Quark Forums

Dear employees Quark inc.!

1) Inform, whether project Quark Labs is closed? Or after an exit of ninth version QuarkXPress release of xtensions within the limits of Quark Labs will proceed?

2) Whether Will be updating Image Export XT, Print Selection XT, Shadow Caster for the ninth version? These xtensions are very popular in me and colleagues. They are necessary to us.

Thanks for an early reply.

1) Quark Labs is not closed. We've just been so busy working on QuarkXPress 9 that we haven't posted anything for a while. Now we're busy finishing up App Studio for QuarkXPress 9 so I don't expect you'll see anything new on Labs for a while. Labs is not an active project per se, it's more of an outlet where we can post things that otherwise wouldn't see the light of day because they're not quality-certified.

2) I plan to get Image Export XT into a 9.x update, either as an out-of-the-box XT or as an update on Labs (probably as a standard feature). I currently don't plan to update either Print Selection or ShadowCaster for version 9, although I do want to get the Create Box From Clipping Path command out of Print Selection and into a 9.x XTension. I'm curious how you would prioritize these three XTs against each other so please let me know.

thanks,
Dan Logan
Product Manager, QuarkXPress

Dan, thanks for the fast and detailed answer.

My priorities are Image Exporter XT and command Create Box From Clipping Path. Here I with you agree.

But I don't agree that Quark Inc. has ceased to continue Shadow Caster Xtension. These effects are very necessary in daily work of the designer. They are in any vector and raster graphic editor, is in InDesign. But they aren't present in QuarkXPress. It very much limits open space for design.

Besides, in 2009 in Edit> Preferences> Print Layout/Interactive/Web layout> Tools> Item Tool> Modify> Shift + nudge Increment you promised to give the chance to change a unit of measure. Not only pixels, but also millimeters, inches.
It too very much doesn't suffice.
All of you still plan to add this possibility?

Thanks for an early reply.

My two cents: Print Selection XT is very essential to our work flow and will delay upgrading to Quark 9 in our shop. Image Export and Shadow Caster Xtensions should also be ported over to 9 as well.

Quarkxpress simply must have more designing features. I believe that it has enough design features for newspaper production but definitely not for marketing collateral. It lets designers more for almost a decade behind! Regarding features for design xpress 9 is still 2nd or even 3rd class DTP software! Print Selection XT and Image Export XT were fine for xpress 8 and I realy miss them in 8.5. But I'm sure, even the xpress 9 is great ad Print Selection and Image Export will be on place, a lot of designers which are still with xpress will looking for CS 5.5, simply because of its designs features (as well as cross media publishing in CS5.5). Maybe the last are not so good as in quark, but our customers have their own eyes and designers which use xpress simply are not competitive with indesign users. Therefore ShadowCaster XT should be on the highest priority of Quark Labs.

Are there any news?

We would really like to upgrade to Quark 9 but the Print Selection XT is essential for us.
We use it about 100 x a day (newspaper)

Greetz
Max

Hi max,

which function do you use please, the abilty to convert paths to picture boxes? Or to print a selection?

Thanks
Matthias

Print selection. We use it for newspaper ads so we don't have to change the dokument size if the ad changes in hight.

xack

Hi max,

I'll put it on the wishlist, maybe we can release this soon.

Thanks
Matthias

Hi, Have you got any plans to add some of the old Xpert print and Xpert tools xtensions to Quark 9? I've been waiting for Xpert Item Marks for Quark since version 8 and still haven't seen it. I've been having to drop back to version 7 to use the ability to add crops and measurements to particular text boxes for years now as my clients like to check dimensions for certain artworks I produce. Any chance we can get this on a Quark 9 update as this is one of the things holding me back from buying it. Thanks. Alec

 Hi Matthias,

Is there any way to convert paths to picture boxes in 9? I used this option alot in 8 and didn't upgrade my system software, simply so that I could keep using this. I've been creating boxes in 8 and then placing them in my 9 docs. Now the boss is pressuring me to upgrade to the latest OS so I'll lose that option as 8 crashed when I upgraded the OS in the past (I reverted to 10.5.8 for Quark 8).

Thanks,

Margot

Hi Margot,

I understand. Currently there is not, however you migth want to have a look at Shapemaker (Utilities menu) to see whether that can help.

That said, we are working on brining this back, I'll let you know once I have more concrete details.

Thank you for your patience
Matthias

Dear Dan and Matthias!

I thank you that converting Clipping Path to Box became standard function QuarkXPress 9.2. It has very much simplified work.
However, I and my numerous colleagues still don't have Export Pages to Images command. For this reason all of us still work in QuarkXPress 8.

But in XTension for the eighth version too there is a lack: impossibility to set great value of the permission of the image in dpi.
This command we always use this for sending of sketches to our colleagues at other offices and cities, and also to advertisers.
And 72—103 dpi, of course, it is not enough existing permission. Value 288—300 dpi would be ideal.

Dear Dan, Matthias! Tell, how soon function Export Pages as Images will appear in QuarkXPress 9? Whether B it is possible to count what restriction of field Resolution will be excluded?

I thank for attention and an early reply.

 The allowed resolutions are determined by the physical dimensions. You must have a page size that is somewhat larger than average. In this case I notice that you're using the Spreads option -- if you uncheck Spreads then the dimensions will decrease by half and then you can probably enter the ppi you want to use.

You probably already realize this, but another good way of doing this type of export is to export an RGB PDF and then rasterize it in something like Photoshop, Acrobat, or even Preview on the Mac.

I wish I could give you an answer about when we'll have this for 9.x but right now it's not an active project so I can't commit to anything. I am completely confident that we will update it at some point, but I don't know when. I can say that when we do I want to make a couple of enhancements like correctly handling section-based page numbering and correctly exporting transparency in PNG format. Do you have any other ideas for it?

thanks,
Dan

 A "would be nice" function: support for applescript

 Have to use GUI scripting now, which isn't perfect.