QuarkXPress 9 TestDrive, a 30-day demo version of the latest version of Quark’s flagship application is now available for download, three weeks before the full version goes on sale.
Quark says that the Test Drive version is fully functional for 30 days, including the ability to save files and print documents. It can also open documents from QuarkXPress 3 and later.
The Test Drive can be converted to a full version of QuarkXPress 9 from 26 April, by entering validation code provided at purchase and then re-starting the application.
QuarkXPress 9′s headline new feature is App Studio, which will allow users to ‘create customised apps for the iPad, distribute their apps through the Apple App Store, and then publish richly designed, interactive content to the app,’ according to Quark.
The App Studio won’t be included when XPress 9 ships, but the company has promised that it will be made available as a free update within 90 days of the ship date.
QuarkXPress 9 will also allow designers to create content for the Blio eReader and for ePub. It includes features to automate parts of the design process, such as; Conditional Styles, Bullets and Numbering, and Callouts. There’s also a ShapeMaker, a wizard-based tool for creating or modifying complex shapes, and Cloner, which allows items or pages to be copied to multiple other pages or layouts.
QuarkXPress 9 will cost £779, or £279 for an upgrade from QuarkXPress 7 or 8 when it launches later this month.
