Pagemaker 6.5 viability nowadays

[dmusicant]

I came here for some Visual FoxPro help, but noticed a Pagemaker forum, a surprise! I studied Pagemaker 5.0 at a community college some 20 years ago, hoping to develop a DTP home business, buying an HP4M printer. Well, I got decent, got a job or two but it never got off the ground, eventually got into FoxPro programming. However, I still use Pagemaker (upgraded to 6.5), and have files numbering in the hundreds, some of which I come back to.

In another forum people were chiding me for staying with Pagemaker. After all, I can't run it in Windows 7 (not without running a special Windows XP within it), so I use it on my Windows XP machines. The reasons I don't want to move to another DTP programs are the obvious:

1. I have a ton of files I can and do go back to form time to time.
2. I know Pagemaker fairly well, well enough to produce what I want, exactly how I want. Of course, there's a lot I don't know, but I know a lot of basic stuff.

People told me I should get a newer program, one I can use in the newer operating systems. However, aside from the learning curve I'm doubtful that I can move my Pagemaker 6.5 files over to the new program. Is it possible to do that? How do you people deal with the legacy aspects of Pagemaker?

 

[MakeItSo]

I know what it must feel like for you and there surely is no 100% easy AND cheap solution AND one without a learning curve.
OS incompatibility is a b*tch.

You might think about getting Indesign CS6.

CS6 can open PageMaker files, albeit with a bit of loss, depending on the structure of your files:

http://helpx.adobe.com/creative-suite/kb/open-pagemaker-files-indesign.html

Indesign CC cannot open PM files. So if you should decide to migrate to CC, find someone with CS6 to convert the PM files for you.

Hope this helps!

MakeItSo

“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” (Kofi Annan)
Oppose SOPA, PIPA, ACTA; measures to curb freedom of information under whatever name whatsoever.

 

[dmusicant]

Thank you. I know exactly nothing about InDesign. I can google, but think I should ask here first for links or a short explanation of what CC, CS6, etc. are. I bought a student version of PM 5.0 in ~1993, bought the student upgrade to PM 6.5 when it came out. What are my options for upgrading to ID? Thanks!

 

[MakeItSo]

I suggest you first look into InDesign the cheapest way: for free.

Adobe has made its Creative Suite CS2 freeware and that includes InDesign (CS = ID, Acrobat, Photoshop etc.). You can download it from here:

https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/entitlement/index.cfm?e=cs2_downloads&loc=en

Hint: Better try it on your XP machine, else you might damage your PM files on trying to convert!

CS is short for Creative Suite and the numbers represent the version. AFAIK, CS2 won't be able to open PM files - at least not directly - whilst CS6 can.
Then again, this post says differently, so you might give it a shot:

http://www.ehow.com/how_5924165_change-pagemaker-document-indesign-cs2.html

CS6 is the latest - and last - desktop version. CC means "Creative Cloud" and is Adobe's SW lease model meaning you don't buy the product but lease it on a monthly basis. Personally I think that's crap, but there may be some for whom this model is superior.

Anyway, my recommendation for now: download and install CS2 first, start InDesign, play around with it assisted by the documentation/online help or simply google for help.

Hope this gives you a good head start!

Cheers,
MakeItSo

“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” (Kofi Annan)
Oppose SOPA, PIPA, ACTA; measures to curb freedom of information under whatever name whatsoever.

 

[dmusicant]

Thank you. I've downloaded the installation files and printed out the PDF instructions for installation of CS2. Am looking to install this week. The downloaded files are:

CREATIVESUITECS2DISC1.EXE
CREATIVESUITECS2DISC2.EXE
CREATIVESUITECS2DISC3.EXE
CS2_INSTALL_WIN.PDF
CS_2.0_WWE_EXTRAS_1.EXE
VCS2.ZIP

May I ask a question, please? The machine I'm on right at the moment runs Windows XP, and of course, PM6.5 works on it. I'm thinking strongly of upgrading the machine to Windows 7, likely a 32 bit version. Will PM6.5 run in that OS? If I do the "upgrade" I will have to choose between the Home Premium and the Professional versions. The Professional version supports "Run XP programs in Windows XP Mode." Would this help in running PM6.5? Thank you for your comments.

 

[MakeItSo]

XP Mode might help - but it is far from ideal. For PM 6.5, I'd recommend using a virtual machine with a clean XP SP3 installation instead.
You should however install InDesign under XP first, get acquainted with it - and convert your PMDs while still under XP.
You should not risk upgrading before you've converted all your PMDs. PageMaker is a 20 year old software and quite outdated now. Don't try to force a modern OS on it.
ID will run fine under both XP and Win 7, no danger to your files - the same cannot be said for PM...

“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” (Kofi Annan)
Oppose SOPA, PIPA, ACTA; measures to curb freedom of information under whatever name whatsoever.