QuarkXPress 7: You’ve Been Synched!

The Shared Content feature in QuarkXPress 7 allows you to reuse content over multiple project layouts, much like the User Define Variables feature you’ll find in Adobe RoboHelp 6 HTML.

Once added to the Shared Content palette, items gain a sort of super-linked property. Should you duplicate an instance of a shared item, the duplicates are synchronized. Update one occurrence of the synchronized text, you update the same thing in any project layout where the item appears. For instance, I created a text box with a phone number in Layout 1. I added the text box to the Shared Content palette. Then I duplicated layout several times. Each of the duplicate layouts contained the same text box with the phone number. Here’s the cool part: I opened one of the layouts and edited the phone number. Bam! The number updated in all of the layouts.

In the following example, I will show you how to use the Shared Content feature to update multiple instances of text box content.

1. Create a new layout in QuarkXPress 7 and draw a text box
2. Using the Content tool, type This is a test of the Shared Content feature into the text box
3. Choose Window > Shared Content to show the Shared Content palette
4. Using either the Item or Content tool, select the Text box you were just working with
5. Click the New tool on the Shared Content palette

   The Synch Content dialog box appears.

6. Type a name into the Name area
7. Click OK

   The text box and its text has been added to the Shared Content palette.

8. Using either the Item or Content tool, select the Text box you were just working with
9. Press [command] [d] several times to make duplicates of the text box and its content
10. Using the Item tool, move the text box to different locations in the layout
11. Using the Content tool, change the content in any of the text boxes to This is an edited test of the Shared Content feature.

    All of the text boxes throughout the layout should have been updated to reflect your change to any of the synchronized text boxes.

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