Fortunately, many software publishers do provide at least some means of testdriving their products before you invest heavily. While demos and trial versions may differ from the full product, they can give you an overview of the product and help you get a feel for which program will best suit your needs and your style of working.
Tips for evaluating software with trial versions
When running time-limited software, don't try to evaluate too many programs at once. Some programs may stop functioning after 10-30 days or after being accessed a specific number of times so give yourself sufficient time to look over one program before installing another one.In addition to basic familiarity with the program interface and features, choose a simple but typical project such as a business card or a brochure and create the project from scratch in each program. This will allow you to compare one program to another more evenly.
Be sure to check the features of the demo against a feature list for the full-product. Often features are disabled or limited in the trial or demo versions. Make notes about what you like or don't like about each program. Don't rely entirely on memory, especially when evaluating several programs over time.
Choosing software
Trying out a program is only one part of determining what software you need. Sometimes trial versions aren't available or the specific functions you have questions about are not included in the demo. You should also look at product comparisons, fact sheets, and talk to other users of the programs you are considering.Go get the free trial and demo versions of some of the leading desktop publishing software programs.
