2000-12-07: Calamus SL2000 available

SL2000 is the current Calamus for all important platforms. Only one document format for Mac, Windows and Atari. The multi-platform application is available for Windows (order the 'WindowsPack', please), TOS platforms and Apple Macintosh (order the 'TOSPack' for both TOS and Mac — MagiC Mac is required for Mac, too). Now as before we put much energy in fixing old program bugs and implementing new features. Making Calamus more stable than ever is our highest priority, we never had a more stable SL.

Calamus SL2000 is available! — Order right now!

MGI Calamus SL2000 Features

Chances since SL99 are marked red)

Supported platforms and hardware:

• Apple: Mac OS versions 7.6 up to Mac OS 9 with MagiC Mac (not included in the SL2000 package!), 100 MHz and more are recommended.
• Windows: Windows 95/98/NT 4.0/Win2000 with SL2000 WindowsPack (please chose 'WindowsPack' when ordering!), at least 300 MHz recommended.

• TOS: all current TOS systems (Atari TT, Falcon, Hades, Milan etc.) as well as their derivats and emulations (STEmulator, MagicPC etc.). Please chose 'TOS-Pack' when ordering.

  Hardware: at least 20 MB space on hard disk and at least 8 MB RAM for Calamus required, much more space on hard disk and in RAM are recommended for better performance.

  Screen resolution: at least 640 x 480 Pixel, 256 colors or TrueColor.

We put the Calamus SL2000 upgrade to the list of high important wishes to all Calamus users, who did not decide to upgrade until now. You will find many advantages working with the current Calamus SL2000.

The most important new features in the Calamus 'body':

• Old SL and Windows Calamus documents can be loaded.
• Very important for former Calamus Win95 users: SL2000 does not require a separate Transparency module.
• All dialogs have been modernized.
• Mask Module integrated in the Frame Module.
• Text Frame Scale-It function integrated in the Frame Module.
• Automatic Esthetic Text Justification: Some characters may now reach over the right resp. left border of the block text, according to their weight to give the appearance of an optically smoothed text block.
  Calamus SL offered this feature already one year before InDesign claimed this feature to be new!
• Super-/SubScript: Position and size can be defined as you like it.
• New Line Distance Type: "Line Grid". Set your (multi-column) text layouts in perfect register (even with more than one line grid per page!) – it is so easy now!
• All frame types can be anchored in text frames directly from the Calamus clip board.
• 3D dialogs (with WindowsPack, MagiC and other Multitasking AES available)
• Frame Handling: New: Copy frames on mouse dragging, new mouse cursor forms give visual state reports, etc.
• Coordinates Control Calculates: + – / * ^ and brackets
• Raster Image Converter: The Frame Module's special function group for raster images now converts between all used color formats to and fro: Monochrome, Grey, Grey (Pallette), RGB, RGB (Pallette), CYMK.
• Frames can be placed on the document's desktop (document window background) visible! Interesting new work area.
• Completely Redesigned Dialog Handling: All dialog objects can be used by keyboard, like with MS Windows.
• Thus you can finally scroll all list objects in all dialogs by keyboard.
• RasterCacheGenerator can be called from the Print dialog.
• RasterCacheGenerator can be switched off to give access to the built-in Ordered-Dithering Screen Raster (good choice for ink jets).
• "Save Settings Automatically" – now optional when quitting Calamus.
• TrueType Fontloader: Get access to TTF fonts (in PC format) finally – directly use them in Calamus beside and like your CFN fonts.
• Type-1 Fontloader: Get access to Type-1 PostScript fonts in Mac (no specified file suffix) and PC format (suffix PFB) – directly use them in Calamus beside and like your CFN fonts.
• Font Embedding: All loadable fonts can be embedded in the document (never again waste time looking for fonts when re-loading old documents).
• Frame-dependant Mouse Actions: Double clicks etc. in document windows can be defined now (e.g. define a double click on a text frame with pressed Alternate key to call the text editor Eddie).
• When moving tabulators, a help line is shown now.
• The module panels are placed in real GEM windows now.
• Create Frame Mode: Create Frame mode is no longer a default. Now you create a frame and the mouse cursor automatically switches back to the Frame Edit mode.
• Preview is available, first for fonts and some raster image formats (document and module preview under process).
• Images can be decompressed when "Fixing Document".
• The color of the Calamus help text output can be defined now.
• The general output resolution limit has been removed.

Modules, which will increase the SL2000 package:

• Imposition lite (output resolution max. 720 dpi)
• Barcode Generator with all 14 barcode families
• EDDIE lite: Text editor with many features
• FrankLIN (Control curve editor in full version, with preview and many control curves in the package)
• GDPS module (useful for Atari hardware only)
• Grey-to-K Converter now integrated in the new Color Edit dialog
• Gridplay module
• Histogram module
• HKS Pallette module
• Navigator (page control ruler for multi-page documents)
• Pling module (optional alarm after printing)
• Preview modules for various import formats
• RasterCacheGenerator, reviewed and increased in function
• SetDate functions now integrated in output
• Sort functions for colors integrated in the new Color Edit dialog
• StarScreening Lite (FM raster images up to 750 dpi)
• Toolbox PLUS
• Wopper (arrange your windows on a mouse click)
• Basic Two Users License (for one SL Serial Number).

Additional Drivers in the SL2000 package:

• ASCII Import/Export: very fast import with editable ASCII definition tables and smart preview
• GEM Import Driver
• GIF-89a Import Driver
• JPEG Import Driver
• Kodak PhotoCD Import Driver
• MacPrint: universal printer driver for MagiC Mac (access to all Apple Mac OS printer drivers)
• Megapaint-BLD Import Driver
• Photoshop-EPS Import Driver
• PICT Import Driver (up to 256c, for use with MagiC Mac only)
• TIFF Import/Export Driver completely reviewed: reads/writes all packed formats now, too
• VDIPrint: universal printer driver for TOS (access to all NVDI printer drivers)
• WinPrint: universal printer driver for SL2000 WindowsPack (access to all Windows printer drivers)

• Fade fonts: 4 faces (fadefade, fadeless, fadenorm, fademore) by Frank Müller
• Plage d'Oléron: 2 faces of the beach font by Sven Klügl
• invers Fontpool No. 1: 24 CFN headline fonts by Günter Honkomp

What about old modules, drivers and fonts?

All modules and drivers which are a part of the Calamus SL standard package will be shipped with the current version. All additional modules and drivers from MGI (DMC), adequate systems, FRS and invers that are registered here for your Calamus version will be added to current versions if neccessary. Your old CFN fonts can still be used.

If you own additional modules for a Windows Calamus, we will add the SL equivalents, where possible. Example: You bought Bridge v2.0 for Calamus NT 1.0, you will receive Bridge 2.0 for SL with your SL2000 upgrade. We will offer an upgrade to Bridge 4.x with enhanced functions with the shipment.