New Pagemaker Signals Future Merger Of Words, Design

I'm writing this column on Aldus' new Pagemaker 4.0 desktop publishing program to make a point.

It's getting easier all the time to compose text in a DTP program. The new Pagemaker, in fact, has a separate window called a ``story editor,'' which yanks text out of a layout for easy manipulation. You also can compose text from scratch in the window, then position it on the layout as you like.

The story editor is perhaps the most noticeable of 75 new features Aldus has added to its $795 Pagemaker, an easy-to-use document builder that gave the graphics-oriented Macintosh its first big raison d'etre. Pagemaker 4.0 for the IBM side, which will take advantage of the new Windows 3.0 operating environment, is still in development.

You can also compose or rework text in the layout itself with Pagemaker, but it can be awkward to do so (especially for a complex design). On the other hand, the story editor won't show you type fonts or sizes (although styles are shown).

Using Pagemaker, I could easily emulate the User Friendly column's specifications - 12-pica, 6-point column width, 25-inch length, six-column headline in 42-point Helvetica - and turn in layout-ready copy. The only problem would be that the editors wouldn't be able to change anything without jimmying the layout. Hmmm. On second thought . . .

Another impressive Pagemaker feature is Links, a box that keeps track of separate files in a document, indicating which have been modified since placement. This is particularly helpful for group-prepared documents that undergo several revisions on the way to publication.

Finally, although Pagemaker will now handle files up to 999 pages long, it's easier to use Pagemaker's Book command to link files into a long document. Unfortunately, there's no way to consecutively number pages, which can be a real headache when chapter revisions or other changes alter the document's paging.

Still, Pagemaker remains the definitive PC-based publishing program, particularly easy to use despite its power and versatility. Each time Pagemaker undergoes an upgrade, Johann Gutenberg smiles in his grave.

Pagemaker may be the best-selling DTP program, at more than 400,000 copies, but it is in an increasingly crowded field. Timeworks' Publish It! is a dynamite program that has the advantage of being able to handle multiple documents at once (Pagemaker's biggest weakness). Publish It! also comes with a thesaurus (both programs offer spellcheckers) and has a snappy thumbnail feature (letting you look at miniaturizations of pages for reordering, etc.).

At only half the price of Pagemaker ($395 for Mac version), Publish It! is hands-down the best DTP value around. The IBM-compatible version is less impressive (partly because of the platform) but still shines as the low-end DTP leader at $195. Xerox's $895 Ventura Gold for Windows, not yet released, will be Pagemaker's chief competition for the IBM platform (Ventura Publisher 2.0, the current version, runs under the GEM Desktop).

Then there's Quark Xpress 3.0, long in development and originally expected to be available by April but delayed indefinitely. A $795 Mac program, it will offer the ability to rotate both text and graphics (Pagemaker rotates text only, and then in just 90-degree increments; Publish It! also offers both text and graphics rotation in 1-degree increments) in thousandth-of-a-degree increments as well as similarly precise typographical features. Xpress also will copy Pagemaker's paste-up board, a nice feature that lets you stick graphics and text on a blank ``board'' for later placement.

To return to my original point, one can ``word process'' in any of these programs - to a certain extent. You don't want to do complex document revision or lots of block editing in a DTP program. By the same token, word processors such as WordPerfect or Microsoft Word are consistently offering more graphics and design ``publishing'' features. But they can't match the wraparound graphics, drop shadows, subtle design or complex, magazine-like appearance of DTP programs.

Where does word processing end and desktop publishing start? The line is getting grayer than a Seattle December dawn. As word processors have gotten more sophisticated for publishing, Aldus and other DTP producers have made publishing programs easier to write with. At the same time, users' expectations are being raised, to the point where a simple interoffice memo now offers boldface, different font sizes and even the occasional graphic (usually for humor or a light touch).

Next thing you know, grocery lists will consist of needed items in tabular format, organized according to supermarket rows, featuring a variety of fonts and type faces, with illustrating icons next to each food group.

I exaggerate. But with computer chips gaining in speed and power, and storage capabilities increasing, it shouldn't be too long before we all write with a jumbo-combo word processor/desktop publishing program in a seamless composition of text, layout and design.

News bytes

Although it's strictly hush-hush, Microsoft - which abandoned a similar earlier project - is working on a Windows 3.0 data base program, an area where neither Windows nor Microsoft has offered much in the past. Meanwhile, Software Ventures in Berkeley has just released the Win 3 version of its impressive Macintosh communications program, Microphone II (1-415-644-3232). . . . Early notice for the must-see Best of USSR Software and Technology Show Aug. 1-3 in conjunction with the Goodwill Games (623-4572 for info or group reservations). . . . That's right, ``Robocop 2'' features a robot cop with a Macintosh interface (tipoff is the distinctive Chicago font, with a skull where the rainbow apple usually appears).

Tip of the week

WordPerfect learners take note: Ko-Pilot ($89 plus $4.50 for shipping; 1-914-332-1589) offers easier menus and a learn-as-you-go tutorial approach to WordPerfect 5.0 or 5.1. (Thanks to Allen Turner of Seattle.) Contact this column care of The Seattle Times, P.O. Box 70, Seattle 98111. Paul Andrews can be reached on CompuServe at 76050,161 or via FAX at 382-8873.

User Friendly appears Tuesdays in The Seattle Times. Paul Andrews is a member of The Times staff.