Basic Concepts
From Scribus Documentation Project
Contents |
Metaphors in Desktop Publishing
Many computer programs are digital versions of real world tools. For instance, a word processor is the digital metaphor of a typewriter, and a presentation program is the metaphor of the way transparent plastic slides used to be produced. Even if computer technology may offer more intelligent ways to solve problems, it makes sense for software manufacturers to use familiar terms and familiar-appearing screen features when they design user interfaces. A good example is the use of tabulators. The easiest way to create a table with a typewriter was the use of tabulator stops. Nowadays, each word processor can create tables, yet the tabulators are still there. In Desktop Publishing software the metaphors are even more pervasive than in many other programs.
Page-Based Layout
The most obvious metaphor in a page layout program is the page itself. Since a text file generated by computers may not ever be printed, pages don't exist in text editors. In contrast, word processors generate files designed to be printed out, so virtual pages are created by the software and added automatically, which is more or less the same as inserting a new sheet in a typewriter. Conceptually, the number of pages expands (length, formatting) to fit the amount of text.
In a DTP program, each page exists individually, since layout designers are accustomed to working this way – it's the equivalent of a blank sheet on a table. One may certainly plan a design having multiple pages, but nonetheless the planning is considered page by page. Content has to be added and placed with a particular purpose in mind, therefore it generally won't work automatically, even if there are some repetitive or recurrent elements. Moreover, the digital metaphor of the table is the Scratch Space around a page, which means you can drag content off the page for later use, just as you could do with snippets on a paper sheet.
Frames
To place content on a page, DTP programs like Scribus use another digital version of a very old concept. In letterpress printing typesetters used a tool called composing stick to create a text by assembling movable types. The composing stick was a metallic frame, and therefore, content in a page layout program is inserted into frames. With software, frames can also contain images.
Compared to traditional page layout, the possibilities to work with frames in DTP software are quite sophisticated and allow for more creativity, as you will learn later on. Frames can be inserted, resized and moved around, and even the type of content can be changed. Here, the difference from a word processor or an image editing program becomes more obvious.
Levels and Layers
If you add images and text to a real sheet, you do it sequentially, and if you place an object on top of another, the objects have a stacking order. Levels and Layers in Scribus are the metaphors of this stacking process in real world documents. Moreover, just as you can use a transparency film for some of these objects and cover the original sheet with the film, Scribus can use variably transparent objects in Levels and Layers. Something opaque on that film blocks the view underneath, and this happens also with Scribus.
In Desktop Publishing and drawing programs, Levels and Layers allow for this layering process, and with added flexibility.
Level means that each item that is added to a document is automatically placed at the top of the stacking order of all existing objects. It doesn't matter whether the item is actually placed above another one. The stacking order is always a sequence, and the object, which has been created or imported lastly is always on top of the other ones. One of the advantages of DTP software, compared to physical design, is that the order can be changed easily.
A Layer in Scribus is an entire collection of objects on Levels that can be moved as a unit above or below other Layers. Although it might at first seem superfluous to have both processes, as one begins to divide a project into collections of objects or perhaps makes different versions of the same document, you realise you can have all of this in one single Scribus file, then for different versions have certain Layers visible or invisible, print or not print, creating a whole family of PDFs. See the section Layers for more details.
Some Basic Concepts
In Scribus most operation modes are quite streamlined, ie. they can be applied to almost every item on a page, and sometimes even to a page itself. Below you get to know some of those basic concepts.
The Context Menu
If you are used to OpenOffice.org/StarOffice or any other word processor, you probably already know how useful a right click with the mouse can be, as many sensible options related to certain types of content are easily available – without having to leave the canvas and using the menus instead. This kind of menu is called a Context Menu. In Scribus, the options of the Context Menu are more extensive than in many other programs.
The Properties Palette
The Properties Palette is a kind of "command centre" in Scribus. It's a dialog, with which you can change almost every aspect of a selected item. You can open it via Windows > Properties or by pressing the F2 key. To work with Scribus, the use of the Properties Palette is essential. See Working With Frames for a detailed description.
Styles
Styles are an incredible facility that can really speed up workflow – every Scribus user is advised to learn about them. Although word processors like Word or OpenOffice.org/StarOffice provide Styles, they are rarely used. A Style is a set of properties that are given a name (that's why the term "Named Styles" is widely used), and can be applied to any appropriate object. In Scribus 1.3.3.x there are two or three styles, depending on your point of view: Paragraph Styles and Line Styles are definitely Styles in the aforementioned sense, but Colours can also be regarded as Styles, because when the properties of a colour (values, colour space) are changed in the Colours dialog, they will change for all items which use that colour. For more information about Styles and Colours, see Working With Styles and Colors and Gradients.
Configuration
DTP programs need to be highly configurable, and Scribus is no different – in fact it's probably one of the most configurable layout programs out there. This can be confusing and even a bit daunting for beginners, but advanced users do appreciate the opportunity to adjust the software to their various needs. Therefore, it's recommended, that even beginners have a look at Preferences and Document Setup.
Shortcuts
Users of programs like Photoshop and programmers who use Emacs or vi(m) share one experience: Using the keyboard allows for more working speed than using the mouse – and it might even be better for your health. For this reason, most actions in Scribus can be attached to a keyboard shortcut. These shortcuts are freely configurable, so that you can adjust them to your needs. Be careful as you choose, though, to avoid clashes between the default shortcuts of your operating system or your desktop environment and your personal Scribus shortcuts. For more information, see Preferences and Document Setup.
Open File Formats
Scribus is an Open Source program, which means the source code is open. In fact, it's not just the source code that's open, but also the file format. The file format of Scribus 1.3.3.x is based on XML, which means that *.sla files can be opened in a text editor without any issues, and they can also be edited that way. The current 1.3.3.x format is documented below.
Apart from using an open file format internally, Scribus also relies on other publicly documented and open file types. Among them are HTML, SVG, OpenDocument, PostScript and PDF.
Scribus also supports some closed formats, like Microsoft Word files or Photoshop's PSD files, but support is limited to publicly available documentation.
While the support of these commonly used but non-public formats can be useful in certain circumstances, Scribus favours open and documented standards and also encourages their use whenever possible.
The Concept of Workflow
"Workflow", used in connection with a production/printing process, has a very special meaning. In many cases (and especially in corporate environments), people trust a word processor to create text and layout at the same time, and there has to be a high level of trust considering the limited flexibility you have with these programs. The insanity of this approach is apparent in the kinds of results you often see.
A well-designed workflow can help to prevent the usual corporate mis-steps. The fundamental rule is this: Use the right tool for the job. Word processing programs are great for editing text, doing spell-checking, and applying some basic formatting. This is fine for writing letters and other simple text documents, but let's be explicit and emphatic – word processors are not the appropriate tools to prepare something for serious, professional printing. The same goes for image editing software or vector drawing programs – both can do some limited layout work, but their purpose and point-of-view are different.
If you want to work seriously, you should use a layout program like Scribus to assemble the parts and pieces produced by specialised programs – and "assemble" is the key word here. A DTP program is the equivalent of a final assembly in an industrial process. All of the creative work done by others is going to be assembled in one piece here. The major and only difference from a factory, and really where much of the satisfaction comes from, is that the way the pieces get assembled allows for creativity and aesthetics.
That being said, the best workflow is to keep creative processes apart. Authors should write their text in a text editor or a word processor, photographers and image editors should finish their work before submitting it to a project, and the same goes for artists. Even if you are the author, the image editor, and the artist all rolled into one, you will do your best work by focusing on each ingredient of the layout as an individual piece. The final step will be the assembly of the different pieces of work in a DTP program like Scribus, where you can then produce a print-ready PDF or PostScript file.

