# 5604 - The VENTURA Library™

VENTURA Libraries™ are *.VLB files that can store data or publication formatting. This
includes text, pictures, tags, master pages, style sheets, graphics, OLE objects, frames, tables, and
even contents of an entire chapter. 

Note: Before proceeding, ensure that the most recent maintenance release has been installed.  The
latest release is Revision C, build 1465.  To check the build installed, start Corel VENTURA, and
click Help, About Corel VENTURA.  If the revision is older than 7.1465, contact Customer
Service.

                                   
Concept
There are a number of ways to add items to a VENTURA Library. Within Corel VENTURA™  7
, you can drag them directly from a page, the VENTURA Navigator™ or another VENTURA
Library.  You can also drag text and picture files from your desktop, from a file management
window such as Windows Explorer, or paste the items from the Windows Clipboard. Whenever
you need something from a VENTURA Library, drag it onto the publication window. The type of
item you are adding to the VENTURA Library determines which methods you can use.  For more
information, refer to the VENTURA Library section of the online Help.


Linking Items
When you add an item from a VENTURA Library to a publication, you can maintain a link to the
item. When an item is linked, any changes made to the item in the publication will be made to the
item in the VENTURA Library. These changes will then be reflected in every publication with a
link to that VENTURA Library item. 

For example, open a publication that has a style sheet that is linked to the VENTURA Library. 
Change the Body text paragraph tag to a font size of 14 points.  Because they are linked, the style
sheet in the VENTURA Library has changed Body text to 14 points as well.  Any other
publications that are linked to this style sheet in the VENTURA Library, will now have Body text
with a 14 point font. 

You can link items to a publication by pressing CTRL SHIFT while dragging the item from the
VENTURA Library. A linked item is represented with a chain icon in the VENTURA Navigator.
Corel VENTURA 7 can open multiple publications, including publications that are linked to the
same data in the VENTURA Library. This is useful for viewing or editing one of the publications. 
It is important to avoid editing two publications that are linked to the same data at the same time. 
This is because any changes updated in one publication when saving, will conflict with changes
made in the other publication. 

If there is an item in a publication that you do not want to be linked to a VENTURA Library,
embed the item in the publication. When the link is broken, only that particular publication will be
affected. To embed an item in a publication, right-click the item in VENTURA Navigator,
(Publication manager) and click Embed.

There are two ways to update individual items that are linked to a VENTURA Library.  Save the
publication containing the linked item you changed and this will update all items changed in the
publication. To update only one item, right-click the item in the VENTURA Navigator
(Publication manager), and click Update.


Tips and Notes:
VENTURA Libraries can be shared between workgroups or kept private by individual users.
When sharing libraries, set up access rights to control which team members can make changes to
the libraries. For more information, refer to the VENTURA Library: Controlling Access To
section of the online Help.

To save a VENTURA Library, right-click the VENTURA Library background, and click Save.  

The size of the icons can be changed in the VENTURA Library. To do this, right-click the
VENTURA Library background, click View, and choose an icon size. 

To display the names of items in the VENTURA Library, right-click the VENTURA Library
background, click View, and enable Details.  

You cannot drag frames spread across facing pages into a VENTURA Library.  Use the Copy and
Paste commands instead.

To add selected tags to a VENTURA Library click Format, Manage Tag List, and click the
appropriate tab.  Right-click the tag to add to the VENTURA Library, and click Copy.  Right-
click the VENTURA Library background, and click Paste. 

You can also use the Clipboard to add paragraph tags to a VENTURA Library by using the
Paragraph tool. To do this select paragraphs formatted with the tag. Click Edit, Copy.  Right-
click the VENTURA Library background, and click Paste.

Externally-referenced files in a chapter that are stored in a VENTURA Library become embedded
when you add the chapter to another publication. If you want the graphic files to remain external,
add the chapter, and remove and import the files. If you want the text files to remain external, add
the chapter, right-click the text file in the VENTURA Navigator (Publication manager), and click
Rename File.  Enable the Export on Save check box.

Dragging an item from a Corel VENTURA 7 publication places a copy of the item in the
VENTURA Library. To move the selection from the publication to the VENTURA Library, press
SHIFT while dragging. This is useful when linking embedded items of a publication to a
VENTURA Library.  To do this, drag the item from the VENTURA Navigator (Publication
manager) to the VENTURA Library while pressing SHIFT, and drag the item from the
VENTURA Library to the page pressing CTRL SHIFT.

When moving publications that use VENTURA Libraries it is important to move the libraries with
the publication. To do this, open Windows Explorer, right-click the *.VP file, and click Copy
With Links. If a publication is being copied to a floppy disk or other media where file size is a
concern, embed any items in the publication, rather then have them linked to large VENTURA
Library files.

The addition of libraries in Corel VENTURA 7 increases productivity and power. It is important
to remember that a VENTURA Library can hold a lot of work. It is very important to backup
*.VLB files regularly because one VENTURA Library could contain essential information for
many publications.