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Subject:Networking Lunch/Ventura Redux From:"George F. Hayhoe III" <gfhayhoe -at- SRS -dot- GOV> Date:Fri, 6 May 1994 11:14:00 -0400
1. Networking Lunch
I'll be hosting a networking table on strategic plans (applicable to STC
chapters or small businesses such as consultancies), and also presenting a
workshop on technical and management issues in implementing online
documentation (Tuesday, 2:00-3:30).
2. Ventura Redux
I too have reservations about the future of Ventura Publisher as a part of
the CorelDraw 5 suite of products. I attended the Ventura Publisher
Conference in Santa Clara back in February, hoping that my doubts would be
resolved, but I'm still unconvinced.
I think that anyone who's got an inventory of documents in Ventura format
may want to wait a little while before making the switch, either to
FrameMaker or to some other package. The forthcoming Ventura 5 release is
significantly different from the current 4.2 product, though it still will
not offer some of the functionality we've been clamoring for over the past
five years. Most notably, it will *not* include multiple document interface
(ability to open multiple chapters at once). But vastly improved user
interface, better color-handling, additional graphics primitives, and
faster printing will all be welcome to most Ventura users.
Much of the difference will not even be transparent to the user. The code
has been entirely rewritten, and the old GEM code which underlay all
previous Windows versions has been eliminated. That should mean that future
releases (and Corel says it plans to maintain its schedule of a major
release each May) will offer significant increases in functionality
unimpeded by the old code infrastructure that imposed so many limitations
in the past.
I currently have an inventory of 150 long Ventura documents. I'm hopeful
that Corel will keep its promise to restore Ventura Publisher to its former
status as the pre-eminent publishing package for that kind of document. But
I've heard others sing the same song before, so I'm keeping my options
open!
