Managing and Laying Out Pages

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Desktop Publishing is all about creating and laying out pages, which means you need to have full control over the pages in a document. This comes at a price users have to pay when they need more pages than expected. In contrast to word processors, a DTP program won't add pages automatically. You have to do this yourself. The same goes for unneeded pages: they won't just disappear automagically – it's up to you to delete them. On the other hand this means you have the desired control over your document. Scribus offers all the required tools to manage and to lay out pages.

Adding and Deleting Pages

To insert a new page, use Page > Insert... In the dialog you can insert the number of new pages, as well as their position: at the end of the document or before or after a particular page.

Image:Pages1.png

You can also select master pages for the new pages, as well as determine their size and orientation. The option Move Objects with their Page makes sure that all objects stay on a page when it changes its position in a document. This may not always be what you want, for instance if you just wish to insert a page between existing ones, but keep the content at the same position.

Pages can also be imported from other Scribus files by using Page > Import... First you have to choose the *.sla file that contains the page(s) you want to import. By clicking Change you will open a file dialog to select the file. Next you have to specify the page(s) you want to import. You can use a range of pages (eg. 1–3), single pages (eg. 2,5) or mix both modes (eg. 1,3–6). Finally you have to decide whether you want the imported files to replace existing ones or to be added as new pages. In the first case, you have to uncheck Create Pages(s). In the second case, you have to specify where the pages will be placed, just like in the Insert dialog.

Image:Pages2.png

Another possibilty to create new pages is to copy existing pages by using Page > Copy... This feature is particularly useful if you need to use similar items on many pages, while being able to edit them. Remember, objects on master pages can't be edited from a normal page. By copying existing pages you work around this issue.

Image:Pages4.png

It's also possible to move an existing page to another position. Use Page > Move... The dialog is almost identical to the Copy dialog.

Image:Pages5.png

Of course you can also delete existing pages. Use Page > Delete... for that purpose. The dialog expects you to specify a range of pages. If you want to delete a single page, you have to insert the same number in both spin boxes.

Image:Pages3.png

Some of the operations described above can also be executed in Windows > Arrange Pages.

You can easily move a particular page to another position by dragging it with the mouse. You can also delete a page by dragging it to the trash bin icon.

Image:Pages10.png

Laying Out Pages

Any page basically consists of two parts, the print space and the page margins. The relation between these two is one of the first design choices you have to make. Other basic decisions are page size and the type of document, for instance the choice between a single-page or a double-sided document.

In general, you made your choice when you created a new document, as described in the section about creating and saving files. But what if you change your mind or a single page needs a different layout?

In case you want to change the basic layout of the whole document, you have to use File > Document Setup. In the Document tab you can change the layout as explained the chapter about creating and saving files:

Image:Docsetup-doc.png

To change the layout of a single page, go to Page > Manage Page Properties... or by using the context menu for pages (right-click on an empty part of the page), which will present you the same options as the Document Setup, except that they will apply only to the selected page:

Image:Pages9.png

The Arrange Pages dialog presents some layout options as well. If you compare the image below with the screenshot of this dialog in the previous subsection, you’ll notice that the display of pages in the field in the middle depends on the type of document. You can change this document type in the drop down list Document Layout. You can also decide, which page type (left, right, middle) will be the first page. Finally, you can also apply master pages, as described later on in the section about master pages.

Image:Pages12.png

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