PageMaker vs. QuarkXpress - Aldus Corp.'s PageMaker for Windows 5.0 and Quark Inc.'s QuarkXPress desktop publishing software packages - includes related articles describing the characteristics of high-end desktop publishing software, lower-priced alternatives, and Corel Corp.'s Corel Ventura version 4.2 - Software Review - Evaluation

Home Office Computing, Jan, 1994 by Steve Morgenstern

One key feature in this mix is the multiple master pages that have been an integral part of the program for some time. Any good page-layout program includes master pages that hold the design elements common to every page (running heads or footers and visual guidelines, for example). But most programs, including PageMaker, provide only a single left and right master page per document. XPress lets you define up to 127 different master pages per document and apply them as needed. So it's a snap to handle a design that incorporates, say, four different page layouts, each with its own column structure, ruling lines, and repeating elements. Just create master pages for each layout, then as you need a new page in a particular style, base it on the appropriate master.

Interactive type sizing (unavailable in PageMaker) adds another dimension to 3.2's layout strengths. Say that you've created a headline, but it's not quite big enough. You're not sure what point size would be appropriate, however. XPress says not to worry about the numerical setting-- just grab the type box and drag it until it's the size and shape you want. This feature, ordinarily found in illustration programs, saves lots of time and frustration.

That isn't the only feature from the world of illustration software that has found its way into XPress. The program doesn't limit you to rectangular boxes to hold imported graphics, but lets you create circles, ovals, even complex polygon picture boxes. Although most page-layout programs fill a text or picture frame with a background color, XPress goes further by supporting fancy gradient blends.

Typographically, XPress's emphasis on artistic freedom is reflected in the greater rein it gives you to distort typefaces. Horizontal and vertical font scaling let you alter the character width and height by percentages of the original design. If you want a long, skinny character for a 10-lines-deep drop cap, just check off Drop Cap as a paragraph setting and fill in the number of lines deep you want it (the automatic drop cap function works very nicely, incidentally). To make it skinny, set the Horizontal Scaling option to a percentage of the original width.

Freedom to work on a layout creatively implies the ability to move around the document quickly, a process that is impeded when complex graphics are redrawn each time the page is displayed. Many page-layout programs (PageMaker included) let you suppress the display of all graphic images, but XPress offers a more elegant alternative: a click-on, click-off graphic display that lets you hide individual pictures until you select them. This gives you fast screen updates without forcing you to fiddle with menu selections when you want to view a particular graphic onscreen.

Another time-saver comes up in the mundane process of opening files. XPress offers a handy visual preview of your layout or graphics file contents when you click on a name in the directory.

The program's style sheet capability is fairly standard, but there's a nice refinement in the new option that lets you add keyboard equivalents when you define a style. After that, you can style a paragraph without having to reach for the mouse. And for those occasions when you want to reuse a paragraph's formatting but don't want to create a set style, XPress provides a simple key stroke combination to copy formatting from one paragraph to another.