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Quark Express is one of the best desktop publishing packages available on the market. This has nothing to do with it's powerful layout features or style sheet control, it has to do with Applescript.

Apple software guidelines specify a minimum design suite that all Mac applications should accept some basic applevents. Many Mac applications only accept a few applevents such as Open and Close application. Quark has gone all the way with scripting control.

Everything a Quark Expert can do with shortcuts, menus, a mouse and tool palates can be automated with Applescript. You can import text and graphics, position and format them, create customised pages and HTML pages with text and picture boxes on the fly. You can automatically save the files as Postscript for printing or PDF for web delivery.

Dynamic web publishing servers

Because Applescript can also control other applications, you can integrate Quark Express with database and graphics applications to send data or visual feedback to authors. The following describes some steps required to receive a manuscript from a web page, process and format it with Quark and send the author a visual PDF file of their formatted text to check.

If you are a commercial publisher, you will need scripted style sheets. You don't want neophyte authors setting their own style. If you are offering a documentation service, your web page needs to offer authors some options.

Options to encourage timely delivery of manuscripts include:

• A secure web page to accept manuscripts.
• Setting Paragraph body font size and style.
• Setting Heading level fonts, styles and size.
• List items font size bullet graphics.
• Textbox options margin padding alignment.
• Words to highlite.
• Immediate feedback via emailed PDF files.

The publishing server must:

• Accept written user text from the web page.
• Accept user numerical input from a web page.
• Open and script a graphics application.
• Import the statistics and create a picture, a simple pie chart or 3-D model.
• Save the picture name and ID of the data to a directory.
• Open and script Quark.
• Extract the user preferences from the data.
• Create a new Quark document.
• Read the text into Quark Express.
• Import the graphics picture into Quark Express.
• Position text and graphics.
• Apply style sheets or master pages.
• Save the Quark Document as a Postscript or PDF file.
• Return the file to the web server for the customer to check.
• Save the time, username and result to Filemaker.
• Generate an invoice and billing from Filemaker.
• Email a HTML invoice to the author.

Requirements

Minimum: Quark 3.3 or better.
Applescript Installed.
Static IP address Web server.
Macintosh Operating 8.6 or better

If you are a professional publishing or advertising house, formatting books or technical documents on a daily basis you should consider a Mac web server with Quark scripting because:

• It will save you money on book production costs.
• Your books and web site will be cheaper to run and maintain.
• Clients and authors will know you are progressive and not luddites.
• It is a fast, very cost efficient way to accept manuscripts.
• Quark will work for you all day, night and on public holidays.
• You can offer authors font and text style design choices.
• You can specify your own page designs or style sheets.
• Production of Poscript or PDF files is automated.
• Author manuscript delivery records, costing or invoicing is automated.

Some differences between written pages and web pages:

See Electronic Documentation Writing HTML files for the WWW.

EVERY WEB PAGE SHOULD HAVE

1. Author Institution who wrote the page Country.
2. Copyright notice.
3. Creation date.
4. Last Modification date.
5. Clear descriptive title.
6. Link to local home page.
7. Header menu graphics present on every page.
8. Email feedback to Webmaster on every page.
9. Cascading Style Sheet control of page. including:
10. Sounds
11. Fonts
12. Graphics
13. Links
14. Body background images.
15. General page layout.

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