Looking righteous with graphics; keeping computers large casked up; finding documents that have slipped from view.

Many businesses and individuals have discovered their creative side thanks to desktop publishing software. These programs give population the tools to create their acknowledge fliers, newsletters, and signs that combine body graphics, and photos.

nevertheless something has been missing. Professional publishing programs generally require users to be adept at graphics and design. Programs for novices have been easier to use, on the other hand they produced lower-quality designs.

As a inference there has been a lack of well adapted software for the sales and marketing specialists, administrative assistants, and other employee whose task is to make their companies turn the thoughts good.

Change is upon the way, though, thanks to programs similar as PageMaker Plus from Adobe a whole s Inc. in San Jose, Calif., and Publisher 2000 from Microsoft Corp. in Redmond Wash. Each program is loaded with tools to help businesses bear high-quality designs on their own

PageMaker Plus (Adobe classifications Inc., 1-800422-3623, www.adobe.com); $499.

PageMaker helped launch desktop publishing, and it continues to be regarded by way of professional designers as a market leader on the other hand for years it was difficult for nondesigners to use.

Now Adobe has created a version for businesses called PageMaker Plus. It incorporates the couple professional design tools and ease-of-use features. Available for the one and the other Macintosh and PCs, PageMaker Plus proceeds with an array of templates and on-screen "wizards" that lead users by the agency of the process of creating professional-quality documents.

The Windows version of PageMaker Plus has a template and picture "palette" that leases users select PageMaker design templates and images. This template plan also lets users organize easy in mind from other applications such as word-processing programs. PageMaker Plus proceeds with more than 4,700 stock illustrations and 300 high-resolution photos that users can insert into their documents.

For further ease of use, the software has an icon-based tool bar with links to commonly used features and commands. In addition, PageMaker Plus can re-create files for people who have previously used Microsoft Publisher, allowing them to reuse their antiquated designs and templates.

PageMaker Plus issues with a limited-edition version of Adobe's Photoshop photo-editing software, which obstructions users enhance photos before inserting them into PageMaker documents.

Publisher 2000 (Microsoft Corp., 1-800-426-9400 www.microsoft.com); $99

Microsoft is answering Adobe according to enhancing Publisher 2000, its desktop publishing software for nonprofessionals. Publisher 2000 which will be included in the Office 2000 Small Business Edition productivity-software suite fit in June, has been enhanced to make it easier to create well-designed documents,

the bulk of mankind familiar with Office applications similar as Microsoft Word should find it simple to create documents in Publisher or enhance documents started in Word--the sum of two units products have nearly identical interfaces and tool bars. yet if users run into disarrange the software will volunteer advice and assistance between the sides of its integrated but sometimes overeager Office Assistant help system

The software's publishing tools have been improved, enabling novice users to make documents that turn the thoughts more professional. There are more than 2000 publication templates for documents like as brochures, catalogs, fliers, newsletter and World Wide Web sites. (Publisher 2000 can instantly turn about documents created with the software into Web pages.) The software has "master style" design fixs that ensure consistency of appearance in a company's documents.

Publisher 2000's quick-publication feature proffers 50 design and layout options for creating one-page documents. It also provides 78 specialty-paper publication templates for printing with black-and-white laser or color inkjet printers upon various media.

In addition, there's a wizard that helps users save their documents to disks that can be taken to a commercial printer

Preventing point in disputes Through Basic Computer Maintenance

Just as a car destitutions periodic maintenance to keep it running, likewise does a PC. With continual use, computer are affected by means of viruses, software conflicts, and an array of technical glitches. A little ongoing maintenance can interrupt big problems in the coming events The following software can help.

Norton SystemWorks (Symantec Corp., 1-877-469-7467 www.symantec.com); $6995 for Standard Edition, $9995 for Professional Edition.

Symantec has created a suite of applications for keeping a company's PC working and for preventing point in disputes before they become too rigid Norton SystemWorks incorporates the firm's Norton AntiVirus, CleanSweep, CrashGuard, and Utilities software, plus more [i]or[/i] less bonus Symantec programs.

Norton a whole Works doesn't just pack a bump of applications in a box; it provides a centralized menu for launching them. These applications can also be used simultaneously And, using the Web, you can constantly update each application by means of clicking on an update button.

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