Review of:
PageMaker 6.5 –
A Short Follow-up Review 
by David Steward

 One of the company's flagship products, PageMaker, has undergone some major changes, hence the release of PageMaker 6.5. For those readers that have not heard of, or are not familiar with it, PageMaker is a complete set of tools and programs needed for all types of Desktop Publishing. From a simple one page menu to a full issue of a corporate magazine or newsletter, PageMaker is the package to use. In fact, the issue of the PC Alamode that you are reading right now, was completely laid out and compiled using PageMaker. 

 Anyone who has ever attempted to produce a document such as a newsletter or press release, will attest to the difficulty in making it appear "just right". After the painstaking job of deciding just what pictures and text the project will require, you then must place each of the pieces in exactly the right spot to make the document appear professional. With PageMaker however, the actual layout part of the job is made simple. All of the pieces can be imported and placed on temporary storage on the storyboard prior to the actual layout. Each piece can then be placed on the page in any order you desire. If you later decide that something needs to be moved, move it and PageMaker will take care of reformatting the page for you. Or maybe you find that a certain piece of text is too long to fit into the space that you allotted, easy, just edit it online and replace it in the appropriate spot. 

At this point, I would like to deviate from the usual review format. A full review of this product would be virtually impossible to complete in less than 6 pages. And since a full review of version 6.0 was performed by Clarke Bird in a prior issue, (also available on the Alamo PC Website) I would like to concentrate on updating the readers with the new changes that have taken place for version 6.5. 

 One of the new features in version 6.5 is the ability to define document-wide layers. With this feature, you can place objects or text on different layers within a publication, then lock or unlock them whenever needed. This allows you to retain a high level of consistency throughout the entire publication and also aid in the formatting of the file for both printing and publishing to the World Wide Web. In addition, layers can be added at any time. For example, suppose you had someone else proofread your document. Whenever they wanted to make a comment concerning a particular part of the publication, they could easily create a new layer and input their notes directly on the document. After making the require changes, you would merely delete the new layer and leave the rest of the publication intact. With the new Auto-layer function, you can change the orientation of your publication from portrait to landscape and PageMaker will re-format the columns to preserve as much as the original look as possible. 

Another new addition is the ability to design publications for both print and the World Wide Web. With the new PageMaker, you can design and layout your publication without worrying about whether your document will be formatted for a printer, or for display on a screen over the Internet. PageMaker allows you to export your entire publication, including embedded hyperlinks, to a web page complete with HTML code. In addition, it will automatically convert your graphic files into GIF or JPEG format for faster downloading over the Internet. It even has it's own color library that has been optimized to provide consistency between platforms on the web. The 216 colors included in this library are specially optimized for online distribution. 

For you die-hard publishing fans, PageMaker 6.5 ships with dictionary software for 17 different languages, including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Swedish. I had to try this out. I went to some foreign web pages and saved the text from them. I then pasted the text into PageMaker and ran the dictionary functions on it. It found numerous spelling mistakes. 

 Probably the neatest ( at least for me) addition to version 6.5, is the ability to export all of your creations in Portable Document Format or .PDF which is also known as Acrobat. This format is a cross platform format that is being supported by more and more applications each day. PDF allows a user to format his publication using any of several Word Processors, Graphics programs, styles, colors and content, and still allow anyone else to view the document regardless of whether or not they have the original programs. You can even print the documents out on a printer. PDF preserves the original resolutions and colors. I found this to be very useful. In my job, I often have to produce quotation and reports that are sent to customers and clients around the world. In the past, I have had problems making sure that the reader could utilize all files that I included in my report. I have since begun to export these reports in PDF format and urging all of my contacts to obtain the PDF reader. The reader is available free of charge to anyone at the Adobe web site, www.adobe.com and is one utility that I advise everyone to get. One point of caution. If you install PageMaker and intend to use the PDF format, be sure to install a Postscript printer driver in your Printers Folder. It really does not matter which one you use, but one must be present for the Acrobat Distiller to function properly. I installed the HP LaserJet 5/5P driver and it works fine. Do not set this driver as your default printer, leave your default printer setting as it is. 

 After the installation of PageMaker 6.5, you are given the opportunity to take a quick tour of the application. Do so. You will be amazed at the thing you can do with the program. Also included is a brief tutorial. This tutorial goes a long way in getting you started in the world of Desktop Publishing. 

Adobe has long been known for trying to stuff as much into the box as possible, and this version is no different. Along with PageMaker, you also get Adobe Acrobat, PhotoShop LE – a scaled down version of the award winning PhotoShop Graphics Editor, Adobe Table 3.0, Adobe Type on Call with 220 free fonts, plus lots of interactive demos of Adobe's other fine products. 

 The basic requirements for PageMaker 6.5 are: Intel 486 Processor with 8 MB of RAM,Microsoft Windows 95, 98 or NT 4.0, VGA display card and Monitor, CD-ROM, 26 – 60 MB of free disk space. 

 I have not even touched the surface of all of the great additions and capabilities of the program. I highly recommend it to anyone that is responsible for producing professional looking documents. And although I do like the latest version, I do have a couple of "wants and wishes" for future releases. First, I have been unable to find an easy way of producing professional looking drop caps, those large capital letters at the beginning of a paragraph. It is still a very rigorous process. Second, I would like to be able to import an animation file into my document. Version 6.5 allows you to import a specific frame from a quicktime movie, but I would like to be able import the entire file as a hyperlink. This may not be possible, but hey, a person can dream can't he. 

 PageMaker 6.5 is available from most major retailers, such as CompUSA in addition to most mail order houses. The Suggested Retail Price is $895.00 and upgrades are available for $99.00. For more information on PageMaker 6.5 and any of the entire family of products from Adobe, visit their web page at www.adobe.com.