Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
For even more control over page layout, you can use a
desktop publishing
program, sometimes called page layout software. Some popular desktop
publishing programs include Microsoft Publisher for casual home users and
QuarkXPress and Adobe InDesign for professionals.
desktop publishing software
Software that
helps create page layouts with text and graphics.
Desktop publishing software enables users to precisely position the text
and other elements on a page or across a double-page spread (facing
pages) to create an attractive design. The text can be creatively wrapped
around embedded images, and graphics can be made transparent, or
“ghosted,” behind text so the words aren't obscured.
The main difference operationally between word processing and desk-
top publishing is that a word-processing program typically enables you
to type directly on the page onscreen, and it flows the text automati-
cally based on the margins, indents, and number of columns you specify.
Desktop publishing, on the other hand, uses movable and resizable
frames for everything, including text. This gives you more control over
the precise positioning of each element, as shown in Figure 6.2.
Figure.6 2
Page layout software offers more sophisticated formatting and design tools than word processing software.
