Scribus

Scribus is a libre (open source) page layout program for almost every operating system. While I found it to be buggy (randomly switching to the default font or breaking a text field on Ctrl+Z) and sometimes unintuitive, it is free, open-source, available on Linux, has a GUI, and supports embedding PDF vector graphics natively, which makes it one of its kind.

• Download the latest AppImage (this link will start the download automatically).
• Place the downloaded file in a convenient location and rename it to a convenient name, like scribus.AppImage and add the execute permission in terminal:

chmod +x scribus.AppImage

• Then, run it from terminal:

./scribus.AppImage

• Scribus is included in the repositories of most major Linux distributions and you can likely install it with your favorite package manager.

sudo apt install scribus

• Scribus can also be installed from Flathub
• IMPORTANT - Because of the sandboxing, the Flatpak version may not be able to use external tools, such as pdflatex (I could not get it to work). If you want to, for example, generate LaTeX tables or math equations in Scribus, use the manual or package manager versions instead.

We created two templates for Scribus inspired by those from Zdeněk Kasner.

• Classic poster template
  • A good starting point (see the rendered preview). Note that you can only manipulate the active layer (see below), so you may need to click another layer to unlock some elements.
  • Created by Adnan Al Ali.

• Simple poster template
  • Focuses on simplicity, highlighting a few key points. (see the rendered preview)
  • Created by Jan Bronec

• Choose a directory for Scribus templates, e.g., ~/Documents/scribus_templates, create that directory:

  mkdir ~/Documents/scribus_templates

• Extract the downloaded template to the template directory:

  cd ~/Downloads
  tar xvf ufal_template_scribus.tar -C ~/Documents/scribus_templates/
 
  # or alternatively for the simple template:
  unzip ufal_simple_template.zip -d ~/Documents/scribus_template/

• Set the path to templates in Scribus:
  • Run Scribus, dismiss the New Document dialog window.
  • Go to File > Preferences… > Paths and set Document Templates to the absolute path to the chosen directory: /home/[your_username]/Documents/scribus_templates (alternatively, you can click Change… and navigate to that directory).
• Finally, create a document from the template: File > New from Template and find the template in the Posters category.

Once you run the program, I recommend keeping the useful panels on your screen. Go to Windows and check Properties, Content Properties, Align and Distribute, and Layers. These can be dragged and pinned on the sides of the screen.

• If you find yourself unable to select and edit parts of the project, one of two things is happening:
  1. The element you are trying to select is not a part of your currently selected Layer. You can switch between layers either at the bottom of the Scribus window, or in Windows > Layers (also opened with F6)
  2. You are in the Preview Mode (switched with Ctrl+Alt+P)

• You can create and edit colors in Edit > Colors and Fills…
  • This will also let you edit the colors of imported vector images

• Working with images:
  • You can import an image by first creating an Image Frame (I) and then selecting Content > Get Image… from it's right-click menu
  • I recommend selecting automatic scaling to frame under Windows > Image Properties > Scaling > To Frame Size

• Working with LaTeX content in Render Frame (D):
  • After creating a Render Frame, you can edit its contents in its right-click menu Edit Source…
  • You can include additional packages under the Fonts/Headers tab.
  • I recommend wrapping your tables, etc., in a \resizebox to match the size of the Render Frame
  • The following example code is what I used to generate the table in the simple template:

\begin{table}[h]
\resizebox{\textwidth}{!}{%
    \begin{tabular}{ l c c c}
        \toprule
        \textbf{Model} & \textbf{Metric 1} & \textbf{Metric 2} & \textbf{Rating} \\
        \midrule
        \textit{Baseline} & \textit{14.5} & \textit{1} & \textit{Mediocre} \\
        not LLM 1 & 5.5  & 2 & Worst \\
        not LLM 2 & 6.9  & 3 & Even worse \\
        not LLM 3 & 11.7 & 4 & OK-ish \\
        LLM & \textbf{99.8} & \textbf{67} & \textbf{Greatest thing ever!} \\
        \bottomrule
    \end{tabular}
}
\end{table}

Fonts/Headers:

\usepackage{amsmath}
\usepackage{booktabs}
\usepackage{graphics}

Once you are done with designing, you can export your project to PDF using File > Export > Save as PDF…. You may need to save it first as .sla working project.

IMPORTANT: in the “Save as PDF” dialog window, check the Embed PDf & EPS files (EXPERIMENTAL) option. Otherwise, your vector graphics will be rasterised.

Then, make further configuration in the dialog window:

• In the Color tab, select Output Intended For: Printer for printing and Screen / Web for digital viewing.
• In the Pre-Press tab, check the Crop Marks for print (or uncheck it for digital viewing). Also check the Use Document Bleeds option.

This article was created by Adnan Al Ali and Jan Bronec. We are not designers, just wanted to share some of the knowledge we learned the hard way :) feel free to contact us with questions regarding Scribus.