QS4

Distracted last week. Ireland's game against Wales took my eye off Quark but back today. Managed an hour, another refresher but impetus is growing. Slowly, but surely.

QS3

I managed to do some Quark tonight, not easy when I get home from work but I worked well - I've got the hunger to succeed!

I put together a duplicate of page 2 of the journal I'll soon be devising at work. I went through the motions to a degree but familiarity is what I'm about at the moment.

I experimented with pictures, mid-blend gradient, colour and text. I've got to learn why the tracking tool does not work the way I want it to.

I also need to learn how to work with layers, how to place a faded pic beneath a big body of text.

Quark Session 2 (QS2)

Second day of my Quark odyssey. I could only do an hour because I felt rough (lingering cold) and I need to be refreshed for work tomorrow.

I experimented with pictures, headlines, text wrap around, page numbers, gradient blends, master pages, exporting as a PDF (note the problem with double page spreads!! Also look into compression and mastering that)

It's coming back to me, each time I work with the programme the more I recognise from my limited learning so far. I've got to keep the flow going. I can't wait to produce my first full document. I want to be able to produce PDFs fit for purpose soon.

Quark odyssey begins

I downloaded a trial version of QuarkXpress on Thursday, I made my home debut on it tonight.

My aim is simple, to learn all the things I need to know with reference to my job. That means being able to put together newsletters, a 16-page journal and an assortment of publications which follow certain workplace principles.

Although I was introduced to Quark last November I have not been able to gain any kind of momentum on it at work. That meant on Tuesday, when my boss suddenly gave me a Quark task to do, one he was over half way completing, I was rusty and daunted by the prospect to say the least.

I've got thirty days to get up to scratch.

Tonight I spent an hour playing with the tools. I put together a demo newsletter page, imported pix, played with text and experimented with colour and positioning. I tried to work things like adding extra pages and use of colour by myself, if I can avoid referring to the manuals I have I will learn faster. It was a good, relaxed introduction.

Tomorrow I will add purpose to my learning. I will be focussed on all the things I need to do.