[scribus] Using Scribus 1.3.5svn Productively

[Benjamin Dumke]

Hi all,

when reading this mailing list during the past, I have noticed an
increasing appearance of the sentence "Scribus 1.3.5svn is a development
version an should not be used productively."

THIS SENTENCE IS VERY TRUE.

However, there is a small "but" to this large claim. I have been using
1.3.5svn productively for quite a while, and right now I am in the
middle of finishing the (by far) largest project, and I'd like to share
some thoughts and impressions about doing so.

This project -- circulation 700, (probably) 68 pages (DIN/ISO A4), full
color, advertisement sales well in the 4-figure area (Euros) -- is the
bi-annual Freshman Information Magazine of my university and its student
body.

This is the first time it is done with Scribus (InDesign so far), and --
as I said -- I'm using the 1.3.5svn version. My experience is the
following: You can use 1.3.5svn productively. However, this is a small
claim with a large

BUT:

1. The almighty "know what you're doing" applies better than anywhere
else. I have been using 1.3.5svn for almost a year now, recompling very
frequently, seeing very good development, but also learning where to be
careful, what functions not to use yet, and so on.

2. You have to be able and willing to dig into the source code. Using a
precompiled version, I could not have worked on this project, as there
where several things I stumbled upon that simply were not working for
me, and that I had to have changed, obviously without waiting for a fix
in the official svn version, if one were to happen at all. So I am using
1.3.5svn, but I'm using it with some changes applied, including changes
in the hyphenator and the object placement algorithm, as well as
additions to the scripter and the "Move Pages" dialog. I need these
changes, because without them, Scribus did not do what I needed it to
(this, btw, is a good time to raise our glasses with a loud "Viva
OSS!"). Obviously, I will / have also report(ed) the changes I've made
(not all of them should necessarily be considered bug fixes, sometimes I
just wanted Scribus to behave differently).

3. You have to know your other tools to use as well as know a few things
about the PDF standard itself. Scribus (in any version) is not -- nor
ever will (or should!) -- be a one-for-all tool. One great improvement
that entered the svn version a few months ago was the ability to embed
exisiting PDF files into the newly created PDF. Having lots of
advertisements, most of which I receive as PDF files, this possibility
is invaluable. However, while Scribus-created PDFs can usually be
trusted, I cannot trust every single PDF I receive in terms of standards
conformance et cetera. Since Scribus "only" embeds these PDFs as
XObjects, anything that is wrong with the one small PDF is now wrong
with the whole document. Hence I use a combination of Adobe Reader (not
free, I know -- except as in beer --, but still a very important tool),
ghostscript, podofo, and possibly others, to end up with a flawless PDF.


All these things considered, I can say that Scribus 1.3.5svn works very
well in production. If, however, any of the three points I mentioned
above do not apply to you, I strongly recommend *not* using 1.3.5 under
critical conditions yet, but staying with the 1.3.3.x version (which is
a great tool already, don't get me wrong on this!).

What I really want to say, and let this be my conclusion, is the
following: Scribus 1.3.5.x will be one heck of a great program, with so
much improvment compared to 1.3.3.x that it might well be justifiable
calling it 1.4 (or wherever the version numbers are going). The devs
have done and are doing an excellent job, and it is the right decision
not to rush towards a release, but to keep on working until 1.3.5 "is
there". Thanks, people.

Here's a last bit of mouth-watering for all of you who are eagerly
waiting for this release: You will love it.

Greetings,

Ben