An Early Look at the New Features in QuarkXPress 6.0
Quark has moved cautiously down the road to OS X, but its journey will be over when QuarkXPress 6.0 debuts. The company won"t comment on a release date, but I expect that you"ll be able to buy the new version of XPress within six months.
I explored a prerelease version of QuarkXPress 6.0. Though it"s not appropriate to evaluate a beta version"s reliability or speed, I can give you an in-depth look at XPress"s new features, from the most striking (such as its OS X code) to the least (such as its As Is printing feature). This version of the publishing mainstay is clearly a significant and innovative upgrade: layers and Aqua and syncing? Oh my!
We"re Not in OS 9 Anymore
It seems as if everyone, from production interns to Steve Jobs, has griped about Quark"s slow journey toward OS X. Now Quark is committed to OS X in a big way -- on the Mac, XPress 6.0 runs only on OS X 10.2 or later.
It"s Aqua, Man Longtime XPress users should have no trouble with the transition; Quark has maintained the program"s general look-and-feel while making it fit OS X"s Aqua interface standard. Few dialog boxes and palettes have changed beyond donning a blue and gray, rounded-corner skin.