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Review published in LCCS newsletter, Random Bits, February, 2000

Adobe PageMaker 6.5 Plus Evaluated by Phyllis Hartroft, LCCS Member

Adobe PageMaker 6.5 Plus (PM6.5+) is the latest version of Adobe’s professional desktop publishing software for Windows 9x and NT 4.0. Although designed for professional desktop publishers, it also has features aimed at amateurs. In other words, it will do everything for which less sophisticated programs, such as Microsoft’s Publisher, are designed and much more. PM6.5+ may not be as user-friendly as less sophisticated programs and it has a high price tag unless you are upgrading from a previous version. But once you have learned it, trying to use other publishing programs is frustrating, at least in my experience. PM6.5+ has many features that are flexible and easily adaptable for both text and graphics. It is superb for graphics handling. Layout is a snap and does what you tell it to do. If you change your mind, modifying the layout is easy.

If it sounds as if I am biased, I probably am. My first experience with PageMaker was in 1991 when it was Aldus’ version 4.0. I learned to use it by following the step-by-step tutorial. From then on, I used PageMaker for newsletters and brochures that I had previously created using DOS programs such as First Publisher and Publish It! PageMaker, running under Windows 3.1, was a brand new experience. Macintosh users had been able to use earlier versions of PageMaker.

Since then, I have upgraded every time a new version was announced. For output, I usually create camera-ready copy by printing to our laser printer (for professional offset ink printing) or make copies (if not too numerous) directly on either of our two printers. Now, in addition to other projects, I am working on a book with two friends. We will be "handing off" a PageMaker file and linked graphics to a prepress service provider for high resolution printing. This will be another brand new experience.

System Requirements for PageMaker 6.5 Plus

Minimum: An Intel Pentium processor; Windows 95 or 98 or NT 4.0 or later; VGA display card; CD-ROM drive; 16 MB or more of RAM for Windows 95 or 98; 32 MB RAM for Windows NT; 86 MB of free hard disk space for minimum installation.

Recommended: An Intel Pentium 100 or greater processor; high-resolution (24-bit or greater Super VGA) display card; 36 MB or more of RAM; 127 MB of free hard disk space for full installation; a PostScript printer. (Note: PostScript is a printer/page description language that may be an option with many printers. It is excellent for high resolution graphics and prepress printing. However, current laser printers using PCL language and photo-quality color printers are perfectly OK for camera-ready copy.

My system: An Intel Pentium II-450, 256 MB RAM; 10 GB hard drive, high Resolution display (Viper V550 16 MB AGP); HP LJ 6MP & HP DeskJet 1120C printers.

Included in the package

PageMaker 6.52 is provided on one of two CDs. This CD also includes Acrobat Reader 4.0, Acrobat Distiller 4.0, Photoshop 5.0 LE, and other Adobe odds and ends (e.g. Adobe Type Manager, etc.).

Acrobat Distiller allows the user to create documents in Portable Document Format (PDF) for easy distribution on the Internet, by email, or from user-to-user. It only requires the Acrobat Reader (provided on the program CD or free for downloading from Adobe’s Web site) for other users to open and print the PDF file. The included software works with other applications, not just PM6.5+. The full version of Acrobat 4.0 will be the subject of a subsequent review and demonstration at a Windows SIG meeting (the next one, we hope, if we aren’t snowed out again).

Photoshop 5.0 LE is a limited edition of the full version of Photoshop. Again, once the user has learned and used Photoshop, other photo-enhancing programs are unsatisfying. I started out with Photoshop 3.0 LE, bundled with an earlier version of PageMaker, and upgraded to the full version when a special promotion arose. Now the Limited Edition can be purchased separately and is well worth the cost (about 1/5 of the full version). Photoshop 5.0 LE will be reviewed later.

Templates. There are 300 templates in 20 categories to allow the user to get started quickly. Examples of categories are ads, business cards, greeting cards, brochures, newsletters, etc.. I have been so used to starting a publication from scratch that, for this review, I had to learn how to take advantage of templates. One disadvantage of the templates is that they require Adobe Type Manager and many different Adobe fonts from the CD. This might be OK for Macintosh users but PC users probably prefer True Type fonts which are already provided with Windows 9X and other applications running under Windows.

Clip Art and Photos. On the second CD, there are 5,000 professional clip-art images and stock photographs in 24 categories. They are accessed by dragging a thumbnail from the picture palette to the publication where they can be resized.

Documentation

Thorough and comprehensive documentation makes it possible for a beginner to learn this imposing program and gives the more experienced user an excellent reference manual. A quick reference card (6 folded cards to prop us in front of the keyboard) provides reminders for those of us who have trouble remembering all the commands and procedures. A "Getting Started" booklet (76 pages) contains instructions for installation, how to learn PageMaker 6.52, using templates, and basic design. It also has lots of good tips. The User Guide (539 pages) gets dog-eared with continued use. A 30-page tutorial is well worth the time for the user to go through the steps at the computer, page by page. It is the best way to learn PageMaker. After learning the basics of the program, the rest of this manual is for reference and should be used often.

Other available documentation includes the usual on line Help from the menu bar and there are also PDF files on the CD which can be accessed and parts printed out if necessary. For example, a 22-MB manual is provided for Photoshop 5.0 LE.

Creating a Publication

PageMaker’s main function, as its name implies, is to layout pages in a publication. The publication may have only one page, as with a flyer, or a book containing many pages, with structures such as Table of Contents, Index, Chapters, etc. The possibilities are almost limitless, especially with included plug-ins that extend the program’s usefulness.

Text can be produced in one of three ways or a combination. 1) It can be typed directly into the page being designed, as in a one-page flyer or as a small fill-in in a newsletter. 2) PageMaker’s story editor can be used. This editor is on the order of a word processor but much less sophisticated. However, it is handy for just straight typing or for final editing and spell-checking of individual stories or articles. It is easy to jump between the layout view and the story editor. 3) Import text from popular word processors. PageMaker has many import filters for both text and graphics. To import, use "place" in the file menu or drag the file into the page. Once the text is placed, it can be edited the same as in 1 and 2. Or, by maintaining a link, the original word processor can be used for subsequent editing and PageMaker will update its content.

Text objects. Text can be placed in either frames or blocks. Frames have geometric shapes — really any shape — and text blocks are always rectangular, bounded by column guides or created with the text tool. The beauty of text objects is that they can be reshaped, moved, copied and pasted anywhere in the current publication or another publication.

The graphic above shows a portion of a page from one of our newsletters created with PageMaker. All of the elements have been selected to illustrate text blocks and the two graphics. The text blocks in this example are bounded by (non-printing) column guides. A ruler guide was used to position the photographs. As selected, these elements can be moved as a group, or singly when only one is selected. Note the window shade handles, empty at the end of a story.

 Formatting text. One of the strongest features of PageMaker, text, whether typed in the publication or placed from another program, can be formatted in many ways. In addition to usual settings, such as font, size, style etc., other typographic controls (kerning, tracking, leading, and more) allow you to produce professional quality type. Paragraph styles are easy to create and use.

Graphics. All kinds of graphics can be placed, whether in line so they will stay with certain text or independently of text. In the latter case, the graphic can be moved around at will. Graphics can be resized and cropped. Settings for text wrapping are readily accessible and can be modified on the screen so no guess work is necessary. Other enhancements are best done by dedicated graphics programs such as PhotoShop. In fact, Photoshop can be accessed easily from within PageMaker so it is a good reason for the inclusion of the limited edition in this package.

Linking. When a text or graphics file is placed in PageMaker, a link is created to the original file by default. If the file is not too large, it will also be stored in the publication. The user can change this default. Two main advantages of keeping links are first, to allow editing of the original file and updating of the text or graphic in the publication. Secondly, the original file may be very large, especially high resolution graphics, and would add its size to the publication. It can be kept separate. The linked files, of course, would have to be saved with the publication for printing.

OLE objects. Certain graphics and text objects can be imported as OLE objects such as tables, spreadsheets, etc. They are placed as graphics but can be edited by double clicking, which launches the original program. It is then updated automatically in the publication.

Other features and additions

The features mentioned above only represent the tip of the iceberg. It is a huge program. In this version, there are some new plug-ins. One of them is a ToolBar with quite a few command buttons. It’s convenient when it isn’t hiding a ruler or scroll bar. Perhaps its erratic positioning will be fixed in a subsequent version. Another feature needing repair is the spell checker which has a habit of not finishing checking the story when you have stopped to do something (e.g. add a word to the dictionary).

There is a converter for Microsoft Publisher. Unfortunately, it works only in one direction — from Publisher to PageMaker. Still, it can be useful for PageMaker users.

Printing to desktop printers is standard in Windows 9X although there are more options for PostScript printers. As mentioned in the introduction above, output may vary from desktop printers to high end printing presses. This subject is described in detail in the manual and also in the Adobe Print Publishing Guide (over 200 pages) so you can see the possibilities are extensive.

Summary

This version of PageMaker is excellent and I’m sure any minor glitches will soon be fixed. The keyword is flexible. The program does what you tell it to.

My major complaint is that its cost is a deterrent to many amateur desktop publishers. Of course, when you consider all that is included in the package, the price ($450-500; $90 for the upgrade) is probably justified. Perhaps a limited edition, comparable to Photoshop LE, could be made available at much less cost. I just wish more users could take advantage of this wonderful program.

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