Scribus

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{{short description|Desktop publishing application}}
{{Primary sources|date=October 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}

{{infobox software
| name = Scribus
| logo = Scribus logo.svg
| logo size = 60px
| screenshot = Scribus_1.4.6_on_Linux_Mint_18.png
| caption = Scribus 1.4.6 under [[Linux Mint]] 18
| collapsible =
| developer = The Scribus Team
| released = {{Start date and age|df=yes|2001|06|16}}
| discontinued =
| latest release version = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q8295|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| latest release date = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q8295|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
| latest preview version = 
| latest preview date = 
| programming language = [[C++]] ([[Qt (software)|Qt]])
| operating system = Linux/UNIX Mac OS X 10.5-10.8 (up to 1.4.8) Mac OS X 10.9 (64-bit, up to 1.5.3), Mac OS X 10.10-10.12 (64-bit, up to 1.5.4), macOS X 10.13 (64-bit, up to 1.5.5) Windows 2000 (32-bit, up to 1.5.0), Windows Vista (64-bit), Windows 7 OS/2 Warp 4/eComStation (up to 1.5.0) ArcaOS FreeBSD (up to 1.5.0), PC-BSD (up to 1.5.0), OpenBSD (up to 1.5.0), NetBSD (up to 1.5.0) Solaris (up to 1.4.8) OpenIndiana (up to 1.5.0) GNU/Hurd Haiku
| platform =
| size =
| language = [[Multilingual]]
| genre = [[Desktop publishing]]
| license = [[GNU Lesser General Public License|GNU LGPL 2.1]], [[MIT License|MIT]], [[BSD Licenses|3-clause BSD]], [[Public domain]]
| website = {{url|https://www.scribus.net}}
}}

'''Scribus''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|k|r|aɪ|b|ə|s}}) is [[free and open-source]] [[desktop publishing]] (DTP) software available for most desktop operating systems. It is designed for layout, [[typesetting]], and preparation of files for professional-quality image-setting equipment. Scribus can also create animated and [[Portable Document Format#Multimedia|interactive PDF]] presentations and forms. Example uses include writing newspapers, brochures, [[Newsletter|newsletters]], posters, and books.


Scribus is written in [[Qt (software)|Qt]] and released under the [[GNU General Public License]]. There are native versions available for [[Unix]], [[Linux]], [[Berkeley Software Distribution|BSD]], [[macOS]], [[Haiku (operating system)|Haiku]], [[Microsoft Windows]], [[OS/2]] (including [[ArcaOS]] and [[eComStation]]) operating systems.

==General feature overview==
Scribus supports most major [[Raster graphics|bitmap format]]s, including [[TIFF]], [[JPEG]], and [[PSD (file format)|PSD]]. [[Vector graphics|Vector drawings]] can be imported or directly opened for editing. The long list of supported formats includes [[Encapsulated PostScript]], [[Scalable Vector Graphics|SVG]], [[Adobe Illustrator]], and [[Xfig]]. Professional type/image-setting features include [[CMYK color model|CMYK]] colors and [[International Color Consortium|ICC]] [[color management]]. It has a built-in [[Scripting language|scripting engine]] using [[Python (programming language)|Python]]. It is available in 60 languages.

High-level printing is achieved using its own internal level 3 [[PostScript]] driver, including support for [[font]] embedding and sub-setting with [[TrueType]], [[PostScript fonts#Type 1|Type 1]], and [[OpenType]] fonts. The internal driver supports full Level 2 PostScript constructs and a large subset of Level 3 constructs.

[[Portable Document Format|PDF]] support includes transparency, encryption, and a large set of the PDF 1.5 specification including layers (OCG), as well as [[PDF/X]]-3,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://docs.scribus.net/index.php?lang=en&page=pdfx3 |title=Scribus PDF/X-3 Overview |access-date=22 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718190917/http://docs.scribus.net/index.php?lang=en&page=pdfx3 |archive-date=18 July 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> including interactive PDFs form fields, annotations, and bookmarks.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wiki.scribus.net/canvas/1.5.0_Release|title=1.5.0 Release - Scribus Wiki|website=wiki.scribus.net|language=en|access-date=2018-09-11}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=March 2021}}

The current file format, called SLA, is [[XML]]. Old versions of SLA were based on XML. Text can be imported from [[OpenDocument]] (ODT) text documents (such as from [[LibreOffice]] Writer), [[OpenOffice.org XML]] ([[OpenOffice.org]] Writer's SXW files), [[Microsoft Word]]'s [[Doc (computing)|DOC]], [[PDB (Palm OS)|PDB]], and [[HTML]] formats (although some limitations apply). ODT files can typically be imported along with their paragraph styles, which are then created in Scribus. HTML tags which modify text, such as '''bold''' and ''italic'', are supported. Word and PDB documents are only imported as plain text.<ref>{{Cite web| title=Scribus 1.5.2 Data Sheet | url=https://wiki.scribus.net/wiki/images/9/93/Scribus-specs-152.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190823112005/https://wiki.scribus.net/wiki/images/9/93/Scribus-specs-152.pdf | archive-date=2019-08-23}}</ref>

ScribusGenerator is a [[mail merge]]-like extension to Scribus.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://github.com/berteh/ScribusGenerator|title=berteh/ScribusGenerator|date=25 April 2021|via=GitHub}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://berteh.github.io/ScribusGenerator/|title=ScribusGenerator|website=ScribusGenerator}}</ref>

===Scribus 1.6 (and the 1.5 development branch)===
Scribus 1.5.1 added PDF/X-4 support.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wiki.scribus.net/canvas/1.5.1_Release|title=1.5.1 Release - Scribus Wiki|website=wiki.scribus.net|language=en|access-date=2018-09-11}}</ref>

Initially, Scribus did not properly support [[complex text layout|complex script rendering]] and so could not be used with [[Unicode]] text for languages written in Arabic, Hebrew, Indic, and Southeast Asian writing systems, even though it supported Unicode character encoding.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bugs.scribus.net/view.php?id=3965|title=0003965: Metabug: Support for non-latin languages - Mantis Issue Tracker for Scribus|website=bugs.scribus.net|access-date=2018-09-11}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://bugs.scribus.net/view.php?id=1547|title=0001547: Support for Indic Scripts - Mantis Issue Tracker for Scribus|website=bugs.scribus.net|access-date=2018-09-11}}</ref> In August 2012, it was announced that a third party had developed a system to support complex Indic scripts.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://lists.scribus.net/pipermail/scribus/2012-August/047258.html
| title = Indic Unicode support for Scribus is developed
| author = DAKF
| date = 15 August 2012
| work = scribus mailing list
| access-date = 11 October 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| url = https://wiki.scribus.net/canvas/Complex_Script_Functionality
| title = Complex Script Functionality
| work = Scribus Wiki
| access-date = 11 October 2012}}</ref><ref name="auto"/> In May 2015 it was announced that the ScribusCTL project had started to improve complex layout by integrating the OpenType text-shaping engine [[HarfBuzz]] into the official Scribus 1.5.1svn branch.<ref>{{cite web
| url = https://www.scribus.net/scribusctl-project-started/
| title = ScribusCTL project started
| work = Scribus News
| access-date = 9 December 2015}}</ref> In July 2016 it was announced that the text layout engine had been rewritten from scratch in preparation for support of complex scripts coming in Scribus 1.5.3 and later.<ref>{{cite web
| url = https://wiki.scribus.net/canvas/1.5.2_Release
| title = 1.5.2 Release
| work = Scribus Wiki
| access-date = 22 July 2016}}</ref> In December 2016 Scribus announced they got support for OpenType advanced feature in 1.5.3svn, as well as complex script and RTL direction.<ref>{{cite web
| url = https://www.scribus.net/new-text-layout-engine-with-full-opentype-support/
| title = New Text Layout Engine with Full OpenType Support
| work = Scribus News
| access-date = 8 December 2016}}</ref>

Scribus 1.4.7 did not have OpenType alternative glyph support, so ligatures, for example, were not inserted automatically;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bugs.scribus.net/view.php?id=1413|title=0001413: Support for OpenType alternate glyphs - Mantis Issue Tracker for Scribus|website=bugs.scribus.net|access-date=2018-09-11}}</ref> this became available from v1.5.3.

==Support for other programs and formats==
Scribus cannot read or write the native file formats of other desktop publishing programs such as [[QuarkXPress]] or [[InDesign]]; the developers consider that reverse engineering those file formats would be prohibitively complex and could risk legal action from the makers of those programs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wiki.scribus.net/canvas/Why_Scribus_doesn't_support_QuarkXpress_and_other_major_publishing_applications|title=Why Scribus doesn't support QuarkXpress and other major publishing applications - Scribus Wiki|website=wiki.scribus.net|language=en|access-date=2018-09-11}}</ref>

Due to licensing issues, the software package does not include support for the [[Pantone Matching System|Pantone color matching system (PMS)]], which is included in some commercial desktop publishing applications. Pantone colors can be obtained and incorporated within Scribus without licensing issues.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wiki.scribus.net/canvas/How_to_legally_obtain_spot_colour_palettes_for_use_in_Scribus_1.3.3.x_and_later_versions|title=How to legally obtain spot colour palettes for use in Scribus 1.3.3.x and later versions - Scribus Wiki|website=wiki.scribus.net|language=en|access-date=2018-09-11}}</ref> Scribus is shipped with more than 100 color palettes, most donated by various commercial color vendors, but also including scientific, national, and government color standards.

===Scribus 1.6 (and the 1.5 development branch)===
Support for importing [[Microsoft Publisher]] is incorporated into version 1.5,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wiki.scribus.net/canvas/Scribus_1.5.0_Release_Schedule|title=Scribus 1.5.0 Release Schedule - Scribus Wiki|website=wiki.scribus.net|language=en|access-date=2018-09-11}}</ref> and QuarkXPress Tag files, InDesign's IDML, as well as InCopy's ICML formats were added to the development branch.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wiki.scribus.net/canvas/File_formats_that_should_be_supported_by_Scribus_(wish_list)|title=File formats that should be supported by Scribus (wish list) - Scribus Wiki|website=wiki.scribus.net|language=en|access-date=2018-09-11}}</ref>

Scribus 1.5.3 onwards contains more than 300 color palettes.

German Organisation freieFarbe e.V. built last HLC Colour Atlas for real colours based on CIELAB. This free Colour Palette is also available in Scribus 1.5.4+.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scribus.net/hlc-colour-atlas-released/|title=HLC Colour Atlas Released – Scribus|website=www.scribus.net|language=en-US|access-date=2018-09-11}}</ref>

Scribus 1.5.6 supports native PDF export with embedded open type fonts and PDF 1.6. [[Python 3]] is now default in scripts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://w.scribus.net/wiki/index.php/1.5.6.1_Release|title=1.5.6.1 Release - Scribus|website=w.scribus.net|access-date=25 November 2020|archive-date=12 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220212191601/https://w.scribus.net/wiki/index.php/1.5.6.1_Release|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Scribus 1.5.7 improves undo and redo action. Qt 5.14 is new base for compilation and 3rd party components have newer versions.
Next version is 1.5.8 as perhaps last step before 1.6.0.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bugs.scribus.net/changelog_page.php?version_id=114|title = Change Log - Mantis Issue Tracker for Scribus}}</ref>

From view of developers Version 1.5.7 is stable. There are no new versions in pipe with backports for the 1.4 tree with the near end of Qt4 support in most systems.

Scribus 1.5.8 supports full Python 3 support also for MacOS and modern UI features like Dark Mode.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scribus.net/scribus-1-5-8-released/|title = Scribus 1.5.8 released – Scribus}}</ref>

==Books==
Books about Scribus are available in several languages,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://wiki.scribus.net/canvas/Books |title=Books about Scribus|website=Scribus wiki|access-date= 16 June 2016}}</ref> as is a manual for using Scribus 1.3 in desktop publishing.<ref>{{cite book |title= Scribus: Open Source Desktop Publishing : the Official Manual |author1-last= Pittman |author1-first= Gregory |author2-last= Schäfer |author2-first=Christoph |publisher= FLES Books |year= 2009 }}</ref>

==Significant users==
''[[Janayugom]]'', a [[Malayalam]] daily newspaper in [[Kerala]], [[India]], migrated all desktop publishing to Scribus and [[GIMP|Gimp]] in November 2019, saving over 10 million Indian rupees (approximately [[US$]]130,000).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/thiruvananthapuram/2019/nov/02/free-open-source-software-will-offer-solutions-to-it-startups-pinarayi-2055860.html|title=Free, open-source software will offer solutions to IT startups: Pinarayi|website=The New Indian Express|date=2 November 2019 }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Comparison of desktop publishing software]]
* [[List of desktop publishing software]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}
{{commons category}}
{{Wikibooks|Scribus}}
* {{Official website|https://www.scribus.net}}
* {{libera.chat|scribus}} on [[Libera.chat]]

===Tutorials===
* [https://www.lifewire.com/scribus-software-tutorials-1078942 From Jacci Howard Bear at LifeWire]
* [https://onebookshelfpublisherservice.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/article_attachments/212626267/Book_HowToSCRIBUS-Digital.pdf Book_HowToSCRIBUS-Digital.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105043102/https://onebookshelfpublisherservice.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/article_attachments/212626267/Book_HowToSCRIBUS-Digital.pdf |date=5 January 2019 }}
* For Scribus 1.4 [https://www.aapainfo.org/scribus.html from American Amateur Press Association]
* Scribus 2013 [https://my-hexagon.com/rep/Scribus_tutorial.pdf hexagon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920175436/http://my-hexagon.com/rep/Scribus_tutorial.pdf |date=20 September 2018 }}
* Scribus 1.5.5 [https://www.darkartistry.com/2019/11/scribus-1-5-5-book-cover-tutorial-video/ create a book cover] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128231813/https://www.darkartistry.com/2019/11/scribus-1-5-5-book-cover-tutorial-video/ |date=28 January 2022 }}
* scribus 1.4.6 [https://www.aapainfo.org/scribus.html A. J. Publishing using scribus by Dave Tribby]
* scribus 1.5.5 [https://www.rgb-labs.com/scribus-010-pfade-bezier-kurven-1/ path and Bézier curves]{{In lang|de}}

===Articles===
* [http://blog.worldlabel.com/2009/free-desktop-publishing-with-scribus-open-source.html Free Desktop Publishing with Scribus] at World Label. A blog post on using Scribus 1.3.5 to create labels.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140716193315/http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/os-scribus/index.html Open source desktop publishing with Scribus] by William von Hagen, from IBM site.

{{Desktop publishing software}}
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[[Category:Cross-platform software]]
[[Category:Desktop publishing software for Linux]]
[[Category:Desktop publishing software for macOS]]
[[Category:Desktop publishing software for Windows]]
[[Category:Free desktop publishing software]]
[[Category:Free educational software]]
[[Category:Free multilingual software]]
[[Category:Free PDF software]]
[[Category:Free software programmed in C++]]
[[Category:Free typesetting software]]
[[Category:Software that uses Cairo (graphics)]]
[[Category:Software that uses Qt]]
[[Category:2001 software]]

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