COMPANY: Softmagic | URL: www.softmagic.com | TYPE: Standalone | PLATFORM: Mac | PRICE: $399
				MLayout 2 is a DTP application built from the ground up on Mac OS X. Fully exploiting the Cocoa base and Macintosh's legendary ease of use, MLayout is the DTP application for the rest of us. Unicode compliance allows juggling of multilingual documents with a single copy, while its PDF base assures compatibility with virtually all output devices. If your creativity is limited by your apps, break free and take it to the next level. MLayout 2 takes advantage of fast, high-quality rendering of PDF by Quartz, Unicode-based multilingual support and the automated pagination based on XML and tagged RTF. Also, the intuitive tables support, the designer-oriented user interface, and the direct to Web publishing feature makes MLayout 2 an easy choice for a novice and a power user alike. Cross-media publishing PDF technology is the de facto standard in the printing industry that allows you to package images, text and fonts together in a way that is portable, platform independent and consistent. Because PDF is implemented at the core, MLayout 2 lets you seamlessly work with virtually any PDF-based workflow, allowing you to benefit from the increasingly popular workflow style. Also, the same layout can be exported for Web publishing with a simple one-click. Increased productivity The new editing and templating tools in MLayout 2 eliminate the chronic bottlenecks that have plagued designers and publishers. Repetitive tasks can now be efficiently automated so that they can spend more time on exercising their creativity. Multilingual support There is no need for multiple, localized copies of MLayout 2. The Unicode-based composition engine can handle many languages. Diverse modules included as standard Standard set of modules that come with MLayout 2 includes tools to do the mathematical equations, tables, Japanese rubi, and more. Reuse your old data MLayout 2 can import native QuarkXPress 3.3 files. This capability will allow seamless migration from legacy workflow based on Quark 3.3. And because the converted documents are MLayout documents, they can then be easily integrated into a PDF-based workflow as high resolution PDF documents. Key Features - Use of XML-aware design templates called DesignModel - Real-time layout change thru DesignModels - Supports XML and tagged RTF - Automatic pagination of XML data based on predefined rules - Supports Unicode-based multiple languages - Efficient way of handling many images (GIM) - Efficient way placing objects in step & repeat fashion (Matrix) - Vertical writing mode for Asian languages - Supports Japanese rubi - Simple Web publishing (WYSIWeb) - Paragraph & character styles with many options - Extensible through Apple’s plug-in technology Softmagic Inc. was founded in 1988, initially providing Mac-based publishing solutions to newspapers and large publishing houses. Over time, customer demand for flexible and scalable solution encouraged them to develop a complete workflow and pagination system ourselves, one that was tailored exclusively for the needs of vertical markets. At the time, they concluded the best solution that met all their criteria was the NeXTSTEP OS. NeXTSTEP's combination of proven object-oriented development tools, Display PostScript and database independent adaptor technology was exactly what they were looking for. From that point on, Softmagic's strategy was to segment the publishing market and develop a specific solution that enhances the productivity for that specific market rather than trying to develop an over-bloated solution that tries to handle everything. Softmagic's solution would be based on the industry standards such as SQL, PostScript, PDF, Unicode, and XML. The NeXTSTEP's object-oriented development environment would allow them to develop objects that can be reused across various solutions. Indeed, the software development effort was finally catching up with the hardware side. Momentum has continued to build as Apple brought NeXTSTEP technology to the mainstream in the form of Mac OS X. Softmagic began migrating the proven newspaper editorial system for more general public in the form of MLayout (page layout), BookAssembler (workflow control) and PageServer (Web-based pagination solution). Softmagic will continually devote itself to developing a better publishing system. They are your partner for life in graphic design and publishing.