Microsoft Publisher 2002 [OLD VERSION]

As you'd expect, Publisher 2002 fits in seamlessly with Office XP, so you'll find features such as XP style menus and the new Task Pane and AutoCorrect to name but a few. Word users will approve of the Import wizard, as you can load documents directly into Publisher and apply new fonts, styles, and color schemes at the click of a mouse button. A huge range of predefined templates are provided, and you now get an additional 15 design sets focusing on business stationary themes--just pick one from the Task Pane and it's loaded, ready for your master touch. Fill effects and background choices abound, and you decide how you want text to wrap around each object.

The Web page design tools are a mixed bag, as Publisher allows you to produce excellent results and export them directly into HTML format. However, a lack of control over the Web page naming convention used for multipage projects, and the fact that Netscape Navigator doesn't cope well with Publisher's proprietary XML-based code, won't impress professional designers. It's a pity that Adobe's PDF format isn't supported either. However, while these shortcomings may make Publisher 2002 less appealing to professionals, it offers the rest of us a flying start into the world of desktop publishing. --Dave Mitchell

Amazon.com Product Description
Microsoft Publisher 2002 provides tools to create professional and compelling marketing materials that will help you take your business further. With professional page layout and text tools, you can build a strong visual identity for your product or company. Use one of 15 new, refined master sets designed by leading design firms. Using font schemes, choose fonts that work well together. Customize with expert precision and control. With the measurement toolbar, achieve precise object positioning and advanced text treatment such as tracking, kerning, and scaling.

With Publisher 2002, you can easily update your Publisher-created Web pages. Simply open them in Publisher and make changes. Start from scratch with the Web site wizard, or auto convert an existing brochure or newsletter into a Web site. Send your Publisher file as a rich e-mail message so anyone can view it, or send a file as an attachment. You also have the ability to open basic Word files within Publisher while retaining their original formatting, then use the Task Pane options to further enhance your document. Apply color schemes, font schemes, layouts, and more. With Smart Tags, you can accomplish tasks on the fly. Create custom toolbars containing spell checking, thesaurus, print preview, headers and footers, and the picture toolbar.

They talk about double sided printing...

You CANNOT even "print even" or "print odd" pages. You have to sit in front of your computer and print EACH and EVERY page manually.

You cannot print to an image file (well, yes you can, but the low resolution makes the file unusable)

You cannot print to a PDF

Printing to a post script file cut off half the image on one of the projects!

This product assumes your printing service uses Publisher.
Guess what... most don't

David


I agree with Vivian1958   September 18, 2003
Vic Ray (sacramento,ca)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful

I agree...poor girl! I am a real newbie (massage therapist turned computer user) and have found this program to be a web creator's nightmare. I think I'll cruise on down to the freeware sites to see what I can scare up there. I want a fairly simple web page that links to a few more. For those of us that know the anatomy of the human body better than HTML...I would stay away from THIS BEAST. It will make the less confident feel even more so! And by the way.... these other sugar coated reviews...does Microsoft pay some slouch to type them up all day, or what? Nauseating!!!!!


GOOD, BUT NO MAJOR IMPROVEMENT OVER THE 2000 VERSION   November 29, 2002
reviewer (Zurich, Switzerland.)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

One of the biggest sins Microsoft committed with her Office XP Application Suite is removing the Publisher from its Professional edition without lowering the price. (The Professional edition of Office 2000 has Publisher, in addition to all other Applications present in XP Professional). But that apart, I must say that this Publisher 2002 works fine. It is fast, very easy to customize, and yields high quality Desktop Publishing outputs. Still, a close scrutiny revealed that its 'improvements' over the 2000 edition is only marginal. The difference between the two is mainly on the interface. Hence, I regard this 2002 edition as a great value for anyone upgrading a 9X version; but not for the 2000 one.