Scribus1.5.5

I really wanted to like this program, but now have mostly disdain for it. At first, it looked pretty good - nice logo decent layout, but it all went waaaaaay downhill from there. At first, it needed GhostScript to import EPS and PDF. Just try to find an easy to install version of GhostScript. Most versions are a pain to install, having to run UNIX scripts and finding out that additional pieces are needed part way through the install forcing one to start over. Finally, I finally found an easy Mac version, but why in the hell wasn't it mentioned at the various websites for GhostScript and Scribus! Next, I TRIED to install templates. They were easy to find, but the instructions were either missing, utterly cryptic, or wrong. This is a classic case of open source assuming that everyone is a UNIX or LINUX geek. After lots of research and trials, I gave up. So, I just tried to create my own document from scratch and almost immediately got the error, 'The application "pdflatex --interaction nonstopmode" failed to start! Please check the path:' Huh? Continuing on, I found that the interface was stunning stupid for some tasks, especially related to text. It is incredible that you have to change the text's characteristics in a one window and then go back to the main window to see the effect. I'm a programmer and run web servers so I am somewhat used to the "logic" and assumptions of the open source and UNIX world. And, I've used Quark since it's intro, Pagemaker, MultiAd Creator, and other DTP programs and have rarely needed to consult their manuals and am very schooled on DTP. I found Scribus to be unnecessarily difficult and illogical. Scribus should and could be a great product and it appears to be very comprehensive, but it need LOTS of help to make it rationally easy to install and use for even the above average user. A lot of good work has gone into Scribus. I hope that they end up making it a great competitor to Quark. For now I will stick with the surprisingly good MultiAd Creator.

Interesting that InDesign is not listed under Similar Software…

NOT so perfect. It downloads easily and looks relatively easy to figure out and use, and there is an instruction manual. However, in order to use Print Preview for pre-press or PDF export features you MUST download Ghostscript. These features are kind of critical for the intended purpose of a DTP. OK, no problem there, Ghostscript is easy to find following the links in Scribus or externally and it has its own Mac OS loader. But once it's loaded, Scribus can't find it on its own and wants YOU to give it a path. How to do that? NOT in the manual though there is a convenient placeholder for it and I couldn't find it in the user forums. Bottom line: too much Linux in this for use by most Mac users, including this relatively experienced one who's used X11 for years (but never needed Ghostscript). So for me, it's unusable as is.

Perfect app.

Scribus is a professional DTP solution. To really understand its value we must look at it pros and cons. 1. Scribus is cross-platform (Linux, Windows, Mac OS X). This is its main advantage and its main disadvantage. It is an advantage as you can move its document files across different operating systems and the result will still look the same (try this with a MS product). It is a disadvantage as you cannot expect a native Mac OS X user interface. 2. Scribus has a professional feature set. As with any professional software it has its complexity and learning curve. But when you start to manage it, it is of real value. I printed a lot of flyers and smaller books with it and was always impressed by its feature set. 3. Scribus is open source and comes for free. It is really impressive what Scribus brings you for nothing. But, as true for many open source projects, its development cycles could be shorter. Of course, we all would like to see every month a new final release, but the available resources are limited. Scribus has a strong development community, which offers continuous support since many years. What else can we expect? If you do not bring your files to a professional printer often, then this software might not be for you. You might be more pleased with Apple's Pages. If you need to create printable PDFs and you do not want to invest in expensive software like Adobe InDesign, then this is worth looking at.

I really wanted to like this program, but now have mostly disdain for it. At first, it looked pretty good - nice logo decent layout, but it all went waaaaaay downhill from there. At first, it needed GhostScript to import EPS and PDF. Just try to find an easy to install version of GhostScript. Most versions are a pain to install, having to run UNIX scripts and finding out that additional pieces are needed part way through the install forcing one to start over. Finally, I finally found an easy Mac version, but why in the hell wasn't it mentioned at the various websites for GhostScript and Scribus! Next, I TRIED to install templates. They were easy to find, but the instructions were either missing, utterly cryptic, or wrong. This is a classic case of open source assuming that everyone is a UNIX or LINUX geek. After lots of research and trials, I gave up. So, I just tried to create my own document from scratch and almost immediately got the error, 'The application "pdflatex --interaction nonstopmode" failed to start! Please check the path:' Huh? Continuing on, I found that the interface was stunning stupid for some tasks, especially related to text. It is incredible that you have to change the text's characteristics in a one window and then go back to the main window to see the effect. I'm a programmer and run web servers so I am somewhat used to the "logic" and assumptions of the open source and UNIX world. And, I've used Quark since it's intro, Pagemaker, MultiAd Creator, and other DTP programs and have rarely needed to consult their manuals and am very schooled on DTP. I found Scribus to be unnecessarily difficult and illogical. Scribus should and could be a great product and it appears to be very comprehensive, but it need LOTS of help to make it rationally easy to install and use for even the above average user. A lot of good work has gone into Scribus. I hope that they end up making it a great competitor to Quark. For now I will stick with the surprisingly good MultiAd Creator.