Serif PagePlus X6 Review
I purchased PagePlus X6 and I wanted to reply to an email I received from Serif soliciting for a review of PagePlus X6 but time ran out on the webpage before I felt that I was familiar enough with PagePlus to write down my impressions of it. Nevertheless, I've enjoyed using the program immensely so here are a few of my impressions.
This review of PagePlus X6 is predicated on a simple premise, was I able to create a layout for a publication, print it out with fidelity, and did I enjoy using the software. The answer to all three of these is yes, If you have any pre-conceptions about layout software abandon them because PagePlus X6 is very capable and has a lot of features which make it easy to use, resulting in a great end product and an enjoyable user experience.
Many of Serif's page layout templates are aimed at creating small brochures and office identity packages, everything you'd need for a small office. No doubt I'll use some of them later on. I want to create small 30-50 page publications which are to be published as letter sized PDF files which the end user will download and print or for print-on-demand. The page counts are longer than what you would find in a typical brochure and I decided early on to jump right in and knock out a publication because there's nothing like actually using new software to create something in order to find out what it can do and if it meets your needs.
Prior to using PagePlus X6 I had been using a word processor to publish manuscripts and word processing didn't at all meet the need for a proper document layout. My word processing documents looked unprofessional. I use Adobe products at work but of course they are well outside my price range for home use. I had watched Serif's on-line video about PagePlus X6, which, along with the demo, satisfied me that it was exactly what I was looking for, and I made an on-line purchase and downloaded the software. Installing the program is a breeze if you follow the directions. Once installed, the user will find that PagePlus X6 is packed with features. The default display gives access to the commonly used functions which is great because I dislike it when software hides all those useful things. You don't have to display all the palettes if you don't want them but starting off it is great that they are visible. I decided to watch the instructional videos first because I found that I did need a tour of the interface and a kick off to starting a page layout. There's a lot to digest, but the help function is always there for reference.
After a review of the available templates, and they are both inspiring to look at and useful to have for a small home business, I decided early on to set up my own publication page masters, a two page spread of letter sized sheets with an 1/2 inch bleed. The bleed allows colour backgrounds to run over the edge of the page. The page display shows the limit of the paper edge with scissors and dashed cut lines so you know exactly what is going on. For the pages inside margins I chose 1/2 inch all round, and divided the page into four columns with a .125 inch gutter, and divided the page horizontally into four again with the .125 inch gutter. In this way I could arrange my text and graphics across the grid of columns as needed. If my publications were larger I might have chosen a larger inside gutter between the two pages.
I started off by designing a cover, which would have both text and graphic elements. I can think of some much more expensive software that doesn't have nearly the same number of features that I found in PagePlus X6. Right off from the start I wanted a starburst to the cover page, and the Quick Shapes feature, both allowed me to add one to my layout and easily customize the number of points and its size. It was intuitive to use. If you want to do something, the tools you need to do it are right there in front of you with buttons and tabs. Even as a novice, you do not have to fight a steep learning curve, or wrestle with the software to get something done. I was soon adding text frames, importing text, applying text styles, and linking the frames to create a text flow. I added graphics to my page, grouped some text and graphics together, which I then added to the assets palette since I was planning to re-use them.
Tip: If you do plan on adding things to the assets group them first! They won't keep their relationship to each other unless they are grouped and will be added as separate individual elements to the assets.
I found the assets palette incredibly handy because I do want to re-use a lot of stuff. Plus if you dig into the tabs of this palette you'll find all sorts of design elements, clip art and stock photos that are included with the software.
After I got the elements of the cover layout arranged the way I wanted, I added a box to the background, filled it with colour, and dragged the box handles out beyond the edges of the paper, to the outer limit of the bleed. When the page is printed the colour runs to the edge of the paper. I then changed the font, colour and size of each of the foreground text elements to create the impact I was looking for.
The inside pages were next, which meant adding a new master page because I wanted a header line, and a footer with numbers. Access to the master pages is available via the palette and additional controls appear which allow the addition and editing of Master Pages. New master pages are based on the page size and margins previously defined when the document is set up.
Tip: The margins of new master pages are identical to the first, so it's a good idea to set up your layout grid with some regard to flexibility.
Double clicking on any master page opens it. I dragged some guides down onto the page from the rulers to align the text boxes I was planning on adding for the header and footers. Next I added some text boxes, and typed the text I wanted to the top one. I had to look up in the help how to add a page number, which was no problem. After the font, font size, alignment and colour were sorted out I simply copied my elements onto the other side of the two page spread and changed their alignment. I then added pages to the publication via the palette, using the new "B" template for my inside pages, added some frames, imported some text into the first frame, and began the text layout, changing text styles, and linking the frames to create a text flow. Each page had unique page numbers and the headers.
I don't really want to turn this review into a tutorial, but I did want to convey some impression of the natural progression of layout tasks that I was able to perform quite easily, with PagePlus X6. I then printed out my little booklet, thus far, to PDF just to see what it looked like. Everything rendered nicely, and I soon had a very nice PDF to proof. So from concept to rendering, PagePlus X6 performed very well indeed on my publication.
One of the features I liked the most was that using Insert/Text File (ctrl-t) I was able to bring not only my text in but some short tables that were in my Office Libre manuscript as well. Once in PagePlus, I could edit, and format them as I liked. The tables are in-line with the text but you can cut them out of the text flow and paste them as elements.
Tip: If you don't see your table inside the column text flow, your column may not be wide enough, the table is merely hidden. Pulling the column wider shows the previously hidden table which then can be resized, or moved.
To sum things up, my impressions which are based on my current small business project, is that PagePlus X6 has a range of powerful features which I have barely begun to tap into. I can't comment on every feature. I'm sure, as I get deeper into the program's capabilities I would be able to comment with greater authority on individual aspects of its features. I can say the PagePlus X6 has comparable features to software costing much more, and adds useful features which they lack. I really enjoy using it, which is not something you can say about many office products, and I am extremely satisfied by the resulting print-ready document. I've been using it for several weeks now and this really is great software, and an amazing value for publishing, print-on-demand, business or home office. I give the folks at Serif a big thumbs up and PagePlus X6 a five star rating!
Greg MacKenzie
