January 29 , 2004
Now available: version 5.0 of the K4 Publishing System, the new standard for professional publishing workflows. With support for Adobe® InDesign® CS and Adobe InCopy® CS, this major upgrade offers a robust set of new features and enhancements, many as a result of specific requests from K4 customers in the U.S. and abroad. New features in version 5.0 include support for ads, images and multimedia objects, enhanced use of XML for structuring content within the system, and new workflow capabilities for other file types such as word processing and spreadsheet files.

K4 version 5.0 offers fully customizable status workflows and metadata handling for ads, images and audio/video objects in addition to layouts and text articles. Asset management and ad planning solutions and processes can now be linked to K4, increasing workflow integrity and further enhancing K4's position as a core component in complete, end-to-end workflow environments.

With the system's enhanced use of XML, all text objects, graphics, photos, and ads can be tagged and neatly arranged for efficient viewing and access. Content can be structured hierarchically so that a story is organized into all its parts, with captions and photo credits associated to their photo. In addition, K4 will also allow a specific workflow for multimedia elements such as movies and audio, which can be embedded in InDesign CS layouts to come to life in PDFs or on Web pages. By taking advantage of the native XML capabilities of InDesign and InCopy, K4 ensures the integrity of content structure as a natural result of everyday publishing processes for designers and editors.

A new Java-based File Manager client enables users to check in and out any type of file to and from the K4 database and route it through a fully customizable status workflow. With this new client, Microsoft Word manuscripts, Excel spreadsheet tables and schedules, or any other type of file can be managed within the system, centralizing publishing content and making the system available to all participants in the process. Thus, K4 offers unprecedented flexibility for a broad range of professional publishing environments.

OTHER NEW FEATURES INCLUDE:

ENHANCED METADATA HANDLING
- Custom field types for check boxes, number fields, date and time
- New permissions that allow users to edit metadata but do not allow file checkout
- Enhanced Queries for Boolean searching
- Multilevel search criteria
- Object-type searching, and search across multiple publications

REVISED PALETTE INTERFACES
- Hierarchical listings of Layouts > Articles > Text, Image, Ad, Audio/Video Objects
- Copy tasting for text, previews of other object types
- Multiple open palettes to work with several queries at the same time
- Customizable order of objects in layouts and articles by dragging entries up and down

NEW SECURITY FEATURES
- Password encryption and change enforcement
- Revised handling of user login for added security and control