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A quick start guide for th e windows im igrant.


H ow to get Publ
ish er or Print Sh op resul
ts from Scribus
Th is guide covers Scribus 1.1.6 on a SuSE Linux 9 .0 distribution
by Scot Bl
ades A pril2004 sbl
ades9 @ cox.net
I cre ate d th is guide us ing 1.1.4, th e n update d it for 1.1.5 and 1.1.6. Not al lof Scribus ' fe ature s are us e d or cove re d in
th is guide . Th is docum e nt is inte nde d for Linux w anabe e s m igrating from W indow s . It is not com pl e te , and m ay con-
tain inform ation from on-l ine m anual s at s e ve rall ocations on th e w e b. Th e l ocation I found m os t com pl e te w as h t-
tp://w w w .atlanticte ch s ol utions .com /s cribus docs /inde x.h tm l
. Cre ating th is docum e nt be cam e m y w ay of l e arning to us e
Scribus , and I h ope you find it us e ful . I am , by no m e ans , a Scribus e xpe rt, and th e re m ay be be tte r w ays to do th e
th ings I de s cribe , h e re . Ifyou find th e m , pl
e as e le tm e k now , and I'l
lupdate th is us e r guide .

Th e inte ntion h e re is to h e l
p us e rs of M icros oft Publ is h e r or Print Sh op ach ie ve s im il ar, or be tte r re s ults w ith Scirbus .
W indow s im igrants tak e note : Scribus rival s profe s s ionalde s ign program s w ith advance d tool s for s e rious de s k top
publ is h ing. De pe nding on your com puting e xpe rtis e , th e l e arning curve m ay be a l ittl
e s te e p, but th e re s ul ts are w orth
th e e ffort. Scirbus h as no pre -de fine d “w iz ards ” or cook ie cutte r, big broth e r ins pire d te m pl ate s . For ins tance a gre e t-
ing card w il lnot s h ow up as 4 page s as in s im pl e r publ is h ing s oftw are . You w il ls e e th e ful lpage as it w il lbe printe d.
Th e re fore , you m us tunde rs tand h ow your finis h e d page w il lbe folde d to ach ie ve th e s am e re s ul t.

As w ith any s oftw are , re m e m be r to s ave your w ork ofte n. Scribus 1.1.6 is ve ry s tabl e , but you ne ve r k now . H e y, I'm
cautious , I've be e n us ing to W indow s XP. Scribus cre ate s a ".e m e rge ncy" fil e if pos s ible s o you m igh t not los e al lof
your ch ange s . For e xam pl e , th e e m e rge ncy fil
e for th is docum e nt is "M anual.s l
a.e m e rge ncy". Are th e s e guys gre at,
or w h at?
M icros oft, M icros oftPubl
is h e r, PrintSh op, and any oth e r trade m ark e d re fe re nce s in th is docum e ntare th e prope rty of
th e ir re s pe ctive ow ne rs .

Topic Page
Cre ating and e diting a Te xt Fram e ................................................................................... 2
Th e Prope rtie s Dial
og ....................................................................................................... 3
Gradie nt Fil
ls and Spe cialEffe cts ...................................................................................... 4
Te xtO n A Path - It's be tte r th an W ord Art .......................................................................... 5
Drop Caps , Sh ading and oth e r s pe ciale ffe cts .................................................................. 6
Th e Col
or Pal
e tte (cre ating cus tom col
ors ) and Paragraph Styl
e s ..................................... 7
Fram e O utl
ine s and Fil
ls / Sh adow e ffe cts ........................................................................ 8
Pg 2

Creating and editing text fram es


O ne of th e firs t th ings you'l ldis cove r is th at Scribus is de finite l y not a
good te xt e ditor or w ord proce s s or. If you're going to h ave l arge fig.1 Te xtprope rtie s dial
og
s e ctions of body s tyl e te xt, us e a s e parate w ord proce s s or to cre ate
th e te xt, th e n copy and pas te it into your Scribus te xt fram e . Th e
th ink ing h e re is w h y m ak e a bl oate d publ is h e r program w h e n th e re are
nice te xt e ditors al re ady avail abl e on ne arl y e ve ry Linux dis tribution.
W h e n you pas te te xt into Scribus , it ne e ds to be unform atte d. Scribus
doe s noth andl e form atting from outs ide s ource s w e l l
.

Cre ate a te xt fram e by cl ick ing th e te xt fram e button on th e toolbar.


Th e n click and drag th e m ous e pointe r to cre ate a te xt box.
You can re -s iz e and m ove it l ate r. If you h ave te xt w raping
around an obje ct, s uch as th e icon in th is paragraph ,
re m e m be r to m ak e your fram e a l ittl
e l
arge r th an th e graph ic , and s e t
th e fram e fillcolor to none , or your te xtm igh tge tcl ippe d.

H e re you'lldis cove r s e ve ralq uirk s not found in w indow s program s ,


and a fe w nice w indow s fe ature s you'l ls ore ly m is s . If you cl ick th e
fram e you ge t a m ove fram e pointe r, a s e cond cl ick w il
ls til
ls e rve up
th e m ove fram e pointe r. Doubl e cl ick th e fram e to e dit th e te xt
conte nt. W indow s s tyl e te xt s e l
e ction w ith th e k e yboard Sh ift + arrow
k e ys is avail
abl e w ith th e 1.1.6 re l e as e . W indow s s tyl e Sh ift+ Ins e rt
doe s noth ing, you'l lh ave to s e l e ct Pas te from th e Edit or righ t-cl ick
m e nu.

O nce you h ave your te xt in pl ace , you can form at it. Al lth e s tandard
form atting is in th e Prope rtie s Dial og, M ous e -s e l
e ct th e te xt you w ant
to w ork on, righ t cl ick th e s e l
e ction, and s e l
e ct "Sh ow Prope rtie s ". In
orde r to ge t bold or ital ic, you'l lh ave to ch ange th e font. Its a pain at
firs t, butnotbad once you ge tus e d to it.

Paragraph form atting is al s o unde r th e Styl e m e nu. Force d m e ans


jus tifie d h e re . You'l lnotice th e force d form at l
e ave s th e l
as t l
ine of th e
paragraph s panning th e e ntire fram e . To fix th is , ope n th e prope rtie s
dial og and l ook at th e te xt al ignm e nt buttons . Th e re you'l lfind an
option for "Al ign Te xtBlock "

Fram e form atting is found unde r th e Tool s >Prope rtie s m e nu. Th is


brings up th e prope rtie s dial og. H e re , you can m anual ly e nte r fram e Th e Prope rtie s Dial
og: O ne ofth e
place m e nt, s iz ing, angl e s , and al ls orts of th ings . Th e re are m any m os tim portantth ings to ge taq uainte d
options , and us e fule ffe cts tool s in th e prope rtie s dial
og. O ptions not w ith in Scribus . Th is e xam pl e s h ow s th e
availabl e for th e s e l
e cte d ite m are dim inis h e d. te xtprope rtie s ofth e s e l
e cte d fram e .

Som e th ing to pay atte ntion to is your m argins . If an outl ine d fram e is righ t on th e m argin, it m ay
not print th at l ittl
e slive r. Th e s am e applie s to te xt. A fram e w ith te xt righ t out to th e e dge th at
m e e ts th e m argin m igh tnotprintth e e ntire l e tte r. Th e e dge ofth e le tte rs m ay ge ts h ave d off.
Pg 3

Th e Properties Dial
og
Ge tto k now th e prope rtie s dial og w e l
l. Itis probabl y th e s ingl e m os tim portanttoolin Scribus !
For e ach ofth e prope rtie s s e l
e ction buttons , th e re is a diffe re nts e tofval ue s dis pl
aye d. Al
s o th e
dis pl
ay is cus tom iz e d for w h ate ve r is s e le cte d in th e docum e nt!

fig.2 XYZ Pos ition prope rtie s dial


og

Fram e s iz e and Fram e s h ape , te xt


pl
ace m e nt m argins , e tc.

Te xtprope rtie s Im age prope rtie s


curre ntl
y dim inis h e d

Col or s e le ctions for


Line s iz e and fil
l,l
ine s , gradie nts ,
place m e nt e tc.

Rotation toolde gre e


Se le cte d ite m s e tting:
prope rtie s (val ue s , 180 w il lflip th e im age
s e ttings , orie ntation, ups ide dow n, 9 0 w il l
e tc.) turn iton its s ide , and
270 w il lturn iton its
Th is s e ction w il
l oth e r s ide . O f
ch ange according to cours e , any angl e w il
l
th e prope rtie s button be acce pte d.
sel e cte d atth e top of
th e dial og box.
In th is e xam pl e , you
can adjus tth e
Rotation tool : h ie rarch y l e ve l, or
Th e s potw ith th e dot pl ace m e ntofth e
in itw illbe th e ce ntral sel e cte d fram e to
rotation point. In th is s e nd itbe h ind, or
e xam pl e , th e top l e ft bring itin frontof
corne r ofth e s e l e cte d oth e r fram e s .
fram e w il lre m ain
s tationary Fram e Lock and Print
e nable toggl
e buttons

H oriz ontaland
Ve rticalfram e fl
ip
buttons
Pg 4

and specialeffects
fig.3 Col
ors Prope rtie s dial
og
Som e s pe ciale ffe cts are buil t in and e as y. Te xt col or is
availabl e on th e Styl e m e nu, and O utl ine d off th e Styl
e >Styl e
m e nu w illgive you a nice , ne at bl ack outl ine of e ach l e tte r. Fill
Th e re ally fancy s tuff tak e s a littl
e e ffort. But, its e as y once
button
you k now th e s te ps to tak e , and w h e re to find th e righ t
buttons to pus h . Th e fol l
ow ing are th e bas ic s te ps for a

1 Cre ate a te xtbox, and type s om e th ing in it. You m igh t


Line
w antto e nl arge th e te xt.
button
2 Cl ick outs ide th e te xtfram e to “de s e l e ct” it, th e n cl ick it
again s o th e “Ite m ” m e nu is avail abl e.
3 Unde r th e Ite m m e nu, cl ick “conve rtto outl ine .
4 Righ tcl ick th e te xtand s e l e ct“un-group” from th e pop-
up m e nu.
5 Cl ick and drag th e m ous e to s e l e ctal lth e te xtas a group.
6 Unde r th e Ite m m e nu, cl ick “com bine pol ygons .”
Th e Col ors prope rtie s dial
og. Th e fil
lbutton is
7 Unde r th e Tool s m e nu, s e l
e ctprope rtie s to dis pl ay th e
active , and th e fil ltype drop-dow n m e nu is s h ow n.
prope rtie s dial og.
8 Cl ick “col ors ”. Th e fil lbutton s h oul d be active .
fig.4 Line Prope rtie s dial
og
9 Unde r th e paintcan is a drop-dow n l is tw ith “norm al ” in
it. Cl ick th e drop-dow n arrow to re ve alth e s e l e ctions
and s e l e cth oriz ontalgradie nt.
10 Se l e cta col or for col or #1, th e n click th e #2 radio
button to s e l e ctth e s e condary col or. You w il ls e e th e
re s ults in th e te xtim m e diate l y.

11 Cl ick th e l
ine button unde r itto activate th e line control s.
12 Cl ick on a col or, and w atch in h orror as your be autiful l
y
fill
e d te xtbe com e s one big blob!
13 Cl ick th e l
ine button tow ard th e top ofth e dial og to s e t
th e line prope rtie s .
14 Cl ick th e dow n arrow adjus tbutton unde r l ine w idth to
narrow th e outl ine s .

gradie ntfil l
:
You're done w ith th e gradie ntfil l
, now add an outl ine :
You now h ave outl ine d, gradie nt fil
le d te xt. Ste ps 7 th rough Th e Line s prope rtie s dialog.
14 can be us e d to adjus t th e col ors and outl ine s of fram e s
Th is is s e l
fe xpl
anitory.
als o. Th e tw o fram e s at th e top of th is page w e re cre ate d
w ith th e s e s te ps .
' s b e tte r th a
Pg 5

. It
Te
to h .. n
t W
n a pa
x

o rd A rt!
To cre ate te xton a path .
1 Cre ate a te xtbox th e n e nte r th e te xt.
2 Cre ate a be z ie r curve w ith th e de s ire d s h ape .
3 Se l
e ctth e tw o ite m s w ith th e m ous e .
4 Unde r th e Ite m m e nu cl ck “attach to path ”.

Doubl e cl ick ing th e re s ulting ite m w il


le nabl e
e diting th e s h ape of th e be z ie r curve . Righ t
click th e ite m for a pop-up m e nu th at w il lallow fig.5 Be z ie r Curve /Sh ape Prope rtie s dial
og

you to e dit your te xt. O th e r te xt s tyl


e s are s til l
avail abl e unde r th e Styl e s m e nu.

If you h ave n't w ork e d w ith Be z ie r curve s


be fore , you ne e d to m ak e one and s tart fiddl
ing
H oriz ontaland
w ith points and angl es.
Ve rticalfl
ip
buttons
1 Cl ick th e be z ie r curve toolunde r
th e tool bar l ine button.
2 Cl ick s e ve ralpl ace s on your
page .
3 W h e n you've m ade tw o or m ore
points , righ tcl ick to finis h th e
cre ation proce s s and your l ine
w illappe ar.
4 Doubl e cl ick th e obje ct, and th e
curve e diting dial og appe ars .

Be z ie r Curve Dial
og Functions

Button #1 M ove Node s : A node is a point on th e curve . W h e re ve r you cl


ick e d w h e n cre ating th e
curve th e re w il
lbe a node . W h e n you m ove a node , th e curve s h ape ch ange s accordingl y.

Button #2 M ove Controlpoints : A controlpoint s e ts th e angl e of th e curve from its attach e d node .
A node at th e e nd of th e curve h as one controlpoint. A node in th e m iddl e of th e curve h as tw o
controlpoints , one for e ach dire ction. Als o, th e farth e r aw ay a controlpoint is from th e node , th e
m ore e xage rate d th e curve w il
lbe com e be tw e e n th e attach e d node and th e adjace ntnode .

Buttons 3 and 4 add or de l


e te node s re s pe ctive l
y.

M ove your m ous e ove r th e re m aining buttons to dis pl


ay th e ir re s pe ctive functions .
D rop caps . . . Pg 6

Sh ad ing, and oth er specialeffects.


Th e re are no buil t-in s h adow tool s in Scribus . Th is is a doubl e e dge d s w ord. O n one e dge you m us t
cre ate th e s h adow s m anual ly, on th e oth e r you h ave m uch gre ate r controlove r th e e ffe cts . You can
controlcol or, pl ace m e nt, th ick ne s s of s h adow , e xtra outl ine s , and m ore . Th at e xtra controlis w e l l
w orth th e e xtra e ffort ne e de d to cre ate s h adow s . Th e e ffe cts above w e re cre ate d in about 10
m inute s . About 7 of th os e m inute s w e re s pe nt in l e arning h ow . Scribus 1.1.5 provide s a toolfor a
drop cap s tyl e , h ow e ve r you m us t cre ate th e s tyle , and you are s tuck w ith th e font s iz e . I'm s ure th is
w il
lbe fixe d, and ifyou h ave a ve rs ion ne w e r th an 1.1.5 l ook for be tte r drop cap tools.

Th e s te ps I us e d to cre ate th e titl


e Drop Cap and Sh adow e ffe cts are :
Drop caps : Fontand outline col
or
sel
e ctors
1 Cre ate a te xtbox for th e firs tl
e tte r.
2 Se tth e fonts iz e to 100, 120, or s om e oth e r l
arge
value .
3 Us e th e Prope rtie s dialog to s e tte xtcol
or, te xt
Color s h ade
outline s , and outl ine col
or. sel
e ctors .
4 Cre ate anoth e r te xtbox for th e re s tofyour te xt.
5 Se tcol
ors and outl
ine s as de s ire d. Te xtform atting
sele ctors
6 Align th e s e tw o te xtboxe s for th e be s te ffe ct. Your
drop cap te xtbox m ay be partl y offth e page due
to th e fonts iz e . No probl e m , jus tm ak e s ure th e
Te xtoutl ine
printe d partis w ith in th e m argins . sel e ctor

Your Drop Cap is finis h e d. Now for th e Sh adow


Paragraph
e ffe ct. continuing from above : form atting
1 Se l
e ctboth te xtboxe s . Note th e X and Y Pos sele ctors
value s in th e prope rtie s dial
og. th e n cl
ick
"duplicate " unde r th e ite m m e nu. Pre -de fine d
paragraph
2 W ith th e prope rtie s dial og, ch ange th e te xtcol or to s tyle s . By
a ne w col or for th e s h adow . For e xam pl e , to ge t de faul tth e re
gre y, us e black as th e col or and ch ange th e 100% are no s tyl es.
to 30 or 40% . Se e th e ne xt
page for m ore
3 Us ing th e prope rtie s dial og, s e tth e X and Y val ue s on de fining
sligh tl
y h igh e r th an th e m ain te xtbox val ue s . Th is s tyles.
w il
ls e tyour s h adow to th e righ t, and be l ow th e
m ain te xt. Se e fig.2 on page 3. fig.6 Te xtPrope rtie s dial
og
4 Now us e th e l e ve ls e l
e ctors to m ove th e s h adow
te xtbe ne ath th e m ain te xt. In Scribus 1.1.4 th is
m us tbe s e tfor e ach individualte xtbox.
FYI: K e rning is s apcing be tw e e n ch aracte rs
& Styl
es
Pg 7

Now th at you h ave s om e bas ic s tuff, it's tim e to w ork w ith col ors .
Scirbus com e s s tock e d w ith th e bas ic 8 col ors , but is capabl e of
true col or. Th e picture to th e righ t s h ow s th e dial og you ge t w h e n
you cl ick "Col ors " unde r th e "Edit" m e nu. If you cl ick on th e col ors ,
you'l l notice th e "e dit" button be com e s avail abl e for al l col ors
e xce pt bl ack , cyan, m age nta, and ye l l
ow . Th at's be caus e th os e 4
col ors are th e bas is for de fining al loth e r colors of th e s pe ctrum .
Cl ick th e "Ne w " button and fil lin a nam e for your ne w col or. I
ch os e "Pirk le ". Cl ick O k and th e e ditcol or dialog appe ars .
In th e col or e ditor s e l
e ct th e col or m ode l . Tink e r w ith it as you l ik e ,
Il e ft it on CM YK . Th e n s tart finding th e col or you're l ook ing for.
You h ave s e ve raloptions on h ow to proce e d. Jus t as in oth e r col or
sel e ctors you m ay be fam il iar w ith . Scribus provide s a ful l
s pe ctrum pal e tte th at you can cl ick and drag around to w atch your fig.7 Colors Editor Se lection Dialog
ne w col or ch ange ins tantl y. O r, you can us e th e s l ide rs to ch ange individualcol or com pone nts . O r, you
can e nte r val ue s dire ctly. Cl ick th e O k button, and your ne w col or is in th e l
is tofavail
able col
ors .

fig.8 Col
ors Editor fig.9 Styl
e s Editor
Th e Edit Col or dialog s h oul d be ve ry fam il iar to Th e Edit Styl e dial og s e ts cus tom de fine d paragraph
W indow s im igrants . If not, fiddle around w ith it to s e e form ats , incl
uding fonts . It's pre tty s e lf e xpl
anitory.
jus th ow e as y itis . Se e be low for a dis cus s ion ofStyles.

Th e re are no pre -de fine d paragraph form ats in Scribus th atI h ave found. So, ifyou ne e d bul
le te d or
is ts , h anging inde nts , e tc you'l
num be re d l lh ave to cre ate a s tyl
e.
1 Cl ick Styl e s ... unde r th e Editm e nu.
2 An e dits tyl e s dialog appe ars s im ilar to th e col
ors dialog.
3 Cl ick th e Ne w button and th e EditStyl e dialog appe ars as il lus trate d above .
4 Th is is pre tty s traigh tforw ard. Styl e nam e , face (font), s iz e , alignm e nt, e tc.
5 Ve rticals pace s above and be l ow are s pace s be tw e e n paragraph s .
6 Us e th e Inde ntation s e ction for firs tl ine and h anging inde nts . Firs tl ine inde ntis s im ple , jus te nte r a val
ue in th e
firs tline box. For h anging inde nts , s e tth e Firs tLine as a ne gative val ue , and th e Le ftInde ntas a pos itive val ue
th atoffs e ts th e Firs tLine val ue .
Now , w h e n you're form atting your te xtw ith th e Prope rtie s dialog, you can s e l
e ctyour ne w s tyl e , and th e
sel e cte d s tyl
e appl
ie s to th e paragraph s e l e cte d. Ifyou h ave no paragraph s e l e ce d, th e s tyl
e appl ie s to th e
e ntire te xtfram e you curre ntl y h ave s e l
e cte d.
Pg 8

Fram e O utl
ines and Fil
ls
No doubt, you've notice d th ings ge t fancie r as th is
docum e nt progre s s e s . Fram e fil l
s , outl
ine s and Click th e s h ape
s uch m ak e for m ore dynam ic pre s e ntations . button to s h ow th e s e
H e re 's h ow to ge tyour te xtfram e s l
ook ing good. options
1 Cre ate a te xtfram e .
2 O pe n th e Prope rtie s dial og.
3 Cl ick th e “Line ” button. H e re , you can s e tth e l ine
th ick ne s s , and pre -de fine d line e ndings .
4 Cl ick th e “Sh ape ” button. Th e s e s im pl e s e ttings
Pre -de fine d
ge tyour captions , and te xtfram e s l ook ing cl e an
fram e
and s h arp. s h ape s
- Us e th e pre -de fine d s h ape s button for q uick
e ffe cts , or cl ick on th e “EditSh ape ” button to
ope n th e Be z ie r Curve Dial og th atal low s ful l
s h ape control .
- Us e th e “Round Corne rs ” val ue to s e ts im pl e
O pe ns th e
rounde d corne rs . Th e te xtbox above h as th is Be z ie r
val ue s e tat6 pts . Curve Editor
- Us e th e “Dis tance ofTe xt” val ue s to s e tth e ins ide
m argins ofth e te xtbox. Th is is us e fulto m aintain Col um ns ,
s pace be tw e e n your te xtand th e fram e e dge gap, and tab
w h e n you h ave th e te xtbox outl ine d. M os tofth e s e ttings
outl ine d te xtfram e s in th is docum e nth ave th e s e w e re adde d
in 1.1.5.
val ue s at1 pt. for both top and bottom , 5 pts . for
I w is h I'd
le ft, and 7 pts . for righ tm argins . As you can s e e , h ad th e m
you al s o s e tcol um ns , and tabs h e re . wh enI
cre ate d th is
You s h oul d be fam il iar w ith th e colors s e ction of guide !
th e Prope rtie s dial og by now . W h e n you h ave th e
fram e onl y sel e cte d (no te xt or conte nts ), th e col or
and l ine buttons controlth e fram e fil land outl ine . fig.10 Fram e Sh ape Prope rtie s Dial
og

Th e Title w as m ade w ith th re e fram e s , al


lw ith
th e "Te xtfl
ow s around box" option unch e ck e d.
1 A te xtfram e w as cre ate d w ith fil
land outl
ine s .
2 Th atfram e w as dupl icate d, filland outl ine s
w e re cle are d, and te xtw as adde d w ith
M age nta fil land outl ine s . Th is fram e w as
pl ace d ligh tl
y above and l e ftofth e firs tfram e .
3 Th atfram e w as duplicate d, and te xtcol or
ch ange d to Pink l
e w ith black outl ine s . Th is
fram e w as place dire ctly ove r th e firs tfram e .

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