Adobe InDesign CS PageMaker Edition

Adobe InDesign CS PageMaker Edition

In the same way an office suite combines all the necessary office applications into a single integrated package, Adobe’s Creative Suite integrates the necessary design programs. Like most office suites, the Creative Suite applications (with the exception of Version Cue) are available as standalone packages, and they include industry leaders in each position. Photoshop and Illustrator are widely considered to be the best in their respective categories. Acrobat really has no competition — only imitators.

The one area Adobe has lagged somewhat behind the competition is in the desktop publishing arena. Quark’s QuarkXPress, the major competition, was generally considered to be better at handling typographic effects and spot colors. Plus, the original version of InDesign was generally seen as an upgraded replacement for PageMaker. However, PageMaker was much better at handling documents with large text blocks that spanned several pages. When Adobe discontinued PageMaker, many PageMaker users were left with no upgrade path.

Adobe has addressed all of these concerns in its latest release — Adobe InDesign CS PageMaker Edition. In the same way Tiger Woods addresses a golf ball, Adobe similarly has hit the ball so far out of sight that the competitors will need a few strokes just to catch up.

For the QuarkXPress aficionados, InDesign CS includes a context-sensitive control palette that, in a single location, gives you all the tools you need to manipulate a graphic or a text block. Adobe also added spot color capabilities. In the past, trying to create a document with only one or two spot colors was cumbersome and always ran the risk the final printed product would not look like the layout on the screen. Now, InDesign CS handles spot color splendidly. In this regard, the program also includes a tool called Ink Manager that allows users to optimize their color usage to use the fewest different color inks at print time.

My favorite aspects of this new product, though, are the PageMaker tools Adobe included to lure PageMaker holdouts like myself.

I have been a longtime PageMaker user and I had not moved to InDesign because I tend to work on longer documents. PageMaker’s Story Editor is an absolute necessity for this type of work. I am happy to say InDesign CS adds a PageMaker-like Story Editor. Instead of trying to edit text that can jump from frame to frame or page to page, the Story Editor lets you open a simple word processor and edit the text in a single window. The changes you make in the Story Editor automatically appear in the document.

This word processor-like function is important. Most of the popular word processors have added desktop publishing functions to their feature sets. In a “turnabout is fair play” move, Adobe has added several functions traditionally found only in word processors.

The InDesign CS gives you the ability to import tables directly from Microsoft Word or Excel. The import feature preserves the original formatting, which is helpful. Plus, InDesign’s table editing tools are quite powerful. You can create color effects or add repeating headers and footers when tables span multiple pages. The program also gives you plenty of control over bulleted or numbered lists.

Perhaps the most impressive word processor feature is the program’s data merge function. Much like a word processor’s mail merge, the PageMaker Plug-in Pack allows you to merge data from a table or delimited file.

For those who create repetitive-styled documents — anything from a monthly newsletter to a legal treatise — InDesign CS lets you create document presets that work similar to a word processor template. You can create preset page sizes, margins and other page settings. Further, nested character styles let you easily apply complex formatting to your text.

I suspect many legal professionals look at desktop publishing programs with skepticism, thinking their word processors gives them all the features they need. However, if you regularly self-publish newsletters, brochures or booklets, you owe it to yourself to give InDesign CS a look.

Adobe Systems Inc.
(800) 833-6687

www.adobe.com

Price: $699 for InDesign CS and $49 for PageMaker Plug-In Pack; $349 to upgrade from a previous version of PageMaker. Server: Windows 2000 with Service Pack 2/XP.

Reviewed by David Hiersekorn, a legal researcher and brief writer based in Orange County, Calif. He can be reached at hiersekorn@
sbcglobal.net.

Oct/Nov '04 Issue

PROS
The best desktop publishing package on the market. Adds word processing features to page design package.

CONS
Rich feature set makes the learning curve steep. Might be too much power for those with minimal needs.

VERDICT
If your publishing needs go beyond Microsoft Word, then InDesign CS is the best way to go. Even for those who didn’t previously use PageMaker, the PageMaker Plug-In Pack provides valuable tools that are well worth the money.