Scribus 1.5 is becoming the best open source DTP program

Desktop publishing (DTP) is one of the core uses of the PC. Ten years ago, even novice computer users could put together documents with Microsoft Word and decorate them with clipart. The expectations have changed so that now even beginners try to create professional-looking presentations. Graphic artists can now create flyers and brochures on a home computer. This may not always lead to spectacular results, but when good aesthetics, creativity, and appropriate tools come together then good results are inevitable.

Scribus is a tool suited for the task of desktop publishing. This open source program was years ago the first to promise DTP functions, which were then only known among professionals in the field. As users of the first version of Scribus can attest, not everything worked. However, years of development work and the dedication of the developers to stabilizing the software are now bearing fruit.

Scribus does not offer every function that tools such as Adobe InDesign can handle. This doesn't change the situation much because the large professional tools include many functions that are easy to do without when confronted with straightforward DTP tasks.

Even without all of the functions found in the larger tools, Scribus has shown itself to be fully capable of creating professional results as exemplified by the magazine Le Tigre [1], which was created entirely with this package.

Signs of Life

For a while now, many observers have been skeptical when the topic of Scribus has come up. The project appears to have been in an extended dormant period for some time. The current major version 1.4 appeared at the beginning of 2012.

The last bug fix release is dated January 2015. Nothing much has been done since then. The interface, various functions and the integration into the current desktop environment all appear a little bit outdated.

Under these circumstances, it is easy for rumors to start. Scribus has been considered dead and gone from the digital scene. At the end of May 2015, the developers refuted these rumors by releasing version 1.5 of the software. This is actually the preliminary version, however, and the developers advise against production use. Nonetheless, Scribus 1.5.0 is clearly a foundation for version 1.6.0, which has already been announced.

In other words, the developers want to communicate that the software is alive and well, and that users can count on future versions. This is reason enough to examine version 1.5.0 more closely and see what has been done to the software and what can be predicted for future versions. The "Trying Out Scribus 1.5" box describes how to install the software.

The Emperor's New Clothes

Once installation is complete, you will notice immediately that the program looks different (Figure 1). This is primarily because Scribus 1.4 was still based on Qt4, and the developers have taken the graphical interface for the new version from Qt5. The software profits from this change with increased speed and better suitability for desktops that depend on the same framework.

Figure 1: Scribus 1.5.0 comes with a new interface that resembles the old one in many respects.

For users accustomed to working with this application, the new appearance won't require learning everything all over again. Although it looks more rounded, and the icons look different, almost all of the buttons for the important functions are in the same place (Figure 2). It is entirely possible that this may change with version 1.6, but a completely new interface is not yet on the drawing board.

Figure 2: The dialog for adapting a document has been rewritten from the ground up. It appears more intuitive but not necessarily unfamiliar.

More noticeable to the knowledgeable observer are the changes that have been made in the details. For instance, the context menu invoked via the right mouse button is significantly smaller (Figure 3).

Figure 3: The context menu that comes up with a right mouse click has been tidied up. The application now handles tables as such.

In the previous version, often a gigantic menu would appear on the screen for a selected task. The user had to scroll through all of the entries in order to read them. The menu for determining the features of an individual page has been completely redesigned. The same goes for the menu by which you control all of the behavior of the application (Figure 4).

Figure 4: The Scribus developers also worked on the configuration dialog. It has been reworked but is not very straightforward.

By comparison, the dialog that makes it possible to edit the characteristics of individual objects is almost overwhelming because of many new features. The developers have promised to tighten this up for version 1.6. The software now lets the user dock palettes around the entire edge of Scribus. These can be used for the use of colors or shapes.

The preview dialog now indicates vector and BMP files. The user accustomed to browser tabs will appreciate the tab mode in the current version. This mode lets you open several documents for simultaneous editing.