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From: fhwri%CONNCOLL.BITNET@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.misc
Subject: Re: PageStream
Message-ID: <45556@nigel.ee.udel.edu>
Date: 23 Feb 91 02:14:11 GMT
Sender: mmdf@ee.udel.edu
Lines: 67

>
> I have used PageStream and its subsequent upgrades since 1989.  From this
> experience, I have formed this analogy....
>
> PageStream is to desktop publishing as Maxwell Smart's Cone of Silence is to
> security.
>
> My frustration overflowed last weekend.
> This is my opinion...you can care or not.
> Begin now.
>
> =============================================================================
> Paul White
> plw@rayssdb              My employer and I rarely share opinions
> =============================================================================
>
OK, I'll begin.

I got ProPage 1.3 in November '89 and fell in love. The output on my HP
DeskJet + was superb, and I found myself doing a national newsletter for
a local organization within a couple of months. I had read the comparison
between ProPage 1.3 and Pagestream 1.6 in the late lamented AMIGO TIMES,
and tended to agree with what it said.

In May of 1990, a used copy of Pagestream 1.8 came into the local store
for $40. In a "what the hell" mood, I bought it. Soft-Logik was kind
enough to make me a registered user. I started using it, originally
attracted by the font selection. The more I used it, the more I liked it.
I was notified about the upgrade to 2.0, and sent in my $75. (Note: I
still haven't heard from Gold Disk about upgrading ProPage...). While I
have some complaints about PageStream, it's a small list compared to the
complaints I had with ProPage.

For example: I was creating a style sheet for each font with ProPage;
that is, a sheet showing a single font in many different sizes and styles.
I intended to clone the page and change the font and keep going. (I had
bought the Gold Disk CG font set). Every time I tried to do this, ProPage
GURUed on me. In frustration, I tried the same thing with PageStream.
(I had gotten 8 Soft-Logik font disks with the program.) Not only was I
able to accomplish the style sheet cloning, but I was able to create a
single file with a separate page for every font I had. The structured
drawing tools included with PageStream are FAR easier to use than the
ones in ProPage, or even ProDraw (or, for that matter, Adobe Illustrator),
although, of course, ProDraw (and Adobe Illustrator) are far better tools
for complex illustrations. I ended up deleting ProPage entirely from
my hard drive.

I have seen ProPage 2.0 at my local store, and I'm not impressed. Rotation
and tags are something that the program SHOULD have had a long time ago,
and they don't work any better (or nearly as well, IMHO) than PageStream's.
PageStream 2.1 is even better, with its ability to import ProDraw clips
(and there are a lot of them in Amiga format, ready to use), and the ability
to use Adobe fonts (easy to convert to Amiga format with CrossDOS).

I have used PageMaker 3.1 on the Mac, and I simply prefer PageStream. I
have yet to see a program that will do all the things it does. Saxon
Publisher wil have to do more than create polygon text boxes for me to
change my mind.

The earlier releases of PageStream were buggy as hell, but Soft-Logik has
made GREAT strides in improving it, and they almost completely rewrote
the manual (a near first in software publishing). I guess I'm a fan, but
I think I have good reason to be.

                                                --Rick Wrigley
                                                fhwri@conncoll.bitnet
                                ~~~second-hand smoke is THEFT~~~