64-bit Window version of Scribus open source DTP program available

Those who use the open source Scribus layout program under Windows can, like those who use it under Linux, finally install the new version 1.4.2 as a native 64-bit application on the 64-bit versions of Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8. This means that the program is no longer subject to the memory limit of 2 GB per process that exists with 32-bit applications. Those who use an older version of Windows can still download and install a 32-bit version of Scribus.

The DTP program now uses the open source Hunspell spell checker across all platforms; Hunspell is also used in the Linux versions of SoftMaker Office 2012 and LibreOffice. The developers say that Scribus detects and integrates any existing Hunspell dictionaries that may have arrived on a system together with LibreOffice or a similar program. In the previous version of Scribus, Hunspell was only available under Linux and Unix, and in self-compiled Mac versions.

The installation files for version 1.4.2 for Windows, Mac OS X 10.5 and above, and OS/2 are now available to download from Sourceforge, but to access them one needs to navigate to the Scribus wiki. The best way for Linux users to install Scribus is via their package manager – the DTP application is included in most distributions.

The GPL licensed Scribus is also available from The H's Downloads section.

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