| Timeworks Publisher, Timeworks DTP, Publish-It! | |
|---|---|
| Original author | Timeworks |
| Developer | GST Software |
| Initial release | 1987; 39 years ago (1987) (Atari ST)[1] |
| Stable release | |
| Operating system | GEM,Macintosh,Windows |
| Type | Desktop publishing |
| License | Proprietarycommercial software |
Timeworks Publisher was adesktop publishing (DTP) program produced byGST Software in theUnited Kingdom and published byTimeworks, Inc., in the United States.
It is notable as the first affordable DTP program for theIBM PC.[citation needed] In appearance and operation, it was aVentura Publisher clone, but it was possible to run it on a computer without a hard disk.
Timeworks Publisher 1 forAtari TOS[3] relied on theGDOS software components, which were available from Atari but were often distributed with applications that required them. GDOS provided TOS/GEM with a standardized method for installing printer drivers and additional fonts, although these were limited to bitmapped fonts in all the later releases. GDOS had a reputation for being difficult to configure, using a lot of system resources, and was fairly buggy, meaning that Timeworks could struggle to run on systems without a hard disk and less than 2 MB of memory - but it was possible, and for many users Timeworks was an inexpensive introduction to desktop publishing.
For theIBM PC, Timeworks ran onDigital Research'sGEM Desktop (supplied with the program) as aruntime system. Later versions ran onMicrosoft Windows.
Timeworks Publisher 2 included fullWYSIWYG, paragraph tagging, manual control of kerning, text and graphics imports and more fonts.[4]Timeworks Publisher 2.1 withGEM/5 is known to have supportedBézier curves already.
In mid-1988, following the release ofGST's word processor,First Word Plus,Acorn Computers announced that it had commissioned GST to port and enhance the Timeworks product for theArchimedes series.[5] Being designed for use withRISC OS, using theanti-aliased font technology already demonstrated on the Archimedes, utilising themulti-tasking capabilities of the RISC OS desktop environment, and offering printed output support for laser and dot-matrix printers, availability was deferred until the release of RISC OS in April 1989.[6] The delivered product,Acorn Desktop Publisher, introduced Acorn's outline font manager and bundled 14 scalable fonts plus upgraded printer drivers (for Postscript-compatible andHewlett-PackardLaserjet-compatible printers, plus Integrex colour inkjet printers) to provide consistent, high-quality output on screen and paper.
Despite being described as "streets ahead" of Timeworks on the Atari ST, offering "real desktop publishing, not the pale imitation possible with aMaster 128 ormodel B", being comparable to "mid-priced DTP packages on theMac or IBM PC", the software was regarded as barely usable on a machine with 1 MB of RAM and no hard disk (Acorn recommended 2 MB to use the software alongside other applications[7]), and the limitations in editing and layout facilities led one reviewer to note that at the £150 price level and with other desktop publishing packages (notablyComputer Concepts'Impression,[8]Beebug's Ovation,[9][10] and Clares' Tempest[11]) announced if not yet available, purchasers would be advised to "wait and see" before making any decision.[12]
Nevertheless, with competitors still unavailable in early 1990, Acorn User deemed to be the platform's best desktop publishing package, noting that there was "little available yet for Archimedes DTP, although much is on the way soon".[13] Ultimately, Acorn would promote Impression as part of its Publishing System package.[8] Of the other anticipated competitors, Ovation was released later in 1990,[10] and succeeded by Ovation Pro in 1996,[14] having been previewed in 1995,[15] whereas Tempest was apparently never released, being absent from Clares' software catalogue.[11]
Curiously, Tempest was itself described as being "based on the Acorn DTP package" but aiming to remedy deficiencies and provide enhancements such as multi-column frames, "text flow around regular shapes", and improved text editing support, along with memory management facilities. Developed by a freelance programmer for Clares, a pre-release version was demonstrated in late 1989, apparently requiring only 128 KB of RAM, with work underway to optimise the display routines. A price of £129.95 including VAT was announced.[16] Initially destined for an autumn 1989 release,[17] it was postponed to an unspecified point in time in September 1989 with the specification having changed,[18] but hints of a 1990 release were subsequently made in early 1990.[19] Although a demo disk was apparently available,[20] the product was widely advertised, and a preview of the software appeared in a late 1990 magazine issue,[21] the product was evidently not completed. Clares later took over development of another Acorn product, the spreadsheetSchema, in 1990.[22]
In the U.S.,Timeworks Inc. marketed the program asPublish-It!. Released in 1987, there were versions available for IBM PC (running over the GEM environment),Mac, andApple II (Enhanced IIe or better) computers.[23][24]
Further versions were namedKeyPublisher 1.0 (versions 1.19 and 1.21) and produced bySoftkey Software Products Inc. in 1991 for PCs with GEM.[25]Another version, aimed at the business market, was namedDESKpress. A laterCD-based multilingual version for Windows was namedPress International.
The product was also sold under other names including NEBSPageMagic(changed after objections fromAdobe),Macmillan Publisher,Canon Publisher, and many other brands, distinguished by use of the .DTPfile extension. The latest version was sold asGreenstreet Publisher 4 and is downwards file compatible with earlier versions.