Classroom Software

Here is the editing software we use in Acumen Training classes. These are each available in both Mac and Windows versions. A few notes:

• These programs were all written for use with in-class examples and exercises. That being the case, bugs are fixed and features are added with a speed dependent upon how much the particular bug or feature affects class. That said, if you have a request or bug report, do please contact me.
• TextPS and TextXPS are relatively new. Both of these will likely exhibit playful behavior on occasion.
• There is, as yet, no documentation for this software. If you were an Acumen Training class, you've already used at least one of these programs; the others work very similarly. Minimal users' manuals for these are on my To-Do Queue, but see point 1, above.

TextPS

This is the new replacement for the long-standing Acumen Editor. This PostScript-aware text editor lets you edit PostScript files and then conveniently hand them to Distiller, Jaws PDF Creator, or GhostScript (or anything else you like) for display.

When you tell TextPS to display a PostScript file, it opens the file in your PostScript interpreter (according to what software your system associates with PostScript files). If the RIP creates a PDF file, TextPS opens that file in your PDF Viewer.

TextPS 1.0.1, MacOS 10.4.0 or later (2.2 MB)
TextPS 1.0.1, Windows XP or later (2.1 MB)

TextPDF

This is the longest-standing of the Acumen Training editors. This editor allows you to open a PDF file as text, examine and modify the PDF code, and then view the file in your PDF viewer. The editor presents you with a clickable list of the file's PDF objects for easy navigation within the file.

You must have a PDF viewer of some flavor installed in order to view your PDF files from within TextPDF.

TextPDF, MacOS 4.0 or later (5.5 MB)
TextPDF, Windows XP or later (3.1 MB)

TextXPS

The TextXPS application allows you to edit the XML parts of an XPS file. When you open a file, its component parts appear in a clickable list along the left side of the window. You can view and edit the XML, view the images, examine the fonts, and then view the XPS document in whatever viewer your system associates with XPS.

Windows Vista and later can display XPS documents natively; an XPS viewer is available for Windows XP from Microsoft's website. On the Mac, NiXPS does an excellent job of displaying XPS files.

TextPDF, MacOS 4.0 or later (6.4 MB)
TextPDF, Windows XP or later (2.6 MB)

Copyright © 2012 John Deubert