[Scribus] Difference between DTP and word processor

[Rainer Heilke]

I may as well throw in my 1.5c worth.

This argument is fairly complete, with one addition. WP tended to change 
the output--sometimes radically--depending upon the printer driver. DTP 
were supposed to be very controlled, and make, at most, very minor 
changes. This is one big reason why the ealry versions of MS Publisher 
were little more than "let's pretend" toys.

Your last item surprises me, though. I think that most people who 
understand the difference well enough to know they want a DTP would be 
aghast if their DTP started showing too many signs of being a WP. That's 
what import filters are for. The only potentially useful function, off 
the top of my head, would be to automate the flow of text into 
similar-shaped text boxes on the following page(s). Want to compete with 
MS Office? Use StarOffice/OpenOffice, or one of the miriad other 
competitors.

Rainer Heilke

Nik wrote:

>As a long-time word-processor user, and a relative newcomer to DTP, here is my 
>2c worth:
>
>A word processor is content-oriented, whereas DTP is layout-oriented.
>
>Based on an opening comment in one of the Scribus tutorials, this could be put 
>more dynamically as: Word processors edit content, whereas DTPs edit space.
>
>Comparing Word and OO Writer (which seems to be almost bug-compatable with 
>Word) with Scribus and PageMaker, these distinctions seem still to hold.
>
>In a Word-processor, one can happily enter content with little regard to the 
>final layout. The program will work it out dynamically as it goes. This is 
>actually quite useful when writing a letter, and can be very unhelpful when 
>writing a larger document or publication.
>
>In a DTP, one must put all content into a frame. The content often comes from 
>outside the DTP, and the DTP user is more concerned with where things go, and 
>ensuring there is the desired amount of space between everything. This is 
>extra work when dynamic layout would work, but much easier (for me at least) 
>when layout becomes more important.
>
>Speaking as one who wants to see Scribus displace Microsoft Office completely, 
>I would like to see a few more WP features come into Scribus, such as 
>optional dynamic layout. Since WP has moved more into DTP turf, it's about 
>time DTP moved back onto their turf.
>
>Cheers!
>Nik.
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