ŌHE FOLLOWING IS A REVIEW OF ŠAPERĆLIP ŠUBLISHER. ŁOU MAY DUPLICATE THIS FILE ON BOTH ELECTRONIC AND PRINT MEDIA AS LONG AS THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION ACCOMPANIES THE FILE: ÅXCERPTED FROM THE ĶAY, 1988 ISSUE OF ĶIDWEST ĪEWS, THE MONTHLY JOURNAL OF THE ĶIDWEST Ć-64 ÕSERS ĒROUP. ×RITTEN BY ÄALE ŅAY. ŌHANK ŁOU, ÄALE ŅAY (ÅDITOR ĶIDWEST ĪEWS) ĘOR MORE INFO ABOUT ĶIDWEST Ć-64 ÕSERS ĒROUP WRITE: Ķ×Ć-64ÕĒ ŠĻ ĀOX 9311 ČIGHLAND, ÉND. 46322 ŠAPERĆLIP ŠUBLISHER - A ŅEVIEW ŠAPERĆLIP ŠUBLISHER IS A DESKTOP PUBLISHING PROGRAM FOR THE ĆOMMODORE 64 OR ĆOMMODORE 128 IN 64 MODE. ÉT WAS WRITTEN BY ĶIKE AND ĮLLAN ÓEDORE AND IS PUBLISHED BY ÅLECTRONIC ĮRTS. ŌHE SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE IS $49.95. ŁOU MUST HAVE A JOYSTICK OR MOUSE TO USE THE PROGRAM. ŌHE PROGRAM IS ON A 1541 FORMAT DISK AND IS NOT COPY PROTECTED. ŠRINTER ÓUPPORT ŠUTTING YOUR TEXT ON PAPER IN AN ATTRACTIVE, READABLE AND INTERESTING MANNER IS WHAT DESKTOP PUBLISHING IS ABOUT. ŌHE MAIN ADVANTAGE OF THIS TYPE OF PROGRAM IS THE ABILITY TO SPICE UP YOUR TEXT WITH GRAPHICS AND OTHER "SPECIAL EFFECTS". ĪONE OF THIS CAN BE ACHIEVED, HOWEVER, IF THE PROGRAM DOES NOT SUPPORT YOUR PRINTER. ŠAPERĆLIP ŠUBLISHER SUPPORTS THE FOLLOWING PRINTERS: ĆOMMODORE 1525 ĆOMMODORE 1526 ÅPSON ĘŲ ÅPSON ĢŲ ÅPSON ĶŲ ĆOMMODORE ĶŠÓ 801 ĆOMMODORE ĶŠÓ 802 ĆOMMODORE ĶŠÓ 1000 ĻKIMATE 20 ÓEIKOSHA ÓŠ-1000 ÓTAR ĪŠ-10 ÓTAR ĪŲ-10 ŌHIS LIST IS NOT EXTENSIVE. ĀUT MOST PRINTERS THAT PLUG DIRECTLY INTO YOUR ĆOMMODORE CAN USE THE 1525 OR 801 DRIVERS AND THREE MODELS OF ÅPSON ARE COVERED WHICH HAS BECOME AN INDUSTRY STANDARD. ŌHERE ARE NO PROVISIONS FOR CUSTOMIZING OR CREATING YOUR OWN PRINTER DRIVER WITH THE PROGRAM. ŠAPERĆLIP ŠUBLISHER UTILIZES THE PRINTER IN GRAPHICS MODE, THE BETTER YOUR PRINTER IS AT PRODUCING GRAPHICS, THE BETTER YOUR FINAL OUTPUT WILL LOOK. ŌHIS MAKES A WIDE VARIETY OF FONTS POSSIBLE, AS WELL AS SUPPORTING THE INCLUSION OF GRAPHICS IN YOUR LAY-OUTS. ŌHE TRADE-OFF HERE IS THAT PRINTING IS SLOW. ŌHOSE OF YOU WITH PRINTER BUFFERS WILL CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THEM IF YOU USE THIS PROGRAM. ÕSING ŠAPERĆLIP ŠUBLISHER ŌHIS PROGRAM HAS SO MANY FEATURES AND THERE ARE SO MANY DETAILS, THAT TO COVER EACH OF THEM IN A REVIEW IS IMPOSSIBLE. ŌHE MAIN TASK YOU PREFORM IN ŠAPERĆLIP ŠUBLISHER IS TO DRAW BOXES ON A SIMULATION OF YOUR PAGE AND THEN FILL THESE BOXES WITH TEXT OR GRAPHICS FROM THE TEXT AND GRAPHICS EDITORS. ŌHE MAIN SCREEN PROVIDES A VIEW OF ONE PAGE OF YOUR DOCUMENT. ŌHE PAGE IS TOO SMALL TO BE ABLE TO READ TEXT OR CLEARLY SEE YOUR GRAPHICS. ÉN ORDER TO PLACE YOUR BOXES PRECISELY AND TO VIEW YOUR TEXT IN A READABLE FORM A MAGNIFY MODE IS PROVIDED. ŌHE MAGNIFY MODE ALLOWS YOU TO SEE APPROXIMATELY ONE SIXTH OF YOUR PAGE AT A TIME. ĮLL TOOLS AND COMMANDS ARE AVAILABLE IN BOTH THE MAGNIFY AND MAIN SCREEN. ŌOOLS AND ĶENUS ŌHERE ARE NINETEEN TOOLS AVAILABLE IN THE TOOLBOX LOCATED AT THE RIGHT EDGE OF THE SCREEN. ÉN ADDITION TO THESE THERE ARE FIVE MENU CHOICES ON A COMMAND BAR AT THE TOP OF THE SCREEN. ŌO VIEW THESE YOU MUST PLACE THE CROSS-HAIR LIKE CURSOR ON THE COMMAND BAR, PRESS THE MOUSE OR JOYSTICK BUTTON AND HOLD IT DOWN. ŌHE MENU CHOICES APPEAR AND A DROP DOWN MENU FALLS FROM THE CHOICE THE CURSOR IS ON. ŌHE CURSOR IS NOT VISIBLE AT THIS POINT, INSTEAD THERE IS A BLACK BAR HIGHLIGHTING YOUR CHOICE. ×HEN YOU HAVE THE BAR ON THE CHOICE YOU WANT TO MAKE RELEASE THE BUTTON. ŌHE COMMAND BAR MENU IS USED TO OPEN AND CLOSE DOCUMENTS, MOVE FORM ONE AREA OF THE PROGRAM TO ANOTHER, SET THE PAGE AND BOX PARAMETERS, AND TO SET THE LEVEL OF PREVIEW YOU ARE CURRENTLY USING. ĻTHER AREAS OF THE PROGRAM AVAILABLE ARE A TEXT EDITOR AND A GRAPHICS EDITOR. ĀOTH OF THESE ARE WELL THOUGHT OUT AND PROVIDE YOU WITH THE TOOLS YOU NEED TO GET YOUR OUTPUT READY TO PRINT. ŌHE TEXT EDITOR PROVIDES FOR SETTING YOUR TEXT TO BOLD, ITALIC, UNDERLINED, SHADOWED, BACK SLANT, UP-SIDE DOWN, MIRRORED, SUPERSCRIPTED, SUBSCRIPTED, AND REVERSED. ŌHE GRAPHICS EDITOR LETS YOU PIXEL EDIT YOUR GRAPHICS, BRING MORE THAN ONE GRAPHIC IN TO COMBINE THEM IN A NEW GRAPHIC, ENLARGE AND REDUCE YOUR GRAPHICS, MIRROR, TURN THE GRAPHIC UPSIDE DOWN,AND REVERSE THE COLOR OF THE IMAGE. ĻPTIONS ŠAGE OPTIONS INCLUDE ADJUSTING PAPER SIZE FROM 8 X 11 TO 8 X 14. ŌHIS CAN BE ADJUSTED IN QUARTER INCH INCREMENTS. ŌHIS IS IMPORTANT FOR THOSE PRINTERS THAT DON'T TRULY EMULATE A 1525. ĘOR EXAMPLE, MY ĻKIDATA 120 SHORTENS THE OUTPUT COMPARED TO A 1525. ĀY SETTING THE PAGE LENGTH TO 12.5 INCHES THE PAGE SHOWN ON THE SCREEN REFLECTS WHAT IS NEEDED TO FILL AN 8 X 11 SHEET. ŠAGE MARGINS CAN BE ADJUSTED IN QUARTER INCH INCREMENTS FOR BOTH VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL MARGINS. ŌHESE MARGINS ARE INVALUABLE GUIDES TO PLACING YOUR BOXES CORRECTLY ON THE PAGE. ĻNE OF THE BEST FEATURES OF ŠAPERĆLIP ŠUBLISHER IS HOW IT LAYS OUT COLUMNS. ĻN THE ŠAGE ĘORMAT MENU YOU SIMPLY ENTER HOW MANY COLUMNS YOU WANT AND THEIR WIDTH. ŌHE PROGRAM AUTOMATICALLY DRAWS IN THE MARGIN LINES FOR YOU. ÕP TO 15 COLUMNS ARE ALLOWED ON A PAGE. ŁOU MAY FORMAT ALL PAGES OR AN INDIVIDUAL PAGE WITH THE ŠAGE ĘORMAT MENU. ĀOX FORMATTING IS SIMILAR TO PAGE FORMATTING. ŁOU SET THE DEFAULTS YOU WANT THE BOXES YOU DRAW TO HAVE AND THEN YOU CAN CHANGE ANY OF THE ITEMS FOR EACH BOX IN YOUR DOCUMENT. ŁOU CAN MAKE EACH BOX TRANSPARENT OR OPAQUE. ŌHE BOX CAN BE SET TO LEFT JUSTIFY, RIGHT JUSTIFY, CENTER OR FULLY JUSTIFY TEXT IN THAT BOX. ŁOU MAY FILL A BOX WITH ANY OF 26 FILL PATTERNS. ŌHERE ARE FIVE BORDERS YOU CAN CHOOSE FOR THE BOXES. ŌHE ĀOX ĘORMAT MENU IS WHERE YOU CHOOSE THE FONT YOU WISH TO USE FOR THAT BOX ALSO. ĀOXES ALSO CAN HAVE BOTH HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL MARGINS. ŌHESE ARE USEFUL TO GET YOUR TEXT EXACTLY WHERE YOU WANT IT INSIDE THE BOX. ŌHE AMOUNT OF SPACING BETWEEN LINES OF TEXT IS ADJUSTABLE. ŁOU ALSO CAN SET THE MAXIMUM SPACING BETWEEN LETTERS AND WORDS FOR USE WITH FULL JUSTIFICATION. ŠAPERĆLIP ŠUBLISHER PRINTS ALL FONTS PROPORTIONALLY, SO THESE SETTINGS ARE IMPORTANT. ÉF THAT ISN'T ENOUGH, YOU CAN ALSO MAGNIFY OR REDUCE THE CONTENTS OF THE BOX BY SETTING THE MAGNIFICATION FOR BOTH VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL ASPECTS OF THE BOX. ŌHIS MAKES IT EASY TO CREATE LARGER FONTS FOR HEADLINES. ÓIZE ADJUSTMENT RANGES FORM 1/8 NORMAL TO 8 TIMES NORMAL. ŌHE ĀAD ŌHINGS É DON'T LIKE ABOUT ŠAPERĆLIP ŠUBLISHER INCLUDE THE FACT THAT THERE IS NO SUPPORT FOR THE ŅAM ÅXPANSION ÕNITS. ÅACH TIME YOU MODIFY A BOX, INFORMATION IS WRITTEN TO YOUR WORK DISK. ĮLSO EACH CHANGE CAUSES THE DOCUMENT TO BE REDRAWN ON THE SCREEN. ŌHE ŅÅÕ WOULD SPEED THIS UP CONSIDERABLY. ŠAPERĆLIP ŠUBLISHER ONLY SUPPORTS ONE DRIVE. ŌHIS MEANS YOU EITHER HAVE TO SWAP DISKS TO ACCESS GRAPHIC AND TEXT FILES, OR INCLUDE ALL OF THE ONES YOU'LL NEED ON YOUR WORKDISK. ĀOXES CAN ONLY CONTAIN GRAPHICS OR TEXT. ŌHIS IS NOT AS BAD AS IT SOUNDS THOUGH. ×HILE IT WOULD BE EASIER TO BE ABLE TO PUT BOTH IN THE SAME BOX, DRAWING BOXES AND LINKING THEM IS NOT AS DIFFICULT AS É FIRST THOUGHT IT WOULD BE. ĘORMATTING OF TEXT (IE CENTERING, ETC.) IS DONE BY THE BOX DEFAULT SETTINGS. ŌHIS MEANS TO CENTER A PARAGRAPH HEADER, YOU MUST DO IT MANUALLY IN THE TEXT EDITOR, OR HAVE THE HEADER IN A SEPARATE BOX. Į CENTERING COMMAND IN THE EDITOR WOULD BE USEFUL FOR THIS. ŌHERE SHOULD BE A WIDER VARIETY OF PRINTER SUPPORT. ŹUST BECAUSE YOU BUY A ĆOMMODORE COMPATIBLE PRINTER DOESN'T MEAN YOU WANT TO USE IT IN 1525 EMULATION AT ALL TIMES. ĶOST OF PRINTERS HAVE FEATURES NOT PRESENT ON ĆOMMODORE PRINTERS THAT WOULD IMPROVE THE OUTPUT. ŁOU CANNOT ADD FONTS TO YOUR WORKDISK DURING A WORK SESSION. ÉF YOU ARE AS BAD AT PLANNING AHEAD AS É AM THIS CAN BE A REAL PAIN. ×HEN YOU DUMP A BOX OR ITS CONTENTS INTO THE TRASH THE INFORMATION REMAINS ON YOUR WORKDISK. ÉT WOULD BE NICE IF THESE UNNEEDED FILES WERE SCRATCHED WHEN YOU CLOSE YOUR DOCUMENT. ŁOU CAN'T RECOVER THEM ANYWAY. ŌHAT MAKES ME THINK OF ANOTHER COMMAND É'D LIKE TO SEE: ĻĻŠÓ! ŌHE TRASH CAN OPERATES ON THE CURRENT BOX (WHICH YOU SET BY PLACING THE CURSOR ON IT AND PRESSING THE BUTTON). ĮN ĻĻŠÓ! COMMAND WOULD HELP US FUMBLE FINGERED COMPUTER USERS. ĀOXES CANNOT BE MOVED FORM ONE DOCUMENT TO ANOTHER. ĶOVING THEM FROM PAGE TO PAGE IN THE SAME DOCUMENT IS EASY, BUT YOU CAN'T TAKE A BOX FROM ONE DOCUMENT AND USE IT IN ANOTHER. ŌHE ĒOOD ŠAPERĆLIP ŠUBLISHER INCLUDES UTILITIES TO CONVERT FONTS FROM ĒÅĻÓ AND ĻUTRAGEOUS ŠAGES. ŌHERE ARE MANY ĒÅĻÓ FONTS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, SO THIS MAKES NEW FONTS EASILY ACCESSIBLE. ĮLSO THE ĒÅĻÓ ĘONTPACK DISKS ARE NOT VERY EXPENSIVE. ŌHE UTILITY FOR DOING THE CONVERSION WORKS WELL. ĮNOTHER UTILITY WHICH COME WITH ŠAPERĆLIP ŠUBLISHER IS A ĘILE ĆONVERTOR. ŌHIS CONVERTS BOTH TEXT AND GRAPHICS FILES. ĒRAPHICS FILES YOU CAN CONVERT WITH THIS PROGRAM ARE: ĻUTRAGEOUS ŠAGES, ŠRINTĶASTER, ŠRINT ÓHOP (3 BLK ONLY), AND ÄOODLE. ŌHE PROGRAM WORKS WELL BUT DOES NOT OFFER AN OPTION TO CONVERT ALL THE FILES ON THE DISK (AS THE FONT CONVERTOR DOES) AND HAS THE ANNOYING FLAW OF PROMPTING YOU TO INSERT THE DESTINATION DISK EVEN WHEN USING TWO DRIVES. ŌHAT'S RIGHT, THE UTILITIES SUPPORT TWO DRIVES, BUT THE MAIN PROGRAM DOES NOT. ĀEING ABLE TO SET THE PREVIEW LEVEL MAKES THINGS FASTER. YOU CAN PREVIEW ALL THE BOXES, ONLY THE CURRENT BOX YOU ARE WORKING WITH, OR NONE OF THEM. ĶOST OF YOUR WORK CAN BE DONE WITH THE CURRENT SETTING. ĀY DRAWING LESS AFTER EACH CHANGE THE WHOLE PROCESS IS SPEEDED UP. ŌEXT FILES YOU CAN CONVERT ARE: ŠAPERĆLIP É, ÉÉ, OR ÉÉÉ, ŠAPERĀACK ×RITER, ĀANK ÓTREET ×RITER, AND ×ORD ×RITER É OR ÉÉÉ. ŌHESE ARE THE LISTED CHOICES. É SELECTED ŠAPERĆLIP FROM THE MENU AND IT CONVERTED MY ĘLEET ÓYSTEM 4 FILE FINE (THE FILE WAS SAVED IN ÓÅŃ FORMAT). ŠAPERĆLIP ŠUBLISHER IS NOT COPY PROTECTED. ŌHIS IS A BIG PLUS FOR OWNERS OF 1571, 1581, AND HARD DRIVES. ŁOU CAN COPY THE PROGRAM WITH ANY DISK COPY OR FILE COPY PROGRAM MAKING MOVING IT TO ANOTHER FORMAT EASY. ŌHE ABILITY TO LINK BOXES TOGETHER, REGARDLESS OF WHAT PAGE THEY ARE ON, MAKES LAYING OUT THE TEXT IN A MULTI PAGE DOCUMENT MUCH EASIER. ŌHE TEXT WILL FILL THE FIRST BOX IN THE CHAIN AND THEN EACH SUBSEQUENT BOX. ĆHANGES IN BOX SIZE RESULT IN THE TEXT BEING REFORMATTED THROUGHOUT THE CHAIN ŌHE CONTROL GIVEN TO THE USER BY THE LARGE NUMBER OF USER SET PARAMETERS REALLY PUTS YOU IN CONTROL OF YOUR OUTPUT. ĮND THE SCREEN PREVIEW IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU GET ON PAPER. ŌHE BIGGEST PLUS FOR ŠAPERĆLIP ŠUBLISHER IS THAT IT DOES WHAT IT SAYS IT WILL DO. ĮLL OF THE TOOLS AND MENUS ARE EASY TO USE. ŌHE DOCUMENTATION IS EXCELLENT. ŌHE TUTORIALS ARE EASY TO FOLLOW AND A MUST FOR SOMEONE INEXPERIENCED WITH PAGE LAYOUT PROGRAMS. ĻUT OF FIVE STARS É WOULD GIVE IT FOUR. ŌHE BIGGEST DRAWBACK IS THE LACK OF MULTI DRIVE OR ŅÅÕ SUPPORT. ŁOU ARE HOLDING A SAMPLE IN YOUR HANDS. ŌHIS MONTHS NEWSLETTER WAS FORMATTED AND THE ORIGINALS PRINTED USING ŠAPERĆLIP ŠUBLISHER AND A PRINTER THAT COST LESS THAN $200. É THINK THAT IT SPEAKS FOR ITSELF.