ygeoPub1x  PRG formatted GEOS file V1.0D4$eps24testgcP Շ ԇ "$geoPub3 %BLASTER'S CONVERTER V2.5 5F(geoPub5' .9ageoPub6` !AWrite Image V2.1geoWrite V2.1LW_Roma (Times Roman), LW_Cal (Helvetica)/8@08888pThink fast! What is the first word that comes to mind when someone mentions geoPublish? For a lot of people the word would be complex or difficult or frustrating. The box calls it 'sophisticated' which is marketing talk for 'lots to learn'. Since the program is so 'sophisticated' a lot of people have become discouraged and have never realized the true power that geoPublish puts at your fingertips. I have been using geoPublish for over 15 years now and have done just about everything with it. In any gP project there are six main phases. 8@88888 D1. Pick your topics and write your articles 8@88888 @2. Design your columns and main page format 3. Create text regions and import your articles 4. Edit your text and fix any errors 5. Add graphics (including lines, boxes...) 6. Print your project 8@88888@With this series of articles I will take you from start to finish through the creation of a fair-sized publication. In the process we will use all of the power that geoPublish has to offer. When we're done you should have all of the knowledge, and a good resource, to get you through almost any publishing task. 8@08888@ 8@88888@@How do you spell Relief? 8@08888@ Great! Finally someone is going to show you how to use this behemoth of a program. You read the ads. You wanted to make great looking newsletters. You wanted your own freedom of the press. You wanted to impress your family and friends with what your Commodore could do. So you bought the program. What you got was a quick lesson in the definition of 'sophisticated'. You soon realized that your single drive system lacked the necessary storage space to create much of a newsletter. Your Dot Matrix printer, even with the best multi-strike or interpolating driver, left much to be desired when it came time to print your creation. And  oIΣI OG`,0D J aU 8 88@08888your family told you the layout did not really catch their eye or make them want to read it. So here comes a series to teach you how to publish like the pros. You're ready. You're itching to learn. You've fired up your GEOS or Wheels system and have started geoPublish. You've pressed the Create button and entered a name for your file. The blank Page Graphics Mode screen is staring back at you, silently waiting, as if daring you to take your best shot. Ooops! Wrong way to get started. 8@88888@@Learning to Crawl 8@08888@ The proper way to get started, if you want to make front page news with GeoPublish, is to sit down at the table with a pencil and pad of paper and start to design your newsletter. But you're new at this. How can I expect you to design a layout when you don't know how to use geoPublish? Easy. A carpenter has to have a blueprint and know the length to cut the boards and the proper spacing for the studs before he picks up his hammer to put it all together if he wants the building to stand up. GeoPublish, like the carpenter's hammer, is just a tool that lets us create our publications on the computer. Before we use the hammer, though, we have to know something about page layout, we have to have something to write about, and we have to have a plan for our project. In order to learn a bit about page layout take a look at your favorite magazines. Most likely they are fairly popular and there is a reason for that. Why do you like them? Is it the articles? Is it the pictures? Is it the way the two are mixed? Is it the size of the type? The number of columns of text? Flip through the magazines and make note of pages that grab your attention. Make note of which magazines are easier to read than the others. printer, even with the best multi-strike or interpolating driver, left much to be desired when it came time to print your creation. And  oIΣI OG`,0D J aU 8 88@08888sThere are entire books and magazines about page layout and design so you can imagine that this topic is beyond the scope of this series of articles. I will concentrate on using the capabilities of GeoPublish so feel free to look for outside sources to make your special project have the impact that you want. A good book that I have been using for a number of years called Looking Good in Print (Roger C. Parker, ISBN 1-56604-471-5) is an excellent, easy to read reference. While it comes with a CD containing programs for PCs and Macs the book deals with layout and design concepts and is not written with any specific program in mind. This book is available used on Amazon.com for as low as $2.50. 8@08888@ 8@88888@@All the news that's fit... 8@08888C By now you should have realized that the design and layout of a publication are almost as important as the material that is presented. Of course, if the articles on the pages do not interest you, contain spelling and grammatical errors, or contain inaccurate or incomplete data it won't make any difference how spectacular the layout is. The reverse is also true. If you have award-winning material but you insist on cramming it all together, printing it too small, not leaving enough white space or placing graphics in the wrong places, nobody will read it. ok at your favorite magazines. Most likely they are fairly popular and there is a reason for that8@088883It is very important to allow the reader's eyes to rest. Use columns so that it is easier for the reader to find the next line (shorter lines make it easier for the reader's eyes to scan back and down to the next line). Pick an appropriate font size (consider your readers - older readers may mean you use a larger point size). Place your graphics in a logical spot - don't break up a paragraph by putting a graphic where it shouldn't be. 8@88888@Between the lines@ 8@088883 I've covered a lot here. Did you pick up all of the points? A big one that is hidden in all of the above is that what you like or want isn't as important as what your intended audience likes or wants. That isn't to say you shouldn't do something to make yourself happy but, unless you are doing all this work to publish a newsletter for yourself, the reader is who you are doing this for. Know your target audience. Another big item is to figure out your schedule. Is this going to be a one-time 'lost dog' poster? A single-page weekly flyer? A monthly newsletter? Are you publishing a book? I've done all of these things with geoPublish and it handles them all equally well. You just have to prepare ahead of time before you pick up that hammer. I hope this has provided a bit of an introduction to publishing. Next time we'll delve a little deeper into what GeoPublish is all about. In the meantime you can get out your GeoPublish Manual and read through it. Keep it handy throughout this process so you can look things up if needed. When I reference the Manual I'll enclose the page number in square brackets like this - [gP Page 3-25]. Until next time, enGEOy your Commodore!`s!˅ s0.s0)  ȱ jj