Such is the case with BeLight Software’s [url=http://www.belightsoft.com/products/swiftpublisher]Swift Publisher[/url]. BeLight’s software engineers have been busy as little bees (sorry, I had to) with several new programs, but they made time for a nice upgrade to Swift Publisher. They didn’t fix a couple of my nit-picky complaints about the program, but they added features galore — the most impressive of which is the integration of their own text-manipulation program, ArtText.

And best of all, the upgrade from version 1 to version 2 is free. Yes, a free upgrade. And this was already an inexpensive program at $45 (download edition).

You may remember (actually, probably not, it was a year and a half ago) my review of v. 1 of Swift Publisher. I gave it 7 out of 10. I had three small complaints with the program. Two remain unfixed: you still can’t group objects or relocate the zero point in the rulers. What they did fix was the uncertainty of the precise location of guides. As you move the guides, a popup box notifies you where the guide is located. One out of three ain’t bad (apologies to Meat Loaf).
But on to the new features. The biggest and best is, as already mentioned, integration with ArtText. ArtText is a program similar to TypeStyler to make fancy graphics and logos with type or shapes. You can bevel and color and drop shadow and that doesn’t even scratch the surface. But instead of making your artwork in ArtText, exporting it as something like an EPS, TIFF or PDF and importing it into your layout program, here you can directly move it from ArtText to Swift Publisher.

I mentioned Smart Shapes in the first review, and developers have extended their use in this version. You can now fill Smart Shapes with pictures to make cool frames. Although BeLight seems proud of the integration of iPhoto with Swift Publisher, I couldn’t find a way to get a photo directly from iPhoto into a Smart Shape. But I was able to easily get photos from the hard drive.

For the more professional designer, you can now convert all text incidences to curves, or vector images, so you don’t have to worry about font inclusion when sending files to a print shop (PDF and EPS export). They’ve also added tables, which can include both text and graphic objects, and page thumbnails for rapid navigation through larger files. There are 20 new template designs added in the boxed version. Customers of the version 1 box version will be able to get the new templates, according to a post on the BeLight forum, but I couldn’t find them as of the writing of this review. There are other new features specifically suited to the professional designer included in the new version.

I could simply list more new features, but you can read them at the BeLight Web site or experience them in the free demo download.

The Good

This is still the easiest page design program I’ve used (and I work on publishing programs daily). It makes the anathema of publishing programs, Microsoft Publisher, look like a terribly amateurish try at a program. And using the templates, just about anyone should be able to make professional looking flyers and brochures.

The Bad

Now everyone can be a publisher.

The Ugly

Move on along — nothing to see here.

The Bottom Line

For US$45, this is a steal. It is simply what Pages (Apple’s competitor to this program), should have been, and at about half the price. This is really a bargain. Run out and buy it. But spend the extra $14 ($5 + $9 shipping and handling) for the box edition, which includes all the tremendous clip art and templates. ArtText is sold separately for $30.

Macsimum rating 8 out of 10.