From the monthly archives: February 2002
Photoshop 7.0 Delivers Must-Have Release for Professional Photographers, Web and Graphic Designers with Enhanced Retouching, More Organized File Access, and Expanded OS Support
SAN JOSE, Calif. ó February 24, 2002 (NASDAQ: ADBE) ó Adobe Systems Incorporated, the leader in network publishing, today announced AdobeÆ PhotoshopÆ 7.0, a major upgrade to the world’s professional image editing standard. Photoshop 7.0 boasts an extensive set of new features that allow photographers, Web and graphic designers to work more efficiently, explore new creative options and produce the highest quality images for print, Web and other media. Native on MacÆ OS X and MicrosoftÆ WindowsÆ XP, Photoshop 7.0 provides enhanced multi-processor support and interoperability with other native Adobe applications.
Continue Reading →Mark Poston, Mekon Ltd.
About OUP Journals
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the worldís largest university press, publishing over 4,000 new titles a year. It is a department of the University of Oxford.
Most of these publications are produced by two major publishing centres in Oxford and New York. There are also ten other countries producing titles worldwide. Some of the titles published are targeted at local communities but many, particularly those published from Oxford and New York, are sold throughout the world.
Contributors to OUP Journals, based at medical research establishments and universities around the world, submit articles produced in a variety of wordprocessor formats. The OUPís editors using Microsoft Word and Interleaf software edit and format the texts to conform to their appropriate styles for the printed and on-line publications.
OUPís Requirement
OUPís principal requirement was to update and streamline their existing editorial and production processes for a number of rapid-publication scientific, technical, and medical (STM) journals. The existing production processes utilizing Word 6 and Interleaf software lacked flexibility in updating existing and implementing new DTD’s. Replacing the existing production processes with an efficient, cost-effective software solution, enabling the OUP to maintain its position as a provider of rapid STM publications
The solution was required to take well formatted Microsoft Word 97 documents into a system that could then parallel publish them to paper, PDF, SGML and HTML.
OUPís existing document type definition (DTD) for STM journals would form the basis of the system which could be customised as required.
Mekon were to develop a suitable publishing system to achieve these goals and to provide training on the use of the system and any other related software.
Continue Reading →Kay Ethier, Bright Path Solutions
Kay Ethier assesses the cost-effectiveness of those additional FrameMaker+SGML features
When organizations select Adobe FrameMaker for publishing, the question arises regarding whether regular FrameMaker will serve their needs or FrameMaker+SGML is necessary. Both Adobe ìFrameî products include the capability to format documents, but FrameMaker+SGML includes additional capabilities for authoring using structure rules. Decisionmakers must weigh the added costs and timeframe (development) issues against actual publishing needs before selecting.
Overview
Structured documents differ from unstructured documents in that structured documents include ‘rules’. These rules may describe the order in which text, graphics, and tables may be entered or the frequency with which they must occur.
In unstructured documents, for example, one paragraph has certain formatting rules-font, size, and spacing. In structured documents, however, that same paragraph has those formatting rules plus it is wrapped in a container or ‘element’ that governs what may appear [in the document] before and after it.
The element rules come from a document type definition (DTD) or –the FrameMaker+SGML equivalent–element definition document (EDD).
AdobeÆ InDesignÆ 2.0 software is setting new standards for professional layout and design. Adobe is now making it easier to transition and upgrade from QuarkXPressô. Owners of QuarkXPress 3.x or later who buy a license to the full version of InDesign 2.0 for at least the full estimated street price are eligible to receive a rebate coupon for $US300. Corporate license owners of QuarkXPress 3.0 or later who buy full versions of InDesign 2.0 at the published licensing price are eligible to receive a rebate of 40% off the price per license.
Continue Reading →by Sarah O’Keefe, Scriptorium Publishing
It was hard to enough to get the boss to cough up money for FrameMaker over Whatever Other Rotten Dreck you had been using. Making the case for FrameMaker+SGML, which is even more expensive than regular FrameMaker and has even less name recognition, is going to be quite a chore.
FrameMaker+SGML makes sense for all the same reasons that FrameMaker does, but it adds a structured layer on top of the usual goodies. Which means that you get the following:
Continue Reading →Hans P. Hogers ñ Publishing Systems Integrator
Bernard Aschwanden, Front Runner publishing Solutions Inc.
The Client:
When it comes to publishing directories, the underlying database is the heart and soul of the directory. So we knew, when we decided to completely update the database of Frasers Canadian Trade Directory, that everything else would be disrupted as well. Among other things, we realized we would have to rethink the way the 3,000 page, four volume directory was paginated. We had faith we would find a solution, but we wandered down a couple of blind alleys before we came to FrameMaker.
Frasers Canadian Trade Directory lists some 40,000 suppliers of industrial products and services, classified into 30,000 product and service categories.
The Problem:
The database simply had to be replaced: it was 20 years old, extremely cumbersome, and it was unable to provide the output we needed to offer web and CD companion products for the printed directory. The new database was an industryñstandard SQLñbased product, and we expect it to serve our needs for many years to come.
There was one thing missing from the new database, however. It had no pagination smarts. The old database had a tightly integrated pagination module, written in the COBOL programming language. The module lacked flexibilityóthe fonts, point size, leading, etcetera were all hardñcodedóbut it allowed the old database output to be poured into a proprietary Unixñbased page layout system and come out with a first draft that looked more or less okay. The new database had no such module, and to have one written might have cost up to $50,000. And it still wouldnít have provided us with the flexibility we wanted. Redesignsóif in future we wanted to change the look of the directoryówould have been a nightmare.
Continue Reading →By Matt Sullivan, GRAFIX Training
A common problem our existing clients face is editing Frame 5.5 documents in Frame 6. When upgrading a document to Frame 6 there are a few book-numbering issues worth discussion.
Frame 6 handles book numbering quite differently from previous versions. Fortunately, the file and page numbering properties have been centralized and are now all handled from within a single dialog within the book file. This means that you can effectively ignore numbering issues until most of the editing of your project is done. With a little practice, book numbering should only take a few minutes to straighten out. Keep in mind that when modifying book numbering, the file(s) in question must be highlighted in the book file. To access the numbering properties, you may either right-click (Command-click on a Mac) on the file or go to Format > Document > Numbering.
Continue Reading →By Kay Ethier, Bright Path Solutions
So, your company has decided to implement XML. You are tasked with figuring out exactly how, when, and why. For starters, you should find out what XML is and what you can do with it. This tutorial serves to explain the basics of XML documents. Once you understand what they are, it can help you know the how, when, and why.
XML fits into a lot of places. It can replace, or work with, other technologies. It can be used instead of, or to supplement, scripts. It can work with databases, or on its own to store readable content. Before you dive into what XML might do, it can help if you learn a little more about it.
Continue Reading →Thomas Hirte, Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc.
Christy Jackson, Front Runner Publishing Solutions Inc.
The Client:
In 1988-89, Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc. (TKT) was incorporated based on gene therapy work performed at Harvard University by Richard Selden, founder of the company. TKT is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development and commercialization of products based on its three proprietary development platforms: Gene Activatedô proteins, Niche Proteinô products and Gene Therapy. The Companyís gene activation technology is a proprietary approach to the large-scale production of therapeutic proteins, which does not require the cloning of genes and their subsequent insertion into non-human cell lines. TKTís Niche Protein product platform is based on protein replacement for the treatment of rare genetic diseases, a group of disorders characterized by the absence of certain metabolic enzymes. The Companyís Gene Therapy technology, known as Transkaryotic Therapy, is focused on the commercialization of non-viral ex-vivo gene therapy products for the long-term treatment of chronic protein deficiency states.
Continue Reading →By Matt Sullivan, GRAFIX Training
Image editing is always a favorite topic with our Photoshop students. It seems like everybody wants to put a different head on a body, or rollerskates on their dog. Many of you may have seen an image that was going around of a young guy atop the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. Fortunately for me, as soon as I saw it I knew it was fake. Click here if you are interested in why. You’ll also find a few images created by others poking fun at the original jokester’s lack of ability in Photoshop. It’s worth a peek!
This month I’ll describe one of the techniques I use to edit images without replacing the original pixels, what GRAFIX calls non-destructive editing.
Continue Reading →FrameMaker References
