Scribus

Scribus (Template:IPAc-en) 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 interactive PDF presentations and forms. Example uses include writing newspapers, brochures, newsletters, posters, and books.

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

General feature overview

Scribus supports most major bitmap formats, including TIFF, JPEG, and PSD. Vector drawings can be imported or directly opened for editing. The long list of supported formats includes Encapsulated PostScript, SVG, Adobe Illustrator, and Xfig. Professional type/image-setting features include CMYK colors and ICC color management. It has a built-in scripting engine using 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, Type 1, and OpenType fonts. The internal driver supports full Level 2 PostScript constructs and a large subset of Level 3 constructs.

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>Template:Cite web</ref> including interactive PDFs form fields, annotations, and bookmarks.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Failed verification

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, 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>Template:Cite web</ref>

ScribusGenerator is a mail merge-like extension to Scribus.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Scribus 1.6 (and the 1.5 development branch)

Scribus 1.5.1 added PDF/X-4 support.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Initially, Scribus did not properly support 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>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref> In August 2012, it was announced that a third party had developed a system to support complex Indic scripts.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</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>Template:Cite web</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>Template:Cite web</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>Template:Cite web</ref>

Scribus 1.4.7 did not have OpenType alternative glyph support, so ligatures, for example, were not inserted automatically;<ref>Template:Cite web</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>Template:Cite web</ref>

Due to licensing issues, the software package does not include support for the 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>Template:Cite web</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>Template:Cite web</ref> and QuarkXPress Tag files, InDesign's IDML, as well as InCopy's ICML formats were added to the development branch.<ref>Template:Cite web</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>Template:Cite web</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>Template:Cite web</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>Template:Cite web</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>Template:Cite web</ref>

Books

Books about Scribus are available in several languages,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as is a manual for using Scribus 1.3 in desktop publishing.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Significant users

Janayugom, a Malayalam daily newspaper in Kerala, India, migrated all desktop publishing to Scribus and Gimp in November 2019, saving over 10 million Indian rupees (approximately US$130,000).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• Comparison of desktop publishing software
• List of desktop publishing software

External links

• Template:Official website
• Template:Libera.chat on Libera.chat

Tutorials

• From Jacci Howard Bear at LifeWire
• Book_HowToSCRIBUS-Digital.pdf Template:Webarchive
• For Scribus 1.4 from American Amateur Press Association
• Scribus 2013 hexagon Template:Webarchive
• Scribus 1.5.5 create a book cover Template:Webarchive
• scribus 1.4.6 A. J. Publishing using scribus by Dave Tribby
• scribus 1.5.5 path and Bézier curvesTemplate:In lang

Articles

• Free Desktop Publishing with Scribus at World Label. A blog post on using Scribus 1.3.5 to create labels.
• Open source desktop publishing with Scribus by William von Hagen, from IBM site.