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Hello!
As a PageStream User, you probably know that Deron has just celebrated his
20th year of working on PageStream and the start of SoftLogik. As part of
that celebration, I asked that Deron take part in an online chat. I've
finally got a commitment from Deron to hold a fun chat on Sunday, August
28th at 3pm Central Time (-6 GMT)!! We have reserved an IRC channel
(#PageStream) on the irc.dal.net servers, and you will find Deron under
PageStreamSupport when he is on. Some systems will require a specific
server, and a list can be found at http://www.dal.net/servers/index.php3.
A few users have used mesra.kl.my.dal.net if all else fails. I encourage
you to get on and find the channel before then. For those in the US, 3pm on
a Sunday may seem like an odd time, but with PageStream users spread all
over the globe, be glad it isn't at 2am (which was Deron's first vote  .
If you have questions on getting IRC setup for you, just ask on the
PageStreamSupport list, or try google.com for applications and installation
instructions.
This is not only a chance to hear about how Deron got started creating
PageStream, but also what is going on now and what lies in the future. This
is also a good time to talk about features you would like to see in
PageStream, and bring up ideas on how PageStream users can be better
served. A transcript will be available afterwards and posted on our
website. Deron will post an introduction and short history followed by an
open forum. I do suggest that if you have a common support question that
you post that on the PageStreamSupport list before hand.
More good news! A new update to PageStream5.0 is currently uploading. The
big news is the first Amiga 68k release and a much improved MorphOS
release. The Windows and Linux release includes several bug fixes and
support for no less than 4 new languages (Turkish, Slovak, Portuguese, and
Greek). That makes 22 languages! Take a look at the file
ReadMe.Localizing.txt included with every 5.0 release on simple steps you
can take to help create localized versions for your preferred language.
Deron had a setback last week when his Pegasas CPU board went up in smoke,
but a replacement is on it's way. Until that arrives he won't be able to
start the MorphOS upload but considering that it usually takes 2 days per
platform it should be here before he is ready to upload it anyway. Keep an
eye on the main support list or our website for the announcements as each
platform upload is complete.
Mac OSX users can rejoice soon as well. Deron has cleared out room in his
main office to finally have all of his computers up and running in the same
room. It may seem minor, but he has been living in his home as he builds it
one slow stick at a time. God willing, we hope to have a "barn raising"
party this Fall and take some of the stress off of Deron.
As always, thanks! We will see you Sunday!
Your friend in PageStream,
Dan Kilroy
Grasshopper LLC
N5750 Langlade Price Road
Bryant WI 54418
sales@grasshopperllc.com
http://www.grasshopperllc.com
PageStream DTP for Amiga, Linux, Macintosh, and Windows
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Please take a minute and send a note to the developer of PageStream, Deron
Kazmaier, at support@grasshopperllc.com. We are celebrating his 20th year
since starting SoftLogik and his long journey in all things PageStream!
Lucky for us he started when he was just a tyke. We can easily expect
another twenty! In honor of this milestone, we will be celebrating
electronically till the end of the month. To start with, users who purchase
(or have already purchased) PageStream5.0 or PageStream5.0 Pro will find a
grab bag of goodies in the download section including some excellent
commercial clip art and the Amiga's much beloved TypeSmith font editor. We
will also be hosting a public online IRC chat with Deron on August 27th,
3pm Central Time (-6 GMT). But hurry, when the party is over at the end of
the month, the goodies will be packed up!
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The release of PageStream5.0 for Windows and Linux has been very well
received by both the press and our users. We can only hope that the Amiga
community will be just as eager. Take a look at what a few of our users
have said about PageStream5 recently...
"If PageStream were not a superior product I would have had to abandon it
long ago for better software. Deron's commitment shows in a program that is
continually being updated and is simply the best!" -- MD
"... people like Deron must do it for the love of it, because they work so
hard to make sure it runs correctly and is flexible. That is the major
reason I love PageStream!" -- DB
"I hardly need add that I didn't just get PageStream for my PC for
sentimental reasons (i.e the Amiga connections), or because of concern for
the welfare of Deron: above all,
it is a first-class program and I use it all the time (figuratively
speaking, that is!)." -- MK
"I've been using PageStream5.0.2.2 Pro 5/14/05 exclusively" -- DS
"Pagestream is a great program!" -- RH
New PageStream 5.0 features
A brief overview of the top features that we find ourselves using almost
everyday.
+ Transparency for Text and Objects - Object and text can now appear to
blend with the page underneath.
+ Picture Alpha Channel Transparency - Pictures created in paint programs
which support alpha channels can now be imported into PageStream and the
picture will be masked according to the alpha channel and blend into the
page as directed.
+ Text Widow and Orphan Control - No longer will a single line of a
paragraph appear at the bottom of one column or top of the next column if
directed.
+ Definable Printer Marks - Set the printer marks to appear as you need
them and provide the right bleed needed for any print job.
+ More Keyboard Shortcuts
+ Path Reverse, Flatten and Smooth - Unlike other publishing applications,
most drawings and illustrations can be created right inside PageStream. Now
additional tools are available to reverse the drawn direction of the path,
flatten any curves into line segments, and smooth short line segments into
curves.
+ Hanging Bullets, Drop Caps and Numbered Paragraph - Second and subsequent
lines of a special paragraph can now be set to start at the same horizontal
location as the start of the first line.
+ New Duplicate Objects Method - The Object Transform feature now supports
new offset methods, incrementing pages, and blending between start and
ending object transparencies.
+ Print to a Bitmap Picture - Generate a TIFF, JPG, GIF or other picture
format representations of the page.
+ and more! - Speed ups, bug fixes, minor features and numerous new
scripting commands.
New PageStream 5.0 Pro features
The previous release of PageStream Professional was a bundle of PageStream
and a number of add ons. With this release, PageStream Professional now
includes numerous features unique to it plus TextFX, Borders 1 & 2, Gary's
Effects, Paper Direct templates, and Home & Office forms.
+ Place PDF Objects - A specific page of a PDF can now be placed onto a
PageStream page just like an EPS graphic.
+ Export Objects as Bitmap - In the past, selected objects could only be
exported to a object oriented drawing format, but now the objects can also
be rendered into a bitmap at any resolution and saved in any supported
picture format.
+ Automatically Adjust Text Width for Justified Text - By adjusting the
text width by slight amounts, the white space in justified text can be more
even between lines of text in a justified paragraph.
+ Gradient/Radial Blend Masks for Pictures/EPS/PDF/Drawings These objects
can be made to appear to fade into the page beneath it. Samples can be seen
in a previous issue of eDTP World.
+ Path Math: Union/Add/Unique/Subtract Draw two intersecting objects, and
create a single new path that is the outside trace of those objects (Add),
or a new object that represents the common region in both objects (Union),
a new object that removes any common region (Unique), or a new object that
has the second objects area removed from the first object (Subtract).
+ PageStream5.0 features and more!
Further more, if you have not seen the newest versions of 4.1 Windows you
may have missed all the new features that were given to 4.1 Windows users
as well. That includes a numerous gems like a new interface with resizeable
dialog boxes, Python scripting support, improved and simplified
localization support, PNG filter, PDF document import filter for 4.1 and
5.0 Pro, MS Word text filter, improved small caps, font selector with
sample display, improved hanging punctuation, and more. In fact, the
unadvertised features added to 4.1 for free are more substantial than many
upgrades from other publishing applications!
PageStream5.0 Pricing
At any price PageStream5.0 is a bargain, but PageStream's low price is a
steal. Retail price of PageStream5.0 is a fraction of the other DTP
applications at only $99, and the PageStream5.0 Professional package is
only $149. But don't let our low prices fool you into thinking PageStream
is low-end!
PageStream4.1 customers can upgrade to 5.0 for only $40 and to
PageStream5.0 Professional for just $90, while PageStream4.1 Professional
customers can upgrade to 5.0 Professional for only $40, and upgrade
multiple copies for even less. Customers of prior versions of PageStream
(4.0, 3.x, 2.x and 1.x) can upgrade to PageStream5.0 for just $75 and
PageStream5.0 Professional for only $125. Other upgrades exist. Check out
our order page athttp://www.grasshopperllc.com for more details on pricing.
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