Software
The list below contains only the main items of software that I use regularly in my work. If you think that a particular job will require a specific program not listed here, please contact me – I may already have it.
I’ve left out information about version numbers, since in most case I have several versions of each program (the consequences of years of upgrading). If the version is important for your job, then contact me.
Page layout and typesetting
Corel Ventura
Ventura is the natural choice for typesetting books. It is
designed specifically for working with long, multi-chapter publications,
and includes many features that are not available in other packages, such
as automatic contents lists, an equation editor and a table editor. It’s
also a remarkably stable and efficient package to use, and makes light work
of jobs that would be expensive and time-consuming in other programs.
QuarkXPress
For more layout intensive designs, such as newsletters,
Quark offers flexibility and compatibility with many in-house systems. It
also copes well with books based on complex page layouts.
InDesign
The leading alternative to QuarkXPress, with similar capabilities.
LaTeX
If your authors work in LaTeX, then I can take their work and either
edit it directly and produce PDF files in the existing format, or re-format
it using a different LaTeX style. Alternatively, I can also convert LaTeX
files to other formats (for those tricky conference proceedings where each
author uses a different program).
Editing
WordPerfect
Superior to Word when editing long documents for two main reasons:
(1) WordPerfect doesn’t crash when using its Master Document feature and
(2) WordPerfect shows you exactly what formatting codes have been applied
and where, allowing the editor to produce a clean file that imports into
typesetting programs without problems.
Microsoft Word
As most jobs arrive as Microsoft Word files, it’s important to be
able to open them in their native format.
OpenOffice
A Microsoft Office-compatible suite. Often makes a better job of handling Word and
PowerPoint files than Microsoft’s own software.
WinEdt
I use WinEdt for editing LaTeX files. It’s a text editor that integrates
well with LaTeX, simplifying the task of creating accurate LaTeX coding.
It’s also pretty handy for HTML work – this web site was written primarily
with WinEdt.
Illustration
Corel Draw
Corel Draw integrates well with Ventura, and imports a huge number
of other types of graphics files. Whatever your authors or other suppliers
use to produce illustrations, there is an excellent chance that I can use
the files with minimal conversion effort.
Corel Photo Paint
Provides full bitmap editing capabilities, with similar advantages
to those of Corel Draw.
PostScript and PDF
Adobe Acrobat
It’s important to be able to create press-ready PDF files. Acrobat
also provides the capability to modify pre-existing PDF files (perhaps to
replace a single page of an author-generated PDF file).
Enfocus PitStop Pro
Comprehensive pre-flight software for tidying up and modifying PDF files. If you need to alter
a PDF file but don't have access to the originating software, or if you need to check that a PDF
file is suitable for press, PitStop is the ideal tool.
Ghostscript
Acrobat sometimes fails to handle certain kinds of PostScript or
PDF file (perhaps because of an error in the PostScript code). In these cases,
GhostScript will often rectify the problem.
