[scribus] Help - need a tutorial for "dummies" - ie: newbies

[randy.pare]

Hi, really sorry to bug you guys. My name is r. j.
par? and I have been putting out an art - lit e-zine {RKYV ONLINE} for years
using MS Word for all my layouts.?
I know, I know it is a word processing program
with limitations in regards to page layout.
?
That said I have decide to learn how to use page
layout software. I downloaded Scribus after reading good reviews and have decide
to give it a try.
?
I am utterly lost. The controls [for an MS Word
guy, like me] do not seem intuitive. Simple things like importing a picture and
manipulating its size to fit on the page seem impossible. An?image comes in and
there doesn't seem to be anyway to alter size. I receive articles, poetry shorts
stories all writtne on MS Word and would like to import the?docs and place them
over background art etc etc.?
?
Frankly I can't figure it out at all. LOL With MS
Word, I have limitations - but I can do all these things I have just mentioned
[just not as well as I hoped a layout program like Scribus would
allow].
?
Here is a link to back issues of my e-zine to get
an idea of what I am talking about:
?
http://www.scribd.com/randy_par%C3%A9/shelf
?
What I am hoping to learn is this:
?
How to use Scribus to create a document that has
artistic backgrounds with text and other art on top, that I can then convert to
PDF.
?
Could someone steer me to a guide for such things?

?
BTW I have read the READ ME file and BASICs
tutorial that come with Scribus - just could not find answers to what I am
asking there.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.scribus.info/pipermail/scribus/attachments/20101210/16458160/attachment.htm>

[Grzegorz Staniak]

Post by randy.pare
I am utterly lost. The controls [for an MS Word
guy, like me] do not seem intuitive. Simple things like importing a
picture and manipulating its size to fit on the page seem impossible.

One piece of advice from someone who quite recently was a total noob
too: ALWAYS keep the Properties Palette visible. Always. It really
helps. Check what it shows, use it to position, scale, and set
properties on objects. Also: use and explore the "Window" menu (for
alignment and distribution, for example).

Post by randy.pare
An?image comes in and there doesn't seem to be anyway to alter size.

See above. Press F2, use the Properties Palette (the "Image" section).

Post by randy.pare
I receive articles, poetry shorts stories all writtne on MS Word and

would like to import the?docs and

Post by randy.pare
place them over background art etc etc.?

Create a text frame, right click, "Get text". First you need to convert
the articles though.

Post by randy.pare
?
How to use Scribus to create a document that has
artistic backgrounds with text and other art on top, that I can then
convert to PDF.

... and it would be best for you, I think, to spare a few bucks for the
book:

https://www.packtpub.com/scribus-1-3-5-beginners-guide/book

You can even get a discount if you scan the group archive for the 10th
anniversary email ;)

Post by randy.pare
BTW I have read the READ ME file and BASICs tutorial that come with

Scribus - just could not find answers to what I am

Post by randy.pare
asking there.

Ask here then.

GS
--
Grzegorz Staniak, gstaniak _at_ wp *dot* pl

[Gregory Pittman]

Post by randy.pare
Hi, really sorry to bug you guys. My name is r. j.
par? and I have been putting out an art - lit e-zine {RKYV ONLINE} for years
using MS Word for all my layouts.
I know, I know it is a word processing program
with limitations in regards to page layout.
That said I have decide to learn how to use page
layout software. I downloaded Scribus after reading good reviews and have decide
to give it a try.
I am utterly lost. The controls [for an MS Word
guy, like me] do not seem intuitive. Simple things like importing a picture and
manipulating its size to fit on the page seem impossible. An image comes in and
there doesn't seem to be anyway to alter size. I receive articles, poetry shorts
stories all writtne on MS Word and would like to import the docs and place them
over background art etc etc.
Frankly I can't figure it out at all. LOL With MS
Word, I have limitations - but I can do all these things I have just mentioned
[just not as well as I hoped a layout program like Scribus would
allow].
Here is a link to back issues of my e-zine to get
http://www.scribd.com/randy_par%C3%A9/shelf
How to use Scribus to create a document that has
artistic backgrounds with text and other art on top, that I can then convert to
PDF.
Could someone steer me to a guide for such things?
BTW I have read the READ ME file and BASICs
tutorial that come with Scribus - just could not find answers to what I am
asking there.

Presuming you are using 1.3.9, which you should be, the online docs
(Help > Scribus Manual > Documentation) is a good place to start. Look
under Scribus Basics, starting with Working with Frames. This is the key
thing about Scribus as opposed to MS Word, you are working in a frames
environment, so text needs to go into a text frame, images/bitmap
graphics into an image frame.

Beyond that, check out the wiki:

http://wiki.scribus.net

for more info.

Greg

[randy.pare]

One of the main problems I am finding is that Scribus keeps saying I can't do anything with an image because I don't have Gimp. Is Gimp necessary to run Scribus??
To alter size of an image, since there don't seem to be the easy "grab" points MS Word has, I tried going thru menus until I found "edit image" - that is what led to the error message about Gimp.

--- On Fri, 12/10/10, Grzegorz Staniak <gstaniak at wp.pl> wrote:

From: Grzegorz Staniak <gstaniak at wp.pl>
Subject: [scribus] Odp: Help - need a tutorial for "dummies" - ie: newbies
To: "Scribus User Mailing List" <scribus at lists.scribus.info>
Date: Friday, December 10, 2010, 4:42 PM

Post by randy.pare
I am utterly lost. The controls [for an MS Word
guy, like me] do not seem intuitive. Simple things like importing a
picture and manipulating its size to fit on the page seem impossible.

One piece of advice from someone who quite recently was a total noob
too: ALWAYS keep the Properties Palette visible. Always. It really
helps. Check what it shows, use it to position, scale, and set
properties on objects. Also: use and explore the "Window" menu (for
alignment and distribution, for example).

Post by randy.pare
An?image comes in and there doesn't seem to be anyway to alter size.

See above. Press F2, use the Properties Palette (the "Image" section).

Post by randy.pare
I receive articles, poetry shorts? stories all writtne on MS Word and

would like to import the?docs and

Post by randy.pare
place them over background art etc etc.?

Create a text frame, right click, "Get text". First you need to convert
the articles though.

Post by randy.pare
?
How to use Scribus to create a document that has
artistic backgrounds with text and other art on top, that I can then
convert to PDF.

... and it would be best for you, I think, to spare a few bucks for the
book:

https://www.packtpub.com/scribus-1-3-5-beginners-guide/book

You can even get a discount if you scan the group archive for the 10th
anniversary email ;)

Post by randy.pare
BTW I have read the READ ME file and BASICs tutorial that come with

Scribus - just could not find answers to what I am

Post by randy.pare
asking there.

Ask here then.

GS
--
Grzegorz Staniak, gstaniak _at_ wp *dot* pl



_______________________________________________
scribus mailing list
scribus at lists.scribus.info
http://lists.scribus.info/mailman/listinfo/scribus
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.scribus.info/pipermail/scribus/attachments/20101210/e9eb9f57/attachment.htm>

[Grzegorz Staniak]

Post by randy.pare
One of the main problems I am finding is that Scribus keeps saying I
can't do anything with an image because I don't have Gimp. Is Gimp
necessary to run Scribus??
To alter size of an image, since there don't seem to be the easy "grab"
points MS Word has, I tried going thru menus until I found "edit image"
- that is what led to the error message about Gimp.

Oh, you don't need it as long as you don't want to actually retouch the
image, and even then a set of simple functions is available from within
Scribus. Just select the frame you've put the image in, press F2 for the
Properties Palette. Yoou can choose the "X, Y, Z" to scale, position, or
rotate the image frame itself (you can even edit its shape), and then
choose the "Image" tab to scale and position the image within the frame.
I'm afraid "easy grabbing" is restricted to the image frame as such, but
you also have "fit image to frame" and "fit frame to image" under the
right mouse button, and you can use those as starting points for further
refinements using the "Image" tab of the PP.

Have a look at what you get when you press F1 and then choose
"Documentation", "Scribus Basics", "Working with Images".

GS
--
Grzegorz Staniak, gstaniak _at_ wp *dot* pl

[Jean-Louis Cordonnier]

I don't like tutorial where you find a description of all the different
menuitems.
To learn, i took a scribus file and tried to modify it.

For example http://docs.scribus.net/downloads/freedomyug-samplefiles.tar.bz2

[John Culleton]

Post by randy.pare
Hi, really sorry to bug you guys. My name is r. j.
par? and I have been putting out an art - lit e-zine {RKYV ONLINE}
for years using MS Word for all my layouts.
I know, I know it is a word processing program
with limitations in regards to page layout.

There is an old but excellent tutorial on the website. Did you try
this?
http://wiki.scribus.net/index.php/Get_Started_with_Scribus
It deals with a newsletter or magazine project.

There are also animated video tutorials.

Finally, the manual, though expensive is invaluable. I also sell an e-
book in pdf form covering questions of cover design:
http://www.booklocker.com/books/4055.html

The basic unit in scribus is the page. The first screen you get allows
you to define the dimensions etc. of a typical page in your document.
If you are working on an existing Scribus document you can just close
this screen and bring in the existing sla document via the File menu.

A document contains pages, a page has one or more layers, and layers
have frames drawn on them. Frames contain images or text.

Each page is by default one layer thick but often it is convenient or
necessary to add layers. The default layer is white in color but added
layers start out as transparencies.

On each layer you can add text frames and image frames. After you
select the appropriate icon and draw the frame you deal with its
dimensions, location, background color etc. by right clicking on the
frame and selecting "Preferences" at the foot of the menu that
appears.

You can import images two different ways. In most cases you draw an
image frame, right click on it, and select "get image". You can then
adjust the frame to the image dimensions or adjust the image dimension
to the frame.

The other way is through the file menu. You select
File->Import->Get Image
or File->Import-> Get Vector file.

Vector files include things like eps, pdf and svg suffixed files.
Imported images create their own image frame. If you have one of these
use the file menu and not the image frame method.

When you right click on a text frame you can then select "Edit text".
This puts you into a special window called the "story editor." You can
type text, use the enter key to end paragraphs, change the type font
and size and do many other wonderful things.

Those are a few of the basic concepts of Scribus. It is page oriented,
layered and uses frames for entering text and placing images. It is
more like Quark Xpress, Photoshop or InDesign than it is like word
processors like MSWord.

I suggest you go to the wiki first and browse around. Come back here
with specific questions. We were all beginners once! (Some of us still
are.)

John Culleton,
typesetting and indexing http://wexfordpress.com
book sales http://wexfordpress.net
Free barcode: http://www.tux.org/~milgram/bookland/

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.scribus.info/pipermail/scribus/attachments/20101211/4b257859/attachment.htm>