“Quark In Thirty - Quick And Dirty” [Notes On David Blatner's Real World Quark Express-7 Text Chapter 1]

File and new and project gets you up and running, folks;
Name your opening layout, choosing “print” for books of jokes;
Size of page, no facing pages, do not auto box;
Point five margins, one inch gutter, columns two, that’s lots.

Back to center is so easy any time you wish –
Control – zero, there you have centered with a swish;
Tools and measures, layout palette, there right from the start;
Tools have fly-outs with sub-items – working’s now a lark.

Measurements are all dynamic, changing for each tool
As with what you have selected, tabs above are cool;
Lots of zooming-tools make viewing easy-peasy, then,
Control-zero brings you back to centered once again.

Bottom left you enter numbers, click there if you want –
Page, percent of size selected, for precise amount;
Add another page – just drag it on the panel form
To delete it, highlight, click on trash – but do be warned –

This can’t be undone so careful be with clicking trash;
Drag it ’round to right position, lines up pretty fast;
Choose a page and drag some guidelines from two rulers there;
Click-release them in position, save it all with care.

Think about where best to save it, Documents is fine;
Write it down or you’ll forget it – saves a lot of time;
“Save as” cleans out far more garbage built up as you work
Saves are good for quick and dirty – errors there can lurk.

Tool with “T” (for text) makes boxes, make one on the left;
Then another just beneath it, snap to guides is best;
Right-click, duplicate, and move it to the right hand side;
Leave a space between left boxes, where a pix will slide.

Import text to play around with longer than first box;
Little icon on the right side (red) shows there’s still lots
To go into box below it – chain-link is in tools;
Click box one, then link, box two, so text is in two pools.

Do the same to flow into the third box on the right;
Change the box-size if it’s needed (warning’s out of sight);
Text that flows this way adjusts as formatting occurs;
Slap some headings at the top, and author’s name (or yours).

Highlight text and Measures changes – tools arrayed for text;
Choose the font and point size wanted, see your needs addressed;
Justify the way you want it, tweak the leading too;
Columns added to a text box, number’s up to you.

Put a picture box on left side just below first box;
Import picture, move it ’round with tools ’till what you’ve got
Is composed within the frame, adjusted ’till it’s swell;
Control-shift-M will center picture in the frame as well.

Text will flow around a picture, or the box it’s in;
Space adjusts around its margins – varies thick to thin;
Pictures (graphics) can resize and tilt if that looks best;
Add some color to the background for a little zest.

Tone down color by adjusting its opacity;
Color panel gives more options, as we’ll later see;
Put drop shadows on the boxes or a heading’s words,
Then adjust its angle, brightness, so it’s not absurd.

On the front piece put a half-frame (line above, below);
Drop a logo (or your mug shot) in a box to show;
It’s your work, or operation, fancy up those lines –
Thick to inside thin to outside makes it look just fine.

Print result out on your desktop, or go PDF
To some print shop; you are finished, course there’s more, and yet
That’s the basics, all the rest builds up from this small piece;
“Usage” button gives a checklist ’fore it’s all released.

Pretty simple, Lord – compared it to another tool;
Got confused as formats varied, thought – “Don’t be a fool;
Just learn one, and leave the other ’till a later date;
It will be there when I need it – learning it can wait.”

Thanks Lord for this.

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