Your Questions About Publishing Software
James asks…
What publishing software should I use for my coursework?
I am doing some coursework and I need to write an article that looks like one from a teenage magazine, but I was ill when everyone else was shown how to do it 
Can anyone suggest a suitable program?
PS don’t say publisher.
admin answers:
Take a look at PagePlus SE on the following site. It’s a free software, but a bit dated now. They have much more up-to-date software if you want to spend money.
Almost forgot to say, if you click on the title (top left of the screen), you’ll see that they have some tutorials and some free templates that you may be able to use.
Jenny asks…
Is there publishing software avaible that helps you create cartoon or comic characters?
I already know how to draw, but lack the time to draw out everything for this project. I need something that will speed things up a bit.
admin answers:
It’s a little pricey, but Macromedia Flash Studio and a wacom tablet are your answer.
If you can get a book on flash, it sometimes comes with a demo version of flash studio, great way to digitally “draw” then tween or animate your drawings and introduce sound etc. You can also use this program to publish your animations to a website in (flash) format .swf! You can make entire websites and interactive animations also! Good luck!
Joseph asks…
Is the InDesign publishing software easy for a novice?
I am looking for a program that is easy and simple to use to format a poetry book. I have already tried QuarkXpress and keep getting stuck without help, someone suggested InDesign, but have had no chance to try it as the friend who recommended it is abroad. I have almost no experience with desktop publishing.
@Patters, many thanks for your comprehensive reply!
admin answers:
No, not really. It’s quite a complex application.
There are a few things that you will take ages to figure out if nobody explains them to you to begin with. However, you might be able to pick those basics up from a book or an online tutorial. Video tutorials can be quite useful because you can watch someone else using the program.
It helps if you’re familiar with some of the other Adobe Creative Suite applications, which work in a similar way.
It can be confusing because the user interface is quite “modal”. That means that, depending on what you are doing, things on your screen will perform different functions.
The main things beginners seem to trip up on are:
the concept of using frames to put things in
the fact that there are two selection tools which do different things; the selection tool and the direct selection tool (this is one example of modality)
using master pages (this is another example of modality)
adding page numbers
the idea that InDesign is mainly for formatting and arranging things, not for creating them in the first place
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