Dale Farris, Secretary
Golden Triangle PC Club
January 2003

For many years, Adobe's PageMaker has set the standard for Windows desktop publishing, and the newest version 7 continues this long established tradition. PageMaker brings professional desktop publishing and pre-press publication design to the every day user, and it includes all of the features and enhancements of earlier version, plus many new and very useful feature.

Some of the new functionality includes the merging of information stored in databases, spreadsheets, and the ability to place PDF files directly into a PageMaker publication. You can now also output directly to PDF, and you can add and change anything in the PDF file, as well straight from PageMaker 7.

PageMaker 7 also includes an import filter so you can open and convert Quark XPress and Microsoft Publisher files, and you can import graphics and text from Microsoft Word.

The PageMaker interface has not changed from the previous version, so current PageMaker users will find themselves right at home in version 7. As with all PageMaker versions, you can quickly create layouts for any use, from business card to full size posters. Using master pages, you can also quickly modify a document or publication without have to manually format each item in a publication.

PageMaker 7 has great type features, such as excellent kerning and tracking features, features that you will only find in high-end, more professional desktop publishers like PageMaker 7. The built-in trapping is intelligent and helps produce consistent output for pre-press use. Color management in PageMaker 7 is a blessing in disguise, as even a new user can produce great results with a minimal knowledge of PageMaker or pre-press experience.

The advanced printing options in PageMaker 7 are outstanding. Not only can you produce duplex print jobs, but you can also save for a service provider which pretty much guarantees that your publication will come back from the printer exactly how you want it. There is also a nice Build Booklet feature (plug-in) that speeds up the creation of multi-page publications that are preformatted for output.

The PageMaker data merge feature is a definite time-saver. Pull data from a database and spreadsheets to create custom form letters, as well as mailing labels and catalogs.

The PageMaker CD comes with professional grade clip-art and publication templates to help you get started right out of the box. You can modify the templates to suit your needs without ever having to learn the core of PageMaker 7.

Powerful Features

Create a wide variety of publications in PageMaker, from simple one-page flyers to complex reports. Build your own publications from scratch, or take advantage of hundreds of predesigned templates that you can modify to suit your needs.

Easy-to-use layout and design features
Insert placeholder frames for text and graphics
Lay out publications with ease by creating frames to hold text and graphics
Add nonprinting guides that help you position objects on pages precisely

In multipage publications, your design is more cohesive if each page is built on a master page
Use master pages to specify and apply different page designs, such as margins, headers and footers, column guides, and backgrounds, within a single publication.

Create, modify, and delete objects on master pages just as you would with any other objects.

Using layers, set up a single file for multiple versions of a publication, add annotations, and experiment with layouts by placing objects on different layers. By placing text on separate layers, you control which objects are visible and work faster by turning off the graphics layer.

Layout Adjustment
Save time using the Adjust Layout feature to automatically reposition, resize, and reflow text blocks, frames, and graphics when you revise the layout framework of a page or a whole publication. For example, you can quickly refashion a four-column publication to a two-column format. PageMaker then reflows the text and graphics on each page to match the new settings.

Advanced word-processing capabilities
Type and format text directly in layout view, or take advantage of the story editor, a built-in word processor that makes it easy to create and edit text.

Set tabs and indents, spell-check publications, insert tables, and perform other word-processing tasks in PageMaker.

Once text is in PageMaker, it is part of a story. A PageMaker story is similar to an article in a newspaper. Several stories may appear on the same page and continue elsewhere on a different page in a publication.

 If you need to work on long publications, assemble multiple publications into a book so that you can work on them as a whole—create a table of contents and an index, renumber pages, and print the book—while retaining the ability to work on each publication independently.

When you export a publication to Adobe PDF, you can automatically create bookmarks and hypertext links for a table of contents and index entries in Adobe PDF files.

Professional composition and typography
Produce professional-quality type in your publication. Sophisticated layout features and professional typographic capabilities give you access to the same page layout effects used by graphic designers. Traditionally, typographers use tracking to change the visual denseness of type on the page, and kerning to adjust the spacing between pairs of letters.

Use PageMaker to set typography to professional standards with point-size-dependent tracking, kerning in 0.001-em increments, and expanded and condensed type. PageMaker offers precise control over word and letter spacing, hyphenation and justification, and text alignment.

Graphics and text objects Import images from graphic applications such as Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop software directly into PageMaker, or use drawing tools to create lines, rectangles and squares, circles and ellipses, and polygons to which you can apply a stroke and fill. These shapes can be self-contained, or they can be used as frames that hold text or imported graphics.

Type text directly in PageMaker or import it from another application.
You can manipulate a text block as an object—for example, select, move, and resize it. In layout view, text is contained in text objects—either a text block or a text frame . A text block is created with the text tool or by flowing text into columns. A text frame is created with a frame tool or by converting a drawn shape to a text block. When you edit text, you work with letters and words, but you can manipulate text objects in the same way you manipulate graphics—as movable objects.

Assure tight integration with other products
Tired of learning new applications only to find they don’t work well with your existing software? With PageMaker, you’ll enjoy a familiar working environment and smooth, easy file import from some of your favorite Adobe applications. Common interface features PageMaker features the award-winning Adobe user interface, familiar to anyone who uses Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, or Adobe InDesign.

The tabbed windows—along with Adobe’s popular tabbed palettes, similar tools, and common keyboard shortcuts—make it possible to work more efficiently and move among the programs with ease.

Photoshop, Illustrator, and PDF file import
Place Illustrator files directly in PageMaker publications and view high-quality previews on-screen.

Drag and drop Photoshop graphics into position
Place Adobe PDF pages directly into your PageMaker publication.

Data merge
Take advantage of the new Data Merge feature to merge text and graphics originally stored in spreadsheets or databases. Create custom publications for direct mail campaigns, including form letters, mailing labels, envelopes, and catalogs. You can even merge images using a unique PageMaker 7.0 option.

Produce reliable output
PageMaker provides support for the leading print standards. Output files to any printing device, including high-end commercial printers. Consistent, predictable color PageMaker provides several features that enhance color output, whether you’re printing to a desktop printer or a commercial press.

Assure consistent and predictable color throughout your design, proofing, and printing process. Use knockout, overprint, and trapping to compensate for misregistration or hue shift between colors.

Each publication contains its own collection of colors, available through the Colors palette. Define your own colors, select them from a color-matching system, or import them with an EPS graphic. Easily specify spot or process colors, import spot colors from EPS files to the PageMaker palette, convert image formats from RGB to CMYK TIFF for separations, and instantly remove unused colors from a publication file.

Color management
Support for the ICC color management profile standards means you can share device profiles between multiple color management systems. Each device you use to create a publication—scanners, monitors, desktop printers, and printer presses—can reproduce or display a limited set of colors. A color management system obtains the color characteristics of each device and then maps this information between devices. By taking advantage of color management, you help ensure the quality and consistency of color output.

Advanced printing options
Using the Save for Service Provider plug-in, follow simple, guided steps to consolidate everything your printer needs in a single file.

Specify duplexing options
The Build Booklet plug-in creates multipage spreads that print on a single sheet and assume the correct page order when folded.

Enhanced PDF export
Export publications directly to Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files, maintaining the design and layout for accurate, high-quality printing. Adobe PDF files can be downloaded, viewed, and printed from several different platforms with the page layout and typography of the original publication intact. PageMaker 7.0 includes Acrobat Distiller 5 and Acrobat Reader 5—everything you need to create and view Adobe PDF files. Add document information, change security options, and modify advanced Distiller settings—all from within PageMaker.

Explore your creativity
Time is precious. Adobe knows that your page layout software should help you save time rather than spend it. That’s why PageMaker provides templates and clip-art to help you add a professional touch to your publications.

Templates
No time to lay out your publications from scratch? No problem. Start with one of the hundreds of professionally designed templates included with PageMaker to lay out your newsletters, brochures, reports, business stationery, and other publications. Beginning, intermediate, and advanced versions of templates offer a wide array of design choices and let you master PageMaker at your own pace. The templates are fully customizable, so you can easily modify them to suit the specific needs of your projects.

Clip art
Apply thousands of high-quality, royalty-free stock illustrations and photographs included with PageMaker to all types of publications. With the handy content management features in PageMaker, quickly browse, search, and organize your templates, illustrations, and photographs in thumbnail format.

What's New in V. 7?

PageMaker 7.0 includes a number of new features that help you easily produce professional-quality business communications for print, press, and electronic distribution.
• Merge text and graphics stored originally in spreadsheets or databases to create custom publications, including form letters, mailing labels, envelopes, catalogs, or direct mail campaigns.
• Create and view Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files. Add document information, change security and compatibility options, embed tags for accessibility, and modify advanced Acrobat Distiller settings — all from within PageMaker.
• Easily place Adobe PDF files created with Adobe Photoshop 5 - 6 or Adobe Illustrator 9 directly into PageMaker publications.
• Save time by importing native Photoshop and Illustrator files. You can drag and drop the native file or use the Place dialog box.
• Use a converter utility to open Quark XPress 3.3 - 4.1 publications directly in PageMaker. Use the same utility to open Microsoft Publisher 95 - 2000 in PageMaker (Windows only). Import and export text and graphics to and from Microsoft Office applications. Import and export text and graphics to and from key business applications such as Microsoft Word.

Recommendations For Use

PageMaker 7 is one of the more sophisticated desktop publisher applications on the market, and version 7 represents the latest in the many long years of PageMaker dominance of this market. The program is suitable for almost any type of publication and user, and it has certainly become much easier to use now. PageMaker is more suitable for business use, as its many design features will more likely be used by professionals with experience in desktop publishing.

Although PageMaker 7 is now easier for novices to learn, in my opinion it is not the desktop publishing application for those brand new to this type of software. I recommend novices first start with Microsoft's Publisher, or Serif's PagePlus. PageMaker 7 provides many nice, powerful features for controlling the layout and design of publications, but these many tools do assume some degree of user familiarity and experience.

PageMaker 7 can be considered by first-timers, who need a program that combines simplicity, ease of use, an intuitive interface, robust features, and has up-to-date options, so they can create a variety of material with a professional outlook. However, learning PageMaker for the first time will be more difficult than learning Publisher. In this latest version, Adobe has added many new pre-designed templates, that were never around in the earlier versions, and these greatly speed up the learning curve for novices.

For designers who like to work in other programs and place the text or graphics into PageMaker, the ability to place native Photoshop and Illustrator files, and the new and enhanced conversion and filter options are a great time-saver. The enhanced PDF options and tagged PDF support are a must in an age where designers need to create output that can be viewed on a variety of devices and shared between individuals. The included fonts, clipart, and stock photos are a great addition.

Price

$499 retail price
$  79 upgrade price
(must have a serial number, and a previous version on same platform)

System Configuration Requirements

Windows
Pentium processor
Win 98, 98 SE, ME, NT 4 (SP 5 or 6), XP
32MB RAM (48MB recommended)
175MB free hard disk space (200MB or more recommended)
Video card with 800 x 600 resolution and 8-bit/256 colors
(24-bit, high-resolution display recommended)
CD-ROM drive
For Adobe PostScript printers: Adobe PostScript Level 2 or later

Mac Machines
PowerPC processor
Mac OS 8.6 (with Apple Font Manager Update v. 1), 9.1, OS X (Classic)
16MB RAM (32MB recommended)
100MB free hard disk space (150MB recommended)
800 x 600 monitor resolution with 8-bit/256 colors
(24-bit, high-resolution screen display recommended)
CD-ROM drive
For Adobe PostScript printers: Adobe PostScript Level 2 or later

Contact

Adobe Systems, Incorporated
Corporate Headquarters
345 Park Avenue
San Jose, California 95110-2704
408-536-6000
800-833-6687
FAX 408-537-6000

Order Online at Adobe Corporation
http://www.adobe.com/store/main.jhtml

You can also order from other retailers or online vendors.