Tips & Techniques

General Publishing

Color Management

Establishing color control on the desktop can prove to be a frustrating task. And when you're dealing with color-critical customers or just plain want decent color, that's not the best situation. This PDF by Scott Olswold and Rick Dumont explains the fundamentals behind color management and then applies this discussion in terms of PageMaker.

Preparing a PageMaker document for conversion to InDesign

Prep your PageMaker document for import into InDesign with as few surprises as possible.

Create a custom imagesetter reference guide

Print out this handy DTP Guide on a target printer at your service bureau and use that as a reference when designing.

Using PageMaker

Footnotes in PageMaker

Some kludges to help you deal with this infamously missing feature in PageMaker.

Easy Drop Caps

Bypassing the "Drop Cap" plug-in allows you to wrap text tightly around the shape of the character while preserving all your hyphenation setting in the remainder of the paragraph.

Embossed Text Effect in PageMaker

Create text that appears to be embossed -- entirely within PageMaker!

Create a calendar using PageMaker

Creating a calendar using PageMaker can be simple using these tips. Create a perpetual calendar and learn how to determine on what day the first will fall for any month.

Vertically Justifying Text Blocks

PageMaker is missing the ability to apply vertical justification to a block of text. Learn to work around this missing feature.

Formatting Tab Leaders

Set up tabs in PageMaker and specify what you want to fill the space, then format the tab leaders as you wish -- no more bold tab leaders!

Using Photoshop Filters in PageMaker

If you have Photoshop, you have a lot of filters that you can use inside PageMaker to alter images

Simulating "Character Styles"

PageMaker doesn't have character based style sheets, but here's a workaround.

Dealing with screen redraw artifacts

Does PageMaker leave stray dots behind when you move or delete something? Here are a few tips for cleaning your screen.

Alternate shading in paragraphs

Using nothing but styles, alternate colored backgrounds behind successive paragraphs to simulate green bar computer paper (or the alternating shading in this page).

Fractions in PageMaker

How to type typographically correct fractions in PageMaker.

Navigating a Long PageMaker Document

Do you use arrow keys to move around in your document, only to get “stuck” at the top or bottom of a page? Do you ever find something in the Story Editor and wonder what page it's on? Here's the tip for you. No more scroll and scan -- learn to quickly navigate around in a long PageMaker document

Controlling PageMaker without a mouse

Some hints on using keyboard shortcuts in PageMaker.

Speeding up PageMaker

Some tips for speeding up your PageMaker work.

Fixing the "Rainbow Bridge" Error

What is the rainbow bridge, and what do you do if it fails?

Repairing a Greyed-Out Script Palette

What if your script palette is grey, blank, missing, or inaccessible when you start PageMaker?

Using the Mac Scrapbook in PageMaker

The Mac scrapbook can be combined with PageMaker for some interesting capabilities, such as creating stretchable text.

Import / Export / Printing

Using FileMaker Pro Data in a PageMaker Document

A step-by-step guide for moving data from FileMaker Pro to PageMaker.

Importing Word Files into PageMaker

Learn some of the tricks and "gotchas" of importing Word documents into PageMaker.

Importing Excel Files into PageMaker

This workaround imports better than PageMaker's own Excel import filter.

Font Download Issues

Some information on what causes font downloading and how to prevent it.

Creating PDF files

A quick how-to for creating PDFs with PageMaker.

Getting screen shots into PageMaker

Some tips for better looking screen shots.

Create an EPS from any Mac application

With Apple's LaserWriter 8 driver, you can print an Excel chart, a directory listing, a PageMaker page, or anything, to an EPS, complete with preview — ready to place into PageMaker.

White TIFF Files

Due to a limitation (or "feature") in TIFFs, white is really transparent. Here's one way to use this, and one to overcome it.

Dealing with PageMaker's Autocrop "feature"

When you import a black & white TIFF, PageMaker "helpfully" applies cropping automatically. Here's some tips for coping if this is not what you want.

Photoshop clipping paths

Tutorial on using Photoshop to create clipping paths from Jeanne Hubbard's web site.

Computing / Internet

Safe Computing Tips

A few simple rules to follow to avoid losing work to viruses and other malicious software.

Reading recent messages to the list

If you're away from your email, you can still see any responses to your query by checking the archives for any messages posted since yesterday. Just enter a search query starting with (for instance) yesterday's date (unfortunately, this includes messages that seem to have been posted since then, such as cases where a misconfigured computer clock reports the date wrong!).

Avoiding Repititive Stress Injury / Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

A PDF from TidBITS (used by permission) that gives you a great deal of information on avoiding RSI.

Mac "Type 11" Errors

Dealing with Type 11 Errors on the Mac (prior to Mac OS X)