broken quark 5 file - any tips on repairing?

[amwellgirl]

I have a quark 5 file (master page images, images, multi-point text and pic boxes and heavily formatted text) that crashes - error type 2 - after it has thrown up the pop up box "This file needs minor repairs" and I click on (the only option) "repair it"

It doesn't open at all in Quark 6, just gives the message 'Bad file format' - the file behaves just the same saved into 4 and opened in 4, and 4 crashes when I try to save into 3. It still doesn't behave once all the fonts are replaced by Chicago, all the pictures re-imported and then greeked, it's pretty broken.

My last good idea was that the the document colours were somehow scrambled because it crashes Quark the minute I look at anything on a page, even if there's not obviously either a picture or any text in the first mm, just a patch of colour, and indeed opening the colours palette does crash Quark instantly. But then, so did replacing the fonts using Usage - I had to replace them one by one when the document opened.

I would be very grateful to hear of anyone who has come back from such an abyss as I am looking at starting my 2 weeks work from scratch.

thanks
Suzanne

 

[Baddoggy]

From what you are saying...you can open the file in 5?

If so...first of all open 5 without any documents open....

Take the document layout pallette and stretch it open to fill the whole of your monitor....(all viewable areas must be covered).

Then file/open the document....if it opens ok without it crashing...it usually means that there is a problem with an image redraw.... so...if you go to your preferences and 'greek pictures', this should allow you to collapse the document layout pallette as now Quark won't have to redraw any images. Once you are in the document, you can click on each image in turn, once it crashes again....you have found your bad image....

NOTE: make sure you create a back up of the file before hand.

Hope this works 4 U

BD

 

[amwellgirl]

hi - thanks for your quick reply Baddoggy, really appreciate it...

if only! ... it was created in quark 5 - but isn't openable in 5 - or anything else - whatsoever.


Popular opinion is that it is something to do with colour....

<big sigh. stooped shoulders/>

 

[Baddoggy]

Hey ho...looks like 2 more weeks...you know what they say...its quicker to recreate that to originate...no that don't help...

I'd be surprised if it is a colour problem...but hey...you learn something new everyday....

Shoulders back....chin up...(know how you feel) Keep smilin...its only print!

BD

 

[amwellgirl]

true true. no-one died... yet.

thanks anyway!

 

[Baddoggy]

were quite here....could always send some of it here....LOL

Good luck

BD

 

[amwellgirl]

*great* joy and jubilation!!!!

...on an identical machine the bad quark file opened.

All the black text had turned white - in the colour palette box the default black was empty and listed in the colours section as LAB. I've now made a black copy and replaced with find and replace colour over to the new black.

I dont trust the document though so shall rebuild in any case.

Anyone heard of the black corrupting like this before?

Thanks to everyone for puzzling this one. I joined up to get help for this but shall keep my hand in case I can be a helpful citizen!

cheers
Suzanne

 

[Baddoggy]

Always best to try another mac....

Thanks for the info...personally, I've never in 15yrs heard of this problem...but as they say...you do learn something new everyday...

It may also be worth deleting your Quark prefs on the mac that was givin you the probs...just as a precaution.

Glad your cloud has now lifted and you can now go into the weekend smilin!

BD

 

[amwellgirl]

Cheers will do that.

I imagine I'll keep several back-ups until it all fades into the distance like a hangover you can't remember having.

 

[Typesetter]

I would definitely rebuild the Xpress preferences file, sure it takes you back to Quark's ground zero defaults, but it's better than starting over. Also, if you're on a Mac, you may also want to check the memory alotment for Quark, and rebuild the desktop as a couple of extra helpfuls.

Good Luck and keep using auto backup! -- It has saved my butt many times -- but also don't forget to clean that backup folder out once in awhile, you can end up with many gigs in there before you know it!