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Corel Ventura 8: Faster, Fine-Tuned Publishing

Corel Ventura 8

  

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Thanks to improved performance and some new features, the $589 Corel Ventura 8 impressed me far more than the previous version of this veteran desktop publishing program. Current Ventura users should find this complete 32-bit rewrite for both Windows 95 and NT a worthy $199 upgrade. But it still isn't special enough to make PageMaker or QuarkXPress users switch.

My experience with a prerelease version indicates that Ventura 8 has improved the speed of file loading and saving, printing, and screen redrawing. The enhanced toolbars and streamlined dialog boxes take you quickly to commonly used features.

Ventura's new Tag Window makes document formatting easier: To apply a style tag to a page, frame, paragraph, or character, simply drag and drop the tag onto the object. Corel also bolstered Ventura's Internet features, with new options for including hyperlinks, HTML frames, and image maps in Web documents.

Like earlier Ventura versions, V8 carries other Corel applications (such as Photo-Paint 8), plus fonts and clip art. But some older Ventura components (CorelWeb.SiteBuilder and CorelDepth, for instance) are no longer bundled.

If you need a professional DTP package, Ventura 8 remains a good choice. But its high price suggests that casual users would be better off with a cheaper, easier-to-use program like Microsoft Publisher.


SUMMARY
Corel Ventura 8


PRO: Faster, streamlined interface.
CON: Some older modules (CorelWeb.SiteBuilder, CorelDepth) are no longer included.
VALUE: Worthwhile upgrade for Ventura fans.

$589, upgrade $199
Corel Corp.
800/772-6735
www.corel.com

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