Frequent problems

"It's not working!" is a common reaction, sometimes even a voiced complaint, when some result doesn't quite meet our expectations, or even contradicts what we were trying to do.

The first thing to do might be to read this section to try to understand the various details and issues involved in what you just did.

Then begin to think about the problem, considering that you may have set up some conflicts in the various settings you have made in the creation of your document, such as trying to move an image you had previously locked.

Where to approach the problem?

It is typically extremely frustrating whenever you cannot locate the source of a problem. In this situation, you should keep in mind the hierarchy of the various rules which apply to your Scribus document – what you see amounts to the sum of these various settings you have applied.

In this hierarchy of settings, those higher on the scale (such as Document Settings) will be initially applied globally, but may be contradicted by a setting at a lower level (such as Page Properties) to introduce exceptions. This might allow, for example, to include inside a book a larger page folded, to include a map.

Understanding this hierarchy in fact will help us solve problems, by localizing its source to some particular level, the first step in its solution.

Here is a simplified model of this hierarchy of settings, from highest to lowest:

 

Once you identify the appropriate level, the solution is at hand.

I'm stuck with a tool!

Once you use a tool such as that for creating a frame, Scribus will automatically revert to the Select Item tool. If you select the wrong tool or change your mind, you can either click the Select Item toolbar icon, or press the Esc key.

My text frames jump or move

Sometimes with a mouse (or with a stylus for the happy owners of a graphics tablet), you may find that when you intended only to select a frame, it moves a very slight amount, due to your unintentional movement as you clicked. There is a setting in Preferences that markedly reduces this behavior. If you look in settings in the General tab, you will see Time before a Resize or Move starts, by default 150 ms, but increase it to 300 ms if you see the need.