2,001 Tips
Applications
Desktop Publishing/Graphics

PageMaker 6.0

Create HTML Documents

Create HTML documents using the free HTML Author plug-in supplied with PageMaker. To produce a page that corresponds to the image area of the Netscape Browser, choose File/New and enter the following values: For Page Size type 0p480 by 0p344. For Left, Right and Top Margins type 0p8.

Check Filters

If starting PageMaker takes forever, consider reducing the number of filters installed. To see which filters are currently installed, hold down the Ctrl key while you are clicking on Help/About.

Map Styles

If a document has PageMaker paragraph styles applied to the text, you can map your PageMaker styles to standard HTML styles. In the HTML Author dialog box, click Preferences and specify how you want each PageMaker style you've applied to map to an HTML style.

Force Redraws

If your display contains ghost lines or other garbage, force a quick redraw by pressing Ctrl+J twice. This will turn off and then turn on guidelines and force a screen redraw.

Quick Moves

Here's a fast way to get where you want on a page. Click your right mouse button to view the whole page and place your cursor at the point you want in the center of the screen. Now click the right mouse button again. You are back to your original view, with the desired location centered on the screen.

Shifty Maneuvers

When you need a perfect circle or a perfect square, or want to resize a graphic while maintaining its aspect ratio, use the Shift key with the appropriate tool.

Precise Pasting

Duplicate graphics at a constant offset from the previous paste operation. First copy the original graphic, and then paste it with Ctrl+V to create a duplicate graphic on top of the original. Move the duplicate to where you want it and press Ctrl+Shift+P. This will paste a second copy offset by the same amount as the first copy from the original. Use this operation to place duplicates in the same position on multiple pages.

Avoid Drooping Drop Caps

Prevent a drop cap from sitting on top of your first line of text. Finish editing your text, then just prior to selecting the drop- cap feature, place a tab after the letter to be drop-capped.

Take Me to Your Leader

If tab leaders are the wrong size, or vary from one line to the next when used in lists with different fonts, don't select the tab leader and try to change it, or the entire line of text changes. Instead, enter a space in front of the tab. Change the format of the space and the leader will change to match.

Text Tool Tricks

If you want to paste text into a text box and the Pointer tool is selected, you'll wind up with another object in your document. Instead, select the Text tool, position the cursor at the location in the block that you want to insert the text, and then perform your paste operation.

Avoid Unwanted Characters

If symbol characters print where you don't want them, select the Print dialog box and click on Options. Make sure "Use symbol font for special characters" is unchecked.

Missing Features

If you're using Windows 3.x, don't try to use the following features, which work only on Win95 or NT: clipping paths displaying or printing to non-PostScript printers, masked objects printing to non-PostScript printers, importing EMF (Enhanced Metafiles) when running Win32s, and Gallery Effects when running Win32s.

Create Rules on Web Pages

Create a horizontal rule for your Web page by selecting the Line tool and drawing a horizontal line of any length. Select the line with the Pointer tool and then Edit/Cut. Select the Text tool and position the cursor where you want the line to appear in the text, then choose Edit/Paste. The line will appear in the text block. When exported as HTML, the HTML Author Plug-in will replace the line with the <HR> tag.

Read the Symbols

Read the symbols on a text block to gain helpful information. An empty handle at the top of the block represents the beginning of a story, at the bottom it indicates the end of a story. An empty handle at the bottom with a + sign indicates more text is in another box. An empty handle at the bottom with an inverted triangle indicates there is more text to be placed.

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