As I’ve just recently upgraded to Mavericks I thought I’d share some tips for Scribus users thinking about doing the same.
FirstMAKE A BACKUP - I can’t emphasise this enough. It’s just common sense.
GeneralStraight after you upgrade I’d recommend not running any applications for the first hour or two or so after logging on.
This is because Spotlight needs to update its database, so it creates loads of little tasks - mds, mdworker, mds_stores, etc. - that churn through all the files on your connected drives and take up a load of CPU. (It’s not unusual for mdworker to take 60-75% of a CPU.)
So just leave it a while so you don’t get frustrated with applications working slower than normal. This isn’t Scribus-specific but it’s worth knowing about.
X11Mavericks wipes any X11 installation you may have and GhostScript uses X11.
So if you’re using GhostScript - and you probably are even if you don’t know it - you’ll have to (re)install XQuartz from here:
http://xquartz.macosforge.org/landing/Apple no longer provide X11, that’s why you need XQuartz (which was usually more up-to-date than the Apple version anyway).
Don’t worry if you don’t know what X11/XQuartz is, the installation is painless and you’ll need it for things like Inkscape too.
Note: When you first run Inkscape it might ask you where X11 is; XQuartz will be installed by default in the Utilities folder in Applications.
FontsMavericks installs new versions of many font variants (Arial, Georgia, Palatino, Times New Roman, etc.). If you open FontBook you’ll probably see many little yellow alert symbols. I’d recommend disabling the older versions - the new ones are dated 1st Dec 2013.
To disable a font variant click on the little arrow head next to the font name to “open” it, then click on one of the variants with an alert symbol and press the “Manually Resolve…” button on the bottom right. Select both versions in turn to find the newest one and - while selecting the newest one - press the “Resolve This Duplicate” button.
Resolved fonts aren’t deleted, they’re just disabled (unless you’ve set the Preferences to move them to the Trash). What you do with your disabled fonts is up to you.
When you first start Scribus it’ll need to rebuild your font list so if you’ve got a lot of fonts prepare to be patient.
Note: Both GIMP and Inkscape need to do this too, so you might want to start them when you’re not in a hurry.
Also, check your fonts are all still in your Font Book. I’ve noticed that a few of mine have gone missing and I can’t figure out why. It could be something I did wrong but it’s worth checking your most important ones before you need them. (You did make a backup didn’t you?)
JavaI know this isn’t directly connected with Scribus but if you use OpenOffice - for instance, to edit your text before inserting into Scribus - you’ll probably need to re-install Java as the upgrade removes it (or makes it unavailable in some way).
You can download it from many places but I’d recommend running OpenOffice, then selecting to use a Text Document. This will pop up a window saying that you need Java SE 6 Runtime and asks if you want to install it. Select Install and you’ll be up-and-running again. (The install comes from Apple.)
If you try and get the latest version from java.com you’ll probably end up installing Java 7 which may not be compatible, or a 64-bit version which OpenOffice can’t use (apparently). Either way you’ll have to manually tell OpenOffice where your JRE (Java Runtime Environment) is so it’s much easier to let OpenOffice install the version it wants and configure itself appropriately.
More?If you have any other Scribus-related tips on upgrading to Mavericks please feel free to post them here so everyone else can benefit from your experiences.
(In order to stop people getting confused, please don’t post questions or problems to this topic. Only use it to post tips and constructive help. Thanks.)