Collaborating with shared Job Jackets
The Resources in a shared Job Jackets file can be shared by any projects that use Job Tickets in that Job Jackets file. When one project updates a shared Resource, the change can be automatically transmitted to all other projects that are using that Resource.
For example, assume that two layout artists named Andrea and Hector are separately working on two projects. Each project uses a Job Ticket that is located in a Job Jackets file named “Bryn’s Job Jackets.” (It doesn’t matter whether the two Job Tickets are based on the same Job Ticket template or not, as long as both Job Tickets reside in “Bryn’s Job Jackets.”)
Now, assume that both Job Tickets include a style sheet named “Logo Subhead.” Because this style sheet is included in a Job Ticket, the style sheet’s definition is stored in the Job Jackets file. And because both layout artists’ Job Tickets include this style sheet, both projects can use the style sheet definition that is stored in the shared Job Jackets file. So if Andrea, the lead layout artist, decides to change the font used in the “Logo Subhead” style sheet, that change can be automatically communicated to the layout where Hector is working — and the font for his copy of the style sheet will change, too. In other words, the “Logo Subhead” style sheet Resource can be synchronized between the two projects.
Within a shared Job Jackets file, there can be only one definition for any Resource, regardless of how many Job Tickets use that Resource. So if the Job Tickets for two projects use the same Resource (in this case, a style sheet), that Resource can be synchronized automatically between those projects.
It is important to note that the copy of a Resource in a project file is linked to, but separate from, the copy of that Resource in the Job Ticket. So if the copy of a Resource in a project changes — for example, if Andrea changes the font of the “Logo Subhead” style sheet — QuarkXPress does not automatically update the copy of that Resource in Hector’s project unless collaboration is enabled for both Andrea’s and Hector’s projects (File > Collaboration Setup). If collaboration is enabled for Andrea, QuarkXPress automatically communicates the change from Andrea’s project to its active Job Ticket, thus automatically updating the copy of the Resource in “Bryn’s Job Jackets.” If collaboration is also enabled for Hector, his copy of QuarkXPress reads the updated definition from “Bryn’s Job Jackets” and inserts the new definition into his project.
When Andrea changes the definition of the shared style sheet Resource, her copy of QuarkXPress sends that change (through the project’s active Job Ticket) to the shared Job Jackets file. Then Hector’s copy of QuarkXPress reads the updated style sheet definition from the Job Jackets file and updates the definition in his project.
The settings that control when these updates occur are located in the Collaboration Setup dialog box (File menu).
On the Updates tab, the On Opening, Before Output, and While Working check boxes control how the project updates its Resource definitions from the shared Job Jackets file when the project is opened, before it is sent to output, and while you are working on the project.
To control how often changes to shared Resources are written to and read from a shared Job Jackets file, use the Updates tab of the Collaboration Setup dialog box (File menu).
The Job Jackets tab of this dialog box shows the name of the active project’s Job Jackets structure, the status (shared or not shared), the path to the Job Jackets file (if any), and the name of the active project’s active Job Ticket. The buttons at the bottom of the tab are as follows:
- Change Jacket: Use this button to link this project to a Job Ticket in a different Job Jackets file.
- Change Ticket: Use this button to link this project to a different Job Ticket.
- Get Update: If the automatic updating options at the top of this dialog box are turned off, you can use this button to perform a manual update.
- Turn sharing On/Turn sharing Off: Use this button to detach the active project from the shared Job Jackets file. The project’s Job Ticket is moved to an embedded Job Jackets structure within the project file.
You can control sharing for the active project’s Job Jackets structure in the Job Jackets tab of the Collaboration Setup dialog box (File menu).
It is important to note that a link between two Job Tickets does not mean that all Resources are automatically synchronized between the projects that use those Job Tickets. A Resource is synchronized between two projects only if all three of the following conditions are true: