Pg 1

A quick start guide for th e windows im igrant.

H ow to get Publ
ish er or Print Sh op resul
ts from Scribus
Th is guide covers Scribus 1.1.6 on a SuSE Linux 9 .0 distribution
by Scot Bl
ades A pril2004 sbl
ades9 @ cox.net
I cre ate d th is guide us ing 1.1.4, th e n update d it for 1.1.5 and 1.1.6. Not al
lof Scribus ' fe ature s are us e d or cove re d in
th is guide . Th is docum e nt is inte nde d for Linux w anabe e s m igrating from W indow s . It is not com pl
e te , and m ay contain inform ation from on-l
ine m anual
s at s e ve rall
ocations on th e w e b. Th e l
ocation I found m os t com pl
e te w as h ttp://w w w .atl
anticte ch s ol
utions .com /s cribus docs /inde x.h tm l
. Cre ating th is docum e nt be cam e m y w ay of l
e arning to us e
Scribus , and I h ope you find it us e ful
. I am , by no m e ans , a Scribus e xpe rt, and th e re m ay be be tte r w ays to do th e
th ings I de s cribe , h e re . Ifyou find th e m , pl
e as e l
e tm e k now , and I'l
lupdate th is us e r guide .
Th e inte ntion h e re is to h e l
p us e rs of M icros oft Publ
is h e r or Print Sh op ach ie ve s im il
ar, or be tte r re s ul
ts w ith Scirbus .
W indow s im igrants tak e note : Scribus rival
s profe s s ionalde s ign program s w ith advance d tool
s for s e rious de s k top
publ
is h ing. De pe nding on your com puting e xpe rtis e , th e l
e arning curve m ay be a l
ittl
e s te e p, but th e re s ul
ts are w orth
th e e ffort. Scirbus h as no pre -de fine d w iz ards or cook ie cutte r, big broth e r ins pire d te m pl
ate s . For ins tance a gre e ting card w il
lnot s h ow up as 4 page s as in s im pl
e r publ
is h ing s oftw are . You w il
ls e e th e ful
lpage as it w il
lbe printe d.
Th e re fore , you m us tunde rs tand h ow your finis h e d page w il
lbe fol
de d to ach ie ve th e s am e re s ul
t.
As w ith any s oftw are , re m e m be r to s ave your w ork ofte n. Scribus 1.1.6 is ve ry s tabl
e , but you ne ve r k now . H e y, I'm
cautious , I've be e n us ing to W indow s XP. Scribus cre ate s a ".e m e rge ncy" fil
e if pos s ibl
e s o you m igh t not l
os e al
lof
your ch ange s . For e xam pl
e , th e e m e rge ncy fil
e for th is docum e nt is "M anual
.s l
a.e m e rge ncy". Are th e s e guys gre at,
or w h at?
M icros oft, M icros oftPubl
is h e r, PrintSh op, and any oth e r trade m ark e d re fe re nce s in th is docum e ntare th e prope rty of
th e ir re s pe ctive ow ne rs .

Topic

Page

Cre ating and e diting a Te xt Fram e ...................................................................................

Th e Prope rtie s Dial

og .......................................................................................................

Gradie nt Fil
l
s and Spe cialEffe cts ......................................................................................

Te xtO n A Path - It's be tte r th an W ord Art ..........................................................................

Drop Caps , Sh ading and oth e r s pe ciale ffe cts ..................................................................

Th e Col
or Pal
e tte (cre ating cus tom col
ors ) and Paragraph Styl
e s .....................................

Fram e O utl
ine s and Fil
l
s / Sh adow e ffe cts ........................................................................

Pg 2

Creating and editing text fram es

O ne of th e firs t th ings you'l
ldis cove r is th at Scribus is de finite l
y not a
good te xt e ditor or w ord proce s s or. If you're going to h ave l
arge
s e ctions of body s tyl
e te xt, us e a s e parate w ord proce s s or to cre ate
th e te xt, th e n copy and pas te it into your Scribus te xt fram e . Th e
th ink ing h e re is w h y m ak e a bl
oate d publ
is h e r program w h e n th e re are
nice te xt e ditors al
re ady avail
abl
e on ne arl
y e ve ry Linux dis tribution.
W h e n you pas te te xt into Scribus , it ne e ds to be unform atte d. Scribus
doe s noth andl
e form atting from outs ide s ource s w e l
l
.

fig.1 Te xtprope rtie s dial

og

Cre ate a te xt fram e by cl

ick ing th e te xt fram e button on th e toolbar.
Th e n cl
ick and drag th e m ous e pointe r to cre ate a te xt box.
You can re -s iz e and m ove it l
ate r. If you h ave te xt w raping
around an obje ct, s uch as th e icon in th is paragraph ,
re m e m be r to m ak e your fram e a l
ittl
e l
arge r th an th e graph ic , and s e t
th e fram e fil
lcol
or to none , or your te xtm igh tge tcl
ippe d.
H e re you'l
ldis cove r s e ve ralq uirk s not found in w indow s program s ,
and a fe w nice w indow s fe ature s you'l
ls ore l
y m is s . If you cl
ick th e
fram e you ge t a m ove fram e pointe r, a s e cond cl
ick w il
ls til
ls e rve up
th e m ove fram e pointe r. Doubl
e cl
ick th e fram e to e dit th e te xt
conte nt. W indow s s tyl
e te xt s e l
e ction w ith th e k e yboard Sh ift + arrow
k e ys is avail
abl
e w ith th e 1.1.6 re l
e as e . W indow s s tyl
e Sh ift+ Ins e rt
doe s noth ing, you'l
lh ave to s e l
e ct Pas te from th e Edit or righ t-cl
ick
m e nu.
O nce you h ave your te xt in pl
ace , you can form at it. Al
lth e s tandard
form atting is in th e Prope rtie s Dial
og, M ous e -s e l
e ct th e te xt you w ant
to w ork on, righ t cl
ick th e s e l
e ction, and s e l
e ct "Sh ow Prope rtie s ". In
orde r to ge t bol
d or ital
ic, you'l
lh ave to ch ange th e font. Its a pain at
firs t, butnotbad once you ge tus e d to it.
Paragraph form atting is al
s o unde r th e Styl
e m e nu. Force d m e ans
jus tifie d h e re . You'l
lnotice th e force d form at l
e ave s th e l
as t l
ine of th e
paragraph s panning th e e ntire fram e . To fix th is , ope n th e prope rtie s
dial
og and l
ook at th e te xt al
ignm e nt buttons . Th e re you'l
lfind an
option for "Al
ign Te xtBl
ock "
Fram e form atting is found unde r th e Tool
s >Prope rtie s m e nu. Th is
brings up th e prope rtie s dial
og. H e re , you can m anual
l
y e nte r fram e
pl
ace m e nt, s iz ing, angl
e s , and al
ls orts of th ings . Th e re are m any
options , and us e fule ffe cts tool
s in th e prope rtie s dial
og. O ptions not
avail
abl
e for th e s e l
e cte d ite m are dim inis h e d.

Th e Prope rtie s Dial

og: O ne ofth e
m os tim portantth ings to ge taq uainte d
w ith in Scribus . Th is e xam pl
e s h ow s th e
te xtprope rtie s ofth e s e l
e cte d fram e .

Som e th ing to pay atte ntion to is your m argins . If an outl

ine d fram e is righ t on th e m argin, it m ay
not print th at l
ittl
e sl
ive r. Th e s am e appl
ie s to te xt. A fram e w ith te xt righ t out to th e e dge th at
m e e ts th e m argin m igh tnotprintth e e ntire l
e tte r. Th e e dge ofth e l
e tte rs m ay ge ts h ave d off.

Th e Properties Dial
og

Pg 3

Ge tto k now th e prope rtie s dial

og w e l
l
. Itis probabl
y th e s ingl
e m os tim portanttoolin Scribus !
For e ach ofth e prope rtie s s e l
e ction buttons , th e re is a diffe re nts e tofval
ue s dis pl
aye d. Al
s o th e
dis pl
ay is cus tom iz e d for w h ate ve r is s e l
e cte d in th e docum e nt!
fig.2 XYZ Pos ition prope rtie s dial
og

Fram e s iz e and
pl
ace m e nt

Fram e s h ape , te xt
m argins , e tc.

Te xtprope rtie s
curre ntl
y dim inis h e d

Im age prope rtie s

Col
or s e l
e ctions for
fil
l
,l
ine s , gradie nts ,
e tc.

Line s iz e and
pl
ace m e nt

Rotation toolde gre e

s e tting:
180 w il
lfl
ip th e im age
ups ide dow n, 9 0 w il
l
turn iton its s ide , and
270 w il
lturn iton its
oth e r s ide . O f
cours e , any angl
e w il
l
be acce pte d.

Se l
e cte d ite m
prope rtie s (val
ue s ,
s e ttings , orie ntation,
e tc.)
Th is s e ction w il
l
ch ange according to
th e prope rtie s button
sel
e cte d atth e top of
th e dial
og box.

In th is e xam pl
e , you
can adjus tth e
h ie rarch y l
e ve l
, or
pl
ace m e ntofth e
sel
e cte d fram e to
s e nd itbe h ind, or
bring itin frontof
oth e r fram e s .

Rotation tool
:
Th e s potw ith th e dot
in itw il
lbe th e ce ntral
rotation point. In th is
e xam pl
e , th e top l
e ft
corne r ofth e s e l
e cte d
fram e w il
lre m ain
s tationary

Fram e Lock and Print

e nabl
e toggl
e buttons

H oriz ontaland
Ve rticalfram e fl
ip
buttons

Pg 4

and specialeffects
Som e s pe ciale ffe cts are buil
t in and e as y. Te xt col
or is
avail
abl
e on th e Styl
e m e nu, and O utl
ine d off th e Styl
e >Styl
e
m e nu w il
lgive you a nice , ne at bl
ack outl
ine of e ach l
e tte r.
Th e re al
l
y fancy s tuff tak e s a l
ittl
e e ffort. But, its e as y once
you k now th e s te ps to tak e , and w h e re to find th e righ t
buttons to pus h . Th e fol
l
ow ing are th e bas ic s te ps for a

fig.3 Col
ors Prope rtie s dial
og

Fil
l
button

1 Cre ate a te xtbox, and type s om e th ing in it. You m igh t

Line
w antto e nl
arge th e te xt.
button
2 Cl
ick outs ide th e te xtfram e to de s e l
e ct it, th e n cl
ick it
again s o th e Ite m m e nu is avail
abl
e.
3 Unde r th e Ite m m e nu, cl
ick conve rtto outl
ine .
4 Righ tcl
ick th e te xtand s e l
e ctun-group from th e popup m e nu.
5 Cl
ick and drag th e m ous e to s e l
e ctal
lth e te xtas a group.
6 Unde r th e Ite m m e nu, cl
ick com bine pol
ygons .
Th e Col
ors prope rtie s dial
og. Th e fil
lbutton is
7 Unde r th e Tool
s m e nu, s e l
e ctprope rtie s to dis pl
ay th e
active , and th e fil
ltype drop-dow n m e nu is s h ow n.
prope rtie s dial
og.
8 Cl
ick col
ors . Th e fil
lbutton s h oul
d be active .
fig.4 Line Prope rtie s dial
og
9 Unde r th e paintcan is a drop-dow n l
is tw ith norm al
in
it. Cl
ick th e drop-dow n arrow to re ve alth e s e l
e ctions
and s e l
e cth oriz ontalgradie nt.
10 Se l
e cta col
or for col
or #1, th e n cl
ick th e #2 radio
button to s e l
e ctth e s e condary col
or. You w il
ls e e th e
re s ul
ts in th e te xtim m e diate l
y.

11 Cl
ick th e l
ine button unde r itto activate th e l
ine control
s.
12 Cl
ick on a col
or, and w atch in h orror as your be autiful
l
y
fil
l
e d te xtbe com e s one big bl
ob!
13 Cl
ick th e l
ine button tow ard th e top ofth e dial
og to s e t
th e l
ine prope rtie s .
14 Cl
ick th e dow n arrow adjus tbutton unde r l
ine w idth to
narrow th e outl
ine s .
gradie ntfil
l
:
You're done w ith th e gradie ntfil
l
, now add an outl
ine :
You now h ave outl
ine d, gradie nt fil
l
e d te xt. Ste ps 7 th rough
14 can be us e d to adjus t th e col
ors and outl
ine s of fram e s
al
s o. Th e tw o fram e s at th e top of th is page w e re cre ate d
w ith th e s e s te ps .

Th e Line s prope rtie s dial

og.
Th is is s e l
fe xpl
anitory.

Pg 5

x
Te

' s b e tte r th a
t
I
.
.
n
.
h
to
t
W
n a pa

o rd A rt!

To cre ate te xton a path .

1
2
3
4

Cre ate a te xtbox th e n e nte r th e te xt.

Cre ate a be z ie r curve w ith th e de s ire d s h ape .
Se l
e ctth e tw o ite m s w ith th e m ous e .
Unde r th e Ite m m e nu cl
ck attach to path .

Doubl
e cl
ick ing th e re s ul
ting ite m w il
le nabl
e
e diting th e s h ape of th e be z ie r curve . Righ t
cl
ick th e ite m for a pop-up m e nu th at w il
lal
l
ow
you to e dit your te xt. O th e r te xt s tyl
e s are s til
l
avail
abl
e unde r th e Styl
e s m e nu.

fig.5 Be z ie r Curve /Sh ape Prope rtie s dial

og

If you h ave n't w ork e d w ith Be z ie r curve s

be fore , you ne e d to m ak e one and s tart fiddl
ing
w ith points and angl
es.

H oriz ontaland
Ve rticalfl
ip
buttons

1 Cl
ick th e be z ie r curve toolunde r
th e tool
bar l
ine button.
2 Cl
ick s e ve ralpl
ace s on your
page .
3 W h e n you've m ade tw o or m ore
points , righ tcl
ick to finis h th e
cre ation proce s s and your l
ine
w il
lappe ar.
4 Doubl
e cl
ick th e obje ct, and th e
curve e diting dial
og appe ars .
Be z ie r Curve Dial
og Functions
Button #1 M ove Node s : A node is a point on th e curve . W h e re ve r you cl
ick e d w h e n cre ating th e
curve th e re w il
lbe a node . W h e n you m ove a node , th e curve s h ape ch ange s accordingl
y.
Button #2 M ove Controlpoints : A controlpoint s e ts th e angl
e of th e curve from its attach e d node .
A node at th e e nd of th e curve h as one controlpoint. A node in th e m iddl
e of th e curve h as tw o
controlpoints , one for e ach dire ction. Al
s o, th e farth e r aw ay a controlpoint is from th e node , th e
m ore e xage rate d th e curve w il
lbe com e be tw e e n th e attach e d node and th e adjace ntnode .
Buttons 3 and 4 add or de l
e te node s re s pe ctive l
y.
M ove your m ous e ove r th e re m aining buttons to dis pl
ay th e ir re s pe ctive functions .

rop caps . . .

Pg 6

Sh ad ing, and oth er specialeffects.

Th e re are no buil
t-in s h adow tool
s in Scribus . Th is is a doubl
e e dge d s w ord. O n one e dge you m us t
cre ate th e s h adow s m anual
l
y, on th e oth e r you h ave m uch gre ate r controlove r th e e ffe cts . You can
controlcol
or, pl
ace m e nt, th ick ne s s of s h adow , e xtra outl
ine s , and m ore . Th at e xtra controlis w e l
l
w orth th e e xtra e ffort ne e de d to cre ate s h adow s . Th e e ffe cts above w e re cre ate d in about 10
m inute s . About 7 of th os e m inute s w e re s pe nt in l
e arning h ow . Scribus 1.1.5 provide s a toolfor a
drop cap s tyl
e , h ow e ve r you m us t cre ate th e s tyl
e , and you are s tuck w ith th e font s iz e . I'm s ure th is
w il
lbe fixe d, and ifyou h ave a ve rs ion ne w e r th an 1.1.5 l
ook for be tte r drop cap tool
s.
Th e s te ps I us e d to cre ate th e titl
e Drop Cap and Sh adow e ffe cts are :
Drop caps :
1 Cre ate a te xtbox for th e firs tl
e tte r.

Fontand outl
ine col
or
sel
e ctors

2 Se tth e fonts iz e to 100, 120, or s om e oth e r l

arge
val
ue .
3 Us e th e Prope rtie s dial
og to s e tte xtcol
or, te xt
outl
ine s , and outl
ine col
or.

Col
or s h ade
sel
e ctors .

4 Cre ate anoth e r te xtbox for th e re s tofyour te xt.

Te xtform atting
sel
e ctors

5 Se tcol
ors and outl
ine s as de s ire d.
6 Al
ign th e s e tw o te xtboxe s for th e be s te ffe ct. Your
drop cap te xtbox m ay be partl
y offth e page due
to th e fonts iz e . No probl
e m , jus tm ak e s ure th e
printe d partis w ith in th e m argins .

Te xtoutl
ine
sel
e ctor

Your Drop Cap is finis h e d. Now for th e Sh adow

e ffe ct. continuing from above :

Paragraph
form atting
sel
e ctors

1 Se l
e ctboth te xtboxe s . Note th e X and Y Pos
val
ue s in th e prope rtie s dial
og. th e n cl
ick
"dupl
icate " unde r th e ite m m e nu.

Pre -de fine d

paragraph
s tyl
e s . By
de faul
tth e re
are no s tyl
es.
Se e th e ne xt
page for m ore
on de fining
s tyl
es.

2 W ith th e prope rtie s dial

og, ch ange th e te xtcol
or to
a ne w col
or for th e s h adow . For e xam pl
e , to ge t
gre y, us e bl
ack as th e col
or and ch ange th e 100%
to 30 or 40% .
3 Us ing th e prope rtie s dial
og, s e tth e X and Y val
ue s
sl
igh tl
y h igh e r th an th e m ain te xtbox val
ue s . Th is
w il
ls e tyour s h adow to th e righ t, and be l
ow th e
m ain te xt. Se e fig.2 on page 3.

fig.6 Te xtPrope rtie s dial

og

4 Now us e th e l
e ve ls e l
e ctors to m ove th e s h adow
te xtbe ne ath th e m ain te xt. In Scribus 1.1.4 th is
m us tbe s e tfor e ach individualte xtbox.
FYI: K e rning is s apcing be tw e e n ch aracte rs

& Styl
es

Pg 7

Now th at you h ave s om e bas ic s tuff, it's tim e to w ork w ith col
ors .
Scirbus com e s s tock e d w ith th e bas ic 8 col
ors , but is capabl
e of
true col
or. Th e picture to th e righ t s h ow s th e dial
og you ge t w h e n
you cl
ick "Col
ors " unde r th e "Edit" m e nu. If you cl
ick on th e col
ors ,
you'l
l notice th e "e dit" button be com e s avail
abl
e for al
l col
ors
e xce pt bl
ack , cyan, m age nta, and ye l
l
ow . Th at's be caus e th os e 4
col
ors are th e bas is for de fining al
loth e r col
ors of th e s pe ctrum .
Cl
ick th e "Ne w " button and fil
lin a nam e for your ne w col
or. I
ch os e "Pirk l
e ". Cl
ick O k and th e e ditcol
or dial
og appe ars .
In th e col
or e ditor s e l
e ct th e col
or m ode l
. Tink e r w ith it as you l
ik e ,
Il
e ft it on CM YK . Th e n s tart finding th e col
or you're l
ook ing for.
You h ave s e ve raloptions on h ow to proce e d. Jus t as in oth e r col
or
sel
e ctors you m ay be fam il
iar w ith . Scribus provide s a ful
l
s pe ctrum pal
e tte th at you can cl
ick and drag around to w atch your fig.7 Colors Editor Se lection Dialog
ne w col
or ch ange ins tantl
y. O r, you can us e th e s l
ide rs to ch ange individualcol
or com pone nts . O r, you
can e nte r val
ue s dire ctl
y. Cl
ick th e O k button, and your ne w col
or is in th e l
is tofavail
abl
e col
ors .

fig.8 Col
ors Editor

Th e Edit Col
or dial
og s h oul
d be ve ry fam il
iar to
W indow s im igrants . If not, fiddl
e around w ith it to s e e
jus th ow e as y itis .

fig.9 Styl
e s Editor

Th e Edit Styl
e dial
og s e ts cus tom de fine d paragraph
form ats , incl
uding fonts . It's pre tty s e l
f e xpl
anitory.
Se e be l
ow for a dis cus s ion ofStyl
es.

Th e re are no pre -de fine d paragraph form ats in Scribus th atI h ave found. So, ifyou ne e d bul
l
e te d or
num be re d l
is ts , h anging inde nts , e tc you'l
lh ave to cre ate a s tyl
e.
1
2
3
4
5
6

Cl
ick Styl
e s ... unde r th e Editm e nu.
An e dits tyl
e s dial
og appe ars s im il
ar to th e col
ors dial
og.
Cl
ick th e Ne w button and th e EditStyl
e dial
og appe ars as il
l
us trate d above .
Th is is pre tty s traigh tforw ard. Styl
e nam e , face (font), s iz e , al
ignm e nt, e tc.
Ve rticals pace s above and be l
ow are s pace s be tw e e n paragraph s .
Us e th e Inde ntation s e ction for firs tl
ine and h anging inde nts . Firs tl
ine inde ntis s im pl
e , jus te nte r a val
ue in th e
firs tl
ine box. For h anging inde nts , s e tth e Firs tLine as a ne gative val
ue , and th e Le ftInde ntas a pos itive val
ue
th atoffs e ts th e Firs tLine val
ue .

Now , w h e n you're form atting your te xtw ith th e Prope rtie s dial
og, you can s e l
e ctyour ne w s tyl
e , and th e
sel
e cte d s tyl
e appl
ie s to th e paragraph s e l
e cte d. Ifyou h ave no paragraph s e l
e ce d, th e s tyl
e appl
ie s to th e
e ntire te xtfram e you curre ntl
y h ave s e l
e cte d.

Pg 8

Fram e O utl
ines and Fil
l
s
No doubt, you've notice d th ings ge t fancie r as th is
docum e nt progre s s e s . Fram e fil
l
s , outl
ine s and
s uch m ak e for m ore dynam ic pre s e ntations .
H e re 's h ow to ge tyour te xtfram e s l
ook ing good.

Cl
ick th e s h ape
button to s h ow th e s e
options

1 Cre ate a te xtfram e .

2 O pe n th e Prope rtie s dial
og.
3 Cl
ick th e Line button. H e re , you can s e tth e l
ine
th ick ne s s , and pre -de fine d l
ine e ndings .
4 Cl
ick th e Sh ape button. Th e s e s im pl
e s e ttings
ge tyour captions , and te xtfram e s l
ook ing cl
e an
and s h arp.
- Us e th e pre -de fine d s h ape s button for q uick
e ffe cts , or cl
ick on th e EditSh ape button to
ope n th e Be z ie r Curve Dial
og th atal
l
ow s ful
l
s h ape control
.
- Us e th e Round Corne rs val
ue to s e ts im pl
e
rounde d corne rs . Th e te xtbox above h as th is
val
ue s e tat6 pts .
- Us e th e Dis tance ofTe xt val
ue s to s e tth e ins ide
m argins ofth e te xtbox. Th is is us e fulto m aintain
s pace be tw e e n your te xtand th e fram e e dge
w h e n you h ave th e te xtbox outl
ine d. M os tofth e
outl
ine d te xtfram e s in th is docum e nth ave th e s e
val
ue s at1 pt. for both top and bottom , 5 pts . for
l
e ft, and 7 pts . for righ tm argins . As you can s e e ,
you al
s o s e tcol
um ns , and tabs h e re .

You s h oul
d be fam il
iar w ith th e col
ors s e ction of
th e Prope rtie s dial
og by now . W h e n you h ave th e
fram e onl
y sel
e cte d (no te xt or conte nts ), th e col
or
and l
ine buttons controlth e fram e fil
land outl
ine .

Pre -de fine d

fram e
s h ape s

O pe ns th e
Be z ie r
Curve Editor
Col
um ns ,
gap, and tab
s e ttings
w e re adde d
in 1.1.5.
I w is h I'd
h ad th e m
wh enI
cre ate d th is
guide !

fig.10 Fram e Sh ape Prope rtie s Dial

og

Th e Titl
e w as m ade w ith th re e fram e s , al
lw ith
th e "Te xtfl
ow s around box" option unch e ck e d.
1 A te xtfram e w as cre ate d w ith fil
land outl
ine s .
2 Th atfram e w as dupl
icate d, fil
land outl
ine s
w e re cl
e are d, and te xtw as adde d w ith
M age nta fil
land outl
ine s . Th is fram e w as
pl
ace d l
igh tl
y above and l
e ftofth e firs tfram e .
3 Th atfram e w as dupl
icate d, and te xtcol
or
ch ange d to Pink l
e w ith bl
ack outl
ine s . Th is
fram e w as pl
ace dire ctl
y ove r th e firs tfram e .