2020

BOXES, LINES, AND TABLES
A GUIDE TO QUARKXPRESS 2020 | 101
Boxes, lines, and tables
To create a successful page layout, you need an orderly way to arrange text and
pictures — you need boxes. Boxes are items that can contain text or pictures; they
can even be created to contain no content at all, perhaps to create colorful design
elements on a page. Box boundaries give text and pictures a specific shape, size, and
placement on a page.
Understanding items and content
QuarkXPress works on the concept of items (containers) and content (things that go
inside of items).
Items are the building blocks of a page layout. The Item tool lets you do things
like move, resize, rotate, reshape, cut, copy, and paste items.
The basic types of items are as follows:
Boxes, including text boxes, picture boxes, and no-content boxes. Boxes can •
come in a variety of shapes, such as rectangular, round, and Bézier.
Lines, including “plain” lines and text paths (which can include text). Lines, too, •
can be straight or Bézier.
Groups, which are sets of items that have been “glued” together so that they act •
like a single item.
Tables, which can contain both text and pictures. •
Content is, basically, text and pictures. To create a layout, you will typically draw
some text boxes and picture boxes, and then insert text and pictures into those
boxes.
Because items and content are different, you use separate tools for manipulating
each:
The Text Content tool lets you create rectangular text boxes and format text •
in text boxes or on text paths. You can also use the Text Content tool to cut,
copy, and paste text.
The Picture Content tool lets you create rectangular picture boxes and •
manipulate pictures in picture boxes. You can also use the Picture Content tool
to cut, copy, and paste pictures.