by: James Bell
The new FrameMaker covers all the bases--from pixels to printed pages. The program has always been one of the best desktop publishing choices for churning out long, structured printed documents. FrameMaker 5, which I looked at in beta, is just as capable of creating electronic output.
FrameMaker 5 lets you distribute documents as Windows Help files, Adobe Acrobat 2.0 Portable Documents and HTML documents. It also provides an electronic distribution solution with its FrameReader and FrameViewer utilities.
The program now runs on more platforms, too, with versions for Windows 3.x, Macintosh, Power Mac, SUN OS, Solaris and HP-UX. OS/2 and DEC Alpha versions have also been promised. While the company hasn't announced Windows 95 or NT versions, I expect those platforms to be supported because FrameMaker 5 is a Win32 application.
FrameMaker's focus remains on complex technical publications. Its extensive controls--including multiple master pages, auto-numbered headings, multiple indices, cross references, conditional text and sophisticated editors for tables and mathematical equations--are ideal for longer, heavily formatted projects. This version fine-tunes, rather than overhauls, many of these features.
You create FrameMaker 5 documents by defining frames on each page and then filling them with text or graphics. You can do everything with FrameMaker, either by using its capable word processing and vector drawing tools or by importing files into your publication.
Another option is to set up read-only links to external files. This feature, available for graphics only in previous releases, now works with text files. I liked the fact that you can convert linked text at any time into unlinked, but editable, text.
The program imports a short list of text file formats--ASCII, .RTF, WordPerfect, Word and Ventura Publisher--but it handles these with aplomb, letting you convert almost all original formatting. It supports a wider range of graphics file formats, and FrameMaker can translate proprietary vector and bitmap formats into its own exchangeable formats.
Text frames can now hold more than one column of text. This can speed page layout and makes it easier to include side headings and run-in graphics. Straddling, another new feature in this version, allows a frame containing a paragraph, table, footnote or graphic to span multiple columns and adjusts the text around it.
For quick and consistent formatting, FrameMaker provides paragraph and character tag catalogs. Although paragraph tags are common, the handy character tags are a rare treat.
FrameMaker 5 still lacks conveniences such as automatic drop caps, adjustable guidelines and rulers, and OLE 2 support. It includes hypertext-based online manuals, but doesn't have hint lines or balloon help for its Quick Access bar and tool palettes.
But this release has some welcome enhancements, such as the ability to wrap text around a graphic frame or along the contours of the graphic itself. It also offers you the option to group or permanently join drawn objects.
Besides traditional printed output--including spot or process color separations--FrameMaker now offers more options for electronic document distribution. Its powerful hypertext controls and the FrameReader and FrameViewer utilities have been enhanced. A license for unlimited distribution of FrameReader is included with the CD-ROM version.
FrameMaker 5's new links to other electronic output solutions--HTML, Adobe Acrobat's .PDF and Windows Help's .RTF--are not quite seamless. You'll need to run your .PDF and .RTF output files through Adobe Distiller and the WinHelp Compiler before they're usable.
With version 5, FrameMaker shores up its position as a powerful solution for long document publication, whether your final product gets distributed on paper, electronically or over the Internet.
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FrameMaker 5
Price: $895; upgrade, $225
In Brief: FrameMaker 5 makes creating long, structured technical documents easy and provides options for output to paper or electronic media.
Frame Technology Corp.
800-843-7263, 408-975-6000
by James Bell
What PageMaker doesn't have is as significant as what this new version has. PageMaker 6.0, which I looked at in beta, sidesteps the frame-based metaphor of its chief competitor, QuarkXPress, and retains its frame-free layout process.
PageMaker has been rewritten for Windows 95, but its intelligent installation will sniff out your operating system and either load the native Win95 version or a 32-bit version for Windows 3.x users. At first glance, the program appeared to have few changes. But after using it awhile, I discovered timesaving features like toolbars and mouse-activated menus.
The toolbox and palette positions are now saved along with a document, but the interface lacks some of the customization features that you'd expect in a Windows 95 application. But you will find welcome additions to the toolbox, including a polygon tool for drawing symmetrical polygons and stars, and a freehand magnifying tool.
PageMaker has also expanded its import filter list for text and graphics files recent additions include PhotoCD and CorelDRAW 5.0 and now provides more sophisticated controls for imported images. PhotoCD images can be sharpened, color-adjusted and saved as LAB TIFF files. Photoshop and compatible filters can be applied directly to images without leaving PageMaker. You can also mask images and text for special effects.
Version 6.0's text-formatting options are more precise. New features include greater kerning precision (up to 0.001-em increments), expert tracking and kerning controls, and the ability to include color tints as part of text styles. However, some features are weak. The program lacks character styles, true drop caps PageMaker's drop cap plug-in works okay, but editing is difficult and bullets in paragraph styles.
Some of PageMaker 6.0's biggest changes involve page layout. You can now specify up to 256 master pages per publication, and you can create and save custom guideline and grid layouts. Other useful additions include the ability to group and ungroup text or graphic objects, to lock an object's position on the page and to specify objects as nonprinting. You can also align or distribute objects across a user-specified area.
Adobe has also greatly enhanced PageMaker's color support with Kodak's Color Management System (KCMS) to help ensure color consistency between the screen and input and output devices. There are more color-matching libraries, including new Pantone libraries that support fluorescent, pastel and metallic colors.
Desktop publishing is only as good as its output, and here again, PageMaker offers several enhancements. Color publishers will appreciate new automatic trapping controls, the ability to convert TIFF images to CMYK format for separations and support for HiFi color (for six-color separations). New print options include a graphical display of settings, the ability to proof facing pages and the option to save settings as reusable printer "styles." For service bureau output, the program includes a plug-in that consolidates all necessary files and lists required fonts.
PageMaker is equally adept at generating electronic documents. It includes Adobe Acrobat Distiller, which works with a plug-in to produce publications in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF). Acrobat Reader is provided for viewing PDF files. Another plug-in converts documents into HTML format for the Web.
PageMaker 6.0 PC and Mac files are compatible. You can save documents in PageMaker 5.0 format for backward compatibility. The program's CD will also include Adobe Type Manager, PhotoCD utilities and samples, 220 Type 1 fonts, interactive training materials and a "light" version of Adobe Photoshop.
PageMaker 6.0 may not have FrameMaker's technical document features or Quark's design prowess, but it offers flexibility and ease of use that the others can't match.
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PageMaker 6.0
Price: $895; upgrade, $149
In Brief: This Windows 95 version of PageMaker adds Kodak color management, multiple master pages, object grouping, image editing, Photo CD support and electronic distribution options.
Adobe Systems
800-42-ADOBE, 206-622-5500
by James E. Powell
From banners to brochures, newsletters to paper airplanes, Microsoft Publisher CD Deluxe for Windows 95 has all the desktop-publishing bases covered. Although ease of use may be an overworked expression these days, it's an unavoidable description for this program. Most notable among Publisher's enhancements is its vastly improved output quality. And much of that is attributable to the program's new templates. The previous version offered a variety of somewhat amateurish newsletter layouts. You can now use Microsoft Word to edit large amounts of text, rather than editing it piecemeal in Publisher. The option uses the Word toolbar, which provides far more editing tools than Publisher. When you're done editing in Word, Publisher reflows the text into the document's columns and frames. Publisher supports OLE 2.0, so you also can use in-place editing with other applications, such as Excel.
Other options for working with text and objects, such as rotation and color selection, are included. Some choices have been renamed using more descriptive language, which should help novice users. For example, drop caps are now called "fancy first letters." Patterns and gradient fills have been added, and Publisher now supports Image Color Matching, which indicates what colors might not print well. This feature also puts an "x" through colors on a palette that won't print well.
The program also now has some clever clip-art objects. For example, by clicking on the Design Galleries button, I added a spiral-notebook graphic to my brochure. I was then able to change the text that appeared on the notebook. I created a custom spiral-bound page with my own text with little more than a couple of mouse clicks.
You can create business documents such as calendars or forms as well as personal projects like party invitations. Publisher's paper-airplane Wizard is still included, complemented now by an Origami option. Desktop publishing doesn't have to be dull.
Publisher's user guide, called the Companion, illustrates the program's possibilities, introduces design options and explains DTP terminology instead of just listing instructions. It includes information about outside printing services, placing pictures on a page, binding a booklet, special characters, effective color use and paper selection.
First-time help pops up a bubble filled with the explanation for your current activity. If you're a novice, these tips are invaluable. After a Wizard's work is done, you can continue to get assistance with step-by-step help specific to the task you're doing. This help can be displayed on demand and strongly resembles the Cue Cards of old. Just click on any subject, and you'll learn exactly what to do.
Overall, I was very pleased with the new Wizards. They offer graphic previews for options at each step, so you really can't make a wrong choice. Even simple options like "Would you like a picture on the front of your brochure?" are illustrated. It's impossible to be unpleasantly surprised, because you get to see the results of your choices as you make them. You can also call on the Layout Checker, which spots inconsistencies or errors and suggests remedies.
I created professional-looking business cards with Publisher. And you can use the program to make banners from 3- to 20-feet long, or use the separate sign-making option. When you print large banners or signs, crop marks on the printed pages show you where to trim each page and attach it to the others to assemble the sign.
Publisher offers all you need to create a brochure or a letterhead or even a newsletter for your business or social group. Combine it with Works for Windows 95, and you've got a pocketful of Win95 tools that will satisfy the needs of most small businesses.
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Publisher CD Deluxe for Windows 95
Price: $79.95
In Brief: Publisher's many improvements in this Windows 95 version make it easy to create striking newsletters, brochures, business cards and even origami.
Microsoft Corp.
800-426-9400, 206-882-8080