 | |
 PagePlus version X9 | |
| Developer(s) | Serif Europe |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 1990; 35 years ago (1990) |
| Final release | X9 / 19 November 2015; 9 years ago (2015-11-19) |
| Written in | C++ |
| Operating system | Windows XP SP3 Windows Vista Windows 7 Windows 8 Windows 10 |
| Successor | Affinity Publisher |
| Type | Desktop publishing |
| License | Proprietarycommercial software |
| Website | www |
PagePlus was adesktop publishing (page layout) program developed bySerif for Microsoft Windows. The first version was released in 1991 as the first commercial sub-£100 DTP package forMicrosoft Windows. The final release was PagePlus X9,[1] which was released in November 2016. In June 2019 it was officially replaced by Serif withAffinity Publisher.[2]
PagePlus was first launched in 1990 and was the first sub-£100 desktop publishing program forWindows 3.0.[3] Three years later, in spring 1993, PagePlus 2 was released and provided full colour printing support. Following this release, a new version of the product was released on a roughly annual basis.
Serif did a complete rewrite of the original program source code for the release of PagePlus version 8. Despite the rewrite, at that time the program name was retained and the version number was simply incremented. Version 8 was able to read data files created in previous versions 1 to 7.
Serif announced that PagePlus X9 was to be the final PagePlus release. The last build issued to date is v19.0.2.22 from 28 April 2017. Serif ceased further development of all "Plus" products to focus efforts on their 'Affinity' product line.
Serif began rewriting their DTP software, to allow a multi-platform implementation, and allow new methods of internal program operation with more modern operating systems and the typical current (2018/9) configuration of PCs.
A public beta of Serif'sAffinity Publisher (the closest of the Affinity applications to PagePlus functionality) was launched in August 2018,[4] followed by the first full version of the application in June 2019.[5]
While PagePlus was generally targeted at the "entry level" DTP user, some of the functionality present in the market leading applications (Quark'sXPress andAdobe'sInDesign[6]) is present in PagePlus, such as working in theCMYK colour space,OpenType Feature support, andOptical margin alignment (Optical Justification). PagePlus also has the ability to view, create, edit and publishPDF files,[7] and publish E-books in *.epub or *mobi formats[8] suitable for the Kindle store. It also includes support for EPUB3 fixed layout eBooks for textbooks, children's books etc.[1]
PagePlus is primarily written inC++ usingVisual Studio 2008, with a heavy dependence on theMFC framework. The WindowsGDI library was discarded early in development in favour of an in-house composition engine supporting advanced bitmap and typeface operations. The text engine supportsUnicode text entry.
PagePlus was first developed for 16-bitMicrosoft Windows v3.0 running on PC/MS DOS but the final releases supportWindows XP,Windows Vista (32/64bit),Windows 7 (32/64bit),Windows 8 (32/64bit) andWindows 10 (32/64bit).[9]
