Quark Forums

Just discovered this.

Older files re-saved in quark 7.x can become massive in size.

To fix this, simply open a new document sized to current document size. Then append new blank document to the old one. In append dialogue box, choose first item on left, and append all. Repeat for each item on left. Then choose OK.

Your new document will import all from old, including layout pages, style sheets, etc.

This document will be MUCH smaller that original.

Hi, GWamser,

good tip. Yes, Append is pretty similar to thumbnail drag, so has the same cleansing effect and is much quicker than thumbnail dragging.

If I remember correctly, color management settings will be reverted though to whatever the main project has, thus loosing any custom settings the appended layout had.

Best
Matthias

I was preparing a new document TO do a thumbnail drag, and started with append first. I was completely taken by surprise when my entire document was captured during the append process.

This is a great feature for "optimizing" the bloated documents you get when working with old quark files. We have over 450 DVDs/CDs of old quark jobs dating back to late 80s.

This is a great way of using old, but starting out "fresh" in quark.

This is a great tip. Thanks geo.

I just made use of it on a complex 90-page project that was crashing when modifying color profile settings. For this particular file, the traditional thumbnail drag did not work so I was glad to find the tip.

I ran a before/after PDF to compare using Adobe Acrobat's compare feature and the text, images and other settings like H&Js appear to have come in correctly.

Sidenote: My new file grew compared to the original (from 51mb to 72mb.) I'll take the *bloating* without having to rebuild.

Appending is also a good way to get rid of undeleteable style sheets and H&Js. Had a document a while back from a user here which had the same. Nothing would delete these things. Appending the layout stripped out the bad styles and H&Js by simply not including them in the append. It's a good way to get rid of corruption. 

That (appending several QXP docs) wouldn't work if I were trying to combine several docs into one doc, would it?

Witcher:

That (appending several QXP docs) wouldn't work if I were trying to combine several docs into one doc, would it?

 

Yes and No.

Yes if you don't mind several layouts inside one document. Each separate file would be one layout inside that document.

No if you mean merging all pages from several documents into ONE layout in ONE document.

Appending layout does just that. Nothing else. It appends, it does not merge layouts. You still need a thumbnail drag if you want to merge pages.

Hi all,

eyoungren:

You still need a thumbnail drag if you want to merge pages

Cloner (QuarkXPress 9 feature) is the other option to combine pages in the same layout.

Regards
Matthias

I thought so but I once came accross an issue and gave up. Not that the feature is completely rubbish but in that case - that is a substitution to thumbnail drag, with that document - it was of no help to me.

Without having ever used Cloner, and even as a die-hard Quark fan, I have to say that InDesign's Move Pages command is a good feature here. You can choose which pages you want to move to which document and where (before, after, etc). Pretty simple and no dragging pages around graphically.

Sorry guys. Been working in ID lately.

Hi Erik,

do you mean something like that?

Thanks
Matthias

Yes Matthias, like that. I have not had the priviledge yet of working in 9.x so I could not speak to Cloner's capabilities. In the Destination popup there I assume you can select a different document to clone the pages to?

Hi Erik,

yes, and even more than that:

Regards
Matthias

Cool Matthias! Even better! Thanks.

Now.  Got an Intel Mac to spare?

(Seriously though…I need an Intel Mac!)

That's actually what really is discouraging... how poorly versions 7+ run on G5s.