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Joseph Kling on: Transparent backgrounds and Drop Shadows for Desktop Publishing Step 3. Importing into the DTP Program Now we are ready to take our files to the Page Layout Program. We will assume you have already input the copy text into the page. Set the Text Runaround to “None”. Step 4A. Set the Page Fill Color to None. Make a picture box (big enough to hold your drop shadow) on top of your text box. Place the drop shadow file in it. In QuarkXPress, this is the Get Picture Command. Once the drop shadow image is moved into position within the picture box, go to the menu and send this box to the Back, behind your text box. If your page color is set to None, then you should see the drop shadow with the type running over it. Now make another Picture Box over the top of your drop shadow picture box and place your Earth file in it. Move the Earth file around so that it offsets from the drop shadow. You may need to move the entire Picture Box a little. (Here’s a QuarkXPress tip* Sometimes your image doesn’t place in the Picture Box at the correct size. Hold down the SHIFT+OPTION+COMMAND keys and hit the > or < keys to scale the image up or down. It is always best to size your images before importing them into the page layout program.) AND THERE YOU HAVE IT! A great drop shadow that allow the type to read through it. Step 4B. We are starting with the copy text and the page tint or gradient already in place. Make a picture box (big enough to hold your drop shadow) on top of your text box. Place the BitMap EPS drop shadow file in it. In QuarkXPress, this is the Get Picture Command. Position the drop shadow file left or right and up or down, depending on how you want the shadow to fall. Now make another Picture Box over the top of your drop shadow picture box and place your Earth file in it. Move the Earth file around so that it offsets from the drop shadow. You may need to move the entire Picture Box a little. OK, type and page color are on the bottom, BitMap drop shadow is on the middle layer and the Earth file is on the top. BUT, YUCK,YOU SAY! THAT DROP SHADOW LOOKS TERRIBLE! IT’S ALL BLOCKED UP! I CAN’T SEE THE COLOR UNDERNEATH! WHAT HAPPENED?! Nothing, you did everything right. It will look terrible on your monitor. But go ahead and print it out to your desktop laser printer. You'll see that everything looks great. HAVE FUN Joe Kling

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