[HAbaRI]

Ok. This question is rather technical. But I encounter the problem on a daily basis, so I thought other designers might already have solved it:

the easiest way for me to convert a quarkxpress design to jpg-format (i.e. to use in a power-point presentation), is to first export a pdf from xpress and then to rasterize the pdf in photoshop. this works quite well as long as the pdf is just one page.

if it's a multipage pdf i have to go through the steps "open dialogue - select page numer of document -set size - set resolution - set color mode - (photoshop parses the pdf) - export to web - select location of jpg - save" a couple of times.

isn't there a way to do this automatically? are there any tools for that, has someone writte a script that can help me with it?

any help would be greatly appreciated

[MikeM32]

Photoshop won't handle multiple pages. So the only way I know of doing what you're doing is exactly the way you're doing it. Boy, I'm helpful eh?

Bear with me here as I might be mis-understanding what you're trying to do a bit, PLUS I know nothing about power-point, so.......

Mike

[godzookie2k]

You need XPressImagePro

(full description)

[buchrob]

You can try pinning the tail on the other end of the donkey.

Create individual PDF's of each Quark page.

Launch Photoshop. Show the Actions palette and start recording. (Actions are basically a script that Photoshop can record and re-use). Open one of the files and make whatever transformations are needed (size, resolution, color space) etc. Click on stop recording and then save the Action.

You can then map an F-key to the action, or set it up to have an input folder of PDFs automatically converted to an output folder of JPGs while you go to lunch.

[Too Much Coffee Woman]

how big is your display? pixel-wise?

if you just need to make a quickie image for your client or for web purposes...i'm sure a screenshot would do. if you have a nice big screen, the quality is not shabby...all that effort for a .jpg is totally not worth the effort. and depending on what you were designing...i would export as EPS over .pdf first (depending on how the color is looking when imported into PS). In EPS mode...you can export as a "spread" and crop it twice for each spread so you'd do less exporting. in terms of color coordination between exporting...screenshot rules them both because there is so little infomation taken into account in it that the color is really on target...perfect for a jpg or .gif file the size of a monitor screen.

i mean...if you wanted to show pristine quality for your client or etc...my choice in the first place would be a .pdf. anyway, i don't know what type of project you're working on but for a jpg or gif, a screenshot would do in my opinion

[HAbaRI]

Originally posted by MikeM32:
<STRONG>Photoshop won't handle multiple pages. So the only way I know of doing what you're doing is exactly the way you're doing it. Boy, I'm helpful eh?</STRONG>

yes you are. i know photoshop can't do it, that is why i am asking for a skript or tool or anything else.

<STRONG>You need XPressImagePro </STRONG>

the program looks great. but the price: phew!

<STRONG>Create individual PDF's of each Quark page. </STRONG>

that's the problem. creating a pdf from each individual page in quark is just as time-consuming as having to open each page individually in photoshop.
hm, i'll have to take a look at if there are any apple script possibilities for that.

<STRONG>i mean...if you wanted to show pristine quality for your client or etc...my choice in the first place would be a .pdf. anyway, i don't know what type of project you're working on but for a jpg or gif, a screenshot would do in my opinion </STRONG>

i agree. a pdf is always the first choice for me if it comes to proofreading or presenting a project in every detail. from what i know it can't be imported into powerpoint (i don't do the presentations myself ).
a screenshot is not an option, too. quark has the worst display quality of any program i know (if i'd use indesign 2 i wouldn't think twice about just taking screenshots). i talk about imported vector-eps-files, frames not displaying under a certain point size, tiff file previews that have absurd colors, grainy eps previews etc. etc.

-&gt; i.e. not a visual quality i would dare to present to the general manager of a national airline (which was the initial reason for my post - frustration how time-consuming the whole thing is, when you really want to do it right).

[bluedog]

<STRONG>
-&gt; i.e. not a visual quality i would dare to present to the general manager of a national airline (which was the initial reason for my post - frustration how time-consuming the whole thing is, when you really want to do it right).</STRONG>

You can batch process a whole folder of files in photoshop. You will save time if you do it by exporting each page and letting photoshop do the heavy lifting. Look into the actions palette and read how to use it to record. Then go to the File menu and look for the automation and batch processing. Its fairly straightforward, but it may take some tweaking. I recommend always saving the batch results into a new folder (you should create the folder before you start the process).

I've done this to convert hundreds of graphics into small jpgs for previews on the web. It worked wonderfully, I don't think enough people use this ability, but with PS7 I think it will become more and more used (like scripting has become so prevalent in Quark workflows).

The potential is great.

[bluedog]

Come to think of it, you may be able to find someone who has written an applescript to do the page exporting from Quark. Look for it here.
http://www.naa.org/technews/TNArtPage.cfm?AID=4037

There's one that you can either use directly, or modify to suit!

Enjoy! Now the work comes in putting this together. Export from Quark, then batchprocess in Photoshop. It could be automated into a few simple steps!

[andreas_g4]

Do you have (own ) a copy of acrobat? If not, get one - it's definitively worth the money! With acrobat you can open a pdf (pretty cool, isn't it) and choose "save as", set your options (res, color etc.) and save every single site as tif, jpeg etc. then you will have a folder containing all sites as *.jpg or whatever.

Or you get InDesign...

[HAbaRI]

<STRONG>Do you have (own ) a copy of acrobat? </STRONG>

i do OWN a pivate license of acrobat 5. i never even thought of looking under that option, i always tried with "export". wow! exactly what i was looking for. thanks! now i have the killer argument for the upgrade from version 4 at work!

<STRONG>Or you get InDesign... </STRONG>

i'm not there yet. i LOVE to use it privately (licensed, again!!), but in our agency there are a lot of hardware and software issues to consider. but i'm doing the best i can to get everyone to make the change.

how's the weather in germany by the way? gruß aus wien.

[andreas_g4]

Originally posted by HAbaRI:
<STRONG>

how's the weather in germany by the way? gruß aus wien.</STRONG>

Na, seit Donnerstag nicht mehr so toll. Grüße aus Kassel.

cu