Application and Analysis of High-end Typesetting Software (1)

1. Table processing One of the annoyances faced by page designers is the generation and processing of tables. List data from spreadsheets and databases is an integral part of business activities, and generating a table is often very time consuming. Several XTension and plug-in developers have been working hard to make up for this shortcoming.

Both XPress 5 and InDesign 2 will introduce several tools for creating forms that work in different ways. Quark is mainly achieved by creating a grid in the group text or picture folder. The contents and attributes of the group text or folder can be modified one by one or as a whole. The delete grid is related to the entire table, not to a single cell, and can be modified like other lines. An XPress table can be moved or resized as a separate object. In addition, the user can select the scaling of all cells.

Adobe's table looks more complicated, but it is a separate text object stored in the text frame. Each cell can have different edges, similar to the cells in Microsof Excel. But once generated, you can't change the size of each cell by changing the frame size. Just like plain text, tables can also be given a color, or even a gradient color. The XPress table color must be for all cells.

The tables in InDesign are controlled by another palette, controlling the number and scale of the rows and columns, and the text in the resulting cells. InDesign also has a lot of interesting automatic formatting commands, such as auto-coloring every other line. There have been rumors that XPress had a table palette in earlier versions, and XPress abandoned the method of formatting the table with ordinary object controls, such as: Improved color palette. Both of these softwares have their own characteristics (for example, XPress table rules are more difficult to select, and InDesign's table and cell options are easily confused), but users can easily learn these new rules.

Perhaps the biggest difference between XPress and InDesign forms is the method they use to generate the form. Now XPress can only import text that is confined to the table, although XPress is considering importing the Excel table. InDesign, on the other hand, can import tables based on word or Excel, retaining a large number of formats, especially from Excel spreadsheets.

We are disappointed with the two software's form tools. None of them allow users to save formatted tables in a reusable format. Repeatability can help users save a lot of time and ensure the stability of the design. On this issue, Adobe said that soon WoodWing Software will launch a third-party plug-in SmartTables, it is said that it can store more complex table styles, and even can achieve simple computing functions. Quark did not announce plans for this issue, but we estimate that there will eventually be an XTension solution.

Adding table functionality to publishing software is nothing new. This problem has been an important selling point for RagTime since 1987. But now the leaders of both companies have announced plans. We can expect to hear more and more statements about its importance. Of course, this feature can shorten a tedious task in the publishing process.

2. Synthesis of transparent documents and pictures At the Seybold Symposium in San Francisco, the most notable feature of InDesign2 is its support for transparent documents and related effects, such as shadow effects. Although many printers are still skeptical, Adobe has tried to prove to people that InDesign2 can achieve transparent effects on an object and support transparent files of original Photoshop and Illustrator files.

XPress initially did not support transparent files because it did not have access to Adobe's patented technology.

In the past, putting an irregularly shaped image into a page was always cumbersome. Even for the simplest scenery, sketching the path is time consuming and the hard edges drawn and generated are always unsatisfactory. So designers want to create a composite of scenery and background in Photoshop and place the final result in their layers. For some demanding print jobs, such as the covers of fine magazines, the text is behind the scenes, which is often done in a specialized application or Photoshop. Now that InDesign supports transparent file features, it will completely change this situation. Adding complex images to complex backgrounds will also become simple and easy. There is no doubt that the designers of publications, especially catalogs, will be in great need of this function.

Other transparency-related features will also appeal to some designers, such as shadows. There are many third-party XTension (extended features), such as Image Port and ShadowCaster provided by A Lowly Apprentice Production, which will address some of the XPress transparency issues, not all of them. However, we believe that InDesign's ability to import and process soft-edged images on a transparent background will appeal to many existing XPress customers.

3. About Output When Adobe first allowed objects to be transparent in Illustrator 9.0, it was strongly criticized by the printing industry, who feared that such documents could not be printed in a predictable way. After all, the PS language "knows nothing" about transparent objects, even in Postscript 3.0. However, the PDF1.4 version is able to identify transparent objects, and different RIP developers have reportedly improved their interpreters to correctly handle data.

Questions about printability cannot be underestimated. Printers who are looking to upgrade their RIPs or not pay for them will always tell designers that they should not use software that can create transparent objects. If the customer insists, the printer will have to spend a lot of time or risk losing the business. As long as the problem exists, it will inhibit the advantage of this feature in a broad sense, especially for InDesign.

At this point Adobe has never been idle. The main principle of transparent processing is the concept of "flattening," which can be achieved in Acrobat 5, Illustrator 10, and Indesign 2.0. People think that this issue is very important to ensure a rich color picture. Users can get an 11-page flattening guide in Illustrator 10, and we believe InDesign users will get a similar explanation. The company also offers an online guide called "How to Get Reliable Output with Transparency."

4. Long Text Quark XPress 4 and Adobe InDesign 1 do not support longer files. With the former, you can make a book like this, which is a collection of XPress files that have synchronized style sheets, colors, H&J, and synchronized page numbers. It has great limitations on directory and indexing capabilities. InDesign has never supported the performance of long texts, partly because it is also very slow for short texts. (Similarly, this may also be the reason why Adobe is not willing to seize the market share of PageMaker and frameMaker because these two softwares already have good long text support capabilities.)

XPress 5 has enhanced the functionality of the directory and index introduced in version 4.0. The user can manually identify words or sentences, classify them at one of four levels of index, automatically search for duplicated items, and then generate the actual index. However, indexing standards cannot be imported from external files.

There is no specific mention of the term "directory" in XPress 5, but using a series of improved features can indeed be implemented in XPress 5. Users can make a list of elements using special style sheets and page numbers. The list of elements can be used to create a table of contents. (This feature has other uses, including a list of generated directories and data. The list can also play a role in the file.)

InDesign 2 finally ties in PageMaker with the ability to process long texts. Use the paragraph style to extract the title of the specified chapter and create the table of contents. Like XPreas, InDesign also has an index function that automatically finds duplicate specified text or sentences. InDesign does not have the ability of XPreas to automatically highlight the index text, but the user will automatically "jump" to the index words. In addition, the designer can also import index rules from external files. InDesign also adds a "book" feature similar to XPress for synchronizing a set of texts.

How to shorten a long text?
Both of these softwares have added full support for long text support, but InDesign seems to us to be a little ahead of this one. However, unless all of InDesign's performance problems are solved, it is still difficult for these functions to change the overall situation.