Quark XPress 6 Pre-Release

[cabbage]

Here's what's new.
INTRODUCTION
What?s New in QuarkXPress 6.0 provides a summary of the new features in
QuarkXPress? and QuarkXPress Passport? 6.0 software, as well as information
about enhancements to some existing QuarkXPress features. For instructions and
information on using the new features, see A Guide to QuarkXPress Addendum,
available on the QuarkXPress CD-ROM.
OVERVIEW OF NEW FEATURES IN QUARKXPRESS 6.0
? Layout spaces
? Mac OS X support (Mac OS Only)
? Windows XP support (Windows Only)
? Multiple Undo
? Tables enhancements
? Layers enhancements
? Printing enhancements
? Hyperlinks enhancements
? Web Features enhancements
? Full-resolution preview
? New menu selections
? Changes to avenue.quark? and QuarkXTensions? XML Import software
LAYOUT SPACES
Now you can convert print-based designs to Web-based designs or vice-versa,
within one file. You can even include a Web layout and a print layout in the same
file, and share text content between the two.
QuarkXPress 6.0 introduces the concept of project files that can contain multiple
layout spaces. Using layout spaces enables you to design a project around multiple
media publishing possibilities.
Every project file consists of one or more layout spaces. You determine what
medium type (print or Web) will apply to each layout space. A single project can
contain print-optimized and Web-optimized layout spaces, so you can keep all
your project content in one QuarkXPress file. You can specify different page sizes
for different print layouts within the same project. You can even change the
medium type from print to Web or from Web to print, if your print and Web content
are so similar that you don?t want to create separate layout spaces.If you want to include the same text in multiple layout spaces, you can synchronize
the text between different layout spaces. After you synchronize text, you can
edit it in one layout space, and QuarkXPress simultaneously changes the corresponding
text in other layout spaces.
You can use layout spaces to efficiently create content for printed output and a
Web page at the same time. For example, you need to create a printed catalog of
products, and you want to sell the same products at your Web store. You want the
product descriptions to share the same text, but order procedures differ between
the printed catalog and the Web page. To complete both designs, you can create
a project that contains a print layout and a Web layout. After you complete the
design for each layout, you can synchronize the text for the product descriptions.
Since the order procedures are different, you would enter each procedure in its
appropriate layout space, and that text would remain unsynchronized.
MAC OS X SUPPORT ? MAC OS ONLY
QuarkXPress 6.0 has been designed to run in a native Mac OS X environment,
and it supports XTensions? software that are developed to run in native Mac OS
X. The operating system support update is most apparent in the Mac OS X Aqua
appearance, but you will also see it in the addition of the QuarkXPress menu and
the Window menu when you launch QuarkXPress. Additionally, when you display
a font selection, pop-up menu typefaces in font families are grouped in submenus.
WINDOWS XP SUPPORT ? WINDOWS ONLY
QuarkXPress 6.0 has been designed to run on Windows XP. Support for Windows
XP is evident in the Windows XP appearance, but QuarkXPress also supports
features of Windows XP such as onNow power management.
MULTIPLE UNDO
The Multiple Undo feature extends the Undo and Redo capabilities that you?ve
always used with QuarkXPress. You can use Multiple Undo to reverse one action
or a series of actions, or to reimplement a series of actions. You can even use it to
undo many actions that you couldn?t reverse in previous versions of QuarkXPress,
including text and picture import, text linking, and style sheet edits, among others.
TABLES ENHANCEMENTS
The ability to link text cells to one another, or to any text box in a layout, makes
tables even more useful. Additionally, you can easily set the tab order of cells, so
that you can move through a table in whatever way is most convenient for you.
Changes to the way you apply color to table elements, such as cells, the table
box, and gridlines, make formatting your table easier than ever. Also, cells and
gridlines can now assume the attributes of adjacent cells. This saves you time
when you need to insert rows or columns that have the same formatting as adjacent
rows and columns. For greater control over table appearance, you can even
apply clipping settings to pictures in picture cells.
QuarkXPress 6.0 can remove gridlines, so that table cells abut one another, and
snap a gridline to guides for precise positioning.
You can convert a table to a group, which is useful when you save a layout containing
features that are not supported in previous versions of QuarkXPress.
LAYERS ENHANCEMENTS
PRINTING LAYERS
QuarkXPress 6.0 offers an additional option for specifying which layers will print
from a print-optimized layout space. While you can still check Suppress Output in
the Attributes dialog box for each individual layer, you can now also use the Print
dialog box to specify in one step which layers should print.
Another improvement to output options is in the behavior of Suppress Output settings.
A layer?s Suppress Output setting now overrides, but doesn?t modify, the
Suppress Output settings for each individual item on that layer. When you check
Suppress Output for a layer, none of the items on the layer print. When you
uncheck Suppress Output for a layer, QuarkXPress honors the Suppress setting
(Item & Modify) for each item on that layer.
LOCKING LAYERS
The locking behavior of layers is also improved. When you lock a layer,
QuarkXPress prevents items on the locked layer from being selected or modified.
All of the items on the layer are locked. When you unlock it, QuarkXPress honors
the Lock setting (Item menu) for each item on that layer.
CONTEXT MENU ENHANCEMENT
A new command, Select All Items on Layer, is now available in the Layers palette
context menu.

PRINTING ENHANCEMENTS ? PRINT LAYOUTS ONLY
QuarkXPress 6.0 offers several improvements to output features for print-optimized
layouts. You can now create smoother blends, manage color at the final
output device, and create a print layout space that can output composite color as
well as separations.
SMOOTHSHADING
To print smoother blends when you output to a PostScript Level 3 device,
SmoothShading is available in QuarkXPress 6.0. SmoothShading lets you print
gradients without using separate bands and static halftone values, resulting in
improved quality in printed blends from many devices.
AS IS COMPOSITE COLOR
As Is color describes colored items using their source color space when you output
to a PostScript composite color device. This lets you color manage output at
the final printing device. You can apply As Is color to printed projects and EPS
files that you create in QuarkXPress.
DEVICEN
DeviceN lets you output blends, multi-inks, colorized TIFFs, and other items as
composite color, while retaining their color separation definitions. When you use
DeviceN, QuarkXPress defines an item?s color by listing its ink name and the ink
percentages that combine to create the color. If you output a composite file to
separations from third-party software, the ink percentages are used to print on the
plates. If you output the item as composite color, the ink percentages and their
colorants are combined in the alternative color space to create a composite color.
This lets you print a single print-optimized layout as composite output as well as in
separations.
You can even apply DeviceN to EPS files that you create using the QuarkXPress
Save Page as EPS feature.
HYPERLINKS ENHANCEMENTS
You can create page-to-page hyperlinks within a print-optimized or Web optimized
layout. You can even use the Append feature to append hyperlinks associated
with URLs to a project.
The Hyperlinks palette has also been updated to make it easier to use. For example,
you can specify the way the Hyperlinks palette displays hyperlinks and
anchors.

WEB FEATURES ENHANCEMENTS
The Web features enhancements in QuarkXPress 6.0 make it even easier to create
eye-catching Web pages.
CASCADING MENUS
The ability to create and apply cascading menus, new to QuarkXPress 6.0, lets
you create Web pages with a comprehensive user interface. Using cascading
menus lets you simplify your design by ?hiding? menu items until the user moves
the mouse pointer over a specific item.
SPECIFYING CSS FONT FAMILIES
Creating font families for cascading style sheets gives you greater control over
your design. By specifying a font family, you can determine what fonts will be used
to display your Web page if the original font is not available to the user.
ROLLOVERS
The two-position rollovers feature of QuarkXPress 6.0 allows you to add greater
visual interest to your Web pages. Because a two-position rollover lets you specify
separate origin and target boxes, you can make rollovers from text or picture
boxes in different areas of the page ? the design possibilities are limitless.
HTML PREVIEW AND EXPORT
To make preview and export more convenient, HTML Preview and HTML Export
features have been added to the context menu.
FORM CONTROLS
There are a few improvements to form controls in QuarkXPress 6.0:
? You can quickly create form boxes by changing the content of an existing box to
Form.
? You can place a form on a layer.
? You can create form boxes in table cells.
CHANGING A BROWSER NAME IN THE PREFERENCES DIALOG BOX
You can change the name of a browser in the Preferences dialog box.
SPECIFYING ADDITIONAL IMAGE EXPORT FOLDERS
You can specify additional export folders for pictures and raster text boxes in Web
layouts.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW?
FULL-RESOLUTION PREVIEW
QuarkXPress 6.0 can display pictures on-screen using the picture file?s full resolution.
This allows you to scale or magnify the image with minimal pixelation and
lets you create more accurate QuarkXPress clipping paths.
MENU CHANGES
Some QuarkXPress menus and their commands have changed. A new menu,
Layout, is now part of the QuarkXPress interface on Mac OS and Windows. On
Mac OS, a QuarkXPress menu and a Window menu have been added. Additionally,
commands to display and hide feature palettes have moved from the View
menu to the Window menu.
AVENUE.QUARK SOFTWARE AND XML IMPORT QUARKXTENSIONS
SOFTWARE
Both avenue.quark software and QuarkXTensions XML Import software have been
updated to include more comprehensive placeholder features and a more intuitive
interface. For information about these changes, please see A Guide to
avenue.quark Software and A Guide to XML Import QuarkXTensions Software.
SAVING AS QUARKXPRESS 5.0
You can save a 6.0 project as a QuarkXPress 5.0 document or template. If the
project specifies As Is composite color output when you save a 6.0 project as a
5.0 document, settings default to composite RGB color space. If the project specifies
DeviceN output, the composite color space is changed to Composite CMYK.
Layer locking behavior reverts to 5.0 functionality. When you save a project as a
5.0 document and the project contains multiple layouts, QuarkXPress saves each
layout as a separate document or template file that is appropriate to the layout?s
medium type.

[toast]

Quark Xpress 6 is a Cocoafied Quark XPress 4. Apart from this, it's slower. Nothing more to say.

[cabbage]

Yes that it is. I myself went from PageMaker 6.52 to InDesign 1.5 to InDesign 2. The few times I've used Quark was to downsave so I could use the Quark2PageMaker converter so I could bring the files into InDesign.

[The MokXnster]

I'm sure it'll please a lot of OS X using printing places that had to run it in Classic... Yeah, most of the printing industry still use Quark. So do I and when I was in OS X, I was hating to get in Classic to use V5... Was so slow... Ah, yeah, I love Quark, been using it since V2 so old habits die hard!

[toast]

MokXnster, Quark 6 is *painfully* slow. The pre-release is, at least.

I couldn't manage to run my usual workflow (PS7/AI10/Quark/Acrobat) without major speed problems on my Mac (see my specs). And that *is* a shame !

Sticking to Quark 4 for my own. Classic is fast and stable enough for me.

[mdnky]

Originally posted by cabbage
The few times I've used Quark was to downsave so I could use the Quark2PageMaker converter so I could bring the files into InDesign.

What version of Quark were those files made in? I import Quark files straight into ID2 (& have with ID1.5 also) with no problems.

[cabbage]

Wow toast...PS7/AI10/Acrobat and you still haven't switched to InDesign yet. I only play with .psd and .ai files anymore. It's great. All my work goes out ID2 > .ps > Distiller 5 w/Acrobat 4 settings so the stuff gets flattened. It sucks that printers are so hesitant to upgrade to anything.

[toast]

My printhouse is sticking to Quark, whatever happens. Hence, I am too.

Plus, their RIP is PostScript 2 limited, so ID2 would be problematic.