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37 of 37 found the following review helpful:
 THE BEST!!! May 04, 2011
By Liquessence
"Dancer"
If I could give PagePlus X5 10 stars, I would.
I was using Quark XPress to lay out a book and pulling my hair out, even though Iv'e used it before. I searched the online help, books, in program help and could not find answers -- to a simple thing of how do you put in a page break. They have no such words in their index.
After that frustration, I looked to see if I could find another page layout program. I briefly peeked at InDesign, but honestly had no hopes for it. And, anyway, it's something like $700 (like Quark).
After about 2 weeks of on and off looking, I accidentally found Serif and PagePlus, which from their website is selling for $99. Once I downloaded it and started using it, it took me an entire week to get over the insanity I had worked up over Quark and having no other options and the incredible relief that here was a program that could do what Quark does at fraction of the price and: EASILY!!! It had page breaks! among all sorts of other things.
There's lots of things I love about it and I'll give a list, but will have to come back and add to it as I use it more and learn more.
First of all, GOD! it opens in a fraction of the time that Quark did!!! I can actually press on it and it opens. With Quark, I'd go away and make breakfast. Geeeees.
It has a very nice, user-friendly interface--all the tools are right out, easy to get to, and big enough so you don't have to search hard to find something. Everything is clear enough so, even if you know nothing about the program, you can start working with it.
So here goes a rather unorganized list . . . It has a PDF button right on the tool bar; PDF file opens (if you choose) so you can see what things look like; Warning comes on if fonts are used that are not supported with PDF.
One of THE most ingenious features is WritePlus--it's on the tool bar, you click it and it opens a word processing program right on top of your publication and everything you have laid out in your publication is simply presented in the WordPlus. Whatever you write in WordPlus immediately also goes into your publication. Both are on the screen . . . . So if you're working with a lot of small columns, you can switch to PagePlus and it's a lot easier to work and make corrections.
Same thing with adjusting photos. You open PhotoLab--right on the tool bar and, boom, you have a whole set of tools to adjust your photos. Amazing! They also have the button on the toolbar for PhotoPlus, but that's a program you need to purchase (also around the same price). But, PhotoLab has everything you need. I've also purchased their DrawPlus, which has all sorts of tools--EASY to use, and also includes photo adjusting stuff. So between PagePlus and DrawPlus, I have absolutely everything I need to lay out books and do whatever I need to create for my websites.
O.K., besides saving in PDF, you can save files in RTF and convert them to a million different things like JPEG, etc.
You can import files from Word into Page Plus. Also it opens any PDF documents that you can then edit and work with.
You can have more than one document open at a time, just like in a browser, it will show tabs on top and you can go between them.
They have tons of drawing tools in PagePlus, it's really amazing. Also HEX option for colors. It comes with a bunch of templates.
Quark has a "library" for objects you create to use again and again, well so does PagePlus--it's called Gallery and it's right there and handy.
The help menu is fantastic! The program also comes with a PDF guide for the program. And if you want to buy a guide book, you can purchase it from Serif, which I did, so I can lie around in bed and read it. (I know major dork, but what can I say).
The same way there is a button for Write Plus and PhotoLab, there is something called Image Cutout Studio that lets you manipulate images. I've not had a need for that just yet, but am curious to explore further. It opens up the same way, on a small screen in front of the main project you're working on.
You can use PagePlus for regular basic documents (they have templates, like flyers, business cards, booklets (now I don't have to use Publisher nay more either); books and also web. Or you can convert a print publication to a web publication.
There is a bunch more stuff, but this is already too long.
Mostly what I love is the ease of use. It's an amazing combination of powerful tools, yet very easy to use.
I write and PagePlus solves all my writing needs. When I am working on a novel, I can have all the tabs open: for character, plot, content . . . and add easily. If I am writing on a book I want to self-publish, I can lay it out and use WritePlus to write it. Easy!
I'll add more here as I find out more.
I am just SOOO happy there was some other option--and a far better one at that--than Quark and InDesign -- at $700! Insane.
I like PagePlus so much I want to get two copies. Yup crazy. And I want to get every other Serif product, even though I don't need it, just to enjoy the intelligence of it all.
OH, they also have live technical support. FREE!! Another amazing thing.
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MORE. Added June 6.
Since the above . . . forgot to say there is a thesaurus built into PagePlus.
Also, I've laid out a book, soon to be selling on Amazon: The Workings of Energy in the Human Energy Field: A Psychic's Perspective, and I loved using the program. Discovered, in the process, that the PhotoLab (right on the toolbar), lets you adjust JPEG images--which I had to do with my book cover--without having to go to a photo editor.
The only thing I found as a drawback is their live support team seems to know absolutely nothing. I've called 3 times, and none of those times was the person able to answer my question. I'd end up hanging up with them, and finding the answer myself. This does seem to be better with email. I had one very successful resolution that way.
35 of 37 found the following review helpful:
Awesome software Dec 26, 2010
By Saffra
This is really good desk top publishing software, It has great reviews on the internet and I really shopped around with different products before I finally bit the bullet and bought one -- this one.
As I'm on a budget I fought with Scribus first, (an Open Source DTP alternative) but decided the useability was too much of a problem. I didnt have the budget for InDesign, and wasnt interested anyway in paying so much for a set of features I will never even use anyone. I need to get up and runnign fast and not have to pay out for courses and class rooms in books because InDesigns price tag is only justified by feature bloat.
This has all of the features you need for professional publishing, at a fraction of the price of IDesign, and is great for amateurs as well as professionals. On forums I hear a lot designers say, it's not the "professional's choice" - the argument being that professionl print shops expect InDesign files and Indesign integrates well with other Adobe products. Its like saying that Adobe products are better because most peopel use Adboe. Great circular reasoning, but not an argument against this software.
This product has good tutorials, vidoes, and easy to learn common features. I learned it in one day, and could do things I'd wanted to do for ages but couldnt be bothered to read up on a manual to learn-- Its really amazing how quick you can learn it. Its obvious the developers really tested it against users.
I'm looking to use it for my marketing and communications job, as well as home use, and it has great resources, templates, for professional brochures, posters, creates pdfs, does color schemes, professional printing and is quick to understand, fast, and powerful software.
for me this is a no contest winner against InDesign. InDesign captures the premium market niche becuase, well, they're marketing is effective. But the reality is, you have all you need here for professional work, at a fraction of the cost.
About the only one drawback I've seen a reviewer say, is that there isnt a baseline for font that works across columns of text. Doesnt seem to be a handicap for me.
I'd also like to see more advanced tutorials on their web, but hey, you can get the info you need from any book.
I'm truly chuffed and pleased with this software.
Its incomparably great value, why pay so much for software you can get that has all the key features, for a fraction of the price is is even easier to use?
Sounds like a no brainer, it is. Go buy!
14 of 14 found the following review helpful:
A really satisfying product - and at a GREAT price Apr 30, 2011
By Anthony
We all know that Adobe CS is the gold standard when it comes to graphic design, but for those of us who need easy access to superior design software for less than an arm and a leg PagePlus X5 is it! I work in advertising/marketing, and so far this program has delivered on all counts.
It's been a month since I made the purchase and I've already been able to create dozens of flyers, logos, and publications using PagePlus. It's almost painful to think that I was getting by with MS Publisher for almost a year, now that I have this software. I am still discovering new functions, and while some sort of training manual or course may have been useful at the start, I have nonetheless found everything to be fairly intuitive if you just poke around enough. PagePlus X5 definitely gets a recommendation from me!
14 of 14 found the following review helpful:
Very good purchase for the price Mar 30, 2011
By Dru Lattin
For the occasional user, this is a decent product for a fantastic value. You can create and edit complex PDFs, design flyers, newsletters, and books, and much more. Obviously, there are better layout/desktop publishing programs out there, but after a lot of research, I think this is by far the best for its price.
In our organization, I've used this to design fairly complex yearbooks, create banners, flyers, and curriculum, and regularly use it to edit PDFs. This program does a wonderful job of converting PDFs to an editable document. Although not intuitive, it's not hard to create documents from multiple files--for example, when creating a catalogue or book. There are things that could be improved upon, but it's workable.
Cons: Occasionally, the program chokes on Asian scripts when I try to apply fancier formatting to it (Specifically, Thai.) Limited cropping options. At times, a clunky interface.
If you can't afford Adobe Indesign, get this. It's worth it.
(And if you do purchase it, get it here on Amazon--the download experience was flawless, and I can rest assured that I can simply redownload it if needed. Serif charges for redownloading service)
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
Great, Except for the Draconian Registration and Sale Attempts Jun 08, 2011
By W. Stohler
For the $, this is a great desktop publishing program. They make it difficult for the user to register, then obtaining an installation number is also harder. Once you get past the company's shameless sales attempts, it's a really easy to use program. Great for beginners to intermediate users.
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