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As a long time user, I can attest that Microsoft Publisher does just what it is intended to do extremely well. Once again, Microsoft is winning
plaudits from it's newest release Publisher 97, which is basically an upgraded version of it's Publisher 95 with a website production feature.
Microsoft Publisher 97 works best when one uses 'wizards,' or menus and
prompts which help gumshoe graphic artists design impressive documents. These wizards allow even the most plebeian of users to create impressive documents in only a matter of minutes. Upon starting Publisher, an opening
wizard menu gives users a choice of 20 different document types ranging from newsletters to banners, all of which smoothly guide user through the inception to creation. To make a holiday card, one must simply select
this icon from the wizard menu, add text, and select the check boxes as Publisher prompts you. Doing so should yield a nice looking card in about five minutes.
Besides fulfilling most printed needs, Publisher 97 also
has a HTML 3.0-compatible website creation feature. This feature looks like a scaled-back version of Microsoft's FrontPage program, supporting font, color, table, and paragraph standards compatible with both Netscape
Navigator and the Microsoft Internet Explorer. Although the experienced webmaster probably wouldn't buy this program for producing sites, this feature is certainly attractive for the occasional user. Publisher 97 also
offers users the ability to create flyers, brochures, postcards, labels, business forms, letterheads, signs, business cards, calendars, envelopes, banners, paper airplanes, and even origami. I have found this program
especially handy for report covers, which can be easily laid-out and edited at will.
For a street price of around $84, Microsoft Publisher is a worthy addition to anybody's hard drive. I can only assert again that
this is an extremely easy program to use, which will take little time to learn. From the beginning student, to the seasoned graphical designer, this is rivals it's chief competitor, Print Shop, in terms of power and
ease of use. Look for Publisher 97 starting in early 1997 at all major computer stores. Product: Microsoft Publisher 97
Category: Productivity
Company: Microsoft Corporation
Address: University Plaza
City/State/Zip: Redmond, Washington
Telephone: 1800-426-9000
WWW Site Address: www.microsoft.com
MSRP of Program: $90
Minimum PC Configuration: 386 DX, 8 MB RAM, Windows 95
Minimum Macintosh Configuration: N/A
Tested on: 486 DX 33, 8 MB RAM, Windows 95
Michael Scaturro is a technology devotee who enjoys making web sites, reading, and doing work. His favorite computer programs are Microsoft Image Composer, NetObjects Fusion, and Netscape 3.01, all of which he runs on a
486 DX Computer with 8 megabytes of ram- pretty brave, huh? Visit Video Links, his web site featuring hundreds of Quicktime movies and sounds from entertainment, politics, movies, and music videos. Video Links- http://members.aol.com/videolinks E-mail- VideoLinks@aol.com |
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