Scribus Tutorial 4

In this Tutorial we will use Images created in Tutorial9 and Tutorial10 in our sister site thegimptutorials.net. We learn how to create custom headers that fade into the page and prepare transparent Image objects. We will also learn about transparency issues with PDF files such as drop shadows and find a work around for this.

Open a new A4 page in Scribus. Choose Page > Manage Page Properties

Set the margins to 20pt and the Orientation to Portrait, then click the OK button.
From the main menu choose View > Fit in Window.

Your Screen should now look like the Image on the Left.

As we have mentioned in the previous tutorials it is very important to create a folder for this particular job (eg Morning Moon) When you have created the folder on your hard drive then place the Images you created in the Gimp Tutorials inside this folder. From the main menu choose File > Save As and save the project as MorningMoon.sla inside the same folder.

Choose the 'Insert Picture Frame' button from the toolbox and draw a frame on the page by holding down your left mouse button, dragging and then let go of the left mouse button. Create a frame as I have on the right.

Right click on the Image Frame and from the pop up menu choose Get Image. Choose the image created in Gimp Tutorial 9 'Morning Moon' The Image may not quite firt the frame as below. Right click again on the Image Frame and choose Propertiies to bring up the Properties menu.

Click on the Image tab in the Properties menu and click on the Option called Scale to Frame Size as in the Image below.

The whole Image should now fit inside the frame.

Now we will create another Image frame, this time the Image used will be the CockyShadow file of the drop shadow created in Tutorial 10 in our Gimp Tutorials. Place the frame roughly in the position as I have below.

It is clear to see how important it is to plan your project from the very beginning. Start with a pencil scetch and then find the Images you will need. Then you create the Images in the GIMP and or Inkscape before assembling the final in Scribus. This ultimately saves a lot of time. Scribus is an assembly program.

Choose the rectangular Insert Shape tool from the Toolbar.

Draw a rectangular shape on the page as I have below.

In the Properties Menu, click on the Colors Tab as I have on the far right and choose the color Azure2. Then click on the Line tab and choose a line witdth of 0 as in the image below.

Next click on the X,Y,Z tab and unlock the Width and Height by clicling on the chain link to to right of the Width and Height Input. When the link is broken you can then adjust the height and width seperataley. Type in a width of 555pt and a Height of 60pt.

Right click on the rectangular shape and from the menu choose Copy.

From the main menu choose Edit > Paste and a copy of the rectangle will be placed on top of the original. Drag the copy to the bottom of the page as I have done in the Image on the right.

Create a new rectangular shape as I have done in the Image below. Give the rectangle the same color as the other two rectangles with a line thickness of 0.

Create a new Image Frame and get the Image of the floating bird crated in Gimp Tutorial number 10. Position the bird as I have below.

Next add another Image frame and Insert the Image of the letter T. You can obtain this file by Right clicking on the Image below and choosing Save As. Save the file to your Morning Moon directory.
The Image is a png file created in Inkscape it has a transparent background.
Place the Image on the page as I have done on the right.

early morning Moon is one of those rare events that really warrants grabbing your favourite camera. You will however need a good camera with a real Optical Zoom Lens of a decent size.
The Moon is often in the sky during the daytime but rarely low on the horizon in the same position as the sunrise. My Sony Digital camera has a 10 x Optical Carl Zeiss Zoom Lens and was fast enough for me to take the shot without a tripod. If my tripod had been handy, the shot would have been even better, which brings me to one very important point. Always have your tripod handy for those elusive low light shots.
Photography is all about capturing those rare fleeting moments when something magic happens. Part of your daily routine should be making sure your camera is fully charged and ready for action.

From the Tool bar choose the Insert Text Frame button. Place Text frame on the page as I have done below left.

Right click on the frame and choose Edit Text from the pop up menu.

The edit text dialog will open up. The text for this exercise is below. You can highlight the text and choose Copy from your browser. Make sure the cursor is in the text area of the Scribus dialog. Then simply choose Edit Paste from the main menu to paste the text in the Editor.

Use the settings I have in the Editor. I have the text as Arial Regular, 14pt. The Text Alignment is 'Justified'. When you have finished click on the Green tick at the top of the Edit menu to apply the changes.

Your Project should now look like the one on the left.

Next I added an Image of a Camera You can download the Image HERE. Add the Image in the area I have below.

Don't forget to save the file and keep all the files and the folder for future use. You never know if a client will want changes in the future so you always keep all of your working files.