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Scribus => Beginner Talk => Topic started by: PercyThePenguin on September 11, 2025, 12:58:52 PM

Title: Recommendations for Beginners
Post by: PercyThePenguin on September 11, 2025, 12:58:52 PM
This is a deliberately broad request. I am new to Scribus, and hoping to use it to format books for self-publishing. (Thus I am not interested in things pertinent to magazine layout, only books.) I'm after either: (a) actual advice; or (b) pointers to where to look, and productive terms to search for (whether that is a google search, or a search within this or another forum).

1. What are the 'best practices' for setting up master pages: what should go on them and what not.

2. When it comes to text boxes, since we can't put them on the master pages, what is the best way to get them on the pages. For example if we copy/paste from a left page to a right, the text box requires moving. What's the best, minimal effort way of getting the correct text boxes on the appropriate pages and linking them together.

3. When it comes to finding dimensions, margins and such, what is the best way to find out the right measurements, and are there good techniques for adjusting them by eye for best results?
Title: Re: Recommendations for Beginners
Post by: prcek on September 11, 2025, 02:19:31 PM
As a beginer handling my first book layout in Scribus I found helpful to just open a empty document and play with the program a bit.

Talking about 1.6.4 version

* master pages cannot contain (editable) text boxes, but can have guides defined, Page->Snap to (guides|items|grid) helps
* There can be multiple master pages defined, so I had two (lef/right) for title pages and another for normal text and special for empty pages without numbering (I've put numbering frame to master page)
* elements can be put into a Scrapbook and they "remember" the position relative to page
* multiple layers help
* use paragraph and character styles, and inheritance of styles - it comes handy when one needs to make a change later
* there are youtube tutorials for scribus, some are helpful
* if you can script in python, scripting is a powerful tool
* there is align and distribute dock (Windows->Align and distribute)
* sizes/position are adjustable in Properties window dock (Windows->Properties)
* Page->Manage guides allows to set guide to exact position

When I hit a problem I search "how to do xxxx in Scribus" or ask here.
Title: Re: Recommendations for Beginners
Post by: utnik on September 11, 2025, 05:51:39 PM
hi percy

Quote from: PercyThePenguin on September 11, 2025, 12:58:52 PM...1. What are the 'best practices' for setting up master pages: what should go on them and what not.

for a text heavy book the master page is basically the place for guides and the page numbers.
but you might like to place more repeated stuff like the book title as a header on every left page – maybe in combination with chapter titles on the right pages. (then you need different right master pages for each chapter...)
if you have repeated elements (i.e. a graphic at the beginning of each chapter...) you can create a separate master page for this. but sometimes it's easier to send an element to the scrapbook and take it from there. (to place it on pages with different master pages or to keep it editable on the individual page...)
sometimes i combine different master pages (for the more static part) with 'page templates' (raw layout pages to copy and edit) and scrapbook items (for editable elements...)
by playing with the different options you will find your 'best way'.

Quote2. When it comes to text boxes, since we can't put them on the master pages, what is the best way to get them on the pages. For example if we copy/paste from a left page to a right, the text box requires moving. What's the best, minimal effort way of getting the correct text boxes on the appropriate pages and linking them together.

i work often with 'automatic text frames'. not everyone likes them – but i do! in a layout with facing pages where the position of the text box is just mirrored from left to right pages, this works just fine. but to keep it running smooth on a whole book, you should unlink the text chain between chapters. (text chains over hundreds of pages can really slow down scribus...)

Quote3. When it comes to finding dimensions, margins and such, what is the best way to find out the right measurements, and are there good techniques for adjusting them by eye for best results?

take a look around all the existing books and see what you like or dislike.
in addition to the aesthetic part there is some technical stuff to keep in mind:
too small outer margins might make it hard to keep the book open without hiding some text behind a finger. the minimal width of the inner margins may even depend on the binding technique, as some books open almost flat while others (glued ones) would break the spine or even lose some pages...
with justified text it's hard to maintain good results when the columns are narrow. (depending on the page width the readability will increase with a two column layout. a wide single row makes it more likely to jump over a line or to re-read the same one again.) playing with page width, margins and columns is always a compromise in the search for the optimal line length. (but with the 'advanced settings' in the 'text properties' scribus has a good tool to deal with justified text...)

...no hard rules from my side – hope it helps anyway...

utnik