parora@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu (Pavneet Arora) (05/17/88)
PREAMBLE:
I bought Publisher ST from Timeworks on Saturday despite my reservations
about Timeworks. I had bought DataManager ST some time back and I thought
that that purchase was wasted. THAT program needs a lot more capabilities
in my opinion before it can be useful to me (and I don't consider my
data management requirements to be very extensive). Happily this isn't
the case with Publisher. Before I go any further let me state the following
caveat: I haven't used Publishing Partner {Professional}, Fleet Street, or
Calamus. Readers should perhaps look for comparisons before commiting.
That formality dispensed with, let me continue raving about Publisher. I
really like this program! It is easy to use, powerful (enough for me) and
really well thought out.
******************************************************************************
Reqirements: 520ST, 1040ST, Mega ST2, ST4
One or two SS floppy drive. ; A real plus. It essentially
One or two DS floppy drive. ; works with any hardware
A Harddrive (+ floppy to ; combination. (refer to NOTES
install the software) ; below.
Colour
or
Monochrome monitor
Printers Supported:
1. Atari SLM 804 laser printer.
2. Any PostScript compatible printer.
3. HP LaserJet II/Plus or compatible.
(Requires 1M for 300x300 dpi resolution)
4. Epson 9 pin {compatibles}.
5. Epson 24 pin {compatibles}.
6. Okidata Laserline 6.
(Requires 512K)
7. NEC P6 or P7.
NOTES: Using a 520ST with 0.5M will limit the # of font sizes somewhat.
There was some comment in the manual about how the Atari
SLM 804 lazer printer can be used only with the MEGA STs.
**File and feature compatible with Publish It! for the PCs which
I understand costs twice as much (??).
IMPORT FROM: 1. WordPerfect
2. 1st Word
3. WordWriter
4. ASCII
Generally a limited import with few attributes being
transferred.
1. GEM Paint
2. EZ Draw
3. NEOChrome
4. DEGAS (will not import compressed files just .PI*)
MY CONFIGURATION:
1. Stock 1040STf.
2. One DS floppy.
3. Roland PR-1012 (Epson RX compatible. 9 pin).
PRICE: Selling for about $85 dollars US through MO firms.
It is selling for $140 up here in Canada but I found it for
$90 (Torontonians check out Smart Screens at York and King).
******************************************************************************
Installation was very painless. A simple dialog box prompts you for your
printer and disk drive set up and then works away until the software is
installed. Reasonable status messages and queries are presented along the
way.
FEATURES:
I always find this the hardest to write about since I am trying
to condense the manual somewhat:
Lots of fonts (6 styles with many sizes available). Many different
types of bullets are also offered.
Frames can hold STORIES, LINE ART, IMAGES i.e. text, object oriented
drawings and bit mapped graphics.
Standard DTP features include text flow around frames, hyphenation,
text flow through linked frames.
The basic steps to developing a document is to use your favourite
WP and import this as a story. Images/drawings are imported similarly
and all of these elements constitute your LIBRARY.
Set up your page layout using frames. Frames are invisible layout
boxes into which elements of your library are 'poured'. i.e. these
are the columns in newspapers.
Elements of the library are poured into frames. Frames may be linked
together so that long 'stories' can be larger than a single frame.
Frames on different pages can be linked together. Textflow is
handled automatically.
Basic units of stories are PARAGRAPHS. These are tagged with a
style such as HEADING, BULLET, BODY TEXT, etc. There are reasonable
predefined tag styles and you are allowed to define your own. In
addition, blocks of text may be tagged independent of the paragraph.
NOTE: When importing text, Publisher requires TWO C/R's in order to
recognize a paragraph rather than the traditional ONE. This can
pose some import problems.
Nice graphic capabilites, including simple line drawing capabilites
(circles, ellipses, rectangles, rounded rectangles) and a bit editor.
Picture cropping, changing aspect ratios are some of the other features
included.
IMPRESSIONS:
A nice clean interface. Intelligent use of icons. These enhance
functionality rather then just being cute. A lot of thought went
in here. I was up and running in less than 1/2 hr.
Impressive array of features. Logical, and common sense usage.
Again, this makes the power available to you quickly.
BEEFS: (All minor)
Installation is for one hardware configuration only (including
printer). If you are using multiple printers there are ways around
this, but they aren't always clean (i.e. install the program on
different hard drive partitions with different parameters).
Text cannot be rotated. Although you are allowed landscape or
portrait layouts, text is horizontal only.
No spline (smooth) feature for line drawings. Could someone tell
me if this is not possible or not wanted? I find this an essential
feature and got addicted to it using MacDraw. I don't find it in
EZDraw either.
Automatic kerning (space between characters). Although kerning
capabilities are incorporated, there is no auto kerning.
Overall, I really, really like this program. The more I use it the more I
think "Wow, is this an intelligent design". I recommend HIGHLY, but as I
stated at the offset I haven't had any experience with other DTPs so compa-
rison would be beneficial.
Pavneet Arora
parora@utgpu