Chapter 1 - Basic Information (Part 4) PageMaker

Working with Text and Graphics:

In PageMaker, graphics that you draw or import and text (which can be contained either in text blocks or in text frames), are called objects. An object can be on a page or on the pasteboard. You can use the pointer tool to select objects. You can select a single object or you can select multiple objects and modify then all at once.

You can type text directly in PageMaker or import it from another program. Once text is in PageMaker, you can work with it in two ways; by editing and formatting characters and paragraphs, and by manipulating text objects on the page. The options available when you word with text depend on the tool you use. When you use the text tool, you can type, edit, and format text. When you use the pointer tool, you can manipulate a text block as an object – for example, select, move, and resize it.

You insert text in PageMaker like you would in a word processor program; click the insertion point where you want to begin, and then type. When you type text, it may appear as greeked text (which displays as gray bars rather than individual characters), depending on the size of the text and the view magnification of page. To get the insertion point, select the text tool from the toolbar. The text tool turns into an I-Beam when you move into the page. Click the I-beam where you want to insert text on the page, and then begin typing. If you click outside of an existing text object, you create a new text block automatically.

Text you create becomes part of a PageMaker story. A story is a collection of text that PageMaker recognizes as a single unit for editing purposes. A story can comprise numerous threaded text objects, or it can be just once text object. To view the boundaries of the text block you just created, select the pointer tool and click anywhere in the text.

All text in PageMaker is contained either in text blocks or in text frames. When you click text with the pointer tool, the text object’s border is displays. A Text Object, like a graphic object, is an object that you can move, resize and otherwise manipulate. You can connect a text object to other text objects or separate it from other text objects while keeping the flow of text (the story) intact from text object to text object. The borders of a text object are defined across the top and bottom by lines with loops, called windowshade handles, and by solid square handles at the four corners of the text block. An empty windowshade handle at the top of a text object indicates the beginning of a story. A plus sign in the windowshade handle indicates that text from the same story is contained in another text object. An empty windowshade handle at the bottom of a text object indicates the end of a story. A down arrow in the windowshade handle indicates that there is more text to be placed onto the page. A handle (square) indicates the point where you drag to resize a text object.

Manipulating Pages:

You will find it useful to insert pages when your free-form six-page publication suddenly needs to be seven pages. Again, if you decide to place a full page image on sidebar article between pages 17 and 18, it can easily be done. All you need to do is to select Insert Pages from the Layout menu. The Insert Pages dialog box (fig. 1.5) prompts for the number of pages you want to insert and the positioning of the new page. If the publication is double sided, the default choice is to insert two pages, and in single-sided, the default is one page. You can insert the new page(s) before or after the current page or page spread, or between the pages in a spread.

The Remove Pages command on the Layout menu is straight forward with an easy-to-use dialog box. You can select any range of pages to remove, but they must be contiguous. When you remove a page, all elements on the page vanish too.

Sorting Pages:

The Layout > Sort Pages command is command is a very handy tool that provides you with instant thumbnails of all the pages in your publication. It also accurately depicts double sided documents, and even provides an adequate account of a document (for more details click here Sorting Pages in Pagemaker ).

Building Booklets:

As the name suggests, the Build Booklet plug-in helps us in designing a booklet. Consider, for example, a newsletter of four pages of size 5 ½ by 8 ½ inch pages. The most efficient way to produce this project is with one single 8 ½ by 11 inch piece of paper. That way, two of the pages would be on one side, and two on the other. Folded once, this one sheet produces four distance sides. This is easy to figure out with one sheet. Now imagine doing so with two sheets for and eight page newsletter, three sheets for 12 pages, etc. In print shop terms, the sheets are called signature, and the complicated process of making everything come out right is called pagination.  The Build Booklet plug-in paginates your document automatically. It creates the right size sheet one which to place the pages, and it calculates where each page must go.

Getting Help:

PageMaker has a comprehensive on-line Help facility that provides you with instant information about any command, as well as explanations of different topics.

One way to use the Help feature is to select a command or topic from a table of contents. To do this, press F1 to display the Help menu and select Contents. This will result in the Help window. The Help window has its own menu, and it can be moved, resized, or scrolled like any other window. Move the pointer to the required option in the list and double click to view the items under the option. Select any item and click on Display or Print as required.

Occasionally, you will need an explanation of one or more of the options in a dialog box. To see Help window with information about the current dialog box, hold down the Shift key and click on the background of the dialog box (not on an option) with the right mouse button. This will result in a Help window providing help on the dialog box, if available.