Quark explains what make Xpress 6 different

Quark Xpress Version 6 has been in development for over 18 months. It was being demo’d on a small scale as far back as April 2002. Full first-phase alpha testing began in January, 2003, and between 250 and 300 sites are currently testing QuarkXPress 6. It is now in the beta test phase, and a June release date is anticipated in the US. No local date is confirmed at this stage.

QuarkXPress 5 was a step that allowed users to more easily multipurpose documents. The Embedded PDF filter made it easier to generate PDFs. A Print-to-Web function wrote html code and converted images to jpegs and gifs. Quark Avenue, released about three years ago, was included in QuarkXPress 5. Avenue provides XML import/export functionality, as well as table features and layers.

With QuarkXPress 6, the plan was to create something more than simply an OS X version of QuarkXPress 5. The software designers wanted to continue to streamline the workflow and further develop the print, web and multipurpose document features. This is what they went after.

PDFs –
QuarkXPress 6 provides native, fully functional PDFs created directly from QuarkXPress using the Jaws PDF Creator software included in the new version. Jaws is a product of Global Graphics, which also owns the Harlequin RIP. PDFs created in 6.0 thus do not need to be processed through Adobe Acrobat Distiller.

Multiple undo’s and multiple redo’s, with full control over the number of redo’s available, are two more very welcome 6.0 features.

In continuing with the streamlined workflow process, the use of layout spaces has been added to QuarkXPress 6, which allows for a more flexible workflow. A QuarkXPress 6 project can contain a collection of layout spaces, which allows QuarkXPress 6 users, the ability to create layouts of varying sizes and orientations within a single multi-page document.

Style sheets, hyphenations settings, and lists can be shared among layouts. Each layout can consist of up to 2,000 pages. Saving a multi-layout file backwards into Quark 5 also separates the file into individual documents.

Colour formats – Additional colour formats have been added, including DeviceN colour. DeviceN colour space allows users to output multi-inks, colorized TIFF images, and other items as composite colour while retaining spot colour information suitable for in-RIP separations. The As-Is colour lets print and prepress staff control how colour space conversions will occur at printing.

Synchronized text allows changes in the synchronized text to be made once, with those changes then being made through the entire document. This feature works on as many layouts and pages as the user desires.

Preview – Full resolution preview takes away grainy pixelization, and colour display is more accurate. This can be set under Item/Preview Resolution and works with PDF, EPS, TIFF and both vector and raster.

Layers – The layers feature was introduced in QuarkXPress 5 and consists of tiers on a document page. Up to 256 layers can be used, allowing users to easily create a documents based on versioning, black plate changes within the same document. The eye indicates the visible layer and only visible layers will print to PostScript. To change the attributes of a layer, the operator double-clicks on the layer, renames layers and changes attributes. The option key is used to drag and rearrange layers on the palette.

Even though a layer is not visible, if it contains a runaround that will be maintained by activating the Runaround attribute. Layers can also be merged and items can be relocated from one layer to another. In QuarkXPress 6, a function has been added that locks a feature in the layers window so it can no longer be selected and moved.
Under the print dialog a new tab exists for layers. Layers can be turned off and only those that are needed will be printed. QuarkXPress 6, as with previous versions, does not support Photoshop layered files, but Xtensions exist that will do so.

Tables – The tables feature uses an object similar to a picture or text box. You can do everything with a tables box that you can do with the others, including importing both pictures and text in the same bounding box. When the cursor is moved outside of a selected Table the cursor changes to a thick black arrow to indicate you are working in a tables box.

Cells can be merged under Item/Tables. A table can be either a static or non-static element. Activating Maintain Geometry will allow a static table, which locks the outside boundaries of the table, but allows user to change width/height of cells. Rule weights of horizontal, vertical and outside
rules can be controlled. In QuarkXPress 6, a zero weight rule is now possible.

Under Item, Convert Text to Table won’t overwrite the original text box but will create a new one that inherits the characters, width and height of the original. Colour can be added to each cell or linked from one cell to another, one table to another or to another text box. Rows and columns can be inserted, and changes can be made to one cell or row or column of cells. Once the table is set up, it can be broken apart into boxes and converted back to text or to tab-delimited text.

Quark had already introduced the Table Import Xtension, which allows PC users to link Excel files directly to QuarkXPress tables. They plan to make this Xtension available on the Mac platform soon. Tables can also be used on web documents. This is a powerful feature, creating non-collapsible areas, a more difficult thing to do in html code.

Web Files – The Print-to-Web Document feature was introduced in QuarkXPress 5. In QuarkXPress 5, users could copy print data and paste that data into a web document. In QuarkXPress 6.0, uses of print and web have been simplified to allow users to duplicate print documents and create a web-ready document. The HTML code is converted directly from the file, and graphics are saved appropriately as .gif, .jpeg and .png file types.

The camera icon indicates a graphic is exported as a gif. It can be changed to jpeg if desired. Text can be maintained as searchable text, and fonts will be maintained as serif or sans serif. Code is written in table format to increase upload speed. Hyperlinks are fully functional.

When working in a web document, two sets of tools are available—the standard QuarkXPress print tools and a set of web tools which allows users to easily create image maps, form boxes, pop menus, check boxes, radio buttons and rollovers.

Items such as library files and style sheets can be shared between print and web documents. Upon exporting a web page to HTML, cascading style sheets are created to preserve the integrity and look of the file. If security or advanced features are needed, the HTML code and images can be given to a web developer to incorporate the more advanced features. But the user completes the core web document.

Compatibility Issues – QuarkXPress 6 will support files from QuarkXPress 3.32 and above. Files can be saved back to QuarkXPress 5. When working with older documents (ver. 3.32) it is suggested that users use a thumbnail drag to newer versions of the software to weed out possible corruption that may have been introduced to the file over years of use, but this step is not mandatory.

All Mac Xtensions were "broken" with the introduction of OS X. Some of those Xtension features are now incorporated in QuarkXPress 6. Xtensions for earlier Mac OS versions must be rewritten to be compatible with OS X to be used in QuarkXPress 6. The price for QuarkXPress 6 has not yet been determined.

As of 2002, Quark quotes a market share of 93 percent in the desktop publishing software market, and has continued to maintain a healthy market share.