DTP
One of the most exciting developments in the production of software for use in schools, has been the advent of desktop publishing packages - programs which allow the user to combine text (in a variety of fonts) and graphic images on a printed document. An example is the excellent Printbox with which many BBC micro users will be familiar. DTP programs are ideal for the creation of school newsletters/ magazines, certificates, notices, Christmas cards etc., by pupils and teachers alike.
For primary school use, a DTP program should be:
¥ easy to use
¥ flexible
¥ relatively inexpensive
¥ capable of producing documents of a high quality

Newsmaster II
For the IBM PS/i, a package which meets these criteria is Newsmaster II (from Unison World, USA). This program is user-friendly and extremely versatile. It contains a large variety of fonts and clip art, plus a number of powerful features not expected in a package which retails at £60 sterling (VAT inclusive).

Installation
Newsmaster comes on two disks: a program disk and a utilities disk. Whether you are using a floppy or a hard disk, installation is straightforward, as is the matter of selecting the printer you wish to use. (Newsmaster will print to dot-matrix, deskjet, or laserjet printers). Precise instructions are included. The Newsmaster disks are not copy protected, and you are strongly advised to make working copies and to store the original disks in a safe place.

Important note: Newsmaster II requires 512K of RAM to operate. If you are using a single-drive PS/i without a hard disk, then Newsmaster II will have to be cut down slightly. In my own case, this involved deleting the Business catalogue of clip-art images provided. When ordering the program, specify exactly which type of PS/i you are using.

As space on the program disk is limited, it is recommended that you save your projects! documents on a separate data disk (or on a hard disk, if you have one available).

Tutorial
Newsmaster II comes with a chart displaying type-styles, and clip-art. Also included is a
very impressive user's guide, which covers in detail all aspects of using the program. The best place to start is with the tutorial chapter, which takes you through the steps involved in designing a sample newsletter. The tutorial will familiarise you with the range of options at your disposal when you come to design your own documents.

The whole program is very easy to use. Once a few basic principles have been grasped, you should be able to produce a document of your own design within an hour.

When it is time to print your work, you are offered the choice of four print modes:
draft quality, high quality - no smoothing, high quality - smooth text, and high quality smooth text and graphics.

Using the program
Movement through the program is mainly controlled by icon menus (i.e small pictures at the bottom of your screen which correspond to the function keys, on your keyboard). You simply press the appropriate function key that stands for the function you wish to carry out. As Newsmaster II is fully WYSIWYG (what you see on the screen is what you get on printing) you can see exactly the result of whatever command you have selected.

Options
The MAIN EDIT MENU contains five options:
f 1: change page view f2: edit text
f3: edit artwork f4: load/save
f5: print

When you press fi for example, you are presented with four more options:
f 1: zoom view
f2: normal view (you see two thirds of the page horizontally and one-quarter of the page vertically; this is the default view)
f3: full-width view
f4: full-page view. This allows you to see how the page layout is taking shape.

With a little practice, teachers and pupils should have no difficulty in negotiating their way through the various menus, sub-menus, and screens.

Manipulating Text (EDIT TEXT menu)
Before entering any text, you can define the page layout. This gives you the flexibility of
having a headline and up to ten columns - if required. As regardstypeface, you can choose from up to thirty different fonts in a variety of type styles (bold, underline, italic, etc). A sample of each is displayed on the screen in a Ôcue-boxÕ as you flick through them. Other text options include:
¥ change justification of paragraphs
¥ cut and paste
¥ copy selected text
¥ import text (text created with most wordprocessors can be imported into Newsmaster pages, and can be made to flow around graphics, either to the left or the right, or down both sides).

ManipulatIng Graphics (EDIT ARTWORK menu)
Newsmaster contains over 200 pieces of clip-art. As with font selection, the highlighted piece will displayed on the screen. It is a simple matter to select a particular graphic and to stamp it on the page wherever you wish. Options include:
¥ copy artwork
¥ remove artwork
¥ flip artwork vertically or horizontally
¥ change size of artwork (proportional enlargement or reduction of graphic)
Pressing f8 in the EDIT ARTWORK menu brings you to another sub-menu: lines, boxes and patterns. This offers the tools to draw lines ofvariablethicknesses, boxes, and other patterns.

Additionai features
For the more ambitious/adventurous, Newsmasterll boasts the following additional features:
¥ from 1 - 10 columns per page
¥ automatic text-flow around artwork, from column to column and from page to page
¥ import text files from most wordprocessors
¥ tab stops every 0.5 inches
¥ screen capture facility - grabs a screen image from other programs e.g. PC Paintbrush, and formats the image into a Newsmaster Graphic.
¥ alter page size - you can set the top, bottom, left, and right margins, gutter size (space between columns) and headline depth
¥glyphs-thesearefontswhich contain shapes instead of letters e.g. telephone, arrows, key, envelope, etc.

Hard Disk and Mouse users: free upgrade
If you have a hard disk and an EGA or VGA monitor, you can use the mouse and colour screen capabilities of the Newsmaster II up-
grade. This free upgrade (which you must send away for - details included) also allows you to import .PCX graphics.

DTP as Gaellge
It is possible to produce the characters used in Science and foreign languages including Irish. You simply hold down the ALT key and type a number (chart enclosed for reference).
Summary
Newsmaster II's main attractions are ease of use and low-cost. At £60 stg. it is superb value for money. Pupils in senior classes will have little difficulty in producing impressive and attractive documents. Text and graphics editing facilities are comprehensive, yet logical and easy to use, and the user has full control over page layout and text allignment (justification etc.).
Overall, the package is an ideal accompaniment to the PS/i. Harnessed to IBM's excellent dot-matrix printer, Newemaster II is capable of meeting the needs of any primary school. It is easy on the budget and a joy to use. Highly recommended.

Newsmaster II is available from:
A.V.P, School Hill Centre, Chepstow, NP6
5PH, England. Tel: 0291-625439.