Has anyone created a Linux Desktop Publishing program?
Hi all, I have a dilemma that I really would like to solve. I've been using SuSE linux for almost three years, now. Linux is my OS of choice. However, in my work, I do a lot of desktop publishing and high-in graphics work. Has anyone created a Linux desktop program? When I do my work, I have to fire up my old Windows 98 box to do it. I'd like to be able to do my work in Linux. Is there a Linux solution to this predicament other than Win4Lin? I have LyX, but the learning curve on LyX requires that it be a hobby for now and I doubt I'll ever be able to do with LyX what I can do with my desktop publishing program. Any leads in this area will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Still keeping the faith, Tom , in _ usually _ sunny_ balmy Florida's First Coast. ><><>< An advertising executive once said "Creativity is like shaving - if you don't do it every day, you're a bum!" -Phil Cooke, Keys To Convergence: The Next Step in the Digital Age ><><>< ______________________________________________________________________ Registered Linux user # 308709. Using SuSE Linux since May, 2000. ______________________________________________________________________ p.s. Another thought: Newspapers and other journalist could use an Open-Source alternative to the proprietary programs currently available.
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On March 30, 2003 02:11 pm, Thomas E. Beasley, Jr. wrote:
Has anyone created a Linux desktop program?
Not completed yet, but check out Scribus: http://web2.altmuehlnet.de/fschmid/ Also, Kword is actually frame based and can eventually be used for DTP. The CVS version is looking promising. Charles - -- "Linux, because up-time matters gawk; talk; date; wine; grep; touch; unzip; touch; gasp; finger; gasp; mount;\ fsck; more; yes; gasp; umount; make clean; make mrproper; sleep." - --Drunken Bastard -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.0.7 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQE+h0ai3epPyyKbwPYRAuerAJwO6wSTTfpHL5TuLDM62bJvUERWLwCgsiOf o5wAiK1eeD2sZJpNi61+LyM= =UVNW -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Sunday 30 March 2003 13:33 pm, Charles Philip Chan wrote:
On March 30, 2003 02:11 pm, Thomas E. Beasley, Jr. wrote:
Has anyone created a Linux desktop program?
Not completed yet, but check out Scribus:
http://web2.altmuehlnet.de/fschmid/
Also, Kword is actually frame based and can eventually be used for DTP. The CVS version is looking promising.
Charles
Or maybe look at these others? (I have no idea exactly what 'desktop publishing' is, so I just entered the term into the search bar at freshmeat, heh). <http://freshmeat.net/search/?q=desktop+publishing§ion=projects&x=9&y=9> John -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.1 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQE+h2KaH5oDXyLKXKQRAljEAJ9Myeco8h2o3dhP8oBXHmemmB+nOwCgpCRC q2vjxWar45psc6mhqPsDDfI= =jxbo -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Sunday 30 March 2003 11:11 am, Thomas E. Beasley, Jr. wrote:
Hi all,
I have a dilemma that I really would like to solve. ... I do a lot of desktop publishing ... Has anyone created a Linux desktop program?
Check the very recent archives of this list -- I seem to recall someone making an "announcement" of a port or release of some DTP-style software about a week or two ago. [unfortunately, DTP is not my strong suit at the moment, so I did nothing more than mentally file away the fact that someone made an announcement -- I couldn't for the life of me tell you the actual product name] THAT said, you might also want to check on the OpenOffice.org website/e-mail list archive as well -- that list is about as active as this one, I'm on both, and often the threads seem to "merge" between the two sources ;) [in other words, I might be mistaken about the announcement being on THIS list] Besides, OOo being a full "office suite" has many features geared towards DTP. - -- Yet another Blog: http://osnut.homelinux.net -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.0.7 (GNU/Linux) Comment: http://osnut.homelinux.net/TomEmerson.asc iD8DBQE+h7m7V/YHUqq2SwsRAlG9AJ0RqSo2aDNIHuxztNdC7EG8vpRCowCfTUty hyB05B0De0GjdsvGshg3Hnc= =Ehvw -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Sunday 30 March 2003 07:44 pm, Tom Emerson wrote:
On Sunday 30 March 2003 11:11 am, Thomas E. Beasley, Jr. wrote:
Hi all,
I have a dilemma that I really would like to solve. ... I do a lot of desktop publishing ... Has anyone created a Linux desktop program?
Check the very recent archives of this list -- I seem to recall someone making an "announcement" of a port or release of some DTP-style software about a week or two ago.
- ----------snip---------- Pagestream 4.1 Pagestream's a commercial program which first appeared on the Atari, then Amiga. It's still actively developed for the Amiga as well as Mac and Winders versions (although it's success has been limited there.) Many claim that it is worthy competition for Pagemaker and Quark. They are just making their first effort at a linux release and have an excellent sale going which ends tomorrow (March 31) full copies of PageStream 4.1 to $95(us) I've used version 2.2 on the Amiga and it was the easiest Most full featured DTP program I've tried. Much easier for me to learn than Pagemaker. http://www.grasshopperllc.com/ I'm not affiliated, would just like to see them succed. - -- dh Don't shop at GoogleGear.com! -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.1 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQE+h+h1BwgxlylUsJARAtudAKCPIUL/yK7H1V9rY/tWJytg/uHhiQCeNA6H uo9vfUVljeHAPAc+76D5Hdg= =LuT/ -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
David Herman wrote : | I've used version 2.2 on the Amiga and it was the easiest Most full | featured DTP program I've tried. Much easier for me to learn than | Pagemaker. | I've used it on the Amiga as well, great program, it was easy to use and had loads of great options. ! -- <End of message>
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Monday 31 March 2003 09:03 am, dries wrote:
David Herman wrote : | I've used version 2.2 on the Amiga and it was the easiest Most full | featured DTP program I've tried. Much easier for me to learn than | Pagemaker.
I've used it on the Amiga as well, great program, it was easy to use and had loads of great options. !
Having been one of those who mentioned Pagestream 4.1 as a potential DTP solution I thought I should send an update. I purchased the 4.1 version while the March sale was going on. I can't say I'm disappointed yet (as I really expect to be delighted soon), but there certainly isn't enough functionality for me to recommend it to others. I have faith that this program will soon be an excellent option for Linux Desktop Publishersl, but as of now I couldn't recommend it to someone who actually needed it to get work done. (even the install required searching the mailing list for info, no INSTALL text file included yet) The current version is listed as 4.1 beta, but in linux terms I might suggest alpha is a more appropriate title. The 4.1 aspect is in regards to the functionality that will be available when the porting (from the Amiga/Mac/Winders versions) has been completed. Bottom line, not usable yet, but keep an eye on the development if you need this kind of program. Hope this info is useful. - -- dh Don't shop at GoogleGear.com! -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.1 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQE+idhnBwgxlylUsJARAuFxAKCIR+Badc+idz8DoZoZ9tOp9z5P1gCfbpWb aX9ZSFlIIubcm009zDh/vNw= =yd4N -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
On Tuesday 01 April 2003 13:20 pm, David Herman wrote:
I purchased the 4.1 version while the March sale was going on. I can't say I'm disappointed yet (as I really expect to be delighted soon), but there certainly isn't enough functionality for me to recommend it to others. I have faith that this program will soon be an excellent option for Linux Desktop Publishersl, but as of now I couldn't recommend it to someone who actually needed it to get work done. (even the install required searching the mailing list for info, no INSTALL text file included yet)
Ok, what did you do to get it installed. Right now I'm looking for libgnomeui-2.so.0 which is not on SuSE 8.0. Haven't gotten it to run yet... and no docs whatever. -- +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ + Bruce S. Marshall bmarsh@bmarsh.com Bellaire, MI 04/01/03 13:43 + +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ "To be intoxicated is to feel sophisticated, but not be able to say it."
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Tuesday 01 April 2003 10:44 am, Bruce Marshall wrote: > On Tuesday 01 April 2003 13:20 pm, David Herman wrote: - ------snip------- > Ok, what did you do to get it installed. Right now I'm looking for > libgnomeui-2.so.0 which is not on SuSE 8.0. > > Haven't gotten it to run yet... and no docs whatever. I've got a pretty full install of SuSE8.1 pro (Gnome2, KDE, alot of development packages, all up to date w/ apt) I found the following directions on the PagestreamLinuxBeta list http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PageStreamLinuxBeta/ message #16 from stefan martig. ============================================= don't know exactly - the file readme on grasshoppers webpage is not accessible. what I did: as root: mkdir -p /opt/pgs/41 cd /opt/pgs/41 tar xzf /path/to/pagestream41.tar.gz chown -R root:root * chmod go-w * ln -s /opt/pgs/41/PageStream4.rsc /PageStream4.rsc # because PageStream searches this file exactly here - why ?? export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:/opt/pgs/41/SoftLogik/lib export PATH=$PATH:/opt/pgs/41 and then I executed PageStream4 as root (to enable writing the /PageStream4.ini file - why is it at that location ??) this files permissions: -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 212 Mar 19 18:54 /PageStream4.ini ( that's not a good idea: there are some informations about page setup stored...) I exited PageStream4. as a normal user in a shell: export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:/opt/pgs/41/SoftLogik/lib export PATH=$PATH:/opt/pgs/41 # this should be placed in a file like /etc/profile or # /etc/profile.d/pgs.sh starting PageStream4 with: PageStream4 some seg faults ... the system is redhat 8.0 on a athlon the other system is redhat 8.0 on a pentium III ============================================= Since using the preceding directions I've run the prog once (on SuSE8.1) as root (to get an ini file created) and once as a user. I haven't logged out and back in so I can't be sure the changes to my .profile will be accepted but I can't see why not. Also, having run the program I'd have to say theres not much to see, but maybe I'll feel diferently after messing about a bit more. I'm really hopeful. HTH - -- dh Don't shop at GoogleGear.com! -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.1 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQE+iee+BwgxlylUsJARAkkmAJ956JEmynTfrwndNAWXkd4DInmPHACfTltS u5pn4BQF2D+Q1B+vJaQ6wXE= =WQjA -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
Sorry to jump in so late on this thread but we are an International school following the British gcse course in ICT and we need a dtp package to fulfill the course. Alas we are Linux only. Is PageStream workable? As it will be costly for us to get 20 copies maybe there are other alternatives. Any other teachers? SuSE 8.1 Thanks, Steve.
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Friday 04 April 2003 11:39 pm, fsanta wrote:
Sorry to jump in so late on this thread but we are an International school following the British gcse course in ICT and we need a dtp package to fulfill the course. Alas we are Linux only. Is PageStream workable?
As much as I hate to say it, PageStream (for linux) just isn't ready yet. It doesn't really do anything but open Its windows so far. I know the developer is working hard and I have faith that progress will be made quickly as the base application is already working on Amiga, Win and Mac, but there's no telling when it will actually be usable on linux. See ya - -- dh Don't shop at GoogleGear.com! -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.1 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQE+jop7BwgxlylUsJARApu3AKCAS/3CAOURQ0ME+Mn8/hevo9djdQCfZK3E fzRbpyt4bYzievFrBIE1RIg= =shbt -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
On Friday 04 April 2003 11:39 pm, fsanta wrote:
Sorry to jump in so late on this thread but we are an International school following the British gcse course in ICT and we need a dtp package to fulfill the course. Alas we are Linux only. Is PageStream workable?
As much as I hate to say it, PageStream (for linux) just isn't ready yet. It doesn't really do anything but open Its windows so far. I know the developer is working hard and I have faith that progress will be made quickly as the base application is already working on Amiga, Win and Mac, but there's no telling when it will actually be usable on linux.
In the July/August issue of Linux Magazine http://www.linux-magazine.co.uk they had a DTP package called Scribus included on the CD which had been in development for some 18 months or so. I haven't any other details but it may be worth looking into. It may seem an old issue in the UK but here in the antipodes it is relatively recent :) HTH John-- John Blue, PO Box 542 Mawson ACT 2607 Australia email: jblue@bestpond.com Fax: +61 2 6291 1119 Mob: 041 922 6661 This email has been pre-scanned using the latest Anti Virus software for your peace of mind.
On Tuesday 01 April 2003 01:44 pm, Bruce Marshall wrote:
On Tuesday 01 April 2003 13:20 pm, David Herman wrote:
I purchased the 4.1 version while the March sale was going on. I can't say I'm disappointed yet (as I really expect to be delighted soon), but there certainly isn't enough functionality for me to recommend it to others. I have faith that this program will soon be an excellent option for Linux Desktop Publishersl, but as of now I couldn't recommend it to someone who actually needed it to get work done. (even the install required searching the mailing list for info, no INSTALL text file included yet)
Ok, what did you do to get it installed. Right now I'm looking for libgnomeui-2.so.0 which is not on SuSE 8.0.
Haven't gotten it to run yet... and no docs whatever.
-- +-------------------------------------------------------------------- --------+ + Bruce S. Marshall bmarsh@bmarsh.com Bellaire, MI 04/01/03 13:43 + +-------------------------------------------------------------------- --------+ "To be intoxicated is to feel sophisticated, but not be able to say it."
Bruce, I think you will find that PageStream needs Gnome2 stuff like the GTK+ and other things to work. Go back to PageStream's site and I believe they make mention of that. I know 8.0 doesn't do Gnome2, although you might have installed that yourself. If not, you will have to in order to use/install it. Patrick -- --- KMail v1.5 --- SuSE Linux Pro v8.1 --- Registered Linux User #225206 On any other day, that might seem strange...
On Sunday 30 March 2003 14:11, Thomas E. Beasley, Jr. wrote:
However, in my work, I do a lot of desktop publishing and high-in graphics work. Has anyone created a Linux desktop program? When I do my work, I have to fire up my old Windows 98 box to do it. I'd like to be able to do my work in Linux. Is there a Linux solution to this predicament other than Win4Lin?
You didn't name your DTP weapon-of-choice on Windows. If you are using something like Pagemaker or Quark or InDesign, then you are doing a certain type of work and need certain features. You need something that produces the looks that you want, but you have minimal need for powerful organizational tools for dealing with large, complex documents. If you are using something like FrameMaker or Ventura, then you are probably writing (or publishing somebody else's) large, complex technical documents. I'm in this camp. I rejected KWord a year ago, though the new developments sound interesting. OpenOffice is the closest I've seen, though it has a number of gaps that are painful if you've been using a lot of the productivity features of (say) FrameMaker. Still, it is a good workhorse, depending on the depths of your pickiness. If you require ultimate typographic control, then you may need to go for a TeX-related, non-WYSIWYG system. If you just need to "make it look reasonably good", but are mainly concerned that the layout be reliably repeatable, the generated lists be easy-to-make and complete, the pagination and numbering be transparent yet adaptable, the table features easy to use and repeatable, etc., then OOo is close. As an employment-critical workhorse, avoid anything that says it's alpha or early beta. Good luck, and please report back if you find something that you like. /kevin
participants (11)
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Bruce Marshall -
Charles Philip Chan -
David Herman -
dries -
fsanta -
John -
John -
Kevin McLauchlan -
O'Smith -
Thomas E. Beasley, Jr. -
Tom Emerson