Springboard Publisher II, an upgraded version of Springboard Publisher (see Desktop Reviews, May ’89), addresses only some of the earlier version's failings and adds a few new ones. It's aimed at desktop publishers who produce occasional fliers and newsletters — not at professionals. Word-processing, graphics, and page-layout tools are all included, as is a special version of SmartArt with six of Volume I‘s 15 effects (see reviews, October ’89 and January ’90). Springboard Publisher II is capable of doing this sophisticated work, but it suffers from a clunky, distracting interface, and like a certain brand of catsup, it's s-l-o-w — even if you're using a 68030-based machine.
HOW IT WORKS Like most DTP applications, Springboard Publisher puts text and graphic elements into frames. Unlike other DTP programs, it has no tool palette from which to choose the pointer, I-beam, text, or graphic-frame tools. To create a new frame, you must deselect everything on the page and then click and drag to draw a box. A dialog box appears in which you specify the thickness and pattern of its border and whether the box will be a text or graphics frame. To select a frame for resizing or moving, click once within it to make the cursor change to a four-way arrow.
If you double-click inside a text or graphics frame, you will be in editing mode. In a text frame, the cursor will change to an I-beam. Double-clicking on a graphics frame that contains a bitmapped graphic brings up standard tool and pattern palettes that look identical to those in the original MacPaint. If the frame contains a PICT or EP5F graphic, double-clicking on the frame brings up a different tool palette that permits only moving, resizing, or auto-flowing text around the graphic. Clicking outside the frame makes the tools disappear Having to remember how many times and exactly where to click is distracting.
Every page has a background text frame equal to the image area of the page: any frames you draw lie on top of it. This arrangement eliminates the need to draw a frame for body text. Body text goes into the background frame directly. This convenience creates a problem, however. To deselect everything on a page (as you must to draw a new frame) you can click only in the margins. Clicking within the image area selects the background frame.
WHAT'S WRONG Springboard Publisher II supports actual-size, 200-percent, fit-in-window, facing-page, and thumbnail views. But you can enter and edit text only in the actual-size view, either directly in text frames or in the faster “typing window,” which feels like a separate word processor. You'll need that separate typing window — especially if you're using a standard Mac Plus or SE. While I was editing text within a text frame in a one-page document on my Mac IIcx, there was a perceptible pause before each letter appeared on-screen. Using the typing window was faster than editing text in the text frame: still, my experience with this application (especially when flowing text through a 24-page document) made PageMaker seem spritely.
Springboard Publisher's word processor feels like Word 3,0. Only left tabs — with dot, dash, underline, or blank leaders — are supported. The inability to specify center, right, or decimal tabs limits the text-formatting possibilities. However, a spelling checker and a thesaurus are built in. Springboard Publisher II imports Word (even 4.0), Works 2.0, WriteNow 2.0, MacWrite, and text files, as we11 as MacPaint, Fu11Paint, PICT, and EPSF graphics.
Four font sizes (9-, 10-, 12-, and 14-point) and several styles are available as direct choices on the Font menu. Springboard Publisher II supports font sizes from 4 to 127 points and many more styles in the Font Format dialog box. It's counterintuitive to have two places in which to specify the same attributes — despite what Microsoft might say.
You can search for and replace strings of text, but not fonts and sizes. Automatic text wrap around irregularly shaped objects is easy. Kerning and leading are supported in 1-point increments. That's adequate for amateur users, but the minimum ruler division of one-eighth inch is too coarse even for them. There is no support for color or high-resolution bitmapped graphics.
THE BOTTOM LINE Although the list price of only $195 makes Springboard Publisher a must for occasional desktop publishers (Publish It!, the nearest price competitor, costs twice as much), occasional users shouldn't have to adjust to the interface or wait for the slow performance. If you need more than basic desktop publishing, get a real DTP application.
Lewis, Darryl. (April 1990). Springboard Publisher II. MacUser. (pgs. 74, 76).
Spinnaker Software Corporation
Applications
out of 10 (0 vote)
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2023-01-07 / 
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SpringbrdII.hqx
Emulating this? It could probably run under: 
Mini vMac
