PageMaker Terminator - Typographic Genius InDesign (I)

I. Overview

For domestic MAC and PC ordinary users, the most widely used typesetting software in the prepress design professional field is Adobe's PageMaker, but this does not mean that PageMaker is the best. Quark's QuarkXPress (used in most European countries and regions) and FOUNDER's FIT are better than PageMaker in terms of professional performance, but due to various factors, these two kinds of software are not widely used. . For example, Quark's focus has not always been on China, so the Simplified Chinese MAC version upgrade is slow, and the PC version is rare; while Founder Feiteng (FIT) is mainly used in conjunction with other software developed by Peking University Founder Group, newspaper publishers, etc. Coherent and systematic large objects. In addition, the back-end output of FIT has limitations. That is, FIT's PS file can only be output on the expensive Founder RIP, etc., so ordinary users have to use fast upgrades and convenient output. But PageMaker, which doesn't make the professional happy.

Because PageMaker was originally inherited from Adobe company Aldus, its core technology is relatively old and there are many shortcomings. It is obviously impossible for PageMaker to defeat QuarkXPress for a long period of time in the prepress design professional field. Therefore, Adobe Company has taken another path in 1999. A more powerful typesetting software was released on September 1st of this year. As a counterattack that has been suppressed by Quark in the field of typesetting for 10 years, and it has completely achieved its position as the leader of the desktop publishing system, this innovative typesetting software is InDesign.

Second, InDesign introduction

Adobe's InDesign is a brand-new software that is positioned in the field of professional typography. Although its debut is relatively late, it is more perfect and mature in function.

InDesign is a long-standing company that extracts the essence from a variety of desktop publishing technologies, such as the combination of highly structured program methods such as QuarkXPress and Corel-Ventura (a famous typesetting software from Corel Corp.) and the more natural PageMaker approach. Provides a series of more sophisticated typesetting functions for magazines, books, advertisements and other flexible and complex design work. In particular, this software is based on an innovative, object-oriented open system (allows third parties to carry out secondary development and expansion ), greatly increased the ability of professional designers to express ideas and viewpoints using typesetting tool software. The function is not inferior to QuarkXPress. It is even more excellent than PageMaker. In addition, Adobe and Gaoxu Group and Kaixuan Technology cooperate to jointly develop Chinese InDesign. The full expansion of InDesign to adapt to the requirements of Chinese typesetting habits, the function of the Founder Group (FOUNDER)'s integrated publishing software Feiteng (FIT), visible, InDesign is indeed unusual.

Third, the advantages of InDesign

The so-called layout design is to arrange well-processed text and graphics through pleasing arrangements for the purpose of achieving prominent themes. Therefore, during the layout, word processing is an important part influencing the creation and efficiency of the work. Whether it is flexible to deal with the text is very critical, InDesign's superiority in this regard is most vividly demonstrated, the following through the layout of the layout of some typical Examples illustrate.

1. The text block has a flexible column division function. Generally, in the layout of newspapers, magazines, etc., the placement of the text block is very flexible, and often it is necessary to break the line (that is, it is not always necessary to press the auxiliary line of the layout bar). Blocks can not be divided into columns, it will affect the layout of ideas and efficiency. However, PageMaker does not have this simple and practical function, but it must rely on a series of very tedious steps to achieve: text block first according to the layout column auxiliary column, and then use the "equilibrium field" in the plug-in utility. Flat, and finally into groups to change the size of the text block does not affect the equivalent column width and so on. InDesign, on the other hand, has a flexible columning function, which stands alone on the same level as QuarkXPress and FIT, which have been stronger than PageMaker.

2. The text in the text block and the text block has a magical color filling and bordering function. InDesign can fill the text in the text block with a solid color or a gradient color, and can also use this text to arbitrarily rough or gradient colors. At the same time, this text block can also be given a solid color or gradient background, text block border can be arbitrarily thick solid color or gradient color border, so cumbersome steps, InDesign with its fast features can be achieved at one go, and PageMaker single Relying on its "text background" function is impossible, even with the help of other software, even QuarkX-Press can only look back. In particular, the function of the gradient color of the text in the text block and the text block, only the FIT can compete with it.