Having different font-sizes can result in different line-spacings. Turning the page of a book with vastly different line-spacings doesn't look as neat as having every line at the same position. This is where the Baseline Grid comes into play.
Setting up the Baseline Grid
In the menu click File, and then Document Setup.... In the left side of the window select the second point: Guides. In the section Distances adjust the Baseline Grid Spacing (The second last option). The value you want to enter is usually about 1.2 times your font-size.
Example: You set your font-size to 10pt, then your line-spacing should be 12pt.
The following table gives a short overview over the font-sizes and the recommended line-spacing. It should work for most fonts, but some fonts may be a bit larger than usual and may require a different line-spacing.
| Font-Size | Line Spacing |
|---|---|
| 8pt | 9.6pt |
| 9pt | 10.8pt |
| 10pt | 12.0pt |
| 11pt | 13.2pt |
| 12pt | 14.4pt |
The default line-spacing in Word, for instance, is only 1.15 times font-size. This may allow for an additional line on all pages. You might want to test a few different line-spacings in order to get a nice-looking text.
When you're done, hit OK.
Now, let's get rid of the green dots. In the menu hit View, then Grids and Guides, and select Show Grid - this should toggle the display of the Grid and remove the green dots.
If you want to see the Baseline Grid, you can hit View once more, expand Text Frames and toggle Show Baseline Grid.
Don't forget to hit save.
Page Numbers
Adding Page Numbers in Scribus works different in Scribus than it does in Word. For these we will have to introduce Master Pages.
Master Pages
Master Pages are one possibility to create a basic layout for every page in the document. You can add graphics, or small decor on the side. Every page in the document that has this as a master page, will show all elements on the master page in addition to that of the current page.
For a simple layout, we will add two Master Pages, one for the left page, and one for the right, and put page numbers on those.
In the menu hit Edit, and then Master Pages...
The window won't change much - you get a new field on the right (or a new window). This is because Master Pages can be edited the same way normal pages are edited.
You might notice, that the inner rectangle now has a blue outline. That is because every element that is placed on the page gets a black outline for visibility - an outline that is not visible when creating a PDF - and the main page has already a Text Frame inserted into it (remember the option Automatic Text Frames we checked when creating the document?). This Text Frame is missing on the Master Page.
We will now create two new Master Pages - we want to keep two pages completely blank and without page numbers, as they will be used for the front matter (and the convention is that there are no page numbers on those).
In the new section (or window) Manage Masterpages, click the white rectangle (the first button). You will be prompted for a name, and whether it is a right page or a left page. First create a right page and name it apropriately (i.e. Content Right). Repeat for a left page (Content Left).
Select your newly created right Master Page (Content Right). If you haven't already, you might want to toggle the display of the Baseline Grid.
On our Right pages, we want our page numbers to be on the right as well. I chose the lower right corner, one line below the main text block. To achieve this, we will create our own text block. Scroll down, until you see the end of the page, then either select the big black T next to the highlighted cursor in the shortcut bar below the menu, or click on Insert and Text Frame in the menu. Alternatively you can hit T on the keyboard.
Your cursor will change into pictogram of a textframe, and next to it a small cross. Draw a small rectangle below the blue rectangle on the right side of the page. You should take roughly two lines of the Baseline Grid into account. It doesn't need to be especially large, just big enough to accomodate two digits ... or three, if your novel is especially large.
Double click your rectangle, then select Insert in the menu, go all the way down to Character, and hit Page Number. Click outside of the rectangle. You might see a grey # (didn't seem to work in my current version, but it is there). You will also notice, that the page number is on the left side of the box, slightly indented. This is because that textframe adheres to our Default Paragraph Style. We could just move it to the right, and be done, but we will run into the same problem for the left page. This means we need an extra paragraph style for our page numbers.
Hit Edit and Styles.... Then New and Paragraph Style. Call it PageNumber, set Based on to Default Character Style and make sure that all values in the section Tabulators and Indentation are set to 0. Hit Apply and close the window.
You still won't see a change in our new Text Frame. We need to tell Scribus that this Text Frame will now be using our newly created Paragraph Style. In the Menu hit Windows and then Text Properties. Should you see no new window, then look at the lower right side of the screen:
There is a new "tab" called Text Properties. Click on it.
Now you should see something like this:
Here you can see all the different things you can do to text. But for now, we are only interested in two things: Click on the Drop Down Menu next to Paragraph Style and select PageNumber. Then set text-alignment for this Text-Frame only to Right, by clicking the middle Button of the five just above where you set the Paragraph Style.
There is one more thing to do. Drawing the shape like we did is a first good approximation of where the field should be - the secret to a good layout though is having it exactly where it needs to be. This will involve some math, but we can make our lives easier.
First Select Windows from the Menu, and then Properties (not Text Properties, just Properties). If a new Window doesn't open up, then it is hiding in the same place the Text Properties were: In the lower right corner.
Having found the Window, and selecting the Text Frame, you will see something like this:
The Y-Pos isn't as important, as the position from the top is regulated by the Baseline Grid. We are interested in changing the X-Pos. This denotes where the Text-Frame starts on the page measured from the left edge of the paper. If we were to set it to the page width (in my case 148.5 mm), it would leave the page. Therefore we need to substract the Outside Margin (in my case 20 mm). And, since we want our text-frame to END with our main text block, and not start, we need to substract the width of the text-frame, too. That number is a hassle. There are two ways to deal with this: One, you are just like round numbers as much as I do, and change the width (in my example I would change it to 18.5 mm, which would result in a starting point of 110 mm), or you ask Scribus to measure from the right side of the box - where the box ends. In order to do this, click on the upper right dot here:
In my example the value for X-Pos would then be 128.5 mm. With this we are done with the right page.
For the left page, just copy the text-frame to the clipboard, by pressing Ctrl + C, or by going to the menu, hit Edit and then Copy.
In order to change the left page, we need to select it. The apropriate Window for that should be hiding in the lower right corner of our screen, the tab called Manage Masterpages. Click on it, then click on your left page (Content Left).
Scroll down, and Paste the text box, either by pressing Ctrl +V, or by hitting Edit in the Menu and then Paste. You will now notice that the text-frame is put at exactly the same spot on this page as it was on the last. Even the text is aligned to the right.
Find the Properties again in the lower right corner. Set X-Pos to the Outer Margin, moving the frame to the left. Find the Text Properties, and click the small garbage bin next to your selected Paragraph Style - this resets all on-the-spot changes and uses the Style from the Paragraph Style directly. This should move the page number to the left.
With this, we are done. Hit End Edit in the lower left corner and don't forget to save your progress. Next time we'll add text.