Adobe Announces InDesign, Acrobat 4.0 -- At last week's Seybold show, Adobe Systems previewed its forthcoming publishing application InDesign and Acrobat 4.0. InDesign, widely known by its codename K2, is a new page layout program aimed at the high end publishing market dominated by QuarkXPress. Although InDesign won't offer a radical departure from the interface of other page layout programs, it will feature multiple document views, unlimited undos, sophisticated typographic controls, extensive scriptability, and a modular design that provides expansive opportunities for third party developers to develop InDesign add-ons. InDesign won't replace PageMaker, which Adobe intends to refocus toward business users. Adobe says InDesign, which will require Mac OS 8.5.1 or higher with at least 48 MB of RAM, will be available mid-year at a list price of $700.

Adobe also previewed Acrobat 4.0, due to ship later this month at a list price of $250 (Acrobat Reader 4.0 will be freely available). Acrobat 4.0 will offer improved PDF annotation features, text editing, and the ability to edit images in PDF documents via user-selected graphics applications. Acrobat 4.0 will also enable users to create PDFs optimized for a specific purpose, from on-screen use to printing at a high-end service bureau. However, the Macintosh version of Acrobat 4.0 will lack many new features in the Windows version, including digital signatures, the capability to convert Web sites to PDF, and integration with Microsoft Office. Adobe plans to release these features for the Mac in a future update. [GD]

<http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/indesign/>
<http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/>