New in VivaDesigner 9.0

VivaDesigner 9.0 has been improved and extended in many areas. As well as new functions, particularly the speed has been considerably improved. Please note that not all new functions are available in all editions (Free, Personal, EDU/NPO Edition for Desktop and Basic Web Edition). Only in the Commercial Edition for Desktop and in the Advanced Web Edition will you find all the new functions.

01: Improved User Interface

The user interface has been completely overhauled: Palettes can now not only be stacked but also minimised, opened and combined in new groups. The palettes are displayed in the same way on all platforms and, with just a few exceptions (Mac OS), provide the same functionality. An additional new feature is the “Quick Access” bar palette with the most important attributes. The new user interface is a great advantage, particularly for Mac users.

02: 64 Bit support

The new version 9 is available both as a 32 Bit and as a 64 Bit version.

03: PDF 2.0, PDF/X-4 & PDF/X-5

Previous versions support PDF formats up to PDF 1.6 and PDF/X-3. With Version 9 you can also create documents in the formats PDF 1.7 and PDF 2.0. Furthermore, Version 9 supports the PDF/X-4, PDF/X-4p and even the PDF/X-5g and PDF/X-5pg formats. The user interface for the creation of PDF/X files has been improved from the bottom up, so that even beginners should be able to create correct PDF/X documents. Version 9 also supports PDF layers.

04: New Code options

Create over 30 different bar codes in VivaDesigner without any additional software. The list includes such popular codes as QR Code, Micro QR Code, Data Matrix, EAN, UPC, ISBN, Pharmacode, Code One, Codebar, Databar and many codes from post office companies such as Deutsche Post, Australia Post, Royal Mail, Dutch Post and much more.

05: New PSD & PSB import

Import images in the native PSD format or, for very large images, in PSB format, and use the image layers option to switch individual components on and off.

06: Improved EPS Handling

Working with EPS files has been significantly improved: With the new PostScript Renderer technology, VivaDesigner creates a crisp preview of vector EPS images on all platforms. If the use of embedded previews is deactivated in the Preferences, the sharpness and color rendering of EPS Bitmap images also is frequently improved. With this new technology, EPS images can also be used in a PDF workflow.

07: New effects

Use new effects on objects that thanks to the native transparency support of PDF/X-4 and PDF/X-5 can be output perfectly. These include “Inner Shadow”, “Inner and Outer Glow”, “Color Overlay” and the novel “reflection effect”. With the “Preflight” option, you can also still check your document for effects.

08: New JPEG2000 import

Import images in the native JPEG2000 format. These images are much smaller than the usual JPG images and also have a better quality, as JPEG2000 images are saved loss-free.

09: Improved path options

With the improved path tool you already create line and curve segments while drawing. Paths may also be closed or opened afterwards, and the beginning of a path can be recognized immediately due to a new special selection handle. Furthermore, new anchor or control handles can be inserted in any position of a line or curve segment.

10: Interactive scaling

Up to now, groups could be scaled using the dialog. With Version 9, not only groups but also all selected objects without any grouping can be scaled interactively, both freely and proportionally (A). A new sizing handle (B) helps you with interactive proportional scaling. Use an additional key or this new sizing handle to scale not only the object shape but also content such as images or text.

11: New layout aids

VivaDesigner provides a large number of layout aids such as Guide Lines, Grid, Baseline Grid, Smart Guides and Guide Objects. As from Version 9 you will also have a Document Grid as well as a customizable bleed area.

12: New HTML text import

With the new HTML import you can import HTML text perfectly with all its attributes. The tags or class definitions used in HTML are automatically mapped to existing style sheets in the document. In this way you can create text in any browser application and display it in VivaDesigner in different styles, always with typographic perfection. This all works fully automatically without any programming, complicated tables of manual editing. This option is particularly suited for working with CMS or publishing systems and VIVA publishing servers.

13: High resolution monitors (UHD, 4K, 5 K)

Display documents perfectly on ultra-high resolution monitors with 4000 or 5000 pixels on all operating systems (Windows & Linux now, Mac OS from August 2016). All control elements and icons adapt to the monitor resolution and are always displayed as crisp/sharp. Furthermore, as from Version 9 the view command “Original Size” (100%) corresponds to the real page size, irrelevant of the resolution of the monitor.

Technical Note:
In order to support low and high resolution screens at the same time, the way the VivaDesigner works has changed. In older versions images were displayed for symbols/icons in the program. Starting with version 9, the symbols/icons are generated dynamically based on the screen...

14: New text variables

The text variables for the date formats have been extended. Insert a creation or modification date in your text so always to be up to date. Choose one of the predefined date formats or create an individual date format using 31 predefined abbreviations for the year, quarter, month, week, day or time. Of particular interest is the free choice offset, with which you can output a date in the past or the future. If for example you are creating packaging, you can use this option to define a minimum shelf life or “use by” date

15: Extended gesture support

The new VivaDesigner on Mac OS X supports gestures for zooming in and out of the document, the crop of an image in a picture object, the rotation of selected objects and the rotation of the image crop in the picture object.

16: Layouts with more than 2GB

The limitation of the layout file size to 2 Gigabyte has been removed. This is particularly relevant to the embedding of large amounts of data for images, as you will find in a photo book application.

New and improved guides

Working with Smart Guides has been drastically improved. The option now also addresses normal guides/guide objects as well as the new bleed option that can be defined in the document settings.

New Eyedropper function

With the Eyedropper function you apply all the attributes of an object, text or an image to other objects, text or images in seconds.

New Grayscale View

If you create layouts in color that will later be printed on monochrome, it is often hard to imagine the effect of the layout. With the new option “Grayscale View” you can simulate this effect directly on your screen.

New layer functions

Duplicate layers with optional content takeover and automatic application of a language. In translation, for example, this option saves you the deletion of content in one language variation as well as the assignment of the new target language for every single text object in the document. Furthermore, in combination with the “Team Publishing” module, all objects on a layer may be applied to an assignment with a single keystroke.

New Script technology

With the new Script technology, you can automate your work with VivaDesigner. Use scripts to carry out complex operations or even to create completely new functions yourself that make your work much easier. Manipulate documents, pages, objects, text, images, tables, layers, colors or style sheets fully automatically – the possibilities are almost endless. Scripts are created in the standard language JavaScript and work on every platform.

Novel driving options for views and layers

You can not only split your document view but also synchronise navigation between the window splittings. Furthermore, for every window splitting you can define the layer display separately. For a document with several language levels, you can for example display the English text in one view and the German text in the other in parallel (layers).