Congratulations! You've done it! Like a growing number
of Canadians, you finally made the leap from the
corporate world and started your own business. It's a big
step and it's exciting, although the startup costs seem
overwhelming. You decide to do most of the marketing
yourself since a one-person business can't afford a
marketing department. Besides, the wonderful world of
computerization has enabled the novice entrepreneur, like
yourself, to enter the professional desktop publishing
industry. The pricing on page layout software makes you
sweat a little. Microsoft Publisher 98 is a fraction of
the price of Quark Xpress, Adobe Pagemill and Corel
Ventura. You decide that financially it is the best
alternative, but is this the right software for your
specific needs?
What comes in the box?
For $99 plus tax you get: one CD-ROM containing
Publisher 98 program files, 179 fonts, 210 backgrounds,
13,080 clipart images, 15 borders, 150 GIF images, 1600
ready made design templates, a trial version of
Microsoft's "Picture It" image editing program,
and of course Microsoft's Internet Explorer 4.0.
There is also a 100-page soft cover book entitled Microsoft
Publisher 98 Companion. I expected it to be a user's
manual; instead, the Companion is an introduction to
basic graphic and web design concepts, as well as an
Internet primer. For example, it contains general
information on designing with colour, and the value of
establishing a colour scheme. One third of the 100 pages
of the Publisher 98 Companion are hardcopy previews of
fonts, clipart, and styles for easy browsing. There are
no installation instructions; the focus is to introduce
and educate novice users about desktop publishing and web
design.
Using Publisher 98
When the program is first run you choose one of the
1600 themes for: templates, brochures, catalogues,
newsletters or business cards. These design sets help to
ensure that projects have a consistent design. I found
several which looked interesting but if you're concerned
about originality you can modify the elements to create
your own templates. If you do like the ready-made
designs, using them can save a lot of time since the
wizard would set up the entire template and colour scheme
based on a few keystrokes. The template wizard can make
global template design changes. If you suddenly change
your mind about some earlier editing, the Undo feature
works for up to 20 actions.
The user interface
Users can create text styles and apply them to the
entire document. Modification tools for each picture or
text frame are accessible with a right-click menu option.
There are few toolbars to clutter up the desktop. This
simplicity is nice; it is less complex and easier to
learn than some of the high-end desktop publishing
programs. Two things bothered me: page-up and page-down
keys scroll the current page instead of changing to the
next page and the distracting animated paperclip, called
the Microsoft Office Assistant, remained on the desktop
after help files were summoned.
Web publishing
One excellent feature is the web conversion wizard: a
time- saver for converting your publication into web
pages. I found the web pages looked very crisp; however,
while examining the construction of the first page in a
WYSIWYG HTML editor I found that the wizard converted the
page elements into a series of embedded tables. Avoid
editing the tables; instead, make changes directly in
Publisher 98 and then convert them again to HTML. The
site preview mode loads your native browser and displays
your newly designed webpage. The wizard works only with
HTML (not java or javascript); a search for "java"
in the Help index was not successful.
Automated checking tools
Automatic spell checking is appreciated. The Web Site
Wizard checks download time, guides the inexperienced
user through errors in web design and explains how to fix
them. It even lets you fix the problems on-the-fly. If it
encounters a problem, it gives a brief explanation; a
detailed explanation is optional. The design checker
helps to teach the user the basics of good design by
correcting errors: for example, misaligned objects and
overlapping frames. I found the learn-as-you-use features
excellent. Of course, Microsoft provides extensive help
files to educate novice users who take the time to read
them.
Ask the expert
Should you require the services of a professional
printer you will need to make an imagesetter print file.
I tested the Microsoft Publisher 98 Imagesetter Printer
driver included with the application. I generated a print
file (PRN), then checked its integrity by distilling it
into a portable document file (PDF) and opening it in
Adobe Acrobat. Although the PDF was successful it is
ultimately the PRN file which guarantees imagesetter
success. Previous versions of this driver caused problems
at government in-house printing departments. A local pre-press
expert stated that Publisher PRN files work but the
colour separations are too simplistic for complex jobs. I
believe that Publisher 98 was intended for use with
standard inkjet or laser printers.
In a nutshell
Experienced desktop publishers - particularly those
dealing with a commercial printer - may want to dig
deeper into their pockets to invest in a high-end
application with advanced features. Desktop publishing
and web design neophytes, on the other hand, should find
this package is an excellent primer and user-friendly
tool for internal publishing needs. It is probably the
best choice for many one-person businesses.
Bottom Line:
Microsoft Publisher 98 (Proprietary, $99)
Microsoft Corporation
http://www.microsoft.com/publisher/
Originally published: September, 1998
