[scribus] Best way to create a template

[Gregory Pittman]

On 07/20/2016 03:49 AM, ale rimoldi wrote:
> hi michelle
> 
> 
>> I am creating a double sided manual with facing pages. Each page will
>> have a 2 inch outside notes panel and a larger inner content panel. So
>> there is a right and left notes panel and a right and left content
>> panel. The notes panel will only be printed for the trainer guide so
>> they need to be in a separate layer.
>>
>> Is there a way to have new pages inserted with editable text boxes on
>> them such that the notes panels are in one layer and the content panels
>> are in another layer?
> 
> no, not really.
> 
> but you can put the set of boxes in the scrapbook and double click on
> the scrapbook item to get them placed at the same place as they were
> when you put them in the scrapbook.
> 
> so:
> 
> - create your items, group them, "item > send to scrapbook" (you can
> create them on a master page that you then won't use)
> - create your layers for the whole document.
> - for each new page go to both layers and double click on the matching
> scrapbook item.
> - ungroup them for editing / moving around
> 
> basically, you only have two extra double clicks to do... not much
> effort to keep the full control on what happens and avoid headaches with
> automatic generated items...
> 
>> Or is there a way to create some sort of library item for each panel
>> (assigned to the correct layer) that can be inserted after the new page
>> is added?
> 
> that's a good idea: when a page with a specific master page is created,
> automatically add one ore more scrapbook entries!
> 
> - it's not there yet,
> - but would be pretty easy to program
> - would mostly solve the issues related to the non editable items on the
> master page. (scrapbook + pattern items!)
> - (the template items could be on a "master page" layer that does not
> get printed)
> 
> does anybody want to do a UX / UI proposal for this feature?
> 

Here is an alternative way to approach your document, by using Master Pages.

If you create right and left Master Pages, you can edit them to create
guides which will be specific for the right or left pages. As you add
pages, each right or left page will have its corresponding Master Page
and its guide(s).
Where this becomes useful in your case is that you can use the guides
along with the margins to create a text frame. For example, if you
select the Text frame icon or type 'T', then hold down Shift and click
somewhere on the page, a text frame is created which fill the space up
to the nearest margin or guide in all four directions. Try this out to
see what I mean.

As you add pages, then you would need to repeat this Shift-click method
as you go.

At least at this time, guides are not specific for particular layers,
which might also be useful. When you use this above technique to create
a text frame, it will only be on the current layer which is being edited
-- you can only work on one layer at a time. Frames can be moved from
one layer to another and layers can be made invisible or nonprinting
(and will therefore not export to PDF), in case that is useful.

Greg