer extensions (try them in turn to see which is causing problems). Increase Ram Cache. Try increasing the memory allocation for the application.

An Apple tech note recently indicated that Desktop rebuilds were found to be pretty useless (apart from getting files to recognise their creator). The best things were using Apple's Extension Manager to just run Apple extensions, and reinstalling the program and/or deleting the old prefs file. For more on Type 11 errros, see <http://www.makingpages.org/tips/type11.html>.

On the PC try switching off screen savers and any memory resident programs that are not essential. In Windows 95/98/NT you can see just how many are resident from the window which comes up when you press Ctrl-Alt-Del (the first push of which no longer reboots, though the second does).

Under Windows 3.1 and 3.11, check the size of the WIN.INI file. Maximum for Windows is 64k but PM5 doesn't like more than 32k. Also check the entry in CONFIG.SYS for FILES= which should be at least 30. Also, it is suggested that the Stacks setting should be 9,256 and make sure you have a permanent swap file.

With any recent version of Windows make sure you run Scandisk regularly and get rid of old *.chk files created by it. It is also advisable to defragment your disk regularly and to delete temporary files.

5.4 On trying to load/install PageMaker I get a message "Cannot find icon.dll".

Try reducing the number of fonts you have installed. This seems to happen with an installation when more than around 200 fonts are active. Using a font manager like ATM DeLuxe which can activate sets of fonts may be a permanent solution.

5.5 On trying to load/install PageMaker it gets part way then just closes.

For many years this was mainly a Windows problem. Now the Mac has caught up! In both cases the most likely cause is too many temp files remaining on the system. In Windows use Find to see where *.tmp files are being kept. Then delete any not specific to the current session. To restrict this to deleting PageMaker temp files look for those with P65 or PM in the name. This problem extended to Macs with OS9 as such files are now left to be deleted by the application -- and PM was born too early to know this. In particular look for files in a hidden temp folder starting with "ALDTMP" and a number. Delete them. This is said to be a special problem when the numbers reach 99 as PM can't create the next in sequence. The problem is said to be solved in the latest versions of OS9 and there are freeware Mac utilities to overcome the problem.

Back to contents section

SECTION 6 -- USING PAGEMAKER

6.1 How do I number pages to start other than at page one?

This is generally thought to be the most asked PageMaker query. Firstly, if you have a publication with a section which goes before page 1, or which is numbered separately in, for example, roman numerals (i, ii, iii etc.), then make it two files, and while the file for the first section is open, create a Book list (Utilities>Book...). Select "none" for the auto renumbering setting.

You can use the Build Booklet plugin to combine the two files, but do this as a final job as the numbers will be placed on each page and any changes would then have to be done manually. Ric Strong has a PageMaker script on his website <http://www.magma.ca/~rnstrong> which will put a number in a specific position on every page and which can start with a negative number (you delete the negative numbers after running it).

For unnumbered pages, such as a cover, another option is to put these pages at the end of the file.

However, before you decide to number pages with page one on a left hand page, consider that the reason for this being so difficult in a professional publishing package is because it is not the way it is usually done.

6.2 How can I get landscape and portrait pages in the same file?

Several thoughts: make separate files and link them by creating a "Book" within PageMaker; or create the pages in a separate file then cut and paste them into your main file and rotate them 90 degrees.

Another way is to "think outside the lines". Set up a page that's 11 x 11. On the master page, set guides at 8.5 over and 8.5 down. Set another guide for your margins. If you have one that you want as landscape, make it a landscape page and use that 8.5 down guide as your visual edge of the paper. Ditto (almost) for portrait pages.

If you have moved the rulers around, set them back to 0,0 at the upper left corner of the page before printing. In the Print setup tell PM to use Manual Tiling. You'll have to print in 2 passes - once with a landscape orientation, and a second time with a portrait orientation, but with PM's ability to print discontiguous pages ranges <1,4,7-9 and 2,3,5,6,10-> it should be a piece of cake.

6.3 How can I permanently attach a box/rule/graphic to a paragraph?

There are a number of ways to force an object to be attached with a section of text. Two methods adequately described in the PageMaker manual are inlined graphics and grouping. But, you can simulate a reverse or tint box. Again Jim Dornbos offers this work-around. PageMaker allows you to add automatic rules to text. You get to assign the width of the rule, the thickness, the color and the position. With that ability, you can make your text appear as if it's sitting on a lightly tinted box - even though you've accomplished it by ruling the text line by line.

There's two ways to get your text to be indented from the tint - you can either use the Left and Right indent settings from the main Paragraph dialog and enter positive amounts (which will actually shrink the line length of your text), or you can use the Indent settings on this Paragraph:Rules dialog and enter a negative amount (which will leave your text line length the same, but make the rules hang outside the text block).

To position the rule select the Options button under the Rules dialog. In the Bottom: ____ picas below baseline, we suggest you start with a value of 0p4.

Another worthwhile side note - PageMaker's proportional leading method always aligns your baseline at 2/3rds your leading value - so with 12 point leading, 4 points below the baseline is the absolute perfect bottom of the slug. On 15 point leading, 5 points below the baseline would be the bottom of the slug. If you're using 14 point leading, you'll be best off to pick a slightly larger than 14 point rule to allow for some slop.

The only other thing you need to do to make this look finished is to add a blank line at the top and bottom of your paragraph. Put a space on each of those lines, and highlight it, add a paragraph rule to each, then set the leading value to whatever looks right for your type and margins. If you're working with a 1 pica left and right indent, you might put the top blank line at 12 points and the bottom line at 8 points - for some faces, you might put them both at 8 pt leading, for others, it'll be 8 on top and 4 on the bottom - that'll be the "by eye" portion.

6.4 How do I prevent hyphenation on one particular word?

One trick is to put a soft hyphenation at the beginning of the word you do not wish to be hyphenated. This can be done by holding down the CTRL (Command) key while typing a hyphen. See your manual for other ideas.

6.5 I'm having trouble selecting items...

An easy way to select an object that is hidden by other objects is to use the Ctrl key (on the PC) or the Option key on a Mac when you click on an item. Each time, you select the next object behind so that by continually Ctrl-clicking, you'll cycle through all the objects beneath your cursor.

6.6 Applying Styles affects whole paragraphs. Is there a way to apply styles to parts of paragraphs?

If you want half a paragraph to be different (e.g. bold, italic, small caps.) you have to apply the effects, as changes, to the selected words.

PageTools 2.0 (a VERY useful plug-in, now only available secondhand) included a feature to apply similar definitions to whatever is currently highlighted.

If you hold the shift key as you apply a style, any local formatting will be retained, so, if you can make one word bold for instance, and then apply a different style. If the style applies a format such as bold to the whole paragraph in such a case, the local format bold will toggle and so will not be bold.

6.7 Why do I find styles with a plus sign after them or with a disk icon?

The plus sign indicates that the paragraph in which your text cursor is placed has some added attributes -- such as a word in bold or italics. This can happen with imported text which carries through the local formatting even though the style name from the original file also exists in PageMaker and the copy is placed with the PageMaker style applying.

The disk icon (an asterisk in earlier versions) indicates that the style is imported as well and there was no local style of the same name. It is a "good idea" to open such styles (Edit Styles or hold the control/command key and click on the style name) and then save them. The disk icon will disappear and future problems may have been avoided. (Doing a Save As at this time is also a good idea).

6.8 Can I assign a style to a shortcut key?

You can use a third-party macro program, but on the Mac you can use the "splat" or Command key with the function keys to give you the first few styles. You can rename styles with 2, 3, 4 etc at the beginning to put them in order. (F1 will always give you the No Style selection).

6.9 How can I apply changes made to a paragraph to all pars with that style? Can I update a style from a local change?

Make the changes as needed. Open up the control palette, set it to "paragraph mode" by clicking on the paragraph marker near the lower left corner. The palette will display the current style name with a + sign by it. Press and hold Ctrl-Shift/Command-Shift and click on the control palette's style name. Up pops a prompt to: "Press OK to update style with current settings."

An undocumented feature: To update a style which you have changed locally, start by selecting the changed paragraph... From the Paragraph panel of the Control palette, hold down Command (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) and cl;ick the style name. PM will ask if you want to replace the style's formatting with the formatting of the selection. Click OK.

6.10 I can't get the template scripts to work... Where are the templates?

The most common reason for the template scripts not working is that the fonts needed are not loaded -- the scripts assume you've installed the fonts which come on the CD, and there is a readme file which explains this. Of course the fonts are hidden in a folder called, of all things, Fonts. It may even be on your hard disk under Extras.

Open the script you need and look for font references, then either change them or load the fonts.

In PageMaker Plus, we are back to having template files instead of scripts. The templates themselves are in a folder called "template".

6.11 How do I get the bottoms of columns level?

PageMaker does not (yet) have "vertical justification" but good planning can achieve this. One way is to make sure that the leading for all your headings, subheadings, etc. are all multiples of your body text leading.

For example if the text leading is 10pts, the leading for subheads is maybe 20pts, and for heads 30pts.

You can set your vertical ruler in the same units, or maybe even three times this unit (say 30pts in our example) because the ruler line ticks appear at three per unit in 100% view and so with align to ruler switched on, your text lines will click into alignment.

This gets complicated if you use before and after paragraph spacing but if these are easy proportions of your leading (say 5pts) then you can see fairly easily what space has to be added in total to make the column bottoms level.

It would be possible in PM6.5 to have a script calculate the amount of leading needed and distribute this between paragraphs.

The "align to grid" function (which can be switched on and off from the Control palette) will put the *next* paragraph on to a grid you specify but can leave awkward gaps between these two paragraphs unless it is very carefully planned.

6.12 How do I zoom in and out in PM6.5 the way I did before?

This is one of those changes in shortcut keys that have annoyed many. The one-finger, right click on the PC mouse is no more (though if you like fiddling it is possible to get it back -- it involves the Win95 Registry and there's a file on your CD telling how).

But the platforms are now more alike, Control+Alt and click on the Mac and Ctrl+Alt and right-click on a PC. However, any single modifier key (Ctrl, Alt or shift) with right-click does the same on a PC as well.

6.13 How do I create a fill which goes from black to white?

...or any other colour? You can't do this directly in PageMaker. Create this (which is called a gradient fill) in Photoshop or Illustrator or whatever drawing or paint program you use, and place it in PageMaker. If you want to apply a color in PageMaker, make it a grayscale original rather than creating it in color. If you want to make it an EPS rather than a TIFF file, then make the preview a 1-bit preview (it won't look so good on screen but you'll be able to see the colour that you apply).

There is a script around which will create an impression of a gradient but this comes in the same category as "the first PageMaker game" (a version of Tic-Tac-Toe); good examples of scripting/programming but not really to be taken seriously.

6.14 How do I create a transparent background to a picture?

PageMaker now lets you create a mask of any shape, and if you use the polygon frame tool you can draw any shape you can create with straight lines, and fill the shape with a picture. You can do the same with circles and ovals. But to create a complex cut-out you need to do it in a program like Photoshop and create a "clipping path". You can do this in creating an EPS file, a TIFF or a JPEG. The EPS does not display the EPS preview properly on a PC but you can see through it if you rotate it by 0.1 degrees (though some users report problems if you don't shift it back before printing). TIFFs with clipping paths display well on either platform (and don't need a postscript printer). Recent versions of Photoshop have a menu item under Help titled Export Transparent Image... which automates clipping path creation.

There's a tutorial covering this with TIFF files on Jeanne Hubbard's web site (see section 3.12).

6.15 What is the best way to have a table in PageMaker?

This is a common thread on the List. Table Editor has a bad name, though it has been considerably improved in PageMaker 6.5 (see item 4.11). However many users swear that the only way is to use tabs and specially set up styles with rules above and/or below (see section 6.3). The general consensus is that linking and embedding Excel tables works acceptably. Suggestions included printing to disk from Excel etc to create an EPS or creating a PDF. Copy and "paste special" also had its adherents.

6.16 How do I have a truly fixed spaced document?

If you are trying to create a document with true fixed spaced character, try using Courier with 100% word and character spacing and no tracking.

6.17 The spacing on the last line of a paragraph looks odd. Why?

The carriage return at the end of a paragraph has a different leading value from the rest of the paragraph. Select the paragraph by triple-clicking to select the whole paragraph including the return, or by applying a style. You can use the control palette to check this and other oddities: if there are different leading values applied within the paragraph, the leading box will be blank.

6.18 How can I get consecutive numbers on tickets?

Design your layout so that 10 raffle tickets fit on a page. Start your doument with page 10 (to start numbering from 100). On your master page create your numbers by typing Command-Option-P on a Mac (Ctrl-Alt-P on Windows, or shift-ctrl-3) followed by a number from 0 to 9. Do this for each of the 10 tickets. When done your first page (page 10) will have numbers 100 to 109, the second page (page 11) will have 110 to 199, etc.

6.19 How can I do automatic footnotes?

PageMaker will import footnotes in a Word file as endnotes, and these can be run as separate text either as linked text blocks or frames on to individual pages. Jonathan Bressel <bressel@sefer.org> has a script that can help somewhat with this. For more information, see <http://www.makingpages.org/tips/footnotes.html>.

Or you could use FrameMaker. :->

6.20 Are there better ways of doing lines for people filling out forms than a series of dots?

Dot leaders, selectable in the Tabs dialog, will at least make the dots line up for each line. Put a space before the tab and apply a smaller font size and lighter character style or font to that -- the leader takes its style from the character immediately before it. Use a right aligned tab at the point where you want the line(s) to end. There have been many other suggestions to this regular question on the List, including creating a rule and pasting this as an inline graphic which can be stretched to fit, or not having lines at all, just space. The latter can also work with white boxes on a coloured or gray background, or just the equivalent of crop marks in the corners of the spaces to be filled in. If you are using leaders or rules, don't spend too much time getting them to align at the right -- put a reverse or paper box over the ends. Or have a guide there with snap-to-guides turned on. Yet another way is to use the Rules set up in Paragraph styles; these can run the width of the form, or you can adjust the left and right indents as needed. If you use lines which are not embedded in the text, select them all and group them when you have them correctly placed. Then you'll only have one other item to move if the text is moved. Someone else suggested that we just put one big space and ask people to "legibly write your name, address, phone and fax numbers with area codes, and email address, in the space below". If you have to have lines, consider making them a light tint, which will probably drop out if the form is faxed rather than turning jagged and confusing. Another suggestion was, before printing a form, make a few copies and have colleagues fill them out to see what happens. For worldwide use, remember that not all addresses have the equivalents of state or zip code.

Back to contents section

SECTION 7 -- PRINTING

7.1 I'm printing to a PostScript Printer and can't get it to print properly.

If you are using Windows, check under the Printer Properties from the printer icon in Control Panel that you are using the correct Printer Driver. With Windows 95 it should be at least version 4.1.1 and with earlier versions of Windows it should be at least version 3.56 (preferably 3.58).

On the Macintosh, check the version of the LaserWriter driver. Mac users might also try using the Mac system driver. To do this, hold the Option key down while choosing Print... from the File menu. (Cmd-Opt-P won't work).

On either platform, check that you are using the correct PPD file for your Postscript printer and that it appears correctly in the Print dialog box. PPD files need to be installed in the PPD folder under the PageMaker resources folder to be used correctly by PageMaker.

It has also been suggested that sending graphics, especially EPS files "to the back" (provided it doesn't alter your design) may allow the printer to cope with these more easily, i.e. earlier in the processing cycle.

Lastly, if you have little diamonds on your output, or are receiving extra blank pages, you might be getting an extra Ctrl-D character in your print files that is no longer needed. Give a try at adding CtrlD=0 to the [NamedPrinter,PORT] section of your WIN.INI file.

Other things you can try are:

Selecting Page Independence in the Print dialog if you have a PostScript printer.

Delete any .tmp files (which should be in the Temp folder).

7.2 I'm having trouble printing tables in PageMaker. Part of the table prints. The tables were produced in Table Editor and Excel.

This is a known PageMaker problem of WMF format files (which is prob. how Excel files come into PM -- Table Editor is the other common problem creator of this kind).

The workaround involves installing a high-definition printer driver such as an imagesetter and then selecting the highest dpi setting in the Document or Page Setup dialog (still use the printer you will actually print to, just increase the dpi setting).

Now, when you go to print, use the imagesetter in the print to: box and the printer you'll actually print to in the second box (i.e. the ppd setting).

The same problem can occur with creating PDF files and may be solved if you select a high definition print to: setting and Acrobat Distiller in the ppd box instead of using the Create PDF (Export to PDF) option. You may now have to open distiller manually and select the file it has printed to (prob. distass.ps in the root directory).

7.3 I'm printing to a non-postscript printer and strange things are happening like graphics as gray boxes or very jagged, gray type printing black, type over a graphic printing behind it...

The gray box graphics and jagged graphics are probably from EPS graphics which only print properly on a Postscript printer. The jagged graphic is the preview which looks all right on screen which is all it is intended for. One answer is to replace the EPS graphic with a TIFF. One way to do this is to use PageMaker's own RIP (raster image processor) which is reached from File>Export>Graphic...

To overcome gray printing black, you can try the optional settings on your print dialog such as printing type as graphics.

Another option is to create a PDF file and print that, which enables postscript functions to be printed on a non-postscript printer.

Back to contents section

SECTION 8 -- FONTS AND SPECIAL CHARACTERS

8.1 What are the different types of fonts available?
What is the difference between TrueType and PostScript fonts?
Which is better for working in PageMaker and why?

With Windows 3.1 and later, Microsoft provided a type manager known as TrueType to compete with Adobe Type Manager (ATM) and other font managers. System 7 and later on the Mac also has TrueType.

Some people have claimed to experience problems using ATM and TrueType simultaneously but this is only likely if you have a font with the same name in both systems. ATM4 keeps track of both type systems.

Some fonts (typically public domain and some very early CorelDraw fonts) cause General Protection faults. If you are having problems then free fonts have to be among the suspects.

The two font formats appear to be moving closer together with announcements of OpenType, which considerably extends the ability of fonts to include more characters, but also allows either of the old forms to be included in a common "envelope" that can be used on either platform.

Some service bureaus have had bad experiences with TrueType and therefore, to play safe, insist on Type 1 (or PostScript) fonts. Some very early laser printers and imagesetters did have problems with TrueType fonts. However, if you are sending a file to a bureau as a postscript file, the font information will be included and will be almost invisible to the bureau.

8.2 How do I use the more bizarre characters?

On the PC, you can use the Character Map that comes with Windows. You can copy it to the clipboard to paste into PM (though it comes with a carriage return) or you can click on the character and look at the bottom right corner to see which number you need. Then hold down the ALT key and punch the four digit number on your numeric keypad and then let up on the ALT key.

On the Mac, use the Key Caps desk accessory under the Apple Menu or a shareware program called "PopChar" can be found on many shareware sites.

A chart enumerating the complete set of extended characters and the keystrokes required to access them can be found in the "CHARSET.PXX" template that is installed with PageMaker of versions 4 and later.

Please note that many public domain fonts do not support the extended characters. Also, fonts may include characters they may not be directly available (this is especially true with Windows). Programs such as Fontographer (included in the Freehand Graphics Studio suite and available separately) allow you to replace unused characters with those which are "hidden" (included the fi and ff ligatures). For a full range of optional characters such as true small caps, old-style figures and extra ligatures you may need the "Expert Collection" of the same typeface. There's a guide on the PageMakr web site to the new Euro currency symbol.

8.3 How do I keep control of all of these fonts?

The best answer is not to have "all of these fonts". One of the greatest mistakes a beginning DTPer makes is to use 20 different fonts on one small publication. The best thing to do is keep to a smaller number of fonts that serve your needs best. Plus, PageMaker's performance decreases dramatically with respect to the number of fonts installed in your system.

Most publications look best when you use only two or so typefaces. Simpler is usually better when it comes to typefaces. But you really want to have all those extra fonts....

You can also use extra software to sort your fonts into different "sets" or "suitcases" using programs such as the deluxe version of Adobe Type Manager 4 (this is not the version included with PM). On the Mac there are other programs which can do this such as Suitcase or Master Juggler. Type Reunion can also help shorten font menus on the Mac.

8.4 The service bureau wants me to supply fonts for my job, but I thought this is illegal.

You'll HAVE to read the license agreement that came with your fonts, but, generally the license limits you to one computer and/or one printer; although the Adobe Type-on-Call disk shows a license for as many as "five home or business computers" and for "permanent" download to one *printer hard-disk*.

Since many service bureaus also do other graphics work, they generally have a fairly extensive library of licensed fonts. It is possible that they already have legitimate licenses for the fonts you are using, even if you send the fonts along for convenience.

A workaround is to create Acrobat PDF files (with the include fonts option) and let the service bureau output the file from Acrobat reader. That will eliminate the ethical and legal issue.

Another way is to print to a postscript file using a PPD for the imagesetter which the bureau or printer uses. This will include any necessary fonts in the file.

8.5 I've used Save for Service Provider and it tells me the file includes a font which I'm sure I'm not using.

One place it may be used is as the default font in Story Editor. It may also be used in the definition of a Style that is either not applied or where you have changed the font manually on the pages. Also it is possible that the font is applied to a space or is used in a text block which is on the pasteboard. Use the character attributes section of the Find dialog to search for it.

Before handing off a file to a printer (or creating a Postscript or PDF file), it is a good habit to remove unused styles (there's a script which comes with PM, see the script palette, under Text>Styles). Or delete them using the Menu item (not from the Styles palette -- there's a bug in that). Also remove unused colors from the Colors palette. Clean up the Pasteboard and use Select-All to look for empty textblocks and other objects which should not be there.

8.6 Fonts appear to be available, why don't they look right on screen? The fonts look right on screen but they print as Courier...

With a postscript printer, the PPD file may be telling PageMaker that some fonts are available but you don't have the fonts installed on the computer so they won't be showing correctly. This is commonly a problem with postscript printers under Windows where fonts such as Palatino are installed on the printer but not on the computer. Either install Palatino or use a font which is an imitation of it and, in the Fonts tab of the printer properties, edit the substitution table to print Palatino in place of the substitute font. If fonts look right but won't print, check that the PPD file specified in the print dialog (and in the Windows version of PageMaker, under Document Setup) is the correct PPD for the printer you have.

More recently there have been reports of this happening with some of the OpenType fonts included with Windows2000. A workaround appears to be to replace these fonts with the TrueType versions of the fonts.

Back to contents section

SECTION 9 -- THE END

I hope the FAQ has been useful. If you have suggestions/questions you would like to see added, please contact me. I appreciate all comments! My thanks to all who have helped, including Peter Adams, Rick Wallace, Christine Hummel, Craig Faichney, Patrick Hackshaw, Ulrik Gade, Vladimir Samarskiy, Leonid Revzin, Jim Dornbos, Beth Roberts, Jeanne Hubbard, Frank Fisher, Owen Watson, Walton Harris, Jonathan Bressel, Glenn Heckard, Cy Galley and many, many others. It is also notable that so many countries are represented.

In compiling this FAQ, I've been keeping track of some of the questions asked on the List and I've noted that some pretty basic questions were asked by people who are now among the most knowledgeable. Perhaps that's what makes it one of the more friendly email lists. Most can clearly remember when we asked the same questions.

And some of us may know one aspect of PageMaker well, but when we stray into other aspects of the program, we need help too. So, while we do ask newcomers to look through the FAQ first, please do ask those questions you still have. We can all learn from them.

Again I would note that this is still a work in progress. There are definitely errors. Please let me know (don't assume that someone else will have spotted them).

Gordon Woolf,

Hastings, Victoria, Australia.

gordon@worsleypress.com

All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, all contents copyright © 1993– 2008 Peter C.S. Adams
Last modified March 16, 2004

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