Why a word processor isn't the same
A word processor flows text down the page and moves your pictures with it. A page-layout app works the other way round: you place boxes for text and pictures exactly where you want them on a fixed page, and the text flows between the boxes you've linked. That's why a three-column newsletter or a folded leaflet is easy in Publisher and fiddly elsewhere.
What to look for in a replacement
- Page sizes from business card to A3 poster, with several pages and thumbnails.
- Text boxes that link, so a story can carry on in another column or on another page.
- Pictures you can crop, fit and fill in a frame; shapes, lines and layers.
- A master page for headers, footers and page numbers.
- Templates to start from.
- A PDF at the exact page size with real text, and a way to add bleed for the printers.
How Metre2 Desktop Publishing covers it
| Job | Free | Pro (£9.99 one-off) |
|---|---|---|
| Pages, sizes, thumbnails | Yes | Yes |
| Linked text boxes that flow | Yes | Yes |
| Pictures, shapes, lines, layers, align and group | Yes | Yes |
| Master page, rulers, guides and snapping | Yes | Yes |
| Templates | 6 starter templates and 8 blanks | 31 templates |
| Save as PDF, PNG and print | Yes | Yes |
| Mail merge from CSV or Excel (certificates, badges, labels) | - | Yes |
| Bleed and crop marks | - | Yes |
| Brand kit (your colours, fonts and logo) | - | Yes |
| Open .pub files | Not yet | Not yet |
Switching over
- Save the publications you'll reuse as PDF from Publisher - see how to open a .pub file without Publisher.
- Open Desktop Publishing in your browser to try it, or install the Windows app.
- Rebuild one publication from a template, using your original photos and text.
- Save it as a
.m2dpfile - that's now your editable master.
Printing it professionally
Save as PDF makes a PDF at the exact page size with sharp text. If colour or pictures run to the edge of the page, most UK printers ask for 3 mm of bleed on each side and crop marks; Desktop Publishing Pro adds both. Ask your printer whether they want fonts embedded and colours as RGB or CMYK before you send the file.