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Task Guide: Typesetting a 24-Page Philharmonic Concert Program Booklet

These instructions describe the checked DesignCraft foundation as of 14 October 2026. XiLayout Alpha is free; public installer availability and XiKey integration are not yet verified.

Scenario

You are the publication designer for a city philharmonic orchestra producing a 24-page A5 saddle-stitched concert program booklet. The booklet requires facing-page spreads, an A-Parent spread with running repertoire headers and automatic page numbers, threaded multi-column program notes, and a baseline-aligned composer biography section.

Step-by-Step Workflow

1. Configure the Facing-Page A5 Document and Baseline Grid

  1. Press Ctrl+N (Cmd+N) to create a new document: set size to A5 (148 × 210 mm), Pages to 24, enable Facing Pages, set Columns to 2 with a 5 mm gutter, Margins to 14 mm top/outside, 18 mm bottom, and 16 mm inside (spine), and Bleed to 3 mm.
  2. Press Ctrl+Alt+' (Cmd+Option+') to show the Baseline Grid set to a 12 pt increment so body columns across left (verso) and right (recto) pages lock to the exact same horizontal lines.

2. Build Running Headers and Page Numbers on A-Parent

  1. In the Pages panel, double-click the A-Parent spread to edit the master layout.
  2. Press T to select the Type Tool, draw a header frame across the top margin of the verso and recto pages, and insert the Section Marker and Current Page Number special characters (Type ▸ Insert Special Character ▸ Markers).
  3. On Page 1 (the front cover) and Page 2 (inside front cover), right-click in the Pages panel and apply the [None] parent so running headers do not appear on the cover art.

3. Place Multi-Page Stories and Apply Paragraph Styles

  1. Use text-placement autoflow or primary text frames for the notes and inspect overset on every page. Clicking an out-port to manually link two frames is a documented blocker in the checked foundation.
  2. Create a Body-Notes Paragraph Style with 10 pt / 12 pt serif type, Align to Baseline Grid, a 2-line Drop Cap on opening paragraphs, and Keep Options (Keep with Next 2 lines on movement headings so titles never orphan at the bottom of a column).
  3. Press W to toggle Preview Mode and inspect the clean spreads without frame edges or guides.

Review styles, overset, links, font embedding and output. Preflight assists inspection but does not certify print readiness or accessibility. Manual threading remains unavailable.

Sources