[Scribus] Usability needs attention -- time for a feature moratorium?

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Laszlo wrote:
> Seriously, user needs are very different, so every user has a
> different
> priority of necessary features. I have already produced a book
>
> http://wiki.scribus.net/index.php/Success_stories#172_page_ECG_workbook_for_medical_students
>
> using scribus 1.2, so I think a have the authority to say, that
> scribus
> is "basically usable". I am personally ready to work around the bugs
> in
> scribus, as long as I can do what I want. For me the most important
> feature missing is proper text hyphenation/justification. I strongly
> disagree to a feature freeze that may hinder the development of a
> stable
> version with good text justification.

Yes, yes yes! The lack of good hyphenation/justification makes it
impossible for me to use Scribus for most of my text-heavy projects.
I can learn user-interface quirks. I can't do anything about an
essential feature that's missing except wait for it to be
implemented.

So if developer time is scarce (and it is), please get those
essential features added and let users adapt to the interface. Good
grief! I've had over 20 years of computer use in which I've had to
adapt to interfaces countless times and have lived to tell about it
(plus gotten a heck of a lot of work done).
--Judy Miner
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786

[scribus] Drat !!

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

John C. wrote:

> I have two hard drives, and use a surge protector. The
> newest/biggest hard drive is for work and the older/smaller one is
> for experiments with different distributions and more pertinently
> for my two backup partitions.  Overnight my work files (/usr/local
> and /home ) are backed up to partitions on drive number 2.
>
> About every three years I buy a still newer and bigger drive. The
> oldest drive is retired, the remaining drive is demoted to backup
> duty and the newest is now the daily work drive.  I buy hardware
> from Tiger Direct.
>
> I have a mid-tower computer and I run Linux primarily.  With a
> laptop and/or MSWin things get more complicated.
>
> I only lose files through gross stupidity.  No hard drive failures
> since I went on a three-year rotation.  Hardware is cheap, data is
> (or are) expensive.

This sounds like an excellent plan. I feel compelled to point out,
however, that ANY drive can fail at ANY time without warning. And
that means exactly what it says. A 2-day-old drive can fail (early
death). A 1-year-old drive can fail. And of course, the older a
drive is the more likely it is to fail, although I'm sure there are
10-year-old drives that are still going strong (though so slow and
small that I wonder why anyone would use one).

We all need to keep this in mind and be sure that anything we'd hate
to lose is backed up at least to the point that we wouldn't jump off
a cliff if we lost the work we'd done since our last backup.
Sometimes this may mean copying to a flash drive or another physical
drive in the system as we work.

I also suggest using an uninterruptible power supply instead of a
surge protector. UPSes are now much less expensive than they used to
be. If you lose power, a UPS will keep your computer going until you
can do an orderly shutdown. This is a further protection from
corrupted files. Also, many UPSes condition power and protect from
sags as well as spikes. Fluctuating power can be damaging to
computers. If you're generally around when power might fail, you
don't need a UPS with as much runtime off the battery as you'd get
with a more expensive unit.

Most UPSes have outlets for both battery-protected and just
surge-protected power. You'd plug things that must be running
(computer and monitor) into the battery-protected outlets and
noncritical stuff (e.g., speakers, inkjet printer) into the other
outlets. I don't plug laser printers into a UPS that's also
protecting a computer because laser printers (mine, anyway) demand a
lot of power when they're working and sometimes when they're not and
you don't want to drain the UPS battery unnecessarily.

May we all never lose data!
--Judy Miner
  Vermont, USA

Registered Linux User #397786

[scribus] Placing /Scaling and file image/PDF size

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Mike wrote:
>> I am still hoping for a suggestion to finding out pixel sizes of
image
frames *prior* to placing the image.
If I know this then I can resize very closely to the exact sizes needed
and thus cut down on the image file sizes. >>

Pixel sizes do not tell us anything about the size in inches
(centimeters, picas, whatever) of an image. There is no such thing
as a pixel size of an image frame. Your images contain a certain
number of pixels. The *resolution* depends on what size you choose
for the image--that is, if an image has 1200 pixels across and you
put it in a 3-inch frame, the resolution is 400 pixels per inch; if
you put it in a 4-inch frame, the resolution is 300 pixels per inch;
if you put it in a 6-inch frame, the resolution is 200 ppi.

If you are printing, you want about 300 ppi (or dots per inch) for
your images. If you are designing the document solely for onscreen
viewing, about 100 ppi will be fine. Anything larger just makes the
file larger than it needs to be and it will not make for a
better-looking image.

If your frames are roughly the same size, say, medium-sized
(whatever that may be), take the largest dimension and multiply it
by the size suitable for your output. So say the largest dimension
of the medium-sized frames if 5 inches and you're going to print the
document. Multiply 5 times 300 and you get a longest PIXEL size of
1500. So you resize your images so the longest side contains 1500
pixels.  If some medium-sized frames are somewhat smaller than five
inches, you can still use the 1500 pixel image. If you have some
frames that are a lot larger (say, full-page) or smaller (say, 3
inches or less on the longest side), multiply the size in inches of
the longest size by 300 (for print). Then resize your large and
small images so that the pixels for the longest size are, say 900
pixels for 3-inch or smaller frames and 3000 or 3300 for 8x10 or
8-1/2x11 pages to be printed.

To summarize, a frame has NO PIXEL SIZE. To resize images to the
correct size for a frame, multiply the longest side of the frame by
the ppi/dpi suitable for your output device (screen, printer). Make
sure you tell the program that is resizing the images that you want
resizing to be proportional. If the image itself doesn't have enough
pixels on the longest side to provide the dpi/ppi needed for quality
output, you're in trouble. Upsampling the size of a raster image
results in loss of quality.
--Judy Miner
  USA

[scribus] ADF news

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Steve wrote:
> However, this address:
>
>> and
>> design.http://pagesperso-orange.fr/arkandis/ADF/work/Work01.pdf-
>
> ...didn't work for me.

It does work if you leave off the hyphen at the end.

I'd like to remind List members that URLs can't have spaces in them
and will end in a domain, a file extension, or a slash, not in
hyphens, dashes, asterisks, commas, what have you.

Sometimes you can't just click. If the link doesn't work, copy it
and paste it into an address bar. Then check it for deal breakers
like spaces or invalid punctuation. Also remember that if a return
crept into a URL typed into a message, the URL will not continue
past the return and hence won't work. Make sure that the URL that
winds up in an address bar contains everything in the original.
--Judy Miner
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786

[scribus] keep getting error message no ghostscript

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Eric wrote:
>  Subject: keep getting error message  no ghostscript
>  Message:
> I loaded ghostscript and it is in my external tools , but I can't
> import
> images EPS , I get an error message when I start up no ghostscript
> and
> another fatal error when I drag or copy an EPS file . I'm new to
> this , but I
> believe I followed instructions . Someone mentioned to convert to
> large
> bitmap format , what app do i use ?? Thank you for your help

Did you download Ghostscript following the links in Greg's message?
What is the name of the Ghostscript file you downloaded? The current
one is gs863w32.exe. Did you install Ghostscript by double-clicking
gs863w32.exe? gs863w32.exe is the *installer* for Ghostscript, not
the Ghostscript program itself.

If you installed Ghostscript, the executable file should appear in 
\Program Files\gs\gs8.63\bin. There are two files: gswin32.exe and
gswin32c.exe. As the Scribus instructions state, under Scribus's
Preferences, External Tools, you should have gswin32c.exe as the
Name of Executable. Click on the Change button and locate
gswin32c.exe. Click on Open and the entire path to gswin32c.exe
should appear in the Name of Executable box.

If you're not finding a gswin32c.exe file in the \bin subdirectory
of your \gs\gs3.63 directory, your GhostScript did not install
properly.

To convert the image to a large bitmap format, start the application
with which you created the EPS files (or some other applications
that can import EPS files as graphics, not just the bitmapped EPS
preview) and save as a high-resolution raster graphic (TIF is a good
format to save in). Insert an image frame in Scribus, right-click on
the frame, and select Get Image. Direct it to the TIF and it should
appear in the frame.

I think once you get GhostScript properly installed, you probably
will be able to use the EPS and won't need to save the graphic as a
TIF.

I hope this helps.
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786

[scribus] sample.pdf on FLES site is "damaged"

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Steven wrote:
> Mine downloaded just right. Some times PDF files don't download from
> the web
> correctly. I get those occasionaly and must do another download. Try
> doing
> it again. I am viewing it with Acrobat 9 Pro Extended.

Did you download that recently? I know I downloaded the file several
weeks ago and it was fine, but I've downloaded the PDF on two
computers yesterday and today and both copies were unable to be
opened. I tried Adobe Reader 9.1, XPDF, and Evince and none could
open it. This is in Linux.
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[scribus] sample.pdf on FLES site is "damaged"

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Greg wrote:
> I just realized people may be talking about different sites.
>
> The link on http://www.scribus.net/?q=scribus_1.3_manual_book_sample
>
> works. The one on the Flesbooks site apparently doesn't.

Thanks. That link works fine here. The link in the message posted a
couple of days ago gets a corrupted file.
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[scribus] Trying to get 1.3.5 to put on Ubuntu machine

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

StevenD wrote:

> I came across a font manager called fontmatrix. I have worked with
> stuff
> like Suitcase and Adobe ATM in my graphics work on a Mac at work and
> I
> had a font manager made by Bitstream on my old Windows 95 machine
> some
> years back which has not been supported for quite some years now.
> Have
> you or anyone else uses this?

On my Windows computers (Win XP SP3) I still use Bitstream Font
Navigator. It works well, though it is not aware of true OpenType
fonts. Most of my fonts are TrueType or Type 1. Font Navigator also
works under Vista, with the same lack of OpenType awareness. My
Vista computer developed a fatal hardware illness a couple of months
ago.

I have long dreamed of a Linux font manager that works like FontNav
(allowing you to create groups of fonts you can install and remove
by a simple drag and drop and showing the font in a sentence of your
choice and size and allowing such font operations as copying and
moving). I haven't looked closely enough at fontmatrix to see how
well it will fill the bill, but we really do need something for
Linux. I plan to package fontmatrix for my distro if fontmatrix
cooperates.
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[scribus] Trying to get 1.3.5 to put on Ubuntu machine

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

StevenD wrote:

> I came across a font manager called fontmatrix. I have worked with
> stuff
> like Suitcase and Adobe ATM in my graphics work on a Mac at work and
> I
> had a font manager made by Bitstream on my old Windows 95 machine
> some
> years back which has not been supported for quite some years now.
> Have
> you or anyone else uses this?

On my Windows computers (Win XP SP3) I still use Bitstream Font
Navigator. It works well, though it is not aware of true OpenType
fonts. Most of my fonts are TrueType or Type 1. Font Navigator also
works under Vista, with the same lack of OpenType awareness. My
Vista computer developed a fatal hardware illness a couple of months
ago.

I have long dreamed of a Linux font manager that works like FontNav
(allowing you to create groups of fonts you can install and remove
by a simple drag and drop and showing the font in a sentence of your
choice and size and allowing such font operations as copying and
moving). I haven't looked closely enough at fontmatrix to see how
well it will fill the bill, but we really do need something for
Linux. I plan to package fontmatrix for my distro if fontmatrix
cooperates.
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[scribus] Moving to Linux

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

>> Is there some kind of documentation or how-to for us beginners on
>> how
>> to work the Terminal and what these lines of code mean and do?

For a very basic list of commands, download the One Page Linux
Manual from
 http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~squadron/linux_manual.pdf .

--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[scribus] Linux Distro 4 Scribus + 1.7GHz Celeron 256MB RAM

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Asif wrote:
> I have a system with 1.7GHz Celeron processor and 256MB RAM. Most
> current distros are too heavy. Can you recommend any distro that is
> light and fast and that can be used to run Scribus, Gimp, Inkscape,
> Blender, etc? I have been browsing for a light Linux distro and
> http://www.elivecd.org/ seems fast and light enough to me. But I
> know
> Scribus' requirement of QT. I would be thankful if you could suggest
> such a distribution to me (and possibly others?) on this list.
>
> My main requirements are Scribus, Gimp, Inkscape, C/C++ development,
> Internet browsing, emailing, downloading, etc. I am not very keen on
> watching movies and listening to audio/music/songs. So my
> requirements
> are really simple.

Nobody has mentioned VectorLinux. I am running VectorLinux 6
Standard and VectorLinux 6 Light on three computers. On all of them
I have Scribus, Gimp, and Inkscape. Blender is in the repositories
but I don't have it installed. The system is set up for C/C++
development and Firefox and Opera are included. VectorLinux is based
on Slackware.

Scribus has always run for me with no problems. The same is true for
Gimp and Inkscape. Installing packages is very easy with slapt-get
and Gslapt, which pull down dependencies for properly made packages.
User support is excellent with a very friendly and helpful user
support forum.

The ISO fits on one CD. If you want something that's not in the ISO,
you can download from the repositories.

VectorLinux 6 Light uses IceWM or JWM as window managers. IceWM is
the default. It is very light on resources and very customizable,
though you do it through text files. I installed VL 6 Light on my
11-year-old grandson's laptop, a 1.8 GHz Celeron with 256 megs of
RAM. It performs well for browsing with Firefox, but I didn't
install Gimp, Scribus, or Inkscape. For sure, I'd strongly recommend
you add RAM no matter what distro you go with because otherwise
you'll be hitting the swap file all the time and that slows things
down markedly.

VectorLinux 6 Standard uses XFce or LXDE as desktop environments. I
have Gimp, Inkscape, and Scribus running in VL6 Standard under XFce
on a 1.3 GHz Celeron with 1 gig of RAM. They run well. I have
Scribus, Gimp, and Inkscape under VL6 Light on a laptop with a 2 GHz
Mobile Celeron and 512 megs of RAM. I have no complaints about
performance. It would be better with more RAM but the programs are
usable with 512.

You can download the ISOs here:
 http://vectorlinux.osuosl.org/veclinux-6.0/iso-release/

Note that the LiveCD for VL6 Light isn't really intended to be
installed on your hard drive, though it's possible and an installer
is included. It is more to give you an idea of the look and feel or
for portability when you'll be using a computer not your own  and
can be used for repair purposes, as is often the case with LiveCDs.
--Judy M.
   USA


Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[scribus] How to personalize a booklet?

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Ronald wrote:
> I am confused!
> I ask something and get the answer BUY THE BOOK.  (BUY )
> I ask other things and get this answer.
>
> What should I think now?
>
> It seems that everything I ask here is just answered with GIVE ME
> MONEY!
> In this way this list is not really a supportive mailing list.

I must say I was stunned by a couple of snarkish answers to Ronald's
situation,  but my grandchildren were here for a few days and I
didn't have time to post my opinions on this.

To those who all but said that charging for anything produced with a
free, open-source program like Scribus is against the spirit of open
source, how do you justify the rather hefty price for the new
Scribus manual? Is there something wrong about charging for it? And
what about the books you can buy about Gimp, Inkscape, OOo, and
Linux itself?

Or what about a member of this list who is charging for a book about
designing book covers with Scribus? Is this legitimate?

If using Scribus for a publication means it should be given away,
forget about making any inroads into the world of professional DTP.
The developers should stop working so hard and be content with a
program that produces amateur-level output.

As for schools, some are supported by taxpayers and don't cost
anything to attend. Others are supported by tuition. And then there
are charges for books and supplies, uniforms, lunches,
transportation, etc., etc. Have we forgotten There's No Such Thing
As A Free Lunch?

If we produce a product and someone is willing to pay what we
charge, there is nothing wrong with charging for it regardless of
what software we use to produce it.
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[scribus] Font in PDF does not match screen

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Doc wrote:
> It has nothing to do with bias. It has to do with you ignoring the
> word
> "unwary". You aren't an unwary user. Neither (now) am I.

Anyone who is using software as complex as Scribus to do as
skill-intensive a job as designing publications must get "wary"
pretty fast. Contrary to widespread belief, you can't do a good job
of laying out pages by simply picking up a piece of software and
plowing ahead. The software is just a tool to be used by the
designer. If the designer has no clue about how to lay out pages,
the software can't make up for that.

I've been distressed that in the recent discussions on this list
when one user or another asking how to get started, the focus seemed
entirely on using the software. Some mention of the need to learn
*something* about principles of design and how to set proper type
should have been in there. Sure, when your back is against the wall
of a deadline for your first effort, you may need to fudge it. But
if it's a continuing job, face the fact that you need to put
considerable time and effort into learning how to use type and how
to design attractive and effective pages.

Software is part of the learning curve, too, of course. That
includes getting acquainted with PDF requirements. LOOK AROUND! Go
through every menu, every dialog box, every option.

It's called "paying your dues."
--Judy Miner
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[scribus] Canons of page construction

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Greg wrote:
> I think that such information is useful for conceptual and
> instructional
> purposes, but for many uses not so practical except for purists.
> It's
> easy to see that hardly any if any modern books use the Gutenberg
> proportions. What we see is that there are different plans depending
> on
> the content and purpose of the book.
>
> This isn't to say that there are not abundant examples of poor
> design
> and layout all around us. My advice would be to continue your quest
> for
> the opinions of others recognized as having something useful to say,
> but
> in the end pay attention to the layout of various publications you
> see,
> and when you find something displeasing, unattractive, or which
> contradicts its apparent intended purpose, try to understand why, so
> you
> can avoid making similar mistakes.

The "content and purpose of the book" exist within constraints,
particularly financial. Ideal proportions of white space mean more
pages, and more pages mean more costs all down the line: paper,
printing, binding, shipping, stocking. So modern books typically
skimp on the white space and if it looks fine to us, we've become
inured to it. But do we want to pay even more for books in order to
have a beautifully designed page? There's no free lunch.

There are a few principles I keep in mind when setting up a book
page. The inner margins should be smaller than the outer margins.
When we hold an open book, it presents itself as a unit and a
double-wide inner margin looks odd. The bottom margin should be
larger than the top margin. A bottom margin that's smaller than the
top margin makes the text block look like it's going to slide off
the bottom of the page. Make the bottom margin large enough so
readers' thumbs don't cover the text when they are holding the open
book. Outer margins large enough to hold some reader's annotations
are desirable.

The right type size for the length of the lines is important. One
and one-half alphabets per line (39 to 45 characters) is a common
suggestion, though you can't always adhere to it. The reason is that
for ease of reading, your eye shouldn't have to make several jumps
to take in the whole line. Too-long and too-short lines are
undesirable because they make it harder to read. Longer lines need
more leading so that the reader doesn't lose place while moving from
the end of one line to the beginning of the next. Too much leading
is also tiring to the reader. Typefaces with small x-heights do not
need as much leading as typefaces with tall x-heights.

Setting justified type is much harder than using left-aligned type
unless you are using a program with an excellent justification
algorithm. Spaces between letters and between words need to look the
same--not some big spaces between words on some lines and tiny
spaces on other lines, and not tight letter spacing in some words
and loose spacing in others. It takes much more work to adjust
hyphenation for justified type. Turn the page upside down so you can
check for rivers of white space running through the paragraphs. You
don't want those! Scribus at present in 1.3.3.x does not do
justified type easily or well (lots of manual adjustment needed), so
I avoid it and go with flush left.

Setting type is fussy but can also be great fun. Good luck!
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[scribus] Canons of page construction

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

John C. wrote:
>> The right type size for the length of the lines is important. One
>> and one-half alphabets per line (39 to 45 characters) is a common
>> suggestion, though you can't always adhere to it.
>
> Bringhurst would accept as little as 45 characters for double column
> newsprint but would prefer 65 for normal book work.
> --
> John Culleton

Thanks for pointing that out! You are right. I also found a measure
from 45 to 70 characters suggested in another book on book design.

With more characters per line than 1-1/2 alphabets, it's easier to
justify text because you have more words and spaces to work with.
--Judy M.
  Usa

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[scribus] portable Scribus

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Gian wrote:
> I had tried almost anything:
>  From command line with console - no way, doesn't even open the
> console
> New user after having renamed the user's folder something else, - it
> crashes with exception violation.
>
> Now, I cannot see why the same folder structure works on usb and not
> on
> the user's desktop.
> There must be something that is being written somewhere... but
> where?

Don't rename the old user folder. Leave it alone and create an
entirely new user from the ground up. That will now become this
user's \Documents and Settings folder. If Scribus works for an
entirely new user, just move data over from the corrupted \Documents
and Settings folder of the old user.

Let us know if you have any better luck. Did Scribus install for All
Users?
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[scribus] Page construction - Part deux

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Jean B. wrote:
>
> Thank you for your answers on the first thread. And Greg, although
> you already know that - you are right. I thought some more about the
> Gutenberg's initial design and the space is excessive. Not because
> today's standards or economic constraints, but because that book was
> intended to receive annotations. So for the time being I have chosen
> 2:3:4:6cm space on a two-fold on A4 paper.
>
> The next question is if it is ok a two column design on a A4 page.
> From what I gather is quite seldom used. But it's that unusual look
> which I find rather interesting. It does fit about 48 characters per
> column line (not counting the space - is this how it's supposed to
> be counted?) and justified text leads to some rivers in texts.

The character count per line does include spaces. Let your eye be
the judge.
--Judy M.

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[scribus] Blurred resize arrows

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Steven wrote:
> I would like to send a screen shot of what I am seeing but I have
> nothing
> that will capture cursors. I have taken a little swf movie that
> shows it.
> Otherwise is there any thing out there that will capture cursors? At
> least
> something I could use on Windows.

I think Irfanview's screen capture can be configured to capture
cursors. I'm in Linux now so I can't check. Irfanview is free and
can be downloaded from www.irfanview.com (it actually links to
download sites). Get the plugins, too.
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[scribus] write and save a document

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Ronald wrote:
> I brought that to the attention of the company, but they refuse to
> pay
> for the book with the reasons:
> 1. The program is free, but how to use it we should pay?

1. You don't need to buy the book in order to learn how to use
Scribus. There is a Help menu with a manual that covers the basics.
There is a very comprehensive Wiki in several languages. There is
this mailing list and the list archives. The book gathers and
organizes the information and adds more than what you find online.

> 2. The program and the documentation seems to be independent, means
> there is no guaranty that the information is correct nor a chance to
> get
> it fixed.

2. The book was written and reviewed by Scribus developers. It is as
correct as can be.

> 3. If we have to pay, then we pay to a commercial product.

3. The book raises funds for Scribus. It is professionally
published. Is that "commercial" enough for your company?

> For me it is also not understandable that the documentation is a
> different project and extra to pay.

Scribus is free; you pay nothing. Do you really expect a
professionally printed manual to be free of charge as well? How much
commercial software comes with over 400 pages of printed
documentation? If you're lucky, you may find a PDF manual on a CD.
Your company's complaints make no sense to me.
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[scribus] When is a new release for Windows coming out?

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Phil wrote:
> i have successfully installed corel 11 inside of linux, and as i
> also
> use a mac, its quite usefull, as its also the last revision to come
> out for apples.

Please explain how you "installed corel 11 inside of linux." No
Windows software can be installed inside Linux without the help of
either a compatiblity layer like Wine or Crossover or a virtual
machine, like VirtualBox or VMware. I assume you used one of those
options--does Corel 11 run under Wine? I thought not, but I really
don't know.

> With vista hot on the heels of all new computers, and software, i am
> not looking forward to using it, as i find its annoyances, a little
> to annoying, espically with older hardware and printers, as i dont
> see why i should go buy a new printer/scanner when my old ones work
> perfectly well etc. Hence my slow transition to linux.

Vista is okay if it's happy with your hardware. Older hardware is
not suitable for Vista. Lots of older printers and scanners are
supported, more now than when Vista came out. Nearly all my old
software runs fine under Vista, and that includes programs going
back to Win 3.1.

But if you're headed toward Linux, I encourage you to go that way. I
use Linux way more than Vista or XP, which are on my three dual-boot
computers.

It's not true that there is Linux software to replace everything you
used under Windows, alas. Decidedly not true! It all depends on what
Windows software you used. For common uses (browsing, e-mail,
playing media, organizing photos, word processing, spreadsheets,
presentation programs), there are equivalents.
But Gimp is not Photoshop and while it's a very good photo editor,
there are many things Photoshop does that Gimp does not. Inkscape is
coming along very nicely but Corel and Illustrator are ahead of it
for most things. Scribus is a very capable DTP program but not yet
at the level of InDesign. And if you use consumer graphics programs
(I have 15 greeting card programs that I use regularly), there are
no Linux equivalents and probably never will be because many of the
graphics are licensed from greeting card companies. Yes, you can
create a card under Linux, but not the way you would in a card
program.

So it depends on what you need. By the way, there is no necessity AT
ALL to wipe out Windows on your computer. You can dual boot quite
nicely and this is a good solution if you don't need to use Windows
often. If you need more frequent access to Windows, a virtual
machine with Windows installed is the better solution because you're
using "real" Windows, not an emulator, so things work, and it's much
easier to simply switch to whatever is running in the virtual
machine than to reboot.
--Judy Miner
  USA


Registered Linux User #397786

[scribus] When is a new release for Windows coming out?

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Phil wrote:
> The buntu live CD's allows you to create a sort of virtual partition
> on your harddrive, but it runs outside of windows, ie it changed the
> boot sector startup, and runs nicely of an NTFS patition, and runs a
> treat on my little dell... (i know im not very technical, and some
> people must be cursing me, but its so simple to use, and a great way
> of non destructive testing etc)..

I believe you are talking about Wubi: "Wubi is an officially
supported Ubuntu installer for Windows users that can bring you to
the Linux world with a single click. Wubi allows you to install and
uninstall Ubuntu as any other Windows application, in a simple and
safe way. Are you curious about Linux and Ubuntu? Trying them out
has never been easier!"

I don't use Ubuntu and have never tried Wubi, but it sounds to me
like a virtual machine that can be started outside of the operating
system on which it lives.

Read about it here:
 http://wubi-installer.org/
--Judy Miner
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786

[scribus] When is a new release for Windows coming out?

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Phil wrote:
> I think coreldraw 11 works well with wine, because its the last
> major
> revision to work in windows 98? please somone corrent me if im
> wrong,
> but i have tried to do extensive research on the subject. From what
> i
> remember, lots of programs that require XP/2k or IE7, have problems
> etc..

NOTHING works well with Wine solely because it worked under Win 98
or earlier. With Wine, everything is a crap shoot. An old Win 3.1
program might work fine; another old Win 3.1 program won't work at
all. And so on up the line. I don't think I've ever tried a Windows
program under Wine that *required* W2K or later and I've certainly
never tried IE7 under Wine. But being designed for an earlier
version of Windows is no guarantee whatever that something will work
with Wine. The only way to find out is to install it and see what
happens.

You can do a certain amount of tweaking with winecfg, including
designating what version of Windows Wine should look like to the
app. Sometimes this helps, often it doesn't. It is also possible to
do extensive troubleshooting with programs that won't work in hopes
you may find the "magic switch" that will get them working. But that
exceeds my allotment of geekiness, so I haven't tried it.

I have a very few Windows programs I want readily available in Linux
without bothering with a virtual machine. Most have run under Wine.
A couple have refused to install, or have installed but not worked.
With me it's either they run or they don't and if they don't, I just
give up. Maybe someday I'll have time to kill and can try to
troubleshoot, but for now, that's not in the cards.

So the question becomes: is anyone running CorelDraw 11 successfully
under Wine? On this list? Or listed on the winehq.org site as
compatible?

The last version of CorelDraw I have is CD9. It runs okay under XP;
I haven't tried it under Vista. I didn't try to install it under
Wine. My goal in using Linux is to use Linux programs, not try to
run Windows programs under Linux.

I agree that having hundreds or thousands of CDR files is a problem
in making the switch. I usually boot to Windows, run CorelDraw, load
the files I need, and save them as EPS. Then I boot to Linux and
have to hope that the EPS opens correctly in Scribus (or Inkscape).
Some do not. If that happens, I try OOo Draw, which sometimes works
when others don't. I might be able to do these things with command
line tools, but I have a lot more trouble with them and waste lots
of time trying to figure out what modifiers, parameters, etc., etc.
I need and I usually can't figure it out anyway.
--Judy Miner
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786

[scribus] When is a new release for Windows coming out?

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Steven wrote:
> Hey some of this stuff is going over my head. I use a Mac Intel
> machine at
> work and have several Windows XP virtual machine I use with VMWare.
> My home
> machine however is a different animal. It is a Dell machine running
> Vista.
> There have been some comments here about running virtual machines
> with no
> mention on which operating system. The only one I know that can run
> different OSs is a Mac. Can I do the same on a Window machine and
> just boot
> up one or the other? This is new stuff to me so I'm in discovery
> mode.

You can dual boot Windows and Linux on a Wintel machine. You can't
boot Mac OS on anything but an Apple computer.

A virtual machine isn't dual booting, as you know. On a Windows
computer if you want to run Linux in a virtual machine, you can use
VMware in its various permutations, VirtualBox, and Parallels (I
think--it did have a Windows version but I don't know if development
has continued). You may be able to get a Linux OS into Microsoft's
free Virtual PC, but it doesn't work well. Better to use Virtual Box
or VMware.

Under Linux you can run VirtualPC and VMware, possibly a couple of
others that are obscure. I think there was talk of Parallels for
Linux but I don't know if that ever got off the ground. QEMU used to
be an option under Linux, but I don't know if development is still
continuing. I used to run Win 98SE under QEMU on Linux but newer
kernels created problems. I don't currently have any virtual
machines under Linux.
--Judy Miner
  USA

[scribus] When is a new release for Windows coming out?

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Craig wrote:
>> You can dual boot Windows and Linux on a Wintel machine. You can't
>> boot Mac OS on anything but an Apple computer.
>
> Untrue, but you might be breaking Apple's EULA (if EULA's are really
> legal, I don't think anyone has decided), and the hardware spec
> needs
> to be very close to the original.

I know it's possible, but as it stands now it certainly appears to
break the EULA. I don't believe we should be encouraging or enabling
that.

>> Under Linux you can run VirtualPC and VMware, possibly a couple of
>> others that are obscure. I think there was talk of Parallels for
>>
>
> VirtualBox too...

Thank you for picking that up! I meant VirtualBox, NOT VirtualPC,
which won't even run under Linux. I don't know where my brain had
wandered when I wrote that, as I had VirtualBox in mind.

VirtualBox, VirtualBox, VirtualBox
--Judy Miner
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786

[scribus] URL Correction

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

A couple of weeks ago I posted a URL for the Desktop Publishing
Forum, a good place for information and help with desktop
publishing, graphic design, typography, Web page design, and dealing
with (human) printers. You won't get much help specific to Scribus,
Gimp, or Inkscape, but you won't get hostility, either.

Unfortunately, the address had a typo.

The correct URL is:
 http://www.desktoppublishingforum.com

Many thanks to the list member who alerted me. My eyes are getting old.
--Judy Miner
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786

[scribus] Windows 7

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

John B. wrote:
>> ??... Is Intel claiming that the chipset can't access more than
>> 4GB of
>> RAM?.
>> The current vostro 1720 is offered with up to 8Gb of RAM.
>
> Assuming that "Express Processor to DRAM Controller" is the relevant
> bit, I guess I'd first need to know if I have the Mobile Intel(R)
> PM965,
> GM965, or GL960 ?  Not sure how I can determine that without taking
> it
> apart ?

I don't know if this will work outside the US, but you could go to
www.crucial.com using Internet Explorer and run the Crucial System
Scanner tool. It will examine your system and determine how much
memory you have installed now and how much your system will hold.
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[scribus] Windows 7

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Rolf wrote with regard to Windows 7:
> What I still do not understand, however, is why they push a Home
> Premium
> version without XP emulation (almost all new machines sold come with
> it). End users will have a great bunch of older software they depend
> on
> which they will want to continue using. As far as I can see, they
> would
> have to upgrade to Professional to be able to use XP emulation. Or
> did I
> get this wrong, too? :-)

Sort of. XP Mode, which is available for Win 7 Professional and
Ultimate (Enterprise, too) is a virtual machine containing a
licensed copy of XP that is seamlessly integrated into Windows 7. It
does not come with Win 7 Professional or Ultimate and is a free
download from Microsoft, which the user has to install.

Note: MOST applications users ran under XP will also work with
Windows 7 and the user doesn't need XP Mode at all. XP Mode is
intended for mission-critical XP applications that won't run under
Win 7; mostly those would be customized applications used by
businesses.

If someone has Win 7 Home Premium and a desired application won't
run, he or she can install a software virtual machine like VMware or
VirtualBox, install a licensed copy of Windows in the vm, and
install the software. This is exactly what you could do in XP or
Vista. You DON'T need Win 7 Professional if you want to install
VMware, VirtualBox, or another virtual machine like Microsoft
Virtual PC. However, you'll need a legal copy of XP, Vista, or
whatever version of Windows you want in your virtual machine and
integration with Win 7 won't be as seamless as it is with XP Mode.
As anyone who has run another version of Windows or Linux in a vm
knows, this is no big deal.

Windows 7 includes compatibility mode, which has been available
through a right-click on a program's executable file since Windows
XP came out. This is not a virtual machine and simply "fools" some
software that is looking for a specific version of Windows in order
to run. I have never found compatibility mode to do much of anything
when I've tried to install a program in XP or Vista that wouldn't
allow this. It may help with some games as long as they don't try to
access the hardware directly, which is forbidden in all versions of
Windows NT (XP, Vista, and Win 7 are all versions of NT). I guess
the right-click compatibility mode must do something for someone or
it wouldn't be there, but it can't make a truly incompatible program
compatible.

So really, the vast majority of buyers for personal use don't need
XP Mode and certainly shouldn't spend the considerably increased
price for Win 7 Professional solely for XP Mode. And of course, the
processor has to support hardware virtualization. Processor support
is not needed for a  virtual machine installed in Win 7 Home.

I have Windows 7 Home Premium installed in a dual boot with XP and I
like Win 7 very much. However, I am primarily a Linux user and Linux
will continue to be my main OS. (I actually have a quadruple boot on
that computer, as I have VectorLinux 6 Standard and VectorLinux 6
Light in their own partitions.) I run Windows occasionally when I
need to use a program without an acceptable, or any, Linux
equivalent. I'm also the tech support person for a number of
relatives and friends and I need to be on top of the Windows
versions they use. So when Win 7 Home Premium was offered for $50 US
last summer, I preordered a copy and I installed it as soon as it
came in the mail right after Windows 7 was released for retail
sales. I haven't yet installed Scribus or Inkscape in Win 7, though
I have installed the Gimp and it is working fine in my limited use.

I don't have any 64-bit programs except for what are part of Win 7.
Much of my software is not recent at all. For example, Photoshop
Elements 4 is installed and working fine, though the Organizer has
some compatibility issues that are not killers. Even my Win 95-era
Bitstream Font Navigator is working for installing and uninstalling
font groups. Font Navigator doesn't understand OpenType or Unicode,
but as long as it works with my font groups, that's enough for me.

A retail full or upgrade copy of Windows 7 comes with two DVDs, one
for 32-bit and one for 64-bit. You have to choose one or the other
as the license is for one computer only. I installed 64-bit Win 7
because 64-bit is the future of computing. It also allows for much
more RAM to be utilized than the 3.5 gigs and under that a 32-bit
Windows can use.

32-bit programs run fine in Win 7 64. 16-bit programs do not run at
all. Some 32-bit programs have 16-bit installers. The installer will
not run, so those programs can't be installed. If you really need
16-bit programs, you can install a virtual machine and put a copy of
an earlier Windows in it and then install and run your 16-bit
programs.

Although most 32-bit programs will run in Win 7 64 WITHOUT a virtual
machine, another point to consider is whether there are 64-bit
drivers for your hardware. You must have those. They're n

[scribus] Best Linux distro for Scribus

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Those who are unhappy with KDE 4 may be interested in the recently
released VectorLinux 6 "KDE Classic." The distribution announcement
explains the rationale this way:
"This release is not about bleeding-edge technology. On the other
hand, it is not about nostalgia either. KDE 3.5.10 gets the job
done. It is a mature and solid product with a large user base. Many
of us are comfortable with it, and are not yet ready to leave it
behind. We thought it only right to make a robust system with KDE
3.5.10 at the helm." You can read the rest of the announcement along
with download information at
 http://distrowatch.com/?newsid=05772

The KDE Classic version is built on VectorLinux 6 Light, which works
well on less powerful hardware but supports newer hardware, too. KDE
3.5.10 is the desktop environment and the necessary KDE libraries
are installed. The complete KDE kitchen sink is not included, though
the KDE basics are and the rest can be downloaded. I've never seen
VL6 KDE Classic but have read favorable comments in the user support
forum. Scribus, Gimp, and Inkscape have worked flawlessly under
VectorLinux 6 Light and VL 6 Standard, which I use daily.

Take a look if you're a KDE fan who doesn't want to be pushed to KDE 4.
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[scribus] Exploit.PDF.b.gen

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Thomas wrote:
> somebody whom I sent a pdf generated with scribus told me that she
> got a
> virus message, telling that the attachment would contain
> Exploit.PDF.b.gen
>
> I already scanned my computer with 2 different Virus Programms and
> with
> McAfee in the quick modus, which I just installed. Nothing was
> found. In
> the moment McAfee is running with the long modus, but this seems to
> take
> ages.
>
> But: whenever I export a pdf with scribus, an alert from McAfee pops
> up
> that he found this virus in the file I just created and deletes this
> file.

I suggest going to these free online scanners to check your computer:
 http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner
 http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

Turn off McAfee or any other antimalware programs you have running
on your computer once you get to the Web sites and about to run the
scan. If Kaspersky and TrendMicro don't detect a virus, suspect a
false positive from McAfee. Turn your resident malware protection
back on when the free scans are done.

If McAfee has a user forum, see if there are any reports of a false
positive for Exploit.PDF.b.gen. Also check your McAfee settings.
Most AV programs give you a choice of what to do if a suspected
virus is found. I don't know where McAfee might have such a setting,
but the choices are usually to remove the infected files or
quarantine the infected files or take no action other than notifying
the user. You can also tell the AV program to ignore certain folders
and files. These will prevent the AV program from deleting your
files without asking. However, it's important that you find out
whether you are infected.

There are four well-known free antivirus programs for Windows:
* Avira Antivir
* Avast
* AVG free version
* Microsoft Security Essentials

You can download these and there is no charge ever, though you will
get nag screens from all but Microsoft SE inviting you to upgrade to
their paid versions. Do not have two antivirus programs active at
the same time.
--Judy M.
  USA


Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[scribus] Exploit.PDF.b.gen

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

John B. replied:
> jwminer at accessvt.com wrote:
>
>> There are four well-known free antivirus programs for Windows:
>> * Avira Antivir
>> * Avast
>> * AVG free version
>> * Microsoft Security Essentials
>>
>> You can download these and there is no charge ever, though you
>> will
>> get nag screens from all but Microsoft SE inviting you to upgrade
>> to
>> their paid versions. Do not have two antivirus programs active at
>> the same time.
>
> Are there any 'live CD' variants of these ?

Sorry, I don't know. Google may be your friend.
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[scribus] Windows 95 version

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Bryan wrote:
> Does anyone know if there are any Scribus versions out there still
> available for download that work on Windows 95?  I know it's
> ancient, but I have a guy that has an old computer.  He's into
> graphic art, but has never used computers.  Someone gave him this
> old computer, he wants to see if it's something he would use before
> buying one

There is a free version of Serif PagePlus SE that states it will run
on Windows 95. I've used PagePlus a few times on Windows and it is
easy to use (or as easy as DTP apps are inclined to be). Take a look
here:
 http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/software/PagePlus/key_features.asp

I assume that if your friend likes the graphic apps that will run on
that old computer, he'll buy a new one. Ubuntu is not going to run
well on a Win95-era computer if it has Win95-era RAM (32 megs being
a large amount back then). VectorLinux 6 Light is a better choice,
as confirmed by several Ubuntu refugees who migrate to VL and the
VectorLinux forums. However, even VectorLinux Light will limp with
64 megs of RAM and is much more satisfactory with 96 megs or 128
megs. Even at that, Scribus is a demanding application (as are Gimp
and Inkscape and Firefox and OpenOffice or AbiWord, which is no
longer so light). If your friend has never used a computer, he may
not enjoy sitting around tapping his fingers waiting for an app to
load or do much of anything.

I always say put Linux on your best computer, not the clunker, if
you want to see what Linux is really capable of. Your friend has the
advantage of not having the Windows way of doing things ingrained in
him and half the battle in using Linux is recognizing that it's not
Windows and doesn't always work "the Windows way." When a new user
starts with Linux, the Linux way seems the normal way. In day to day
use, Linux is no harder than Windows and maybe easier because
avoiding malware is much easier in Linux.
--Judy M.
   USA


Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[scribus] Linux vs Windows for Scribus ?

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

John C. wrote:
> All these levels of software tend to grow but not necessarily get
> better. After many years with Slackware and KDE I have given up
> on KDE4. To put it another way I find that Xfce gives me more of
> the features and the look and feel I am used to with KDE than the
> latest KDE does. So I have switched from KDE to Xfce on my
> primary Slackware partition but also on my Debian-like partition.
> My Debian-like partition has an OS called Xubuntu, basically
> Ubuntu with Xfce.
> So I have approximately the same interface on either partition.
>
> It is very easy to download Inkscape, another important tool in my
> publishing toolkit, onto a Debian derivative but just about
> impossible on Slackware. It is also virtually impossible to compile
> it on Slackware.  So I downloaded Inkscape to Xubuntu.
>
> Now I am in the process of migrating Inkscape 46  from that
> partition to my main partition. This  is easier than figuring out
> what editions of which Gnome libraries have to be installed for a
> successful compile on Slack.

Why did you go to Xubuntu rather than stick with a Slackware base
and try VectorLinux 6 Standard? XFce is the default GUI for VL
Standard. Judging by comments on our VectorLinux user support board
from former users of Xubuntu, XFce on VL is faster and has fewer
problems. If you want Inkscape 4.6, it's a simple download from the
VL repos and will pull down all required dependencies. I've been
using Inkscape since Day One on VL 6 and it's a tremendous program
that should be much better known among open source users (Inkscape
is available for Windows, too).

VectorLinux could be considered a friendlier, more desktop-oriented
Slackware. VL uses slapt-get package management that would be
familiar to users of Debian and its derivatives. There is a
graphical front end, Gslapt. Slapt-get and Gslapt pull down all
needed dependencies for properly made packages. The packages in the
VL repos are properly made and some in http://slacky.eu will also
find dependencies, though I haven't tried this.

There is also a testing version of VL 6 Light with KDE 3.5 as the
only window manager. (The regular edition of VL 6 Light has IceWM as
the default window manager.) This testing version is intended for
people who want to stick with KDE 3.5. It can be downloaded at
 http://vectorlinux.osuosl.org/veclinux-6.0/iso-test/VL6.0-KDE-Classic-B1.iso

One thing I suggest to people who are looking to try Scribus on
Linux: don't take people's suggestions as gospel. Every Linux distro
has its fans and fanboys as well as people who hate it. Few people
making recommendations have tried every distro--and making comments
based on something you last tried in 2004 is ridiculous. Desktop
Linux has come a LNG way since then. It's true that some distros
are newbie-friendlier than others, but unless you're starting out
with Linux From Scratch or Gentoo or maybe genuine Slackware, you'll
find easy-to-use features in all of them. I think a friendly and
knowledgeable user support board is very important because if you're
new (and even if you're experienced), you'll have questions and need
them answered understandably without being made to feel stupid. This
is one area where VectorLinux excels, but I'm sure many other
distros have newbie-friendly support.

The important thing is to start out with *something*. it's not a
decision for eternity. You can always switch to something else if
you're not satisfied with the distro you started out with. Also,
don't flit around from distro to distro too much. Stick with one
long enough to get familiar with it. You can't form an opinion on
the basis of half a day's trial.
--Judy M.
  USA


Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[scribus] Linux vs Windows for Scribus ?

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Sveinn ? Felli wrote:
> But for a new (potential) linux user there are other issues
> which may be critical, I'm gonna raise a couple here:
>
> #1 Number of users -->Access to help/tips/information.
> Some distros are so marginal that info on "normal" usage of
> the distro may be scarse. Some distros are even so marginal
> that a newbie gets really a personal guidance from qualified
> enthusiasts. Quality (of information) is not equal to
> quantity, bigger userbase tends to have more solutions
> available to problems. VL does not seem to have easily
> obtainable info on many issues, unless you ask the right
> questions in the forums (my personal impression).

I must disagree with your personal impression. There is plenty of
information available for a VectorLinux user. If you participated in
the forum for any length of time, you'd see that every question gets
answered. Sometimes nobody knows the answer, or suggested solutions
don't work for a particular user. This is true for all Linux
distros. But nobody's question gets ignored and because many of us
read every message posted, you don't have to ask "the right"
question.

The VectorLinux forum (http://www.forum.vectorlinux.com) has well
over 100 "how to's" posted that can answer many user questions
without the need to post on the forum. New how-to contributions are
always welcome and will be posted if they pass inspection (nobody
wants wrong information to be posted). There are an additional 34
forum sections arranged by general topic and if someone can't find a
solution in how-to's, they can post in a section (you have to sign
up for forum membership in order to post; you won't get any spam and
can hide your e-mail address and other identity issues). The forum
search engine is not very good, but an advanced Google search
limited to forum.vectorlinux.com will usually turn up anything
relevant.

On the CD burned from the ISO there is a detailed manual describing
how to install and use the system. There are screen shots of the
text installation. A more recent online manual includes screen shots
and a step-by-step guide to the graphical installer. It's at
http://vectorlinux.osuosl.org/docs/vl60/manuals/vl6_installation_guide_en.html
. Most things a new user might wonder about are described in detail
in these manuals. They cover much more than just installing.

In addition, at http://www.opensourcebistro.com there are numerous
video tutorials on all aspects of installing and using VectorLinux.
This site is operated by one of our forum members and he is
continually adding tutorials. This is a wonderful resource and it
makes things easy for the newbiest of newbies.

Because VectorLinux is not hacked as much as distros like Ubuntu or
Mandriva or Fedora, general Linux solutions are likely to work if
someone comes up empty at the above three sources.

So I must disagree that "VL does not seem to have easily obtainable
info on many issues." On the contrary--info on many issues is
abundant and very easily obtainable.

> #2 Localization -->Language support.
> Some distros are better than others in supporting "foreign"
> languages, not only how well their package customizations
> are translated, but also how UTF-8 and RTL support are
> implemented. I've had to dump several distos (e.g.
> PCLinuxOS) due to such issues (garbled characters in samba
> etc.). This of course matters to users "from the rest of the
> world" - curiously the distros not paying much attention to
> l10n are american-based (PCLinuxOS seems to be Texan, VL is
> theoretically Canadian).

I have not had to deal with this issue, but VectorLinux does have
users all over the world and some run it in their language. I know
localization is a work in progress and is not where we want it to
be. There are entries on localization in the how-to's, this one in
particular:
http://forum.vectorlinux.com/index.php?topic=8331.msg56717#msg56717

Follow the links and also read the comments at
http://broadcast.oreilly.com/2009/01/making-slackware-and-derivativ.html

I can't comment more on localization because it's not something I
know much about except that users do have VectorLinux running in
other languages. I don't know how many other languages or what
happens with Samba.

I don't think there is such a thing as "the right distro for
everyone" in Linux. That's why we have so many!
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[scribus] Linux vs Windows for Scribus ?

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

John wrote:
> Downloaded [VectorLinux] again, installed again and this time it
worked. It has
> both Scribus 1.3.3.12 and Inkscape 46.  I still have lots of clean
> up to
> do, like getting on line and installing kmail, but now I can report
> a
> positive experience.

Scribus 1.3.3.13 should be available in the repos in a few days. I'm
a volunteer packager and have created a tlz package for Scribus
1.3.3.13. I have to submit it to the packagers' board and if it
passes inspection, it will be posted in the VL testing repo. After
there is enough feedback, it'll be moved to the regular repos.

Next I'll tackle 1.3.5. After that it'll be Fontmatrix. I had hoped
to get 1.3.3.13 and 1.3.5 packaged months ago but I had too many
interruptions during the summer.
--Judy M.
   USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[scribus] Linux vs Windows for Scribus ?

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Stevend wrote:
> [Inkscape] 0.46 has some of the bottom and left side cut off in
Ubuntu so I can
> see it.
> Works fine in Mint. Scribus 1.3.5 works nicely on the Ubuntu
> machine.

If you haven't tried this, see what happens:

You can resize the height of the Inkscape window if you make the
Toolbox floating by dragging it out of the Inkscape window. If the
Toolbox is docked on the left side, you can't change the height of
the Inkscape window though you can change the width. I was thrilled
when I found this tip, tried it, and discovered that it worked on my
system.

I also learned somewhere (here, maybe) that if you unmaximize a
window, you can drag it around by holding down Alt and moving it
with your mouse. This way you can get to the lower right corner or
the bottom for resizing.
--Judy M.
   USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[Scribus] Truetype and opentype fonts

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

wtb41 wrote:
> Some (most?) commercial printers (book manufacturers) will NOT
> accept
> TrueType fonts. For example:
>
> 1. Chapter 9 of Robin Williams' book "How to Boss Your Fonts Around"
> says,
> "Service bureaus use high-end PostScript imagesetters to 'image'
> (print,
> output) the pages. The TrueType tecnology disagrees with these
> imagesetters,
> and service bureaus generally prefer (many adamantly insist) that
> you not
> bring TrueType into their shops in your documents." She has more to
> say
> about the topic, but that quote should give you the gist of the
> topic.
> 2. Thomson-Shore's web site
>  OutputReadyFilesv10_6-06.pdf> on Prepublication Guidelines says,
> among other
> things, "Avoid using TrueType fonts."

According to Amazon.com, the publication date of Robin Williams's
book is *1998*. That's back in the Dark Ages as far as publishing
and service bureaus are concerned. PostScript imagesetters today are
fully capable of handling TrueType fonts. Not all service bureaus
have modern equipment, though, so this is certainly something you
should check out with the output service you plan to use.

As for Thomson-Shore, the document covers a wide range of
prospective users. The entire paragraph from which you quoted reads:
"Avoid using TrueType fonts. Although most output devices can now
work with TrueType fonts as long as they are embedded in the output
file, there are still some drawbacks of using TrueType fonts.
Acrobat 4.x and above will honor licensing restrictions built into
some TrueType fonts and may not allow them to be embedded in the
file."

People familiar with TrueType fonts know this; others may not.
Hence, the blanket recommendation to avoid TrueType fonts. This is
obviously not a hard-and-fast rule because on page 4, the document
states under PostScript Conversion:
"Include all downloadable fonts within the PostScript file whenever
possible. (This creates a much larger PostScript file but having the
font information built-in helps to ensure that the file will run
trouble free.) TrueType fonts may only be used if they are included
in the PostScript files, ensure that your driver setup is configured
to include TrueType fonts."

The Client Guidelines also state:
"The industry as well as Thomson-Shore recommends that Acrobat
Distiller creates the PDF file." Yet we want to submit a file
created in Scribus, and we can't create it with Distiller if we're
using Linux. It's the quality of the PDF file that matters and
service bureaus and printers specify Distiller because it's a known
quantity.
--Judy Miner

Registered Linux User #397786

[Scribus] It's what people don't tell you... (WAS: Re: Why do?)

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Nick wrote:
> With InDesign, there is no where to go to really voice your opinion.
>  There
> are no websites, or mailing list, that will give you the support you
> get
> here.  If you were to find a developer of InDesign, do you think you
> would
> be able to tell them what they are doing wrong???  Probably not.

Adobe has active user-to-user forums where skilled and friendly help
is available for most Adobe products. See
http://www.adobe.com/support/forums/
Adobe also has a Knowledge Base and links to many helpful resources at
http://www.adobe.com/support/

In addition, there are numerous forums and e-mail lists not
affiliated with Adobe that cover Adobe products. See, for example,
http://www.desktoppublishingforum.com , where several InDesign
experts hang out.

The same is true for many high-end commercial products if someone is
willing to search a bit.

This is not to take anything away from Scribus and this excellent
e-mail list and we certainly do have access "to the top," namely,
our developers. But the same type of user-to-user support is
available for many products, both commercial and open source--even
Microsoft products. The user support board for VectorLinux, my
distro, is a gem.
--Judy Miner

Registered Linux User #397786

[Scribus] Improving Scribus Wiki (once again)

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Brian wrote:
> I was using Opera9, and tested again that it would NOT search
> for "scribus-ng".  I have since tried Firefox (51/139), Epiphany,
> Konqueror and Dillo (all 42/118) all of which accepted a search
> on "scribus-ng", so my problem appears to be browser-based.

Are you using the search box at the top right of the scribus.net
page directly under "forgot password? :: register"? I'm using Opera
9 in Linux and I got one result, which, when I clicked on it, took
me to "Scribus on Debian GNU/Linux and derivatives," with this
sentence in plain view:
"scribus-ng (Scribus 1.3.x). scribus-ng package can be installed in
parallel with the scribus package."

I also tried with the latest Firefox and got the exact same search
results. Also, the exact same results with Dillo and with Konqueror.
NOWHERE were there 20 articles at one time. It sounds like you went
to some search engines with your browser. Your problem is not
browser based but search engine based.

What you want to use is scribus.net's own search engine. Give it
another try.
--Judy Miner

Registered Linux User #397786

[Scribus] Invalid Page Fault in Module QT-MT3.DLL

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Craig wrote:
> Not only that, but Microsoft has now dropped support for Windows 98.
> That means there are no security fixes coming out for it.
> Mozilla.org
> has also dropped support for it in Firefox 2.0, so your browser
> choices
> will soon be a dangerously insecure version of MSIE a version of
> Firefox
> that'll probably also turn out to have the usual round of security
> holes.

Hey--another choice is Opera. There is no indication yet that future
Operas will not run on Win 9x. A Win 9x user who uses a firewall,
up-to-date antivirus, and antispam protection and who uses the Web
responsibly is probably not in much danger.

I do agree that there is no reason to try to make Scribus compatible
with Win 98. Sticking with an obsolete operating system means that a
growing number of programs will not be able to run on it. If this is
unacceptable, the only course is to upgrade the OS--more sensibly,
get a new computer that comes with the OS installed.
--Judy Miner

Registered Linux User #397786

[Scribus] Improving Scribus Wiki (once again)

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Brian wrote:
> So ...   my difficulty was caused by the wiki search facility!
> (Website maintainers please note).
> Thanks so much Judy - but if you can spare the time, would you use
> the wiki search and see what happens?  I think I know the
> result  :-)

I did the wiki search with Opera 9, Firefox, and Dillo. My results
did not match yours. I got the same results from each browser: lists
of article titles and page text matches in groups of 20. There was
no difference between what I got from Opera and what I got from
Firefox and Dillo. Also, "scribus-ng" did not get converted to
"scribus -ng" in any of the browsers.

I don't know how to explain your results, but I don't think Opera is
the culprit here.
--Judy Miner

Registered Linux User #397786

[Scribus] Scribus usability

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Roger wrote:
> 7. E-X-P-E-R-I-M-E-N-T, it works a treat and you will achieve more
> in a
> couple of hours on one page than all the help files ever written.

A good way to learn to use Scribus is to recreate with Scribus a
project you originally produced with another program. Before you do
anything else, look through the menus--every item--so you see what's
available. Explore Properties. One of the first things to do is go
through File menu, Preferences--every one of them. If you can't
figure out how to do something, look first in Help menu, Scribus
Manual. If it's not installed, download it and install it. (I can't
remember if it's automatically included now.) If you still can't
find an answer for your situation, go to the Wiki. Go through the
links under "navigation" under the Scribus logo on the first page of
the Wiki. There is a ton of detailed information there. If questions
remain, ask on this list.

We learn to use programs by *using them*. Tutorials are helpful, but
ultimately we have to work on our own project and that's where we
really learn. Scribus is one of the better-documented open source
programs right now, and this will get even better.

Using computers is NOT intuitive. If it seems so, it's only because
we're used to the way a particular interface works.

I'm not keen on templates and I don't see a reason why a
professional program like Scribus needs templates. If you're a
professional, you don't need a template. You probably won't like one
anyway. Also, you don't want your document to look like someone
else's--why would your client need a designer in the first place if
a template would do the job? If you're an amateur, choosing to use
Scribus means you want your work to be on a higher level. In that
case, develop the design skills you need before you dabble in DTP.
There are no shortcuts to knowing what you're doing.

It is amazing and thrilling to see what Scribus is becoming.
--Judy Miner

Registered Linux User #397786

[Scribus] Flyer for Scribus

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Thomas Z. wrote:
> Please, feel free to tell me what do you think about it!

This is a very promising flyer. Thanks for your efforts.

There are some grammar mistakes and typographical no-nos that need
to be fixed in order for the flyer to appear as professional as it
needs to be. On the first page, "More Information and Downloads," it
should be
The Logos of Scribus's Friends
instead of
The Logo's of Scribus' Friends

An error like that would put me off right away. And I'm not the
only one, I assure you.

It should be
Scribus's Friends
at the top of the left column, not
Scribus' Friends

I wonder if you could include URLs for the friends. That would be
helpful to the readers.

There are several things that need fixing on page 2. I'll simply
move through the text from the top.
* What is Scribus?
and
Why Scribus?
don't belong in the top band because the text directly under "Why
Scribus?" does not tell us why we should use Scribus. Perhaps if you
moved the two lines at the bottom of column one to the top of column
two you could leave What is Scribus? and Why Scribus? in the top
band. You have plenty of room to do this if you reduced the size of
the pen in the bottom right somewhat.

* There is no need to hyphenate Linux in "Open Source Desktop
etc." Just move the whole word to the next line. In any case the
hyphenation is incorrect because the word is pronounced LIN-uks in
English, not LINE-uks. Hyphenated, the word is Lin-ux. But I
wouldn't hyphenate it here.

* It should be Mac OS X, not MacOSX.

* Please use curly quotes!

* Calle d by
Ne w s forge ,
"..one of th e
k ille r applications
for Linux",

[Scribus] Flyer for Scribus

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Dear List Members,

I mistakenly hit the "Send" button before I finished writing this
message. Please delete it and wait for the completed reply.

Sorry!
Judy Miner

> Thomas Z. wrote:
>> Please, feel free to tell me what do you think about it!
>
> This is a very promising flyer. Thanks for your efforts.
>
> There are some grammar mistakes and typographical no-nos that need
> to be fixed in order for the flyer to appear as professional as it
> needs to be. On the first page, "More Information and Downloads," it
> should be
> The Logos of Scribus's Friends
> instead of
> The Logo's of Scribus' Friends
>
> An error like that would put me off right away. And I'm not the
> only one, I assure you.
>
> It should be
> Scribus's Friends
> at the top of the left column, not
> Scribus' Friends
>
> I wonder if you could include URLs for the friends. That would be
> helpful to the readers.
>
> There are several things that need fixing on page 2. I'll simply
> move through the text from the top.
> * What is Scribus?
> and
> Why Scribus?
> don't belong in the top band because the text directly under "Why
> Scribus?" does not tell us why we should use Scribus. Perhaps if you
> moved the two lines at the bottom of column one to the top of column
> two you could leave What is Scribus? and Why Scribus? in the top
> band. You have plenty of room to do this if you reduced the size of
> the pen in the bottom right somewhat.
>
> * There is no need to hyphenate Linux in "Open Source Desktop
> etc." Just move the whole word to the next line. In any case the
> hyphenation is incorrect because the word is pronounced LIN-uks in
> English, not LINE-uks. Hyphenated, the word is Lin-ux. But I
> wouldn't hyphenate it here.
>
> * It should be Mac OS X, not MacOSX.
>
> * Please use curly quotes!
>
> * Calle d by
> Ne w s forge ,
> "..one of th e
> k ille r applications
> for Linux",
>
>
> ___
> Scribus mailing list
> Scribus at nashi.altmuehlnet.de
> http://nashi.altmuehlnet.de/mailman/listinfo/scribus
>


Registered Linux User #397786

[Scribus] Flyer for Scribus

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Thomas Z. wrote:
> Please, feel free to tell me what do you think about it!

This is a very promising flyer. Thanks for your efforts.

There are some typographical and grammar mistakes that need
to be fixed in order for the flyer to appear as professional as it
needs to be. On the first page, "More Information and Downloads," it
should be
The Logos of Scribus's Friends
instead of
The Logo's of Scribus' Friends

An error like that would put me off right away. I'm not the
only one, I assure you.

I suggest putting more space between the units and less space
between the first and second lines of a unit in the "More
Information and Downloads" section.

It should be
Scribus's Friends
at the top of the left column, not
Scribus' Friends

I wonder if you could include URLs for the friends. That would be
helpful to the readers.

There are several things that need fixing on page 2. I'll simply
move through the text from the top.
* The text directly under "Why Scribus?" does not tell us why we
should use Scribus. I suggest you move the two lines at the bottom
of column one to the top of column two. You have plenty of room to
do this if you reduce the size of the pen in the bottom right
somewhat. As it is now, "Why Scribus?" looks as if it's disconnected
from the text describing why we should use Scribus.

* There is no need to hyphenate Linux in "Open Source Desktop"
etc. Just move the whole word to the next line. In any case the
hyphenation is incorrect because the word is pronounced LIN-uks in
English, not LIE-nuks. Hyphenated, the word is Lin-ux. But I
wouldn't hyphenate it here.

* It should be Mac OS X, not MacOSX.

* Please use curly quotes!

* The "Called by" sentence should be like this:
Called by Newsforge "..one of the killer applications for Linux",

No comma between Newsforge and the quote, no need to italicize the
quote, and in American usage, the comma would go inside the closing
quotation mark. Much of the rest of the English-speaking world would
put the comma outside the quotation mark. The word spacing in that
sentence is dreadful because of the difficulty of justifying within
a narrow column. If you make the correction I suggested, the word
spacing should be better. No matter what, though, big gaps between
words is not something we want to see in a flyer promoting
Scribus.

* "Scribus 1.2"
We're beyond that now. Maybe leave the version number out?

* "New features like separation previews, cross-platform python
scripting, advanced PDF 1.4 support" should be
New features like separation previews, cross-platform python
scripting, and advanced PDF 1.4 support

Note the "and."

* I don't like to see hyphens after a two-letter syllable, as in
in-terface. "Publishing" is incorrectly hyphenated. It should be
publish-ing

* "Other features include PDF Import, EPS import/export, Unicode
text including right to left scripts such as Arabic and Hebrew."
should be
Other features include PDF Import, EPS import/export, and Unicode
text including right-to-left scripts such as Arabic and Hebrew.

Note the "and" and the hyphens.

* Leave out the colon after "such as:" in the next sentence. No
punctuation is needed there.

* "The Scribus file format is XML based; open and completely
documented." Don't use a semicolon! Use an em dash. Alternatively,
use a colon (I don't like a colon there) or a comma. The em dash
would be best, but there's a dash in the next sentence. Perhaps
reword to "is based on XML, which is open and completely
documented."

* "There is an easy to use drag and drop scrapbook" should be
There is an easy-to-use drag-and-drop scrapbook.

* "Coming" in the first paragraph of the right column should be
hyphenated as com-ing, not co-ming.

* "userbase" should be
user base

I realize that some of these errors may be in the text that was
copied from the source. Let's not repeat them in the flyer.

I hope this isn't coming across as too critical, which is absolutely
not my intention. Unfortunately, small errors take away from the
credibility of what's being promoted. Using typewriter quotation
marks is particularly damaging in a promotion for a desktop
publishing program, as are incorrect hyphenation and bad word
spacing in justified text.
--Judy Miner

Registered Linux User #397786

[Scribus] About Scribus with Mac and Win... Problem of fonts

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Craig R. wrote:
> I've been able to install fonts packaged with .pfm font metrics OK
> under
> XP. I haven't needed any that I only have in .pfb/.afm or .pfa/.afm
> format yet, but I understand it's possible to convert .afm format
> metrics to .pfm format, so that could be one possible approach.

Back in pre-XP/W2K days, Adobe Type Manager could create a .pfm file
if you had a .pfb and .afm. W2K and XP support Type 1 natively and
ATM is no longer needed. It's still available, however, and can be
downloaded for free here:
ftp://ftp.adobe.com/pub/adobe/atm/win/4.x/

Note that I am assuming from the 2002 date of the file that this is
the version that can be used with XP. I can't find any specific
documentation on Adobe's Web site. I don't know if ATM plays nice
with XP--I think it does because I know it's needed if you want to
use Multiple Master fonts under XP. There is most likely a Readme in
the expanded archive and I strongly suggest that anyone thinking of
installing ATM check the Readme first.
--Judy Miner

Registered Linux User #397786

[scribus] cannot open or load data

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Jeanette wrote:

> Thank you all for your suggestions and help attempts!
> Might be a OS problem.
> I know Vista isn't the best, but for now, I won't be able to
> upgrade. I
> need to finish a broschure right now, so I'll have to find another
> way
> (like using the remote desktop connection to my university's
> server...which has the disadvantage of being way slower).
> Still,  if anyone has any further idea how to solve my problem with
> Scribus and Vista, let me know!
> Thanks again for trying!

I doubt Vista itself is the problem. You certainly aren't the only
Vista user using Scribus, so if Vista were the problem, we'd be
getting similar feedback from these other Vista users. We've even
had a post from another Vista user who has no such problem.
Vista-bashing is an indoor sport, often done by people who have
never used it or even seen it. The biggest problem with Vista was
that it was resource-hungry, which made it a dog on computers
without enough RAM or CPU power.

Sorry I have no idea what's causing your problem. I had Vista for a
couple of years but that computer died an early death. I do have
Windows 7 on one computer and a couple of computers with XP, but I'm
primarily a Linux user and don't have Scribus installed on these
Windows computers.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO Release Candidate

[scribus] Opening MS Publisher files

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

On the topic of how to get Publisher files into Scribus, I think
Trevor has to tell his friends who send him their Publisher files
that he can't open those files, does not have a program that opens
Publisher files, and will not spend hundreds for a computer and OS
that could handle those files.

When I was putting out newsletters, I made it clear that only TXT
and DOC submissions would be considered. Just about everyone on
every platform can create TXT and DOC files. You don't need
Microsoft Word in order to produce a DOC file. So if someone wants
to submit a file for publication, they simply MUST learn how to get
a file into an acceptable format. As the saying goes, it's not
rocket science, generally File menu, Save as and find the format in
the list, or File menu, Export and find the format in the list.

It's pretty standard practice to specify that only certain file
formats are acceptable. The burden is on the producer of the files,
not the one receiving them and certainly not on the developers of
Scribus or any other DTP program to accommodate them.
--Judy M.
   USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO Release Candidate

[scribus] New project / design ideas

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

John C. wrote:
> I spend real money to get a monthly pdf version of "Before and After
> Magazine" and consider it money well spent.

I totally agree! I've subscribed to Before and After since the first
issue and have kept every one, giving me a complete set.

Also check out
 http://desktoppublishingforum.com
and
 http://graphicssoft.about.com/
 (lots of tutorials and how-to tips, blogs, user discussions)
and
 http://desktoppub.about.com/
which covers everything you mentioned, including Scribus, as at
 http://desktoppub.about.com/b/2009/04/24/dozens-of-scribus-tutorials.htm

--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO Release Candidate

[scribus] Headlines

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

J.J.Jordan replied:
>>How can I get headlines automaticly. I should like a tool where I
>> can
>>make a headline that automatic will change all the headlines.
>>I make a monthly magazine and in the headlines we put the name of
>> the
>>month.Perhaps you can help me.
>>I hope the English Iused is clear enough.
>>Thank You.
>
> It sounds as if you need to find out about styles. You can create a
> text style that sets the specific font, point size, and many, many
> more
> attributes. Then you just click on each headline and apply the
> style.
> Thus, each headline will have the same appearance. If you want to
> change the appearance of all the headlines, just edit the style and
> all
> the headlines will automatically be reformatted.

I didn't understand his problem that way. It seems he wants
something that will automatically change the MONTH in the headline
for each new issue. A paragraph style won't do this, it will just
apply the style to each headline and if you make a change to the
style, it will automatically be applied to every paragraph using
that style.

I'm a total dummy when it comes to scripting, but my guess is that a
script could be written that would automate these changes.

You're completely right about the usefulness of paragraph styles.
People new to DTP absolutely *must* learn to use styles and not just
ad hoc paragraph formatting.
--Judy M.
   USA


Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO

[scribus] Installing Scribus 1.3.8 on Mint 9 (URGENT)

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Ian W. wrote:
> I have installed Mint 9 KDE here and the one problem I have is to
> get my
> Scribus re-installed. The only option through the Packet Manager is
> 1.3.3.13 but I've been using 1.3.8 for a while now so my files will
> not
> be compatible. I can also find no help on the various Forums and
> WebSites.
>
> Can anyone advise how I can get 1.3.8 please.

I join John Culleton here in saying you should compile it yourself.
Linux has the tools and it's easy as long as you have the needed
dependencies. I'm always happy to have a package for my distro
because nothing can be easier than installing a Linux package, but
it takes a while for new releases to make it to a distro's
repositories and in some cases, it may *never* make it into the
repos (for example, having 1.3.3.13 as the only option in your
Packet Manager).

I couldn't wait for 1.3.9 to become available for VectorLinux, so
yesterday I compiled it myself. It was one of the easiest
compilations I've ever done. VectorLinux, like Slackware, includes
the compilers and developers tools needed and all the dependencies
were already installed on VectorLinux 7 alpha 3.5.1, which I'm
testing and using. I installed it into a scribusinstall directory in
my home directory--not my usual practice, but I wanted it to be
isolated from the rest of the system. It's working very well and I'm
designing our family Christmas card on it.

I didn't create a Vector package and just used cmake-make-make
install. But once done, I was able to simply copy the scribusinstall
directory over my network to another computer. It is using
VectorLinux 6 SOHO Deluxe and was lacking three library files needed
by Scribus 1.3.9. I just copied them to /usr/lib, did ldconfig, and
now 1.3.9 is running fine on that computer.

I should add that I'm not a lover of compiling and would much rather
have a package, but I'm sure not going to be held back from
something I want because I can't find a package somewhere. If I had
to wait for a precompiled file, I might as well be back in Windows.

One more thing:
"Compiling" sounds very intimidating. Actually, though, you don't
need to do anything but get it started and it does everything for
you. You don't need to know any technical details, just run the
program (cmake-make-make install).
--Judy M.
   USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO

[scribus] Scribus and DTP classes

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

With regard to online DTP instruction, I'm surprised that noone has
said it has already been done! For example, go to
 http://desktoppub.about.com/od/desktoppublishing/u/Basics_and_Beyond.htm
and then check out the rest of the site. There are extensive
tutorials. See
 http://desktoppub.about.com/od/desktoppublishing/u/Tasks_and_Techniques.htm

If you read the abundant material on the site (including a detailed
section on newsletters) and then follow links you'll find there, I
can't imagine that there would be a lot more to cover in a basic
course.

There are books aplenty about design, typography, and graphic
design. I haven't kept up with what's become available in the last
couple of years, but the books by Robin Williams have been around
for years and are understandable by beginners. In fact, they're
specifically geared to "nondesigners." Robin is a "she" and not the
actor/comedian.

What you don't get from these general online courses is a tie-in
between the principles you are learning and Scribus. The principles
have to come first. I always cringe when someone without the first
idea of how to handle design and type assumes you can just pick up
Scribus or some other DTP app and once you learn the basics of using
the software, you can then inflict your horrid typography and
ghastly design on the world. When I was forced by my position as
head of a small nonprofit organization to put out newsletters,
booklets, pamphlets, flyers, posters, and press announcements, I
realized almost immediately that I didn't know enough to do a decent
job. So I signed up for a non-credit graphic design certificate
program at a local community college. Though the program was quite
basic, I knew a whole lot more when I finished than when I started.
Not that one's education ends there. You can spend your whole life
on this and still have more to learn.

None of the courses in the graphic design program were
program-specific. When you know the principles, you can apply them
no matter what software you are using.

I think an online course that assumed I knew design basics and
concentrated on how to apply them using Scribus is a good idea. I
probably wouldn't take it, though, because I'd rather just read
online help and/or a book. It's always good to be able to ask
questions and get feedback from instructors and fellow participants,
but we do have this forum, so it seems like a bit of duplication.
--Judy M.
   USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO

[scribus] Tooltips blank

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Keith wrote:
> I have both 1.3.8 and 1.5.0 svn installed. Neither of them show any
> text
> in them in the tooltips. I don't believe the problem to be a Scribus
> problem but rather a QT thing. I had QT4 Settings, and QT4 Designer
> and
> the tool tips in them were blank as well. I played with the palettes
> in
> the QT4 Settings program and could not effect a change. The Inactive
> Palette being the one that controls the text in Tooltips apparently.

I'm not sure what you're seeing, but I may have had a similar
problem with Scribus 1.3.9. I could see a cream-colored box where
the tooltip was, but the text in the tooltip box was just about the
same color so I couldn't read it. The solution for me was to run
qtconfig and on the first screen at GUI Style, Select GUI Style,
choose Desktop Settings (Default). Save the settings. When I
restarted Scribus, the problem was gone and I can see the tooltips.
For the Scribus Preferences theme, I have the dropdown blank.

You may have to translate qtconfig to whatever in your distro is the
same thing. If you haven't tried this, see what happens. I would
advise leaving palettes, etc., in qtconfig alone.
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO

[scribus] Announcement: Scribus 1.3.9 released

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

John C. wrote:
> BTW since I cut my Linux eyeteeth back in the day when it came on
> multiple 5.5" floppy images (i.e. original Slackware) I am used to
> operating as the root user or administrator when it is useful to do
> so. Hence when using a Debian derivative partition (Debian, Kubuntu,
> Ubuntu or my favorite: Knoppix) I do this command one time:
>
> sudo passwd root myfavoritepassword
>
>>From that day forward I can sign on as root, just like a real adult
> who has 42 years of computer programming and operation under his
> belt.
> No more typing sudo all over the place.
>
> passwd is not a misspelling in this instance.

Seeing "sudo" all over the place does make my skin crawl and if I
were using Ubuntu, I'd do what you do and get a real user password.
I would not--ever--sign on as root. It's completely unnecessary.
When I need to do something as root, I simply type su and then my
root password and I can do whatever I need to do. When I'm done, I
type exit at the prompt and I'm back at my user account.

When you su to root, you can run as many root commands as you need
to and don't have to keep typing sudo every time you need to do
something as root.
--Judy M.
   USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO

[scribus] Scribus and DTP classes

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

John JJ wrote:
> I'm trying to think of a way to tie the proposed Scribus online
> modules
> with Jacci Howard Bear's site.

You could try contacting her by e-mail and seeing if there is
interest in linking to the proposed Scribus instruction site. I
haven't explored her DTP site in depth, but at another about.com
site, http://graphicssoft.about.com, there are many links to other
related sites. The site routinely covers the Gimp and has several
tutorials on the Gimp. See
http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/gimp/The_GIMP_Resources_and_Tutorials.htm
for links to other sites. I see links to other sites on the first
page of desktoppub, so maybe there would be interest. It would be
great because so many more people would hear about Scribus and I
know many would like to know about a high-level DTP application that
is *free*.

> And the mo//re I think about this idea the more I conclude that I
have
> bitten off a whale-size project.

You could start small and expand as interest grows, but it could
become a full-time job (without full-time pay unless the direction
changes somewhat).

graphicssoft.about.com has a free Photoshop Basics e-mail course
that you may want to take a look at. You could see one approach to
an online course. This is the URL:
 http://graphicssoft.about.com/c/ec/1.htm
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO

[scribus] scribus crashes when I try to create a new document

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

> I did it many times, I uninstalled, then reinstalled!
> I tried to relaunch the computer as it was few days ago!
>
>
> 2010/12/12 keith bruner 
>
>> On Sun, 12 Dec 2010 09:26:59 -0800, C?cile Barbe
>> 
>> wrote:
>>
>>  I really need help!
>>> I can't do anything, the program closes each time after!
>>> If anyone has the answer, I would be very gratefull!
>>> It's so frustrating!
>>>
>>>  Hi Cecile,
>>
>> If it was me, I would uninstall the package I have and download
>> and install
>> a new copy.

Have you tried right-clicking on the Scribus executable file in
Windows Explorer and choosing Run as Administrator?
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO

[scribus] Ctrl X twice kills Scribus

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

> On 12/17/2010 04:29 PM, Margaret and George McIntosh wrote:
>> On 17 Dec 2010 at 15:10, Tom Connolly wrote:
>>
>>> While I am in the edit text mode, if I use Ctrl X to delete some
>>> copy, then
>>> do it again to delete more copy, the program shuts down
>>> immediately
>>> without
>>> a prompt to save and without saving what's being edited. This
>>> happened to me
>>> twice before I knew what hit me. I am able to reproduce this.
>>> Windows Vista, plenty ram. 1.3.9.
>>> Tom Connolly
>>
>> Tom, I made a new text frame, typed in some text, then used Ctrl X
>> several times to
>> delete text  and it worked correctly. I then made 2 frames and
>> used Ctrl X to delete
>> each. Worked correctly again.
>> Win 7  x64.
>
> What I have subsequently found is that the key thing seems to be
> when
> you finally highlight all the remaining text in the frame. Happened
> both
> with text I had manually entered or with sample text.
>
> Does not happen in Linux (Fedora 14), nor could I see it in 1.3.3.14
> on XP.
>
> I'm using a 1.3.9svn, but since the issue doesn't seem to have been
> reported, probably still exists.

I didn't find the bug with 1.3.9 in VectorLinux 7 alpha 4. I seldom
start Windows, so I couldn't see what happens under 1.3.3.14 in my
XP or Win 7.
--Judy M.
   USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO

[scribus] Bleed & crop marks

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

a.l.e wrote:
> explaining bleeds and crop marks involves several typographical
> concepts and one will have to use words which are not in everyones'
> vocabulary.
>

[snip

> the fact that babelfish could not translate it correctly is a pity
> but may also be the  proof that what jluc has written is complicated
> enough that he didn't feel like writing it in english...

It's also a proof that Internet translation tools generally do a
poor job of translating anything! Frankly, I've never found them
more than minimally useful and was rather shocked that you suggested
otherwise.

A lingua franca on an internation mailing list is a good thing, at
least for those who understand it. It increases the chances that
you get a useful answer to your problem. If you can't communicate in
the de facto lingua franca, all you can do is write in a language
that you're comfortable with and hope someone on the list can reply.
I doubt any of us expect anyone to learn another language solely to
communicate on an e-mail list. Not that that would be a bad thing,
but there are only so many hours in a day. Time has erased whatever
memory of French and German I learned over 50 years ago.
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO

[scribus] Bleed & crop marks

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

S C Ribus wrote:
>> explaining bleeds and crop marks involves several
>> typographical concepts and one will have to use words which
>> are not in everyones' vocabulary.
>
>
> is there a multilingual and free DTP-specific database somewhere on
> the internet? might be useful actually

Google is your friend. A search on the term is bound to turn up
definitions and explanations, probably millions of them.
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO

[scribus] Best practice: creating a template

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Peter P. wrote:
> On 12/29/10 9:38 pm, John Culleton wrote:
>> Scribus is aimed primarily at printed rather than web products,
>> although there is a choice when you produce a pdf.  For one thing
>> the
>> typical pdf produced by Scribus is very large.
>
> As I'm talking about a primarily text based newsletter I think file
> size will
> not be the big problem.
> But what alternatives exist to create an electronic newsletter that
> good to
> read (literally!) by people not necessarily used to electronic
> media?

[snip]

> So we're again at "creating a printable product". The UA-thing is
> something
> additional for the visually disabled recipient ... The main focus of
> my
> initial request should have been read on "template creation",
> dynamic content
> and scrapbook ...

[snip]

> If a PDF contains all structural information necessary to be ABLE to
> reflow
> text a "not PDF"-view on the information is possible. This is useful
> for
> eBooks as well as necessary for something like screen readers.
> And if the text for example contains hyphenation information a
> screen reader
> can flawlessly read the text.
> I think we can agree a blind person does not care about 100% defined
> page
> layout PDF offers. OTOH it's not sensible to be enforced to create
> two
> documents ... One for people gaining from efforts put into good
> typesetting
> and one containing only pure information for those who use a screen
> reader.

If you don't get an answer about PDF/UA here, try
desktoppublishingforum.com

I believe there are members who are familiar with producing
documents that are usable by screen readers. We've had discussion on
that topic in the past.
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO

[scribus] Best practice: creating a template

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

John Culleton wrote:
> Scribus is aimed primarily at printed rather than web products,
> although there is a choice when you produce a pdf.  For one thing
> the
> typical pdf produced by Scribus is very large.
>
> AFAIK text reflow and PDF are not compatible. For text reflow you
> should
> probably use HTML or XHTML.

A PDF can be read without any reference to a browser. I wouldn't
call it a "Web product." Some governments require certain documents
to be readable by the visually impaired with a screen reader.

While Scribus is not designed to be an HTML creator or editor, it
certainly offers options for reading PDFs in a browser. Given the
legal requirements for some documents, I think Peter raised an
important issue.
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO

[scribus] Re : (Scribus) Insertion of a gif from a browser

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Ivan W. wrote:
> Want to put a gif image in an image frame for a leaflet layout. The
> gif is on a website so I can view it in a browser (Opera) but how do
> I get it from browser screen to insertable in an image frame ? Tried
> a screen grab using GIMP and then using the GIMP select tool to get
> it from the white background it is on. But I found that the image
> frame allows 'cut' and 'copy' but not paste.

You must assume that every image you see on the Web is covered by
copyright unless you have contrary evidence. So before you save an
image to use in your leaflet, you need to make sure you have the
right to use the image. Using just a part of the image or modifying
it, even heavily, violates copyright unless you get permission to
use the image.

You can start by contacting the Webmaster for the site and finding
out whether the image is in the public domain.
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO

[scribus] using Gimp to resize photographs is very poor design

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Mick wrote:
>> i.e. Does anyone have any recommendations on a simple but good
>> image
>> editor that can take care of common tasks quickly? I know I could
>> use
>> ImageMagick or NetPBM but a GUI is nice sometimes.
>>
> Irfanview but I think that's windows.

Irfanview works very well under Wine in Linux. It can do all kinds
of adjustments, edits, cropping, lossless JPG rotation,
resizing/resampling, and format conversions. It will even open Gimp
if you want more advanced editing. Free download link at
www.irfanview.com . Also, get the Irfanview plugins, which also work
under Wine in Linux.
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[scribus] Problems with ODT Import

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

John J. J. wrote:
> Until your message I had never heard of Softmaker or their Office
> suite. I went to their web page and was struck by the almost
> complete
> lack of mention of OOo. I also couldn't find much detail about
> features.

You probably didn't look far enough. For the Linux version
(SoftMaker Office 2008) see http://softmaker.com/english/ofl_en.htm
. Follow the links for TextMaker, PlanMaker, and Presentations down
the page.

SoftMaker claims that OpenOffice compatibility is much improved in
SoftMaker Office 2010. At this time it's just for Windows, but a
Linux version is forthcoming and is now in its first nonpublic beta
(anyone can sign up to beta test). I have the Windows version of
2010 and Linux 2008 but I don't deal much with compatibility so I
have no opinion or results to report.
--Judy M.
   USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[scribus] 64 bit/ another ghostscript question

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Marilyn A. wrote:
>  2) I have been given these two pieces of information (below) for a
> 64 bit HP.  I have been trying to get this to work.  Perhaps I have
> to download it to a specific place.  One time I did this it said
> that the format was not correct.

> http://ghostscript.com/releases/ghostscript-8.64.tar.bz2Windows XP
> x64 edition, 2003 or Vista (64-bit)
>
> The x64 self-extracting archive is normally named gs###w64.exe This
> is for 64-bit Windows operating systems based on the x64 instruction

Are you using a 64-bit version of Windows? Just because your
computer is 64-bit does not mean its operating system is 64-bit, nor
does it need to be. Do not get a 64-bit version of GhostScript or
anything else if your operating system is 32-bit.

If you're not sure about the "bit" of your OS, right-click on "My
Computer" or "Computer" and then on Properties and the screen that
comes up should tell you whether it's 32-bit or 64-bit.

--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[scribus] Font installation for use with OpenOffice?

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Peter N. wrote:
>> I have a similar problem in that I have a windows font cooper
>> installed
>> in my windows font directory but it does not show up in Scribus
>> nor
>> openoffice. Works great in .fonts in ubuntu but, sadly a no show
>> in
>> windows. Any ideas on how to sort this out.
>
> Is it really INSTALLED? An available in other Windows programs?
>
> Because you can not just copy a font to the fonts directory, the
> must
> be installed (and they even don't have to be located in the font
> directory when they have been installed).
>
> I use a program called The Font Thing to help me install and
> uninstall
> fonts depending on when I need them. I have all my "non-Windows"
> fonts
> in a separate directory (so I don't accidentily uninstall a font
> needed by the system).
>
> /Peter

Um, copying a font to the \Windows\Fonts directory *IS* a way you
install fonts in Windows. If a font or a shortcut to it appears in
\Windows\Fonts, the font is installed. You can also right-click on
the font when it is elsewhere and select Install or Install
Shortcut, but the results are absolutely no different than simply
copying or creating a shortcut. You can also highlight a font that's
in another directory, select Copy, then go to \Windows\Fonts and
select Paste and voila! your font is now in \Windows\Fonts and all
ready to go.

It always worked this way in Win 9x and XP and I just booted into
Windows 7 and made sure copying is still effective in Win 7. It is.
Again, if a font appears in \Windows\Fonts, it is installed. It
should work in Scribus and every other font-aware Windows program.

I agree with Peter that the person with the problem needs to
determine if the font is showing up in other Windows programs. In
the days when Windows always came with Wordpad, that was a good one
for testing fonts. Win 7 no longer includes Wordpad, but Notepad in
Win 7 is font aware and the font in question should show up in
Notepad's font list.

If it doesn't, more checking is in order. Win 7 allows you to hide
some fonts. Make sure the font isn't hidden. Otherwise, I'd wonder
about font corruption or a wonky font. Scribus is strict about font
quality and for all I know, OOo may be, too.

In Win 7 you can't delete a font needed by the system. In fact, it's
very hard to uninstall fonts Win 7 considers necessary. And if you
displayed the font, it's considered in use until you reboot, which
can drive you mad if you are getting rid of fonts you don't need.

Font managers just make it easier to deal with a large number of
fonts, i.e., more than you want installed at any one time. They
don't have "magic" that solves font problems.

Also, a previous post mentioned using something that was for Linux.
The OP isn't having a problem with fonts in Linux, just in Windows.
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO Release Candidate

[scribus] Colour Management, etc

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Carole wrote:
> Now, I would like a soft aqua in the oval and then text on top of
> that to set up a page full of ovals and perhaps other type labels as
> well.
>
> Is there such a book as - Scribus for Dummies??LOLI suppose
> you have been asked this before...
> I know this is not a word processor but a page layout program but
> can I not make labels on this worksheet layout?
>
> I know I need to save the pic I want to use as a .tiff so that when
> it is resized it will not distort.  But, I still am having
> difficulty in this area..

I'm not sure what you mean by "will not distort." TIFF is a raster
format consisting of individual pixels. It WILL distort if resized
beyond a narrow range. The graphics that will not distort are those
in a vector format such as .svg or .eps (unless it's an eps that
includes a raster image).

What is the format of the pic you want to use *before* you save it
as a .tiff? How much resizing will you be doing? With raster
graphics, it's always wise to size the graphic to fit the size it
will be in your printed document, with enough pixels to give you at
least 300 dots per inch OF THE FINISHED SIZE. (Dots per inch is
meaningless without reference to the actual size the graphic will be
printed at.)
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO Release Candidate

[scribus] 1.3.5.1 exe

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Dai wrote:
> Compiling is not good enough. Linux is still in the dark ages. One
> thing
> you have to give windows credit for is, the ability to just grab a
> program and just install it. I'd like Linux to have the same sort of
> capability in Linux, not just one distro but, all distro's. Linux
> always
> talks about freedom but, it's freedom for developers not users. User
> freedom is usually restricted in some way. One way being the
> repository
> for example LTS Ubuntu try getting the newer version of programs
> back
> ported it doesn't happen. That's just one example there are many
> more.

One of the glories of Linux is the range of choices. That includes
choices in distros. With so many choices, we have to deal with
differences as well: differences in what libraries are included,
what kernel version is running, how packages are managed, how the
desktop environment works, and much more. This means
one-size-fits-all installations don't work very well, which is why
there aren't many programs packaged this way for Linux. Making
something that works for all of them is unrealistic.

I doubt many real Linux users (not just dabblers) would want to
sacrifice our freedom of choice for the sake of universal
installers. Yet this is what would have to happen.

Many distros have large repositories with packages that are
extremely easy to install. Compiling a program that is not in the
repo is often very easy. It's a small price to pay for the freedom
of using a distro and a desktop environment that suits your needs
and preferences--especially given the price (ZERO) of most
applications. Plus, why not learn something? It's good for mind and
soul!
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[scribus] Where is the text frame word wrap code?

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

John C. wrote:
>> > But there is a solution that provides maximum benefit with
> least effort.
>> > In your situation my only question would  be, which flavor of
> TeX? A
>> > Scribus solution will require far more effort on your behalf.
>>
>> Indeed TeX, or any other markup language, would be far easier
> for me.
>> However the output of this program is not intended to go
> straight to print.
>> It will only generate the first draft of the document. There is a
> long,
>> unpredictable editing process afterward. Our staff already have a
> wealth of
>> expereince using scribus for this editing process. If the output
>> of
> my
>> program isn't a scribus document, they will just continue to work
> manually.
>>
>> Thanks for your suggestion. It just won't work for our
> organization in the
>> near future.

> And they can't learn how to edit text in a plain text document
> using Vim or Emacs? I am pushing age 78 and I learn new things
> all the time.

Please---Emacs is the ultimate geek program. I can't imagine
expecting ANY normal person to learn Emacs. Even the name gives me
the shudders. When someone suggest using Emacs, I know immediately
that he/she and I live in different universes.

I suspect most Scribus users who are in it for desktop publishing
are not bait for Emacs or vim--or TeX, for that matter. Do we really
want to scare them off?
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 Standard, Deluxe Edition

[scribus] List of words / references possible?

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

J. Jordan wrote:

> I suppose all my questions are answered in the PDF that I couldn't
> get.
> When I click on the link Firefox opens a page that appears to be
> trying
> to open the PDF, but then it says "done" and nothing further
> happens.
>
> I could use some further elucidation. Or if the PDF is < 8MB can you
> e-mail it to me off-list? (My e-mail goes through a university
> account
> that limits attachments to 8 MB.)

Don't open the link in a browser. Instead, right-click and save the
linked document to your download folder. Then open the downloaded
file with your PDF reader.

I had no problem getting the PDF this way and it opened fine in xpdf.
--Judy M.
  USA


Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO

[scribus] List of words / references possible?

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

John J. wrote:
> I tried in both Firefox and Opera.
>
> After right-clicking on the link I am presented with the options:
>
> Open in a web browser
> Copy URL
>
> "Copy URL" is useless. "Open in a web browser" opens a page, which
> then
> announces "done." The page is blank and no download option appears.
>
> When I right click on the link I am not presented with any options
> other than the above. There is no option to save the link to disk.
>
> The filename is apparently tyro.pdf. I googled on that and found
> dozens
> of files named tyro.pdf, including "the first extraterrestrial pdf
> ebooks download."

This is very odd. When I right-click on the PDF file link, in Opera
10.63 my options are:
Open, Open in New Tab, Open in Background Tab, Open in New Window,
Open in Background Window, Bookmark Link, Copy Link Address, Save
Linked Content As, Save to Download Folder, Inspect Element. I have
found through the years that Save Linked Content As is the most
reliable way to get a PDF. Then you can open the file from your hard
drive with your PDF reader of choice.

In Firefox 3.6.11 my right-click options for a PDF link are Open
Link in New Window, Open Link in New Tab, Bookmark This Link, Save
Link As, Send Link, Copy Link Location. In Firefox I would use Save
Link As.

I'm using these browsers in VectorLinux 6 Soho Deluxe. I've never
seen a browser for Linux or Windows that did not have a Save As
option for a file you could download. If you're not seeing it, I
wonder if there is some security setting in your browser that is
blocking file downloads. I think Internet Explorer now by default
does not download files, but you can override this. I don't have
Windows open on any computer right now, so I can't check. But in
Linux, the right-click options in my Firefox and Opera are as I
listed above.

I don't know what operating system you're using. It it's Windows,
perhaps your antivirus or antimalware app is blocking download
options. Your Internet usage is severely limited if you can't
download files of your choosing, so you might want to look into this
and change it if you can.
--Judy M.
   USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO

[scribus] Font oddities

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

J.J. Jordan wrote:

> One odd thing is that all I have are .pfa files for these fonts. I
> thought Type 1 fonts came with a .pfb file (outlines) and a .pfm
> file
> (metrics). I don't know what a .pfa file is. I could Google on it,
> but
> it's late and I need to go to bed.

A .pfa file is a PostScript Type III font. Back when Adobe kept its
proprietary Type 1 font format specs tightly held, it also issued a
Type III specification. Other type foundries were limited to
producing Type III PostScript fonts. Type 1 is more efficient and
Type III fonts tend to be larger. Type III fonts cannot be hinted.
They can have decorative elements like shadings that Type 1 fonts
cannot. Once Adobe released the Type 1 standard, Type III fonts fell
out of favor.

A .pfm file is a Windows font metrics file. What are needed for Type
1 fonts are a .pfb (outlines) and an .afm file (metrics, glyph
names, kerning information). I don't know whether Linux uses a
Windows pfm file at all. I think Linux can fake an afm file, but for
the best quality you need the .afm that goes with the font.
--Judy M.
   USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO

[scribus] Scannig problem

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

If you're going to use SANE for your scanner, you first have to make
sure SANE recognizes your scanner. If your GUI front end doesn't see
the scanner, you have to find out whether SANE sees it. You do this
by typing as root at a terminal prompt:
sane-find-scanner

If your scanner doesn't appear there with the location where it's
found, you first need to get it recognized. Sometimes when
sane-find-scanner shows your scanner but the front end doesn't list
it, it's because the permissions for the scanner belong to root.
Change it to allow yourself or users in general to use the scanner.

Once again, you most likely need a driver from Canon for your
scanner. Many Canon scanners are not supported through SANE. All the
editing in the world won't help you until you install that driver.
Google to find it, download, install. Then you run CANON's CanoScan
program and you're in business.

All this assumes SANE doesn't support your scanner. Have you checked
at the SANE Web site to see the status of your scanner? They have a
lot of information about supported and unsupported scanners. And as
always, Google is your friend.
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO

[scribus] Scannig problem

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

I want to  encourage Ray to install the latest version of SANE and
its related programs available for his distro. I had a pleasant
surprise today when I installed the latest VectorLinux 6 SOHO Deluxe
on the computer to which my Canon Pixma MP160 is attached (USB).
When I  ran sane-find-scanner, I was surprised to see it listed and
scanimage -L revealed that it has a SANE backend. When I started
Skanlite, it came up with scanning options for the Pixma MP160. I
didn't have to install anything additional or anything from Canon.
Skanlite produced a very nice scan.

I don't know whether the latest SANE will support his scanner. It's
worth a look.

Unfortunately, SANE still does not come with a backend for my Epson
Perfection V500 scanner. I do have a driver for it and have been
successful in getting it to work, but it would be easier to have it
show up as an option in Skanlite.

Let us know when you get it working, Ray, and how you did it.
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO

[scribus] Single Fold Card

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Ken wrote:
>   I have been tasked to design a single fold card, a simple thank
> you,
> with a picture on the front and text inside, the type that might be
> set
> on a desk (somewhat like a pup tent). Is there a place to find a
> template or instruction to design this in Scribus. I'm a newbie to
> scribus, wanting to get away from Publisher.
> Thanks for any tips,

You don't need a template for this. If you want a card that stands
up like a pup tent, you want a landscape card. HOWEVER, you print on
a portrait paper.

First make a mockup. Take a sheet of paper, hold it in portrait
position, and fold in half horizontally. Scribble on the front of
the card and wrote "front." With the back of the card facing you,
write "back." Do not write anything upside down. Hold the card
folded with the front facing you. Open the paper and write "top" on
the top half and "message" on the bottom half. Do not write upside
down.

Now set up a two-page portrait document in Scribus. Drag a guide to
the horizontal middle of the document and the vertical middle. Using
your mockup as a guide, put the front illustration on the bottom
half of the first page. Put whatever you're putting on the back on
the top half. When you've put everything you want there, rotate the
whole top half 180 degrees, so it's upside down as you look at it.
On page 2 put the message on the bottom half. If you want something
on the top half of the inside page, put it there. Do not rotate
anything.

At this point you might want to make a PDF in Scribus and print from
the PDF.

Print page one first. After it  prints, put it back in the printer
to print the inside of the card. In most inkjets, you would put the
paper in with the front illustration on the bottom of the sheet as
you put it in the printer. (The illustration is actually the top of
the page, so it should go in the printer first.) Then print page 2, 
which is the inside of the card. Look at the card when it's entirely
printed and make sure things are in the right position. If the card
doesn't open with everything in the right place, make whatever
adjustments are needed so it prints all elements where they belong.

You can save your card as a template for future landscape cards
(folded in half with fold at the top).

Some hints:
* Use card stock for printing the card. You don't need to get
prefolded card paper.
* A bleed makes the card look professional. An 8-1/2" by 5-1/2" card
with a white border around the illustration and background risks
looking amateurish. Leave some space to trim when you set the size
of the card. If you're using a bleed and your front illustration has
a color background, bump it up very slightly past the horizontal
middle guide. That is so you do not have any white around the
illustration. Then trim the white edges around the illustration.
* The horizontal and vertical guides will help you center things.
Add more guides where they will help with alignment.

Confession: I find it a bit easier to use Inkscape for making cards,
though Scribus would be my second choice.
--Judy M.
  USA

Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO

[scribus] Scannig problem

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Ray wrote:

> Thanks for your reply Frank - BUT, as I said, my scanner is not
> recognised -
> in Ubuntu or in Mint - no lights, no noise, it's not recognised.

I have a Canon scanner that's part of my Canon MP160 all-in-one. It
works very well. However, Canon scanners are not well supported
through SANE. You can probably find a scanner driver FROM CANON that
will do the job. You may have to do some serious googling to find
where you can download this from. The site is not in North America;
it may be in Japan, but you can see the site in English. I'm not at
that computer, so I can't check for you. I installed the driver from
Canon and now the scanner works as well as it does in Windows--maybe
better.

As someone said, this is an Ubuntu issue, not a Scribus issue.
Actually, it's a Linux issue, as I suspect all distros would have
the same problem of not seeing the scanner until you install the
proprietary driver. I don't believe Scribus has an option to import
from a scanner. Gimp does, but it's available for only certain
scanners and I don't remember if Canon is one of them. It really
doesn't matter. Just use the scanner software to scan to a file and
then either edit the file in Gimp or put it into Scribus as scanned.
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO

[scribus] Fonts, worthy or not?

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

One point that hasn't been pointed out is that good hinting improves
appearance *at low resolutions*. Past 600 dpi for output, hinting
really doesn't figure in. Computer screens generally run at 72 or 96
dpi, rarely over 100-something. So hinting is important for text
that will be viewed onscreen. I suppose some people are still using
300 dpi printers to output text and hinting will help there, too.
But if your printer is 600 dpi or more, hinting doesn't much matter,
and for imagesetters, not at all.
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO

[scribus] Quotes.

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

> On 08/06/2011 07:23 PM, John Ghormley KJ4UFG wrote:
> ...
>> I suppose if you want quote marks that curve from the top in
>> toward the
>> quote on both ends there is more than one keystroke on each end
>> involved.  I
>> totally eschew those marks as tedious and a bit old fashioned, but
>> to each
>> his own.  Using them would slightly complicate the matter by
>> adding two more
>> keystrokes.
>
> Curly quotes are not 'old fashioned' at all. You see them rarely,
> but
> that's because dumb quotes (these: ' and ") are used instead of
> them.
> Dumb quotes are leftovers from typewriter technology, and they
> should
> NEVER be used in typeset documents. The problem is: before the
> digital
> revolution of the printing industry, people got properly trained how
> to
> typeset a document. Now anyone can produce something that looks like
> a
> typeset document. I had absolutely no training in typography, but
> when I
> set out to produce my own book for medical students, I quickly
> realized
> my deficiencies, so I took the time and studied several books about
> typography. If you do that, you get to know typographic tradition
> and
> you will be able to produce documents that look really professional.
> Of
> course you can break any of the typographical rules, if you want,
> but at
> least learn them! It sort of opens up your eyes: you will be able to
> tell, what's wrong with a document that doesn't look right. My
> suggestion is to everyone, who regularly uses Scribus to read a good
> book like: The elements of typographic style by Robert Bringhurst.
>
>   Yours: Laszlo

I heartily agree with Laszlo.

This may sound a bit mean, but when I see typeset text with
typewriter quotes where curly quotes should be used, I immediately
identify the author or typesetter as a typographic idiot. If you're
going to use real type, USE IT RIGHT!

Curly quotes can be beautiful. They match the font, whereas
typewriter quotes don't.

Failure to use proper quotes is another example of how our culture
is becoming lazier and more careless. The attitute is spelling? Why
bother? They know what you mean. Grammar? Elitist.

There is enough ugliness in the world. Your typesetting doesn't have
to add to it.
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 7 Standard, Release Candidate 2

[scribus] Overcrowded icon bars.

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

a.l.e wrote:
> and, imo, 1920 x 1080 is somehow insane... but, well, maybe i'm just
> jealous.

1920x1080 has been around for a while and is not at all insane. More
screen real estate is highly desirable. It's also a good size for
watching video.

One thing people must consider when they buy a high-resolution
monitor is the physical size of the monitor. You absolutely MUST
have a physically large monitor if you want high res. I wouldn't get
less than a 27" monitor if I wanted 1920x1080. It seems they sell a
lot of them at 23". Unless you have awfully good eyes, that's too
small.

Higher res monitors have smaller type and icons unless the monitors
are physically large enough. There are often ways to make the type
and icons larger, but not everywhere and for all applications.

If you've already bought the monitor and icons look too small and
can't be made larger, it's too late. But if you're considering
buying a high-res monitor, make sure it is physically large enough.
--Judy M.
  USA


Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 7 Standard, Release Candidate 2

[scribus] Overcrowded icon bars.

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Alexandre P. wrote
>  wrote:
>
>> I do not find in my vs 1.4.0rc2 Preferences, General any reference
>> to large
>> or small icons.
>
> It's a checkbox that says something like "Compact UI" (can't
> remember
> exactly, running localized UI here).

What I see is "Use Small widgets in Palettes." However, that just
makes the type and icons smaller in palettes but the icons in the
icon bar stay the same size.
--Judy M.
  USA


Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 7 Standard, Release Candidate 2

[scribus] Overcrowded icon bars.

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

John C. wrote;
> Not familiar with the features of Win 7, but for my eye comfort on
> all apps I run 1024x768 on a 1920x1080 screen via the program:
> xrandr
>

Aha! That explains your oft-mentioned problems with icon bars. Since
lcd monitors really want to run at their native resolution, you are
probably not getting the best picture quality, either. 1024x768 is
my 15" laptop's resolution. Using Scribus is painful on that machine
and so are a number of other programs because there is not enough
screen real estate.

You earn a living with DTP. Why not invest in a 27" widescreen
monitor and run it at its native resolution?
--Judy M.
  USA


Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 7 Standard, Release Candidate 2

[scribus] Overcrowded icon bars.

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

John C. wrote:
> Well I just invested in an Acer with about 21.5 in true diagonal so
> I
> am not in the mood to upgrade. I just got rid of my Sony 24" CRT.
> Now
> that was a jewel, but a 50 lb  plus monster.

27" is true diagonal. It's quite a bit bigger than 21.5. I
understand your reluctance but your monitor is simply too small
physically for 1920x1080. I wish the monitor makers were more
upfront about this.

> BTW the Vector miling list had nothing but spam on it so I
> unsubscribed. I thought the distro was dead.

I didn't even know we had a mailing list! A forum is the main means
of user support: http://forum.vectorlinux.com. It's very friendly
and helpful. VectorLinux is far from dead. We're currently testing
Release Candidate 2 for VL7 Standard. Once that goes gold we'll be
working on VL7 Light. I'm an active tester.  It never lets up. It
seems I never got much of a chance to enjoy a gold release, as
before I know it we're on to the next version.
--Judy M.
  USA


Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 7 Standard, Release Candidate 2

[scribus] Need Arial, Times New Roman Font "equivalents"

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

John C wrote:
> Well it is a very handsome site (much better looking than mine) but
> like any site it can be improved. It does not appear that Scribus
> was
> used. The PDF file was put together with Photoshop and not Scribus.
> IMO Scribus would set up the text better, given a fighting chance.
>
> Your html pages and their pdf version show that a lot of work went
> into them. But they can be improved with a little attention to the
> typography, including font selection. And if you use actual text
> instead of images on your html pages your SEO will be improved.
> First
> people need to find your pages, then you can impress them with the
> content.
>
> I note that in both versions the paragraphs are seriously gap
> toothed.
> Hyphenation is badly needed. Scribus can do an acceptable job of
> hyphenation if you turn it on. Otherwise use ragged right.  I would
> suggest a serif face rather than non-serif. But whatever the
> typeface
> the questions of rivers of type  and gap toothed lines need to be
> addressed.
>
> On the html pages where presumably you used Verdana bold a bit
> lighter
> serif face would do better. Georgia (a Microsoft face) is designed
> specifically for online viewing.   In the paragraph titled
> "Efficient"
> the last four lines have a "river" of white space where the words
> "processes" "seconds." "browse" and "source" end. The gaps after
> these
> words all line up, but some are wider than the others. Again
> hyphenation will improve the situation. Some people shy away from
> hyphenation but any professionally laid out document will use it
> where
> justification is in force. In my test document referenced below some
> of
> the text is set ragged right and some is set justified with
> hyphenation. The Scribus examples are on page 11 and 17.
>
> http://wexfordpress.com/tex/compare2.pdf
>
> In short the problems I find with your site are not just the use of
> a
> sans-serif font like Verdana.  The justification of the text is a
> much
> more serious problem. And on the pdf version at least I would have
> used Scribus plus a nice serif font, and hyphenation.
>
> On the html version I would consider using some "real" text
> somewhere
> on the pages as well as tags etc. to give your offerings a chance
> for
> some search engine rankings.  Right now the Alexa rank is not bad
> (1,641,359) but the Google rank is nonexistent. My much cruder page
>
> http://wexfordpress.com
>
> is no thing of beauty but it gets a Google rank of 4. And if you use
> the two search terms "typesetting" and "indexing" together in a
> Google
> search it comes up first. Try it and see.

Note that he said it's not his site. So suggesting Scribus should
have been used is pointless.

There is no "html version." The brochure itself is done in Flash,
with HTML just in the parts before and after the Flash is invoked.
Scribus does not create Flash documents, to my knowledge.

I agree that justified text without hyphenation will almost
inevitably result in irregular spacing in lines as well as rivers. I
do not agree that the page should have used a serif font. It really
doesn't matter. Please don't repeat the conventional but unproven
assertion that "serif is better for text, sans serif for headings"
as some sort of dogma. The studies that are cited to support this
assertion can be, and have been, severely criticized. Other studies
have shown that the type that's easiest to read depends on what the
reader is used to. In some parts of the world, sans type is more
commonly used than serif for text. It's also not necessary to use
roman for text, bold for headings. You can make a perfectly lovely
page using one font with or without boldface.

Verdana is an excellent sans font that was designed with reading in
a browser in mind. Both Verdana and Georgia (serif) were designed by
Matthew Carter, one of the world's leading type designers. Of
course, if Verdana were as ubiquitous as Arial, we'd be tired of it,
too.
--Judy M.
   USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO

[scribus] Using BBS instead

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Some of the posts on this topic seem to come from a world different
from the one I'm living in. I started participating in mailing
lists, forums, and newsgroups in 1993. I gave up on newsgroups after
a few years because of the very unfavorable signal-to-noise ratio.
Way too many ads, spams, and off-topic or profane messages. Maybe
things have improved.

I currently participate in several forums and they don't bear much
resemblance to what people are complaining about here. Of course,
they're not focused on celebrity gossip, shopping coupons, or the
National (American) Football League, so that might have something to
do with it. The best of all my forums is the VectorLinux user
support forum, where people are friendly, helpful, and focused on
the topics. No spam or advertising is permitted and since you have
to sign up in order to post a message, any spam that does get
through is promptly removed and the poster is kept out. Unlike the
Ubuntu forums, we don't have so much activity that it overwhelms
someone looking for a solution to a problem. The interface is easy
to use. I've never experienced a forum that wasn't, though some are
better than others.

A con against a forum might be that it's harder to save messages
than it is in an e-mail program, where you can just file them away
to a mailbox. But a pro for a forum is that the messages remain
there for a long time, maybe even "forever." With e-mail, they
vanish unless you can locate the archives and go through a very
painful search. When a forum's search engine leaves something to be
desired, you should try Google instead. Limit the search to the
forum's URL and you'll probably get much better results than you do
with the forum's search engine.

I don't understand someone's need to keep refreshing the forum. Most
of the forums in which I've participated have a "show new messages"
option. Just click on that and there they are. You can also click on
"mark all messages as read" if you don't want to see the whole list
every time.

I never bother with those notification options, RSS feeds, and such.
Someone couldn't remember to go back to the forum where he posted a
message yet kept searching the Internet for answers. What's up with
that We do have some responsibility to manage our own quest for
knowledge. I also highly recommend looking through ALL the messages
rather than focusing on yours and omitting anything else. If the
topic is something of interest, be it Scribus or computer hardware,
you can't tell what might be valuable to you, especially when you're
a beginner. I learned how to build computers through reading all
messages in CompuServe's PC Hardware Forum. I never asked "how do
you build a computer," but through years of reading about
motherboards, memory types, printers, monitors, video cards, and on
and on I learned what the issues are and also where to go for
practical, step-by-step instructions. I really don't like a hit and
run approach to dealing with just *your* problem, but if you do want
to hit and run, do what you want but it's your loss.

Mail list or forum, it doesn't matter to me. As long as we can keep
spammers and obnoxious posters out of a forum, that's fine. So is
keeping the mailing list "as is." What I think would be a very bad
idea would be having both. Then we'd have to check BOTH to make sure
we didn't miss something.
--Judy M.
   USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO

[scribus] Cant use subscript in story editor in 1.3.9

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Julian wrote:
> I'm trying to add a subscript ie h2 (ie where the two is the
> subscript)
> in the story editor, but Scribus just shows it as h2 there.
> Subsequently, the canvas shows h2 too.
>
> I'm running 1.3.9 on Ubuntu 10.10 from malex's repo (64 bit)

It's working fine for me with 1.3.9 on VectorLinux 7 alpha4. Have
you checked Preferences, Typography, Subscript, Displacement and
Scaling to make sure the settings somehow got changed to 100%? Check
the same things in Document Setup.
--Judy M.
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO

[scribus] Spell check

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

John JJ wrote:
> Thanks. That is the bit I was missing. The default installation of
> Fedora 14 x86_64 installed aspell, but curiously did not install any
> dictionaries. After installing aspell-en I now have the spell
> checker
> at the bottom of the list in the Item button.
>
> However, it doesn't seem to work. The choice is grayed out when you
> are
> actually editing text in canvas view, and is not available at all in
> the story editor. The only time it can be selected is when the text
> frame is selected, but not in edit mode. And then the spell checker
> finds nothing wrong, even when I deliberately made some misspelled
> words in the frame.

That's the way it works (not) in my VectorLinux 7 alpha 4 with
Scribus 1.3 9. I have aspell and the English dictionary. I get a
spellcheck option under Item. However, when it does run, the dialog
box appears but there's nothing in the "word not in dictionary" box
and no alternate choices listed. So it's totally useless for spell
checking because I can't see what it thinks is wrong. I've
deliberately put misspelled words in the text but have no idea if
they were picked up. I also can't get the Item-spellcheck option
unless I select the text frame but not in Edit mode.

Seems broken to me.
--Judy M.
   USA

Registered Linux User #397786
Being productive with VectorLinux 6.0 SOHO

[Scribus] Scribus Digest, Vol 44, Issue 2

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

James G. wrote:
> I find that, at least here in the U.S., most people's eyes just sort
> of glaze over when you say Desktop Publishing. However, if you say,
> "It works like 'Printmaster' or 'The Print Shop'," lightbulbs light
> up. For those who have never heard of either of these, they are very
> much like a real DTP software package, except that they focus on
> templates and drop-in-place graphics, and are geared to produce a
> final document ready to print out and take to your next church
> function, as opposed to one you might have professionally printed.

Sorry, I don't think PrintMaster or PrintShop are anything at all
like a real DTP package. They are "consumer graphics" programs aimed
at home users who want to make greeting cards, posters, calendars,
banners, labels, recipe cards, simple newsletters, scrapbook pages,
and other graphics projects. They do not offer much control over
type. They don't handle large amounts of text. You write text in the
program. They are good for what they do, but in no way do they
approach even a Microsoft Publisher level.

I don't think Scribus should attempt to duplicate consumer graphics
programs or appeal to users of consumer graphics programs. It's not
the tool a consumer graphics user wants for posters and greeting
cards.

I'm also not fond of template collections. High-level DTP involves
much more than picking out a template and dropping in your own text
and graphics.
--Judy Miner

Registered Linux User #397786

[Scribus] newsletter setup

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Herb wrote:
> Some day
> Scribus will
> have all (or most) of the features we all want and need (booklet
> printing,
> print to file, save as PS not EPS, etc ) Until then I'll use what I
> have.

To print to file, you should be able to go to the Windows Printer
and Fax control panel, right-click on the printer of choice, and
change the port to Print to File. I've never heard of Print to File
not being available if you select Print to File as your port.

I'm writing this in Linux, not Windows, so I can't check to make
sure I have all the terminology exact. But I do know that's what you
do to make sure Print to File is an option. When you hit the Print
command, you'll be asked for a file name. If you're using a
PostScript printer driver for printing to file, you'll get a PS
file, not an EPS. You don't need an actual PostScript printer, just
a PostScript printer driver.

One inexpensive program that can impose pages is ClickBook from
BlueSquirrel.com. I've used the program happily for years to make
booklets. I haven't sent them for commercial printing, however, nor
printed on 11x17 paper. They offer a free download for trying out
the product, so you can find out if it does what you want before you
plunk down your money.

Another program many people like is FinePrint. I haven't tried it.
It, along with other PDF-related products, is here:
http://www.fineprint.com/

One trick with ClickBook is that you should set up your pages at the
size you want the finished booklet's pages to be and select No
Scaling in ClickBook's options. In the past, some programs didn't
work very well with No Scaling. I don't know if that's the case with
the current version. I was fortunate in that the program I used it
with for serious booklet making worked perfectly with ClickBook.
It's also great when you want to print odds and evens from an
application that doesn't offer that option.
--Judy Miner

Registered Linux User #397786

[Scribus] Off Subject XaraExtreme

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Roger wrote:
> I obtained Xara Extreme and successfully (I think) installed it into
> Linux FC4,
>
> It is in the menu and the Icon is visible however it does not start,
> nothing happens. am I missing something or have I done something
> wrong
> in th install..

Did you try starting xaralx from the command line in a terminal?
Usually you'll get messages about something missing if it won't
start. Then you can find and install whatever it needs that you
don't have.
--Judy Miner

Registered Linux User #397786

[Scribus] Font isue

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Nigel wrote:
> Where can I get a [free] copy of helvetica that will work with
> Scribus?
> I'm running Kubuntu edgy.
> Is verdana just as good?

Helvetica is a trademarked font owned by Linotype. You can't legally
download Helvetica for free anywhere. You have to buy it from
Linotype or a dealer legally selling it. Helvetica is built into all
PostScript printers. It used to be available only as a PostScript
Type 1 font, but I see that Linotype now has a TrueType version and
there are OpenType versions for many individual members of the
Helvetica family.

Due to US law that doesn't allow a font's design to be copyrighted,
there are numerous clones and knockoffs of Helvetica. Some are good
quality, many are not. A legal clone is produced by printing the
font's characters at a large size, scanning them, and tracing with a
program such as Fontographer. Hints and kerning would have to be
added; they cannot legally be copied from the font that was scanned
because they are considered part of the computer *program*, not the
font design, and thus are subject to copyright. If a cloner would
bother at all with hinting and kerning, it would probably be done
automatically and thus the quality would not be as good as what
you'd get with careful manual hinting and kerning.

Many of the Helvetica-inspired fonts like Arial differ in details,
subtle and not subtle, from Helvetica, and thus are not clones. Most
readers would never notice. Remember that most readers can barely
distinguish a serif font from a sans serif--if that.

Type mavens generally avoid Helvetica--and Arial and Times Roman or
Times New Roman--because they are so overused. However, some
well-known logos use Helvetica, and if a company's style sheet
demands it, you have no choice.

Arial uses the same metrics as Helvetica, so substituting Arial for
Helvetica should not result in page reflows. That depends to some
extent on the output device, however. With clones and knockoffs, all
bets are off.

Verdana is quite different from Helvetica. It was designed by
Matthew Carter specifically for screen display and is open and
spacious in appearance. It is available only in TrueType. For
printed text, you usually want something less spacious and open,
though most readers probably wouldn't notice. Verdana is owned by
Microsoft and is included with Windows and other Microsoft software.
At one time Microsoft offered Verdana for free download but no
longer does. It seems it can still be freely offered under the terms
of the original license. It is, however, a proprietary font.
--Judy Miner
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786

[Scribus] Font - oops

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Roger wrote:
> My apologies, I thought verdana was with Openoffice and free.
> I'll explore the urw fonts more thoroughly.

The Vera family comes with OpenOffice. So you were close as far as
the name is concerned. The Vera family is produced by Bitstream and
is free of charge. I don't know if it's open source, however.
--Judy Miner
  USA


Registered Linux User #397786

[Scribus] Font isue

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Nigel wrote:
> Since I am new to this whole area of print publishing, rather than
> web publishing,
> which [free] fonts work well on paper? - I mean normal/standard
> ones.

I am sorry for not replying sooner.

I've never used a free font for print publishing, so I'm not the one
to ask. I've heard that the Bitstream Vera family, the DejaVu
family, and the Gentium family are well made. Vera and DejaVu come
with many Linux distributions and Gentium can be downloaded from

. 

You can download Bitstream Vera here:
http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/GNOME/sources/ttf-bitstream-vera/1.10/

Download DejaVu here:


--Judy Miner
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786

[Scribus] *ubuntu Feisty and Acroread

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Nigel wrote:P
> I just installed Kubuntu feisty on my laptop and acroread is now no
> longer
> available because of licensing problems - any one care to shed some
> light on this?
>
> Is KPDF just as good now - does it have all that is needed for use
> with Scribus?

Can't you simply go to
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
and download Adobe Reader for Linux? Get the .tar.gz version, expand
it, and as root run the install script. Simplicity itself!

Nobody needs a distro-specific package for this.
--Judy Miner
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786

[Scribus] 1.3.4CVS in Feisty Scribus NG??

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Alex wrote:
> Yes. I heard of a condition called upgraditis, too. To each its own
> I suppose
> - some people can't sleep unless they stay on the bleeding edge and
> bandage
> their hands every so often and others would rather have their system
> uncluttered and working properly, so they could do the work they
> enjoy instead
> of compiling and doing system administration.

How is compiling your own more indicative of upgraditis than waiting
for someone else to compile a package from the very same source
code? Users of a non-corporate Linux system are by necessity system
administrators. Being able to compile a program is a basic skill for
using Linux. Yes, you can get by without it, but you do pay a price
in being dependent on others to provide what you want.

> Both types are fine by
> me,
> though my efforts are mostly supporting the latter group, of course.

They're fine by me, too. There is room for all types of users within
Linux.
--Judy Miner
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786

[Scribus] font search

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Martin wrote:
> I have a logo which uses a certain font. I don't know the font name,
> just have
> the sample from the graphic. Is there a way to find similar fonts on
> the
> internet without digging into font sites for hours and hours?

If you'd like some real humans to help identify a font, go to
http://www.desktoppublishingforum.com ,
sign up so you can post a message in the discussion forum, and
include a scan of the font in question as an attachment to your
message. You don't need a separate Web site where you store the
graphic.

There are some true font experts in the forum and they'll do their
best to identify the font.
--Judy Miner
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786

[Scribus] 3 fold printing

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Allan wrote:
>>>I had the same problem, so I created the Flyer on the Paper-Format
>>> on wich
>>>it is printed (A4) and created 3 Text-Frames on the page with no
>>> flow
>>>text, to control the lower parts of every collum.
> I think it is always better to beginn with the print-size of the
> paper..
>
> This is what I resorted to...it is weird though to have that option
> on the
> page set ups and not have it available for printing.
>
>
> BTW>>>Windows XP Pro user here...

Well, it's not really weird within the context of what Scribus can
do. If you set your page size to whatever a panel is and then want
the panels printed on a different-sized paper in a certain order,
you're actually *imposing* the pages. Scribus does not now have the
capability of imposing pages. Alternative methods of doing this have
been discussed on this list many times and are in the wiki also.

I always design three-panel leaflets so they all fit on whatever
size paper they'll be printed on--in the US, generally letter size
(8-1/2 inches by 11 inches landscape). I make a mockup of the
leaflet as I want it to be when printed in order to be sure of what
panel goes where on the single sheet of paper. There are different
ways of folding and the placement of some panels depends on how
you're going to fold the leaflet.

By the way, I use both Linux and Windows. I think Linux is a lot
more fun, but I don't really have a bias either way.
--Judy Miner

Registered Linux User #397786

[Scribus] Printing

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Roger wrote:
> Windows refuses to print with my S520 because the color cartriges
> are empty and have been so for 2
> years.
> Windows used all my color while printing greyscale images 

Generally, inkjet printers print grayscale by using equal amounts of
cyan, magenta, and yellow ink. Black is usually not used at all.
Some printer drivers give you the option of printing images in black
and they won't use the three colors for that. Grays produced by
equal amounts of three inks are generally richer and more pleasing
than grays produced by black ink alone, but it may depend on the
printer and the paper. Experiment!

> frankly I wouldn't trust the
> windows warning signals or the cannon driver.

For most printers, indications of how much ink remains are a
software estimate, not an actual measurement. They can be way off.
Cartridges need to be replaced when they no longer give good results
or a color is obviously missing no matter what the onscreen
indicators say.

> Linux prints greyscale no problem and If I had color would print
> that but not soak the page as
> windows does.

A lot depends on what paper you're using. If you're soaking the page
in Windows, you need to select a different paper type or adjust how
much ink is laid down in whatever way the printer driver allows.

Some Linux drivers are very good, some are horrible.
--Judy Miner

Registered Linux User #397786

[Scribus] Cant embed Arial Regular font in PDF

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

> Julian Robbins wrote:
> Sorry for replying to my own post, but I've discovered that even
> with a
> completely new document, and just adding one line of Arial text, I
> still
> haven't got the ability to embed the font in the PDF (only subset)
> if
> formatted with Arial regular.
>
> Why ?? If I change it to another font, its fine ..

I'm no expert, but I do know that TrueType fonts have something
built in that allows or doesn't allow them to be embedded in a
document. Most likely, Arial does not allow embedding. The fonts
that work do allow embedding.
--Judy Miner
  Vermont, USA

Registered Linux User #397786

[Scribus] Cant embed Arial Regular font in PDF

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Jon wrote:
> All "modern" commercial Fonts got embed or not embed (subset) bits.
> Arial is a free font, freely available, so it should allow embedding
> by
> 100%.

I happened to remember that I have at least two Windows programs
that can look inside the font for its level of allowing embedding,
so I started my Linux QEMU virtual machine running Windows 95. Both
FontMonger and the MST TrueType File Properties utility show that
embedding is fully allowed for Arial.

So yes, Arial allows embedding 100%. I don't know why it won't embed
for you.
--Judy Miner
  Vermont, USA

Registered Linux User #397786

[Scribus] Copy and paste

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

rcook wrote:
> This is what I do on my 32 bit Ubuntu Feisty with Gnome
>
> Select by highlighting the application text
> Use that application's Edit->Copy
> Go to the Scribus text editor
> Scribus Text editor Edit->Paste
>
> Works every time.
>
> What doesn't work, but did on KDE (I think) was to simply highlight
> the
> selected text and click paste into the editor

It does work if you paste into the editor by hitting the middle
mouse button. That's a Linux function sometimes called "pick up and
paste": swipe the mouse over text to highlight it, then go to the
place you want to paste and hit the middle mouse button. If you
don't have a mouse with a middle button or scroll wheel, you can hit
the left and right mouse buttons together to paste.

Generally, selecting Paste does not paste what you copied solely by
highlighting. You need to use a Copy command in order to get such
highlighted material into the X or window manager's clipboard so it
can be pasted through a Paste command.
--Judy Miner
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786

[Scribus] Pre-use question about Scribus and a certain PNG image

[jwmi...@accessvt.com]

Christoph wrote:
> The resolution of the image is too low for printing, only 72 dpi.
> You need at
> least 200 dpi, better 300 dpi. The reason it looks worse in full
> resolution
> is that its "flaws" become obvious.

Whoa! There is no such thing as absolute "72 dpi resolution."
Resolution is the pixel count divided by the output size. The pixel
count of the image is 2235 pixels wide by 501 pixels high. Dividing
501 by 1.9 inches (the height of the frame) gives a resolution of
263 dpi--well over your recommended 200 dpi. The frame I tried it in
is 7.5 inches wide. 2235 pixels divided by 7.5 gives a resolution of
298 dpi. So the resolution is NOT too low for printing. Well, on
what is essentially line art, a resolution of 600 dpi to match the
laser printer would be better (assuming it's a 600 dpi printer).
Line art looks best if the dpi matches the resolution of the output
device.

So why is the resolution given as 72 dpi when you open the image in
an editor like the Gimp or Photoshop? It's because the image doesn't
include desired dimension, just pixels. In that case image editors
assume a conventional resolution of 72 dpi for screen output. Look
at the assumed size in inches of the image: approximately 31 inches
by about 7 inches! If you up the resolution to 300 dpi *without*
interpolation (in other words, keep the same file size), the
dimensions are now 7.45 inches by 1.67 inches. You have not in any
way changed the picture; you have simply given it smaller dimensions
than it had at 72 dpi. Therefore, the pixels are smaller and the
picture looks better.

I'm surprised that this fact was missed on a DTP list. Dpi in itself
means nothing unless you know the dimensions of the image. Pixel
count is everything.
--Judy Miner
  USA

Registered Linux User #397786