Composition Zones Continued
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Next, Eric exports Nancy’s composition zones as separate QuarkXPress project files, and puts the files somewhere on the network where they’re available to both Nancy and Eric’s computers. This means Nancy can use her copy of QuarkXPress to open the exported composition zones and work on them while Eric is working on other parts of the newspaper (see figure 2). The composition zones are actual QuarkXPress documents in the same of the zone itself, not the full QuarkXPress layout.

Figure 2 Nancy begins filling in a story in her copy of QuarkXPress.

Now Eric exports the composition zone containing Hannah’s column as a QuarkXPress project file, which he emails to Hannah. When Hannah receives it, she opens it up and writes her column in it, as if it were a regular QuarkXPress project. She can see the available space exactly, so she is able to copyfit her work as she writes it, saving one or more electronic roundtrips (see figure 3).

Figure 3 Hannah opens the composition zone
she received by email and begins writing
her column in her copy of QuarkXPress.

As Eric works the ads into the paper, he can monitor the progress of the rest of the content, because Nancy’s work is displayed in the layout he’s working on (see figure 4). If he realizes that he’s placed an ad for tractor tires next to a story of a dog being run over by a tractor, he can avoid a PR disaster by swapping the ad with another.

Figure 4 Eric can watch Nancy’s story appear as she writes it.

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