PrintMaster Platinum 12.0 Review

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(More customer reviews)I have happily used PM for many years. The new edition is driving me crazy. When I compose a legal sized newsletter page and save it, it reduces the size of the type when I return to the project later. I have had numerous e-mail suggestions from tech support, but nothing has fixed the problem. I ended up having to send my newsletter out in letter size this month. For other stuff, there is probably no problems, but this newsletter is very important to me.

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PM 12 PLATINUM

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CorelDRAW Premium Suite X5 Review

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(More customer reviews)First, the disclaimer. Yes, I received this via Amazon Vine and received it for free. I review all my items via Vine as if I actually purchased them myself.
CorelDRAW Premium Suite actually contains 3 separate software packages. CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5, Corel VideoStudio Pro X3 and WinZip 14 Plus (Standard). It actually contains WinZip 14.5 but the Plus is the only equivalent I could find on Amazon's website.
After reading my review, if you are still undecided, Corel is good enough to actually offer a 30 day free, fully functional trial which you can download over the Internet. Just do a Google search(or your preferred search engine) for CorelDRAW Premium Suite X5 and you should be taken to the Corel X5 website where you can download the free trials. Just a warning though, the download sizes are pretty large.
My first advice, once you've decided on purchasing the software, is to be careful what you click on while installing or opening an application for the first time; ASSUMING YOU DOWNLOAD IT (if you don't download it, ignore the following as it doesn't happen on the disc version). They ask during installation to install Google Chrome/Google Toolbar, neither of which will do anything for the included application suite. You can install them if you want, but it kind of annoys me that a person would be expected to spend upwards of $650 (Corel's MSRP) for the software, only to also have Corel include the added revenue stream of advertising for Google. That's just a pet peeve of mine and your mileage will vary.
Included in Graphics Suite X5 (the main part of the application) are:
Corel Capture X5 - This program is pretty cool. It takes a little learning, but it allows you to capture all sorts of different inputs. You can perform simple screen shots, do a screen capture of a small area of the screen and even create video files of animation. The latter would be useful for creating say, documentation for a process on the PC that is perhaps easier to show than to explain. Very nice indeed!
Corel Connect - This is a tool that will search your hard drive for content that can be used in any of the Corel Suite applications. It can be as limited or robust as you want it to be in terms of thoroughness of the search. Once you find the content you want to use, you drag and drop it to the bottom of the screen and you can choose which Corel Suite application you want to open it with from there.
Corel Photo Paint X5 - Wow. This is Corel's answer to Adobe Photoshop CS5. Having never actually used the latest version of PhotoShop CS5, I can only compare the power of Photo Paint X5 to my copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 [OLD VERSION]. And it definitely blows that out of the water with ease in terms of features and capability. The only other Photoshop I've used is version 6 and this easily bests that as well... but it SHOULD because it is almost 10 years newer than that version of Photoshop.
With Photo Paint X5 you will, if you've used any flavor of Photoshop new or old, have to get adjusted to terminology differences. Instead of layers Corel calls them "Masks." There are similar differences throughout; perhaps Adobe has copyrights on those terms? I don't know.
Of all the applications in the Suite, this is by far my favorite. It allows you to make all sorts of edits to photographs, add endless effects to it, touch up photographs and anything else you could possibly want to do with a photo editor. If you're just a beginner or hobbyist, this might be too much for you starting out, which is why the video tutorials Corel includes are AWESOME additions to the set. I'll get more on that later on down the review.
Corel Draw X5 - Again; wow. This is Corel's answer to Adobe Illustrator CS5. I've personally never used Illustrator for anything other than one off playing and can't do a real hard comparison for you on this; hopefully someone else can do this for readers?
In terms of what Draw X5 does, you can create just about any graphic your heart may desire (assuming you have the skill, which sadly, I do not). This program allows you to do vector illustration, page layout, tracing and Web graphics with ease. It is feature rich and the quick start option you receive when first opening the application is rather helpful in trying to explain how to get to work. Also really helpful for the beginner is the inclusion of the Hints bar on the right side of the screen, which provides links to the things they believe you will want to know while creating your graphics.
Duplexing Wizard - this is just a tool to help you duplex (double sided printing) on printers that don't offer that option in hardware. It has a use, but as my printer does hardware duplex printing, I don't have much use for it. If you don't have that luxury though, setting up manual duplex printing with this application is pretty simple. A nice addition that you may or may not find a use for. If you already know how to do manual duplex printing with your printer, then it probably doesn't have much use at all.
Corel Video Studio X3 - This is the one "disappointing" piece in this Suite. This would be Corel's answer to, I believe, Adobe Premiere Elements 9 (Win/Mac). It doesn't seem to be as feature rich as the Draw and Paint applications. It is useful, but not as robust, in my opinion, as what is offered in Paint and Draw. That's why it's disappointing, not because I think it is a bad application. Just more basic than the other pieces in the suite.
What Video Studio X3 does is allow you to edit video and turn them into just about any output you can imagine. You can output to DVD, Blu Ray, YouTube, Vimeo and even export to "Mobile Device" (iPod, PSP, Mobile Phone and Windows Pocket PC). This is a nice option as you can also use X3 to convert home videos to use with your mobile device.
You can import from several devices, such as a digital camcorder and you can even import from DVD (assuming it isn't copy protected).
One thing missing from X3 is the Hints bar that both Draw and Paint include, which is disappointing. It isn't entirely intuitive. You won't be installing this and getting off to a running start, unless you have previous experience with another Video Studio version.
WinZip 14.5 - what can I say, it's a program used to create Zip files. Most PCs come with the capability to create them right out of the box. So what does this offer that your host operating system may not? Well, it is more fully featured. It has a drag and drop style interface and can also more highly compress, supposedly, whatever content you throw at it... assuming you are willing to use the zipx format instead of zip. The problem with the zipx format is that if you send a file to someone with say, Windows 7, they will need something other than the built in zip file feature to open it (probably need a copy of WinZip, of course). This can be kind of annoying if you frequently share compressed Zip files with people.
You can also, if you so desire, encrypt your zip files (can't do that out of the box in Windows for sure), create self extracting zip files (useful for those people above who don't have zipx file opening capability), multipart zip files (multiple zip files that you can set the maximum size of each part of the file; this was useful when we had only floppy discs but in the era of the ubiquitous DVD/CD burner or USB storage device, the usefulness is limited) and you can choose the level of compression.
WinZip is nice, but it's not something I'd buy separately in all honesty. Especially with an MSRP of $50. $10? Sure. $50? No way.
Swish MiniMax2 - create Flash video animations. It's simplistic and doesn't come with a huge host of information. I don't have much use for Flash video creation so I didn't spend much time with it.
Website Creator - Another simplistic offering, but sort of useful if you have to build a functional, basic site from "scratch" quickly. It is functional, and it seems to offer a large amount of customizability, but it isn't easy and intuitive to setup quickly. At least it wasn't/hasn't been for me.
Swish Max 3 - A fuller featured version of Swish. There are a couple of examples of what you can do with it, but it seems focused more on banner ads than anything else. I'm not good at using it, so I can't make more comment than this. It doesn't seem to be intuitive, which is why I didn't get up and running right from the start, which is kind of disappointing. In the scope of the package though, at best this and Swish MiniMax would drop the value of the package by a miniscule amount; you don't buy this suite for Flash video creation.All of the above being said, another very, very nice feature included with this package is video tutorials for Paint and Draw. If you've ever wanted to know how to use a feature in a program but have a difficult time following text based instructions, you'll enjoy this feature immensely. Just about every feature in Draw and Paint have video tutorials available. I don't know if Adobe offers similar options with it's current packages, but back in the day this is the type of thing Adobe would have charged extra for and it...Read more›

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CorelDRAW Premium Suite X5 is premium design software that opens you up to new web possibilities, while supporting traditional illustration, tracing and graphic design needs with new and enhanced tools. Built on the renowned CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5, it introduces website creation, video editing, and flash animation software, so you can engage your audience with greater impact than ever before! Build standout websites with the help of dozens of templates and site styles. Create interactive flash animations with over 350 built-in multimedia effects. Even edit video and quickly create high-definition movies with 30 creative templates. Now you can do even more than you thought possible!
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Adobe Pagemaker 7.0.2 (Upgrade Version) Review

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(More customer reviews)To add a little to the previous review, it is an upgrade as it says. Typically any software upgrade expects to find a previous installed version, and this is no exception. My previous install is Pagemaker 6.5. The Pagemaker 7.0.2 upgrade found it, but it also asked me to enter its serial number, so write it down before you start or you'll have to exit install and then start again...damhikt. And of course it wants the new serial number which is on the CD box. Past that and all goes well. It does not overwrite or replace the previous version, so in my case I have a functioning 6.5 and 7.0.2 should I want that.
This new (and what I guess will be the last) release of Pagemaker doesn't differ a lot from 6.5. The biggest difference for me is it's compatibility with Photoshop PSD files. Pagemaker 6.5 issues a popup declaring that it doesn't know how to place this filetype, so getting a Photoshop image into this version requires working with a different bitmap filetype (jpg, etc.). But a PSD image places into Pagemaker 7 with no problem, even one that has been "Photoshopped" to include layers, etc.
There are some other bells and whistles, but for me the Photoshop compatibility is the heavy hitter.
Recommended.

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Serif PagePlus X4 Review

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(More customer reviews)I have been using Microsoft Publisher for years having upgraded several times. But, Publisher is entirely limited by comparison to PagePlus and the price is right also by comparison. Much more flexible with far more opportunities for creativity. I was so impressed with this product I also purchased WebPlus which is one of the easiest editors to use and one of the most versatile.

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When you create publications, you inevitably do more than just layout and print the page. You write text, design graphics, enhance images, import content, and more, then share your work in print, as PDFs, or as emails. PagePlus X4 makes all this easy, it's a publishing package designed to be as flexible as you are.

All-in-One Desktop Publishing Studio
Unrivaled PDF EditingOpen PDFs and fully edit their contents with PagePlus X4 just like they are regular publications--so you can source and customise designs from almost anywhere. You can also combine PDFs, or pages from different PDFs, even when they've been made by different applications on different computing platforms.
Save time and money editing PDFs in PagePlus X4
Merge PDF files, add and remove pages, change their order
Fully edit text, move delete and reformat page objects
Repurpose deign elements from PDFs into your own designs
Make changes to PDFs you receive before forwarding them
Optimise images and protect content with PDF security

Enhance Images with Built-in Editing PowerInclude photos in your publications and make sure they're at their very best with the all new PhotoLab. Offering over 70 adjustments, corrections, filters and effects, with some incredible instant artistic styles, your images can really stand out from the page. And with a dedicated Image Cutout Studio you can remove photo backgrounds quickly, with no expertise required.
Professionally adjust and correct your photos
Apply adjustments with single clicks
Quickly remove blemishes and scratches
Easily select a specific area to apply changes to
Edit and undo changes at any time, your photo is unharmed

Create Impressive Logos and ArtworkFrom simple attention-grabbing shapes to logos and marketing-quality graphic design, PagePlus X4's powerful drawing tools make it easy to create stunning graphics. And in the Logo Studio, these tools are grouped together in a view that focuses on your drawing or logo without the distraction of seeing the rest of your page design.
Logo Studio offers 400+ ready-made graphics
Gallery has hundreds of other flashes and symbols
Add attractive style presets including glass and metal
Draw and combine shapes with full curve and node editing
Use impressive drop shadows, glows, and bevels
Even create your own effects and surface textures

Fantastic Word ProcessingImpressive text handling is at the very heart of PagePlus, so while you could write in a word processor of your choosing and import text, you can just use PagePlus to write! Enjoy all the usual formatting controls, plus fast-flowing text wraps, hierarchical paragraph and character styles, long document features, and of course the freedom to place text and other objects exactly where you want. Files you can import include Word 2007 & OpenOffice Writer!
Create Virtually Any DocumentCreate a massive range of document types, from regular sheets to folded menus and booklets, from tiny mailmerge labels, to massive posters and banners, from newsletters to newspapers.
Use Tables and CalendarsCreate your own attractive calendars--for yourself, your business, or as gifts for friends and family. Add tables to show data neatly, use formulae, even import data from spreadsheets or databases.
Fantastic Results--Fast
Create Beautiful Documents from TemplatesPagePlus X4 raises the bar once again, expanding the range of ready-made design templates so you can produce stunning documents in no time at all. Now featuring Theme Layouts--sets including business cards, flyers, newsletters and more--allowing you to add your own pictures and words resulting in a professional and polished design in minutes.
Over 2500 templates and ready-made design elements
Design Sets and Themed Layouts are instant stationery
Zoom in on the Template Wizard to see designs clearly
Choose which pages or design variants to start off with
Simply double-click images to replace them with your own
Import Word or other text documents, or write in PagePlus

Learn New Skills with Tutorial Videos and GuidesWe're not the only ones who think PagePlus X4 is easy to use, but If you're new to desktop publishing, new to PagePlus, or just new to this version, you can create fantastic and professional results the easy way using the Learning Zone. Accessible from the redesigned, streamlined Startup Wizard, the Learning Zone gives direct access to online video tutorials and more so you can painlessly improve your publishing skills.
All the Controls You Need Within a ClickThere are so many ways PagePlus X4 makes the design process smooth, you'll hardly realise you're working. Changing font, fill, line style and more is easy using an on-screen Studio that combines content, controls, and guidance. The rest of the interface is smart too--whatever you select on your page, you'll get instant access to the right tools and controls to suit. You can select, edit, resize, move, rotate, set defaults and more without even changing tools.
Customisable Workspace and ShortcutsWhether you like instant access to all formatting controls, or a totally clean design interface with customised keyboard shortcuts to make your workflow quick and smooth, PagePlus works like you do.
Dynamic Layout AssistantsAligning text, artwork and images is easier than ever in PagePlus X4. On top of layout guides, grids, margins and alignment tools, new dynamic guides make being neat a natural and automated process.
Flexible and Versatile Publishing
Press-Ready PDFs and Colour Management Get the best possible results with professional full-colour printing, safe in the knowledge that your ouput will be compatible with any print shop, whether they use PCs or Macs. PagePlus X4 produces PDFs to the industry-recognised PDF/X-1a standard, files containing all your design elements, fonts, and colour information for accurate reproduction.
Save as PDF with industry-standard PDF/X-1a settings
Include press marks, crop marks and bleed area
Add passworded PDF open/edit/copy/print security
Choose PDF display options, include hyperlinks and bookmarks
Manage colour palettes, models, and ICC colour profiles
Design using RGB, CMYK, HSL, Pantone and spot colors

Print Any Size on Any Printer--Even Double Sided Get great results every time--PagePlus can scale designs to fit any size paper, and a Duplex Wizard prepares single-sided printers for double-sided output, saving paper and giving polished results.
Print Special Documents Without Headaches Everyone can print impressive folded, tiled, repeated, multi-chapter and other special documents, effortlessly. PagePlus will intelligently resequence, renumber, and turn 'n tumble pages when needed.
Design PDF Forms and Multimedia PDF Slideshows Take your print designs and give them an entirely new dimension, without leaving PagePlus. You can design corporate or other forms in PagePlus, save as PDF, and have customers or others fill in the form electronically. Serif automatically emails you their responses, free of charge. Alternatively add page transitions to your designs, include audio and video, interactive buttons and more, and save as a multimedia PDF slideshow ideal for business presentations.
Publish Websites and Send Designs as HTML Emails You multitask at work, home, school, and everywhere else, and so does PagePlus. Once you've created business documents or other publications, you can easily incorporate your designs into websites created directly in PagePlus X4's web publishing mode. Extra functionality opens up to give you web-specific tools and controls, so you can create and publish engaging, attractive and efficient web sites that complement your other designs.
Great Compatibility
Import, Edit and Share as PDF Get designs from anywhere, and share with anyone thanks to PagePlus X4's impressive PDF editing power, unrivalled in a desktop publishing program. Being able to open and edit PDFs means you can rework designs made with any other program, from a PC or Mac, then you can publish as PDF for sharing with anyone--whether they have PagePlus or not.
Open and edit PDF files like normal PagePlus publications
Publish as PDF for highly-compatible sharing
Make efficient PDFs for speedy email transmission
Host PDFs online or share with others for remote printing

Word Processor Document Support While PagePlus is more powerful and flexible than the average word processor, you can still import word processed documents with pictures straight into PagePlus designs for speedy layouts. You can import Microsoft Word documents (including Word 2007), Rich Text Format, Text files, and OpenOffice.org Writer files. Plus if you also have Microsoft Word installed, PagePlus can use it as a converter in the background to support even more text file formats.
High End Graphics Compatibility When collaborating with professional designers, you may need to use some graphics like EPS and PSD that usually require very expensive software to open. PagePlus handles these like a charm.
Complex Publishing Made Easy with Data Merge You can create some sophisticated documents very quickly with PagePlus X4 by merging databases and pictures into your designs, bringing data into tables, and using spreadheet functions.
Get Artwork from Anywhere Add popular image formats to your designs; PagePlus supports 28 different file types.
Import Audio and Video Enrich slideshows and websites with embedded media including MP3 and AVI.
Share with Other PagePlus Users Package files with all fonts and graphics, and even share X4 files with X3 users.

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WordPerfect Office X5 Academic English/French (bilingual software) Review

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(More customer reviews)Though many have written off WordPerfect, I am not one of them. Corel's continued dedication to maintaining an excellent product is clearly reflected in WordPerfect X5. The added features including enhanced PDF printing and conversion make the newest version of Wordperfect a pleasure to use. This is a great word processor and is, in my view, far superior to MS Word. I could not be happier with Wordperfect X5.

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For great-looking documents, spreadsheets and presentations, and powerful databases, get Corel WordPerfect Office X5--Academic Edition, the essential office suite for students and educators. It's the easy and affordable way to create all kinds of documents, analyze data and design multimedia slideshows. Enhanced compatibility lets you run on Windows 7 and easily open, edit and save the latest Microsoft Office file formats. Save time and money with built-in collaborative tools for PDF. Plus, the redesigned help system makes it easy to complete projects quickly. Find out why millions trust the best office suite value, WordPerfect Office.

Academic Version To purchase academic versions of shrink-wrapped software, purchasers must be: accredited schools, faculties, full- or part-time registered students, academic supervisory organizations, hospitals, libraries, museums, and nonprofit charitable and religious organizations. See above for more information.
What's Included WordPerfect Office X5 blends the latest leading-edge office software with classic WordPerfect features. Continuing to rival Microsoft Office as one of the most powerful office suites on the market, it offers greater document control, more collaboration tools and better overall value.

More office software and resources:
900+ TrueType fonts, 8,000+ clipart images, 200+ templates, 175+ digital photos
The Pocket Oxford English Dictionary
WordPerfect Address Book and contact manager
WordPerfect OfficeReady template browser
WordPerfect XML Project Designer
Batch Conversion Utility to convert Microsoft Word documents to WordPerfect documents
Plus! Free video training from Brainstorm!

What's New in X5 Adapting to the ever-changing ways people are working, WordPerfect Office X5 brings more collaboration tools, more PDF capabilities, more file sharing options and more Web access to the office suite. Upgrade now for more productivity software, inside the suite and out!
Microsoft Office OOXML Compatibility Enjoy total file format freedom with the ability to open and save documents in Office Open XML, making for easy round-tripping of files with Microsoft Office 2007 users. Whether it's the latest Microsoft Office document (.docx), spreadsheet (.xlsx) or presentation (.pptx), WordPerfect Office X5 ensures hassle-free collaboration and file exchange.
Microsoft Office SharePoint Manage content and accelerate business processes from your office suite with direct access to SharePoint Server, the de facto document management system standard for organizations where multiple people write, review and access the same document. Quickly retrieve and store documents, compare document versions and track changes directly within WordPerfect Office X5.
WordPerfect iFilter Updates to WordPerfect iFilter let you search content in WordPerfect documents that are stored in a Microsoft SharePoint server with Google Desktop and Windows Desktop Search.
Web Services Integration As the Internet becomes an increasingly important part of the office workflow, WordPerfect Office X5 now gives you the flexibility to access information directly from the Web. Create a document one time and have it automatically update when you need to refresh or add new data. For example, create a report with updated stock prices, a real estate brochure that pulls in new MLS listings or a list of Top Ten Songs for publishing.
Mozilla Thunderbird for WordPerfect Office Easily manage your email and schedule right from your office suite. The newly integrated Thunderbird for WordPerfect Office offers a tabbed approach and a new set of search tools that let you locate a specific email in an instant. It even lets you manage email from other sources, like Gmail, from the same inbox, and access contacts in Microsoft Outlook or your WordPerfect Address Book.
Email Address Book Integration Use your email address book when performing mail merges, completing templates or envelopes and more.
Nuance PaperPort 12 SE Take office organization to a whole new level with the world's #1 desktop document management software. Adding to the suite's PDF capabilities, PaperPort Professional 12 SE combines fast, easy scanning tools with powerful PDF creation, editing and annotation. It organizes all of your scanned documents and electronic files on your desktop, and lets you search and view PDF files quickly so information is always at your fingertips. In addition, PaperPort 12 SE can convert scans of paper documents into WordPerfect or Microsoft Word for even more flexibility.
Reference Center In response to user feedback, all the Help files are now conveniently stored in one place. Quickly find answers, tips and tutorials that let you get right to work. In addition, all the utilities in the office suite are now grouped in one section, ensuring that you get the most of every WordPerfect Office X5 component.
Migration Upgrade from an older version of the office suite to WordPerfect Office X5 with less effort and setup time than previous migrations. Even if menu commands have changed, you can import templates, customized menus, shortcuts and toolbars created in previous releases to WordPerfect Office X5 in a few clicks. Network administrators can also now easily update and reuse WordPerfect macros easily, even if your organization continues to use different versions of the application.
Windows 7 Compatibility Designed to make everyday tasks faster and easier, Windows 7 promises to change the way PC users work. WordPerfect Office X5 runs on Windows 7 and takes advantage of new Windows Touch features, giving you a more productive office suite experience.

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CorelDRAW Suite X5: Home and Student Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Beware! The CorelDraw X5 Home & Student version is missing features found in the regular version. A feature I used in CorelDraw X3 is the Print function for guttering, fold marks, and crop marks for card making. These are missing from the H & S version. The Help feature does not account for this and asks you to use features that do not exist in H & S. I did not explore what else is missing. Corel should fess up and provide a feature comparison sheet to show what features are not available in the H & S and Educational versions.

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When it comes to illustration, layout, tracing, photo editing and web graphics, CorelDRAW Home & Student Suite X5 brings out the best in any budding designer. This professional-quality graphics suite is loaded with tools for creating everything from web graphics and T-shirt designs, to logos, cards and flyers. A built-in search tool finds content fast, while helpful tutorials speed up the learning process. Best of all, this pro-quality graphics suite comes at a home and student price!
CorelDRAW Home & Student Suite X5 brings out the best in any budding designer.

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Serif WebPlus X5 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)With a little basic knowledge of working your way around a computer I created a 26 page web site in two days. Once it is hosted and on the web i will post it here so you can see what you can create. I know I am scratching the surface and the site could be cleaned up to look and opperate better, but a multi-layered web site was pretty easy to create.
The help feature is great. No matter what my question I found a very imformative help section that guided me through the process. Many questions I had were answerable through a very helpful video, no more than 2-3 minutes a piece, on the subject in question. Serif has made the process of designing a website as painless and easy for novices as possible.
I was worried that since they did not have religious templates to guide me or work from, the church web site I designed would not look right. I was wrong. The predesigned templates on the program were a good starting point and were quickly edited and redesigned to make my site look professional and original. In most of the 26 pages I never used a template and just designed on the fly. It was easy and a lot of fun.
I highly recommend this product.

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Serif WebPlus X5--Professional-Quality Web Sites Made Easy
WebPlus X5 is the ultimate web-site design software for small businesses, organizations, and home users. You don't need to know any HTML--drag-and-drop simplicity, an intuitive interface, and powerful tools help you design sites easily, even if you've never done it before.

Setting the standard for web-design software!
See how WebPlus X5 compares to other packages. View larger.

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The Print Shop 2.0 Professional Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I was using The Print Shop 22 De Luxe on a Vista computer. I installed Windows 7 and found 22 would not work. Broderbund said they were working on a totally new version (oddly called 2.0). When it became available, I purchased 2.0 DeLuxe through Amazon, and was very disappointed. It worked with Windows 7, but lacked many of the features that 22 DeLuxe had (eg headlines,fixing flaws in photos,and cropping photos in shapes other than rectangles). I returned it to Amazon and bought (at extra cost) Version 2.0 Professional, hoping it would have the missing features. If they are there, I can't find them. The menus appear to be the same as the DeLuxe version. The Help manual is very superficial and appears to be the same whatever version you buy. In desperation I emailed Broderbund for help but they didn't bother replying. To add to my woes the program frquently crashes and needs restarting. I returned this one to Amazon too.
Then I saw a small note on Broderbund's website, saying that Print Shop 23 (the last of the versions of the old program before they totally redid it) would work on Windows 7. I bought it (from Amazon) and it works, and is just marvellous!
Summary. Avoid all versions of The Print Shop 2.0. Buy The Print Shop 23 instead. This is still available from Broderbund or Amazon.

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It's easier than ever before to create impressive print projects with the ultimate design solution for all your home & business needs. Start with the brand new Wizard Design tool or choose from a vast gallery of ready-made templates and contemporary images to design, print and share a wide variety of projects, including greeting cards, invitations, labels, signs and more. The Print Shop Professional has been redesigned from the ground up, making it quicker and easier to use by combining intuitive design tools with contemporary content to give you the ultimate in creative freedom. Design impressive projects in minutes that are perfect for your home, school, organization or business.

The All New Way to Create Sophisticated Design
New Easy to Use Software Drag-and-drop photos, text and design elements with incredible ease and quickness.
Windows 7 & Windows Vista Compatible The Print Shop was designed to work on the latest PC operating systems.
Wizard Design Tools Create and print over 150 custom projects, each in under 5 minutes.
Streamlined Workspace With a sleek new workspace, it's easy to find and switch between the various tools quickly.
Advanced Photo Editing Slider tools allow you to select the exact degree of effect, including red-eye, brightness and contrast.
New Templates & Clip Art Choose from an enormous gallery of contemporary ready-made templates and clip art images that are sure to complement any project.
Advanced Design Tools Slider tools allow you to create custom gradients, transparency and drop shadows for a professional effect
Advanced Page Layout Tools Flow text around objects and across columns, use mail merge to personalize and select custom paper stocks.
Easy to Share Print at home, email or publish your latest creation on the web to share with friends and family.
Advanced Page and Layout Tools
Layer Management Easily move art, text and objects between foreground and background. Show and hide layers for the ultimate in precision.
Columns & Text Wrap Flow text across columns to improve readability. Plus, you can easily flow text around graphic and other objects to create a professional finish.
Advanced Color Tools You now have three ways to pick the right color: the eye-dropper tool for precision color matching, professionally-designed color palettes and a color selector.
Drop Shadows & Dynamic Gradients Add a professional touch to any design with easy drop shadow tools. Dynamic gradients allow you to specify multiple gradient stops.
Image Management Edit photo tags and mark your favorites so that you can easily find the right photo for any project. Add your image to the Image Tray for easy drag and drop.
Impressive Headlines The Print Shop now offers the easiest solution for creating headlines with impact. Simply choose from an array of impressive options and customize to make it perfect.

Choose Your Version Find the right Print Shop version for you using the chart below.

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Corel Family Pack 2009 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I put out a newsletter for our non profit club and publish a few obscure local history books.
As a 20 year wordperfect (WP) user who has purchased previous versions of Word Perfect, I am really disapointed by the simplest of things. After running a computer with Win98SE and Word Perfect 6 and then going to a newer OS Win2000 and getting a Family pack that included Word Perfect 11. Now I am running Vista 64 and I find my previous versions of Word perfect can not be upgraded to run with Vista.
Fine I ain't so cheap that I can not buy a few new software products for my new computer.... so I buy the latest Family Pack with Word Perfect X4, and by Corels own product description, I expected it to be at least as functonal as the old WP11. But Corel is killing me, just to force users to buy a premium X4 version, this one does not come with a PDF converter, which all my old WP versions have. I can not throw away my old computer because I have to load my WP X4 files onto WP11 which will not run on my new computer. WP11 changes the format of the file, the number of sentences per page, etc... which throws off the formatting and alignment of my pictures and articles. So I have to realign everything and convert it using WP11 to make my final PDF file. It is almost less bother to do everything on the old computer as any editing would then need to be done on the old computer also. Thanks Corel, my gift to you is this loving review. The new program runs faster on the new computer but since I farm out my publishing, editing, and product, I need the PDF capability. Corel has made the program worthless to me by one stupid, greedy, basic function omission.
In the past, it has not been important to me that my friends and associates, and publisher did not use WP as I could easily generate a PDF to share. In a world full of software users provided for mainly by Gates Inc, Corel should know that if they disable their users ability to share files with most of the world their product is basically useless.
I would appreciate if anyone knows of a way short of buying Adobe Acrobat or the Word Perfect upgrade that will convert these files to PDF without messing up the format.
I can not find any low cost PDF converter that both works with Word Perfect X4 and that does not put an advertising logo on each page. I would not be half so mad about this if Corel would at least have let a buyer know ahead of time that they had removed the PDF converter from their low end X4 version. The dark side is so strong and calling, I am about ready to throw in the towel and use the free MS Word that is already on the new computer.
I guess if you need a word processor, without the ability to share files this program will be "perfect" for you.

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Corel Family Pack 2009 includes hundreds of dollars worth of software for creating documents and spreadsheets, making movies and editing photos. And every program is packed with intuitive tools and learning resources to help you get started. Create letters and reports, budget and plan your household finances, edit your pictures and make family movies. Open, edit and save Microsoft Office files. Take notes and gather information from the Web, emails and documents with the digital notebook. Plus, you get data analysis software and free access to online services. Bring your big ideas to lifewithout spending a bundle.

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CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)If you are still running Vista, this release is WAY too slow out of the box, so buy a previous version. It's perfectly speedy on Windows 7.
I'm a professional freelance graphic designer with an illustration background. Having used both Illustrator and CorelDraw for well over 15 (close to 20?) years, here's my position:
- Professional graphic designers must own Adobe's Creative Suite. Anyone who tells you that CorelDraw's suite is a substitute for CS doesn't know what they are talking about. You're already not using a Mac, the industry standard hardware... don't isolate yourself further by not using the industry standard software.
- For non-professionals or office workers who need to create basic reproducible design work, this suite is easier to use than CS. Anything you create you can publish to PDF for printing, and any issues related to effects, etc. can be resolved by converting to 300dpi bitmaps as needed. Anyone who tells you that this is not the case ALSO doesn't know what they are talking about. Any printer who can print a photo can also print anything CorelDraw can generate, period.
- I need and use CorelDraw for this reason: it's simply a better, faster, easier, more natural and more convenient vector drawing tool than Illustrator. Hands down. With plugins installed, Illustrator improves, but it's still a giant pain compared to CorelDraw. Illustrator has a few features I like. When I need them, I just export the result to EPS and bring it over to Draw.
Two cents, spent. Hope it's helpful.


Click Here to see more reviews about: CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5 is a versatile graphic design software suite that helps you creatively and professionally express ideas for any media. Illustrate, lay out, trace, design Web graphics and photo-edit with this complete solution for visual communication. Easily import and export content with leading file compatibility. Get going faster than ever with new, professionally designed templates and compelling learning materials. Create with confidence, everything from distinctive logos and signs, to striking marketing materials, Web graphics and animations, billboards, car wraps and more! Offering increased speed, more accurate color control, and new and enhanced design tools, this must-have version helps you create extraordinary designs faster.

Do more than you thought possible.
All-in-one professional graphics suite Find everything you need for professional graphics illustration, layout, tracing, photo editing, Web graphics and animation in one complete suite of integrated applications that is easy to learn and use.
Easy to learn and use Start smoothly and learn quickly with built-in learning tools, valuable video tutorials, design insights from experts and a visually rich, online guidebook. (A hard cover, full-color, printed guidebook is included with the box version.)
High-value digital content Enrich your designs with over 1,000 professional fonts, including Helvetica, Garamond and Frutiger fonts for the first time ever. Plus, take advantage of high-value digital content, such as premium clipart, royalty-free photos and vehicle templates.
Precise control and easy sharing Output to a broad variety of media, from distinctive logos and signs, to striking marketing materials, Web graphics, billboards and car wraps. Export options let you compare file formats before export, so you can optimize your settings to achieve the highest file quality.
Market-leading file compatibility Re-purpose and share your creations anywhere with market-leading file compatibility. Import and export files quickly and easily with dozens of supported file formats, including PDF, JPG, PNG, EPS, AI, TIFF, PSD and DOCX.
What's New This is the upgrade you've been waiting for! CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5 makes everyday tasks faster and easier, delivering new time-savers that help you create with confidence. Check out the 10 most compelling reasons to upgrade your graphics software today.
New--Built-in Content Organizer Speed up your workflow with Corel CONNECT, a built-in content organizer that helps you find graphics, templates, fonts and images instantly on your computer. Your selected content is stored in the tray that is synchronized between CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT, giving you instant access to your content.
New & Enhanced--Web Graphics and Animation Tools Create Web graphics and animations more efficiently than ever with new features, such as a Pixels mode that shows exactly how your content will display online, and a new Web animation tool. Plus, a new Export Dialog box now lets you compare file formats before export, so you can optimize your settings to achieve the highest file quality.
Enhanced--Corel PowerTRACE Convert your bitmap images into high-quality vector objects with even more precision and smoothness, thanks to the greatly enhanced Corel PowerTRACE. This version of PowerTRACE provides the best tracing results yet.
Enhanced--Optimal Speed and Performance Complete your tasks faster with powerful performance enhancements that leverage multi-core processing to maximize your computer's power. This latest edition is optimized for Windows 7 and offers new touch-screen support, as well as support for Windows Vista and Windows XP.
New--Completely Re-designed Color Management Engine Control color consistency across different media and generate a distinct color palette for each document. A new color management engine introduces greater color accuracy, plus support for new color profiles from PANTONE. Minimize your ecological footprint and reduce costly reprints by knowing that your colors are accurate before you print.
New & Enhanced--Visual Communication Tools Create compelling print and online materials with a powerful set of new and enhanced drawing, bitmap-to-vector tracing, diagramming, artistic media and text tools. It's all the graphics software you need for effective visual communication.
Enhanced--Market-leading File Compatibility Re-purpose and share your creations anywhere with broad file compatibility. Dozens of supported file formats, including PDF, JPG, PNG, EPS, AI, TIFF, PSD and DOCX, let you import and export files with other graphics software efficiently.
New & Enhanced--Responsive Drawing Tools In response to user feedback, we've introduced the option to lock toolbars in place, expanded your printing options, and made improvements to the Eyedropper, Mesh Fill and other popular drawing tools.
New & Enhanced--Expert Insights and Engaging Learning Materials Get more design insights with new and updated video tutorials, engaging learning materials and a visually rich, online guidebook that contains new articles from experts. (A hard cover, full-color, printed guidebook is available with the box version.) Be inspired to do more than you thought possible!
New & Enhanced--High-value Digital Content Enrich your designs with over 1,000 professional fonts, including Helvetica, Garamond and Frutiger fonts for the first time ever. Plus, take advantage of high-value digital content, such as premium clipart, royalty-free photos and vehicle templates. Give your work a professional finish without spending extra time and money— you'll find all the graphics software and resources you need right here!
What's Included
CorelDRAW X5 Intuitive vector illustration and page layout software
Corel PHOTO-PAINT X5 Professional image-editing application specifically designed for use in a graphics workflow
Corel PowerTRACE X5 Bitmap-to-vector file conversion tool
Corel CAPTURE X5 One-click screen capture utility
Corel CONNECT Full-screen browser that lets you search digital content from the suite, your PC or your local network
Supporting applications Barcode wizard, Duplexing wizard, Bitstream Font Navigator, SWiSH miniMax 2*, PhotoZoom Pro 2*
Content 10,000 high-quality clipart and digital images, 2,000 vehicle templates, 1,000 high-resolution digital photos, 1,000 OpenType fonts, including 75 Windows Glyph List 4 (WGL4) fonts and 10 engraving fonts, 350 professionally designed templates
Documentation Online guidebook (hard cover, full-color, printed Guidebook available with the box version), Quick-reference card, Help files
Training 2 hours of training videos on DVD
Connect to your content From fonts, clipart and photos to previously created designs or customer files, content is a central piece of any creative design. CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5 lets you quickly find and re-purpose content to speed your design process. Gather your design assets from every source and swiftly prepare yourself to begin your next project.
New--Built-in Content Organizer (Corel CONNECT) Quickly find the perfect content for any design with Corel CONNECT, a full-screen browser that gives you instant access to graphics, templates, fonts and images anywhere on your computer.
Enhanced--Market-Leading File Compatibility Open, edit and save as more than 100 industry-standard formats, including AI, PSD, DOCX, ODF, EPS (with enhanced support for PostScript 3) and DXF files.
Enhanced--Color Profiles Maintain color profiles when importing files from external applications for a smoother design process. The default setting matches colors on import automatically, while advanced users can explore more options within the default settings.
New & Enhanced--High-Value Digital Content Enrich your graphic designs with more than 1,000 professional fonts, including Helvetica, Garamond and Frutiger fonts for the first time ever. Plus, take advantage of over 2,000 vehicle templates and 10,000 premium clipart images, bitmap and full-color fills, royalty-free photos, vehicle templates, new artistic media presets, and new brush nibs of different shapes and sizes for more versatility when painting.
Enhanced--Support for Adobe Products Import and export PSD files using the latest Photoshop CS 4 file format. CorelDRAW X5 will preserve the appearance of adjustment layers and Masks palette effects, while Corel PHOTO-PAINT X5 will preserve editable Vibrance, Grayscale and camera filter lenses.
Get going quickly Whether you're a first-time user or an experienced pro, CorelDRAW makes it easy from the moment you begin. You'll find all the learning tools you need to start smoothly and learn quickly, including built-in learning tools, valuable video tutorials, design insights from the experts and a visually rich, online guidebook.
Enhanced--Templates & Tutorials Get high-quality results quickly with 350 professionally designed templates. Ready-made layouts and designs help you find the right look for any job. You'll also enjoy access to new graphic design tools, industry-specific design tips and step-by-step project creation in newly updated tutorials for CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT.
New--Video Tutorials Learn from new video tutorials that demonstrate how to successfully complete popular design tasks.
Welcome Screen Begin with the Welcome Screen, a great starting point for finding your content, starting projects, accessing recently used documents, getting instructional information and viewing inspiring designs from other users around the world.
New--Guidebook Learn from other users and experts, and get inspired by visually rich overviews of each application workspace. A hard cover, full color, printed guidebook is available with the box version.
Enhanced--Corel PowerTRACE: Bitmap-to-Vector Conversion Convert your bitmap images into high-quality vector objects with even more precision and smoothness, thanks to the greatly enhanced Corel PowerTRACE. This version of PowerTRACE provides the best tracing results yet.
Hints Docker View interactive hints that get you started quickly and provide step-by-step help on the suite's powerful tools.
New--Customizable Workspace Customize the application's command bars and button arrangements to suit your workflow, or use preset workspaces similar to Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop or Microsoft Office.
Create with confidence When it comes to graphic design, confidence in your software is paramount. CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5 provides new and enhanced graphic design tools to help you achieve the quality you need in the shortest amount of time. With a legacy in design innovation, this trusted graphics suite offers all the support you need to create with confidence.
Enhanced--Drawing Tools Draw and design intuitively with enhanced artistic media and drawing tools that respond to the pressure, tilt and bearing of your pen on drawing tablet.
Enhanced--Corel PHOTO-PAINT: Powerful Photo Editing Experiment with exciting new photo effects, such as Vibrance, Grayscale and Photo Filter. These filters are preserved when you import and export PSD files using the Adobe Photoshop CS 4 file format. Corel PHOTO-PAINT X5 also supports RAW format for over 300 types of cameras, giving you greater artistic control and flexibility.
New & Enhanced--Web Graphics and Animation Create Web graphics and animations more efficiently than ever. Optimized filters produce consistent, high-quality Web formats with proper transparency, cropping and browser compatibility. Create your designs in CorelDRAW, then open in new SWiSH miniMax 2 to animate your images. Control motion, draw shapes, edit text and more. The new Pixels mode shows exactly how your content will display online. Plus, a new Export Dialog box now lets you compare file formats before export, so you can optimize your settings to achieve the highest file quality.
Interactive Table Tool Create and import tables to provide structured layouts for text and graphics.
CorelDRAW ConceptShare Get quality feedback on design projects without costly meetings! ConceptShare lets you quickly and easily collaborate online with colleagues and clients in a secure environment. It's packed with tools that let you share, mark up and review designs with others, on your own time.
Live Text Formatting Preview text formatting changes in real time before applying them to the document.
Smart Fill Apply fills to any enclosed object area, such as the loops of a freehand line that crosses over itself.
Image Slicing Slice an image into several smaller files for Web page optimization.
Output to any media Today, you need the export flexibility to output designs to any media: Web banners, Web sites, print ads, brochures, even multiple types of media, such as T-shirts, billboards and digital signs. CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5 provides extensive file support so you can send your work anywhere.
New--Completely Redesigned Color Management Engine Control color consistency across different media and generate a distinct color palette for each document. A new color management engine introduces greater color accuracy, plus support for new color profiles from PANTONE.
Enhanced--File Compatibility and PDF Support Re-purpose and share your creations anywhere with support for more than 60 file formats, including PDF, JPG, PNG, EPS, AI, TIFF, PSD, DOCX and PPT. Password-protect your PDF files to control security and user access when they are viewed, edited and printed by third-parties.
New--Collect for Output Gather fonts, color profiles and other file information with this new output option that makes it easier to share your work with a print service provider.
Print Merge Combine text from a data source with a drawing to quickly create personalized invitations, labels and other personalized projects.
Work faster and more efficiently Complete your tasks faster with powerful performance enhancements that maximize your computer's power. Plus, enjoy more options for recording macros and automating time-consuming tasks.
New--Multi-core Support Work faster with multi-core processing that maximizes the power available in your computer to process your commands more quickly.
Enhanced--Optimized for Latest Windows Platforms Work with ease, whatever your PC operating system. This latest version is optimized for Windows 7 and offers new touch-screen support, as well as support for Windows Vista and Windows XP. Take advantage of the touch technology of Windows 7 to pan, zoom and scroll with your fingertips for a more intuitive design experience.
New--Automation Technology Enjoy more options for recording macros and automating time-consuming tasks. Microsoft's Visual Studio for Applications (VSTA) technology lets you record macros and create third-party add-in solutions to enhance the existing functionality of CorelDRAW.

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Print Shop Photo Pro 2.0 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I too thought this would be good software, having the printshop name. The software does an ok job, and has a good user interface. The place where it falls down flat on its face is performance and file saving.
1. If you scan 5 pictures at 600 dpi, then go from the get photo to the print tab, it takes 30 minutes!! and the computer is locked up for that entire time. I have a PIII 800 Mhz with 256M of memory and lots of free disk space. There is NO WAY it should take this long.
2. When your scanned image is brought into the program, it immediatly saves it to the C drive WITHOUT asking for your permission, it also gives it a generated file name. You have no choice in this matter, and there is no 'option' to turn this off. Oh, it saves it as a BMP file, so any file that is saved is huge. Hope you have Giga bytes of free disc space. You can do a Save As later, but you still have to go in and delete the origional file saved by the software.
Adobe has a FREE product called ActiveShare that does almost the same thing, and seems to have better performance. I'm trying that software out next.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Print Shop Photo Pro 2.0

Mark milestones and preserve memories with fabulous photos enhanced by state-of-the-art editing tools. Modify a simple snapshot or create an elaborate photo collage--The Print Shop Photo Pro 2 is a complete photo workshop solution. Everything needed to crop, rotate, enhance, or correct photos is in a simple-to-use format that lets beginners design like pros.
Image manipulation is just the beginning of the creative possibilities: Use Photo Pro 2's more than 800 professionally designed project templates to create cards, calendars, and hundreds of other photo masterpieces. Display photos in exciting multimedia presentations and whimsical animated greetings. Enhance photos with more than 600 props or experiment with more than 100 exciting one-click special effects. Increase skills and enjoyment with handy multimedia tutorials and printable hints and tips.

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Art Explosion Publisher Pro 2.0 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Publisher Pro 2.0 is a great product and a good follow-on to the first version. Not only can you easily produce small publications (I create 16 page "tabloid sized" newsletters, with tons of photos) and export them as pdf files, but you can now open and edit pdf files, a feature I haven't seen in any affordable publisher. Its interpretation is precise, though when it meets a change in formatting (such as a single word in bold type within a paragraph), it interprets that as the end of a text block and starts a new section. I only use that feature when I want to fill out forms I've received from others or add a little text or images to them. I wouldn't try to heavily edit a large file. Pdf creation now includes form fields, which allows for more interactive features such as radial and other buttons and fill-out-able forms in addition to the standard pdf bookmarks, index and table of content which link to content within the pdf, hyperlinks to external sites, and more.
As in the previous version, it still has lots of pre-made templates, but the blank templates are still the best. I love being able to make a tri-fold brochure and actually selecting each page I want to work on separately: the right panel, left panel back panel and interior spread. The program then prints it in the correct sequence on the page. And in each of the 24 categories (including Banners, business forms, greeting cards, webpages...) there are many blank styles from which to chose.
As a volunteer newsletter editor (with no formal training in design and only some spare time), I find myself in the position of producing newsletters, flyers, tri-fold brochures and ad books not only for the large regional and local group of one organization, but also for my friends' school groups and churches and the local library. I often have to send the files to professional printers who require high-quality pdf files. It's a little more complex than either it's predecessor (Pub. pro version 1) or the older version of MS Publisher I had used before (a program I was happy with, but it had no pdf support), but most questions are easily resolved by refering to the in-program help files. On the other hand, it's a more powerful program with color separation, palette (incliding Pantone) support, transparencies and effects - features you'd expect in higher end programs. It also has a more flexible studio bar with tear off tabs for line style, formatting, colors, object styles, etc.., that you can view, hide or drag to arrange.
Included with the program is the free Publisher Pro Photo Editor, which allows you to draw and paint using layers and transparencies, and then export your pictures in a variety of formats (including some transparent versions), such as jpg, png, gif, etc. It doesn't have a lot of filters and fancy stuff, but it's a good little program for simple photo editing or creating a small graphic.
But most important, the telephone customer support was good. When I first got the program, I had difficulty opening some, but not all, of my older Publisher Pro files - the program crashed! I called customer support after a few days trying to figure out myself what the difference in the files was. I was told it had to do with the Nova clip art in the files and to remove the images and the file would work. Luckily, I had the previous version installed on another machine. I noticed in the Tools: Resource Manager that those clipart files were "linked," so selected "unlink" (which embeds the image) and then the files opened fine. (The Resource Manager is a nice feature that shows you what images and fonts are in your document, what their size and status are, and allows you to jump right to them). Nova Developement is currently working on a fix for the problem.
Pros: great price (especially if you have a rebate), good customer support, some high-end features, free photo editor and the ability to export to pdf.
Cons: a little harder to learn (reading the tutorials helps!), legacy files crash unless the clipart is embedded.
Overall: If you want a more powerful publishing program that produces quality pdf files, but is still within your budget, this is the one!
p.s. If you do get this program, you should check out the entertaining place-holder text, with it's odd pop-culture references that form random stories. More interesting than Lorem ipsum.

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The Print Shop v.23 (JC) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Print Shop 23.1 does what Print Shop 2.0 cannot do and that is - to open the many projects created in recent, earlier versions of Print Shop. Both Print Shop 23.1 and 2.0 are compatible with Windows 7 but vers. 23.1 allows access to other, earlier, projects as vers. 2.0 does not. Without vers. 23.1 these projects would have been lost to me and all the effort they represent.

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Perfect Pro Office System 2008 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)All I wanted out of this software was a flowchart program for my work that was simpler than Visio and better than cobbing a flowchart together in Word (believe me, that's painful - I just gave up). The Cosmi Pro Office did the job perfectly and exceeded my expectations. I cannot comment on the other office applications on this disc (I didn't even install them) but if you want to throw together a presentable, colorful and IMO professional looking flowchart in a flash, this program will get it done for little cash.

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The Print Shop 2.0 Deluxe Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I purchased this to replace version 23 thinking that it would be an improvement on some of the problem areas (such as the database function). Boy, was I mistaken. When I received the disk, it had scratches and could not be read in any of my computers. After polishing the disk I finally got it to read. After installing it I realized that none of the old projects will work with the new version. That was a bummer, just by itself, but the real problem with this new version is that it doesn't do half the things the older one did.
The first project I needed to use it for became a real challenge. I wanted to make address labels for set of cards I was sending out family about my parents move. First, there is no internal database feature at all in the new version. It used extracts from your email program in a format that my email doesn't support. After doing a lot of research, I was finally able to get around that problem and then found that the only way it will print labels is to print a full page of them. I thought I must be doing something wrong so I went to the help which is almost useless. Then I tried the Broderbund website support section which was no help because there are no tips generated for this product yet. I finally put in trouble request. This was something I was familiar with because I had already put in a trouble request concerning my unreadable disk. The email reply that comes as a result of this, tells you that you will receive a reply within 48 hours, but that if your question has already been asked and there is a tip on it they will not reply at all.
As I am writing this, about 2 weeks have passed since I submitted these trouble tickets. I have not received a reply to either one and there are no FAQs that answer them. My guess is that they are so inundated by trouble tickets on this product that they have decided to just ignore them all. Shame on you Broderbund. After being a loyal customer for years, I will not be purchasing any more Broderbund products until they decide to actually start providing support.
Some may ask why I just used email to contact them. The answer is simple, the only telephone number they offer for support is long distance (no toll free) and it is listed with a warning to expect hold times averaging 30 minutes or more. I really couldn't see dumping more money into the hole called The Print Shop 2.0 Deluxe.


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It's easier than ever before to create sophisticated print projects in minutes. Start with the brand new Wizard Design tool or choose from an enormous gallery of ready-made templates and contemporary images to design, print and share a wide variety of projects, including greeting cards, invitations, labels, signs and more. The Print Shop has been redesigned from the ground up, making it quicker and easier to use by combining intuitive design tools with contemporary content to give you the ultimate in creative freedom. Design personalized projects in minutes that are perfect for home, work and school.

The All New Way to Create Sophisticated Design
New Easy to Use Software Drag-and-drop photos, text and design elements with incredible ease and quickness.
Windows 7 & Windows Vista Compatible The Print Shop was designed to work on the latest PC operating systems
Wizard Design Tools Create and print over 100 custom projects, each in under 5 minutes.
Streamlined Workspace With a sleek new workspace, it's easy to find and switch between the various tools quickly.
Integrated Photo Editing One-click photo tools allow for common photo editing like cropping, red-eye removal and color correction.
New Templates & Clip Art Choose from an enormous gallery of contemporary ready-made templates and clip art images that are sure to complement any project
Color Match Find the right color for any project using the eye-dropper tool, or select from ten designer color palettes that are sure complement your work.
Advanced Design Tools Slider tools allow you to create custom gradients, transparency and drop shadows for a professional effect.
Easy to Share Print at home, email or publish your latest creation on the web to share with friends and family.
Advanced Page and Layout Tools
Layer Management Easily move art, text and objects between foreground and background. Show and hide layers for the ultimate in precision.
Columns & Text Wrap Flow text across columns to improve readability. Plus, you can easily flow text around graphic and other objects to create a professional finish.
Advanced Color Tools You now have three ways to pick the right color: the eye-dropper tool for precision color matching, professionally-designed color palettes and a color selector.
Drop Shadows & Dynamic Gradients Add a professional touch to any design with easy drop shadow tools. Dynamic gradients allow you to specify multiple gradient stops.
Image Management Edit photo tags and mark your favorites so that you can easily find the right photo for any project. Add your image to the Image Tray for easy drag and drop.
Impressive Headlines The Print Shop now offers the easiest solution for creating headlines with impact. Simply choose from an array of impressive options and customize to make it perfect.

Choose Your Version Find the right Print Shop version for you using the chart below.

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Art Explosion Publisher Pro Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Nova is a company that buys software from other companies and then they jazz it up with templates, other software, graphics, etc. For the end user this can mean a great deal. You may not get the latest version but you will get solid software with lots of extras. I usually can figure out what software the product really is, not so with this one. What I can tell you is that it is pretty high end as it offers tons of features not found in lesser packages including the ability to create PDF files and Postscript (with color separations) for professional publishing. It also has high end features like the ability to create a table on contents. Add to all of this a quality photo editor. The photo editor sort of looks like an older version of PhotoPaint. It doesn't have wizards (like automatic color balance)...it is strickly manual. With that said, it does has higher end controls like "levels and curves." Remember that your getting this program for FREE. Add to all of this TONS of professionally designed ready made templates and (they say, I have not counted!) 100,000 clip art images. Some of the images are really fun like those BW ad people from the 1950s. Nova has a $30 competative rebate going on too making Publisher Pro super cheap. For years I have used MS Publisher 2000 for most of my publishing needs (including producing a company newsletter). I think this product offers a lot more than Microsoft Publisher. A definate buy.

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Art Explosion Publisher Pro makes desktop publishing a matter of clicking on the right icon. From flyers to newsletters, from brochures to greeting cards this software has the tools and readymade templates you need for spectactular homemade publications. Choose to add shadows, glows and bevels for a powerful 3D effect Stunning filter effects for adding blurs, sharpening, solarized effects and so much moreOutstanding paintbrush tools for making pictures more colorful Preset linear, elliptical and conical gradient -- or create your own with multiple gradient tools

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The Print Shop 23 Pro Publisher Deluxe Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I had an old Print Shop that created low resolution PDF's. Bit the bullet and bought this one because customer support said the PDF's created would be high resolution and yes, that is true. However, PDF creator did not work properly and everytime I tried to create a PDF- the program froze and then the computer froze. Tried customer service, still waiting for a response- [...]. even though the fix is for a "printmaster pdf problem" I figured how much more broken could my PDF creator be- so I took a chance- followed the instructions and VICTORY! I can now use this pricy program for the only reason I bought it- to create high resolution PDF's from Printshop files. So if you are having problems (I am using Windows Vista 64 bit) getting the PDF feature to work- dixiegirl_10 and her fixya solution may be your answer. So for ratings- 0 stars (to Broderbund)for not providing an online solution for a known issue- but 5 stars to dixiegirl_10.

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Design like a professional with the easiest solution for high quality print projects. Design from scratch or choose from 23,000+ professionally-designed templates for a wide variety of projects, including newsletters, flyers, stationery sets, marketing materials, shipping labels, business forms, calendars and more. Customize your design with the easiest design tools around. You can add your own logo, text, photos, graphics and word art. Comes with 420,000+ high quality clip art images, photos, borders, frames and embellishments. Plus, powerful photo editing tools like red-eye removal, crop and flip to make your photos perfect. Its so easy to create and print impressive projects, clients and co-workers will think you hired a professional.

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