ex CrossPlatform Helper

ex CrossPlatFormHelper is an XTension to convert Mac/Windows path formatting and to easy update of picture path.

ex CrossPlatform Helper is an XTension for QuarkXPress (Mac und Win) to convert picture path, which are embedded in a Windows or Mac Layout-document.
If Quark XPress documents are processed alternately on Mac and Windows, the user will get problems with the pictures, because the path on both platforms are treaded differently:

On Mac the path will be displayed in HFS-Notation (with colon) such as

• Data:catalog:pictures:picture1.jpg

but internal it will be saved as POSIX-Pfad (separate with "/"):

• /Volumes/Data/Katalog/Pictures/picture1.jpg

On Windows they are UNC-path such as

• \\Server\Data\Catalog\Pictures\picture1.jpg

or the directory will be map as a device like

• K:\Catalog\Pictures\picture1.jpg

All this example path refer the exact same server with its data structure, but they are displayed completely different.

QuarkXPress can sure handle picture path on any platform  - it only can be difficult if the same documents must be processed once on Mac and Windows.  Then the assignments of the image path is normaly not possible.

With ex CrossPlatform Helper the picture path which QuarkXPress apply on Windows can also be used on Mac and the other way round. So a proper update of the pictures is ensured.

Of course path substitution can be made on the same platform - for example while replace a Server or relocate data to another Volume.

so it works:

If the picture path has changed, the mapping can also be used to update the path. Therefore the previous path should be mapped with the new path.
The tedious reassigning of pictures when the path is changing, belongs to the past now.

In the preferences also the status "Suppress Output" for pictures can be reset. So you save the trouble to reset this for every single picture and it works in one Step.