Choose which type of tips to read, and then use the Next gadget to read each tip in that section. When you come to the end of a section, it will automatically start the next section.
Setup Tips
General Tips
Editing Tips
Layout Tips
Printing Tips
Import/Export Tips
Text Tips
Interface Tips
PageStream2 Upgrade Tips
Amiga Tips
DTP Definitions
Design Tips
Cookies
To find out which version of a PageStream file you have installed, choose Tech Report from the Scripts menu, or:
1. Open a shell.
2. Change to the directory containing the file. ie: CD SOFTLOGIK:FILTERS.
3. Check its version number. ie: VERSION IFFILUS.FILTER FULL. AmigaOS will report something like: "IFFILUS 1.0 (4.15.94)"
Version numbers are important for determining if you have the latest filters, drivers and other modules and for reporting problems to technical support. Additional modules and improved versions of modules are regularly uploaded to www.softlogik.com and CompuServe (go softlogik).
If your objects are half as tall as they should be, you need to change your display resolution. Choose Screen from the System Preferences submenu in the Project menu. Change the Display DPI to X:65 Y:55 for most NTSC monitors (North America), or X:65 Y:70 for most PAL monitors (other continents).
If your objects are twice as tall as they should be, you probably have it set to X:65 Y:55 (NTSC) or X:65 Y:70 (PAL) when it should be set to X:65 Y:27 (NTSC) or X:65 Y:35 (PAL).
To set the Display DPI accurately, you should measure the size of your screen display with a ruler (in inches). Divide this by the display size in pixels to calculate the horizontal and vertical Display DPI. (i.e., 640 pixels " 9.5 inches = 67 dpi)
Refer to page 483 of the 3.0 manual for more information. (Note that the 75x75 dpi recommendation for PAL on page 484 is incorrect. It should read 65x70.)
Do not use the Times or Triumvirate fonts in your Fonts:_bullet_outlines directory with PageStream3. These fonts do not have the same character widths and spacing values as the fonts that are included with PageStream3.
The fonts included with Workbench are Agfa's CG series fonts. They modified these to create the CS series fonts, which are included with PageStream3, so that the fonts could be used properly with PostScript printers.
If you want to add the fonts in the Fonts:_bullet_outlines directory to PageStream3 with Fonts from the System Preferences submenu in the Project menu, remove the CGTimes.type and CGTriumvirate.type files from it and copy the files ending with ".type" from the PageStream3:Fonts/Intellifonts directory to the Fonts:_bullet_outlines directory. Update the PageStream3:Fonts/Intellifonts directory and add the Fonts:_bullet_outlines directory to it with Fonts in the System Preferences submenu in the Project menu, so that PageStream will know that the font files have been moved.
If you're extremely low on memory, type `REFRESH SIMPLE' into your PageStream3.prefs or BME.prefs files (without quotation marks). Use PageLiner or another text editor to do this.
The REFRESH SIMPLE option does not retain the contents of the windows below the current window or requester. This means that lower windows must be redrawn whenever a top window or requester is closed or moved. This slows down the display somewhat, but conserves memory.
It is the opposite of the REFRESH SMART option which is the default.
If you want PageStream to remember the position of the palettes, toolbox and document window when you next use the program, choose Snapshot Display from the Window to make it memorize your setup. The position and size of all palettes and the toolbox will be saved. The position and size of the current document window will be saved as the default for all document windows.
If you're low on memory and you don't use PANTONE® colors, remove the four PANTONE libraries from the SoftLogik:Colors directory. These files are loaded automatically when you start PageStream and take up 100K of memory.
Removing the color libraries will also speed up the loading of PageStream.
PageStream's default page size is US Letter (8.5x11"). If you want to change this to another size, choose New from the Project menu, set the values to the desired values, and click the Remember button.
To set the default number of columns in a text column frame drawn with the Column tool, choose Preferences from the Project menu and click the Toolbox tab.
If you're low on memory or want to speed up the loading of PageStream, you may wish to consider removing filters that you do not use from the SoftLogik:Filters directory. Refer to the manual and online help system for descriptions of the filters if you are unsure what they are used for.
NEVER delete the IFFCTXT, IFFFTXT, IFFILBM, IFFILUS, IFFDR2D, IFFDOC or EPS filters.
If you do not need to load PageStream 1 or 2 documents, you can delete the PageStream2 filter. If you do not need to load ProPage documents, you can delete the ProPage filter.
You should quit PageStream before removing filters from the SoftLogik:Filters directory.
To set the default grid spacing, choose Set Grid command, set the desired values, and click the Remember button.
You can run an ARexx script automatically when you load PageStream3 and BME2. Load the PageStream3:PageStream3.prefs file into a text editor such as PageLiner. Add a new line using the following syntax:
STARTUP scriptname
For example, if you wanted to run the PageStream3:Scripts/ProjectSetup.rexx script each time you started PageStream3, you would type:
STARTUP PageStream3:Scripts/ProjectSetup.rexx
If you cannot use the Navigator after the tip appears when you first start PageStream, and are using the public domain QMouse utility, you should disable QMouse. On some systems, QMouse has been found to cause delays when using PageStream 3. Read the Troubleshooting section of the help system for more tips on this.
You can make PageLiner open on the PageStream3 public screen (or any public screen) by adding an entry to the PageLiner.prefs file in the PageStream3: directory. Load this file into a text editor and add `PUBSCREEN=screenname' to it. For example, `PUBSCREEN=pagestream3'.
If you do not currently have a PageLiner.prefs file, create a new text file and make the first line read `;PageLiner Preferences file'.
To move the page within a window:
1. Hold down the Right Amiga key.
2. Drag the page with the left mouse button.
Alternatively, drag the page with the middle mouse button of a three button mouse without holding down a key.
Using a modem for technical support is a cost-effective means of getting your questions answered. You can post a question and receive a reply within a day or even a few hours. Patches to the latest version of PageStream3 are made available online for you to download.
SoftLogik technical support representatives answer support questions each business day. To join the SoftLogik digest where questions are answered, send email to listhelp@softlogik.com for directions. Visit our web pages at www.softlogik.com for program patches, answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs), and other SoftLogik news.
If you change the view magnification and want to switch back to the previous magnification, hold down a Shift key and click on the Custom Scale button above the horizontal scrollbar (the button showing the current view magnification). This will switch to the previous used magnification without opening the Custom Scale requester.
If you move to a new page and want to switch back to the previous page, hold down a Shift key and click on the Go to Page button above the horizontal scrollbar. This feature allows you to toggle between two pages without having to open the Go to Page requester.
AmigaOS 2.0 and 2.1 users: Unfortunately, keyboard equivalents which do not use the Right Amiga key cannot be shown in the menus with versions of AmigaOS prior to 3.0. The Type menu commands use Ctrl key equivalents and the Object menu commands use single key equivalents. Refer to appendix D of the 3.0 manual for a list of these keyboard equivalents.
If you should need to force a screen redraw, choose Redraw Window from the Scripts menu. This will cause the entire screen to be recalculated and redrawn. This script command is included in the default script list and can be executed by pressing F10 unless you have changed it.
Not sure which font to use? Choose Print Font Specimens from the Scripts menu to print a sample of each of your fonts. Put all of them together in a binder for a useful reference. This script requires ARexx.
If you have any problems with PageStream, you should first check the online help system for last minute changes and for answers to common questions. Press the Help button to open the main help contents screen, and then click on the Last Minute Changes gadget to see a list of known problems. Click on the Troubleshooting gadget in the main help contents screen to access the troubleshooting section.
To move quickly to a page's master page, choose Go to Master Page from the Scripts menu. This requires ARexx. To move back to the page, choose the command again (or hold down a Shift key and click on the Go to Page button).
To read about last minute changes in this version of PageStream3, choose View ReadMe.Now File from the Scripts menu. This requires ARexx.
Manual Errata: if you haven't done so already, you should check the manual errata section of the help system and update your manual. Press the Help button to open the main help contents screen, and then click on the Manual Errata gadget.
If you need to print form letters, order Datastore from SoftLogik (USA and Canada) or Digita (other countries). Choose Mail Merge from the Scripts menu to merge your data into a PageStream document. This will print form letters (or any other type of document) for each name and address (record) in your database.
Using a small monitor? You can get more space for your document by overlapping the screen's title bar with your document window. With Topaz 8 menus, there are 11 extra pixels at the top of your screen.
To change your default window setup, create a new document and position and size it as desired. You may want to move the toolbox to the right side of the screen so that the screen's depth gadget will still be available when the window overlaps the title bar. When you have it set up correctly, choose Remember Window Positions from the Window menu. Now you'll have an extra 11 pixels of vertical space.
Work with the Edit palette visible to see and change the coordinates of objects; however, the Edit palette slows down the program so you may want to close it for a more responsive feel.
Select Snap-to-Grid from the Layout menu to draw, move and scale objects in increments of the grid spacing. This makes it easy to align objects.
If you need to make a copy of a complex object such as a picture, choose Duplicate from the Object menu instead of Copy and Paste. Copy and Paste use the Amiga clipboard which is relatively slow compared to the fast Duplicate command.
Hold down a Shift key while scaling (resizing) an object to constrain changes to the object's current aspect ratio. The aspect ratio is the horizontal to vertical ratio of the object. Distorting the aspect ratio will change the appearance of the object and not just its size.
There are two ways to move objects with the Object tool. The fast way shows only the objects' bounding box, while the slower method shows the outlines of each object.
If you drag an object immediately after holding down the mouse button, you will see only the objects' bounding box. If you pause before dragging the object after holding down the mouse button, (wait until after the mouse pointer changes to a 4 way arrow before moving the mouse), the actual outlines of the selected objects will be shown.
To select an object behind another object:
1. Hold down the Ctrl key.
2. Click on the object.
When moving, scaling or drawing, you can press the right mouse button to cancel the operation.
There are two ways to resize objects with the Object tool. The fast way shows only the objects' bounding box, while the slower method shows the outlines of each object.
If you drag a size handle immediately after holding down the mouse button, you will see only the objects' bounding box. If you pause before dragging the size handle after holding down the mouse button, (wait until after the mouse pointer changes to a 2 way arrow before moving the mouse), the actual outlines of the the selected objects wil be shown.
To paste an object at its original position rather than the center of the window, hold down a Shift key while choosing Paste.
PageStream text gadgets support simple math expressions. You can add, subtract, multiply and divide values. This is most useful when you want to add or subtract an amount to an existing coordinate. For example, to add 0.333 to a box's left coordinate of 8.125", you would enter 8.125"+0.333. When you pressed Tab or Return, the expression would be evaluated. Use + for addition, - for subtraction, * for multiplication, and / for division. As well, () may be used for parenthetical expressions and `pi' can be entered to represent the standard value of pi. i.e., 8.125*(pi-0.333)/7
PageStream 3 lets you create more than one column in a text column frame, which is very different from PageStream 2.x and Professional PageÆ. This is useful because if you decide to change the number of columns in your layout, you can simply select a text column frame and changed the number of columns with the Edit palette. The text will reflow automatically. If you had created independent frames for each column, you would have to resize them, add or delete column frames, and reflow the text manually.
To change the size of the current page you must change the size of the master page on which it is based. Choose Master Page Setup from the Layout menu. Enter the new page size and click OK.
Note that this will change the size of all pages based on this page. If all the pages in the document are based on the same master page (they are all based on the Default Master Page unless you specify otherwise), this will change the size of all the pages.
If you want to change the size of the current page only, create a new master page with the Document palette, then choose Page Setup and select the new master page from the Master Page pop-up menu.
You can move the rulers to position them next to the objects you want to measure. To move the rulers, hold down a Shift key and drag from the ruler origin (the box where the rulers meet). Release the mouse button when the rulers are at the desired position.
To reset the ruler position to the top left corner of the page, hold down a Shift key and click on the ruler origin.
You can move the zero point of the rulers to another position if you don't want the page coordinates to be numbered from the top left corner. To move the ruler zero point, drag from the ruler origin (the box where the rulers meet). Release the mouse button at the desired position.
To reset the ruler zero point to the top left corner of the page, click on the ruler origin.
You can also change the ruler measurement direction. Choose Set Rulers from the Layout menu.
PostScript users: If you cannot find a PPD file to match your PostScript printer (when you click on the question mark gadget next to the PPD text gadget in the Printing Preferences requester), you should:
1. Check the disks that came with your printer. Most PostScript printers come with PPD files. (Check the DOS/Windows disk if your printer came with one.)
2. Contact your printer manufacturer and request the PPD file. Most printer manufacturers post PPD files on their web sites.
3. Try using the AppleLWriterPlusv42.2 file. Most PostScript laser printers are Apple LaserWriter Plus compatible.
4. As a last resort, use the .General file. This will not take advantage of special features of your printer, but will work for any PostScript device.
Note: PageStream 3 is compatible with version 4.0 and above PPD files. You can determine the version of a PPD file by loading it into a text editor and searching for the "*FormatVersion" line.
If you create a landscape document, you must remember to choose Landscape from the Orientation pop-up menu in Print Setup before printing.
PostScript users: The Times and Triumvirate (PostScript name is Helvetica) fonts you use with PageStream have many more characters than the fonts resident in a PostScript printer. Sorry, but these characters cannot be printed on a PostScript printer. If you use these characters, they will not print. Refer to appendix A of the 3.0 manual for a list of the characters in most PostScript fonts.
PostScript users: When PageStream3 downloads a Compugraphic font to a PostScript printer, it generates a PostScript PFB file from the Compugraphic font. The PFB file is downloaded to the printer because Compugraphic fonts cannot be sent directly to a PostScript printer.
The process of converting a Compugraphic font to PFB is very slow, so it is not practical to do this every time you print a Compugraphic font to a PostScript printer. PageStream will save the PFB file to the same directory containing the Compugraphic font, so that it will be available the next time you print the font. This dramatically improves printing speed on subsequent print jobs.
If you know you won't be printing the font again for a while, you may delete the PFB file to save disk space. (The PFB files are named with the Compugraphic font numbers.) As a point of interest, the PFB files are true PostScript font outlines that can be used with another program supporting PostScript fonts. They cannot be used with PageStream other than for printing because PageStream requires a matching metric file.
The PFB files won't conflict with the Compugraphic fonts in the same drawer, because when PageStream examines the fonts in the drawer it will realize that the PFB is just a derivative of the Compugraphic font.
Note that PFB files will not be created for Compugraphic fonts which are equivalent to the fonts resident in a PostScript printer. If you print Times to a printer, a PFB file will not be created because the font already exists in the printer. The list of fonts resident in your printer is contained in the PPD file you have chosen in the Print Setup requester.
If you are printing a PostScript file to disk for use with Post, the public domain PostScript interpreter, do not choose a PPD in the Printing Preferences requester. Choosing a PPD will set options which Post is unable to handle.
To print a masterpage so that you can check its layout, choose Range from the Pages pop-up menu in the Print requester. Enter a range of just # where # is the number of a blank page in the document. If the master page is double sided, ensure you choose an even or odd numbered page number as appropriate.
Thinking about buying a new laser printer? SoftLogik recommends PostScriptÆcompatible printers for use with PageStream. PostScript printers are much faster than non-PostScript laser printers, often 10-20 times as fast.
PostScript printers also offer more control over halftone screens and can print EPS graphics. If you use an imagesetter for your final output, a PostScript printer can save you many headaches by providing more accurate proofs.
New models of printers are always being released, and any true PostScript laser printer should work without problems. At the time of this writing, two of the best current printers are the Hewlett-Packard 5M (fast, large capacity 600 dpi) and 5MP (home and small office 600 dpi). Apple and NEC also make excellent PostScript laser printers.
To export something as an EPS file:
1. Choose Print Setup from the Project menu.
2. Choose PostScript from the Type pop-up menu. Choose EPS File from the Send to pop-up menu. Click Use.
3. Choose Print from the Project menu. Set your options and click Save.
4. A file requester will open to set the EPS filename. Enter the filepath and name and click on Save.
PageStream allows you to render a page as an IFF ILBM picture. Choose Print Setup from the Project menu. Select the IFF ILBM printer driver from the Type pop-up menu and set other options as desired. You must print each page individually.
If you can't ungroup a drawing after importing it, it's because it's a drawing object. Choose Dissolve Drawing from the Drawing submenu in the Object menu to edit it. (Drawings may still need to be ungrouped after dissolving, depending on whether the original graphic was grouped.) Refer to pages 220 and 236 of the 3.0 manual for more information.
"I set the tabs, but the tab positions didn't seem to change."
Tabs are a text attribute in PageStream 3, not a column attribute like they were in previous versions. You must set the tabs before you enter text, or select the text if it has already been entered, exactly as you would for any other text attribute. If you simply place the insertion point in a paragraph and choose Tabs, you will set the tabs for the insertion point position only.
If you want to enter a non-AmigaOS character into Paragraph Format's Character text gadget, type a slash and its unicode value. For example, to use the infinity symbol as a bullet, enter \08734< into Character.
PageStream allows you to enter characters other than those in the AmigaOS character set by typing mnemonics (Ctrl A shortcuts) and Unicode values (Ctrl D shortcuts). Unfortunately, these cannot be used in requester text gadgets because those are controlled by AmigaOS and use an AmigaOS font.
There are three important exceptions to this. If you want to enter a non-AmigaOS character for a filled tab or custom alignment (Tab requester), or for a bullet character (Paragraph Format requester), you can enter a backslash followed by the Unicode value of the character. For example, to enter a pi symbol, enter `\960' into the text gadget (without quotation marks). Leading zeros are not required.
If you are using a script font, you should set the track table to None instead of Normal. Script fonts should generally be used with no tracking.
To change the attributes of a dot leader (filled tab), highlight the dot leader with the Text tool after it is entered, and then use any of the Type menu commands to change its attributes. This is commonly used to change the font, size or type style of a dot leader.
If a text column frame has a (overset) symbol at its bottom right corner, then there is more text in the frame than can be displayed. You should link the frame to another column frame so that the overset text can be shown in another frame, make the frame larger so that all of it can be displayed, or make the visible text smaller so that the overset text can be shown. It is possible that the overset text may merely be extra linefeeds that you entered accidentally.
The overset indicator will not be printed, but you should watch for overset indicators to avoid creating documents with potentially important `missing' text. Refer to page 164 of the 3.0 manual for more information.
You can force justify text in PageStream by setting the Last Line Flush Zone to be greater than the column width. This option can be set by choosing Tracking from the Type menu. Forced justification justifies every line in a paragraph, including the last line.
You can left and right justify text on one line with a right indent tab. Enter the left text, press Tab while holding down a Shift key, and then type the right text. Shift Tab will insert a right indent tab and will force the following text to be right justified.
You can also use this with a center aligned tab to make text left, center and right justified on one line. Enter the left text, press Tab, enter the center text, press Shift Tab and then enter the right text. Then select the text and create a center aligned tabstop at the center of the line length.
To start a new line without starting a new paragraph, hold down a Shift key while pressing Return.
When there are more entries in a pop-up menu than can be displayed on screen, you can scroll the entries in the pop-up menu by moving the mouse pointer to the end of the pop-up menu in the direction you wish to scroll. Up and/or down arrows will appear to indicate if there are additional entries.
If you move the mouse pointer over the up or down arrow, the entries will scroll one entry at a time. If you move the mouse pointer outside of the pop-up menu, the entries will scroll ten entries at a time.
If you open multiple views of a document, choosing the Close command will only close the active view window. Hold down a Shift key while choosing the Close command to close all open views of a document simultaneously.
Hold down an Alt key while clicking on the Close gadget of a palette or window to collapse it. This is different from zooming with the Zoom gadget, which merely toggles between two window sizes. Collapsing a palette or window reduces it to the height of the title bar. This is an excellent way to leave all the palettes open without using up valuable screen real estate.
Confused by checkbox gadgets with X's in them, or list gadgets with <As Is> in them? Read page 25 of the 3.0 manual to learn about the indeterminate state of gadgets.
If text in the edit palette and other requesters is overlapping the edge of the requester or other gadgets, your font assigns are not correctly set. Text in the edit palette is a thin version of Topaz. Add the following assign to your s:user-startup file:
assign fonts: softlogik:fonts add
Press the Esc key to exit any requester that has a Cancel gadget. Like pressing Return for the default gadget, the text cursor cannot be in a text gadget when you press Esc. If it is in a text gadget, press Return to exit the gadget and then Esc to cancel the requester.
PageStream2 users: Do not use the Times, Triumvirate or Garamond fonts from PageStream 2 with PageStream 3. New versions of these fonts are provided. If you use the older fonts with PageStream 3, some characters will not work.
If you load a document created in PageStream 1 or 2 into PageStream 3, all the text in the document will by default be set to Auto Kerning Off, Auto Hyphenation Off, and Tracking None. These features did not exist in previous versions of PageStream so they must be off to ensure that lines of text break as closely as possible to the way they broke in previous versions of PageStream.
You can improve the appearance of your text by setting Auto Kerning and Auto Hyphenation to On, and Tracking to Normal; however, this will likely change the position of some line breaks and you may need to re-edit your document. A requester will appear when you open a PageStream 1 or 2 document to allow you to set these options.
If you have fonts from a previous version of PageStream that you want to use with v3, here's how to add them:
1. Choose Fonts from the System Preferences submenu in the Project menu.
2. Click on the Add gadget. A file requester will open.
3. Change to the directory containing the fonts you want to add. When you see the fonts listed in the file requester, click on the Add gadget.
4. Click on Save in the Font Preferences requester to save this as your default font setup.
Did you know that the file requester has an attached menu? Hold down the right mouse button to see it when opening or saving files. One of the menu commands allows you to delete the file selected in the file requester.
Here are some more ASL (Amiga Standard Library) file requester tips:
You can create a drawer with the file requester by typing in the new drawer name when saving. For example, if you wanted to save the file `MyDocument' in the `Work:Documents' directory, but the Documents drawer did not exist, type `Work:Documents' into the Drawer text gadget of the Save file requester and press Return. This will bring up an alert asking you if you want to create a new drawer. Click on Create to create the drawer. Now you can save the file as you normally would.
If you prefer to type the path and file names into the file requester, you do not need to type the drawer and file names in their separate gadgets. For example, if you want to save `temp' in `ram:', just type `ram:temp' into the File text gadget and press Return twice. The file requester will sort it out for you.
These tips may not apply if you are using a file requester that replaces the ASL file requester.
If you find PageStream too slow, you may wish to upgrade your computer to improve its performance. A 68040 or 68060 accelerator will provide the biggest performance boost if you have a 68000 (A500, A1000, A1500, A2000), 68020 (A1200), or 68030 (A2500, A3000, A4000-030). Even if you have a 68040 processor, there are some faster 040 and 060 boards that will improve the speed of your computer.
Other things you can do to improve performance are:
- Use PageStream on a screen with few colors. Working in 4 color mode is much faster than 16 color mode, or 256 color mode on AGA machines. Use the Settings/Screen command to change the number of colors.
- Add additional memory. With one or two extra megabytes of memory, PageStream can work more efficiently and you can create larger documents with more fonts and graphics. If you have 4MB or less, you can barely run PageStream3. 6MB is a more comfortable minimum system.
- Add a fast hard drive. Hard drive speed is a small part of the performance equation, but older hard drives are very slow compared to today's models.
If you have an Amiga with expansion card slots, consider purchasing a graphic board to increase the number of screen colors available to PageStream. Non-AGA Amiga computers can display a maximum of 16 colors while AGA computers can display up to 256 colors. SoftLogik recommends CyberGfx compatible graphic boards such as the CyberVision from Phase V. PageStream can display up to 16 million colors (24 bit) on CyberGraphX compatible boards. Note that not all graphic boards are CyberGraphX compatible.
PageStream uses your Workbench interface colors for its interface. The bottom four colors are the primary colors. If you use PageStream in greater than four colors, the top two colors are also reserved by Workbench, for a total of six reserved colors. Set your Workbench to at least eight color mode, then choose Sys:Prefs/Palette to set these colors.
You cannot change the interface colors from within PageStream, and if you change your Workbench colors, you must reload PageStream to use them because it checks your Workbench colors only when it is first loaded. If you open it on an existing public screen, its interface colors will be determined by the colors of that screen.
If you have your Workbench set to colors that are not suitable for use in PageStream, you can change these colors by adding entries to the PageStream3.prefs file in the PageStream3: directory. If you use AmigaOS2, you should set colors 4 and 5 so that your menus will be highlighted with reasonable colors.
To find out how to specify interface colors for PageStream3, press the Help key and then click on the Screen button.
PageStream uses the pen color allocation system of AmigaOS 3+. If you use it on a public screen and find that the colors change unexpectedly, remove the other programs running on that public screen because they are probably not AmigaOS 3+ compliant. With AmigaOS 2.0-2.1, PageStream uses its own pen color allocation code which is similar to AmigaOS 3+.
MagicMenu users: If you try to Shift select a menu command that should open a requester when Shift selected, and the requester does not open, you must change your Pop Up Menu option in the MagicMenu configuration requester from Press Once to either Standard or Select.
AGA users: PageStream uses high resolution mouse pointers. If your system pointers are set to low resolution (the arrow pointer and busy clock will be larger and jaggier than the other pointers in PageStream), you should change them to high resolution with the Sys:Prefs/Pointer utility. Change its Resolution cycle gadget from Low Res to High Res and click on Save. The arrow pointer and busy clock will now be smaller and will match the other pointers in PageStream.
High resolution pointers help you position the mouse more accurately. This feature is only available on Amiga AGA (A1200, A4000) computers.
Buying fonts for Amiga computers can be difficult because most fonts are packaged for Windows, DOS and Macintosh users. Here are some general guidelines to follow when purchasing fonts:
1. Always buy DOS/Windows format fonts.
2. Always buy fonts that are labelled as PostScript fonts. If you have the PageStream3 TrueType engine (sold separately), you can also purchase Windows TrueType fonts. (You can also convert Windows TrueType fonts to PostScript with TypeSmith.
3. PageStream requires a PFB and an AFM (or PFM) file for each font. If you are not sure that these files are included with the package, do not buy it.
When you quit PageStream, it returns all memory it used; however, libraries and AmigaOS fonts that it opened remain open and continue to consume memory. If you want to close these to regain the memory, you must type `AVAIL FLUSH' in a shell. (This is just the way the Amiga works.)
Stacking palettes on top of your document window can slow down PageStream due to the way the Amiga handles windows. Each palette that overlaps the window will slow down PageStream by approximately 10%. Position the palettes beside the window instead of on top of the window for full speed.
Jump Line: text indicating to the reader that the article continues on a following page, or is continued from a previous page.
Hairline: a thin typographic rule, usually 0.3pt or thinner.
Dot leader: a row of dots connecting columns of information. i.e., tables of contents (sections and page numbers), menus (items and prices). ex:
Hamburger......$4.95 Pizza..........$7.95 Lasagna........$8.95
Pull-quote: a short phrase extracted from the body of an article. Pull-quotes are usually set in a contrasting typeface and provide additional entry points into articles.
Never use two or three hyphens as separators; use an em-dash (about the width of three hyphens) to enclose a parenthetic thought. Type <Ctrl c m-> (without the angle brackets) to create an em-dash.
Wrong -> For complex documents---books, magazines and newsletters---use PageStream.
Correct -> For complex documentsbooks, magazines and newslettersuse PageStream.
The same is true for en-dashes, which are about the width of two hyphens. They are used to replace the word "to". Type <Ctrl c n->(without the angle brackets) to create an en-dash.
Wrong -> Mar--Apr 1994
Correct -> MarApr 1994
(These examples simulate en and em-dashes because the Amiga character set lack these characters. True en and em-dashes are not as wide as shown here and are present in the fonts included with PageStream.)
Note: Do not add spaces before or after an en or em-dash.
If you turn the Smart Dashes option on in the Settings/Typographic requester, PageStream will convert double hyphens to en-dashes and triple hyphens to em-dashes as you type them.
Select the Convert Dashes option when importing text to convert double and triple hyphens to en and em-dashes.
Never type three periods for etcetera because the periods will be too close together.
i.e., Dogs, cats, birds...
Always use a true ellipsis which will have properly spaced dots.
i.e., Dogs, cats, birds...
Type <Ctrl c ..> (without the angle brackets) to create an ellipsis.
Never type two spaces between sentences-this is a holdover from the days of typewriters. Use single spaces to separate sentences.
If you have typed or imported text with double spaces between sentences, use the Find/Replace requester to search for and replace double spaces.
These characters should always be followed by a space: @ (bullet)
These characters should always be preceded and followed by a space: &+ - " < > (formula usage)
These characters should never be preceded or followed by a space: - - (en dash) - (em dash)
These characters should never be preceded by a space: % * ¢ (degree)
These characters should never be followed by a space: $ # ± + - (positive/negative usage)
Don't indent the first paragraph after a headline. First-line indents can be used for new paragraphs within an article, but not for a paragraph following a headline.
Always use typographic quotation marks instead of typewriter quotation marks. Type <Ctrl c "l> (without the angle brackets) for left or opening quotation marks, and <Ctrl c "r> (without the angle brackets) for right or closing quotation marks.
Wrong -> "I'm going to work," she said.
Correct -> "I'm going to work," she said.
If you turn the Smart Double Quotes option on in the Settings/Typographic requester, the first quotation mark you type will be converted to a left quotation mark, and the next will become a right quotation mark, etc.
Select the Convert Quotes option when importing text to convert typewriter quotation marks to typographic quotation marks.
Don't underline text to make it stand out because underlining makes text more difficult to read. Underlining is a holdover from the days of typewriters which lacked other means to emphasize text. Instead, use a semibold or bold weight to attract attention. Avoid overuse of bold weights, because too much scattered bold makes paragraphs look `blotchy'.
"Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the universe together." - Carl Zwanzig
"Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality."- Jules de Gaultier
"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent." - Salvor Hardin
The person who does not read books has no advantage over those who can't read.