Serif PagePlus X2 review

PagePlus X2 is actually a version 12 of Serif's flagship desktop publishing program, with the X2 style of numbering being Serif's way of identifying it as a Vista-certified product.

PagePlus runs just as well under Windows XP and Windows 2000, but in Vista Explorer its files are displayed as resizable thumbnails showing a miniature of the publication, and Vista's enhanced search feature is able to retrieve publications by looking for words contained within publications.

All-in-one approach

One of the things that has always distinguished PagePlus is the way that it incorporates a full range of publishing design tools. Most desktop publishing programs merely assemble work that has been created elsewhere using word processors, drawing programs and image editors. PagePlus, however, incorporates a fully-featured word processor with grammar and spelling checking, and a thesaurus. Photos can be loaded from files or scanned directly into a publication, and then enhanced without recourse to an external image editor.

A versatile Tables tool can be used to publish data from popular databases and spreadsheets, and to generate editable calendars. Diagrams and illustrations can be created by modifying Smart Shapes or creating your own. Shapes can be linked by dynamic connectors and turned into 3D objects, which can be extruded, bevelled, filled and illuminated. 3D design is usually a complicated affair, but using the cleverly-designed graphical menus we were surprised how easy it was to produce impressive results simply by pointing and clicking.

PagePlus gives experienced users the control they expect over features such as kerning, bleeds and font management, and new in this version is an optical justification facility that places punctuation marks in the margins to fool the eye into seeing perfectly justified columns. Users unfamiliar with the conventions of desktop publishing can use PagePlus with the help of numerous templates into which their own text and pictures can be dropped.

Text can be loaded from disk or entered directly into the frames provided in the templates, and once in place it can be formatted interactively by applying enhancements to selected words and passages, or by applying global styles that help maintain consistency of design throughout a publication. A nifty preview feature, very like the one in Word 2007, lets you select a block of text and then hover the screen pointer over any listed style or font to immediately see how it will look in situ.

Print and electronic publications

Templates for paper publications include business stationery and CD covers, while the list of electronic documents includes web pages, content-rich emails and PDF photo slideshows. Sophisticated business presentations using transition effects, background audio and slides built up from overlapping layers can be created from any document using the Publish as PDF Slideshow option.

As well as saving publications in conventional PDF and PDF slideshow formats, PagePlus can load any non-protected PDF file for editing. Once changes have been made, the revised document can be saved as a new PDF file or a standard PagePlus publication, or even as a set of web pages.

A comprehensive user guide is installed with the program, and the same manual comes as a bound paperback book. This is essential reading for anybody determined to make the transition from working with templates to creating their own documents from scratch. Additional printable tutorials are also available within the PagePlus Startup Wizard.