Amiga Computing - Commodore Is Awesome

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elow PageStream's tidy surface. Pretty much everything you needed to create documents ranging from flyers to whole novels was included in the previous release of PageStream. BME, for example, allowed users to retouch pictures with the included cropping, rotational and autotracing tools. Similarly, PageLiner acts as a text editor allowing users to import and aiter text much more quickly than can be achieved in PageStream itself. This package really does allow users to gen erate professional-quality layouts with all the tools a designer should expect to have at their disposal There is, for example, a range of pow erful drawing tools included that allow you to create boxes, lines, spots and flashes, as well as freehand paths. Text can then be made to auto matically flow round irregular pictures and objects. Automatic drop caps and bulleted paragraphs can be inserted from simple requesters, and there's a selection of gradient, radial and shape fills at your disposal. One of the biggest improvements over the initial release of version 3.0, however, is that the program is now infinitely more stable. When the program appeared two years ago it used to lock up on quite a regular basis, but this prob lem was sorted out with a patch a long time ago. In this release, there have been dozens of small refinements to make the program run more smoothly than ever before. So how about the new fea tures? First off, the interface ■- while remaining essentially famil iar, it has received a few valuable alterations. The Toolbox, for exam ple, has been given a new crop tool, neatly separating it from the Reshape tool under which it pre viously could be accessed. The Magnifier tool has also been improved - you can now just drag over an area to zoom in on the desire portion of the screen - while a new 'Eyedropper1 tool allows users to copy and paste text and object attributes, allow ing for faster formatting. The Toolbar, beneath the working window, has also received new tools, including buttons for Play Script and Preferences. The Toolbar is also now configurable in the Preferences requester, giving you the option to decide which menu commands and scripts should be placed within it If that wasn't enough, there's a 'Show/Hide' command for the Toolbar in the Window menu, and its position can be remem- The interface has been enhanced, though the pro gram remains familiar This package really does allow users to generate professional-quality lay outs with all the tools a designer should expect to have at their disposal. Wrld of AMIGA bered by PageStream. Finally, there are also increase and decrease indent buttons Graphical flexibility has been enhanced with new masking features, for example, it's now pos sible to mask drawings, EPS pictures and illustra tions with whatever shapes you can think up and draw. Users simply have to select a graphic and a shape or path and then choose the Mask Graphic option. Another big difference in this department is that these and other effects can be added to pictures in PageStream without editing the picture in BME - instead, you simply click on the FX button in the Edit palette. Furthermore, PageStream now has built-in virtual memory, just like BME itself, which it uses to load and print graphics. The program has for some time supported bitmap graphic formats including BMP, GIF, IFF, MacPaint, PCX and TIFF, as well as outline for mats including EPS, Art Expression, Freehand, Illustrator and ProDraw. JPEG loading support still doesn't feature in this prgram itself, but a separately sold filter is thankfully available. This filter can now load and save progressive JPEG images. The export requester has a Progressive checkbox to turn this feature on, though it's switched off by default because many programs do not currently sup port Progressive JPEG images. QOGIKAL PROGRESSION A whole host of minor refinements and bug fixes aside, that pretty much brings us up to date with the improve ments made to PageStream since version 3 appeared on the tail end of '94. So what do we think of the Soft- Logik's progress ? Certainly there are no revolutionary surprises in this latest version. While there are dozens of new 'features', they all basically optimise the interface and develop tools already in existence. There's nothing radically new, but then this is more of an update than a com pletely new version. It's been a long wait just to get this far, but it would Amiga Computing MARCH 1997 When laying out anything like a magazine, even idiots of the design world, like myself, know that you lay illustrations or titles across double page spreads to give them increased visual impact. With the importance of this in mind, Soft- Logik have made double-sided pages into auto matic page spreads; whereas before you had to manually make facing pages into spreads, now you can just start designing. In line with this be nevertheless unfair to accuse Soft-Logik of sitting on its thumbs. Though essentially the same program as it was two years ago, PageStream has at last evolved into the powerful, intuitive program it promised to be back then. It's much more stable, and the interface has ben- efitted from constantly being re-evaluated and refined to make it work better for the end-user. Of course, those who stand to make the most of the latest version PageStream are the ones who've invest ed in a RTG board. If you're serious enough about DTP to invest in a Cybergraphx card and PageStream 3.2, you're in for a real treat. PageStream 3.2 still comes with BME 2.0, allowing users to retouch pictures. However, it's now possible to work directly with graphics within PageStream itself improvement, the New Document requester includes a facing page checkbox that allows users to set which pages will be viewed as fac ing pages. Incidentally, while on the subject of spreads, it is possible to drag a page to the bot tom of another to start a vertical page spread, yet another example of PageStream's com bined creative flexibility and ease of use. Easier editing The process of editing a document has been improved due to the addition of an Apply but ton in the Edit palette. Changes made via this palette are no longer effected at once; instead, a batch of alterations can be made to the co ordinates, pictures and text frames, and all can be effected at the same time with the apply button - a method which actually speeds up multiple alterations. One drawback that is becoming more com mon with Amiga productivity programs is the iack of a proper printed manual in the 3.2 box. Extensive on-line, context-sensitive help is avail able, but while this is by far the best way of looking for small chunks of information, it does not compare with a proper manual when it comes to getting an overview of a program. The lack of a tutorial will be sorely missed by anyone who want starting off either with DTP or with Softlogik's product, although the 16 page overview makes some concessions in this direction. I did, however, like the idea of the Navigator tip box which appears every time you load the product, a feature that help users assimilate new features bit by bit. Incidentally, while on the subject of the Navigator, this has been improved with the introduction of a pref erences button. line Product details Product PageStream 3.2 Supplier Soft Logik Price S199 Tel Ease of use Scores 1-800-829-8608 US 86
Why so glum chum? Amiga about to sprout wings and a harp? See if ACAS can't help PUTER NEWBIE I'm writing to you from Malta. 1 am hoping you will be able to give me some infor mation about how a computer works - I only need a few hints. I do not know very much about computers but this year! am going to take some lessons. I would like a few points so by the time I take the lessons i will know something, 1 rather than nothing, about computers. I have heard people talk about windows, what are they and how would you use them? Does this involve the mouse? I hope to hear from you soon, thanks for your collaboration! Elaine, B'Bugia Malta The trouble with trying to describe computers to beginners is that by their very nature computers are complicated and will remain so for a very long time to come, in some ways, even with all the big advances, they are more compli cated today than ever before. Even to give a brief description of the basics of computers would really take up more space than we have here. It does sound like you know a little already as you know what a mouse is, and that really you are getting confused when it comes to the soft ware that you run with a computer. When people refer to windows there are two possibilities, one would be the general term for windows. With modern operating systems programs run on a computer appear in 'windows', these are rectangular areas on the screen that you can move around and change the sire of using the mouse. In these window programs are displayed allowing you to use them, on the Amiga this window system is called Workbench. The other reason people may be talking about windows is that they are referring to a software product made by Microsoft - the latest version is called Windows95. One descrip tion is that Windows is a program to run programs, it is the thing that actually draws all the windows that appear. The one thing you should know is that Windows95 does not run on an Amiga, to use it you need a PC. It is more than likely that when you start your course you will be using W1ndows95, so do not be too shocked. As with everything in life, the best way of learning is to try using your Amiga, you will comes across problems learn how to over come them and so grow through the processes, all very Xen. me off. IGHTENING THE WAY ! have owned a basic A1200 with just a 4Mb RAM upgrade and 80Mb hard drive for the last few years and have been wanting to upgrade it for a good while now, with thoughts about having a serious go at raytracing. So far I have played around creating models and scenes with various packages but the amount of time renders take has always put ! have now got access to some extra cash and I'm looking forward to being able to upgrade my machine, but need some advice on what you suggest I should go for to get best out of my cash, and hopefully not have to splash out too much more in the future. Ted Krilley, Atherton Raytracing is a real power computer application and the general / advice to give to people is go for the highest specification i j— equipment you can afford. In your case you will have to f\ upgrade your processor, memory and hard drive. Having said that you should also consider the current market situation. Due to the grotesque requirements of Windows 95 and Windows NT, the price of Simms and IDE hard drives have really crashed. With regards to memory I would strongly advise you to go for 16Mb, and due to the fact most A1200 accelerators only allow you to use one Simm, if you plan to get really serious you may want to go for a 32Mb Simm to keep your machine future proof. On the hard drive side of things, again, do not go for anything smaller than 1Gb. Firstly if you start creating large animations even this size of drive will quickly fill up and secondly, again, 1.2Gb-r sized drives are now the defacto PC standard and anything under this can be snatched up very cheaply. Now for the crunch decision - what accelerator board to go for. The gener al advice is go for the fastest you can afford. If you take it that you should go for a 16Mb Simm and a 1Gb hard drive you should know how much money you have left To be honest you would be wasting your time with anything less Qc CONNECTION I need to know if it's possible to hook a PC compatible CD- ROM drive up to an A1200 - it's a Sony model CDU31A- GW. As an added complication it's an internal drive. I know there are kits to convert internal drives to external for Amigas, but don't know if it would be compatible. My IDE connection is already taken up by my hard drive but I under stand there is an interface that plugs into the PCMCIA port. m.kirby2@genie.com If it is a normal IDE drive with a 39 pin connector then V~*>/ there's no reason why you can't use it with your 1— Amiga. Obviously it being an external drive compli cates things but it is still possible. There are two routes you could use the first is to use Golden Images PCMCIA connector and external fitting kit. This gives you a PC slot interface into which you can plug an IDE CD-ROM drive. Their external drive kit is a slot together metal box that powers the drive via a connector that goes to the exter nal floppy connector. The other option is the one from EyeTech. From them you would get the either the two or four device connector that allows you to extend the internal IDE port and an external box with a proper separate power supply. Both come with the very good IDEFix software which makes setting up your CD software a straight forward process. The .ill powerful Lightwave at work, needs as much mamory and processor power as you can afford than a 50Mhz 030 board. As an example of rendering times the standard Lightwave texture rendered at full Pal resolution with antialiasing and adaptive sampling takes 4 minutes on an 060, almost 18 minutes on an 25Mhz 040 and will a little over half an hour on the 030 board. One word of warning is that if you are considering a 40Mhz 040 board, such as the Apollo, you will have to get a new power supply as the standard Amiga one cannot handle powering both the accelerator and 3.5" hard drive. A final point to bear in mind is that Phase5's PowerUp board may actually appear some time soon, and hopefully will give you a power boost far supe rior to anything current accelerators can. At least two raytracing packages are going to support it, most importantly Cinema4D. So you may consider hang ing on for that if you can bear the wait Amiga Computing MARCH 1997
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