QuarkXPress 6.0

Editors' rating

Average

5.7

out of 10

The good: Mac OS X native; finally includes multiple undo; layout spaces; better tables and layers; full-resolution preview.
The bad: Paranoid support policies; also-ran HTML and PDF handling; file compatibility problems; no printed manual; no transparencies or drop shadows.
The bottom line: Upgrade if you're a legacy QuarkXPress user and want Mac OS X support; otherwise, try Adobe InDesign.

Reviewed by:
Daniel Drew Turner
Review date: 9/3/03

Intro of QuarkXPress 6.0

When QuarkXPress ruled desktop publishing, it could afford to make users wait...and wait...for each new version to come out. But in the long interim between versions 5.0 and 6.0, Adobe's InDesign had plenty of time to convert QuarkXPress users. Despite the new threat, Quark XPress 6.0 adds only a few new features--some useful, others long overdue. We didn't see the stability issues that many have reported, but we did have some trouble opening legacy XPress files. Its new support for Mac OS X will be crucial to many who've held off updating their OS just for this. Unless you or your business is tied to Quark, however, InDesign's progressive features and integration with Photoshop, Illustrator, and InCopy could be worth checking out.