Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 4 September 1993 — Page 63

already haw mastered the package, but it's important for those entering the

PRODUCTS REVIEWED

interactive presentation. For Instance, you could place a radio button that aOom users to play a sound (in WAV

Fneianct Graphics for Windows also has format) or movie (in AVI format) in the the added capability of creating a limited midrfle of a presentation you've created. And if it's exported proprety, you even

can play it independently of Aeeianor Graphics. Even though its standalone presentations aren't quite as snazzy as those possible with Hanmtl Gmphks’s Hypenhow, they are strong enough to be

ronddrrrd professions!.

Just because these two market leaders come highly recommended, however, doesn't mean that the rest of the field isn't worth your attention. Indeed, depending on the circumstances, your needs may be better filled by one of the

competitors.

FONttPOMfF-—JUST THE BASKS Aldus Persuasion and Microsoft PowerPoint were two other pioneers in the presentation-software market Neither package has been radically updated in the last few years. As a result, both show their age in both Windows and Macintosh

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AmwRoM can be viewed as an enhanced outhner. (IMS is not a bad thing because many people find it easier to work in outiine mode when creating sequential presentations.) Most other packages reviewed here feature an outline mode for creating text, but only AmwritoiRfs outliner shows text formatted as it will eventually appear on the slide. This is Important, especially for beginners. Instead of switching between modes to enter and edit text, PowerPoint altoWs almost everydiing tojte^ompj|gted via the oufflner. This structural simplicity •Mali selves users weu. * In addition, PowerPoint % documentation is excellent Its nearly 700 pages cover everything presentation novices need to know. Ameritote also is suited for novices because basic toeds for creating presentations are on-screen at all times. (It's the advanced tools that are sometimes dunky or simply nonexistent) And even though PowerPoint allows you to create runtime presentations, it has no support for interactive presentations that use radio buttons and the like. PowerPoint isn't at the head of the dass. anymore, but it still is a strong contender and a good choice for those new to the presentation-software market

And although Peromkrts final printed output is adequate, its on-screen presentation b ve^ Umttad. Tire IVMmo version supports no sound or video, and the Macintosh version indudes support for QuickTime. Unless you're familiar with older venfora <rf toswBfan and comfortable working with its limitations, you should look ebewhere for workable presentation software. cmamm The gutsiest playerinthb market is Asymetrix with the groundbreaking Compel. To heck with pokey slides and overhead projections, dedded the forward-looking folks at Asymetrix. They geared their product for the computer-Dasea-presentanon neio (tnougn tney did hedge thdr beb widi siqiport for the creation of slides and overireads). lire result b an intriguing package that makes mulUnredla presoitations a breeze. You canaddsnippetsof sound, video and animation to presentations witn utue effort Contpef b egalitarian iriren It comes to multimedia formats. It supports files in AVI (Microsoft Video far Windows), DVI (Intel Meo), WAV, MIDI, FU (an Autodesk animation format) and Photo CD formats. More than 100MB of sound and video dips are Included on a CDROM. Compel uses a sUde<entered format at all times. It has no outline fodUty; the slide b a blank slate on which you place text or multimedia effects. You can edit the slide's background and text easily, and you can add such special effects as fades if youdioose . In Ms presentation effects, Cawyef comes up short compared to authoring software sudt as HSC JMmcfhe or

Macromind DbedDr—the pace of individual slide changes cantbe changed, for instance-but it bstiU the leader hi integrating muMnwdb with tradMkmal presentation-software tools. Be warned that CoMpef needs traich more horsepower than Asymetrix recommends (386-based FC, 4MB of RAM), especially If you start using sound and video. Even on a SO-MHz 486-based FC with 8X(B of RAM, a speedy hard disk and a relatively fast GD-ROM drive, Compel bon the sluggish side. Creating a fairly large presentation with audio and video b an exercise in patience.

MBMflK? Running for a market share bQ/Media Software's QMedia for Windows, which lets you incoqxmte virtually any file into a presentation. Q&fafia supports the WAV, MIDI, CD audio, DVI and AVI file formats directly, and you can import slida directly from AmerfY^fieribicg Graphics and Persuasion. Essentially, Q/Media for Windows takes these disparate elements and allows you to string them together—complete wMh a time line—in the hopes of creating a coherent presentation. Thb package was not reviewed as strenuously as the others because it arrived late in the reviewing process. But we saw a few reasons to recommend Q/ldetBa far Windows to anyone who wanb to incorporate multfanedia in presentations. Fiist, the price b right ($99 list, about $75 on the street). Second, it was created to augment rattier dun to replace wtfating presentation products*

snappy, even when dealing wtth huge audto lUea, video and large presentations. (It puts Compel to shame.) It falls outside

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Persuaskm, however, in both its Macintosh and Windows versions, badly needs an overhaul. Perhaps the most annoying a^iect of Persuaskm b its relative infleMbility. You better know exactly what you want when you sit down fo create a presentation became ary subsequent eOting b a real bear, hi nuny ways, Armarim b a philosophical cousin to PagrUaker, anotha Aldus product. Instead of having

elements. Tte background b one dement; the text b another. At times, however, another dement am dictate a slide's background. Sound confusbig? It b in pmdioe too. As a result, you often are