Customer Reviews

Corel Ventura 10 [Old Version]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Bottom Line: There are newer programs available for the same price which are easier to use, offer better features, more support, and are more stable.

The screen refresh is buggy for complex graphic and table-intensive documents over 75 pages long. It has a tendency to add or delete space bands and returns into imported text randomly. Many features listed in Amazon's descriptions above are unreliable or poorly executed.

Text handling is adequate, but limited in comparison to page layout programs of the late 1990's; for instance, no horizontal or vertical scaling of letters is permitted, small caps and some other common typographic effects are missing- bold, italic and underline are thankfully available. Its management of fonts, colors and images is fairly awkward when compared to older versions of Quark and InDesign. There is no obvious way to crop an image within the program for instance - it needs to be edited in an image-editing program. Fades, fancy corners, and multiple line styles are also absent.

It can handle large documents with a minimum of illustrations, where cross-referencing is required, and it does not require a powerful new computer to run; having run it on an 800mhz and a 2.0 ghz machine, I can say there is no difference in performance, so there is no need to invest in new hardware once you have paid the princely sum for this program.

For old users, stick with this. For new users, be aware that Corel has no plans to update this 2002 vintage software. To my knowledge, there is no upgrade path or any way to export your work intact from Corel Ventura into modern page layout programs.

Ventura 10 continues to be the desktop publishing application of choice for desktop publishing professionals who have a choice. We find it far easier to use than the competition -- and that its features for long document publications are far more advanced than even the newest versions of the competition. One of Ventura 10's strongest points is its savvy use of style tags for characters, paragraphs, pages, and tables -- giving us incredible control over formatting and great ease in changing formatting. Frankly, Ventura 10 is one of the few applications in which I really enjoy working -- as evidenced by all the books of ours that Amazon.com sells. Ventura is one of the great productivity-enhancing applications of all time!

I am very puzzled by the earlier writer who actually thinks you can do everything Ventura does in Word, and better. If this person actually used Ventura 10 a few times to produce a book, catalog, or report, this person would understand why desktop publishing professionals cringe when they hear of people trying to produce long, structured documents in any word processor, especially the dreadful Microsoft Word. I must admit to being stunned by that person's comments.

Corel Ventura is not an ordinary page-layout program. I have been using the various incarnations of this program since the first version, Ventura Publisher, came out in 1986. Having tried various other programs, including Quark XPress, PageMaker, and InDesign, I have concluded that Ventura is far and away the most capable program for those who need consistency throughout long documents (multi-chapter books, manuals). Adobe FameMaker comes close, but it is much harder to learn. If all you want to layout is the occasional flyer, Ventura is perhaps not the program for you because you don't need the sophistication the program offers. If you're serious about book layout, there isn't a more suitable program on the market. Besides, Ventura is still considerably cheaper than the other professional layout programs.

To the Ventura Fanatics:

I have used Adobe Pagemaker, Quark XPress, and Adobe InDesign over the last twelve years in a high-paced professional publishing environment, laying out 30 to 120 pages per week. When I changed jobs and took on Corel Ventura, which was explained to be the "equal" of Quark, I shrugged and took it on.

Since the initial post, I have managed to complete a 300 page book, with hundreds of images and in color, which was a component of the many other responsibilities I had to deal with. The program was unstable, unfriendly and lost tables and text all the time. A smaller project I began on it from scratch I abandoned in favor of MS Word.

In my humble opinion, short documents (under 50 pages): MS Word remains a viable option.

For larger documents, get Adobe InDesign.

I present a more detailed list of the chronic failings of your vaunted Ventura:

1. Corel last updated the program in 2002 - there are no indications it will be updated again.
2. Corel's support and documentation of it are dismal at best.
3. Third party instruction books are non-existant. Courses for the program are non-existant as well.
4. Most of the controls are poorly documented, poorly executed or buried in the menus compared to modern programs.
5. Precise positioning and image handling is primitive at best; the program pitches a fit if you try to rotate an image in it, and demands you rotate the image in an image editing program.
6. The typographic controls are limited compared to modern programs; no horizontal or vertical scaling, and making minor tweaks is a major headache.

I could go on, but I won't. Corel Ventura is fine for old hands who are experts with it since version 1 came out, but beginners or casual users will have nothing but tears and headaches to show for it if they buy this sorry relic.