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DTP Features
Here is a brief comparison between a few closed and open source vector graphics programs. It is a
list of features that are not so much a roadmap as things that any
self respecting desktop publishing software should have. You will note that hardly
any of this is currently implemented in Laidout.
THIS TABLE IS FAR FROM COMPLETE! Please send me updates, or post on the Laidout mailing list
if you see something that is not correct. You might also check out
this comparison
over on the Scribus site about import and export capabilities of Scribus, OpenOffice.org, Inkscape, GIMP, and Krita. Also
this page about vector graphics editors in Wikipedia.
Really someone more industrious then myself should probably transplant something like this chart to Wikipedia. I couldn't find a DTP software comparison there,
only this plain list of such software.
Please note that I have no access to InDesign, Quark, or Illustrator, so the estimation of the capabilities of those programs might be totally wrong.
They are based mostly on browsing video tutorials for them.
* Hover the mouse over a block to see what version the feature first appears in, if known, plus other relevant notes.
* If a spot is blank, its status is either not known, or the devs might be vaguely thinking about implementing it some day.
"partial" means the feature exists, but leaves much to be desired.
"planned" means actual coding has begun on it, but it is not yet functional.
"plugin" means that you can do it in the program, but you need an extra plugin.
| Infrastructure Features |
Laidout |
Scribus |
InDesign |
Quark |
Inkscape |
Xara |
Illustrator |
| Impositioning |
Yes |
No1 |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
| Mobius strip impositioning |
planned |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
| impositioning involving non-rectangular pages |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
| Spreading page contents over several pieces of paper, so you can print out a really big layout from your small printer |
Yes |
partial2 |
|
partial |
No |
|
partial3 |
| Math calculations in input boxes |
planned |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
| Plugins or scripting |
planned |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
| Beginning/end/middle arrows and such |
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
| Edge feathering (as seen in Xara), or equivalent blurring |
|
|
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
| Metafont-y erase brush, aka a knockout "color" or knockout groups |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Fill applied to stroke |
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
|
| Editable clip and textwrap mask, independent from the actual object |
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
|
|
| Use objects as mask (softmask in pdf speak) |
|
Yes |
|
No |
|
|
|
| Color separations |
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
|
|
| Color system capabilities flexible enough for any number of inks (think "deviceN", not just RGB, CMYK, CcMmYK, etc) |
planned |
|
|
Yes |
|
|
|
| ICC color profiles |
planned |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
|
| Autotrace images |
|
|
|
No |
Yes |
|
|
| Spread editor |
partial |
partial |
partial |
|
|
|
|
| overprinting/trapping on per object basis |
|
|
|
Yes |
|
|
|
| UCR, BG |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Rotate whole page view on screen by arbitrary degrees, not just portrait/landscape |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
planned |
No |
No |
| Preflight verifier |
planned |
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
|
|
| Collect for out |
planned |
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
|
|
| Record macros, like Pagestream, Vim, or Openoffice! |
|
planned |
|
No |
|
|
|
| Non-destructive Bezier patch transforms on any object |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Arbitrary f(s,t) transforms, and f(s) or f(t) transforms for paths |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Guides that are arbitrary paths, not just vertical and horizontal lines. |
planned |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
No |
| Aligning groups of points, text, and/or objects to paths |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Tablet support, stylus, eraser, mouse allowed different functions |
planned |
|
|
|
partial |
|
|
| Ability to use odd control surfaces like midi controllers, a la the Gimp |
planned |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Multi-touch support, or support for the poor person's version using 2 mice and XInput2 |
planned |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Non-text Tool Features |
Laidout |
Scribus |
InDesign |
Quark |
Inkscape |
Xara |
Illustrator |
| Images |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Linear, and circle color gradients |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| On canvas gradient color spot editing |
Yes |
No |
|
|
Yes |
No |
|
| Patch gradients (aka mesh gradients) |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
| Image Patch distortions |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
| Lines/polygons with various methods of shifting edges |
planned |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Ellipses, arcs, chords |
planned |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Paths composed of different types, such as a circular arc to a bezier segment to a straight segment, and still allow specialized editing of such shapes |
planned |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Repeater tool along path |
|
partial |
|
|
Yes |
|
|
| Cloning objects, optionally with link backs to original objects |
planned |
|
|
|
Yes |
|
|
|
| Text Features |
Laidout |
Scribus |
InDesign |
Quark |
Inkscape |
Xara |
Illustrator |
| Math equations support |
|
partial4 |
plugin |
|
|
|
|
| Story Editor |
|
Yes |
Yes |
No |
|
|
|
| Tabstops that lie on arbitrary paths, not just vertical and horizontal lines. Someday will be gone the days of rigidly defined and poorly accessed tabstops! |
|
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
| Text on a line |
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Convert Text to editable path |
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Yes |
| Tables |
|
planned |
|
Yes |
|
|
|
| Automatic Hyphenation and justification |
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
|
|
| Insert sample gibberish text!! Yeah! |
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
| Numbered and unnumbered lists |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Generated pages, for instance for tables of contents, bibliography, index |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Export |
Laidout |
Scribus |
InDesign |
Quark |
Inkscape |
Xara |
Illustrator |
| To image |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| EPS/Postscript |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
| Html |
|
|
|
Yes |
|
No |
|
| PDF |
partial |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Scribus |
partial |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
| SVG/Inkscape |
partial |
Yes |
|
|
Yes |
Yes |
|
| Openoffice.org Draw |
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
|
| Passepartout |
partial |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
| Laidout |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
| TeX/LaTeX |
No |
No |
No |
No |
partial |
No |
No |
|
| Importing |
Laidout |
Scribus |
InDesign |
Quark |
Inkscape |
Xara |
Illustrator |
| Multiple images at the same time |
Yes |
plugin5 |
Yes |
partial |
partial |
No |
No |
| EPS |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
|
|
| Html |
|
partial6 |
|
partial |
|
|
|
| PDF |
|
partial |
|
Yes |
|
|
|
| Scribus |
partial7 |
Yes |
|
|
|
|
|
| SVG/Inkscape |
partial |
partial |
|
|
Yes |
|
|
| Openoffice.org Draw |
|
Yes |
|
|
|
|
|
| Passepartout |
partial |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
| TeX/LaTeX |
|
partial8 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Laidout |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
| Externally rendered formats (for instance, Scribus render frames) |
planned |
Yes |
|
|
|
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Lower level functions and other neat ideas from other programs, though maybe less vital:
| Auto sync keyboard shortcuts with inkscape/gimp/whatever! |
| Openclipart integration/scrapbook |
| cntl-+/- zooms around object, neat! |
| Color selector previews different shades of color with black and white text on it!!! Fab! |
| The scribus color wheel is very clever. |
| be able to swap any two items, or do same as spreadeditor be able to swap and roll and eject |
Notes
[1] Infrastructure Features: Impositioning:
Scribus -- No A plugin
was being developed during Google Summer of Code 2007, but it seems to have never been
completed. Other relevant links include
making booklets
from Scribus, and
the imposition bug report,
in which there is much discussion.
Other info here
and here.
[2] Infrastructure Features: Spreading page contents over several pieces of paper, so you can print out a really big layout from your small printer:
Scribus -- partial Scribus is set up to handle several papers right next to each other in a grid.
In the file, there are PageSet sections. You can copy that and insert new
PageSets. This allows spreading objects across many papers, but suffers the same
limitation as Illustrator, since the papers have to be touching each other
exactly, which leaves you with gaps if your printer cannot print to the edge
of the paper. As of 1.3.5svn, There does not appear to be a way to edit these page sets
in the gui. You have to edit the file manually.
[3] Infrastructure Features: Spreading page contents over several pieces of paper, so you can print out a really big layout from your small printer:
Illustrator -- partial Papers can be laid down in a grid, but the edges can only touch the other
edges. If your printer cannot print across the entire paper all the way to
the edges, you are out of luck!
[4] Text Features: Math equations support:
Scribus -- partial As of 1.3.5 anyway, you can render formulas in Scribus Render Frames, then copy the frame, then paste
the frame while inside a text stream, from within a text frame. Pasting while in story editor will
paste a bunch of xml data
that is used as text rather than as an image. Suffice it to say inline graphics needs a bit of work.
[5] Importing: Multiple images at the same time:
Scribus -- plugin These
plugins allows you do dump in images potentially to multiple pages, but you are restricted to
a grid of 4, 6, or 12 images per page. If python programming doesn't scare you off, you could modify
it to be more adaptible.
[6] Importing: Html:
Scribus -- partial Using the "Get Text" option in a text frame.
CSS not supported yet. Text is pulled from the body element, and you can use these tags:
div, a, p, br, h1, h2, h3, h4, ol, ul, li, pre, code, b, u, i, em, strong, sub, sup, del, u.
[7] Importing: Scribus:
Laidout -- partial Scribus import works in .09 only with a couple large deficiencies. Master pages are
ignored, and passed through on export. Linked text frames seem to break.
Page data and other incidental data are
imported as Mystery Data, which can be exported back out
into a scribus document. Images whose frames do not match exactly with their image
boundaries are not handled correctly unless you import all data as mystery objects.
Importing images as images and keeping their clipping and contour paths
as well as other data preserving work is planned for version .091.
[8] Importing: TeX/LaTeX:
Scribus -- partial Scribus
render frames, in addition to TeX/LaTeX,
also allow importing many other formats, like gnuplot, lilypond, mathml, as long
as you have a renderer installed somewhere that can convert those things to an image format
or PDF that Scribus can import. You can edit the source text within Scribus,
then have the render frame re-render. The TeX input has a fancy symbol selector, which is convenient.
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