Quark Problems

November 27, 2009 10:58 AM

My mom is a graphic designer and uses Quark. She just switched from a PowerPC based Macbook Pro to an Intel based MacBook Pro. Using the new Macbook Pro, she can't seem to open the Quark files she created using the old MacBook pro. It produces an error saying something about the processor. Is there a nice program for converting such files?

I don't know much about Quark or design software but please let me know if I am skipping some obvious detail. I want to get her this software for Christmas so I can't be too obvious but I can probably get some details out of her without being too obvious.

posted by aburd to computers & internet (8 comments total)

Without knowing the exact version of Quark involved, it's difficult to say, but the quickest and easiest solution is to get the latest version of Quark, Quark XPress 8. There'll also be no need for conversion, in the same sense that you could take Word files created on Office 2004 from a PowerPC Mac and open them as normal on an Intel Mac running Office 2008.

When you say 'converting', I'm not entirely sure whether you mean a stopgap solution to be able to read/edit these files until she gets a newer version of Quark. An upside to this solution is that Quark lagged a long way behind Adobe's rival InDesign software after being rather complacent following the PowerPC—Intel switchover, but has now gotten its act together both in terms of software and general competency. As a result, they have (or at least had) a pretty generous upgrade path from versions of Quark as old as 4.1, so this shouldn't be too expensive a path to take and as another bonus won't require your mother to readjust to a new working environment (say, that of InDesign).
posted by jaffacakerhubarb at 11:10 AM on November 27, 2009

Is this the error?

Profile Processor Error: Bad transform

If so, this thread provides a number of different possible fixes. The short answer is that it's a corrupted preference, either in the color management settings or the preferences as a whole. The first thing I would try is to delete the "XPress Preferences.pfr" file in her ~Library/Preference/Quark/QuarkXPress6.0/ folder. (That is, quit Quark, delete file, re-open Quark.)

Second thing I would try is follow the steps in the last post in that thread which supplies advice for fixing the color management issue.

If those don't work, post the error text and maybe we'll be able to dig a little deeper.
posted by wemayfreeze at 11:14 AM on November 27, 2009

She is using Quark 8, but said she made the files using Quark 6.5.

I'm asking her for the exact error message now.
posted by aburd at 11:24 AM on November 27, 2009

Here is her description of the problem:

"The problem is when I make a picture box and place/import a piece of art into it that was made with an older version of Illustrator. That would be almost all the logos I have ever made, all the line art, and some of the photos.

It doesn't give me an error msg. I just get a greyed out .eps in the box. I can't see the image so I can't design with it. see screen cap attached."
posted by aburd at 12:05 PM on November 27, 2009

Here is the screen cap.
posted by aburd at 12:21 PM on November 27, 2009

Hmm ... Illustrator EPS files generally have an embedded preview image in them. Especially old ones. This used to be a "Macintosh formatted" 8-bit image, which is perhaps some lost format that Quark can't read anymore, or the embedded preview has sort of "fallen off" the image in some wrangling. Sorry I can't be more concrete or present a fix ... I can only describe the smell :) Hopefully someone else will find what is rotting.

I'd advise a small experiment: Open an old .eps file for editing, in a version of Illustrator old enough to parse the file into its constituent objects and things. Then re-save it, re-import it, and see if it's still grey.

Then try importing the file into a NEW version of Illustrator, save as EPS and import that. Still grey?
posted by krilli at 12:38 PM on November 27, 2009

It's unclear what has changed since this used to work for her. It also looks like the nature of the problem has shifted since you first posted (which I've encountered a lot since I became a member of the IT Generation). Going, then, with the EPS preview issue:

The screen cap you posted suggests that this happens with newly-created Quark 8 files, not just old 6.5 files. It looks like the problem is that EPS files don't preview in Quark 8. Or do some files display fine?


Try these:

It looks like there is a preference for EPS preview:

1. Go to QuarkXPress > Preferences.
2. Select the EPS pane in the Preferences dialog.
3. Select Generate in the Preview drop-down menu.
4. Relaunch QuarkXPress and re-import the EPS image.


It also appears that there is a menu option that may help:

View > Full Res Previews
posted by wemayfreeze at 12:39 PM on November 27, 2009

So I gave my mom all three of those solutions at once. She did them all. And suddenly the whole thing works. I don't know who gets credit but you all rock! Thanks for making me look good on a holiday. :)
posted by aburd at 1:23 PM on November 27, 2009 [1 favorite]