[Scribus] Scribus for newspaper

[Louis Desjardins]

>Hi,
>
>I'm starting to work on a project where we would like to use Scribus as a
>newspaper production tool for local African press.
>
>In order to use Scribus to build a daily newspaper, I need to be able to
>create macro-element. For example, a article having a title, a sub title, 2
>text columns , a picture on the side with the legend below.
>
>When building the newspaper, the journalist would select the right
>macro-element from a library of macro elements. Then we would feed the
>inside-elements (text frames, picture frames) with the right content (the
>title, the article text, the picture, the picture caption).
>
>Up to now, I could nearly simulate this using the scrapbook. I'm creating a
>macro-element on a blank page. I group all the individual elements and I send
>the whole to the scrapbook.
>
>However, I've some issues. For example, linked text frames are no-more linked
>when I'm taking the macro-element from the scrapbook to place it on a page,
>editing the content of the different elements within the macro-element is
>really difficult except by ungrouping the while thing but then the whole
>structure could be screwed up.

Hi Eric and welcome to Scribus!

I understand that if the scrapbook doen't handle properly linked text 
frames, this should be investigated in the bug tracker and if not 
already identified as a bug, it should be, imo. Please browse the 
archive and file a bug if necessary in bugs.scribus.net (you have to 
register first and login).

In the mean time, did you try multicolumns text frames? (Shape Tab in 
Properties Palette) This should avoid partly the use of linked text 
frames in most newspaper layouts. Keep in mind you can set frames to 
runaround content so you can use a large frame with many columns and 
add other frames on top. Your main story will flow around these 
elements, pics, captions, etc.

However, if you think you should link together the different elements 
on the page, I can only advise it might rapidly prove to be not as 
efficient as you might think, the more you work and the more you edit 
your text. One example: the preset text frame for your title might be 
too small to accomodate one particular title. If the text frames are 
linked together, the title is going to affect *all* the linked 
frames... You don't want that to happen.

>
>Looking deeper, I thought to the possibility to write a plugin but I'm blocked
>by the fact that I would like to have the possibility to handle the
>macro-element as a whole when performing positioning operation and to handle
>the inside element content properties individually. And I can't find a way to
>do that.
>
>Does anybody have some advices or some pointers where I could find more
>information?

HTH

Louis

>
>Thanks,
>
>--
>ERic
>_______________________________________________
>Scribus mailing list
>Scribus at nashi.altmuehlnet.de
>http://nashi.altmuehlnet.de/mailman/listinfo/scribus